asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the future life and use of Eastern District Hospital, Foresthall Home and Hospitals and Robroyston Hospital.

The 57 maternity beds at Duke Street Hospital, as the Eastern District Hospital is now called, will close following the opening of Rutherglen Maternity Hospital towards the beginning of next year. The future of acute services at this hospital will be considered by the Greater Glasgow Health Board as part of the redeployment of services resulting from the opening of Monklands District General Hospital next year.Foresthall Home is owned by Strathclyde Regional Council and I am not aware of any proposals by the Council for changing its use in the immediate future. In the longer term Foresthall Hospital may be redeveloped as a geriatric unit, although probably on a smaller scale.The Health Board has recommended the early closure of Robroyston Hospital because of a broken sewer, but no decision will be taken on this question until the Board has completed its consultations with local interests.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans are currently being prepared for the provision of additional hospital facilities in Glenrothes; what is the time schedule, the total cost and the estimated date of completion.

Hospital facilities currently planned for Glenrothes consist of a geriatric unit estimated to cost about £1 million. Planning of the scheme by the Fife Health Board is at an advanced stage, but no firm commitment to a start or to a completion date is yet possible. In common with other major capital schemes its priority within the health service building programme is at present under review, but this is not preventing progress with the final planning stages.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the present daily charge for a school meal; and what plans he has to revise the charge.

The charge will be increased from 15p to 20p at the beginning of the next school session.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is satisfied with the rate of private house building in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

Current trends in private house building in Scotland are very encouraging. Starts increased steadily during 1975, and in the last quarter there were some 3,500, about double the number in the last quarter of 1974. This reflects buoyant demand, increasing confidence on the part of the builders and adequate building society funds for lending.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent representations he has had on the need for complete separation of Scotland from the United Kingdom following publication of the White Paper on devolution.

Since publication of the White Paper I have received 25 letters from individuals and two memoranda from organisations generally advocating the separation of Scotland from the United Kingdom.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what effect the proposed cuts will have on the number of teachers employed and the size of classes compared with the present position.

The White Paper on Public Expenditure makes provision for the maintenance up to 1979–80 of the staffing standards for primary and secondary schools earlier agreed by education authorities for the period up to 1976–77. When all authorities have adjusted their staffing to those standards the numbers of teachers employed should be affected only by changes in the numbers of pupils. Class sizes in general should be unaffected.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will pay an official visit to Irvine.

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the current position of the Scottish economy.

I have nothing to add to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Aberdeenshire, East (Mr. Henderson) earlier today.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will make a statement with regard to the resources available to meet the requirements of the Social Work (Scotland) Act.

The White Paper on Public Expenditure to 1979–80 provides for an increase in real terms of about 3 per cent. in local authority spending on social work in 1976–77 compared with 1975–76, and for an annual increase of 2 per cent. thereafter.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he next plans to meet representatives of the fishing industry.

I have had three such meetings this year and I have no plans for more at present.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has for reducing unemployment in Dumfries and Galloway.

The hon. Member will be aware of the various measures taken by the Government to alleviate unemployment, including those announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 12th February, which will be of benefit to Dumfries and Galloway Region as well as to the rest of the country.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether, with the help of savings elsewhere, he will undertake to provide for the continuation under the auspices of the Scottish Office of the educational television service from Glasgow, now under threat of closure.

No. The decision to maintain a local educational television service for schools in Glasgow is entirely one for Strathclyde Regional Council to take in the light of its financial and educational priorities.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will hold discussions with the Scottish education authorities, the ETV and teaching trade unions and with the BBC and IBA companies, with a view to reporting on the current educational television output in Scotland and to considering the feasibility of establishing a Scottish audio-visual and ETV production unit.

No. The Committee on the Future of Broadcasting is examining the future of broadcasting in the United Kingdom. This includes the use of television for education. The Committee has taken evidence from the Scottish Education Department and from educational bodies in Scotland on the future needs of the Scottish educational system. I do not intend to initiate any further study of ETV production in Scotland before the report of the Committee is available, which, I understand, will be early next year.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a table in the Official Report listing those education authorities and further education colleges which maintain an ETV production centre, giving details in each case of capital investment to date, equipment and studio space available, and personnel employed.

