asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he is satisfied with the use of commercial transport in retaining the credibility of Great Britain's specialist reinforcement troops in the wake of the latest defence cuts.

Yes. One of the objectives of the Defence Review has been to match transport resources with our revised reinforcement commitments. In any major emergency military resources would be supplemented as necessary by using commercial transport under arrangements which are of long standing.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the countries where a political embargo on export sales of United Kingdom military equipment currently applies.

No. Because circumstances do not remain static, successive Governments have found it necessary to consider exports of defence equipment individually and to examine the political, strategic and commercial implications in each case. I would refer the hon. Member to the statements made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on the supply of arms to South Africa and Chile on 4th December 1974 and 21st May 1975.—[Vol. 882, c. 1555–66; Vol. 892, c. 1389–90.]

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many regular reservists were involved in exercise "Inside Right".

No Regular reservists were called out to take part in the exercise.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what was the cost of the recent military exercise, Inside Right; how many gallons of fuel were consumed in this connection; and over what distances personnel were transported to take part.

Exercise "Inside Right" took place between 6th October and 26th October 1975. Much of the expenditure associated with the exercise cannot be distinguished from normal day-to-day expenditure, and it will be some time before we can identify the "extra costs", which will be made up largely of overtime pay for civilians and movement costs. However, these costs are estimated to be about £250,000. Figures are not available for the number of gallons of fuel used during the exercise.1,175 TAVR personnel were moved to the Continent with 147 vehicles. This movement was part of the BAOR's normal training and would have taken place in any event. In addition, some 900 vehicles were used to make a representative movement of some 2,100 men from their depots to ports and airfields from which reinforcements for British Forces Germany would be embarked in wartime. For the most part these movements took place within command areas.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the effect of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act on awards for long service and good conduct.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether any of the historic aircraft recently stored at RAF Colerne are to be destroyed following the closure of the station; and, if so, which.

Most of the 29 historic aircraft which were in the collection at RAF Colerne are in the process of being transferred to other RAF stations, in particular to the regional collections at Cosford, Finningley and St. Athan where they will be put on display. The remaining aircraft, of which there are duplicates elsewhere within the RAF, are being offered for sale to historic aircraft bodies as complete aircraft for display purposes.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will discuss with Her Majesty's Government's allies contingencies and the holding of exercises aimed at ensuring the continued security of oil traffic from the Gulf to the United Kingdom following the development by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics of a naval base at Somalia.

Such arrangements already exist.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish the memorandum of undertaking on Anglo-American defence purchasing which he recently concluded with Mr. Schlesinger.

It is not the practice to publish documents of this kind; I am, however, arranging to have a copy placed in the House of Commons Library. In accordance with one of the provisions of the memorandum of understanding British industry through the trade associations concerned has been informed of the main provisions of the memorandum and will be kept informed of progress with arrangements for its implementation.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what reduction in the establishment of the Army Education Corps is planned as a result of the defence review.

As a result of the Defence Review, the establishment of the Army Education Corps will be reduced by some 4 per cent.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what internal redecoration and furnishings were done to the Palace of Westminster during the Summer Reccess; and at what cost, item by item.

The following work was carried out:

Redecoration
	£
Library Room "B", House of Commons	3,750
Black Rod's Staircase	1,100
Serjeant-at-Arm's Staircase
Staircase at Peers lift
Chancellors Gate
Centre Curtain	600
Corridor
Ground floor and second floor corridors	600
House of Lords West Front
Cholmondeley Room	550
Division Lobbies	3,750
Serjeant-at-Arms offices	850
North Curtain corridor and Library Search area	850
Leader of the Oppositions offices	700
Press Buffet Bar	500
Wine and Food cellars and staff canteen	1,500
Room No. 29 Principal Floor House of Lords	120
Police Mess rooms, St. Stephens and Chancellors Gate	950
Members Families Rest Room	600
16 Rooms, Committee Corridor	6,000
Ceilings in the Whips Offices	400
Reviving oakwork in Chess Room	300
	£23,120
Furnishing
Ways and Means Corridor, Carpet and underlay	1,467
Members Post Office, Carpet and underlay	315
Room 24, Carpet and under lay	344
Room 25, Carpet and under lay	344
Room 26, Carpet and under lay	344
Whips Office, Carpet and underlay	262
Librarians Office, Carpet and underlay	262
Lords Chamber, Throne, Carpet and underlay	884
Commons Chamber, Carpet and underlay	1,475
Strangers Gallery, Carpet and underlay	689
Room 6, Furniture and clock	1,330
Doorkeepers Room, Furnishings	1,650
Police Mess Rooms, Furnishings	1,124
Peers Bar, Roller Blinds	112
Total	£10,602

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the annual cost of heating the Palace of Westminster and outhouses; and how much money would be saved annually by a 5 per cent. cut in temperature.

