asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will institute legislation to require prosecutions for shoplifting to be brought by or with the consent of the police.

No. There is no sufficient ground for distinguishing in this respect between shoplifting and other offences.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any plans to seek to amend the Explosive Substances Act 1883.

No, apart from the bringing into force of the amending provisions in Section 7 of the Criminal Jurisdiction Act 1975, which depends on progress made in the Republic of Ireland with the reciprocal Irish legislation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to publish proposals for legislation on privacy.

The Government hope very shortly now to publish a White Paper on Computers and Privacy which will contain an account of their intentions on that subject. Their conclusions on other aspects of privacy will follow later.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why Mr. Keane, an Irish immigrant who is receiving £67 per week in Social Security benefits, has not been deported to Eire as an undesirable in view of his inability to support himself and his family in the United Kingdom.

The deportation of a citizen of the Republic of Ireland is governed by the provisions of the Immigration Act 1971, which does not allow for deportation in the circumstances suggested.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will now bring forward proposals for an independent element at police interviews following the quashing of the verdicts in the Confait murder case.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to his Adjournment debate last night.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will bring forward the date by which the Boundary Commission is next due to report on parliamentary constituency boundaries.

No. I understand that the Parliamentary Boundary Commissions have a statutory duty to report between 10 and 15 years after the last reports were submitted. The date of their last submission was June 1969. I have no proposals to amend the House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1958, and I do not consider that it would be reasonable to do it, in view of the heavy task that the Commission is facing.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement concerning the operation of the Parole Review Board as it affects prisoners serving life sentences.

The law enables the Secretary of State to release a prisoner sentenced to life imprisonment only if he is recommended to do so by the Parole Board. The procedure by which the Board reviews cases and makes its recommendations is now well established and is, I believe, working satisfactorily.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will conduct a review of the co-ordination between local police forces and docks authorities in the light of recent incidents such as that concerning the ship "Eagle" at Southampton.

No. I do not think that any failure of co-ordination was involved in the incidents referred to.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the Government's policy towards community development in the light of the premature closure of the Home Office's Community Development Project in Cumbria; and what steps the Government have taken to ensure it survives.

My right hon. Friend and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment are undertaking a number of initiatives to encourage community development. The future of the Cumbria Community Project is a matter for the local authority, but we have informed the authority that we are prepared to continue to make available, for up to the five years originally envisaged, grant aid towards the cost of the project.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the present use of the recently closed control unit at Wakefield Prison.

As a unit for prisoners who request removal in their own interests from association under Rule 43 of the Prison Rules.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a further statement on the report on the law of rape.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave earlier today to a Question by my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent, South (Mr. Ashley).

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will make a statement about the report prepared by Dr. William Belson on stealing by schoolchildren in London.

This research was commissioned by my predecessor in 1960 and was funded by the Home Office for a period of 10 years at a total cost of £120,800. The research is founded on the response of 1,425 London boys to questions about 44 categories of theft behaviour from fare evasion to serious offences. These interviews were largely completed by 1966. I have studied the findings and recommendations of the report. The data are old; some of the conclusions are obvious, and others are, in my view and that of my advisers, not well founded. They do not offer a direction for future policy changes.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons were convicted in Sheffield in 1973 and 1974 and the first half of 1975 for assaults on the police.

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

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the level of recruitment to the Metropolitan Police Force during the first nine months of 1975; and how this compares with 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, and other county constabularies.

The figures are:

	Metropolitan Police	All other police forces in England and Wales
First nine months of year—
1971	770	4,350
1972	904	4,461
1973	782	4,127
1974	872	4,006
1975	1,159	6,018

All figures exclude transfers between police forces in England and Wales. They include 54 police officers transferred from British Airports Authority Constabulary to provincial forces in 1975.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any serving British police officers have visited Rhodesia since UDI; and, if so, in what circumstances.

