asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will give details of the safety procedures employed during the processing of nuclear waste in the United Kingdom; and if he will give an assurance that he will make a statement if it is decided to import substantial additional quantities of waste from foreign countries for processing.

The processing of irradiated nuclear fuel, including the separation of waste products from it, is carried out by British Nuclear Fuels Limited at Wind-scale, Cumbria. The installation is a licensed site under the nuclear installations Act 1965. The necessary safety standards for processing are provided by means of conditions attached to the licence which is granted by the Health and Safety Executive. The conditions include requirements for establishing operating limits and operating instructions for the processing plant and are enforced by the Executive's Nuclear Installations Inspectorate, which exercises strict control at all licensed sites. Some irradiated fuel is processed at United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority sites, which are not subject to licensing but which are required to maintain the same standards as those applied at licensed sites.As already announced, the Government are considering whether it would be acceptable for further processing work for overseas customers to be undertaken here. When a decision has been reached, I shall in due course announce it.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the reason for not agreeing to the European anti-pollution scheme.

At the Council of Ministers of the Environment at Luxembourg on 16th October the United Kingdom Government remained in broad agreement with other member States and the Commission on the aims to be pursued in the current European Environment Programme and its development, and a number of legislative proposals were agreed. On one particular draft directive there was only a discussion of the principles involved. This directive seeks to impose uniform emission limits throughout the Community for the discharge of certain substances into rivers and tidal waters.There is no warrant for uniform emission standards in the programme agreed by member States two years ago. In the Government's view it makes no sense to impose the same controls on discharges into such widely differing environments as the Mediterranean and the North Sea or coastal waters and inland rivers. Uniform controls which take no account of local environmental circumstances would lead to a waste of the resources which are available for controlling water pollution. It was agreed at the Council that the decision on the draft directive should be deferred so that there could be further talks between the Commission and the United Kingdom Government and allow other member States more time to consider the United Kingdom attitude. Another Council will be held on 8th December to consider this proposal again.I have arranged for the speech which I made to the Council on this problem to be placed in the Library of the House.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his policy towards the EEC Commission's proposals concerning pollution of seas and rivers.

I refer the hon. Member to the replies given to the hon. Member for Esher (Mr. Mather) on 23 rd October 1975—[Vol. 898, c. 263–4]—and to the hon. Member for Moray and Nairn (Mrs. Ewing) today.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether she will make a statement on the state of morale in her Department.

Yes. A report appeared in the Daily Mail on 27th October headed "Barbara's Top Men Revolt". On the day that the report appeared Sir Philip Rogers, Permanent Secretary of the Department of Health and Social Security issued the following statement:

"There is not a word of truth in the assertions made prominently in today's Daily Mail that my Department are in revolt against Mrs. Castle, the Secretary of State.

The newspaper begins by saying that Mrs. Castle faces 'unprecedented criticism among her own senior Civil Servants' and that they are openly critical of the excessive time they have to spend executing political decisions instead of dealing with the practical problems afflicting the Health Service.

There is no truth in the allegations that Mrs. Castle's senior advisers are disloyal to her. The task of the Civil Service is to carry out the policies of the Government in office. We serve Mrs. Castle with the same loyalty that we have always given to Ministers, and which all Civil Servants give to their Ministers.

It is also untrue that I have specially warned Civil Servants not to talk to the Press about this. Such a warning would have been quite unnecessary. The only explanation seems to be the distortion of a routine notice which I issued pointing out that Civil Servants who are approached by the media should notify Information Division. This is common practice throughout the Service, and is designed to facilitate the flow of information."

It is a matter which reflects seriously upon the journalistic standards of the Daily Mail that, having been made fully aware of the whole text of this statement, it chose to carry part only of it, omitting that part which directly contradicted its story, namely, that

"there is not a word of truth in the assertions made prominently in today's Daily Mail that my Department are in revolt against Mrs. Castle, Secretary of State".