The annual cost of heating the Palace of Westminster and outbuildings, excluding Norman Shaw North, is about £85,000. Heating for Norman Shaw North is supplied by the Whitehall heating mains system and no separate costs are available. A theoretical reduction in temperature of 5 per cent. would result in an annual saving of about £3,500. In practice this would not be possible since the existing steam heating system serving the majority of the Palace of Westminster does not permit the regulation of temperature. Radiators cannot be regulated; only turned either full on or off. The small air-conditioned areas can be controlled. Consideration is currently being given to the question of modernising the distribution system.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his latest estimate, expressed in absolute terms and as the number per 1,000 households, of the number of families on the waiting lists for local authority houses in each of the regions of England.

It is not possible to assemble the information required without disproportionate cost. Waiting lists for local authority houses do not provide a reliable guide to comprehensive housing needs and a central record is not maintained by my Department.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the area of derelict land cleared and the amount of money spent on the clearance of derelict land in each region of England, Scotland and Wales, by year for 1970–73, and by quarter thereafter.

The information is not available in the particular detail requested. Following is the nearest available information relating to each of the three countries:

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the present estimated annual cost of clearing litter from streets and public places in Great Britain.

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environmnet what is the total of dispossession of business tenants that have occurred during the last six months resulting from decontrol.

The effect of the decontrol of business rents was to allow the recovery of increased rents provided for in agreements between landlord and tenant or determined by the courts. Statsitics of forfetiure orders granted against business tenants for whatever reason, are not separately available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to approve the North West Kent town map; and what are the reasons which have delayed his decision on this matter.

Subject to consultations with the local planning authority, my right hon. Friend will be announcing his proposed modifications very shortly. The delay is regretted; this is a complex map and it has been necessary to give priority to other development plan submissions in Kent.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if the Government have decided how to reimburse those local authorities which have been faced with additional and unforeseen expenditure as a result of the use of high alumina cement in the construction of public buildings.

Discussions are still in progress with representatives of the local authorities about the financial implications in the public sector arising from the use of this material.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has any immediate plans for introducing legislation to relieve unoccupied property from liability for rates.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what statistical results have emerged so far from his local authority "staff watch" exercise; and to what purpose he intends to put the information he has received

The figures for June, relating to total employment by local authorities in England and Wales, showed an increase of 10,785–0·70 per cent—full-time and 15,231–1·69 per cent.—part-time employees over the figures for the March quarter. Only two returns have so far been made, however, and it is too soon to detect any trend in the figures which are likely to have been affected by a number of factors including seasonal fluctuations. The joint manpower watch is not intended to regulate numbers; that is the responsibility of individual authorities. Its aim is to alert both local government and the Government to changes in total numbers, and thus to provide a background against which to examine the reasons for increases in manpower.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he intends to impose cash limits on the combined total of rate support grant and RSG increase orders in 1976–77; and if he will make a statement.

I shall shortly be discussing with the Consultative Council on Local Government Finance details of how cash limits can be applied to the rate support giant for 1976–77. Increase orders for previous years will in any event not be subject to cash limits.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proposals he has for legislation to ensure that sons or daughters can succeed to the tenancy of a farm when the parent retires.

We have no proposals for amending the legislation for this purpose.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) to whom surplus apples in the EEC are being distributed; what is the subsidy per pound paid to farmers; and to what other uses the surplus is being put;(2) what is the size of the apple mountain in the EEC; and what will be the estimated cost to the EEC Budget as a whole and to the United Kingdom in particular.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his estimate of the British contribution to the stockpiling of apples currently being proposed by the Common Market.

