asked, the Minister for the Civil Service when he proposes to take action on the finds of the grading review of assistants in the Whips and Opposition offices in the House of Commons.

The report of the review is about to be discussed with the Civil Service staff association concerned and it is hoped to reach agreement on the findings shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence why he has made a condition in respect of the possible sale of premises at Royal Air Force Dishforth to the Home Office that the Royal Air Force has a continued right to use the airfield there at all times.

Because it is essential for the efficient and economic operation of flying training in the Royal Air Force that the airfield at RAF Dishforth should continue to be available as required for use by the Flying Training School at Leeming as a relief landing ground.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he is satisfied that the amounts of money expended by his Department in support of arms sales overseas are such as to enable the United Kingdom to match the efforts of competing nations.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the nature and extent of assistance being given by his Department to Scottish Aviation Limited in its efforts to sell Jetstream aircraft to the United States Navy.

In response to a request by Scottish Aviation Limited for assistance in selling Jetstream aircraft to the United States Navy the Ministry of Defence has agreed to make an aircraft available, on a repayment basis, for demonstration either in this country or in the United States. A RAF crew has also been offered if this is needed.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether it is his policy to allow publication of any letters in the RAF News which are critical of his Department's policy on pensions.

There is no bar on the publication of letters because they criticise pensions policy.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give an assurance that local railway lines under the control of his Department will not be taken up until their long-term potential has been evaluated in the context of area structure plans and transportation studies.

It is the policy of Her Majesty's Government to co-operate to the full with local authorities in the preparation of structure plans, and to assist, so far as we are able, in transportation studies. I will consider the hon. Gentleman's suggestion, and write to him in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions since the signing of the CSCE agreement have manoeuvres in which United Kingdom forces have taken part, or are about to take part, been notified to members of the Warsaw Pact, as required under the agreement, or voluntarily; and what manoeuvres they were, and when.

Three occasions. The United Kingdom has notified, under the terms of the CSCE Final Act, the participation of 6,000–7,000 British troops in Deep Express, a combined NATO manoeuvre held in Eastern Thrace and the Aegean Sea between 12th and 28th September 1975. The Governments of Norway and the Federal Republic of Germany notified their own national manoeuvres Batten Bolt, held in Norway between 3rd and 7th October, and Certain Trek, held in the Federal Republic of Germany between 14th and 23rd October. In these manoeuvres a small number of British troops participated.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions since the signing of the CSCE agreement has any member of the Warsaw Pact notified NATO signatories of manoeuvres of 25,000 men within 155 miles of another country, as they are obligated to do, or of small manoeuvres, voluntarily; and if any Warsaw Pact countries have responded to invitations to attend manoeuvres in which United Kingdom forces were taking part.

The CSCE Final Act states that participating countries will give 21 days' notice of major military manoeuvres, exceeding a total of 25,000 troops, taking place on their territory, and that States may also notify smaller scale manoeuvres. In the case of a participating State whose territory extends beyond Europe prior notification need only be given of manoeuvres which take place in an area within 250 kilometres from its frontier, facing or shared with any other European CSCE participant.NATO countries have so far received no prior notification of manoeuvres from any Warsaw Pact State. No Warsaw Pact country responded to an invitation, made by the Federal Republic of Germany, to all participants in the CSCE, to attend its exercise Certain Trek, in which a small number of United Kingdom forces participated.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much anti-rabies vaccine for animals there is currently in Government establishments in the United Kingdom.

None. All United Kingdom stocks of authorised anti-rabies vaccine for animals are held by a pharmaceutical company and its distributors.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what percentage of plutonium has been found in plaice eggs off the coast near the Wind-scale atomic plant in Cumbria.

The radiation dose from plutonium received by plaice eggs collected in the vicinity of the Windscale plant discharge pipeline is insignificant. It is estimated to be less than 1 per cent. of that received from natural activity.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the estimated cost of providing free transport to and from school for those children and young people who qualify under the criteria currently in force.

About £68 million in the current financial year.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the best available estimate of the cost of providing free transport to and from school for all children and young people.

A large but uncertain proportion of pupils would not need transport. A precise estimate of the likely take up and cost is not, therefore, possible. The cost of providing free transport for half the school population could substantially exceed £200 million a year compared with £68 million at present.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will now make a statement on the progress of consultations with local education authorities, teachers' organisations and public transport authorities about the transport of children to school.

As I said on 14th October in reply to Questions by my hon. Friend the Member for Goole (Dr. Marshall) and the hon. Member for Burton (Mr. Lawrence)—[Vol. 897, c. 1110–13.]—proposals for new transport arrangements are with the interested organisations for comment, but full replies cannot be expected for some considerable time. I have nothing at present to add to that statement.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list in the Official Report the average ratio of students to academic staff in British universities during each of the last five years.

In each of the five years to 1974–75 for universities in Great Britain the ratio of full-time students to each full-time member of the academic staff wholly financed from university funds was 8·1, 8·1, 8·0, 8·0 and 8·0 respectively.The figure for the academic year 1975–76 is not yet available, and that for 1974–75 is a provisional estimate.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the average staff-student ratio in (a) universities (b) polytechnics and (c) colleges of education at the latest date for which figures are available.