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what he estimates to be the cost to public funds this year of Her Majesty's Embassy in Bonn.

The cost of our embassy at Bonn during the financial year ended 31st March 1975 was approximately £1·6 million. This figure represented costs borne by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and excluded the costs of some specialist staff borne on the Votes of other Departments and of accommodation borne on the Vote of the Property Services Agency.Foreign and Commonwealth Office expenditure on the Embassy at Bonn in the present financial year is running at the rate of about £1·8 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he is satisfied that the number of staff at the High Commission in Nicosia is adequate, in present circum stances, to protect and assist British subjects in Cyprus.

The staff complement has not changed since my reply to the hon. Member's Question of 26th November 1974.—[Vol. 882, c. 157.] I am satisfied that it is adequate to give consular protection and assistance to citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies within the limitations imposed by the situation.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress he has made in his discussions with the Ugandan Government about the transfer to the United Kingdom of the assets of British citizens now settled in Great Britain.

As a result of my right hon. Friend's meeting with President Amin on the 10th of July, a British official delegation held discussions in Kampala between the 16th and the 22nd of September. Some progress was made over outstanding compensation issues and it was agreed that there would be further talks. I hope that these will take place before long.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last paid an official visit to Spain.

My right hon. Friend has never done so.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on recent conversations with the Foreign Minister of South Africa.

My right hon. Friend has not seen Dr. Muller since January. I had talks with him in London on 22nd September and discussed recent developments in Southern Africa and, in particular, the questions of Rhodesia and Namibia.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what replies he has received from the Turkish Government in response to his request that the Turks should define the area in Cyprus which they consider should be the new Turkish Cypriot Federal State of Cyprus.

With the United States arms embargo and the Turkish Senate elections out of the way, I have said to the Turkish Government that I hope they will encourage the Turkish Cypriots to resume negotiations on the fundamental issues, particularly territory. Confidential exchanges are continuing.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to make an official visit to Cyprus.

I have no plans to do so at present.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he plans to make an early visit to Portugal.

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he next expects to meet the Foreign Minister of Portugal.

I last met Major Antunes at the European Council of Ministers meeting in Luxembourg on 7th October. I look forward to our next meeting, but I cannot say when that will be.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what further representations have been made by Her Majesty's Ambassador to Portugal on the matter of the detention of political prisoners in Portugal since his answer to the hon. Member for Epping Forest on 6th August 1975.

Admiral Azevedo stated on 13th September that all political prisoners would be brought to trial as soon as possible. In view of this, we have not considered it necessary to make further representations to the Portuguese Government. I can assure the hon. Member that Her Majesty's Government continue to attach great importance to this matter.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he intends to visit the People's Republic of China.

I hope to visit China in May of next year as the guest of the Chinese Foreign Minister, Mr. Chiao Kuanhua. This will be part of a tour of East Asia, which will include a visit to Japan, for the annual ministerial consultations, and also to Hong Kong.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps Her Majesty's Government are taking towards the implementation of the resolution passed at the end of the Seventh Special Session of the United Nations.

The resolution adopted by consensus at the end of the Seventh Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly on development and international economic co-operation calls for various studies and for action in a number of international bodies over the coming months. Her Majesty's Government will play their full part in this work.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Common wealth Affairs if he is satisfied, following the ECSC Conference, with the arrangements for monitoring the actions of the USSR, particularly with regard to Basket 3 of the agreement.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the progress being made in implementing the provisions of the conference on security and co-operation in Europe.

With our friends and allies in the European Community and the North Atlantic Alliance, we have embarked on a detailed study of the implementation of the provisions of the Final Act. The decisions of the conference will generally be implemented by unilateral national action on the part of each participating state. It is impossible, so soon after the Helsinki Summit, to form judgments about the way participating states intend to implement its provisions.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make a further statement about his participation in discussion concerning international oil supply and demand.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on membership of the World Conference of Oil Consumers and Producers.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how the United Kingdom will be represented at the World Energy Conference expected to open in Paris on 16th December.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a further statement on British representation at the proposed conference of international oil consuming and producing countries.