None on police or other official business. I should not of course know of any private visits for personal reasons.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign policemen are currently undergoing training in this country; and which countries they are from.

Police forces are not required to notify my Department of arrangements which they may make to accept students from foreign countries on their training courses, and comprehensive details of such placements are not, therefore, available centrally; but placements arranged by or known to the Home Office comprise of 88 police officers from the following 28 Commonwealth and foreign countries: Antigua, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Botswana, Dominica, Egypt, Fiji, Ghana, Guyana, Hong Kong, India, Iran, Jamaica, Japan, Malawi, Malaysia, Nepal, New Hebrides, Oman, St. Lucia, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Yemen and Zambia.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is satisfied with the present law on terrorism; and what steps he proposes to make to amend it.

The law, including penalties, in some relevant fields is under review by the Criminal Law Revision Committee or the Law Commission; and I shall carefully consider whatever recommendations these bodies may make. The

PERSONS DEALT WITH BY EXAMINING JUSTICES: BY RESULT AND PERCENTAGE DISCHARGED: ENGLAND AND WALES, 1964 TO 1974
Year					Committed for trial	Discharged	Total	Percentage discharged
1964	…	…	…	…	26,859	1,029	27,888	3·7
1965	…	…	…	…	29,632	1,062	30,694	3·5
1966	…	…	…	…	32,192	963	33,155	2·9
1967	…	…	…	…	33,687	752	34,439	2·2
1968	…	…	…	…	36,091	560	36,651	1·5
1969	…	…	…	…	43,367	614	43,981	1·4
1970	…	…	…	…	50,441	761	51,202	1·3
1971	…	…	…	…	53,770	862	54,632	1·6
1972	…	…	…	…	58,588	876	59,464	1·5
1973	…	…	…	…	59,708	796	60,504	1·3
1974	…	…	…	…	64,798	831	65,629	1·3

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will issue a circular to suggest policy guidelines to be observed by the police when they are called upon by local authorities or others to move gipsies on from unauthorised parking places.

No. The action to be taken in individual cases is a matter for the chief officer of police concerned. Chief officers were advised by Home Office Circular 221/1968, of which a copy is in the Library of the House, of the provisions of the Caravan Sites Act 1968.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many and what percentage of cases in each of the last five years before the rules on committal were changed magistrates refused to commit the accused for trial in a high court; in how many and what percentage of such cases was committal refused in each of the years since the rules were changed; and in how many and what percentage of such cases before and after the change in the rules was the charge re-preferred against the accused because further evidence became available.

Following is the available information. The rules relating to committal for trial were changed on 1st January 1968.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will seek powers to ban the use of crossbows.

We have no evidence that crossbows are misused on such a scale as to make restrictive legislation necessary.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many courts have the power to make community service orders by reason of having within their jurisdiction schemes for such orders available; how many such

Numbers of persons made subject to community service orders
Age (a)		1st January 1973 to 31st March 1975 (b)	1st April 1975 to 31st July 1975 (c)	Total columns (b) and (c) (d)
17−20	…	1,164	436	1,600
21−24	…	528	199	727
25+	…	523	277	750
Total (all ages)	…	2,215	862	3,077

I regret that the further information sought in the Question is not readily available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the report of that committee which has been looking at the work of the Charity Commissioners.

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer which I gave to a Question by my hon. Friend the Member for Fife, Central (Mr. Hamilton) earlier today.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many television licence fee evaders were traced during the last period for which figures are available; what was the

The Crown court and all magistrates' courts in England and Wales are empowered to make such orders in the case of any offender who lives in any petty sessions area where community service arrangements exist and in whose case the other necessary statutory requirements are met. The number and age of persons made the subjects of such orders during the periods 1st January 1973–31st March 1975, when community service arrangements were in force in six probation areas on an experimental basis only, and 1st April 1975–31st July 1975, when arrangements were extended to additional areas, are as follows:total revenue collected; and what was the cost of collection.

