asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he proposes to take to improve the present beef shortage.

There is no present beef shortage.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he will now take to discourage the practice of feeding dogs fresh home-reared beef and veal, in view of the present economic situation.

I see no reason for attempting to influence the decisions of dog owners.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will introduce a payment for cattle already slaughtered.

The beef premium is already payable on eligible cattle when slaughtered.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what will be the cost of storing 50,000 tons of beef he proposes to take off the market for four months.

Under the Community scheme of aids for private storage no such quantity is mentioned. The cost will depend on the response of those who plan to participate in the scheme.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will now put a bottom on the beef market by introducing a guaranteed price.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement indicating his proposed pricing policy for beef from March 1975 onwards.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he will reconsider his policy towards bringing in a guarantee for beef producers;(2) in view of the position of beef producers and the cutback in production, if he will take further steps designed to safeguard the supply of beef to the consumer.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) whether he is satisfied that the measures agreed by the Council of Ministers (Agriculture) in Brussels on 15th and 16th July have strengthened the beef market and have assured reasonable returns to producers as he assured the House of Commons on 17th July;(2) in view of the large number of calves now being slaughtered, whether he will now fulfil his promise and act to restore producers' confidence as an essential prerequisite to safeguard our future supplies of beef;(3) whether he now thinks that there is a need for a system of beef marketing; and whether he will therefore reintroduce the fatstock guarantee scheme.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will take steps to reintroduce a guaranteed price for beef to the producer; and what other measures he proposes to adopt in order to give this sector of agriculture some degree of confidence for the future.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he is proposing to fulfil his undertaking to guarantee the price of beef to producers at £18 per live cwt.

I would refer the hon. Members to my right hon. Friend's speech in the House yesterday.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how the level of calf slaughterings for the past three months compares with the corresponding period a year previously; if he is satisfied that home-grown beef supplies can continue to provide their traditional share of domestic consumption; and if he will make a statement.

The information requested is given below:

Calf Slaughterings ('000 Head)
	1973	1974
July	8·6	27·2*
August	10·1	41·1*
September	13·1	48·2*
* Provisional.

Source: (Weekly Estimated Slaughterings).The numbers in 1972 and 1973 were unusually low and the current level is comparable with the general level in the 1960s when our breeding herd was much smaller. The calf slaughtering rate is in any case only one of a number of factors governing future home production and I am satisfied that home-produced supplies will continue to provide their traditional contribution to domestic consumption. In addition I would refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend's speech in the House on 31st October.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement about the adequacy of sugar supplies in the United Kingdom.

The shortfall in shipments of sugar under the Commonwealth Sugar Agreement which occurred earlier this year was made good by imports from other sources and by reductions in stocks, and the total quantity of sugar moving into distribution in the United Kingdom in the year ending 30th September was higher than in the previous year. Deliveries of sugar in retail packs by refiners and merchants over the past few months have been at least as high as during the same period of last year. Shipments under the Commonwealth Sugar Agreement between now and the end of the year are expected to be close to normal levels but the yield of the beet crop, which is now being processed, will unfortunately be well below normal. However, taking into account imports from other sources, I consider that total supplies during this period should be adequate to meet normal demand.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will set out the precise terms of the recent sugar deal with the EEC, showing the costings.

I assume the hon. Member is referring to the decision to introduce a subsidy on imports of sugar from the world market.At their meeting last week, the Agricultural Ministers of the EEC had before them a proposal from the Commission—draft Council instrument R/2563/74, copies of which have been deposited in the Vote Office—and took the following decision:

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he expects to make an announcement regarding the continuation of the oil subsidy for horticultural producers.

I have no plans to do so at present.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what consideration has been given to the respective adoption of a deficiency payment system for beef and a feed cost related formula of guaranteed prices for fat pig prices; and what is the situation in respect of EEC obligations concerning the use of these market support techniques.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will reintroduce the feed formula so as to enable pig producers to recoup increased feeding costs.

