asked the Secretary of State for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many hill farmers in England it is estimated will receive a lower level of hill assistance as a consequence of changing from the United Kingdom system of head-age payments for cattle and sheep to the proposed EEC hill livestock compensatory allowances scheme based on payments per hectare.

On the basis of the present rate for converting units of account to sterling, and at the current rates of payment, it is estimated that of the 11,500 farmers who submitted applications in respect of 1975 some 400 are likely to be so affected.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has any plans to increase the amounts payable for compensation under the brucellosis eradication scheme in Northern Ireland in order to arrive at a more realistic upper figure.

This is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

asked the Attorney-General what is the number of staff employed by the Director of Public Prosecutions; what ranks or categories they occupy; and what is the total annual cost to public funds.

The staff employed by the Director of Public Prosecutions is as follows:

Director of Public Prosecutions Department Staff at 10th December 1975:
Professional:
1	Director.
1	Deputy director.
2	Assistant directors.
8	Assistant solicitors
24	Senior legal assistants.
22	Legal assistants.

Non Professional:
1	Principal.
4	Senior executive officers.
14	Higher executive officers.
38	Executive officers.
25	Clerical officers.
3	Clerical assistants.
1	Senior personal secretary.
7	Personal secretaries.
1	Senior superintendent of typists.
1	Superintendent of typists.
14	Typists.
3	Photoprinters.
1	Office-keeper.
3	Senior messengers.
12	Messengers.
2	Telephonists.

Total: Professional	58
Non-Professional	130
	188
Annual costs: £910,000.

asked the Attorney-General what is the average length of time that elapses between the initial reference to the Director of Public Prosecutions of complaints against the police and his decision as to whether or not criminal prosecution should be brought.

The Director of Public Prosecutions receives about 7,000 complaints a year against the police. A decision as to whether a criminal prosecution should be brought is reached in about 90 per cent. of them within three days. In the remaining cases the length of time taken to reach a decision depends upon their complexity, the need for further inquiries or the outcome of other criminal proceedings. An average overall would, therefore, be misleading.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give an undertaking that the target establishment comprising 6,230 industrial and non-industrial workers in total, in the General Manager's departments at Chatham Dockyard by March 1976 will not be further reduced next year or in 1977–78.

Seasonal fluctuations occur in the establishment of the General Manager's department at Chatham and small variation in the trade balance will be required to meet loading patterns. However, no significant change in strength is planned for the next two years.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many service men are attending training courses run by the Services in this country from Chile, South Africa and Oman respectively; what type of training course is undertaken; what is the period of training; what are the circumstances under which this country accepts service men for training from these particular countries; and whether he will make a statement.

, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 8th December 1975; Vol. 902, c. 37], gave the following information:At 5th December 1975 the number of service men attending training courses run by the Services in this country from Chile, South Africa and Oman, together with the type and duration of such training, was as follows:

Chile 19	Approximate Duration
On the job training in submarines	3 weeks
Engineering/equipment	From 2 months up to 23 months
South Africa 1
Artificer instrument	17 months
Oman 24
Platoon commanders	2 months
Nursing	24 months
Education	5–6 months
Technical	4–9 months
Standard military	6 months
Secretarial	3 months
Basic flying training	8 months

Requests from these countries for places on Service training courses are considered in the light of vacancies available and of the political, defence, sales and other relevant factors.The courses being provided for Chileans are all related to sales contracts for ships of the Chilean Navy. The one South African is due to complete next month a course arranged in 1973.

asked the Lord President of the Council whether he intends that local authority rates in Wales will be reduced by up to 10 per cent., if the Welsh National Assembly succeeds in achieving savings from its block grant allocation sufficient to fund such reductions.

The Government and Parliament will be responsible for settling the level of block grant needed for the Welsh devolved services. How that block grant should be allocated and how much should be devoted to rate support will be settled by the Welsh Assembly. Individual local authorities will continue to settle the level of their own rates, taking due account of the level of rate support received from the Welsh Assembly.

asked the Lord President of the Council whether, in deciding the revenue-raising powers of the Scottish Assembly, the Government considered the possibility of the Assembly's having the right to levy a special charge on major oil operators in the North Sea activities; and whether they considered allowing the Assembly to levy a special industrial and environmental rehabilitation charge on the oil companies and operators.

The Government reviewed all available options for raising revenue. They decided that the system which would be fairest to all parts of the United Kingdom was a block grant for the devolved services financed from the pool of United Kingdom revenues, including taxation on all companies operating within the United Kingdom, whether concerned with oil operations or not.

asked the Lord President of the Council what new representations he has received in favour of a referendum on the issue of the future of Scottish Government; and if he will make a statement.

Since the publication of the White Paper I have received two letters about a referendum on the devolution proposals for Scotland, one in favour of it and one against. The Government have no plans for a referendum.

asked the Lord President of the Council on what grounds the Government decided that it was impracticable for the Manpower Services Commission, the Training Services Agency and the Employment Service Agency to come under the control of the Scottish Assembly.

The Government believe that it would not be sensible to attempt to deal with the employment problems of any one part of Great Britain in isolation from the rest. The decentralisation of responsibility for the activities of these bodies in Scotland to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland will ensure that special Scottish problems are taken fully into account in the formulation and execution of policy.

asked the Lord President of the Council whether he will now move to reappoint the Select Committee on Cyprus; and whether he will seek to add a further two Members on such reappointment.

This matter is at present under consideration.

asked the Lord President of the Council if, in the course of his review of the procedures of the House of Commons, he will consider the question of enabling hon. Members from Welsh constituencies to table Parliamentary Questions to the Secretary of State for Wales in the Welsh language if they so desire.