The Community apple crop for 1975 is provisionally estimated at 6·8 million tonnes or only some 0·2 million tonnes over the 1970–74 average. The market régime allows producer organisations to withdraw apples from the market at low predetermined prices; subject to certain conditions they are compensated from Community funds. Disposal of such produce is through specified channels: charities, schools, distillation into alcohol and use for animal feed, although with such perishable produce some inevitably becomes unfit for consumption.It is difficult at this early stage to estimate the total quantity that may be withdrawn this season. So far it is estimated that some 100,000 tonnes have been withdrawn.Withdrawals in recent years have been estimated as:

	Production million tonnes	Withdrawals million tonnes
1971–72	6·9	0·2
1972–73	6·0	0·002
1973–74	7·4	0·4
1974–75	5·8	0·03

Community compensation will vary with a number of factors but the October estimate for Golden Delicious is about 5·5 UAs per 100 kilos—about 1·4p. per lb. On this basis withdrawals of 100,000 tonnes would involve compensation of about 5·5 million UAs—£3·1 million—of which the United Kingdom contribution would be about £0·4 million.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheres and Food whether he will give an assurance that he will not agree to any proposal by the EEC to introduce import control on apples from non-EEC countries, particularly from the Commonwealth.

The Commission is considering the apple supply position and whether any special action is justified, It would be inappropriate to comment before it has reported to the Council of Ministers.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he intends to introduce new legislation to replace the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1974.

The Act is due to lapse, unless renewed, on 28th November. I have come to the conclusion that the powers conferred by the Act should be continued and, in accordance with the undertaking I gave the House last May, I therefore intend to introduce fresh legislation. I am today laying in draft an order, which is subject to the Affirmative Resolution procedure, to continue the operation of the Act for an interim period while Parliament considers the new measures.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department who is responsible for informing the family and solicitor of the transfer of a prisoner transferred from a prison to a psychiatric hospital.

The governor is responsible for informing the next of kin when a prisoner is transferred to a psychiatric hospital. There are no instructions about informing solicitors.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department who is responsible for informing the family and solicitors of a prisoner awaiting trial of his transfer from one prison to another.

In the case of an unconvicted prisoner under the age of 21, the governor is responsible for informing the next of kin of a transfer. Prisoners over that age are allowed a letter at public expense to inform whoever they wish. There are no instructions about solicitors.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the total compensation paid from public funds to the next of kin of the 56 people killed, and the amount paid to the 970 injured, by acts of terrorism in England since 1st January 1972.

Between 1st January 1972 and 23rd October 1975, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board has received applications in respect of 32 deaths and 478 cases of injury arising out of terrorist acts. The board has paid out a total of £251,699 in compensation. £51,715 has been paid to the dependants of those who were killed and £91,126 has been paid in final awards to those who were injured. A further £108,858 has been paid in interim awards to those who were injured and whose cases have not yet been settled.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list by country of origin the numbers of new Commonwealth immigrants accepted for settlement in the United Kingdom for 1975 up to the latest date for which figures are available.

Following are the numbers of citizens of countries of the New Commonwealth accepted for settlement on arrival or on revocation of conditions in the first six months of 1975 as recorded in the quarterly statistics, which are available in the Library.

Bangladesh	1,050
Barbados	202
Cyprus	971
Ghana	332
Guyana	238
Hong Kong	1,006
India	4,829
Jamaica	627
Kenya	1,038
Malaysia	908
Malta	84
Mauritius	745
Nigeria	320
Rhodesia	121
Sierra Leone	95
Singapore	141
Sri Lanka	433
Tanzania	371
Trinidad and Tobago	432
Uganda	291
West Indies Associated States	305
Zambia	62
United Kingdom passport holders	6,838
All other territories	213
Total	21,652

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many immigrants were assisted with repatriation in 1974 and in 1975 to the nearest convenient date.

192 persons were so assisted in 1974 and 53 in the period 1st January to 30th June 1975, under the provisions of Section 29 of the Immigration Act 1971. The corresponding figures for those assisted to leave under the scheme operated by the Supplementary Benefits Commission are 129 and 72 and for those assisted under Section 90 of the Mental Health Act 1959, nine and four.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many wives and children of immigrants settled on 1st January 1973 may still claim admission to the United Kingdom; and whether they are fully listed.