This information is not held centrally. At my request, the Scottish Council for Educational Technology is conducting a detailed survey of facilities in Scotland for producing video material for educational, training or recreational purposes. The report of this survey will be published later this year.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received to date from Scottish fishing interests on the question of the extension of Great Britain's fishing limits.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given to the hon. Member for Argyll (Mr. MacCormick) earlier today.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the possible closure of the surgical unit in Rothesay on the Island of Bute.

Argyll and Clyde Health Board is consulting interested bodies in the area about the possible effects of the opening of the new Greenock District General Hospital in 1977. One of the possibilities is that the use of beds in Rothesay for surgery might have to be reviewed, but no decisions have been taken. The Board will carefully consider the views expressed by the bodies consulted before submitting any recommendations to me for approval.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the proportion of female to male employees in senior grades in his Department.

On 1st January 1976, 10 per cent. of my senior staff in the administrative, scientific, professional and technical grades were female.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the latest estimated annual cost of the penal system in Scotland, taking into account expenditure on all prisons, remand homes and similar establishments.

In the current financial year the estimated running cost of prisons, borstals, young offenders institutions and the one detention centre in Scotland is approximately £16·6 million. In addition, an estimated £4·4 million capital expenditure will be incurred in respect of new building and provision of plant. The figures include expenditure by Departments other than my own.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland which local education authorities in Scotland have not taken up their allocations for nursery education in the last year; and what are the amounts involved.

The following is the information in respect of nursery education building starts in the programme year to 30th September 1975:

Education Authority	Allocation £000's	Amount not taken up £000's
Borders	99	99
Central	406	194
Dumfries and Galloway	151	125
Fife	268	8
Grampian	406	217
Highland	193	109
Lothian	708	60
Strathclyde	4,155	2,250
Tayside	436	90
Orkney	15	15

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many inquiries have been received from industrialists for the use of the 127,000 sq. ft. factory available in the Larkhall Industrial Estate; how many male jobs will accrue; and if he will make a statement.

The provision and management of Government factories in Scotland is now the responsibility of the Scottish Development Agency and I shall ask the Chairman to write to my hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many blind, deaf and generally handicapped persons there are in Glasgow.

This information is not available centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make further efforts to ensure that European Coal and Steel Community arrangements are such as to secure improved markets for British coal in Western Europe.

The Community treaty precludes restrictions on trade in coal within the Community and there are no barriers on exports to other countries in Western Europe. In 1975 we exported over 3½ million tons of coal and coal products to Western Europe, a level that compares well with previous years.Under Community energy policy guidelines there is an arrangement, in which we participate, for the regular monitoring of coal imports from third countries with a view to seeing that they do not unfairly displace indigenous coal.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what is the proportion of female to male employees in senior grades in his Department.

The proportion is 1 to 18.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy how much profit the Government have made on the BP holding that was compulsorily acquired from Burmah at a price of £179 million.

The Government have not acquired any BP shares from Burmah, but as one part of the Government support operation mounted for Burmah the company last year agreed to sell its unpledged BP shares to the Bank of England, which has held them among the assets of the Issue Department. If it be assumed—as is by no means necessarily the case—that so large a holding could be sold at the present market price, the value of the holding at the close of business on Monday 22nd March was £447 million, or £268 million more than cost.

asked the Lord President of the Council if he will introduce legislation to provide for a referendum in Scotland on the devolution proposals.

The Government have no plans for a referendum.

asked the Lord President of the Council if he has any announcement to make on the ceremony being arranged to mark the bicentennial of the United States of America.

Following the statement I made on 17th July 1975, a small Committee working under my chairmanship has had consultations with officials of the Congress of the United States of America. It has been agreed that the ceremony in Westminster Hall will take place on the morning of 26th May, and 25 Members of Congress and their wives have been invited as guests of Parliament on a three-day official visit.The House will recall that a special showcase is being presented to the Congress of the United States in which will be displayed one of the two original copies of Magna Carta, which will be on loan for one year, and a facsimile in gold of Magna Carta, which is a permanent gift. The showcase and the gold facsimile will be on view in the Moses Room of the House of Lords on 4th, 5th and 6th May.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will ask the National Food Survey to present the information for 1977 in terms of percentages of families and individuals who have a diet which in calories, proteins, etc., falls (a) under 80 per cent. and (b) between 80 per cent. and 99 per cent. of the level recommended by the Department of Health and Social Services.