The long-standing rule is that a Member must address the House in English, but I have noted the hon. Member's suggestion.

asked the Lord President of the Council if, in the Government scheme of devolution, it will be possible for the Scottish Assembly to give specific instructions to those members of the Scottish Development Agency who are nominated by the Assembly.

The Scottish Development Agency 1975 empowers the Secretary of State to give the Agency directions of a general or specific character. The Devolution Bill will set out the respective powers of the Scottish administration and the Secretary of State for directions on devolved and non-devolved matters. All directions would apply to the Agency as a whole.

asked the Lord President of the Council if, in the Government scheme of devolution, those members of the Scottish Development Agency nominated by the Assembly will play a full part in the Scottish Development Agency's industrial and economic functions.

Yes. All members of the Scottish Development Agency will play a full part in all the functions of the Agency, whether they are appointed by the Scottish administration or by the Secretary of State.

asked the Lord President of the Council (1) how many seats in a Welsh Assembly would represent the following constituencies, assuming no boundary changes, following the reallocation of seats on the population proposals contained in the White Paper, Command Paper No. 6348: Caernarvon, Carmarthen and Merioneth;(2) how many seats in a Welsh Assembly would represent the following constituencies, assuming no boundary changes following the reallocation of seats on the population proposals contained in the White Paper, Command Paper No. 6348: Conway, Denbigh, West Flint, Pembroke, Barry, Cardiff, North, Cardiff, North-West and Monmouth;(3) how many seats in a Welsh Assembly would represent the following constituencies, assuming no boundary changes following the reallocation of seats on the population proposals contained in the White Paper Command Paper No. 6348: Montgomery and Cardigan.

The result of the application of the formula set out in the White Paper for later elections to the Welsh Assembly will depend on the torates at the time, but on existing constituency boundaries and current electorates at the time, but on existing constituency boundaries and currect electorates the allocation of seats to the constituencies mentioned by the hon. Member would be as follows:

One Assembly constituency: Merioneth, Montgomeryshire.

Two Assembly constituencies: Caernarvon, Cardiff, North, Cardiff, North-West, Cardiganshire, Carmarthen, Conway, Denbigh, Flint, West.

Three Assembly constituencies: Barry, Monmouth, Pembrokeshire.

asked the Lord President of the Council whether, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Melton on 8th December, he will give an assurance that he will not permit any individual to be a member both of a planning committee of a local authority and of the committee of the Welsh Assembly which will determine planning appeals, thus preventing a situation whereby an individual who shared responsibility for rejecting a planning application at local government level could also be partly responsible for dismissing the appeal, in his capacity as an Assembly member.

The question whether any limitation should be placed on an individual in serving as a member both of a local authority planning committee and of the committee of the Welsh Assembly dealing with planning appeals is one to be considered in developing the White Paper proposals. One possibility would be to leave the matter to the Assembly's own Standing Order.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) how much money, compared with 1974–75, will be allocated for medical research into diseases of the digestive tract—that is ulcers, liver disease, gallstones, cancer of the digestive tract, ulcerative colitis Chohn's disease, Ceoliac disease, and disorders of the bowel;(2) what priority is being given to research into peptic ulcers, liver disease, gallstones, cancer of the digestic tract, ulcerative colitis, Chohn's disease, Ceoliac disease, and disorders of the bowel, respectively.

The Medical Research Council hopes to continue its expenditure on research in the general field of gastroenterology at about the same level in real terms as in 1974–75. The Council gives high priority to clinical trials in cancer therapy, including two new trials of treatment in cancer of the digestive tract. Other research expenditure is incurred by the universities; and the Health Departments, directly and through health authorities, fund research into health services for these diseases. The balance of support for research within this field is under review. A report prepared by a sub-committee of the Council has recently been made available to the scientific community for comment before a joint policy is formulated by the Council and the Health Departments on the priority to be attached to different aspects of the work.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how much has been spent, per year since 1969–70, on each subject area by each university on scientific research for which Government grants have been provided.

This information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how much Government money has been spent, each year for the last five years, on scientific research in United Kingdom universities, compared with that spent by Western European and North American OECD countries for the same period.

This information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when the Southend Junior School, Elland, Yorkshire, is to be replaced; and if he will make a statement.

It is for the Calder-dale Education Authority to decide which projects it will carry out within its lump sum allocations for school building. The authority has not been able to include the replacement of the school in its building programmes for 1975–76 or 1976–77, but I understand that it will consider it for inclusion in 1977–78.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if, pending the conclusion of the consultation procedures on school transport, he will introduce a measure of interim relief from January 1976 for families with more than one child having to travel more than two miles but less than three miles to school.

The introduction of the necessary legislation would not be desirable in advance of a general decision on school transport. Local education authorities already have discretion to assist in such cases.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will take steps to implement the recommendations of the World Plan of Action adopted at the International Women's Year Conference in Mexico City for the period 1975 to 1980 in connection with achieving a marked increase in literacy of women, extending vocational training in basic skills for women and redirecting formal, non-formal and life-long education towards the revaluation of men and women.

The Sex Discrimination Act requires the provision of education and training to be made without discrimination on grounds of sex. Women as well as men are free to take advantage of the present Government assisted campaign for adult literacy. The education system is sufficiently flexible to respond to widely differing needs and interests as expressed by individuals of either sex.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what stage has been reached in the reorganisation of secondary education in Essex.

In September 1975 approximately 79 per cent. of all pupils at secondary schools maintained by the Essex Education Authority were attend- ing comprehensive schools. As will be evident from this, the great majority of secondary schools in the county are reorganised on comprehensive lines. My Department is in close contact with the local education authority about proposals to reorganise most of the remaining schools including those in the Chigwell area, and my right hon. Friend understands that fresh proposals for the reorganisation of certain of the schools in that area, revised in the light of the availability of building resources, will be submitted to him shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy how many coal-fired power stations have been (a) opened in Wales and (b) closed in Wales in each year since 1960; and what was the capacity added or subtracted in consequence.