I refer the hon. Members and my hon. Friends to the answer I gave earlier this afternoon to the hon. Members for Oswestry (Mr. Biffen) and Glasgow, Cathcart (Mr. Taylor).

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Common wealth Affairs if he is satisfied with the operation of the nuclear non-proliferation agreement; whether Her Majesty's Government have made any recent representations to other countries on this subject; and if he will make a statement.

We are satisfied that, generally speaking, the treaty is operating well, and we are encouraging further States to adhere to it. We are also in touch with other Governments to promote supplementary non-proliferation measures.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the policy of Her Majesty's Government to wards the demilitarisation of the Indian Ocean.

We share the desire of littoral States for some form of arms limitation in the area, and support the proposal by the Australian Government for mutual restraint by the United States and the Soviet Union.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Common wealth Affairs if he is satisfied with the service given by British consuls to British nationals who experience difficulty when abroad on holiday.

Yes. Consular officers do all that can reasonably be expected of them to help British holidaymakers abroad, although the steadily increasing numbers of British tourists overseas impose a very heavy workload on many of our consular posts.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proposals are currently under consideration for dividing up the bed of the North Sea for purposes of oil exploitation, etc., north of latitude 62°.

The United Kingdom/Norway Continental Shelf Agreement (1965) provides that the boundary line shall be the median line, with certain minor divergencies for administrative convenience. Discussions are now taking place between the two Governments to fix the line north of 61 deg 44 min 12 sec.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs by what means he satisfies himself that he is aware of the conviction and sentencing of persons charged with offences involving terrorism in those countries which lack a free Press and which prevent free movement of British Press men in order that he may protest to the Governments concerned in those cases which he concludes merit protest.

It is one of the tasks of British embassies and high commissions abroad to report on matters of importance arising there.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonweath Affairs what steps are being taken by the Government to ensure the prosperity and freedom of the people of Gan after the withdrawal of the Royal Air Force from the island.

We have expressed our readiness to the Government of Maldives to provide advice on development needs and priorities and, in the context of prospective additional aid, to discuss the part the British Government might play in the economic development of the Maldives.Maldives is a sovereign and fully independent State. The protection of its citizens is the responsibility of the Maldivian Government and is a matter in which Her Majesty's Government have no standing.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list in the Official Report any organisation in receipt of public funds from his Department.

Grants and subscriptions exceeding £50,000 per annum are paid by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to each of the following international organisations:

• United Nations.
• UN Force in Cyprus.
• UN Emergency Force.
• Commonwealth Secretariat.
• North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
• Council of Europe.
• Organisation for European Co-operation and Development.
• Western European Union.
• South Pacific Commission.
• South East Asia Treaty Organisation.
• Central Treaty Organisation.

In the current financial year, provision has also been made in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Votes for payments of £20,000 or more to, or on account of each of the following:

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether, for future years after the next occasion, he will seek ways of economising other than by reducing the scale of celebration of the Queen's Birthday in British embassies abroad in view of the effect of this decision on the morale of British citizens abroad.

The decision to reduce the size of the Queen's Birthday Parties was one of a number of economies considered necessary to reduce the scale of public expenditure. The need for economy will continue and I see no prospect of our being able to reverse the decision already reached, which was taken after careful consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Common wealth Affairs what progress he has made in his discussions with the EEC concerning representation at the forthcoming International Energy Conference.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave earlier this afternoon to the hon. Members for Oswestry (Mr. Biffen) and Glasgow. Cathcart (Mr. Taylor).

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Common wealth Affairs what consultations he has had with his EEC colleagues concerning the Patijn Report on direct elections to the European Parliament; and if he will make a statement.

