asked the Secretary of State for Energy what action is being taken to ensure that Great Britain's energy resources are being developed for the benefit of the British people.

One of the principal objectives of United Kingdom energy policy is to ensure that our indigenous energy resources are developed to achieve the maximum benefit to the whole nation.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement on current coal stocks.

Stocks on 20th December 1975, the latest date for which figures are available, were 31·8 million tons. They are rather higher than in normal years in the recent past due to the prevailing low demand for energy.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what are now the stocks of all the main grades, including smokeless fuels and solid fuels, respectively, and in total; how this figure compares with a year ago; what is the rate of production of each grade and in total; and how this compares with use and consumption.

Statistics on the main categories of coal production, consumption and stocks are contained in Tables 5, 7 and 8 of "Energy Trends", available in the Library of the House. Details of stocks, disposals and production of domestic solid fuel, including smokeless fuels, will take a short while to extract, but I will arrange for details to be published in the Official Report as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list the EEC ministerial meetings which he has been obliged to miss or defer over the period from the referendum in June 1975, to the present date.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what was the total volume of oil refined in the United Kingdom last year; and what proportion of this was refined in Wales, Scotland, England and Northern Ireland, respectively.

Total refinery throughput in 1974 was 109.5 million tons of which:

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will give assurances that there will be no delay in laying all the necessary pipelines to transport gas from Saint Fergus to the national grid.

British Gas informs me that work is on target and it has no reason to foresee any delay in its planned completion.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will give a direction to the British Gas Corporation that natural gas should be made available to chemical interests in the United Kingdom at prices which will enable them to compete on equal terms with EEC competitors.

No. I have no grounds for supposing such intervention to be warranted.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what estimate he has made of the approximate value of proven reserves of North Sea oil in the following sections, respectively: in waters round Orkney and Shetland, in water south of Orkney and Shetland but north of the border between Scotland and England extended out to sea at the same angle as it is on land and in waters south of such an extension of the border.

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 24th November to the hon. Member for Eastleigh (Mr. Price)—[Vol. 901, c. 38]—and on 12th December to the hon. Member for Kingston-upon-Thames (Mr. Lamont)—[Vol. 902, c. 385.]

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what progress is being made in the installation of gas and electricity meters using tokens as payments from retirement pensioner consumers.

The Electricity Council has now made a full interim assessment of these meters and sets out its findings in a letter to Mr. Michael Young, Chairman of the National Consumer Council. With his agreement I am placing a copy in the Library. As the report notes, the development is still at an early stage, but merits continuing study.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy when he expects the Council of Ministers to complete its consideration of proposals for the JET tokomak project; and if he will make a statement.

I expect the Euratom fusion programme, including the JET tokomak project, to be considered further by the Council of Ministers during the coming months, but I cannot forecast when its consideration of proposals for the JET project will be completed. At the Council of Ministers on 15th December there was general agreement on the merits of this project, but the Commission had made no formal proposal on its siting. In our view the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority's establishment at Culham would provide far and away the best site.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement concerning the proposed disposal of BP shares currently held by the Bank of England, indicating by what means the disposal will take place and to what extent such disposal will involve overseas sales.

I have nothing to add to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Gravesend (Mr. Ovenden) earlier today.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether any nuclear waste is stored or disposed of at the Re-Chem chemical recycling plant at Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire; and, if so, what steps are taken to safeguard public health.

I have been asked to reply:I am informed by the Chairman of the Health and Safety Commission that chemical wastes, some of which contain small incidental amounts of radioactive material, are stored and processed at this plant. The operations are subject to safety regulations—the Ionising Radiations Regulations 1968. Disposals of radioactive waste to the environment are authorised by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland subject to limitations and conditions which safeguard public health.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what representations he has received from the oil companies towards establishing a minimum floor price for oil.

None, but my officials have discussed the floor price extensively with British Petroleum and Shell. The companies' views were given in confidence.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what percentage reduction in home orders within the boat building industry has occurred since the imposition of the 25 per cent. rate of VAT.