The following coal-fired power stations have been opened in Wales since 1960: Aberthaw A, 1960–64; Uskmouth B, 1960–63; Aberthaw B, 1971–74. Two sets at Aberthaw A were converted to oil-firing in 1970–71.The following coal-fired plant has been closed in Wales since 1960: Marchniel, 1961; Cardiff LP, 1968; Newport LP, 1970; Cardiff HP, 1971; Newport HP,1973; Upper Boat HP and LP, 1973.The net coal-fired capacity added over the period was 1,234 MW.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing (a) the number of coal-fired power stations in Wales in each year since 1940, (b) the total capacity of these coal-fired stations and (c) the tonnage of coal used.

This information is not readily available. I am asking the Chairman of the CEGB to write to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy how many oil discoveries in the United Kingdom sector of the North Sea have been notified to him which have not yet been declared commercial; what are their titles; and how many of them, and which ones, have a participation by United Kingdom companies.

To date, there are 34 oil discoveries which have not yet been declared commercial. Such discoveries so far named are: Alwyn, Andrew, Brae, Buchan, Crawford, Hutton, Lyell, Magnus, Maureen and Tern. With the exception of Alwyn, Brae and Lyell, British companies hold interests in these named discoveries, and in the unnamed discoveries which have been announced in the following blocks: 2/10, 3/11, 15/13, 15/21, 16/21, 211/18, 211/19, 211/27.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what proportion of North Sea oil fields, recognised as British, would not be so if the Orkney and Shetland Islands were not part of the United Kingdom.

As I informed the hon. Member for Eastleigh (Mr. Price) on 24th November—[Vol. 901, c. 38]—there is no basis for defining the sectors of the United Kingdom Continental Shelf that would appropriately be regarded as belonging to different parts of the country, and I cannot, therefore, estimate the percentage of total oil reserves that might lie in such hypothetical sectors.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what is the total number of blocks designated for oil purposes in the Celtic Sea; of these, how many are currently let; and, of the ones let, how many have been developed to the extent required by their franchise.

A total of 130 blocks have been designated in the area, of which 35 are currently licensed. To date none of the obligatory drilling programmes under these licences has been met in full.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will publish the unit charge for the electricity supplied to the Anglesey Aluminium Company under the agreement made with the Central Electricity Generating Board in 1970; and what were the terms of the contract, its duration and contractual arrangements for termination in the event of no profitable aluminium being produced.

Details of the contract are confidential to the parties concerned but, as indicated in Cmnd.3819, it provides for a supply of power for approximately 30 years; and in the event of the supply being permanently terminated before the end of that period there is provision for CEGB to make a payment to the company in respect of the residual value, if any, in the contract.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what representations he has received from the Zetland County Council about devolution and oil revenues; and what reply he has made.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether it is the intention of the AEA to proceed with HTR technology or to defer all further work on this line of development for some years.

The Atomic Energy Authority and the other parties responsible for our nuclear programmes are experienced in gas-cooled technology and are in regular touch with their counterparts abroad. But they do not at present have the resources for a larger effort on the high temperature reactor.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) which local authority is responsible for the homeless in the Penwith and Kerrier district of Cornwall;(2) how many units of temporary accommodation for use by the homeless each responsible authority has;(3) what was the total expenditure on bed and breakfast accommodation for the homeless in the Penwith and Kerrier districts of Cornwall in 1974–75.

I understand that both Penwith and Kerrier District Councils have accepted primary responsibility for accommodating homeless people. Neither council has any units of temporary accommodation for use specifically by the homeless, although Penwith has 45 units and Kerrier 20 which are available to meet emergency needs generally.The information about public expenditure on bed and breakfast accommodation is not readily available, for the reasons given in a reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Darlington (Mr. Fletcher) on 8th December.—[Vol. 902, c.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what was the total public expenditure on bed and breakfast accommodation for homeless people by those local authorities responsible for providing homes for the homeless in the North Cornwall constituency in 1974–75;(2) which local authorities are responsible for providing homes for the homeless in the North Cornwall constituency;(3) how many units of temporary accommodation for use by the homeless are currently provided by those authorities responsible for providing homes for the homeless in the north Cornwall constituency.

The information I have is that both North Cornwall and Restormel District Councils have accepted primary responsibility for accommodating homeless people. The number of units of accommodation used temporarily by the district councils varies according to circumstances and need, and the availability of permanent housing. Accommodation provided temporarily is by no means the sole measure of the overall help that district councils give to homeless people. However, I understand that on 8th December the district councils regarded the following numbers of units as available for use temporarily by homeless people: North Cornwall, 16 Restormel, seven.The information about public expenditure on bed and breakfast is not readily available, for the reasons given in a reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Darlington (Mr. Fletcher) on 8th December.—[Vol. 902, c.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether invisible sites and probable finds entries will be retained on future revisions of Ordnance Survey maps; and, if not, what are the relative costs involved in this decision.

There has been no recent change in Ordnance Survey policy as regards the depiction of antiquities on published maps. Apart from the published maps Ordnance Survey continues to maintain a series of 1: 10,000 record maps covering the entire country on which the sites of all antiquities which they have recorded are plotted and referenced on appropriate record cards. These record maps include the sites of antiquities, such as finds of coins, which are no longer visible on the ground.The cost of this work is now a charge to my Department, and for the current financial years has been estimated at £37,000. Copies of these record maps and cards are available on sale to interested users.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many grants for roof insulation for elderly or disabled people were made by local authorities with his Department's consent in the last available period of time; and what was the total sum involved and the average amount of each grant.