1973–74 is the latest academic year for which figures for all three categories are available. In that year, for universities in Great Britain the ratio of full-time students to each full-time member of the academic staff wholly financed from university funds was 8·0. In England and Wales, in polytechnics the ratio of students to each full-time member of the teaching staff was approximately 6·9—after allowing for the substantial number of part-time students on taught courses—and in colleges of education the ratio of full-time students to each full-time member of the teaching staff was 10·1.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list separately the total amount paid in 1974–75, or at the latest available date, for wages, salaries, pensions and national insurance contributions, etc., for teachers in primary and secondary schools in England and Wales, for all other ancillary staff in these schools and for all employees in his own Department.

In the financial year 1974–75 the cost of teachers' salaries in primary and secondary schools in England and Wales was £1,600 million and that of salaries and wages of "non-teaching" staff in the same institutions was £230 million.Staff costs of my Department were £12 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what are the latest available figures for school absences for 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 year olds by each education authority responsible for which figures are collected in comparison with a similar period in 1974.

No information is available on a national basis subsequent to that obtained in my Department's survey of absence in maintained middle and secondary schools on a named day in January 1974, but our consultations on behaviour problems with local authority and teachers' associations include consideration of whether and in what form the systematic collection of information on absence may be useful.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what effect the proposed cuts in education expenditure are likely to have on the capitation allowance.

Because of the discretion which local authorities properly exercise there are wide variations in the scope, administration and size of these allowances, and it is not meaningful to generalise about them.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what effect the proposed cuts in education expenditure are likely to have on school meals.

Local education authorities will continue to have a statutory duty to provide school dinners for all pupils who wish to take them. There is no reason why the extent of their provision or the nutritional standard of the meal should be affected.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the total number of people employed in the education service at the latest date for which figures are available; and how many of these are employed in nursery, primary, secondary and higher education.

UNEMPLOYED IN EMPLOYMENT OFFICE AREAS
Age			July 1975				July 1974
					Wallasey		Wirral*		Wallasey		Wirral*
					Males	Females	Males	Females	Males	Females	Males	Females
Under 18	…	…	243	200	827	664	95	57	273	186
18 and under 25	…	…	799	377	2,947	1,324	472	132	1,449	584
25 and under 40	…	…	796	74	2,929	366	460	41	1,854	228
40 and under 50	…	…	301	40	1,215	154	185	23	836	87
50 and under 60	…	…	242	77	881	252	180	48	668	178
60 and over	…	…	247	—	1,094	4	253	—	998	4
* The area covered by the Bebington, Birkenhead, Hoylake and Wallasey Employment Offices.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he is able to give figures and a percentage figure showing

I have been asked to reply.At June 1975 the estimated number of employees in employment in educational services in Great Britain was 1,777,000. The figure is provisional. The statistics do not distinguish between those employed in nursery, primary, secondary and higher education.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will resume the inquiries made by his Department annually up to 1973 with each major undertaking into the numbers engaged in arms work within that undertaking.

At the present time my Department has no plans to make inquiries into the numbers engaged in arms work.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the total number of registered unemployed males and females in Wallasey and in Wirral as a whole for each of the age categories 16 to 18 years, 19 to 25 years, 26 to 40 years, 41 to 50 years, 51 to 60 years and 61 years plus, for the latest available period compared with a similar period last year.

The most recent detailed analyses by age are for July 1975. The figures relate to age groups which differ slightly from those specified. Following is the available information.the number of disabled persons employed by each firm situated in St. Helens at the latest date for which he has details.

I do not think it would be appropriate to do so.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many manual workers and how many non-manual workers are covered by negotiating machinery at national level, including statutory wage fixing bodies; and what proportion these numbers represent of the total manual and non-manual labour force, respectively;(2) what proportion of the total labour force is covered by plant-level or domestic bargaining.

Type of collective agreement	All manual occupations		All non-manual occupations
	Number (millions)	Number as percentage of all manual workers	Number (millions)	Number as percentage of all non-manual workers
National agreement and supplementary company district or local agreement	3·6	28·6	1·0	10·1
National agreement only	5·1	40·0	4·1	42·2
Company, district or local agreement only	1·2	9·6	0·8	8·2
No collective agreement	2·8	21·8	3·8	39·4

The Wages Inspectorate estimates that about 3·3 million workers are within scope of statutory wages councils and the agricultural wages boards estimate that they cover about 0·3 million agricultural workers. Those estimates do not distinguish manual and non-manual employees. Probably about half of those covered by statutory wage regulation are also covered by voluntary collective bargaining.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy how much foreign exchange has been earned by British Nuclear Fuels Limited by reprocessing irradiated nuclear fuel from reactors other than in the United Kingdom over the last five years; and how much he expects will be so earned in the five years to 1980.

In the years 1971–75 foreign exchange earnings by British Nuclear Fuels Limited from the reprocessing of irradiated nuclear fuels amounted to £9 million. In the years 1976–80 it is estimated that earnings from existing reprocessing contracts will be £34 million.

The latest available information on the numbers of manual and non-manual workers covered by various types of voluntary collective bargaining arrangements is from the 1973 New Earnings Survey. The following are, therefore, estimates of the total numbers of males and females who were in employment in April 1973 and who were reported by their employers as being affected by various types of collective agreement.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy how many countries are currently sending quantities of irradiated nuclear fuel to the United Kingdom for reprocessing; and in respect of how many the relevant contracts specify that the radioactive residues are to be returned to the territory of the sender for storage.