As my right hon. Friend said in his speech to the House yesterday the new beef régime in the Community must be a sound one, providing genuine security and an adequate return. An improved system of variable marketing premiums should be introduced which will give producers an assurance of a fair return. As regards a feed cost related formula for pigs I have nothing to add to the reply given to the hon. Member on 12th June.—[Vol. 874, c. 568–569.]

					Tons
S.I.T.C. Code			Description		July-September 1973	July-September 1974
08111	…	…	Cereal Straw and Husks unprepared or chopped	…	2,043	31
08112	…	…	Mangolds, Swedes, Fodder Roots, Kale and Hay	…	14	300
			(of which Hay)	…	(7)	(24)

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the expected impact upon the United Kingdom livestock industry of the recent Common Market adjustments of the Eire "green pound".

There is no evidence that the difference between the representative rates for the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland is leading to any distortion of trade in meat or livestock. But the effects of monetary changes on our trade in this sector are being carefully watched.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what has been the estimated trend in net farm income during the past three and six months, respectively.

Net farm income is assessed on a yearly basis and I regret that it is not possible to make forecasts for part of a year.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is satisfied with the current operation of headage

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the level of animal fodder exports during the past three months; how this compares with the corresponding period a year ago; what representations he has received requesting a temporary ban on such exports; and what answers he has given.

Exports of animal fodder for the three months July-September 1974 as compared with the corresponding period last year were as follows:payments for beef cattle as sanctioned by the Common Market.

The premium scheme has not prevented the fall in prices for fat cattle this autumn, nor could it have been expected to do so. The present low prices are largely due to the extremely high numbers of cattle now being put on the market. But premium payments are a valuable supplement to producers' returns from the market in this difficult period, and will increase over the winter.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will make a statement about the future use of the Woomera range by the United Kingdom.

Current United Kingdom trials at Woomera will continue under an agreement which runs until June 1976. As the Australian Government have announced, discussions are to take place about appropriate arrangements thereafter, taking into account the foreseen decline in workload.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence why there has been no report of the official inquiry commenced on 21st November 1973 concerning the fire at Saighton Camp and the death which resulted from this.

It is not the practice to publish the reports of such official inquiries. I have written to the right hon. Gentleman about the steps which have been taken as a result of the inquiry.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what progress he has made, in considering Section 13 notices issued by Birmingham District Education Authority; and if he will give an estimate of when his decision will be made known.

I hope to announce my decision early next week.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list for each of the counties in England and Wales the design list and the starts list for the major capital school building programme for 1975–76.

No. My right hon. Friend is not yet ready to add to the statement made in my Department's Circular 8/74, 'Authorities should plan for 1975–76 on the basis that school basic need projects will be eligible for approval.".

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will now add the Union of Women Teachers to the members of the Teachers' Panel of the Burnham Committee.

I do not consider this would be an appropriate time to make changes in the representation of teachers on the Burnham Committee.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list in the OFFICIAL REPORT those wages councils whose orders show women's rates to be less than 80 per cent. of men's rates at the latest convenient date.

The Fur Wages Council, although it provides for equal pay in the furriers' section, still fixes women's rates at 71 per cent. of the men's in the fur sorters' and dressers' and dyers' sections. I understand that the council will be meeting shortly to consider the matter.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement about establishing a code of practice to safeguard workers exposed to vinyl chloride.

Precautions against health risks from vinyl chloride have been discussed in a working group, chaired by the Chief Inspector of Factories, which includes representatives from the TUC, the CBI and the Chemical Industries' Association. At its first meeting on 14th June 1974 the working group set up two sub-groups, one medical and the other environmental, charged with the preparation of a draft for a code of practice. Very good progress has been made. The draft on environmental control, including monitoring, is sufficiently advanced to be placed before a meeting of the working group due to take place on 18th November. The draft for medical supervision is taking somewhat longer to prepare, but some guidance should be available for early publication in the code.I am grateful to representatives from both sides of industry for co-operating with my officials in the preparation of this code.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has any plans to make an official visit to Hong Kong.

My right hon. Friend has no present plans for a visit.

asked the Secrettary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make a statement about the constitutional future of Pitcairn Island.