In the year 1974–75, 52,915 persons were convicted of unlicensed use of television. Total television licence revenues was £162·9 million and total cost of collection and enforcement £14·3 million.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what conditions have to be met for the issue of a communal television licence to retirement pensioners; and whether he has any plans to offer a lower licence fee to all pensioners.

The old persons' homes television licence is available to retired people of pensionable age living in accommodation which qualifies for the licence under the Wireless Telegraphy (Broadcast Licence Charges and Exemption) Regulations 1970 (SI, 1970, No. 548). As my right hon. Friend explained on 5th August in reply to a Question from my hon. Friend the Member for Sowerby (Mr. Madden)—[Vol. 897, c. 149–50.]—we have no plans to make any change in the system for the time being, but have drawn this matter to the attention of the Annan Committee which is inquiring into the future of broadcasting.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many defendants at the Crown court were acquitted during the 12 months from 1st July 1974; and what percentage of these were awarded costs.

9,227 defendants were acquitted in the Crown court in the calendar year 1974. Information about the percentage of acquitted defendants receiving their costs is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the estimated cost of repairing roofs of Her Majesty's prisons damaged by inmates during the past two years.

£17,500 in 1973–74; £3,500 in 1974–75; and about £26,500 so far in the present financial year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will seek the advice of the Poisons Boards as to whether carbophenothion should be subject to the provisions of the Pharmacy and Poisons Act 1933.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will extend the number of areas within which magistrates' courts have jurisdiction to make community service orders.

We have recently approved the introduction, by the probation and after-care committees concerned, of arrangements for offenders to carry out work under community service orders, in a number of additional petty sessions areas as from 1st December 1975 From that date, such arrangements will exist in the whole or part of 49 of the 56 probation areas in England and Wales. Additional arrangements will be introduced as the resources of probation and after-care committees permit.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department of those cases in which magistrates are of the opinion that a community service order would be apropriate, how many and what percentage did the offender refuse his consent to the making thereof.

I regret that the information is not readily available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he proposes to take to reduce the risk to the public as a result of bombs being thrown by terrorists from cars; and what advice he can give shop and restaurant owners in these circumstances.

The police are making every effort to apprehend those responsible for these outrages. They are always ready to give advice on security precautions to owners or users of premises, and have indeed recently done so to a number of groups in the categories mentioned by the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation to restrict the keeping of lions and other dangerous animals without proper safeguards.

It is an offence at common law to cause a public nuisance by keeping animals to the danger of the public. We are not satisfied on the information at present available that any further legislation is required.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to separate the two current functions of Prison Boards of Visitors so that the body which investigates prisoners' complaints is not also the body that is the principal disciplinary tribunal; and, if not, why not.

We have undertaken to consider the reports of the Jellicoe Committee on Boards of Visitors of Penal Institutions and the Working Party on Adjudication Procedures in Prisons—which are both relevant to the issue raised in this Question—in the light of the views expressed by interested parties. Consultation on the two reports is still proceeding.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has yet received the recommendations of the Post Office Telecommunications Consultancy Service with regard to possible improvements in the equipment and facilities of the inquiry bureau of the Home Office Immigration and Nationality Department; and what action he proposes to take in the light of such recommendations.

We have not yet received the final report and recommendations of the Post Office Telecommunications Consultancy Service.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what sum is available for allocation under the urban programme; how the number of applications compares with 1974; and if he will make a statement.

About £4 million is available for allocation under Urban Programme Circular No. 14. Applications to the value of about £14·4 million have been received, which is about half the value of applications received under the two circulars issued in 1974.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress he has made towards a new law of citizenship.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave on Tuesday 25th November to a Question by the hon. Member for Hampstead (Mr. Finsberg).—[Vol. 901, c. 104.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Chief Constable on the circumstances in which approximately 80 police were diverted from their normal duties to be present at a session of the public inquiry into the Aire valley route.

