asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the best estimate that can be made of the effect of price increases in the nationalised industries on the retail price index in the past 12 months.

In the 12 months to December, the prices of goods and services mainly produced by the nationalised industries rose by 19·3 per cent. while the retail prices index rose by 19·1 per cent. Their contribution was 1·6 per cent. out of that 19·1 per cent. rise.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the gross domestic product per capita of each of the nine member States of the EEC and their constituent regions in 1960, 1970 and the latest year for which comparative statistics are available, expressing the result in terms of £ sterling at March 1974 exchange rates and the figure for

					G.D.P./HEAD			G.D.P./HEAD
					(Index, United Kingdom=100)			(£)
					1960	1966	1970	1960	1966	1970
UNITED KINGDOM		…	…	…		100	100		605	774
North	…	…	…	…	Not available	84	85	Not available	508	656
Yorkshire and Humberside				…		96	94		583	729
East Midlands		…	…	…		98	96		595	746
East Anglia		…	…	…		96	96		579	743
South East		…	…	…		114	116		692	894
South West		…	…	…		93	94		564	723
West Midlands		…	…	…		108	104		654	807
North West		…	…	…		96	95		582	731
Wales	…	…	…	…		86	86		518	666
Scotland	…	…	…	…		89	91		538	705
Northern Ireland			…	…		63	69		378	531

					G.D.P./HEAD			G.D.P./HEAD
					(Index, West Germany=100)			(£)
					1960	1966	1970	1960	1966	1970
WEST GERMANY		…	…	…	100	100	100	883	1,344	1,822
Schleswig-Holstein			…	…	78	81	83	690	1,088	1,509
Hamburg		…	…	…	163	168	178	1,439	2,256	3,250
Bremen	…	…	…	…	134	125	132	1,180	1,685	2,397
Hiedersachsen		…	…	…	89	88	85	782	1,182	1,555
Hessen	…	…	…	…	99	103	106	877	1,385	1,935
Herdrhein-Westfalen			…	…	109	103	103	958	1,380	1,891
Rheinland-Pfalz			…	…	77	89	87	676	1,192	1,589
Baden-Württemberg			…	…	102	104	100	903	1,403	1,818
Bayern	…	…	…	…	89	94	93	782	1,257	1,702
Saarland	…	…	…	…	95	84	86	842	1,125	1,573
Berlin (West)		…	…	…	104	106	108	918	1,428	1,969

The information that is available is given below. The earliest year for which gross domestic product—GDP—figures are available for all regions of the United Kingdom is 1966. To facilitate comparison, figures for 1966 are also given for other countries where available. The latest year for which regional figures are published on a comparable basis for EEC countries is 1970. No figures are available for Denmark and Ireland.

The figures have been compiled as requested, but it should be noted that

(a) estimates of regional GDP are not prepared on an exactly similar basis in the various countries;

(b) exchange rates are known not to reflect accurately the internal purchasing power of countries' currencies and hence it may not be meaningful to use this method to make international comparisons of regional GDP;

(c) the use of March 1974 exchange rates further distorts the comparisons as they are even less likely to reflect currencies' internal purchasing power during those years for which GDP figures are quoted.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the annual cost, expressed in pounds sterling, of the EEC budgetary item, "Administrative, operational and miscellaneous expenditure" during each of the last five years.

Expenditure on staff—including pay, allowances, pensions and insurance—and on buildings, equipment and current administrative expenditure etc.—including expenditure on statistical, etc surveys, publishing and information and the cost of meetings—in the Commission's section of the budget of the European Communities in the years 1971 to 1974 amounts to:

	£ million
1971	41
1972	53
1973	71
1974	87

The figures for 1971 to 1973 represent expenditure spent and committed from the budgets of those years and that for 1974 the provision in the 1974 budget. The figures have been converted from units of accounts on the basis of £1=2·4 units of account.I regret that information on 1970 is not readily available.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, prior to introducing his legislation on capital transfer tax, he conducted comparative studies of the practice in EEC countries relating to taxation of agricultural, forestry and fishing interests.

EEC countries differ significantly in the general scope of their taxes on capital, as in their treatment of particular assets. As regards the capital transfer tax, we believe that the reliefs from the tax which we are now proposing are both fair and sufficient.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of the total deficit on the balance of payments was represented by the United Kingdom's contribution to the EEC budget in each of the years 1973 and 1974.