No consents have as yet been sought by local authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish in the Official Report a list of members of the Local Government Expenditure Consultative Committee announced in his April Budget; and if he will indicate their relevant professional details or qualifications.

The Consultative Council on Local Government Finance does not have a fixed membership. It is chaired by the Secretary of State for the Environment and is attended as necessary by Ministers and senior officials from the Department of Health and Social Security, the Department of Education and Science, the Home Office, the Department of Prices and Consumer Protection and the Welsh Office, and by representatives—elected members and officials—of all the local authority associations, the Greater London Council and the London Boroughs Association.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what percentage of the United Kingdom gross domestic

EXPENDITURE ON NEW HOUSING AND GRANT AIDED IMPROVEMENTS AS A PERCENTAGE OF UNITED KINGDOM GDP AT FACTOR COSTS
					1970	1971	1972	1973	1974
United Kingdom		…	…	…	3·8	3·9	4·2	4·3	4·3
England	…	…	…	…	3·0	3·2	3·5	3·6	3·6
Scotland	…	…	…	…	0·5	0·4	0·4	0·4	0·4
Wales	…	…	…	…	0·2	0·2	0·2	0·2	0·2
Northern Ireland		…	…	…	0·1	0·1	0·1	0·1	0·1

Expenditure on new housing and grant-aided improvement is equivalent to gross domestic fixed capital formation in dwellings as defined in the National Accounts. This includes the cost of related professional fees but excludes any improvements which are not grant-aided.All figures are approximate and based on very limited data. Estimates for the constituent countries are subject to wider margins of error than for the United Kingdom as a whole.A slightly different definition of GDP is used for OECD purposes and the comparable figure for the United Kingdom on this basis for 1974 was 3·9 per cent. as given in my reply to the hon. Member on 9th December.—[Vol. 902, c.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what percentage of gross domestic product has been spent on house constructions and improvement in each year since 1964.

The information is as follows:

Expenditure on new housing and grant-aided improvements as a percentage of United Kingdom GDP at factor cost
	per cent.
1964	4·2
1965	4·1
1966	4·1
1967	4·4
1968	4·5
1969	4·2
1970	3·8
1971	3·9
1972	4·2
1973	4·3
1974	4·3

A slightly different definition of GDP is used for OECD purposes, and the comparable figure for the United Kingdom on this basis for 1974 was 3·9 per cent. as

The information is as follows:given in my reply to the hon. Member on 9th December.—[Vol. 902, c.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table in the Official Report showing the number of dwellings completed per 1,000 population in each of the member countries of the OECD, in so far as the information is available to him, during the latest year for which this information is available.

The latest information is as follows:

Dwellings completed per 1,000 Inhabitants 1974
Australia	11·1(1)(1971)
Austria	6·6
Belgium	6·7(2)(1973)
Canada	9·4 (1971)
Denmark	9·6
Finland	15·4(3)
France	9·8
Germany, Federal Republic	9·7
Greece	9·1(4)
Iceland	10·5(5)(1973)
Ireland	8·2
Italy	3·6(6)(1973)
Japan	15·1(2)(1970)
Luxembourg	6·4 (1973)
Netherlands	10·9
Norway	9·8(3)
Portugal	5·2 (1973)
Spain	10·2
Sweden	10·5
Switzerland	11·8(7)
Turkey	Not available
USA	8·1
United Kingdom	5·0
(1) Year ending 30th June 1971.
(2) Dwellings started.
(3) Excluded one-room dwellings without kitchen or kitchenette.
(4) Dwellings authorised.
(5) Including extensions.
(6) Dwellings in municipalities with over 20,000 inhabitants.

(7) Excluding dwellings in non-residential buildings and in buildings jointly used for habitations and commercial purposes in localities with less than 2,000 inhabitants.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many miles of motorway have been built, two or three lanes, in the areas of Northampton, Banbury, Brackley, Buckingham, Bletchley, Wolverton, Newport Pagnell, Milton Keynes; and what is the number of miles of similar motorway under construction.

There are 22£75 miles of M1 existing, but no other mileage is under construction, within these areas.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether loans to harbour authorities under the Harbours (Loans) Act 1972 may henceforth bear interest at the National Loans Fund rate.

Loans made under the Harbours (Loans) Act have been made at premium rates in accordance with the former Administration's policy set out in Cmnd. 4794. These terms are not appropriate in present circumstances nor in accordance with our policy on ports reorganisation. Loans made under the Act will from now on bear interest at the rates appropriate to issues from the National Loans Fund without premium. Outstanding loans made under the Act will not be subject to further increases in rates.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if, in the light of the Law Lords' decision on charges to ratepayers not in receipt of specific services provided from the rate fund, he will take steps to relieve from the payment of a proportionate part of their rates bill those ratepayers who do not have children currently receiving education by the local authority; and if he will make a statement.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make funds available for the further study of the earth tremors which have occurred in Knitton, Silverdale and North Staffordshire generally.

I understand that such studies are already in hand. I gather that the National Coal Board is contributing the equivalent of one-third of the costs. The local authorities concerned have asked the Government for help, and I am now considering the matter. I will write to my hon. Friend as soon as I can.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment which houses purchased by his Department in anticipation of the construction of the A41(M) motorway in the Hemel Hempstead constituency are now (a) standing empty (b) illegally occupied and (c) legally occupied.

(a) 1, (b) 4 and (c) 18.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment on what date, and at what individual cost, which houses by individual address were acquired by his Department in anticipation of the construction of the A41(M) motorway along its proposed section in the Hemel Hempstead constituency.

I will write to my hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many houses in Chipperfield Road, Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, and elsewhere in the area, owned by his Department, are subject to negotiation with a housing trust concerning a renting agreement.