British Nuclear Fuels Limited is currently receiving irradiated nuclear fuel for reprocessing from Canada, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland under contracts signed over the last seven years. None of these contracts includes provision for the radioactive waste to be returned to the country of origin. Up to 1990 the waste concerned would add about 10 per cent. to the quantity arising from the United Kingdom's own nuclear programme.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy when the next consignment of irradiated nuclear fuel is due to be sent from Japan to Windscale for reprocessing; and what quantity will be involved.

A consignment of irradiated fuel left Japan this month for delivery to Windscale for reprocessing. The consignment consists of fuel containing 30 tons of uranium.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what precautions are being taken to ensure that there is no leakage during the storage of the nuclear waste from Japan before it is processed.

Irradiated nuclear fuel from Japan and certain European countries constitutes a small addition to that arising from the United Kingdom nuclear power programme. The fuel is processed at the Windscale Works of British Nuclear Fuels Ltd., which is a licensed site under the Nuclear Installations Act 1965. Conditions attached to the licence, which is granted by the Health and Safety Executive, provide the necessary safeguards for the storage, handling and processing of all nuclear material received at Windscale. These conditions are enforced by the Executive's Nuclear Installations Inspectorate which exercises strict control.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether other contracts are being sought for the processing of nuclear waste from Japan, apart from that already announced.

No. Ministers are still considering the proposed Japanese contract.

(Pence per gallon
			Domestic Heating Oil		Fuel Oil
					Including Tax	Excluding Tax	Including Tax	Excluding Tax
United Kingdom	…	…	23 to 26	22 to 25	16·4	15·4
France	…	…	30·2	24·6	15·7	15·7
Germany	…	…	28·9	25·3	14·3	13·1
Italy	…	…	25·4	21·8	16·1	15·8
Netherlands	…	…	28·8	22·2	14·8	13·7

The only known change in price between 1st September 1975—given in answer to a previous Question on 24th October—and 1st October 1975 is for domestic heating oil in France. All other changes to the above figures result from differences in exchange rates on 20th October 1975 and 1st October 1975.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy when the glass processing plant at Windscale will be ready to go into production.

A small-scale plant for vitrifying highly active waste at Wind-scale is currently being designed and

asked the Secretary of State for Energy when he hopes to announce details of the reconstruction of the nuclear construction industry and, in particular, of the shareholdings in the National Nuclear Corporation.

The National Nuclear Corporation (NNC) and its subsidiary the Nuclear Power Company (NPC) are fully operational. NNC acquired the two design and construction consortia in March 1975. Dr. N. L. Franklin is NPC's Chairman and Managing Director. I will make a statement about NNC's shareholding structure as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will publish a table showing representative prices current on 1st October 1975, expressed in pence per gallon, for gas oil and heating oils in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, taking exchange rates prevailing on the same date.

Typical prices on 1st October 1975, taking exchange rates as on 1st October, were as follows:should be in operation by 1978. Information from the operation of this plant and from complementary development work should enable a full size demonstration plant to be built in the early 1980s. This plant should be in operation from about 1985 and would be the basis for the construction of subsequent production plants as and when they are needed. It is expected that four such production plants will be required at Windscale by the early 1990s.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will give his estimates of the demand for coal for electricity generation in the United Kingdom for the years 1975 to 1980, assuming that the price of coal remains competitive with that of fuel oil and that two AGR stations come on stream in 1976, two in 1977 and one in 1978.

Consumption of coal in power stations is likely to be about 74 million tons in 1975, and I expect it to increase over the period in question. But my Department is currently engaged on its annual review of energy prospects and it will not be possible to give an up-to-date estimate until this has been completed. The Government's policy for coal was set out in the 1974 Reports of the Coal Industry Examination, to which the Government adhere.

£ million
(v) Research, development etc. by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority		100
Class IV, 6:
Section A	84·255
Net research and development etc. expenditure by and on behalf of the UKAEA.
Section C	13·964
Nuclear energy services carried out on behalf of the Department of Energy, mainly the Tripartite Gas Centrifuge Collaboration.
Supplementary Estimate	1·463
Mainly for reorganisation of the nuclear industry.
TOTAL	99·682
(vi) Department of Energy, research and development		7
Class IV, 8:
Section C	6·9
Research and development contracts carried out on behalf of the Department by industry, universities and other United Kingdom Government departments.
TOTAL	6·9
(vii) Assistance towards offshore development projects		24
Class IV, 8:
Section E	8·5
Selective assistance under Section 8 of the Industry Act to the offshore industry, e.g. the Offshore Supplies Interest Relief Grant Scheme.
Section G1	15·5
Development of construction sites for offshore oil production platforms: expenditure under the Offshore Petroleum Development (Scotland) Act.
TOTAL	24·0

Further subhead detail is shown in Supply Estimates 1975–76 (H.C. 210 of 1974–75) which include under Section B of Class IV, 6 net receipts of £11 million from the sales of uranium ore, and Supplementary Estimates 1975–76 (H.C. 445 of 1974–75).