No, it would not be feasible to present the results of the National Food Survey in this way. The Survey only measures the quantity of food brought into a participating household during a single week. As the household may during that week obtain more or less than a normal week's consumption, the National Food Survey cannot provide estimates of the number of families of individuals who consume less than the recommended levels.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the cost to the United Kingdom of the Common Market's agricultural policy of storing skimmed milk powder.

The United Kingdom contributes to the Communities' budget as a whole and not to its individual parts. The United Kingdom contribution was 8·78 per cent. in 1973, 11·04 per cent. in 1974 and 13·57 per cent. in 1975.Expenditure by the Communities on the storage of skimmed milk powder was £0·5 million in 1973—£6·8 million

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the present world price of skimmed milk powder.

There is no easily identifiable basis for measuring world prices, and comparisons of skimmed milk prices are made difficult by differences on quality, presentation of products, stage of marketing and destination.Subject to these reservations, the average price of skimmed milk powder imported into the United Kingdom in January 1976, the latest month for which such information is available, was £509 per metric ton cif.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food where the 4,000 tons of skimmed milk powder held by the Intervention Board in the United Kingdom originated; and where it is stored.

I assume the hon. Member is referring to the skimmed milk powder recently advertised for sale for export to third countries for use as animal feed. This powder was manufactured in the United Kingdom and is stored in 14 commercial warehouses in Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is now satisfied that the United Kingdom plant health regulations will permit the import of 10,000 tonnes of potatoes held for export by the Indian National Agriculture Marketing Federation to which his attention was drawn on 17th February; and whether arrangements are being made for these imports.

Information provided by the Indian authorities indicates that potatoes grown in the northern plains of India could meet our plant health requirements. Trade organisations are aware that plant health licences to import these potatoes are available and some licences have been issued.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is now the size of the dried milk mountain and the beef mountain in the EEC and the United Kingdom, respectively.

According to the latest information, the amounts of dried milk powder and beef currently held in official intervention stocks is as follows:

	United Kingdom (tonnes)	EEC (tonnes)
Skimmed milk powder	30,254	1,170,352
Beef	1,038	226,000

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many leisure caravan sites are officially registered in each region of the United Kingdom.

As my right hon. Friend the Minister of State said in reply to a Question from the hon. Member for Woking (Mr. van Straubenzee) on 5th December—[Vol. 901, c. 750.]—this information is not available centrally. The licensing of caravan sites is carried out by local authorities. They keep registers of the licenses issued in their areas, which are available for inspection by the public.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will seek powers to prevent motorists whose vehicles have failed MOT tests from shopping around until they find an alternative garage which is prepared to grant them a certificate.

Motorists to whom a fault has been pointed out usually accept that it is in their own interests to have the vehicle repaired; those who believe it has been wrongly failed can and do resort to the appeals procedure.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has yet received an application from the West Lancashire District Council for part of the additional £50 million allocated for the improvement of public sector housing.

Yes. I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave him on 16th March 1976.—[Vol. 907, c. 461.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) why he authorised the reconstruction of the bridge at the junction of the A6 and A600 in Bedford rather than providing a level crossing at this point when the railway line beneath was seldom used;(2) what is the cost of repairs to the bridge over the railway near the junction of the A6 and A600 in Bedford;(3) how frequently the railway line running beneath the St. John's Bridge on the A6 has been used in the past year.

The cost of reconstructing the bridge was £330,000. It is not normal policy to replace a bridge with a level crossing, particularly a heavily trafficked trunk road bridge and at a crossing immediately adjacent to the platforms of a rail passenger terminal.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the nearest port in the United Kingdom to each of the following ports, London, Southampton and Liverpool, which is capable of handling container traffic and general cargo ships of 8,000 tons; and what is the shortest practical road mileage for heavy lorries to such nearest port.

The nearest such ports with lift-on/lift-off container facilities, measured as the crow flies, are Felixstowe, Newport and Manchester, respectively. On the same basis, the nearest ports with roll-on/roll-off facilities are Medway, Bristol and Manchester.The approximate road mileages on routes suitable for heavy lorries between these ports is as follows:

London and Felixstowe	75 miles
London and Medway (Sheerness)	43 miles
Southampton and Newport	100 miles
Southampton and Bristol	70 miles
Liverpool and Manchester	25 miles

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will make a statement on the use of blue asbestos in the construction of buildings.