The report by Mr. Patijn was the basis of the European Assembly's draft convention on direct elections. It has not been discussed by the Council of Ministers but, as I told the hon. Member for Mid-Oxon (Mr. Hurd) on 23rd October—[Vol. 898, c. 280.]—the Assembly's draft is being taken into account in the study of direct elections which is now being made in the Council machinery.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will report progress on his negotiations to acquire 51 per cent. of North Sea oil interests.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he now hopes to complete his negotiations with the oil companies on participation.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement about the progress of his discussions with the oil companies about the Government's decision to acquire a 51 per cent. stake in North Sea oil.

Negotiations with a number of the licensees are making progress and seven companies have now agreed to participation in principle. The seven are BP, Burmah, Deminex, Tricentrol, Blackfriars Oil, London and Scottish Marine Oil, and Scottish Canadian Oil and Transportation; the last two of these have announced proposals to merge.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what tasks he has in relation to safeguarding public expenditure.

In carrying out my specific functions I have a Cabinet Minister's general responsibility to have regard to public expenditure.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he is satisfied with the arrangements for the appointment of justices to the Manchester City Magistrates' Court.

I am at present reviewing the operation of these arrangements throughout the Duchy.

asked the Prime Minister what progress he has made with his consultations about the reconvening of a Speaker's Conference upon electoral matters.

I hope to initiate consultations with the leaders of the other parties very shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will outline his plans for encouraging oil companies to engage in sponsorship of the arts.

As I indicated in the reply I gave to a Question by the hon. Member for Newcastle-upon-Tyne. North (Sir W. Elliott) on 15th July last—[Vol. 895, c. 444.]—and in the debate on the Motion for the Adjournament on 21st October—[Vol. 898, c. 443–54.]—I am in close touch with the CBI over increasing industrial sponsorship. I hope that progress can be made towards setting up some suitable machinery for this purpose. My general discussions on sponsorship will apply to oil companies in the same way as to others.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps he is taking to extend the provision of adult education for the mentally handicapped in hospitals.

Provision is made by a number of local aducation authorities, but the possibilities for further progress in this and other areas of adult education are restricted by the restraints on public expenditure.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will consider urging local education authorities to include in their curricula special teaching about the harmful effects of litter and vandalism on the environment.

PERCENTAGE OF PUPILS REMAINING AT SCHOOL*
		Pupils aged 17			Pupils aged 18
			Boys	Girls	Boys and Girls	Boys	Girls	Boys and Girls
North	…	15·8	15·6	15·7	6·3	5·1	5·7
Yorkshire and Humberside	…	16·9	16·2	16·5	6·7	4·9	5·8
North-West	…	14·4	14·7	14·5	5·4	4·4	4·9
East Midlands	…	15·6	15·2	15·4	6·0	4·7	5·3
West Midlands	…	15·8	16·1	16·0	5·8	4·8	5·3
East Anglia	…	14·3	13·9	14·1	4·8	3·9	4·4
South-East	…	21·7	22·1	21·9	7·9	6·5	7·2
South-West	…	16·3	16·9	16·6	5·7	4·7	5·2
England	…	17·7	17·9	17·8	6·6	5·3	6·0
* The numbers of pupils aged 17 and 18 expressed as a percentage of the corresponding school population aged 13 four and five years earlier respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information he has as to whether the size of the nursery school age group, coupled with the current programme of nursery education building in the London borough of Newham, will be such as to achieve his aims of inceasing the proportions of 3 and 4 year olds receiving nursery education.

In the London borough of Newham there were at January 1974, 1,799 children between 2 and 4 years of age attending nursery schools and nursery classes in maintained primary schools mainly on a half-day basis. Assuming that the number of children of nursery school age can be taken as one-half of the 1–4 age group, some 24 per cent. of the nursery school age

It is for local education authorities and the schools and colleges themselves to decide which subjects should take priority. I accept the importance of this aspect of environmental education, but I have no powers to determine the curricula in schools.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proportion of (a) all, (b) male and (c) female secondary school pupils in England and in each English region were still at school at (i) 17 years and (ii) 18 years of age in 1974.