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he is taking on the recent call by the Chairman

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will give a further breakdown of the figures listed in headings (i) to (vii) in his Written Answer to a Question from the hon. Member for Blaydon (Mr. Woof) on Monday, 27th October, showing in each case the main subheads of expenditure as used in the Supply Estimates.

Headings (i) to (iv) of the table referred to expenditure by the nationalised industries which does not appear in the Supply Estimates. For items (v) to (vii), the relevant information from the 1975–6 Estimates is:of British Rail for a clearer definition of the rôle the railways in an overall transport policy.

My right hon. Friend is aiming at defining the rôle of the railways in the course of the current transport policy review.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment, in calculating the amount of financial support required by British Rail from the Government, what allowance has been made for the cost of the reorganisation scheme cancelled earlier in 1975; and what was the total investment by British Rail in new properties for this scheme.

British Rail has committed some £8 million on new buildings, of which about half relates to aspects of the reorganisation which are going ahead. A small part of the support grant under Section 3 of the Railways Act 1974 derives from this expenditure, but the precise amount is not readily identifiable.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give an assurance that local railway lines under the direct control of his Department will not be taken up until their long-term potential has been evaluated in conjunction with area structure plans and transportation studies.

There are well-established procedures to ensure that disused rail land belonging to the British Railways Board is not disposed of before possible long-term uses have been fully considered. The arrangements do not apply to disused track, which is liable to deteriorate and may be subject to vandalism.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what studies his Department is currently conducting into the scope for conserving energy by further transferring passengers and freight from road to rail; what conclusions he has drawn from this research so far; and what information has been made available to the Government generally as a result of these investigations.

The Government's policy is to make the best use of all resources available for transport. The Department is presently involved with local authorities and others in studies of the scope for achieving this by encouraging the transfer of passengers and freight from road to rail where this can be shown to bring economic, social and environmental benefits. Research is incomplete, and information on possible energy savings which might result has not yet been made available, but energy con- servation is only one of the elements to be taken into account in assessing the relative advantages of different modes of transport.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when the new Broomy Hill water purification plant in Hereford is expected to be in commission.

I understand from the Welsh National Water Development Authority that it hopes the plant will be in commission early in 1977.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how much money the Government have advanced to the local authorities in the county of Bedford for the purchase of houses in recent years; and what is the current estimate of funds available.

The total amounts advanced by local authorities in the county of Bedford to private persons for house purchase in recent years have been as follows:

	£
1970–71	961,000
1971–72	1,677,000
1973–74	1,970,000
1973–74	1,788,000
1974–75	5,811,000

For the period August—April 1975 these local authorities reported advances of £3,757,000.They will have had little further money to advance themselves for this purpose in the current financial year, but they are taking advantage of their share of the £100 million made available by the building societies to help offset the restriction on their own lending.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the total number of council houses and flats in the county of Bedford; and what percentage of the total stock of houses and flats in the county this represents.

On information immediately to hand, there are 36,700 council dwellings in the county of Bedford. These represent approximately 23 per cent. of total housing stock. Separate figures for houses and flats are not readily available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment in view of the approaching winter, if he will clarify the emergency works of coast protection referred to in his Department's letter of 9th September 1975 to the hon. Member for Rye, regarding the complaint of Mr. Clive Tarry of Cooden, Sussex; and when the visit of a representative of the Coast Protection Authority, promised soon at the beginning of August and very shortly in the letter of 9th September 1975, may be expected.

My Department is considering a major scheme proposed by Rother District Council. In the meantime the District Council is undertaking certain emergency works to deal with the hazards for the approaching winter.I shall write again to the hon. Member about development since he received my letter of 9th October.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has now completed his survey of inter-Continental seaborne traffic originating in or destined for the United Kingdom which passes through continental ports.

Statistics of port traffic are a matter for the National Ports Council, which is studying the available data on transhipment.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will take action in respect of EEC practice and rules concerning the financing of ports.

The Commission has yet to formulate proposals for a common ports policy. Following a meeting of major Community ports organised by the Commission, a working group has been conducting a fact-finding study. Its report is due to be completed next spring.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the current cost of building two- and three-bedroom council houses—including land—in the South-East; and how these figures compare with costs during each of the past five years.

The average construction costs in tender approvals for two- and three-bedroom council houses in the South-East are as follows:

	2 bedroom	3 bedroom
	£	£
1970	3,100	3,400
1971	3,500	3,800
1972	4,200	4,600
1973	5,800	6,100
1974	6,600	7,300

The figures quoted assume that a two-bedroom house provides four bed spaces and a three-bedroom house five bed spaces. They are averages for the Department's Eastern and South-East Regions. Costs of land, site works, ancillary buildings and fees are excluded; these are currently estimated at £4,000 per house in England. Separate costs for South-East England are not immediately available. Figures are not yet available for 1975.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of total expenditure on home loss payments in 1974–75 and 1975–76.

These figures are not readily available and would require a disproportionate amount of time and effort to collect.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what information is available in his Department on the geographical distribution of central Government expenditure on housing subsidies, as between different local authorities.

A summary by type of authority, including the London boroughs, is made from time to time and published in "Housing and Construction Statistics", most recently in Issue No. 13 covering 1973–74. An independent analysis, county by county, of the housing revenue accounts of local authorities for 1974–75 and 1975–76, including Exchequer subsidies, has been published by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimate he has of the number of people driving cars who are not covered by an insurance policy.