Lists of such wives and children are not available. It has never been the practice to publish estimates of this kind; and any forecast of future immigration would necessarily be speculative since numbers arriving may be affected by a wide variety of factors.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will make a statement on the deportation after conviction of aliens,

NUMBERS OF DEPORTATIONS FOLLOWING A CONVICTION
Year			Recommended by a court(Section 3(6) of the Immigration Act 1971)			As conducive to the public good(Section 3(5)(b)of the Immigration Act 1971)
					Foreign nationals	Irish citizens	Commonwealth citizens	Foreign nationals	Irish citizens	Commonwealth citizens
1974	…	…	118	72	84	17	1	Nil
1975 (to 31st August)	…	…	100	68	94	21	3	1
The deportation orders enforced in a particular calendar year are not all related to court recommendations made in that year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why Dr. Blakemore, director of medical studies at Downing College, Cambridge, was given a licence to carry out experiments on the eyes of kittens at the Physiology Laboratory, Cambridge.

Dr. Blakemore was issued with a licence under the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876 because he was suitably qualified. The experiments referred to were authorised by certificates properly given under the Act which we saw no reason to disallow.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation based on the recommendations in the Erroll Committee Report on Licensing.

The Government are pressing ahead with their review of the Erroll Committee's recommendations, but I can see little prospect of a Government measure being introduced next

Persons who have no right of abode in the United Kingdom and are convicted of criminal offences may—except where they are Commonwealth citizens or citizens of the Irish Republic exempt from deportation under the circumstances specified in Section 7 of the Immigration Act 1971—be deported on the recommendation of a court or by the exercise of my right hon. Friend's powers under Section 3(5)(b) of the 1971 Act.The relevant figures are as follows:Session. The introduction of a Private Member's Bill could be an appropriate way of enabling the House to express an opinion on these matters.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation to modernise the definition of charities.

We are studying the recommendations made in the recent report from the Expenditure Committee.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he is taking in respect of the 307 applicants among the illegal immigrants in the United Kingdom who have been found ineligible to benefit from the Government's amnesty as notified to the hon. Member for Halesowen and Stourbridge on 21st October.

Each case is carefully considered on its merits. No one who has claimed the benefit of my announcement is expelled from the United Kingdom, whether by formal deportation or otherwise, unless his case has been examined personally by a Minister.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will now redefine the categories of persons precluded from entering the United Kingdom from Rhodesia, having regard to the present effects of the previous policy.

People from Southern Rhodesia are refused admission where this is justified under the Immigration Rules and the Southern Rhodesia (Immigration Act 1971) Order 1972.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will make a statement on the position of patrials awaiting entry certificates to the United Kingdom;(2) if he is satisfied with the workings of the Immigration Act 1971, in view of recent decisions in the law courts;(3) if he is satisfied with the definition of patrial in the Immigration Act 1971.

Instructions have been given to ensure that applications for entry clearances by dependants identified as patrial who seek to come here for settlement are processed with minimal delay.We intend to discard the concept of patriality following the current review of our nationality law and to define the right of entry into the United Kingdom by reference to citizenship. Meanwhile, we are keeping the operation of the 1971 Act under constant review and, after the law of citizenship has been amended, it will be replaced by a new immigration law.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to defer the Local Government Boundary Commission review of metropolitan district electoral arrangements for a period of two years.

No. The Commission is required, under Schedule 9 of the Local Government Act 1972, to review the electoral arrangements for any new district in England as soon as possible after the first election of councillors for that district; and my right hon. Friend has no power to direct it in a manner incompatible with this requirement.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will undertake an inquiry into those aspects of the "Eagle" affair relating to the powers, activities and duties of the police in a dispute, where one party to same holds the property of private citizens against their will.

I am not persuaded that an inquiry into the police aspects of this matter is called for.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will make a statement on the future of the Drypool Group and the effect this liquidation will have on employment in Hull and the surrounding area.

The receiver's report on the prospects for the completion of most of the ships on the order book and the long-term future of the group's facilities is under urgent consideration. In the meantime, work on existing orders in the yards is continuing.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what is the total value of paper and paper products manufactured in the United Kingdom in 1974 and his estimate of the proportion by which production will be altered in 1975.

The estimated value of paper and paper products excluding building board sold by United Kingdom manufacturers in 1974 was £2,400 million. No estimate is available of the proportion by which this figure will alter in 1975.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what representations he has received about the setting up of the proposed Co-operative Development Agency; and if he will make a statement.