The United Kingdom's net contribution to the budget of the European Communities in 1973 represented 8·7 per cent. of the total deficit on the balance of payments current account, and in 1974 0·8 per cent. of the estimated total deficit on current account. The figure for the United Kingdom contribution in 1974 reflects some technical and other factors and does not provide a reliable guide for future years.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of public expenditure is expected to be represented by the United Kingdom contribution to the EEC in the financial year 1974–75.

The net United Kingdom contribution to the budget of the European Communities in 1974–75 is estimated at £35 milion. This represents 0·1 per cent of the estimated total of public expenditure—at 1974 survey prices—for the same period, as estimated in Cmnd. 5879. The figure for the United Kingdom contribution in 1974–75 reflects some technical and other factors and does not provide a reliable guide for future years.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the average annual percentage growth in the proportion of gross national product spent on (a) health services and (b) social services by each of the member States of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development during the periods 1948 to 1958 and 1958 to 1973, respectively.

No figures are available for expenditure on the social services by the members of the OECD. The following table shows the current account consumption expenditure of general government on health services in 1960 and 1972—the earliest and latest years available—as a percentage of gross national product at purchasers' values for several OECD countries. Figures are not available for other member countries. Changes in the proportion of gross national product spent on health services by general government may reflect changes in the institutional arrangements for the provision of these services:

Percentages
	1960	1972
United States	1·1	1·5
Australia	1·2	1·6*
Austria	3·3	3·5
Denmark	1·9	4·9*
Finland	2·2	3·9
Greece	1·1†	1·1
Italy	1·0	1·2
Portugal	0·6	2·1
Sweden	3·1‡	5·1*
Turkey	0·9§	0·8*
United Kingdom	3·1	3·8
Source: National Accounts of OECD Countries 1960–1972 and 1961–1972.
* 1971.
† 1961.
‡1963.
§ 1962.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the element attributable to the relative price effect in the figures for adjustment to 1973–74 out-turn prices and relative price effect set out in table 2B of Public Expenditure to 1977–78, Command Paper No. 5519.

The figures for 1973–74 to 1977–78 are shown in the table on page 156 of the White Paper. Figures for earlier years are as follows:

	£ million
1968–69	-1,593
1969–70	-1,473
1970–71	-1,174
1971–72	-1,130

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the expenditure equivalents for the contingency reserve figures given in demand context terms in table 2.16 of Public Expenditure to 1978–79, Command Paper No. 5879.

No, for the reasons given in the White Paper—Chapter 2.16, paragraph 4, page 125.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information he has about the extent of Arab investment in British industry.

So far there has been little identifiable Arab investment in British industry.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the latest estimate of revenue in 1974–75 from (a) direct taxation and (b) indirect taxation less all subsidies; and how these figures compare with revenue from the same sources in 1973–74.

The latest estimates on a comparable basis for the yield of central Government taxes and for central Government expenditure on subsidies in the current financial year compared with the figures for 1973–74 are as follows:

	£ million
	1974–75	1973–74
Direct taxation	14,111	10,444
Indirect taxation	8,205	7,008
Less subsidies	2,899	1,377
NET TOTAL	19,417	16,075

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer by how much the value of the £ sterling has fallen since 1st January 1970.

39½ per cent. This estimate is based on the change in the General Index of Retail Prices between January 1970 and December 1974, the latest available date.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why the customs post on the road from Keady to the Republic of Ireland was unmanned on Sunday afternoon 2nd February 1975.

The Customs post at Carnagh, near Keady, is manned from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Monday to Saturday, primarily to take account of and facilitate commercial traffic. A number of boundary posts are manned outside these hours where the type and incidence of the traffic justify it, but this is not the case at Carnagh.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will provide revised versions of the tables given in the Financial Secretary's Written Answer of 27th January to the hon. Member for St. Marylebone (Mr. Baker) in the light of Her Majesty's Government's new proposals for a reduced scale of rates of capital transfer tax on lifetime gifts.

I shall let the hon. Member have a reply as soon as possible.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list those bodies for which he is responsible which either receive public funds or to which he makes appointments.

The information is as follows:

Agricultural Training Board (jointly with the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Wales).