In January 1974 the respective proportions in maintained secondary schools were as follows:group in Newham—as at 30th June 1973, Registrar General's estimates—were receiving nursery education at that time. Under the nursery education building programme Newham has received allocations of £219,500 for 1974–75, £127,000 for 1975–76 and £80,000 for 1976–77. In view of the varying costs of different types of provision, it is not possible to estimate the total number of places that these allocations will provide and it is for authorities to decide which particular projects to carry out and the proportion of children attending whole day. However, on the basis of the authority's estimates of the number of full-time equivalent places in the borough after taking into use the allocations for 1974–76 and of the number of children in the 3–4 age group in 1976 and 1980 I would expect an increase in the proportion of 3 and 4 year olds receiving nursery education to result.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will give the results of the most recent census on pupil maintenance grants, showing for each local education authority the number of pupils for whom maintenance grants were paid, the proportion

Local Education Authority				Number of pupils in receipt of EMA's	Proportion of EMA holders to all pupils over school leaving age	Average annual value of EMA
								(percentage)	(£'s)
Avon	…	…	…	117	2·5	147
Bedfordshire	…	…	…	50	2·5	134
Berkshire	…	…	…	10	0·2	85
Buckinghamshire	…	…	…	17	0·5	122
Cambridgeshire	…	…	…	34	1·5	108
Cheshire	…	…	…	55	1·3	98
Cleveland	…	…	…	63	1·8	84
Cornwall	…	…	…	67	4·9	51
Cumbria	…	…	…	41	1·4	124
Derbyshire	…	…	…	160	3·9	172
Devon	…	…	…	58	1·7	78
Dorset	…	…	…	67	2·7	119
Durham	…	…	…	76	2·8	130
East Sussex	…	…	…	73	2·5	111
Essex	…	…	…	81	0·9	104
Gloucestershire	…	…	…	40	1·4	105
Hampshire	…	…	…	247	3·2	204
Hereford and Worcester	…	…	…	23	0·9	61
Hertfordshire	…	…	…	151	1·9	140
Humberside	…	…	…	216	5·5	110
Isle of Wight	…	…	…	8	1·4	31
Kent	…	…	…	149	1·8	104
Lancashire	…	…	…	198	3·0	149
Leicestershire	…	…	…	67	1·5	89
Lincolnshire	…	…	…	27	1·1	69
Norfolk	…	…	…	48	2·3	70
North Yorkshire	…	…	…	89	2·2	146
Northamptonshire	…	…	…	25	1·2	131
Northumberland	…	…	…	33	2·0	110
Nottinghamshire	…	…	…	56	1·3	169
Oxfordshire	…	…	…	44	2·1	118
Salop	…	…	…	2	0·1	48
Somerset	…	…	…	27	1·8	129
Staffordshire	…	…	…	22	0·2	39
Suffolk	…	…	…	15	0·7	57
Surrey	…	…	…	45	0·6	122
Warwickshire	…	…	…	21	0·8	69
West Sussex	…	…	…	37	0·9	78
Wiltshire	…	…	…	30	1·0	94
Birmingham	…	…	…	350	5·0	102
Coventry	…	…	…	28	1·7	101
Dudley	…	…	…	1	0·07	75
Sandwell	…	…	…	18	1·4	48
Solihull	…	…	…	8	0·9	73
Walsall	…	…	…	43	2·5	197
Wolverhampton	…	…	…	28	1·8	82
Knowsley	…	…	…	76	9·6	102
Liverpool	…	…	…	271	4·2	92
St. Helens	…	…	…	22	3·9	89
Sefton	…	…	…	44	2·5	177
Wirral	…	…	…	64	3·3	99
Bolton	…	…	…	69	7·4	105
Bury	…	…	…	19	3·2	103
Manchester	…	…	…	182	6·8	118
Oldham	…	…	…	13	2·2	102
Rochdale	…	…	…	35	3·8	98

The following table is based on the results of an inquiry carried out in the autumn term 1974. This information is provided with the agreement of the local authority associations which collaborated in the inquiry.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proposals he has for alleviating the cost of transport to school for pupils under school leaving age who now pay adult fares.