I understand from the Ship and Boat Builders National Federation that the drop in home sales since the introduction of 25 per cent. VAT has been in excess of 50 per cent. This cannot, of course, be ascribed solely to the introduction of 25 per cent. VAT.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry how many first-class letters, second-class letters and parcels were handled by the Post Office over the Christmas period in 1975 and how these figures compare for the same period in 1974; and if he will make a statement.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what was the total number of letters and packets, respectively, handled by the Post Office during the 1974 Christmas period; and what is the current prediction for the totals to be handled during the Christmas period 1975.

These are matters for the Post Office, which inform me that over the period 13th December 1975 to 2nd January 1976 the figures are as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will now announce the composition of the committee under Mr. C. F. Carter to review the Post Office.

The committee will be:

• Charles Frederick Carter, FBA, HonDEconSc (Chairman).
• Leslie William Buck (General Secretary of the National Union of Sheet Metalworkers, Coppersmiths and Heating and Domestic Engineers).
• Brian Smith Kellett, MA (Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive, Tube Investments Ltd).
• Sir George Gray Macfarlane (recent Controller, Research and Development Establishments and Research, Ministry of Defence).
• Rosemary McRobert (Director, Retail Trading-Standards Association; Council Member Consumers Association).
• Edward Rupert Nicholson, FCA (Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co, UK).
• David Sainsbury, BA (Financial Director, J. Sainsbury Ltd).
• Maureen Waddilove (Citizens Advice Bureau; Social Work).

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will ask the committee of inquiry which is investigating the Post Office to pay special attention to the effect of higher postal charges on the volume of Christmas mail.

No. The terms of reference of the committee are wide enough to cover the point, but it is for the committee to decide its own priorities in the light of the evidence it receives.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry whether his Department has received a copy from the South-West Economic Planning Council of its report entitled "Retirement to the South-West of England"; and if he will take steps to deal with the issues raised in the report.

This report provides a useful addition to knowledge about the economy of the South-West Region but does not identify any issues requiring action by me.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will list the categories of financial grants made by his Department to bodies, voluntary and statutory, in the Yorkshire and Humberside Region in each of the last five years; and if he will indicate the total amount paid into each category in each respective year.

A grant in aid of £12,000 has been paid to the Yorkshire and Humberside Development Association in 1974–75, and a similar sum in 1975–76. A wide range of regional and other financial incentives is available to industry in the Yorkshire and Humberside Region, but a full geographical breakdown of expenditure is not available. Information on specifically regional incentives is published in the Annual Reports of expenditure under the Industry Act 1972.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what was the gross revenue accruing to the Post Office from mail during December 1974; and what is the latest prediction for gross revenue from mail for December 1975.

Revenue figures are a matter for the Post Office. I am informed, however, that for the 7th December 1975–10th January 1976 accounting period revenue from posted items is predicted as £100 million, subject to final adjustment, compared with £69 million in 1974–75.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what steps are being taken to encourage new petrochemical industries based on North Sea oil.

The Department has taken the initiative in meeting major petrochemical companies for discussions on their investment plans. A number of projects are under active consideration by the companies.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will place in the Library a copy of the document NEDC (75) 67, which is referred to in paragraph 23, line 7, of the paper entitled "An Approach to Industrial Strategy", which was deposited in the Library on 5th November 1975.

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 19th December 1975; Vol. 902, Part II, c. 894], gave the following information:I have now placed in the Library and in the Vote Office a note on the "Criteria for Assistance to Industry". This document represents the Government's views following discussion with NEDC and the statutory advisory boards concerned with selective financial assistance, on the basis of the confidential discussion document NEDC (75) 67 mentioned in the paper "An Approach to Industrial Strategy". It would not be appropriate to disclose the confidential documents preceding the Government's approval of these criteria.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what steps are being taken to monitor the grants of £200 million given to industry under Section 8 of the Industry Act 1972.