Five.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment with which housing trust his Department is in negotiation concerning the possible renting of houses owned by his Department in Chipperfield Road, Kings Langley, Hertfordshire; when these negotiations began; and when they are expected to be completed.

Negotiations began about a month ago with London Quadrant Housing Trust and with Shelter. Agreement has now been reached on all points except the rental to be paid, and hand over to these organisations is expected early in the New Year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he is now in a position to announce the membership of the Construction Exports Advisory Board.

I am glad to say that Mr. D. G. Scholey, Vice-Chairman of S. G. Warburg & Co. Ltd., and until recently Deputy Chairman of the Government's Export Guarantees Advisory Council, has accepted my invitation to chair the Board. The following have agreed to serve as Vice-Chairman and members:

• Mr. H. W. A. Francis (Vice-Chairman), Vice-Chairman, Tarmac Ltd.; recently Chairman, Export Group for the Constructional Industries.
• Mr. S. Baker, Co-ordinator of Industrial Advisers, Department of Trade.
• Mr. J. H. S. Burgess, Under-Secretary, Construction Industry Overseas Directorate, Department of Environment.
• Mr. O. Cox, Partner, Shankland Cox. Partnership, planners and architects.
• Mr. R. Foster, Chairman, Foster Melbourn Holdings; Past President, National Federation of Building Trades Employers.
• Mr. M. A. Hastilow, Chairman, Wednesbury Tube Co.; member executive committee of National Council of Building Material Producers.
• Mr. H. Ridehalgh, Senior Partner, Sir William Halcrow & Partners, consulting engineers.
• Mr. R. Soper, Member, Association of Building Technicians; Member of the TUC Construction Industry Committee.
• Mr. D. R. W. Watts, Director, George Wimpey & Co. Ltd.; President, Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors.

I have invited one further member to serve.As I indicated in my reply to my hon. Friend on 7th August, the Board will have as its immediate remit the task of advising my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for the Environment and for Trade on the selection of firms or groups of firms to pursue particular construction projects overseas; and, generally, on ways of harnessing additional resources in the constructional industries, and associated professions, to meet export opportunities.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he is satisfied with the safety of United Kingdom citizens visiting France on holiday in view of French law which permits imprisonment without trial and in which a person is assumed to be guilty until proven innocent.

Yes. France has signed and ratified the Rome Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms 1950. Under this everyone arrested on suspicion of having committed or intending to commit an offence is entitled to trial within a reasonable time or to release pending trial, and everyone charged with a criminal offence is to be presumed innocent until proved guilty.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will give an assurance that a visit to Wales will not be included in the official itinerary of Monsieur Giscard d'Estaing during the forthcoming visit to the United Kingdom.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will give an assurance that any European passport issued in the United Kingdom will, while mentioning membership of the European Community, retain the Royal Arms, the laissez-passer of Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State and indication of the appropriate national status.

The new-style passport will continue to be a United Kingdom passport bearing the Royal Arms and the recommendation of the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and showing the holder's national status, with an additional mention of the European Community.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many citizens of the United Kingdom are known to be currently serving terms of imprisonment in French gaols.

41 citizens of the United Kingdom are currently serving sentences of imprisonment in France.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if Her Majesty's Government will support the recommendations of the World Plan of Action adopted at the International Women's Year Conference in Mexico City for the period 1975 to 1980, urging the United Nations General Assembly to declare 1975 to 1980 a "decade for women and development", to encourage the allocation of additional resources expressly intended for the integration and participation of women in development, particularly for projects for women in rural areas and the lowest income groups in urban areas.

We welcomed the adoption by the World Conference on International Women's Year in Mexico of the World Plan of Action. The plan is a comprehensive document offering valuable guidelines for Governments in the formulation of national policy. In practical terms we have demonstrated our support by making available a grant of £200,000 per annum for three years for use in connection with the proposed Decade for Women in Development. It is our intention that this sum should be devoted where possible to projects for women in the poorer countries and in rural areas. We intend to support the Decade provided it continues to be directed to its proper objectives and is not diverted by politically contentious activity.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his efforts during his recent visit to Saudi Arabia to increase the commercial links between the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia.

My right hon. Friend had broad discussions with the Saudi Arabian authorities about the British desire to participate fully in the current five-year development plan, mainly through the Memorandum of Understanding signed in October. He also had discussions on several specific projects. In this he was helped by those business men who accompanied him.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures the Government envisage for future support of community and social welfare projects in deprived areas after the phasing out of the urban aid programme.

The urban programme consists of capital projects and non-recurrent non-capital projects; and of recurrent non-capital projects. These last are grant-aided for five years in the first instance, but the grant may be renewed at the end of the period if the original social need continues.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he proposes to announce the appointment of a chairman for the Welsh Committee of the IBA; with whom he has had consultations about such an appointment; what is the reason for the delay; and who are the current representatives of Wales on the IBA.

We shall announce the appointment of the IBA member for Wales, whose duties include the chairmanship of the IBA's Welsh Committee, as soon as practicable. We have consulted our colleagues, including the Secretary of State for Wales, and have been in touch with the Chairman of the IBA; but the filling of the vacancy is also dependent on the availability of those approached to accept appointment. I am sure that the Authority will meanwhile make whatever arrangements are appropriate to take account of its Committee's advice.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will ensure that the current review of the law of charities includes the charitable status of Oxford and Cambridge colleges, with a view to withdrawing this status.

We shall be considering all the implications of the Expenditure Committee's recommendation that the law relating to the definition of charitable status should be changed.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prison officers in England and Wales were murdered in the course of duty during each of the past 10 years.

One, in 1965; none subsequently.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many murders were committed in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.