A consultative document setting out a possible scheme of revised arrangements for school transport has been sent to the local authority associations and other interested organisations for comment. The scheme in essence would abolish statutory walking distances; empower local education authorities to arrange transport to and from school, wherever in their view circumstances or needs warranted it, at a uniform charge fixed according to prescribed principles; and provide for remission of charge in cases of hardship or handicap. My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Wales and I are considering the policy issues involved and will announce our proposals as soon as possible. I have arranged to have copies of the document placed in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish in the Official Report the real value of university lecturers' salaries, on appropriate scales, for each year from 1970.

The salary scales since 1970 at 1970 prices are as follows:

	Lecturers' Scale	Senior Lecturers' Scale	Professors' Average
	£	£	£
1970	1,491–3,417	Up to 4,401	5,610
1971	1,493–3,371	3,505–4,308	5,463
1972	1,500–3,523	3,523–4,462	5,551
1973	1,501–3,540	3,400–4,278	5,275
1974	1,505–3,351	3,225–4,069	4,920
	1,846–4,021*	3,880–4,882*	5,905*
* Board of Arbitration award of notional salaries at 1st October 1974. Further increases in respect of the period between 1st October 1974 and 30th September 1975 can be added by further negotiations the whole to take effect from 1st October 1975.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will name the local education authorities which have recently admitted "rising fives" to primary school classes, as described in paragraph 12 of his Circular 10/75; and what is his estimate of the reduction in educational expenditure for each authority should it cease such a practice.

Most, if not all, local education authorities at present admit rising fives to primary school classes. It is not possible, within reasonable limits, to arrive at a meaningful estimate of the amount of expenditure each authority would save if it ceased this practice.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what levels of capitation he has fixed for expendable materials for primary and secondary schools, respectively; and if he will make a statement on the considerations that led him to fix these levels.

None. The scope and magnitude of school capitation allowances are entirely for local education authorities to determine.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what estimate he has of the total salary bill in respect of clerical and secretarial staff working inside schools in England and Wales.

Separate returns for the salary costs of schools' clerical and secretarial staff are not made. In the financial year 1974–75 the cost of wages and salaries of all non-teaching staff in primary and secondary schools in England and Wales was £230 million.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what rôle was undertaken by Her Majesty's Government in the recent hearing before the European Commission on Human Rights concerning the imposition of corporal punishment by Isle of Man courts.

The European Convention on Human Rights extends to the Isle of Man, as it does to a number of other territories for whose international relations the United Kingdom is responsible, by reason of a declaration under Article 63 made by the United Kingdom Government. The declaration in respect of the Isle of Man was made after consultation with the Isle of Man Government. The United Kingdom Government also accepted, after consultation with the Isle of Man Government, on behalf of the Isle of Man, the competence of the European Commission to receive petitions from individuals in accordance with Article 25.The petitioner to the European Commission in the case in question contended that birching is prohibited by Article 3 of the Convention, which provides that no one is to be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.Corporal punishment as a judicial penalty has been abolished in the United Kingdom. The retention of the penalty in the Isle of Man is thus contrary to the policy followed in this country and conflicts with the views of Her Majesty's Government. While, however, the Government are opposed to the penalty, and would not countenance its return in the United Kingdom, the criminal law and its administration in the Isle of Man are matters that by constitutional convention normally fall within the sole competence of the Legislature and Government of the Isle of Man. This explains why, although the United Kingdom Government hold the views that they do on judicial corporal punishment, the penalty nevertheless continues to be available for certain offences in the Isle of Man.The position of the United Kingdom Government is, however, that it does not necessarily follow from their opposition to corporal punishment as a judicial penalty that such punishment constitutes a violation of the Convention, and that, as a matter of construction, the Convention does not in fact preclude all forms of judicial corporal punishment.Since the Government of the United Kingdom, as the contracting party to the Convention, are internationally responsible for the observance of the provisions of the Convention, both in the United Kingdom itself and in the territories to which they have extended it under Article 63, the United Kingdom Government were necessarily the respondent to the proceedings before the Commission.The Government were represented in the proceedings by counsel and by Her Majesty's Attorney-General for the Isle of Man, since he would be in a position to deal with policy and circumstances in the Isle of Man.