The Chief Constable of West Yorkshire tells us that the police were present in pursuance of their duty to prevent breaches of the peace.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the average number of convictions for murder, manslaughter and crimes of violence, respectively, per annum since 1965; and by what percentage these figures exceed the average number of convictions for each category in the 10 years prior to 1965.

Over the period 1965–1974 the average annual number of persons found guilty in England and Wales of offences of murder was 82, of manslaughter 187, and of other offences of violence against the person 22,927.The percentage increase by which the figures exceed the corresponding average numbers for the 10 years prior to 1965 is 110 per cent. for offences of murder, 131 per cent. for offences of manslaughter and 142 per cent. for other offences of violence against the person.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what were the average offer prices cif to the United Kingdom of the two most traded United States and Canadian hard wheats in each of the years from 1970 to the latest date.

It is impossible to define which are the most traded United States and Canadian hard wheats, since United Kingdom import statistics do not distinguish between different varieties or types of wheat. However, the average of quotations available for those North American hard wheats most frequently

PRICES CIF TO THE UNITED KINGDOM (£ PER LONG TON)
	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975 (to date)
U.S. No. 2 Dark Northern Spring	32·82	31·59	32·83	65·66	99·08	91·73
U.S. No. 2 Hard Winter	31·20	31·45	32·10	54·85	98·24	87·12
Canadian No. 1 C.W.R.S.	33·75	32·50	34·36	71·28	103·85	95·30

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress is being made with plans to increase brucellosis eradication areas.

Plans to extend eradication areas in 1975 to 1977 were announced on 20th December 1974. The new eradication areas planned for 1975 have already been brought into operation and my right hon. Friend will shortly be making an order which will schedule the eradication areas planned for 1976. In addition, a comprehensive review of the brucellosis eradication arrangements is being conducted and we hope to make a further announcement on this before the end of the year.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service which Minister is responsible for the Civil Service Pay Re search Unit.

The Pay Research Unit is a non-statutory body which is under the control of a Director who is appointed by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister. The administrative cost is financed from public funds under Section 3 (Royal Commissions, etc.) of Vote XIII, 12, the Central Management of the Civil Service, etc., which is accounted for by the Civil Service Department.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service if he has any plans to review the policy of providing retired civil servants with inflation-proof pensions.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer which I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Fife, Central (Mr. Hamilton) on 24th November.—[Vol. 901, c. 476–8.]

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what is the maximum increase in pension in the case of retired civil servants made or about to be made to those who were earning £5,000 a year or more; and in how many cases this increase exceeded the £6 limit for those in work.

Records of the some 250,000 former retired civil servants, their widows, and other dependants are not kept in a form which allows the salary on which current benefits are based to be readily extracted. The maximum increase in pension made in any one year to cover a 12-month period will be the 26·1 per cent., which is payable with effect from 1st December this year to public service pensioners who retired before 1st July 1974. Those in this category who at the time of their retirement had been in receipt of a pensionable salary of £5,000 or more and had a minimum of 20 years' service will receive an increase in excess of £6 a week.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service how many civil servants are currently employed in the Greater London area; and what is the total cost of their salaries and associated expenses.

Approximately 160,000 civil servants work in the Greater London area, of whom some two-fifths are engaged in providing services to the local population. Of the remainder, some 31,000 posts are due to be dispersed from the London area under the dispersal decisions announced by the Government in July 1974. It is not possible to isolate the costs of the staff employed in Greater London from information held centrally.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service if he will make a statement on the criteria used in determining whether serving officers and members of diplomatic staff are entitled to have their children educated within the private educational sector at public expense.