We have had views from the General Secretary of the Cooperative Union and members of the Industrial Common Ownership Movement, but I am not yet able to make a statement.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he has met a delegation from the British Textile Employers' Association to discuss the level of textile imports and his Department's policy regarding the survival of a viable United Kingdom textile industry.

My right hon. Friend will be meeting representatives of the British Textile Employers' Association on 4th November, when he will be discussing a number of issues including those referred to by the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will make it the practice of his Department to place orders for goods with British firms operating in areas of high unemployment such as the West Midlands.

No. The primary objective of public purchasing must be to obtain the best value for money. My Department does, however, in common with other Government Departments, operate the contracts preference schemes for development areas.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry whether he will now publish the results of the Concorde noise measurements made at Casablanca; and if he will make a statement.

The noise measurements at Casablanca, to which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade referred in his statement of 13th October, were carried out in November and December 1974 during a series of flight demonstrations of the production Concorde 202. The measurements, using procedures specified in United States Federal Aviation Regulations Part 36, which are analogous to International Civil Aviation Organisation techniques contained in Annex 16 of the Chicago Convention, were made by the British Aircraft Corporation, Aerospatiale and the Service Technique de la Navigation Aérienne.The report is now available, and shows that the trials resulted in readings of 119·5 EPNdB—effective perceived noise decibels—on take off 116·7 EPNdB on landing, and 112·2 EPNdB on sideline. These figures are comparable with those of the older narrow-bodied subsonic jets:

	EPNdB
	Take off	Landing
Boeing 707–320C	114	120
DC8–61	115	116

A copy of the report has been placed in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what rate of dividend is payable on the £2 million non-cumulative preference shares held by the Government in Marathon Shipbuilding; whether the shares are redeemable; and, if so, when.

The £2 million preference shares which were purchased by the Department on 31st December 1974 carry a dividend of 6 per cent. net. They are redeemable by the company not later than 30th March 1987.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what action is being taken by his Department to co-ordinate the proposed machine tool purchases of British Leyland with the machine tool industry.

On the initiative of my Department consultations have taken place between British Leyland and representatives of the machine tool industry to ensure that the industry has a full appreciation of the scale and timing of the company's future requirements. The Department, together with the Machine Tool Trades Association and the Machine Tools EDC, is keeping in close touch with developments.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what was the original estimated cost, and the current estimated cost both at actual and constant prices, of each of the CEGB nuclear power stations currently under construction.

The CEGB has four nuclear power stations currently under

£ Million
	Dungeness "B"	Hinkley Point "B"	Hartlepoot	Heysham
Date of original estimate	31st March 1965	31st March 1966	31st October 1968	30th November 1970
Original estimate at prices at dates given above	89	95	92	142
Current estimated actual costs (i.e. at prices as actually paid or anticipated to be paid in future)	280	140	220	240
Current estimated costs at constant prices ruling at date(s) of original estimates	186	126	158	174

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what are the implications for the electricity supply industry, in terms of generating capacity and employment opportunities, of current trends in national demand for electricity; and if he will make a statement.

A joint statement issued by the electricity supply industry's National Joint Advisory Council on 16th October gave details of a programme of closures and partial shut-down of a number of older power stations, employing at 31st July 1975 a total of 4,952 men. Some 3,419 MW of generating capacity are affected. The unions have made it clear that they will not accept any compulsory redundancies. The aim is to deal with staff problems through such measures as redeployment to other sectors of the industry—with retraining where necessary—through natural wastage and through early retirement in the case of older workers.My right hon. Friend shortly intends to discuss the general closure position with both management and unions.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy (1) if he will give details of the expenditure incurred by the National Coal Board in the development of the CB/34 room heater;(2) if he will publish details of the sales of National Coal Board CB/34 room heater for the years 1973–74 and the first six months of 1975;

The National Coal Board has been responsible to date for the basic development of a series of six "Smoke Eater" appliances of which the Rayburn CB/34 is one. The board informs me that it is unable to segregate the costs applicable to the basic development of this particular appliance.The National Coal Board does not itself manufacture or sell the Rayburn CB/34 or other appliances and it does not therefore have details of sales.I am not in a position to judge the performance of the appliance. However, I am asking the Chairman of the NCB to write to the hon. Member on this point.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what discussions he has had with Great Britain's partners in the proposed Joint European Torus; when he expects this project to be approved; and where it will be located.