asked the Secretary of state for the Home Department how many cases of Pakistani citizens refused citizenship of the United Kingdom have been notified to his Department since the coming into force of the Pakistan Act; how many applicants have been refused on the grounds of alleged "broken" residence during the five-year qualifying period; and if he will make a statement.

Between 1st September 1973 and 30th September 1975. 3,813 out of 75,689 decided applications were refused. 2,457 of these refusals were because the period of ordinary residence had not been satisfactorily established, but it is not possible to distinguish cases where the period of ordinary residence had been broken from those where the application failed on other grounds—for example, because it had been made before completion of the required period.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the former President of South Vietnam, General Thieu, has applied for political asylum.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any arrangements have been made to return to Vietnam the children brought to this country under the scheme Project Vietnam Orphans.

None to my knowledge.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, in view of the situation revealed by the statements of account of the Horserace Totalisator Board for 1974–75 and previous years, he will move to appoint a Select Committee to investigate the operations of this Board.

No. The Royal Commission on Gambling will, within its terms of reference, be able to consider the operations of the Totalisator Board.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy (1) what is the current chemical feedstock production in the United Kingdom; and what projections made for 1980, 1985, 1990, 1995 and 2000, respectively;(2) what is the current annual import of petro-chemical feedstock; from which countries are major supplies drawn; and what projections of input and output of such feedstocks are made for 1980, 1985, 1990, 1995 and 2000 respectively.

Products for petro-chemical feedstock are not separately distinguished in statistics of refinery production and arrivals prepared by the oil industry and published annually by the Department in the Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics. Details of the main products delivered to the petro-chemical

'000 tons
			Production	Arrivals	Shipments	Deliveries to petro-chemical plants
Petroleum gases	…	…	1,843	47	164	115
Naphtha	…	…	6,346	2,540	809	6,598
Miscellaneous	…	…	1,392	—	—	386

In addition, some natural gas for use as feedstock was supplied to the petro-chemical industry.Imports of the above products in 1974 from which petro-chemical feedstock supplies may have been drawn, came mainly from the Netherlands, Italy, France and Belgium.Forecasts of the production and input and output of gas and petroleum products for feedstocks are not published. Forecasts up to 1990 of oil and gas for all non-energy uses and oil used in bunkers are contained in the Department of Energy's memorandum on conservation given in evidence to the Select Committee on Science and Technology: Sub-Committee on Energy Resources and published by it.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy how many people, and in what regions, were killed or injured as a result of asphyxiation before the passing of the Gas Safety Regulation 1972, due to inadequate flue construction; and how many have been so affected since.

This information is not available in the form requested; in particular, statistics of fatalities and injuries arising specifically from asphyxiation are not available. However, the British Gas Corporation has provided the following statistics of fatalities from carbon monoxide poisoning. In addition the Registrars-General for England and Wales and Scotland collect and publish a variety of accident statistics of which the hon. Member may already be aware.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy when the new phase of the "Save It" campaign is to start; what will be the cost of this stage of the campaign; and what progress has been made with conserving energy.