The present arrangements for payment of boarding school allowance to members of the Diplomatic Service, in respect of children resident at boarding school in the United Kingdom, are based on the Report of the Committee on Representational Services Overseas, 1962–63 (Command 2276). The report recognised that of all the special difficulties which face members of the service, that of educating their children and providing for them as normal a home life as possible is by far the greatest; and that since Diplomatic Service staff spend the greater part of their careers overseas, a boarding school education is a necessity if children are to be educated in the British educational system.Boarding school allowance is available to personnel of the Armed Forces, officers and Service men alike, who wish to secure continuity of education for their children which might otherwise be prevented by the frequency of service postings. The allowance provides assistance with school fees but does not usually cover them in full. The criteria of eligibility are, first, that the parent must not be serving in certain defined static jobs or due to leave the Armed Services within three months, and secondly that the school must be registered with the appropriate Education Department and must provide proper residential facilities. Not all the schools concerned are within the private sector of education.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what annual amount is paid by Her Majesty's Government to private boarding schools in the United Kingdom for the education of children of serving officers and diplomatic staff; and if he will list each school and the respective contribution by Her Majesty's Government for the latest convient period.

It is estimated that a total of £21¼ will be paid by way of boarding school allowance to officers and Service men of the three Armed Services during the current financial year of which about £6 million will be recovered in tax. Payment is made to parents on submission of receipted bills. Records of the schools concerned are not maintained centrally.Boarding school allowance is paid directly to members of the Diplomatic Service against school bills within certain ceilings, and not to individual schools. In the financial year 1974–75 the total amount of boarding school allowance paid to staff in all grades of the Diplomatic Service was about £2 million, of which about £0·4 million has been recovered in tax. I regret that information about the fees paid by members of the Diplomatic Service to individual schools is not readily available.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service how many children of serving officers and diplomatic staff are, at the latest convenient date, undergoing private education at public expense in the United Kingdom.

At the latest available date a total of some 21,800 children of Armed Service parents attracted payment of boarding school allowance of whom about 16,000 were the children of officers and about 5,800 were the children of Servicemen.Boarding school allowance was being paid in respect of 1,879 children of members of all grades in the Diplomatic Service, resident at boarding schools in the United Kingdom.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what is his estimate in a full year of additional ministerial, Civil Service and Parliamentary travel and subsistence costs incurred because of United Kingdom membership of the EEC.

, Pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 24th November 1975; Vol. 901, c. 19.], gave the following following information:£334,000 for Ministerial and Civil Service travel and subsistence, after reinbursement of some costs by EEC institutions.The estimated cost of parliamentary travel and subsistence amounts to £21,000; this covers expenses incurred by the House of Lords European Communities Committee and the House of Commons Select Committee on European Secondary Legislation etc., as well as of the staff supporting these Committees and the United Kingdom delegates.

asked the Lord President of the Council what are the Government's plans for financial help to political parties.

The Committtee on Aid to Political Parties, under Lord Houghton's chairmanship, is at present considering these matters. We must await their report.

asked the Lord President of the Council if he will make it his policy before any laws are passed constituting separate assemblies or parliaments for Scotland and Wales to introduce similar proposals in respect of England.

No. The form of constitutional development within the United Kingdom appropriate to Scotland and Wales is not necessarily that best suited to the very different circumstances of England.

asked the Lord President of the Council if he will ensure that a Bill to establish Welsh and Scottish national assemblies will be presented to the House in good time for it to conclude its passage during this parliamentary year.

The Prime Minister explained to the House on 19th November the difficulties involved in completing the whole legislative process in the current Session.

asked the Lord President of the Council what was the estimated cost of running Parliament during each of the last five years.

The estimated costs are as follows:

	£ million
1970–71	6·8
1971–72	8·6
1972–73	12·7
1973–74	16·2
1974–75	17·1

These figures include expenditure from the Votes of the House of Commons and House of Lords as well as services provided by the Department of the Environment and Her Majesty's Stationery Office.

asked the Lord President of the Council whether he has studied the supporting research facilities available to back bench members of parliament in other European Community countries and in the United States of America; and how these compare with those in the House of Commons.