I discussed the Joint European Torus (JET) with my Ministerial counterparts during my recent visits to Western Europe. Also my officials are participating in discussion of it in the working groups of the EEC Council. It is expected that Miinsters will be asked to reach decisions on the Euratom fusion programme, of which JET forms part, by the end of this year. No decision has yet been taken on siting of JET. The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority's establishment at Culham would provide a very suitable site for the project.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what additional capital the Government will make available to British Nuclear Fuels Limited.

The Government have decided to provide £25 million additional capital for this company during the financial years 1975–76 and 1976–77. It will take the form of:

(a) in 1975–76, £10 million to be made available by way of an issue of shares taken up by the Atomic Energy Authority;

(b) in 1976–77, £5 million by way of a further issue of shares to the Atomic Energy Authority, and £10 million by way of loans from the National Loans Fund.

Pending the presentation of a supplementary Estimate for the £10 million equity in 1975–76 it will be necessary to have recourse to the Contingencies Fund.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what effect CTT has had on private planting in the Scottish forestry industry; and what is his forecast of the effect on the extent of planting in 1976.

It is too early to assess what, if any, effect CTT has had on planting in the private sector in Scotland. The relief provided to private woodland owners in Schedule 9 of the Finance Act 1975 should be compatible with the maintenance of an adequate level of planting while maintaining the general principles of the Government on the redistribution of wealth.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of secondary school pupils in Scotland continued full-time education in institutions of higher education in 1974.

About 15 per cent. of school leavers from all schools in Scotland during session 1973–74. A further 7·5 per cent. entered non-advanced courses of further education.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what is the number and proportion of secondary school buildings in Scotland which were built before 1939;(2) what is the number and proportion of primary school buildings in Scotland which were built before 1939.

Information is not available in the form requested, but the following figures for education authority schools as at September 1974 give an indication of the scale of building since the last war in relation to the total number of schools:

	Total number of schools and departments	Number of new schools completed from 1946
Primary	2,510	980
Secondary	443	272
Because of changes in the use of buildings completed since the war the differences between the figures in the first and second columns are not exactly equivalent to the numbers of schools with pre-1946 buildings.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects the work of the Ferguson Committee on the teaching profession to be concluded.

The special review which this Committee was asked to undertake following the Houghton Report was completed on 23rd June when its recommendations were sent to the negotiating committees concerned with the salaries of academic staff in colleges of education, central institutions and further education colleges. The Committee has a continuing remit concerning the grading of courses.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the cost of employing management consultants to select the chief executive of the Scottish Development Agency.

The fee for this consultancy cannot be finally determined until the chief executive is appointed.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many pensioners received aid with telephone installation and rental from local authorities in Scotland in 1973 and 1974 and at what cost; and if he will state the numbers receiving aid as a percentage of those in receipt of pensions in Scotland.

Information about the number of pensioners receiving such aid is not available centrally; nor is information about cost. In 1973, local authorities assisted 544 elderly persons or disabled persons of any age with the installation of a telephone and 449 such persons with the rental of a telephone: it is not known how many of these persons were helped with both installation and rental. Information about assistance with telephones in 1974 is not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland, according to the latest estimates, when the SSEB can expect to take delivery of its first consignment of enrichment services from the URENCO consortium's plants in England and Holland.

As I indicated in my reply of 31st July, fuel contracts are a matter for the board. I am therefore asking the Chairman to write to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list in the Official Report the number and location of smoking withdrawal clinics in Scotland.

So far as I am aware, there is only one such clinic in Scotland. It is held in Dundee.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what proposals he has for tenant participation in the policy-making of the Scottish Special Housing Association.

The association's council of management, one of whose members is a tenant of the association, is already adopting various ways of enabling the interests of tenants to be brought to bear on policies: and the council would have my support if it were to propose further appropriate ways of doing so.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when the capital allocations for 1976–77 to the regional health authorities will be announced.

As soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what conclusion she has reached, following her consideration of the problems posed by the desire of community health councils to study hospital advisory service reports; and if she will make a statement.

The value of the work of the Hospital Advisory Service depends largely on mutual confidence between them and the health authorities and their staffs. To preserve this relationship the reports of the service must be treated in confidence. We have, however, advised authorities in England that, with the exception of material which may be prejudicial to the interests of staff, they may inform community health councils on a confidential basis of recommendations made by the hospital advisory service and, in answer to specific questions about services in hospitals they have visited, of any relevant comments made in their report. We shall keep an eye on the working of these arrangements.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether she will reconsider her decision to withdraw the new mobility allowance from disabled recipients on retirement.