Apple and Pear Development Council.

Central Council for Agricultural and Horticultural Co-operation (jointly with the Secretaries of State for Scotland, Wales and N. Ireland).

Committees of Investigation for England and Wales and for Great Britain (jointly with the Secretaries of State for Scotland, Wales and N. Ireland).

Consumers' Committees for England and Wales and for Great Britain (jointly with the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Wales).

Covent Garden Market Authority.

Eggs Authority (jointly with the Secretaries of State fo Scotland, Wales and N. Ireland).

Fisheries Research and Development Board (jointly with the Secretary of State for Scotland).

Food Additives and Contaminants Committee (jointly with the Secretary of State for Social Services, Secretary of State for Scotland and the Head of the Department of Health and Social Services for N. Ireland).

Food Standards Committee (jointly with the Secretary of State for Social Services, Secretary of State for Scotland and the Head of the Department of Health and Social Services for N. Ireland).

Forestry Commission (jointly with the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Wales).

Home Grown Cereleas Authority (jointly with the Secretaries of State for Scotland, Wales and N. Ireland).

Intervention Board for Agricultural Produce.

Meat and Livestock Commission (jointly with the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Wales).

National Seeds Development Organisation Ltd., Governing Body (jointly with the Secretaries of State for Scotland, Wales and N. Ireland).

Sugar Board.

United Kingdom Seeds Executive (jointly with the Secretaries of State for Scotland, Wales and N. Ireland).

Veterinary Products Committee (jointly with the Secretaries of State for Scotland and N. Ireland).

White Fish Authority (jointly with the Secretaries of State for Scotland, Wales and N. Ireland).

PERCENTAGE CHANGES (JANUARY TO JANUARY) IN CONSUMER PRICE INDICES FOR FOOD IN OECD COUNTRIES
Country				1970	1971	1972	1973	1974
Canada		…	…	- 2·7	+7·8	+10·0	+15·9	+12·9	(January-October)
United States		…	…	+ 1·7	+ 4·2	+ 6·9	+19·6	+ 8·1	(January-October)
Japan	…	…	…	+ 7·7	+ 2·1	+ 6·6	+27·4	+13·5	(January-September)
Australia*		…	…	+ 3·3	+ 4·6	+ 7·9	+19·8	+ 6·5	(March-September)
New Zealand		…	…	+11·8	+ 6·5	+ 3·2	+16·2	+ 8·0	(January-October)
Austria		…	…	+ 3·5	+ 4·0	+ 9·0	+ 7·4	+ 4·6	(January-October)
Belgium		…	…	+ 0·2	+ 5·3	+ 9·0	+ 6·6	+ 7·5	(January-October)
Denmark		…	…	+ 6·8	+ 7·6	· 8·9	+16·3	+ 9·3	(January-October)
Finland		…	…	+ 2·1	+ 5·7	+13·0	+10·5	+20·0	(January-October)
France		…	…	+ 5·2	+ 6·7	+ 8·0	+12·3	+ 6·8	(January-August)
Germany		…	…	+ 1·9	+ 5·5	+ 7·6	+ 5·7	+ 2·8	(January-November)
Greece		…	…	+ 6·4	· 0·8	+13·7	+38·0	+ 6·5	(January-October)
Iceland*		…	…	+ 5·8	+ 5·4	+20·0	+47·0	+38·3	(February-November)
Ireland*		…	…	+ 7·8	+11·3	+16·5	+11·1	+15·9	(February-November)
Italy	…	…	…	+ 4·3	+ 4·3	+ 9·8	+13·0	+16·5	(January-September)
Luxembourg		…	…	+ 1·4	+ 6·3	+ 7·9	+ 7·0	+ 8·4	(January-November)
Netherlands		…	…	+ 3·3	+ 6·9	+ 8·0	+ 7·8	+ 4·9	(January-October)
Norway		…	…	+ 9·0	+ 5·4	+ 8·1	+ 5·9	+ 9·7	(January-November)
Portugal		…	…	+ 5·0	+10·0	+ 7·3	+17·7	+31·9	(January-October)
Spain	…	…	…	+ 5·2	+10·2	+ 8·0	+14·8	+10·5	(January-October)
Sweden		…	…	+11·9	+ 7·7	+ 6·8	+ 6·4	+ 5·7	(January-October)
Switzerland		…	…	+ 5·2	+ 5·9	+ 7·8	+ 7·1	+10·5	(January-November)
Turkey	…	…	…	+ 7·8	+14·6	+13·2	+17·9	+24·1	(January-October)
Yugoslavia		…	…	+12·5	+15·8	+20·9	+22·7	+ 5·1	(January-September)
United Kingdom			…	+ 9·1	+11·5	+10·1	+20·1	+14·4	(January-December)
* Quarterly index.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether the £260 per ton for sugar quoted in his statement of 3rd February is at a fixed sterling parity; or on what basis it is made.