The islanders run their internal affairs through the Island Council, constituted by a Local Government Ordinance of 1964. The council comprises the following 10 members:

(1) An island magistrate, elected triennially who is chairman;

(2) Three elected councillors, elected each December, one of whom is the Chairman of the Internal Committee;

(3) The Island Secretary, a public officer, serving ex officio;

(4) One member appointed by the Governor;

(5) Two members chosen by the elected members;

(6) Two non-voting advisory members, one chosen by the Governor and one chosen by the rest of the council.

The following declaration was unanimously made by the Island Council on 16th June 1968:

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many warships he intends to permit to be sold to the Government of Indonesia; whether an order has been placed; and where the ships are to be built.

The Indonesian navy invited tenders from British firms for the supply of four corvettes. Negotiations are still in train; if a British shipbuilder is successful in securing a firm contract, it is the intention of Her Majesty's Government to let this order go ahead.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will inform the Indonesian authorities that no further good-will or routine visits by the British Navy will be permitted to Indonesian ports until he is satisfied that the treatment of 70,000 Indonesian political prisoners does not infringe internationally accepted standards of human rights.

No; such visits are an important element in maintaining the good relations with the Government of the South-East Asian region which it is our policy to sustain.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what changes have been made in the United Kingdom delegation to the North Atlantic Assembly.

My hon. Friend the Member for Belper (Mr. MacFarquhar) has replaced my hon. Friend the Member for Newark (Mr. Bishop) as a representative from the Labour Party on the United Kingdom delegation to the North Atlantic Assembly.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what is the total of financial grants received since 1st January 1973 from the European Community's funds for safety at work, reduction of pollution and the general improvement of the working environment;(2) what was the total of financial grants received between 1st January 1973 and 30th June 1974 from the European Community's Social and Coal and Steel Community Funds.

In the time available it has not been possible to obtain all the information requested by the hon. Member. Information about grants from the Social Fund is given below. The rest of the information is being collated and will be circulated in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the total of grants made by the European Community to victims of disasters in industry in Great Britain since 1st January 1973.

As far as I can ascertain in the time available a total of £11,719 was provided from Community funds in 1973 to victims of disasters in industry in the United Kingdom. In addition this year the Community has approved a grant of £21,300 to the victims of the Flixborough disaster.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the total of grants made by the European Community to British agriculture since 1st January 1973.

I have been asked to reply.United Kingdom expenditure borne by the Guarantee Section of the European Agriculture Guidance and Guarantee Fund on market regulation under the common agricultural policy between 1st January 1973 and 30th September 1974 was £136·2 million. This figure is made up of several elements, and includes the net cost of commodities bought into intervention and subsequently sold, the cost of incentives for private storage or denaturing, consumer subsidies on butter, export refunds on third country trade and import refunds in respect of intra-Community trade.The Guidance Section of the fund is committed to pay £7·8 million in grants towards United Kingdom individual projects in the agriculture, horticulture, food and fishing industries under its 1973 programme. No decisions have yet been taken by the European Commission about the 1974 applications under this programme.The United Kingdom expects also to benefit from Guidance Section contributions to schemes made in pursuance of various EEC directives and regulations.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he has taken to ensure that further naval visits to South Africa include no ceremonial acts or good-will gestures which may be used as evidence of political support by the South African Government, but are confined strictly to operational exercises alone.

I have been asked to reply.On coming into office the Government decided that, pending the outcome of the defence review, naval visits to South Africa should be determined only by operational necessity and that there should be no good-will visits. Planned visits to South Africa by Her Majesty's Yacht "Britannia" and HMS "Leopard" were accordingly cancelled.

The recent visit by a group of ships

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his policy on introducing vehicle excise duty on touring caravans.

I cannot anticipate my right hon. Friend's Budget Statement.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the wage/salary component of central Government expenditure for each year since 1960, expressed as a percentage of total expenditure by central Government and related to the total number of staff involved.

The information requested is given in the following table:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what contributions Great Britain has made so far to the European Investment Bank; what future contributions are due; and if he will make a statement of British liabilities to the bank.