No. In introducing mobility allowance, which will benefit up to 100,000 extra disabled people, we had to have regard to the present economic situation. Even restricting the mobility allowance to those under minimum pension age we shall be trebling the current spending of about £13 million a year on mobility help for disabled people. This is as far as we have felt able to go in current economic conditions.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether she will allow those men who reached the age of 65 years before 6th April and whose pension contributions were, on average, less than 50, to receive their pensions on a pro rata basis, on precisely the same terms as those men who reach the age of 65 years after 6th April.

The contribution conditions under which pensions are currently awarded reflect the new contribution arrangements introduced on 6th April 1975 and apply to people who reached pension age on or after that date. I am satisfied that in all the circumstances this is the appropriate dividing line and that we should not seek to vary—retrospectively—the contribution conditions under which awards have been made in the case

		England		Wales
			Year ended 31st March 1973	Year ended 31st March 1974	Year ended 31st March 1973	Year ended 31st March 1974
Installation and attachments	…	17,470	22,922	1,057	1,525
Rental	…	12,105	28,808	668	1,335
Cost of installation and rental	…	£781,428	£1,491,000	£50,414	£121,000
I regret that comparable information for 1974–75 is not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what would be the cost to the Exchequer of abolishing all private practices administered to United Kingdom nationals and non-residents.

As it is no part of the Government's policy to abolish all private practices—medical or otherwise—in the United Kingdom, there has been no consideration of the effect on the Exchequer of so doing.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if she will encourage the extension of day care nursery facilities for one-parent families.

Among those to whom local authorities already give priority in allocat

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many pensioners received aid with telephone installation and rental from local authorities in England and Wales in 1973 and 1974, and at what cost; and if she will state the numbers receiving aid as a percentage of those in receipt of pensions in these countries.

The information in the form sought is not available as the statistics relate to households helped and not to people; nor do they distinguish between pensioners and others. The number of households where assistance was given to elderly and handicapped people in England and Wales, either under Section 2 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970 or Section 45 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968, with the installation and/or rental of a telephone were as follows:ing day care places are children from one-parent families where the parent has to go out to work, and we are encouraging efforts to meet the needs of priority children for whom no place is yet available. Current constraints imposed by resource limitations emphasise the need to supplement nursery provision by promoting the development of flexible, community-based alternatives such as good child-minding, making fuller use of existing premises and increasing co-ordination between all the agencies concerned with the under-fives, as my hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Construction stressed in the debate on one-parent families on 20th October.—[Vol. 898 c. 165.]

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when she expects to receive the report of the analysis by Dr. Malcolm Brown of local authority surveys under Section 1 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970.

I expect to receive the report early in 1976.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what progress she has made in the method of identification of incapacity to do house work in relation to the non-contributory invalidity pension.

Priority must, of course, be given to the benefits which are being introduced first; but a great deal of effort is being put into the search for a scheme for the housewives' non-contributory invalidity pension that will be workable and fair. Both professional and lay administrative staff are studying the problem in depth. Discussions have been held with outside experts in the fields of disabled living and functional assessment, and further meetings of this kind are planned. Information has been collected on foreign schemes which benefit disabled housewives; in addition a doctor and a lay official from the Department have visited Switzerland to obtain first-hand experience of that country's arrangements in operation. Two series of meetings between officials and representatives of the Disablement Income Group and the Parliamentary All-party Disablement Group respectively are providing a most useful forum for the exchange of ideas. I am very grateful to all who are taking part in these meetings, including the hon. Lady, my hon. Friend the Member for Eccles (Mr. Carter-Jones) and the hon. Member for Eastleigh (Mr. Price). I am anxious to keep up the impetus.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many specialist radiotherapy posts are currently vacant in the Midlands.

One, though another is likely from 1st January 1976.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is her best estimate of the numbers of severely han dicapped children (a) in the categories used by Amelia Harris for adults in her national survey, (b) who are eligible for attendance allowance at either the higher or lower rate and (c) who will become eligible for the mobility allowance.