It is not possible to make any such estimate. I am informed that in 1973 there were 134,298 convictions in magistrates' courts in England and Wales and 5,856 in sheriff courts in Scotland for the offence of using a motor vehicle without insurance as required by law.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if, in view of the increasing number of lorries on British roads driven by drivers from other EEC countries, some of whom have no understanding of English, he will take steps to ensure that all drivers on the United Kingdom roads can supply sufficient information to other people involved in traffic accidents, to enable insurance claims to be made.

I am not aware that there is any general difficulty in the exchange of information about addresses or insurance as required by law when foreign drivers, whether from other EEC countries or elsewhere, are involved in accidents here. I do not think it would be practicable to impose special requirements or checks on foreign drivers to establish individual ability to communicate on these matters.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) in view of the plan to import 4,000 tons of nuclear waste from Japan what precautions are being taken to avoid a build up from the Wind-scale pipe which discharges diluted waste into the sea;(2) in view of previous chimney leaks what precautions are being taken to ensure that these do not occur with the increase in nuclear waste;(3) what increase in nuclear waste is expected from the pipeline from Wind-scale; and how wide is the area likely to be affected;(4) what precautions are being taken to avoid leakage of the nuclear waste from Japan when it is unloaded at Barrow-in-Furness;(5) what precautions are being taken to avoid leakage of the nuclear waste from Japan when it is being transported from Barrow-in-Furness to Windscale.

The Government have not yet reached a final decision on the plan to which my hon. Friend refers. The need to ensure that the fuel could be safely transported and that discharges to the environment could be contained within safe levels are of course among the considerations that are uppermost in our minds.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether wage and salary increments should be treated as growth for the purposes of local authority expenditure next year and, therefore, be included in the amounts to be permitted to local authorities for growth in 1976–77.

If net expenditure increases through payment of increments this should be treated as growth in real expenditure. Such growth should be offset by other savings in order to ensure a standstill in local authority expenditure nationally.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to receive the final report of the Law Commission on the matrimonial jurisdiction of magistrates' courts.

I am informed by the Law Commission that it hopes to submit its report early in the New Year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the total number of obscene telephone calls received by members of the public in the Greater London area and reported to the police since 9.45 p.m. on Sunday 26th October.

I regret that this information is not readily available and could not be obtained except at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what is the total number of obscene telephone calls received by members of the public in the Greater London area and reported to the police over the last 12 months;(2) what is the total number of obscene telephone calls received by members of the public and reported to the police over the last 12 months;(3) what is the number of convictions for offences relating to the making of obscene telephone calls generally, and in the Greater London area, respectively, over the last 12 months.

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the cost to the revenue of permitting commuters within 50 miles of the five principal cities in Great Britain to offset half the cost of their rail fares to work against tax.

Average: £ per annum
				Income before tax	Income after tax	Tax	Family allowances
1970–71:
Married couples—
no children	…	…	…	1,806	1, 444	362	—
one child	…	…	…	1,845	1, 535	310	—
two children	…	…	…	1,961	1,632	329	41
(4)
Single males or widowers	…	…	…	1,137	906	231	1
1971–72:
Married couples—
no children	…	…		1,973	1,590	383	—
one child	…	…	…	2,017	1,691	326	—
two children	…	…	…	2,160	1,831	329	41
(4)
Single males or widowers	…	…	…	1,243	994	249	1
1972–73:
Married couples—
no children	…	…	…	2,218	1,823	395	—
one child	…	…	…	2,256	1,918	338	—
two children	…	…	…	2,387	2,038	349	41
(4)
Single males or widowers	…	…	…	1,476	1,204	272	1

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will introduce a Bill to enact a single law relating to banking supervision and control to replace the following existing legislation: Exchange Control Act 1947 (foreign exchange), Companies Act 1948 (hidden reserves), Protection of Depositors Act 1963

I regret that the information on which to base an estimate is not available, but the cost of such relief would be substantial.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were the average incomes, net and gross, the average amount of income tax paid, the average level of national insurance contributions and graduated pension contributions made, and family allowance received for each of the following: (i) a married man with no children, (ii) a married man with one child, (iii) a married man with two children, and (iv) a single man in each year since 1970.

The following information is derived from the Inland Revenue's surveys of Personal Income for the years 1970–71 to 1972–73, the latest year for which figures have been published. Information about the average amounts of national insurance contributions and graduated pension contributions is not available on the same basis.(advertisements), Companies Act 1967 (banking status) and the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1970 (interest and dividend payment) following the EEC proposals for banking law harmonisation.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Peterborough (Mr. Ward) on Wednesday.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has completed the consideration which was promised in a statement in another place on 24th September of measures to help provide employment where it is most needed in the construction industry; and whether he will make a statement.

Arrangements will be made immediately with the local authorities and other bodies concerned for new work to be commissioned from the construction industry for completion

	£ million
England:
1. Improvements of publicly owned housing	12
2. National Health Service	4
3. Education	4
4. Other local authority services (at local discretion subject to central guidance on priorities—e.g. youth employment, fire precautions in old people's homes etc.)	4
	—	24
Scotland		3½
Wales		2½
		30

A corresponding programme of works will also be undertaken in Northern Ireland, suiting the Government's priorities in the Province, at a cost of £2 million. Details will be announced as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress he can report on the appointment of a new chairman to Harland and Wolff.