Raw blue asbestos—crocidolite—has not been imported into this country for a number of years and is not currently used in the construction of buildings.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to decide whether or not to ratify compulsory purchase orders made in 1974 relating to properties in Nightingale Road and Radcliffe Road, Hitchin.

My right hon. Friend expects to issue these decisions within a fortnight.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set out in the Official Report the forms required by his Department or organisations for which he is responsible to be completed by firms with less than 200 employees or turnover of less than £500,000 per annum, the frequency with which such forms are required, the number of questions asked and the use to which the information so obtained is put; and what steps he is taking to reduce such form filling.

I regret that the wide-ranging information requested cannot be provided without disproportionate cost. I can however assure the hon. Member that every effort is made to keep form-filling burdens to a minimum, and that sampling methods are used extensively for enquiries directed to smaller firms.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many new council dwellings he expects to be built in the Greater London area in 1976 and 1977.

I do not wish to make a precise forecast, but I hope that the recovery we have produced in council house building both in Greater London and the country as a whole will be maintained. Starts in the Greater London area in 1975 were up by 26 per cent. on 1973 and completions by 20 per cent.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if, in view of the security risks involved, he will appoint an independent person to mediate in the current disagreement between his Department and the custody guards, further details of which have been sent to him.

No. I am satisfied that the revised arrangements will improve the security measures at Hampton Court Palace, the only building affected which is the direct responsibility of my right hon. Friend's Department.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the allocation for local authority mortgages in the Greater London area for 1976–77.

Out of a total of £276 million available for local authority mortgages in 1976–77 a sum of £98 million has been allocated to local authorities in the Greater London area, including an allocation of £52 million to the Greater London Council.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if, as part of his review of transport policy, he will consider establishing an overnight coach link between Stranraer and London to facilitate commuters from Northern Ireland who find the current air fare for the journey between Belfast and London too high.

The provision of coach services is a matter for transport operators in the first instance and not for my right hon. Friend. They may apply for the necessary licences to the traffic commissioners, who will then consider the application on its merits in the light of the statutory criteria governing the grant of licences. There are certain rights of appeal to the Secretary of State against decisions of the traffic commissioners and I cannot comment on the merits of any possible proposals for a service.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he intends to consult the Justices' Clerks' Association and the Magistrates' Association on the legislation to enforce compulsory wearing of seat belts.

I understand that in 1973 the Justices' Clerks' Society and the Magistrates' Association were included in consultations on the means of intensifying the use of seat belts, and commented on the possibility of making this compulsory. I intend to include them in consultations about draft Regulations under the Road Traffic (Seat Belts) Bill.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the latest estimated annual cost of the penal system in England and Wales, taking into account expenditure on all prisons, remand homes and similar establishments.

In the current financial year 1975–76 the estimated cost of running the prison system in England and Wales, which includes prisons, borstals, remand centres and detention centres, is £140 million in addition, allied service current expenditure incurred for prison purposes during the year is likely to amount to about £25 million and capital expenditure on building and the purchase of plant to about £31 million.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when he expects the Boundary Commission for England to start work on its next general review of constituency boundaries;(2) when he next expects to receive a report from the Boundary Commission for England.

BSC Prices = 100
Product		West Germany	France	Italy	Belgium	Netherlands	Luxembourg
Billets	…	136	120	98	134	—	—
Medium Plates	…	98	130	104	154	128	115
Boilerplates	…	105	139	110	160	135	—
Beams Structural	…	97	96	92	100	—	105
Steel for Reinforcement	…	121	102	96	96	98	101
Hot Rolled Strip	…	101	105	82	105	112	114
Hot Rolled Coil	…	104	105	92	106	112	—

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will publish a list of prices of the principal steel products of the British Steel Corporation and compare these with similar products in the leading EEC trading centres.

The British Steel Corporation is responsible or publishing its prices, which vary according to size, quality, etc. Comparison with European prices is made difficult by the differences in the specifications in the various countries, but the following table, provided by the BSC, gives a broad indication of the relative levels of published home trade prices in other countries of the European Communities on 1st March 1976. It does not cover the prices charged by the United Kingdom private sector producers.

On 1st March 1976 there were 65 full-time and four part-time staff employed in my office at 10 Downing Street. The estimated current annual cost of their salaries is £355,000.My answer to my hon. Friend's Question on 27th February gave similar information for earlier years. When travelling on official business my staff have their expenses paid at normal Civil Service rates.

asked the Prime Minister to what extent during his tenure of office civil servants, from his office who have retired on pension have been appointed to other paid Government appointments, either full or part-time; and whether they have been able to draw both their pensions and salary or expenses for their new full or part-time employment.