The £260 per ton is not subject to adjustment as a result of any change in the parity of sterling.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the annual rate of exchange in food prices during each of the last five years in each of the member States of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

The information is given in the following table for the years 1970 to 1973. For 1974 data has only been published to the extent shown in the final column:

asked the Minister for the Civil Service how many statutory directions by way of departmental circular were issued by each Government Department in each of the years 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973 and 1974; and whether he will give a breakdown of the types of circular and the Acts under which the circulars were issued.

The information is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing in the case of each Government Department the total number of days of absence by employees on grounds other than ill health or holidays in each of the years 1970 to 1974.

This information is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Department						1970	1971	1972	1973	1974
Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Ministry of						16,126	15,743	15,536	15,098	15,054
Ancient Monuments (Wales and Mon.) Royal Commission	…	…	…	…	…	17*	—	—	—	—
British Museum		…	…	…	…	1,559*	—	—	—	—
British Museum (Natural History)				…	…	591*	—	—	—	—
Cabinet Office	…	…	…	…	…	728	594	591	599	612
Charity Commission		…	…	…	…	314	310	328	306	339
Civil Service Department			…	…	…	2,403	2,340	3,274	4,980	5,245
Civil Service Pay Research Unit				…	…	32	32	41	32	44
County Courts	…	…	…	…	…	5,603	5,628†	—	—	—
Crown Estate Office		…	…	…	…	126	129	122	125	125
Customs and Excise		…	…	…	…	17,883	18,271	21,797	24,371	26,287
Decimal Currency Board			…	…	…	42	—	—	—	—
Defence, Ministry of		…	…	…	…	258,057	280,660	271,908	269,801	266,170
Diplomatic Service		…	…	…	…	10,583	10,581	10,495	10,288	10,226
Education and Science, Department of					…	4,362	4,279	4,275	3,988	3,981
Employment, Department of			…	…	…	32,219	32,816	33,708	34,082	16,594
Exchequer and Audit		…	…	…	…	576*	—	—	—	—
Exports Credits Guarantee Department					…	1,486	1,576	1,632	1,652	1,734
Fine Art Commission, Royal			…	…	…	5*	—	—	—	—
Friendly Societies Registry			…	…	…	95	97	94	106	111
Government Actuary		…	…	…	…	49	54	56	56	62
Health and Social Security, Department of					…	71,386	73,860	75,147	79,643	85,202
Historical Manuscripts Commission				…	…	18*	—	—	—	—
Historical Monuments (England), Royal Commission	…	…	…	…	…	81*	—	—	—	—
Home Office	…	…	…	…	…	25,424	26,660	28,123	28,282	29,788
Housing and Local Government, Ministry of						4,716‡	—	—	—	—
Imperial War Museum			…	…	…	163*	—	—	—	—
Information, Central Office of				…	…	1,512	1,399	1,332	1,249	1,296
Inland Revenue	…	…	…	…	…	69,352	71,586	71,325	69,228	71,900
Land Commission		…	…	…	…	763	—	—	—	—

asked the Minister for the Civil Service whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the total number of days of absence on grounds of ill health in each Government Department from 1970 to 1974, inclusive of (a) the number of days in respect of which ill health has been covered by a medical certificate, and (b) the number of days in respect of which no such certificate has been produced.

This information is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the number of civil servants employed in each Government Department in each of the years 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973 and 1974.