Lord Rochdale offered his resignation on 2nd October in order to facilitate the reconstruction of the company's board. I am pleased to say that Sir Brian Morton has agreed to accept appointment to the chairmanship; this will take effect immediately.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what arrangements are being made for the payment of the salaries of members of the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention after that body is dissolved on 7th November.

Although the Convention will, under the terms of the

asked the Minister of Overseas Development what is the amount of the United Kingdom contribution to the European Development Fund of £1,500 million over five years; and whether this contribution will be within or outside the financial ceiling imposed on aid expenditure.

The United Kingdom's contribution to the fourth European Development Fund will be 589·050 million units of account or 18·7 per cent. of the total of 3,150 million units. This contribution will be spread over the estimated nine-year disbursement period of the fund. Its size in sterling terms will depend upon the rate of exchange at a given time between the pound and the EDF unit of account, which is calculated by reference to a weighted basket of member State currencies. Our contribution at current rates of exchange amounts to approximately £338·5 million. Payments to the EDF will be accommodated within the aid programme.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the cost per patient per visit for chiropody treatment in National Health Service clinics.

I regret that information is not available in the form requested. However, information relating to 1973, the last year before NHS reorganisation, shows that the average annual cost of each chiropody treatment provided by local health authorities was about £1·30.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if she has now received the report of the working party set up by Sheffield Area Health Authority to study the demand for children's orthopaedic services in Sheffield, with especial reference to the orthopaedic problems of handicapped children including those with paralytic and congenital deformity; and if she will make a statement.

The report has been submitted to the Sheffield Area Health Authority (Teaching), which, together with the Trent Regional Health Authority, is considering its recommendations. Further work on costing the report's recommendations is required before the health authorities can reach firm conclusions. The Department's views will be passed to the health authorities at an early date.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether she is now in a position to give a final answer on the future of the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital.

Not yet.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the number of sheltered housing units available in Scotland in each of the last four years.

Sheltered housing schemes approved before 1973 cannot be readily identified. From 1973 approval has been given to the provision by local authorities of the following numbers of places in purpose-built sheltered housing units:

Year	Number of Places
1973	386
1974	400
1975 (January to October)	431

In addition, approval has to date been given to the provision by housing associations and the new town development corporations of 860 and 122 places in sheltered housing respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what target he has set for the provision of sheltered housing units for every 1,000 elderly persons in Scotland.

In 1972 local authorities were asked to aim at achieving a minimum provision of 25 places in sheltered housing for every 1,000 people aged 65 or over by the end of 1974. In a circular on housing needs and strategies issued at the beginning of this month I asked local authorities to undertake comprehensive assessments of housing needs, including those of the elderly, in their areas and to base their future housing strategies on these local assessments.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list in the Official Report the number of sheltered housing units currently available in each of the regional and island authorities in Scotland.

To date approval has been given to the provision by local housing authorities, new town development corporations and housing associations of the following numbers of places in purpose-built sheltered housing units:

Authority	No. of Places
Borders	133
Central	51
Dumfries and Galloway	28
Fife	246
Grampian	327
Highland	73
Lothian	525
Orkney	nil
Strathclyde	1,057
Shetland	20
Tayside	319
Western Isles	nil

I have no information about the numbers of places in sheltered housing which have been provided by means of the adaptation of existing buildings.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the total number of staff currently employed in regional Department of Agriculture offices throughout Scotland.

The Department employs 776 staff at its agricultural area offices and sub-offices.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what consultation has taken place with Scottish local government authorities with regard to Common Market plans for European union by 1980.

There are no agreed plans in the Community for European union by 1980. Mr. Leo Tindemans, the Prime Minister of Belgium, is currently preparing a report on European union for the EEC Heads of Government. During a visit to Scotland on 1st July this year he met, among others, representatives of the Convention of Scotitsh Local Authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many pupils in each of the age groups for 11 years of age to 19 years of age are educated in bilingual comprehensive schools in Wales.

In January 1975 the seven designated bilingual comprehensive schools in Wales had 4,539 pupils. The age breakdown was:

Pupils under 12 years of age	1,062
Pupils aged 12 years of age	923
Pupils aged 13 years of age	804
Pupils aged 14 years of age	648
Pupils aged 15 years of age	607
Pupils aged 16 years of age	288
Pupils aged 17 years of age	180
Pupils aged 18 years of age	26
Pupils aged 19 years of age	1

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what actions have been taken since 1st January 1973 by the Governments of France and Italy to restrain certain imports; and what retaliatory actions, if any, were carried out in each case by the Governments of other EEC countries.

I have taken this Question to refer to actions taken by the two Governments affecting imports from other EEC member States. There have been two such cases since the beginning of 1973.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what has been the total import bill for production platforms and other oil rig installations over the past 12 months.

The total cost of oil production installations and drilling rigs coming into United Kingdom ownership in the 12 months ended September was £227 million on a balance of payments basis.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will publish in the Official Report the total tonnage of yarn imports from Spain in 1973 and 1974; and if he will estimate the tonnage penetration to be expected in 1975.