It has been found that cases of murder are often indistinguishable from other homicides—i.e., manslaughter and infanticide—in the absence of court decisions; this is reflected in the change of classification of such offences for the purpose of the criminal statistics from 1973 onwards (of Chapter 7 of Criminal Statistics 1973 (Cmnd. 5677)).The following table gives figures for offences currently recorded as homicide together with the number of those offences subsequently decided by the courts to be murder:

year of Recording by the Police	Number of offences of Homicide	Number subsequently decided by the Courts to be Murder
1965	N.A.*	54
1966	N.A.*	64
1967	354	67
1968	360	73
1969	332	69
1970	342	91
1971	406	84
1972	412	88
1973	391	82
1974	535	150
* The number of homicide offences on the current classification is not available for the years up to and including 1966. Information about murder in terms of the former classification is available in the annual volumes of the Criminal Statistics up to and including 1972.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers in England and Wales were murdered in the course of duty during each of the past 10 years.

The following is the information:

Police officers on duty who were victims of homicide, England and Wales, 1965–1974: cases subsequently decided by the court to be murder.

Year of recording by the police	Number of Offences
1965	1
1966	4
1967	—
1968	—
1969	—
1970	1
1971	2
1972	1
1973	1
1974	1

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many male fiances from the New Commonwealth have been allowed to enter or to settle in the United Kingdom since October 1974; how many have been refused entry; and how many became engaged in contemplation of an arranged marriage.

During the period 1st October 1974 to 30th September 1975, 373 male citizens of New Commonwealth countries were given limited leave to enter as fiances. The number allowed to settle by reason of marriage after initial temporary admission as fiances or for some other purpose was 2,965. During the same period 12 citizens of New Commonwealth countries, male and female, were refused admission because their claim to be coming for marriage was unsubstantiated. Some fiance(e)s may have been refused on other grounds. Separate figures for males refused are not available. It is not possible to say how many of the engagements were in contemplation of an arranged marriage.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what processes have to be gone through to establish figures for prison escapes; and if he will now take steps to collate such information.

The total number of escapes is collated each month. More detailed breakdowns of these figures can be extracted from a central register maintained since 1963, but figures relating to earlier years are frequently unobtainable.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will introduce legislation in the present parliamentary Session to control private hire vehicles; and, if not, when he expects to be able to do so.

We hope to issue shortly a consultative document with proposals for legislation on the control of taxis and private hire cars. The timing of the introduction of legislation will depend upon the availability of parliamentary time.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will ensure that the refund of excess television licence fees, obtained illegally by his revocation or threat of revocation of overlapping licences, will be paid automatically and not made dependent on application from licence holders who have already been inconvenienced by his Department's handling of this matter.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to implement the recommendations of the World Plan of Action adopted at the International Women's Year Conference in Mexico City for the period 1975 to 1980 in connection with the promotion of women's organisations as an interim measure within worker's organisations and educational, economic and professional organisations and problems concerning nationality not covered in the Sex Discrimination Act.

The World Plan of Action contains much valuable guidance for Governments in the formulation of policy and I shall take it into account where it has a bearing on my departmental responsibilities.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made under the Fire Precautions Act 1971 towards the issue of designation orders directed at hospitals, residential homes and hostels.

The preparatory work required before a designation order can be made relating to hospitals is in hand. The designation of other types of premises will be considered when circumstances permit.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many category A prisoners have been granted parole in each of the past three years; and if he will make a statement.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave on 8th December to a Question by the hon. Member for Cheltenham (Mr. Irving).—[Vol. 902, c. 4–5.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he proposes to issue an order to give effect to the Local Government Boundary Commission's Report Number 30 which reviewed electoral arrangements for the borough of Elmbridge.

We are considering this report and the objections to one of the proposals in it. We hope to announce our decision shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will announce the names of the members of the Scottish Development Agency.

I have today made the following appointments to the Scottish Development Agency:

Chairman: Sir William Gray.

Members: Professor Kenneth Alexander, Mr. A. R. Devereux, Mr Charles Gray, Mr. A. M. M. Grossart, Mr. James Jack, CBE, Mr G. I. M. Robertson, Mr L. F. Robertson, CBE. Mr. George Sharp, OBE, Lord Wallace of Campsie, Dr. George Weir.

The Chairman, Mr. Jack, Mr. L. F. Robertson, Mr. Sharp and Dr. Weir served on the organising committtee, the appointment of which I announced on 24th October.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what has caused the delay in cases being heard in district and sheriff courts in Fife; and if he will make a statement giving the number of cases that have been waiting for three months, six months and more, in each court, respectively.

I am not aware of any unusual delays in the hearing of summary criminal cases in the sheriff courts in Fife, where the position is generally similar to that throughout Scotland. Figures are not held centrally in the form requested, but returns of the position at 1st February 1975 and 1st November 1975 for the three sheriff courts show the intervals of time between pleading and trial diets as:

Interval (weeks) between pleading and trial diets
	1st February 1975	1st November 1975
Cupar	12	7
Dunfermline	12	12
Kirkcaldy	15	13

There is in general no delay in cases being heard in the district courts in Fife and the interval between pleading and trial diets has not exceeded six weeks in any of the three district courts.If my hon. Friend has any particular case in mind, perhaps he would let me have the details.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the total road expenditure in Scotland by his Department and by local authorities, respectively, for the financial year 1974–75.

The total road expenditure in Scotland by the Scottish Development Department for the financial year 1974–75 was about £64 million. Details of local authority road expenditure are not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many hill farmers in Scotland it is estimated will receive a lower level of hill assistance as a consequence of changing from the United Kingdom system of headage payments for hill cows and sheep to the proposed EEC hill livestock compensatory allowances scheme based on payments per hectare.