Following are the details of staff in post at 1st October in each year:

Department						1970	1971	1972	1973	1974
Land Registry	…	…	…	…	…	3,936	4,215	4,514	5,035	4,610
Law Officers Department			…	…	…	12	14	17	19	20
London Museum		…	…	…	…	71*	—	—	—	—
Mint, Royal	…	…	…	…		1,573	1,420	1,408	1,198	1,368
National Debt Office		…	…	…	…	56	51	55	52	57
National Gallery		…	…	…	…	199*	—	—	—	—
National Maritime Museum			…	…	…	156*	—	—	—	—
National Portrait Gallery			…	…	…	60*	—	—	—	—
National Savings, Department for				…	…	15,289	14,942	14,044	13,542	13,767
Ordnance Survey		…	…	…	…	4,639	4,674	4,687	4,561	4,514
Overseas Development, Ministry of				…	…	2,497	2,481	2,294	2,182	2,268
Parliamentary Commissioner, Office of					…	54*	—	—	—	—
Paymaster Generals Office			…	…	…	682	624	655	662	700
Population, Censuses and Surveys, Office of					…	2,048	2,541	2,544	2,729	2,833
Posts and Telecommunications, Ministry of					…	397	436	455	465§	—
Privy Council		…	…	…	…	34	34	33	34	35
Public Buildings and Works, Ministry of					…	56,603‡	—	—	—	—
Public Prosecutions, Director of		…	…	…	…	123	137	149	157	171
Public Record Office		…	…	…	…	312	313	328	344	391
Public Trustee	…	…	…	…	…	539	564	542	502	513
Public Works Loan Board			…	…	…	47*	—	—	—	—
Registrar of Restrictive Trading Agreements					…	68	70	67	60	—
Stationery Office				…	…	7,614	7,808	7,399	7,208	7,043
Supreme Court of Judicature			…	…	…	1,970	2,051†	—	—	—
Supreme Court (Northern Ireland)				…	…	104	96	93	98	95
Tate Gallery	…	…	…	…	…	184*	—	—	—	—
Technology, Ministry of			…	…	…	37,876≑	—	—	—	—
Temporary Royal Commissions				…	…	27*	—	—	—	—
Trade, Board of		…	…	…	…	17,514≑	—	—	—	—
Transport, Ministry of		…	…	…	…	10,719‡	—	—	—	—
Treasury	…	…	…	…	…	1,047	1,083	1,080	1,006	1,063
Treasury Solicitor		…	…	…	…	370	384	384	375	416
Wallace Collection		…	…	…	…	65*	—	—	—	—
Welsh Office	…	…	…	…	…	802	934	971	1,048	1,268
Scottish Departments
Accountant of Court		…	…	…	…	17	18¶	185	—	—
Ancient Monuments, Royal Commission on					…	25*	—	—	—	—
Court of Justiciary		…	…	…	…	7	8	9¶	—	—
Court of Session		…	…	…	…	86	88	90¶	—	—
Crown Office	…	…	…	…	…	21	22	23	26	31
Exchequer Office (QLTR)			…	…	…	67	68	67	56	53
General Register Office			…	…	…	244	515	425	425	403
Lord Advocates Department			…	…	…	13	12	13	14	14
National Galleries		…	…	…	…	86*	—	—	—	—
National Library		…	…	…	…	122*	—	—	—	—
National Museum of Antiquities		…	…	…	…	35*	—	—	—	—
Procurator Fiscal Service			…	…	…	272	281	302	317	349
Registers of Scotland		…	…	…	…	270	282	318	365	388
Scottish Land Court		…	…	…	…	19	18	17¶	—	—
Scottish Office	…	…	…	…	…	9,460	9,723	9,701	9,875	9,983
Scottish Record Office		…	…	…	…	118	128	134	136	140
Sheriff Clerk's Service		…	…	…	…	354	366	377¶	—	—
Scottish Law Commission			…	…	…	15	15	16¶	—	—
Departments created since 1970
Energy, Department of		…	…	…	…	—	—	—	—	1,794
Environment, Department of the				…	…	—	70,718	70,109	69,315	69,341
Industry, Department of			…	…	…	—	—	—	—	10,140
Intervention Board for Agricultural Produce					…	—	—	—	400	472
Land Tribunal, Scotland			…	…	…	—	7	7	6	7
Lord Chancellors Office			…	…	…	—	—	9,098	9,333	9,509
Northern Ireland Office			…	…	…	—	—	103	184	203
Office of Fair Trading		…	…	…	…	—	—	—	—	149
Prices and Consumer Protection, Department of.						—	—	—	—	347
Registry of Trade Unions and Employers Associations.						—	—	44	43	—

asked the Minister for the Civil Service how many civil servants were employed in the financial years 1972–73 and 1973–74; and how many are employed in the current financial year.