Following is the information. Estimates for the whole of 1975 are not available.

	Cotton yarn Metric tons	Other yarns Metric tons
1973	85	991
1974	1,924	820
1975 January—August	1,746	179

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether he will arrange for an investigation into the affairs of Slater Walker Securities Limited under Section 109 of the Companies Act 1967 or Section 165 of the Companies Act 1948.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will now appoint inspectors to carry out an investigation into the affairs of Slater Walker Securities and the related companies under Sections 165 and 166 of the Companies Act.

I would refer my hon. Friends to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Lambeth, Central (Mr. Lipton), on 29th October—[Vol. 898, c. 548–9.]

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will publish in the Official Report a list of the companies investigated by inquiries conducted by inspectors appointed by his Department during the 10 years ended 30th September 1975, setting out the dates on which interviews commenced and when the inquiry reports were published; and if he will indicate the cases in which transcripts of evidence taken were released to the police or the Director of Public Prosecutions before the final reports were published and in which cases transcripts of evidence were given to third parties without the agreement or knowledge of the witnesses concerned.

I assume that my right hon. Friend is referring to the investigations under the Companies Act 1948. In the period mentioned there have been 174 appointments of inspectors. The information asked for is not readily available without undue expense.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether he will grant access to the transcripts of evidence of official inquiries conducted by inspectors appointed by his Department to the defence in cases when the transcripts have been or are being made available to the police or the Director of Public Prosecutions who are conducting a prosecution.

I have no power to grant access to all the transcripts of evidence given before the inspectors except under an order of the court. Such evidence is deemed to be confidential. So far as transcripts have been made available to the Director of Public Prosecutions, it is a matter for him to bring any relevant information to the attention of the court.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether his authority is necessary to allow transcripts of evidence taken at official inquiries undertaken by his Department to be released to the police or Director of Public Prosecutions in advance of the completion of the reports.

I assume my right hon. Friend is referring to investigations under the Companies Act 1948. Transcripts of evidence are deemed to be confidential, but may be disclosed by me to the police or the Director of Public Prosecutions in appropriate cases.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what is the nature and extent of assistance being given by his Department to Scottish Aviation Limited in its efforts to sell Jetstream aircraft to the United States Navy.

I understand that appropriate Government support is being given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence. The company has not approached my Department for assistance.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if the noise insulation grant scheme now operating within Great Britain at airports includes making provision for owners of commercial properties and business premises.

No. The statutory schemes in operation at Heathrow and Gatwick provide only for the noise insulation of the dwellings. Similarly, the municipal schemes formerly in operation at Luton and the municipal schemes currently operating at Manchester cover only dwellings.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what are the numbers of square feet of industrial buildings under construction and completed in each of the regions of Great Britain during the years 1973–74, 1974–75 and the first quarter of 1975–76.

I regret that information is not available in the form requested. However, a regional analysis of the value of new orders received by contractors and a similar analysis of changes in the stock of floor space is included in the Central Statistical Office's "Abstract of Regional Statistics". The latest available figures are published in the 1974 edition at Tables 61 and 63 respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry when he anticipates that he will be able to make a statement on the setting up of the proposed Co-operative Development Agency.

The Government are considering the problems involved and I cannot say when it will be possible to make a statement.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what is his estimate of the percentage decrease in the number of telephone calls made which would have the effect of bringing total income to that of the last financial year before the last introduction of higher charges.

It is not practicable to answer the Question except in income terms, because the various tariff changes have affected average revenue per call as well as the number of calls. At prices ruling before the higher call charges introduced on 1st October 1975 it is broadly estimated that inland calls business forecast for the financial year 1975–76 would need to fall, over the whole year, by about 25 per cent. to bring the total calls income for the year down to that for 1974–75. However, in the light of the actual level of calls business for the six months to 30th September, business over the six months October 1975 to March 1976 would need to fall by nearly 50 per cent. for the eventual level of calls income for the year to be no greater than for 1974–75.If the higher call charges introduced on 1st October 1975 are taken into account, the comparable percentages are of the order of 45 and 70 respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry when he expects to express his reaction to the proposals of Mr. Spinelli concerning the European aerospace industry; and if he will allow time to obtain the views of Parliament before he informs the EEC of his views on this matter.

The EEC Commission's report on its proposals for the European aircraft industry have far-reaching implications which will take time to study. An explanatory memorandum on the report is being submitted to Parliament in the normal way and there will certainly be time to obtain the views of Parliament.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry (1) if he will list the amounts of launching aid and other Government support of each civil aircraft programme in receipt of such aid since 1945, together with the return to Her Majesty's Government by way of royalties, levies, etc., expressed in current money terms;(2) if he will make available the statisties upon which are based ministerial statements upon the extent of Government finance of the aerospace construction industry and its return upon that investment.