I am aware that the support facilities available to Members of this House compare unfavourably with those in a number of other legislatures. These comparisons have no doubt been taken into account by the Select Committee on Assistance to Private Members in their recommendations to the House.

asked the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on his meeting with other Heads of Government at Rambouillet on 15th to 17th November to discuss the economic situation.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will make a statement on the meeting of Heads of Government which he recently attended at Rambouillet.

asked the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on his recent talks with Western Heads of Government at Rambouillet.

asked the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on his meeting with Heads of State and Government in Paris on 16th November.

asked the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on his talks in Rambouillet with other Heads of Government.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will make a statement on the recent summit meeting of Heads of State in Rambouillet.

asked the Prime Minister if he will make a statement following the Rambouillet summit meeting.

I refer the hon. Members and my hon. Friends to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Conway (Mr. Roberts) on 25th November.

asked the Prime Minister if he will place in the House of Commons Library a copy of his public speech of 10th November at the Guildhall on economic policy.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Blaby (Mr. Lawson) on 25th November.

asked the Prime Minister if he will detail his official engagements for Thursday 27th November.

I chaired a meeting of the Cabinet this morning. I also had the pleasure of entertaining the Prime Minister of Jamaica to lunch at 10 Downing Street. This afternoon I shall be holding a number of further meetings with my Ministerial colleagues and others.

asked the Prime Minister when he next expects to take the chair at the NEDC.

asked the Prime Minister when he next expects to take the chair at the NEDC.

I refer my hon. Friends to the reply which I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Westhoughton (Mr. Stott) on 25th November.

asked the Prime Minister when he next plans to meet the TUC.

asked the Prime Minister what plans he has for meeting leaders of the CBI and TUC.

asked the Prime Minister when he next plans to meet the TUC and CBI.

asked the Prime Minister when he next plans to meet the leaders of the TUC and CBI.

I refer my hon. Friends to the reply which a gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Bolsover (Mr. Skinner) on 25th November.

asked the Prime Minister if he will appoint an additional economic analyst to the Central Policy Review Staff.

No.

asked the Prime Minister what is the current staffing establishment of the Central Policy Review Staff; and how many of the staff are in each Civil Service grade.

There are 31 staff in the following grades:—

Permanent Secretary	1
Deputy Secretary	1
Under Secretary	1
Assistant Secretaries or equivalent	6
Principals or equivalent	8

asked the Prime Minister how many members of the Central Policy Review Staff have been with the unit for (a) less than 12 months, (b) from one to two years, (c) over two years and (d) since the formation of the unit; and what is his general policy regarding the average length of time which an official should serve in the CPRS.

CPRS staff (excluding supporting staff) have served with the Unit for the following periods:

(a) Less than 2 months—six staff.

(b) One to two years—six staff.

(c) Over two years—five staff, of whom three have served since the formation of the Unit.

The normal minimum period of service is two years, and there are flexible arrangements for longer periods of service, depending on work needs and individual circumstances.

asked the Prime Minister what is the present annual cost to public funds of the Central Policy Review Staff, including provision for salaries and administrative overheads.

The current annual cost is £352,000.

asked the Prime Minister how many persons who have served in the Central Policy Review Staff since its inception were freshly recruited to the Civil Service for those duties; and how many such recruits are (a) still with the CPRS, (b) now elsewhere in the Civil Service and (c) no longer in the Civil Service.

19 persons have been recruited directly to the Central Policy Review Staff from outside the Civil Service. Of these nine are still with the CPRS, one is now elsewhere in the Civil Service and nine are no longer in the Civil Service.

asked the Prime Minister if he is satisfied with the co-ordination between the Lord President and the Secretaries of State for Wales and Scotland on the subject of devolution.

asked the Prime Minister if he is satisfied with co-ordination between the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Lord President of the Council on the presentation of the Government's proposals for devolution.