The next—and fourth—stage of the "Save It" campaign is to open tomorrow—Thursday 30th October. The funds allocated for this stage of the campaign, to the end of March 1976, total £1·841 million.Statistics to be issued today in

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment why Her Majesty's Government is opposed to making compulsory the use of laminated windscreens on British cars.

I have insufficient evidence to justify making either toughened or laminated safety glass compulsory to the exclusion of the other.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he is now able to announce the decision which he promised shortly in his answer to the hon. Member for Rye on 22nd July 1975.

No—but an announcement will be made immediately on completion of current investigations.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his advice to local authorities on the appropriate salary and establishment for the post of director of leisure.

Local authorities are responsible for their own internal organisation, staff arrangements and salary levels.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to announce his decision regarding the Maplin seaport proposals.

I have no proposals before me requiring a decision. However, the Port of London Authority considers that a seaport at Maplin will be required to meet the longer-term demands for facilities at the port. But authorisation of such a major development under the Harbours Act 1964 would, of course, require clear evidence of commercial viability.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will take steps, in consultation with the construction industry, to encourage the introduction of engineering degree and postgraduate courses in falsework, so as to improve standards in this type of construction.

The provision which should be made for courses in falsework will be one of the matters dealt with in the final report of the Advisory Committee on Falsework. The construction industry will be consulted when the report is published early in the New Year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will seek powers to ensure that local authorities pay proper respect to good planning practices in cases in which they are both planning applicant and authority.

These powers already exist.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment why, after 14 months, he has still not approved the design and cost yardstick of accommodation for elderly and disabled people under the direction of the Sutton Housing Society.

I assume that the hon. Member is referring to a scheme in Grange Road, Sutton. The first formal yardstick application was submitted in February this year. Further information was needed on the suitability of the design for the purpose it was to serve and, in fact, some revisions were made. The cost yardstick was issued on 24th October.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many

SMOKE CONTROL ORDERS CONFIRMED 1970–73
Area		1970	1971	1972	1973
ENGLAND (in regions):
Northern	…	25	20	32	59
North West	…	66	62	90	93
Yorkshire and Humberside	…	39	40	58	73
East Midlands	…	17	22	31	40
West Midlands	…	14	20	37	30
East Anglia	…	1	1	5	1
South East	…	13	6	25	20
South West	…	1	1	2	2
London Boroughs	…	38	31	33	41
TOTALS	…	214	203	313	359
SCOTLAND	…	13	21	24	21
WALES	…	1	—	—	6

SMOKE CONTROL ORDERS CONFIRMED 1974–75
	1974					1975
	March	June	Sept.	Dec.	Total	March	June	Sept.	Total
ENGLAND (regional):
Northern	11	13	4	6	34	3	4	3	10
North West	18	5	10	7	40	9	12	5	26
Yorkshire and Humberside	14	15	—	1	30	3	9	4	16
East Midlands	6	6	5	3	20	4	6	7	17
West Midlands	7	1	5	—	13	12	2	2	16
East Anglia	5	3	—	—	8	—	1	—	1
South East	6	5	4	2	17	7	4	2	13
South West	0	3	0	—	3	—	—	—	—
London Boroughs	7	6	5	4	22	9	3	1	13
Totals	74	57	33	23	187	47	41	24	112
SCOTLAND	4	7	3	4	18	5	3	—	8
WALES	—	—	—	—	—	3	—	—	3

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment, of the dwellings reported by his Department as being completed in Cornwall in 1974, how many were constructed under full contract by each of the district councils.

The reported numbers of dwellings completed by districts in Cornwall in 1974 are given on page 14 of Local Housing Statistics No. 33; copies are available in the Library. In Caradon, two of the dwellings reported completed were built by direct labour. The dwellings in Caradon and Penwith purchased from smoke control orders were confirmed for each of the regions of England, Scotland and Wales in the period 1970 to 1973 by year, and by quarter thereafter.

The figures are as follows:private builders or developers, were recorded as private sector completions.