Figures in respect of the mid-point—1st October—in each financial year are as follows:

1972–73	690,985
1973–74	695,092
1974–75	687,182

asked the Minister for the Civil Service whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the total number of persons in each Government Department entitled to draw a car allowance in each of the years 1970 to 1974 and the total sums paid in respect of such allowances for each Department in each year.

No civil servant is entitled to a car allowance.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he is now prepared to answer Questions giving detailed information about numbers of staff employed at atomic research establishments.

The only establishment of this kind in the Ministry of Defence is the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment. I would like to help my hon. Friend but in this case I regret that I cannot depart from the long-standing practice of not disclosing the information for which she asks.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the number of flying hours in the initial training programme of a helicopter pilot for each of the three Services, distinguishing between hours of fixed-wing and rotary flying together with the cost per pilot of initial helicopter training for each of the three Services.

The number of flying hours in the basic helicopter pilot training programme in each of the Services is as follows:

	Royal Navy	Army	Royal Air Force
Fixed Wing	70	40	100
Rotary Wing	70	80	90

Up-to-date estimates of cost are not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he is now prepared to answer Questions relating to details of research and development costs.

We are anxious to be as forthcoming as possible in disclosing information but there are a number of considerations which have to be taken into account. What can be said about individual projects must be judged on the merits of each case.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he is now prepared to answer Questions asking for details of operational activities.

We are anxious to help Members with any information they require about the operational activities of Her Majesty's Forces provided that this can be done without prejudicing the success of these and without endangering the lives of those involved.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence on what dates each of the payments of damages in respect of interrogation in depth was made; and under which heading and sub-heading in the Estimates such payments are made.

Payments of damages in connection with interrogation in depth have been made as follows:

Mr. J. P. Auld	30.1.75
Mr. J. Clarke	31.12.74
Mr. M. J. Donnelly	30.1.75
Mr. P. McClean	23.1.75
Mr. G. McKerr	1.7.74
Mr. P. M. McNally	31.12.74
Mr. M. J. Montgomery	9.8.73
Mr. P. Shivers	22.2.74

The Ministry of Defence share of these payments is debited to Ministry of Defence Estimates Vote 5—Defence Administrative Services, Stores and Supplies—Subhead Q—Compensation for Losses, Damage, etc.—item (2).

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the total number of persons serving in and associated with Her Majesty's Forces, including members of Service men's families, currently in West Germany.

The information for those currently serving in the Federal Republic of Germany, including the Western Sector of Berlin, is as follows:

Members of Her Majesty's Forces	62,490
Civilians working with Her Majesty's Forces, including both United Kingdom based and locally engaged	30,658
Dependants of Her Majesty's Forces	81,775
Dependants of United Kingdom based civilians, as at 1st January 1974	2,108
	177,031

These figures do not include approximately 4,000 Service personnel belonging to units located in West Germany who are temporarily serving in Ulster, but include their dependants who remain behind.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many postgraduate students are currently studying for a diploma in stage management; and of these how many are in receipt of a major award.

The information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what is the total number of unemployed males and females, skilled and unskilled, in the Newton parliamentary constituency currently notified to his Department; and what were the comparable figures for the same date last year;(2) what is the total number of job vacancies, male and female, skilled and unskilled, in the Newton parliamentary constituency currently notified to his Department; and what were the comparable figures for the same date last year.

Statistics are not available in the precise form requested but the following table shows an analysis by occupational group of the data for employment offices at September 1974 and September 1973. The figures relate to the area covered by the Golborne, Irlam, Newton-le-Willows and Warrington employment offices, which includes most of the Newton constituency and also covers the Warrington constituency. The vacancy statistics relate only to vacancies notified to employment offices and are not a measure of total vacancies. Owing to industrial action at local offices of the Employment Service Agency the normal occupational analysis for December 1974 is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the estimated average cost per placing by the Employment Service Agency—excluding the Professional and Executive Register—in 1974, placings being defined as those which have lasted for 10 weeks or more.