I refer the hon. Members to the reply which I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent South (Mr. Ashley) on 25th November.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will appoint a Minister whose sole responsibility will be the Government's policy on devolution.

There are already effective arrangements for co-ordination between my right hon. Friend the Lord President of the Council, who has overall responsibility for devolution policy; my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Wales; and other Ministerial colleagues.

asked the Prime Minister if he will make a Ministerial broadcast concerning the priority his Government are giving to the setting up of National Assemblies for Wales and Scotland.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Reigate (Mr. Gardiner) on 25th November.

asked the Prime Minister what messages he has received from UNESCO recently.

I have not recently received any communications from UNESCO.

asked the Prime Minister if he is satisfied with the co-ordination between the Department of Industry and the Department of Employment in reducing the level of unemployment.

Yes.

asked the Prime Minister when he next intends to visit the Isle of Ely.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will pay an official visit to Berwick-upon-Tweed.

asked the Prime Minister when he hopes to visit Edinburgh.

asked the Prime Minister if he will pay an official visit to Glenrothes.

asked the Prime Minister what plans he has to visit Peterborough.

asked the Prime Minister when he intends to make a further visit to Redbridge.

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister if he will pay an official visit to the City of London.

I hope to be in the City of London on 12th December to receive the Honorary Freedom of the City.

asked the Prime Minister if he will pay an official visit to Liverpool.

As the hon. Member knows, I am frequently in Liverpool, but I have no immediate plans for an official visit.

asked the Prime Minister if he will appoint Mr. Wynne Godley as his adviser on economics in public expenditure.

No. Mr. Wynne Godley is currently an occasional consultant to the Treasury on problems of methodology in economic analysis. As the House knows, I have appointed the Policy Unit at 10 Downing Street to advise and assist me in the whole range of policies contained in the Government's programme.

asked the Prime Minister if he expects to be present at the official opening of the National Exhibition Centre.

I visited the site of the National Exhibition Centre earlier this year, but I have no plans at present to attend the official opening ceremony

asked the Prime Minister whether he is satisfied with the co-ordination between the Department of Prices and Consumer Protection, the Department of Energy and the Department of Health and Social Security on the impact of energy prices on low income consumers.

Yes.

asked the Prime Minister when he next plans to meet EEC Heads of Government.

Next Monday.

asked the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the EEC Summit.

As the House knows, I shall be attending, with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the European Council meeting which is to be held in Rome on 1st and 2nd December.

asked the Prime Minister if the public speech of the Lord President of the Council on economic policy to the Coventry Chamber of Commerce on 13th November represents official Government policy.

asked the Prime Minister whether the public speech of the Lord President on industrial policy made to the Coventry Chamber of Commerce on 14th November represented the policy of Her Majesty's Government.

I refer the hon. Members to the reply which I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Tottenham (Mr. Atkinson) on 25th November.

asked the Prime Minister if he will place in the Library a copy of the document produced after the recent economic conference at Chequers.

I refer the hon. Member to the White Paper "An Approach to Industrial Strategy" (Cmnd. 6315), which was laid in the House and published on Friday 21st November.

asked the Prime Minister which of his Ministers and Government Departments are responsible for planning the eventual direct elections from Great Britain to the European Parliament.

At the European Council meeting on 1st and 2nd December, my right hon. Friend the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary and I expect to discuss the report of the studies undertaken by the Council and its Working Group. My right hon. Friend the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary, as Minister in overall charge of our relations with the Community, will be responsible, in consultation with me and other Ministers concerned, for further consideration of the problem within the Community. The implementation within the United Kingdom of any proposals which may eventually be adopted will be a matter for the Secretaries of State in charge of the Home Departments.

asked the Prime Minister if he will dismiss the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

asked the Prime Minister if he will dismiss the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will now announce the result of the investigation into alleged contractual irregularities concerning the M5 motorway.