On the basis of the present rate for converting units of account into sterling, and at the current rates of payment, about 600 Scottish farmers would be due to receive a lower level of assistance, but I expect that more half of these will be covered by a declaration of the Commission at an EEC Council meeting last February to the effect that payments currently being made in excess of the limits in the Directive could be continued in the case of farmers in certain remote parts of Scotland.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is satisfied with the working and administration of the jobs creation scheme.

I have been asked to reply.It is only two months since the job creation programme was announced by the Manpower Services Commission, and I am satisfied with the way in which it is progressing.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many jobs have been created in Scotland under the jobs creation scheme.

I have been asked to reply.I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that up to 5th December, the latest date for which figures are available, 65 projects had been approved, providing 999 jobs, and projects involving a further 733 jobs were receiving urgent attention.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are his estimates of pension payments to former employees and the numbers of those receiving such pensions, in central Government, local government, nationalised industries and

PENSION RECIPIENTS: FORMER EMPLOYEES AND SURVIVING DEPENDENTS
Thousands (at 30th September each year)
			1968	1969	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974
Central Government (civil)*		…	279	295	312	327	342	371	395
Local authorities†	…	…	358	368	379	390	402	420	438
* Including the National Health Service.
† Including teachers, Police and fireman.

Payments to widows, children and other dependants and some nonrecurring payments such as lump sums, transfer values and refunds of contributions are included. The exclusion of these items from all categories

£ million
				1968	1969	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974
Central Government (civil)			…	116	129	140	163	198	242	291
local authorities		…	…	184	198	208	225	258	347	380
Public Corporation		…	…	140	147	151	163	189	226	275
Armed Forces	…	…	…	160	113	121	129	147	177	196

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will issue a White Paper providing guidance on the operation of secondary banks' finance.

No.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what research and development the Treasury is carrying out in the field of programme budgeting.

Departments which have found programme budgeting helpful continue to study ways of improving its application. The Treasury keeps informed of developments elsewhere and participates in international discussions on various aspects of the subject.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what preference is given to suppliers located in Wales and in other

The following table shows estimates of total superannuation payments made in respect of former employees of central Government, local authorities, public corporations and the Armed Forces. A comprehensive series of figures is available only for calendar years.for all years could be achieved only at disproportionate cost.Numbers of those receiving pensions are readily available only for central Government (civil) and local authorities. These are as shown in the table below.development areas in the case of purchases being financed by central Government.

The General Contracts Preference Scheme, which has been in existence for many years, gives firms in the development areas preference in the placing of public contracts when all other things are equal. This is supplemented by the Special Preference Scheme which provides that if no firm in the development areas is awarded a substantial part of the contract the lowest tenderer from the development areas is given the opportunity to take on 25 per cent. of the order at a price which entails no additional cost to the purchasing Department.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the number of staff employed in the Treasury and the proportions involved in each of the main staff grades compared with the same figures 10 years ago.

1,144 on 1st December 1975 and 1,647 on 1st December 1965. The numbers in the main staff grades on these dates were as follows:

	1.12.75	1.12.65
Permanent Secretary	1	2
2nd Permanent Secretary*	4	5
Deputy Secretary*	9	6
Under-Secretary*	22	16
Assistant Secretary*	49	51
Senior Prinicipal*	10	5
Principal*	103	114
Senior executive officer*	42	117
Higher executive officer A*†	22	22
Administration trainee*†	27
Higher executive officer*	71	131
Executive officer*	103½	143
	463½	612
Other staft	680½	1,035
	1,144	1,647
It should be noted that the figures for the two dates are not comparable because that for 1965 includes staff engaged on Civil Service pay and management work which in 1968 was transferred to the newly-established Civil Service Department.
Notes: These figures include part-time staff counted as a half.
* Includes economic, statistical and other professional staff of equivalent rank.
† In 1965 there was a single grade of Assistant Principal.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will cease to differentiate repairs and maintenance and other types of work undertaken by contractors and subcontractors in the construction industry by making repairs and maintenance zero rated for value added tax purposes;(2) what would be the annual cost of zero rating for VAT purposes repair and maintenance work carried out on buildings.

I would refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Devon, West (Mr. Mills) on 11th November.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the unidentified public expenditure per capita in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, respectively, during each of the last five years.

The term "identifiable public expenditure" is used to des- cribe expenditure which can conceptually and practically be allocated to the countries of the United Kingdom. By definition the remainder of public expenditure cannot meaningfully or accurately be attributed.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish a table showing the supply and use of resources during 1974, in a format corresponding as closely as possible to the first column of table 1.1 of Command Paper No. 5879 and, if possible, in demand terms at both 1970 factor cost prices and 1974 factor cost prices.

The table below shows the supply and use of resources in 1974, using the same format and price basis as table 1.1 of Cmnd. 5879. It is not available at 1974 prices. The table is based on work done in the summer and is, therefore, not fully consistent with the latest national accounts.

	£ million, demand terms at 1970 factor cost prices 1974
A. Supply of resources:
1. Gross domestic product	47,200
2. Net flow of resourcesout of balance of trade in goods and services	-200
3. Available for domesticuse (line 1 minus line 2)	47,400
B. Domestic use of resouces:
1. Private investment includ-ingstock-building†	4,700
2. Nationalised industry investment inclucing stock-building	1,300
3. Public expenditure‡
(a) Public consumption	9,500
(b) Public investment‡	2,300
(c) Total Public expenditure	11,800
(d) Indirect puplic expenditure	6,700
(e) Total puplic exditure	18,500
4. Personal consumption
(a) Privately financed (line A3 minus lines B1 to B3	22,900
(b) Publicly financed (= line B3 (d)	6,700
(c) Total	29,600
† Excluding private investment in housing, which is included with personal consumption.
‡ Excluding nationalised industry investment.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to implement the recommendations of the World Plan of Action adopted at the International Women's Year Conference in Mexico City for the period 1975 to 1980 in connection with ensuring the recognition of the economic value of women's work in the home, and in voluntary activities not traditionally enumerated and rectifying anomalies in taxation which adversely affect women.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the current, or most recently available, level of the National Debt; and what is the latest estimate of the annual interest on this debt.