The information requested is as follows:

(a) On the basis of a number of different studies and sources of data, the number of severely physically or mentally handicapped children, including both those living at home and those in residential care, is probably of the order of 100,000. This estimate is not directly comparable with Amelia Harris's estimate of the number of severely physically handicapped adults living at home.

(b) As at 30th September 1975, higher rate attendance allowance was payable in respect of 22,200 children under the age of 16, and the lower rate allowance was payable in respect of 15,300 children. The number of lower rate awards continues to rise; and the eventual number of awards could be a few thousand higher than the current total.

(c) The number of children who will qualify for mobility allowance in due course is unknown. It might be of the order of 30,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what would be the cost to the Exchequer to have the level of pensions paid to widows of men killed in the First and Second World Wars brought up to the level of pension paid to widows of soldiers killed in Northern Ireland.

The estimated annual cost for all war widow pensioners would be in the order of £100 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many junior hospital doctors are employed in NHS hospitals; and what machinery exists for regular communication between her Department and the junior hospital doctors.

Approximately 17,000 in England and Wales. My officials have regular meetings with representatives of both junior and senior hospital medical staff to discuss terms and conditions of service, manpower, education, and other matters. I am myself available to meet them when necessary.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the amount as a percentage of overtime worked by junior hospital doctors in 1973–74 and to the latest available date.

Information about junior doctors' hours of duty is given in the Doctors' and Dentists' Review Body Report published on 18th September (Cmnd. 6243), especially paragraphs 11 to 14 and Appendix B. In paragraph 12, the Doctors' and Dentists' Review Body reports:

"Overall, full-time staff covered by the survey reported their weekly hours of duty as being 85·6 on average, of which 43·2 were normal duty hours and 42·4 were spent on stand-by or on-call outside these hours. This is about three hours less than the average weekly hours of duty of the small sample in the 1968 survey."

They receive minimum periods of time-off, and where this cannot be given extra duty allowances are paid. The Review Body rejected as "wholly inappropriate" arrangements

"involving premium rates for overtime work similar to those available to manual workers and to some lower paid non-manual workers"

(paragraph 15). It also explains that

"the present remuneration arrangements provide salary scales that cover medical duties during normal weekly hours of duty and at all other times required by the service (including on-call duties) and, in addition, extra duty allowances for periods which impinge on minimum off-duty time"

(paragraph 4).

asked the Secretary of State for the Social Services how many persons were in receipt of sickness benefit in Scotland and Glasgow, respectively, in the most recent week for which figures are available; and if she will give comparable figures for the same period in each of the previous 10 years.

The figures available are for Scotland as a whole, and relate to the numbers of persons recorded, for national insurance purposes, as incapable of work at the end of the statistical year, during the last six years. Figures for years earlier than 1969, and separate figures for claimants in Glasgow, are not available.

Persons claiming incapacity benefit in Scotland
Date (end of statistical year)	Claimants (males and females)
Saturday, 31st May 1969	121,000
Saturday, 30th May 1970	122,000
Saturday, 5th June 1971	109,000
Saturday, 3rd June 1972*	112,000
Saturday, 2nd June 1973*	110,000
Saturday, 1st June 1974*	117,000
* Includes claims for invalidity benefit, the long-term counterpart of sickness benefit, introduced in September 1971.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will make a statement on the progress of the Government's anti-inflation policy.

All the evidence we have seen so far indicates the progress of the policy is satisfactory. 1½ million workers have already concluded settlements within the £6 limit.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the total amount of money sent abroad by people working in this country to their relatives overseas in each of the last five financial years.

Information is not available in exactly the form requested, in particular because of the absence of exchange control on remittances to the Sterling Area before June 1972, and since no distinction is drawn between relatives and other recipients.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the loss to revenue if all personal allowances were to be doubled in value, and the structure of personal tax rates amended to give new bands of taxable income as follows: £0–£3,000 at 35 per cent., £3,000–£4,000 at 40 per cent., £4,000–£5,000 at 45 per cent., £5,000–£6,000 at 50 per cent., £6,000–£7,000 at 55 per cent., £7,000–£8,000 at 60 per cent., £10,000–£12,000 at 65 per cent., £12,000–£15,000 at 70 per cent. and over £15,000 at 75 per cent.

About £7,000 million.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the gain to the Exchequer of abolishing all income tax allowances, apart from the personal, married man's and dependent children's allowances.

I will let my hon. Friend have a reply as soon as possible.