I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that the calculation cannot be made because the Employment Service Agency does not collect information about the duration of its placings.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what was the average annual percentage growth in the cost of living in each of the member States of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development during the periods 1948 to 1958 and 1958 to 1973, respectively.

The information available is given in the following table:

AVERAGE ANNUAL PERCENTAGE INCREASE IN CONSUMER PRICE INDICES
	1948–1958	1958–1973
Canada	2·5	3·0
United States	1·8	2·9
Japan	5·7	5·6
Australia	7·5	3·4
Austria	8·6	3·8
Belgium	1·3	3·2
Denmark	3·9	5·6
Finland	7·2	4·3
France	7·3	3·4
Germany, Federal Republic of	1·7	3·1
Greece	7·6	3·0
Iceland	9·0	10·6
Ireland	4·0	5·1
Italy	2·8	4·2
Luxembourg	2·6	2·8
Netherlands	4·1	4·7
Norway	4·8	4·5
Portugal	0·9	5·6
Spain	5·9	6·5
Sweden	4·4	4·3
Switzerland	1·1	5·7
Turkey	6·8	7·2
United Kingdom	4·4	4·5
Yugoslavia	Not available	12·2

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what was the rate of unemployment in each of the nine member States of the EEC and their constituent regions in 1960, 1970 and the latest year for which comparative statistics are available; and what was the rate for each of the regions expressed as a percentage of the average rate of unemployment in the corresponding member State as a whole.

The following table gives the information which is available. It is regretted that the rates for France and Luxembourg and comparative regional statistics are not available:

RATES OF UNEMPLOYMENT IN THE MEMBER STATES OF THE EEC
Per cent.
	Note	1960	1970	1973
United Kingdom	1 (i)	1·6	2·6	2·7
Belgium	1 (ii)	5·4	2·9	3·6
Denmark	2	4·3	2·9	2·4
France	Not available
Germany, Federal Republic of	1 (iii)	1·2	0·7	1·2
Ireland	3	6·7	7·2	7·2
Italy	4	4·2	3·2	3·5
Luxembourg	Not available
Netherlands	1 (iv)	1·2	1·1	2·7
Explanatory Notes:
1 Registered unemployed.
2 Unemployed among insured members of trade union funds.
3 Compulsory unemployment insurance statistics. Excludes agriculture, fishing and private domestic services.
4 Labour Force Sample Survey.
(i) Wholly unemployed.
(ii) Wholly unemployed receiving insurance benefits.
(iii) The 1970 and 1973 figures for Germany (Federal Republic of) include Berlin whereas it is excluded in 1960. The rate for West Berlin in 1960 was 3·7 per cent.
(iv) The 1960 figure for the Netherlands excludes persons employed on emergency public works.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will take steps, in the light of the recent defence review, designed to ensure that manpower released from employment on the manufacture of armaments, directly or indirectly, is retrained and redeployed.

I am advised by the Manpower Services Commission that all the resources of both the Employment Service Agency and the Training Services Agency will be made available to assist those who may be made redundant.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make an official visit to Kirkby to discuss its unemployment problems with those most directly affected.

I am aware of the unemployment problems in Kirkby and I hope I shall be able to visit the area in the not too distant future.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he is satisfied with the co-ordination of the activities of the Engineering Construction and Petroleum Training Boards in connection with the creation and build up of offshore oil platform fabrication activity in Scotland.

I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that a national committee has been set up by its Training Services Agency to look into the co-ordination needed to meet key manpower skill requirements of the industries involved in North Sea oil development and engineering construction. Consideration is being given to the setting up of regional committees, including a committee for Scotland.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what action has been taken by the Petroleum Training Board and Rubber and Plastics Training Board, respectively, to prepare for the increase in employment in Scotland due to the geographical proximity to Scotland of North Sea oil fields and the landing of oil in Scotland.

I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that manpower projections of offshore employment have been prepared by the Petroleum Industry Training Board in consultation with the industry. A drilling technology training centre is being established for senior personnel and rig crew. Training courses are being developed to improve the capability of the available labour force in Scotland. The board is implementing a plan of staff development to meet the predicted needs.The Rubber and Plastics Processing Industry Training Board is not yet affected by the anticipated increase in employment opportunities arising from the North Sea development.