The information is as follows:

GOVERNMENT CONTRIBUTIONS TO AND RECEIPTS FROM THE LAUNCHING OF CIVIL AIRCRAFT AEROENGINES SINCE 1945 UP TO 31ST MARCH 1974
£million
Type	Contributions current prices	Receipts current prices
Aircraft
Shetland	2·25	N.A.
Sandringham
Solent
Tudor
Air Horse
Apollo	1·25	Nil
Brabazon	6·45	Nil
Hermes	1·3	N.A.
Comet 1–4	10·25	4·1
Ambassador	1·85	0·15
Princess	9·1	Nil
Viscount	1·8	3·0
V-1000	2·35	Nil
Twin Pioneer	0·05	0·05

Britannia	6·4	5·1
Rotodyne	3·05	Nil
Argosy	0·1	Nil
Herald	1·1	0·05
VC-10	10·25	1·05
Trident	26·1	0·75
BAC 1–11	19·05	3·3
Islander	0·05	0·05
Jetstream	1·2	0·1
Airbus	1·15	Nil
HS 146	1·25	Nil
Concorde	233·8	3·15
	340·15	20·85
Engines
Dart	5·3	8·45
Proteus	19·45	3·5
Eland	10·9	0·05
Tyne	4·0	2·1
Orion	4·75	Nil
Avon	8·5	6·95
Conway	6·65	5·85
Spey	9·9	6·6
RB 178	1·3	0·1
Trent (RB 203)	2·5	0·6
RB 207	2·0	0·05
M45H (for VFW 614)	6·6	Nil
RB211	146·7	6·25
Olympus 593 (for Concorde)	178·1	Nil
	406·65	40·5
Totals	746·8	61·35

GOVERNMENT CONTRIBUTIONS TO PRODUCTION COSTS TO 31ST MARCH 1974
£ million
	(current prices)
Concorde	69·25
Olympus	14·8
RB 211 engine	34·5

Substantial receipts are to be expected in the future on a number of the projects listed.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will make a statement concerning Government plans for the ship repairing industry.

It remains Government policy to nationalise the ship repair companies named in the Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Bill.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he was consulted by BLMC Limited before that company declared its intention to dismiss workers in its Italian subsidiary company, Innocenti, because their productivity is lower than that of home-based workers in the parent company; and whether he is willing in principle to finance a workers' co-operative at the Innocenti works or to meet representatives of the workers concerned.

The company has kept us informed of the problems arising from the continuing heavy losses at Innocenti. But action there is a matter for the British Leyland board.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will state the total

£ million
			1968	1971	1972	1973	1974
Total production sales	…	…	1,637	1,416	1,443	1,302	1,308

The sales of complete aircraft parts, and equipment for space were: complete aeroengines, aeroengine parts

			1968	1971	1972	1973	1974
Complete aircraft	…	…	374	341	210	193	181
Aircraft parts	…	…	329	308	275	228	222
Complete aeroengines	…	…	294	119	173	202	200
Aeroengine parts	…	…	277	295	343	344	300
Equipment for space	…	…	5	16	19	25	21

The other items included in total production sales are air cushion vehicles and parts, guided weapons and parts, parachutes and parts, repairs and modifications and other products and work done. Development and experimental work done for Her Majesty's Government and other customers has been excluded.The above figures have been obtained by applying an aerospace input cost index correction to figures published by HMSO in Business Monitor M9 and in the Report on the 1968 Census of Production. Comprehensive figures for other years are not available and spares cannot be distinguished from other parts. No separate figures are available for avionics.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he is satisfied that the level of launching aid and support for civil aircraft projects is being maintained at a sufficient level to ensure the future of the aerospace industry; and if he will publish comparative figures showing the extent of support given in competitor countries together with a measure of the relative sizes of each foreign industry and that of the United Kingdom.

The Government are determined that the United Kingdom aerospace industry should be viable and value in 1975 terms of production by the United Kingdom aerospace industry for each of the last 10 years broken down into (a) airframes—separating spares and original equipment, (b) engines—separating spares and original equipment, (c) avionics—separating spares and original equipment and (d) space equipment.

The total sales of aerospace products by United Kingdom firms in the years 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973 and 1974, corrected to July 1975 input prices were:competitive in the future. The comparative figures which the hon. Member seeks are not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he expects to be able to indicate to the board of his proposed nationalised aerospace construction industry what rate of return her Majesty's Government expect upon its investment therein.

My right hon. Friend will set financial duties for British aerospace under Clause 10 of the Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Bill. These could take various forms, including a rate of return on capital employed, but under Clause 10(4) he must be satisfied that they are likely, taken together, to result in an adequate return on the capital employed.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry to what he attributes the present high level of aerospace exports; and to what extent he expects these to continue over the next five years.

Aerospace exports have risen in real terms over recent years thanks to determined efforts by the industry, particularly in the aeroengine and equipment sectors. I would expect those companies being taken into public ownership to be better able to make the most of future export opportunities.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry how much public money has now been (a) committed and (b) expended on the purchase of long lead materials for Concordes, numbers. 17 to 22.

The amount of public money committed to the purchase of long lead materials for Concordes 17–22 is £1·5 million, practically all of which has been expended.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry when redeployment of labour and other resources from Concorde production will commence, in the absence of the authorisation of further expenditure on production aircraft beyond number 16.

As my right hon. Friend said in his reply to the hon. Member for Newbury (Mr. McNair-Wilson) on 20th October, the level of employment is a matter primarily for the manufacturers to decide in the light of their overall production programme. The Government will be discussing prospects on this front with BAC.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what approaches were made to his Department by the companies, trade unions or French Ministers or officials concerned with Concorde for further commitment of public funds to production aircraft beyond number 16, and what reply did he make.