The total amount contributed so far is £34½ million, consisting of three payments of £7·5 million each to the capital of the bank on 28th February 1973, 28th September 1973 and 30th April 1974, respectively, and three payments of about £4 million each to the reserves of the bank on the same dates. Two further payments of £7·5 million each to the capital are due to be made on 30th November 1974 and 30th June 1975, respectively, and two payments of about £4 million each to the reserves on the same dates. Under the protocol on the statutes of the bank non-interest bearing promissory notes for the two further payments of capital were issued in February 1973. The statutes of the bank also provide for the adjustment of the amount of a member State's capital paid up in its own currency in the event of a change in the parity of that currency in relation to the bank's unit of account.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what currencies, other than that of the United Kingdom, are legal tender within the United Kingdom; and under what enactments.

None.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what volume (a) of coinage, and (b) of currency notes of the United Kingdom and the Irish Republic, respectively, he estimates were in circulation in Northern Ireland at the latest convenient date.

Figures of currency circulation are not available on a regional basis.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the net sum accruing to Her Majesty's Treasury from the mint- ing of each denomination of the current coins of the United Kingdom, expressed in each case in terms of the most convenient quantity.

The Royal Mint is a very successful exporter of coin and it is not the practice to give any information relating to production costs which could be of commercial value to the Mint's competitors.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the current rate of inflation.

The Retail Price Index for September, published on 18th October, shows a 17·1 per cent. increase since September 1973.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what loans have been made by the European Investment Bank to assist the exploitation of Great Britain's natural resources since 1st January 1973.

The European Investment Bank has so far made one loan to assist the exploitation of Great Britain's natural resources. This is a £10·4 million loan towards the financing of production installations of the Frigg gas field in the North Sea.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the total of loans received from the European Community since 1st January 1973 to help industrial modernisation and development in Great Britain.

The total of loans negotiated with the European Investment Bank and the European Coal and Steel Community since 1st January 1973 for British industry is £122·32 million, of which £35·91 million has so far been received.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the average length of remands in Northern Ireland at the present time; how many persons are on remand at the moment; what action is proposed to improve the situation and to reduce the period before a case comes for trial; and if he will make a statement.

I have been asked to reply.In respect of persons who were brought to trial before the Belfast City Commission in custody during the month of September, the average period spent in custody before trial was 35·5 weeks. The average period for those who appeared for trial on bail was 39·1 weeks. There are at present 564 persons in custody awaiting trial, and 493 persons on bail awaiting trial. Since the opening of the Belfast City Commission on 2nd September, three courts have sat on most days and have disposed of 193 criminal cases, involving 292 accused, up to and including the week ending 25th October. Since the beginning of this year the Belfast City Commission has disposed of a total of 689 cases involving 1,038 accused. Arrangements have been made for five courts to sit daily on and after 12th November next and this should result in an increase in the rate of disposal of criminal cases.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if, in view of the level of unemployment, he will initiate a winter works programme; and if he will make a statement.

The Government announced on 11th September the addition of £120 million to public sector programmes for Great Britain to enable new orders to be placed with the construction industry as soon as possible, so as to sustain the industry's activity and employment prospects. Scotland is sharing in this additional expenditure.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has any legislative proposals to take land at Hunterston into public ownership.

A Bill to provide powers for the acquisition of sites required for oil-related purposes will be intro- duced shortly. Its application to particular cases is for later consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many fire officers in each grade above that of station officers are currently employed by brigades to be taken into the Strathclyde Region, and including the Galloway area.

The numbers of officers in the Central, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, South-Western and Western Fire Brigades in May 1974, the latest month for which figures are available, are set out in the table below. Only part of the areas of the present Central and South-Western Fire Brigades will be included in the Strathclyde Region and it is not yet known how many officers serving in these brigades will join the new Strathclyde Brigade.