Special monitoring arrangements, depending upon the form of assistance and the nature of the company concerned, apply to all assistance provided under the Industry Act 1972. These will apply to all forms of assistance made available through the special schemes under Section 8 announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer since April 1975.

asked the Minister for Overseas Development if he will publish an analysis of the cause, by element of the increase of £21 million, in section A1 of Civil Estimate Class II, 8 (Overseas Aid).

This Supplementary Estimates' provision is required to meet an increase in the rate of encashment of contributions already pledged by the United Kingdom in the form of promissory notes to the International Development Association (IDA). The original provision of £48 million for the year was based on disbursement estimates received from the IDA in the autumn of 1974.The increase of £21 million results from the following factors:Total IDA expenditure is proceeding faster than expected, due to the effects of inflation on prices of goods and services purchased under IDA credits. More credits for general purpose capital goods have also been approved; these are disbursed more quickly than project credits.As the United States exercised the option to postpone, for up to one year, payment of the first instalment of its contribution to the Fourth Replenishment of the IDA, there have been earlier calls on the contributions of other members, including the United Kingdom. When the United States payment is made there will be a catching-up period when drawings against other countries' contributions will be reduced.

asked the Attorney-General what was the cost to public funds of the cases heard at the Old Bailey during the 12 months ending December 1975 and in which acquittals were secured; and if he will list the cases in the Official Report.

It is regretted that the answer to this Question could not be obtained except at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will now make a statement of Government views on the Sandford Report on National Parks; and if he will place a copy of the statement in the Library.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment and my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Wales have now completed their consideration of the report and I am placing a copy of their conclusions in the Library of the House.I should like to express our gratitude to Lord Sandford, to the members of his committee and to all those who submitted evidence to the committee or commented on its report. I should also like to say how much we have been helped in our consideration of the report by the Countryside Commission, although I should emphasise that it does not agree with all our conclusions.The parks are one of our most important national assets and it is appropriate at this point in time—some twenty years after the parks were designated—that we should thoroughly review future long-term policies for them.On the central issue of conservation versus public enjoyment the committee has concluded that both must continue to be given due importance and that the main emphasis must be not on negative restriction but on positive management policies designed where possible to reconcile conflicts. Nevertheless, as the committee has also pointed out, some further powers of control are desirable and, in the last resort and in some areas, it will be necessary to give priority to the conservation of the natural beauty of the parks. This general line of approach is one we very much endorse.As regards the individual recommendations, we have in whole or in part endorsed the majority. There are, however, some which we have not been able to accept. The most important concern forestry, where we consider that the administrative arrangements established since the committee reported make the imposition of planning control unnecessary; minerals, where we consider that the normal planning control procedures should continue to operate; and national heritage areas, on which the Committee was itself divided, and which has met with general disapproval.A recurrent theme in the committee's report is that additional resources ought to be allocated to national park purposes. In present circumstances, however, additional resources could only be provided at the expense of other local authority services, and the national parks must be subject to whatever constraints may be necessary in the light of the developing economic situation. The overriding duty of the national park authorities over the next few years, therefore, will be to ensure that limited resources are employed with discrimination and in the most cost-effective way possible.Certain of our conclusions are not dependent either on legislation or additional resources and appropriate action can be taken without delay. As the conclusions which require legislation do not involve the use of mandatory powers we shall proceed with the preparation of the necessary legislation and will introduce it when parliamentary time is available. We believe that the national park authorities would welcome an increase in the range of policy options in allocating whatever resources will be available to them from year to year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the ways in which he proposes to improve public transport in areas of national parks and areas of countryside designated as of outstanding natural beauty, so that members of the public can easily visit them without using private transport.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the conclusions of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment and of my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Wales on the Sandford Report on National Park Policies which I announced in answer to his Question today. The provision of public transport is a matter for the transport operators and the local authorities of the area. In national parks the national park authorities are able to assist in the provision of suitable services for visitors and we have said that we attach importance to the provision of such services.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list in the Official Report those sections of the Sandford Report on National Parks which require new legislation and which the Government support; and when he proposes to bring such legislation forward.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the conclusions of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment and of my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Wales on the Sandford Report on which I have made a statement in answer to his Question today. We have concluded that legislation is needed on the matters in paragraphs 9.12, 9.16, 9.19, 13.6, 13.13, 16.18 and 22.3 of the Sandford Report and we shall consider whether legislation is needed on the matters in paragraphs 8.11, 11.3 and 16.12.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the nature of the compromise proposal worked out by the EEC Commission, and which was acceptable as a basis for discussion among member States, regarding the dumping of toxic waste.