Yes. Copies of this report, together with a report by the Department giving its conclusions, will be available in the Vote Office of the House.The independent investigation has been thorough and painstaking. It has revealed no evidence of corruption or fraudulent practices.It has shown, however, that:—

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment why he requires a further eight weeks in order to make offers to insulate those properties adjacent to the Bury bypass which for about two years have been suffering from noise levels that exceed the limits laid down by Parliament.

Time is needed for the Department's agent to complete estimates of cost, for the Department to examine and approve them and for the agent then to prepare and make individual offers.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will identify and publish a list of the difficulties encountered in costing the insulation work required to reduce the noise nuisance of Bury St. Edmunds bypass to the residents of Eastgate Street and Thingoe Hill.

Difficulties lie in the varied decorative and electrical wiring aspects involved, as experience on a nearby scheme has shown.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish in the Official Report the names and addresses of those properties in Eastgate Street and Thingoe Hill where, according to his information, ventilation problems have for two years held up work on reducing the noise nuisances endured by Bury St. Edmunds' citizens.

Difficulties are related to the structure and age of properties. I do not propose to publish names and addresses.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will issue a circular advising local authorities that they can spend as much this year as in the last financial year on home loans.

No. The limits announced in Circular 64/75, on 9th June this year, may not be exceeded, except where necessary to meet commitments incurred prior to that date.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will grant heavy goods vehicle licences to wearers of contact lenses under the same conditions as spectacle wearers.

The licensing of drivers of heavy goods vehicles is the responsibility of statutorily independent licensing authorities under Part IV of the Road Traffic Act 1972 who are guided by the standards recommended by the Medical Commission on Accident Prevention. The Commission considers that drivers of heavy goods vehicles, public service vehicles and other professional drivers should not wear contact lenses.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what reasons led him to reject the recommendations of his inspector concerning No. 64 Marlborough Place, St. John's Wood, N.W.8, and therefore allow it to be used as a school for the Cuban Embassy until 30th April 1977.

The reasons for my right hon. Friend's decision were fully set out in the Department's letter of 29th October, a copy of which was sent to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has acquainted the Cuban Ambassador with his decision concerning 64 Marlborough Place; and whether he has been notified of the Ambassador's acceptance of this decision, that the use of this house for an Embassy school must end by 30th April 1977.

The Cuban Ambassador's representatives have been advised of my right hon. Friend's decision to grant a time-limited planning permission expiring on 30th April 1977 for a school use at 64 Marlborough Place. I am not aware that this period is inadequate for the Cuban Embassy's needs.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to be able to publish the preferred line of route of the A66 through Thornaby.

On Friday 28th November.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what were the criteria used in approving special applications for loan sanctions for the purchase of housing properties which are outside the general consent given in Circular 64/75, the number of such special applications so far received, and the number so far approved, specifying the local authorities concerned in each case.

Examples of applications for which sympathetic consideration is given are contained in paragraph 22 of the circular. The intention is to relate expenditure on extending social ownership to the principal objectives of the Government's housing policy aimed at relieving the worst housing conditions. The detailed information requested is not readily available, and I will write to my hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans his Department has for the future use of Tonfannau Camp; and if he will make a statement.

It has been found possible to meet the purposes for which this camp was being retained by other means. Arrangements for its disposal by the Property Services Agency are being resumed and discussions with the Merioneth District Council on its interest in the camp are being reopened.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what were the total sums paid to members of local authorities during 1974–75 in respect of (a) attendance allowances, (b) subsistence allowances and (c) travel allowances.

Detailed figures are not available centrally and local authorities are required to provide them only to their own electors.Such estimates as can be made however suggest that in England and Wales in 1974–75 attendance allowances accounted for some £8 million, travelling £1½ million and subsistence a further £½ million.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has received the final report of the working party set up to review the operation of the present system of allowances for members of local authorities; and if so whether he will now publish it.

The report is still under consideration. My right hon. Friend will make a statement as soon as he is in a position to do so.