Firemaster	5
Assistant Firemaster	6
Divisional Officer I	8
Divisional Officer II	10
Divisional Officer III	11
Assistant Divisional Officer	32
	72

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what will be the Christmas bonus entitlement of a couple when the man is aged 58 years and in receipt of invalidity benefit and the wife is aged 61 years but has no retirement pension in her own right.

Under the proposals in the Bill which is now before Parliament an invalidity pensioner will be entitled to payment of £10 regardless of age. Unless he and his wife are both over pensionable age he will not be entitled to any further payment in respect of her but, if she is entitled to any of the qualifying benefits, she will receive an additional payment.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many dental estimates have been submitted in the past year involving extractions of teeth from people under 16 years; how many of these were for permanent molar teeth; how many of these were for four permanent molar teeth in four quadrants of the mouth; and in how many cases involving the four permanent molars in four quadrants of the mouth a general anaesthetic fee was not claimed.

In England in 1973 payments were made for 1·3 million courses of treatment which included extractions of teeth from patients under 16 years. The figures sought in the remainder of the Question are not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if she will make a statement on the reasons for the lack of supplies of quinine sulphate.

I am not aware of any general shortage of quinine sulphate, but I would be prepared to investigate any evidence of local supply difficulties.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what plans she has for the replacement of Long Reach Isolation Hospital, Dartford.

Long Reach Hospital will have to be closed at or near the end of the year to enable works in connection with the River Thames barrage to proceed. A purpose-built replacement unit is being provided in the grounds of the nearby Joyce Green Hospital. Until this is ready for use—in about two years' time—the Cray Valley Hospital, now disused, will be available for this purpose if required, subject to consultations with the community health councils and the Joint Consultative Committee of the Bromley Borough Council and the Bromley Area Health Authority, which are being arranged.Both the permanent unit at Joyce Green and the Cray Valley Hospital will enjoy a comparable standard of isolation to that of Long Reach, and the standards of safety and protection from contamination for members of the general public will be as high as they have been in the past. In order to ensure this, the London borough of Bromley has kindly agreed to close that part of a public road which runs close to the Cray Valley Hospital, if the need should arise. The Bromley Area Health Authority will also offer immunisation facilities to those few people who live or work near the hospital.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what were (i) the approximate quantity and (ii) the approximate cost of timber imports into the United Kingdom during (a) the financial year 1972–73, (b) the financial year 1973–74 and (c) during the first six months of the current financial year.

Following is the information:

	Million cubic metres	£ million c.i.f.
April 1972–March 1973	10·2	281
April 1973–March 1974	11·7	518
April 1974–September 1974	5·4	328

asked the Secretary of State for Trade when he expects to announce the result of the review into the sound insulation grants scheme for those adversely affected by aircraft noise near Heathrow Airport.

The review is continuing. There are still some matters remaining to be resolved. My right hon. Friend will make an announcement about proposed improvements as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales (1) when he expects to reach a decision on the siting of the new Welsh sports city;(2) whether, before reaching a decision on the siting of the new Welsh sports city, he will meet representatives of the Swansea City Council and West Glamorgan County Council.

I received the Sports Council for Wales report on the Welsh Sports City only last week. The report raises many complex issues—including location—which will require detailed and careful consideration before any conclusions are reached or any question of consultations arises. Above all there is the question of the availability of finance in the light of the present economic situation.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on his advice to British Rail concerning the appropriate language policy to be pursued on public notices on railway stations in Wales.

I have written to the Chairman of the Railways Board, and I understand that the board's policy on this matter will be reviewed.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will review the composition of the Welsh Sports Council with the aim of giving greater representation to west Wales.

Members of the Sports Council for Wales are appointed by me primarily for the contribution they can make towards the development of sport generally and not as representatives of particular areas. My review for next year's membership will continue to aim at an appropriate balance between the various interests involved.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales on how many occasions he has visited Brussels since 31st July to discuss the impact of the EEC farming policy on Welsh agriculture.

I visited Brussels on 4th–5th July and discussed a whole range of topics. The Minister of Agriculture, who represents the interests of the United Kingdom as a whole at meetings of the EEC Council of Ministers, has made three visits since 31st July.