The Council of Environment Ministers of the European Community agreed on 8th December 1975 proposals for controlling the discharge of certain dangerous substances to the Community's rivers and seas.At a previous Council on 16th October the United Kingdom had resisted a proposal that control of water pollution by a so called "black list" of the more dangerous substances should be by uniform emission standards fixed at Community level. The Government felt that our practice, which is to fix local emission standards for individual discharges in the light of quality objectives set for the water into which the discharge is made and taking full account of the needs of the local environment, offered better protection to the environment and made more efficient use of the resources available for pollution control.The compromise reached by the December Council was that the Community should set both uniform emission standards and quality objectives for each "black list" substance leaving member States to choose which method to adopt. If they wish to work through quality objectives they will have to demonstrate to the Commission through agreed monitoring arrangements that they are meeting the quality objectives laid down.The proposals agreed also dealt with a further "grey list" of less dangerous substances. No provision was made for uniform emission standards or the "grey list": member States will establish programmes to reduce pollution from these substances.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he is satisfied with his powers with regard to the supervision and control of hypermarket developments in urban areas.

As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State said on 12th November last in his statement on the recommendations of Mr. George Dobry, QC, in the "Review of the Development Control System", he intends to introduce legislation at the first opportunity to make enforcement action against breach of planning control more rapid and more effective.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list in the Official Report the amount of money each local authority received by way of education units in the needs element of the rate support grant in the most recent three years.

The needs element of the rate support grant is paid in aid of the revenues of an authority generally. Although it is based on various factors prescribed in the annual Rate Support Grant Orders, including education units, it does not follow that the amount of grant attracted by a factor is intended to be applied to that particular service.The total paid to local authorities included the amounts listed in the table below for the education units factor in 1974–75 and 1975–76. Details for 1976–77 are not yet available. Grants for 1973–74 were paid to the former authorities and are not comparable.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects each of the remaining uncompleted stages of the M27 motorway to be open for public use.

The Park Gate to Ports-bridge section—the remaining section of those under construction—is expected to be opened to traffic in March. Subject to the satisfactory completion of outstanding statutory procedures and availability of funds it is hoped to start work on the Hedge End—Windhover section this spring for completion in the spring of 1978, and on the Chilworth—Hedge End section in spring 1978 for completion in the spring of 1980.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects each of the remaining uncompleted stages of the M3 motorway to be open for public use.

Subject to satisfactory completion of statutory procedures and availability of funds it is hoped to complete the Popham to Compton section in 1980. A firm date for the upgrading to motorway status of the Compton to Bassett section has not yet been fixed.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will make a statement on the future of the railway network in England and Wales; what track mileage is likely to be closed; and what redundancies are likely to be declared.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what major changes he expects to authorise during 1976 in Great Britain's rail network; and if he will make a statement.

I would refer the hon. Members to the statement my right hon. Friend made on 16th December 1975 in reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, Springburn (Mr. Buchanan).—[Vol. 902, c. 620–1.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will now make a statement on the future of the railways.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Glasgow, Cathcart (Mr. Taylor) on 3rd December.—[Vol. 901, c. 614.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish an estimate in the Official Report of the expenditure each local authority is expected to incur in 1975–76, 1976–77, 1977–78 and 1978–79 in dealing with the problems relating to failures in high alumina cement, as submitted by the local authority associations.

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 19th December 1975; Vol. 902, c. 900], gave the following information:The estimates given below were obtained from local authorities at the request of the Public Sector Working Party on High Alumina Cement Concrete. They are likely to require revision as more precise information about the remedial work required becomes available.