The amount outstanding on the National Debt at 31st March 1975 was £45,925 million. As published in the Financial Statement and Budget Report 1975–76 the latest estimate of the annual interest on this debt is £3,570 million.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in terms of earned income, there are any levels of taxation where it is economically beneficial for a couple to live together without being married, assuming both are earning.

, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 9th December 1975; Vol. 902, c. 111], gave the following information:In general, there is not tax advantage, in relation to earned income, for a couple to live together as single persons. Where both are over 65, however, there may be an advantage if the combined earned income exceeds £3,300.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many soldiers and policemen have been killed or have suffered severe injury in each year since 1970 in the course of arresting individuals in Northern Ireland who were subsequently detained and released from detention.

The answer to this Question cannot be supplied without the expenditure of a disproportionate amount of time, effort and public money. The circumstances of some 2,000 arrests would have to be examined individually; and this would not cover people arrested between January 1970 and August 1971 and who were subsequently and/or detained between August 1971 and December 1975.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what consideration he has given to the recent court decision on liability to sewerage rates in its application to Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

The statutory authority for charging rates in Northern Ireland is the Rates (Northern Ireland) Order 1972, which provides for the raising of district and regional rates. Neither the district nor the regional rate includes a separately identifiable charge in respect of sewerage.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list those schemes of special encouragement available to those engaged in agriculture, horticulture and forestry in Northern Ireland which are not available to those similarly occupied in the rest of the United Kingdom and the total cost in each of the last three available years.

I shall reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether meetings between his officials and Provisional Sinn Fein are still taking place; and how many of these meetings have been held since 10th February 1975.

, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 10th December 1975; Vol. 902, c. 269], gave the following information:As I told the House on 14th January 1975—[Vol. 884, c. 203]—my officials are available to hear the views of those who might have something to contribute to the solution of Northern Ireland's problem. These include a wide range of non-proscribed organisations, many of which, I understand, have had meetings with members of political parties in Northern Ireland. It would not be helpful to give the dates or numbers of such meetings with individual organisations.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the total cost of operating the incident centres.

, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 10th December 1975; Vol. 902, c. 271], gave the following information:The cost of the Government incident centres was of the order of £50,000 Some £45,000 of this represented the extra cost of staffing the operation. The remainder included the cost of telephone calls, hire and operation of remote copiers and supply of furniture.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what would be the net cost, when both savings in supplementary pension and increased tax revenue have been taken into account, of paying a full retirement pension to all those who do not at present qualify owing to insufficient national insurance contributions.

Roughly £800–£850 million a year.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether persons receiving non-contributory invalidity pension will be given national insurance credits in order to entitle them to a full rate retirement pension on reaching retirement age; and if she will make a statement.

People receiving non-contributory invalidity pension are credited with national insurance contributions on the same basis as people receiving the contributory invalidity pension, and these credits count towards the satisfaction of the second contribution condition for retirement pension. It is, of course, necessary for a person to have actually paid a minimum number of contributions in order to qualify for a retirement pension.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many retirement pensioners are receiving less than the standard retirement pension owing to an insufficient record of contributions; what are the major categories into which they fall; and what is the percentage in each category.

An estimated 440,000 retirement pensioners, about 5·5 per cent. of the total, are receiving reduced-rate pensions because of a deficient contribution record. The major categories into which these pensioners fall and the percentage of each category receiving reduced-rate pensions is as follows:

	per cent.
Men	4
Women receiving pensions on their own contributions	12·1
Wives receiving pensions on their husband's contributions	2·8
Widows receiving pensions on their husband's contributions	2·4

There are a number of reasons why people have reduced rate pensions, but I am afraid that no statistical breakdown is possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if she will publish a consultative document about joint financing by local authorities and health authorities; if she will include representatives from voluntary organisations in any further discussions she has with these authorities; and if she will make a further statement.

We hope shortly to consult representatives of local and health authorities about a memorandum on joint financing which will contain proposals to assist joint planning by enabling a limited amount of money to flow from health to local authorities. Because the proposals will be about facilities and services provided directly by statutory authorities I do not think that wider consultation is necessary. Health and local authorities already have power, however, to enter into arrangements with voluntary organisations for the provision of services.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if she will now set a date for the completion of all local authorities of the full identification of handicapped people under Section 1 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970; and if she will make a statement.

I am in sympathy with the intention underlying this Question, as my hon. Friend is aware. In the past five years, numbers on the registers have risen from about 405,000 to about 766,000. Notwithstanding this commendable progress by authorities, in a period of economic difficulties it is even more necessary for authorities to identify the handicapped in their areas so as to ensure that limited resources are applied to those most in need. For this reason, I am taking every opportunity to encourage authorities to press on with the work of identification.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what has been the cost to the Department in each of the last three years for which figures are available of subsidising national dried milk.

The estimated costs of free provision and of sale at a price lower than the cost to the Department were:

	Free issues	Loss on sales
	£	£
Year ended 31st March—
1973	52,000	82,000
1974	44,000	125,000
1975	70,000	465,000

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether she is satisfied that the Basingstoke District General Hospital is structurally sound and absolutely safe for those who use it and work in it.

There was movement recently of the tiled roofs of some of the staff residences at Basingstoke Hospital. Safety precautions were taken immediately and remedial work advised by an independent consultant structural engineer is being carried out. The Wessex Regional Health Authority has assured me that it has no reason to believe that the rest of the buildings of the hospital are not structurally sound; or that any of the buildings, including the residences, are not safe for those who use or work in them.