I regret that the information is not available.

asked the PrimeMinister if he will make a statement on the review of London weighting for personnel of the Armed Forces serving in London, submitted by the Armed Forces Pay Review Body.

The Second Supplement to the Armed Forces Pay Review Body's Fourth Report is published today as Cmnd. 6420. This recommends that the rates of London weighting introduced from 1st April 1974, in line with the Pay Board's recommendations in that year, should now be updated with effect from 1st July 1975 in accordance with indices published by the Department of Employment. The Government are most grateful to the Review Body for this report and accept its recommendations. The new rates are as follows:

(a) For owner-occupiers travelling daily from home to work:

Serving in Inner London—£387 per annum.

Serving in Outer London—£219 per annum.

(b) For all others:

Serving in Inner London—£226 per annum.

Serving in Outer London—£128 per annum.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many cases of the disease toxicara canis are known to have occurred in the last year.

Toxocariasis, which is the human condition contracted from the worm toxocara canis, is not a notifiable disease under the Public Health (Infectious Diseases) Regulations and consequently no statistics are available. Cases of toxocariasis with serious complications are so rare that they are usually the subject of a paper in a medical journal. There have been only a few in the past 20 years and I am not aware of any cases of this nature being reported during the past year. I have no reason to suppose that the less serious cases are at all common.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what plans she has for remedying the shortage of secure accommodation for juveniles in Mersey-side in general and Knowsley in particular.

Primary responsibility for providing accommodation for children in care, including secure accommodation, rests on local authorities. Eight secure places, which are not yet in use, have recently been completed at a community home with education on the premises assisted by Liverpool Metropolitan District Council. Urgent discussions are in progress on a project to provide eight secure places in an observation and assessment centre at Liverpool. I understand also that a project for eight secure places in an observation and assessment centre in the Wirral will be coming forward shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether it is her intention when she introduces Child Benefit in April 1977, that the new benefit will replace in entirety the present multifarious system of more than 30 different rates of allowance/benefit quoted in her reply to the hon. Member for Norfolk, North on 18th February 1976, Official Report, columns 749–50.

It is the intention to continue the long-established practice under which any dependency benefits paid for children are set at a rate which takes account of the family support payments being made.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the estimated total net cost in the current financial year of each of the following: child tax allowances, family allowance, family income supplement, child additions to national insurance benefits, and child additions to supplementary benefit, non-contributory invalidity pension and other non-contributory benefits; and what rate of non-taxable family allowance or child benefit could be paid at no extra cost to the Exchequer, if all these allowances and benefits were replaced by a single unified system of non-taxable benefit payable to all children as of right, regardless of changes in the circumstances of their parents.

The estimated net costs are about £1,200 million, £275 million, £12 million, £210 million and £130 million, respectively. These amounts would provide a tax free child allowance of £2·45 a week.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what rate of taxable family allowance or child benefit could be paid at no extra cost to the Exchequer if all the allowances and benefits quoted in the reply to the hon. Member for Norfolk, North, Official Report, 18th February, c. 749–50, were replaced by a single unified system of taxable benefit payable to all children as of right, regardless of changes, other than changes in tax liability in the circumstances of their parents.

About 65p a week in addition to the present family allowance of £1·50 a week for second and subsequent children, on the assumption that child tax allowances are retained at their present level.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many invalid vehicles or cars have been withdrawn from disabled people on the grounds that they are no longer in employment in each year since 1972; if she will now suspend all such withdrawals; and if she will make a statement.

The following figures, for England, include vehicles withdrawn or not renlaced:

	1972	1973	1974	1975
Three-wheelers	7	16	15	28
Cars	3	2	3	4

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if she will publish in the Official Report the average annual salaries paid to private medical practitioners employed by the National Health Service for the last 10 years for which figures are available, the figures to exclude extraneous income derived from the sale of medical certificates, etc.

Consultants and medical assistants who work part-time under the NHS in hospitals and general practitioners may have a private practice in addition to their NHS remuneration. It is not possible to identify separately those who are predominantly engaged in private practice.The full-time salary scales of consultants and medical assistants and the intended average net remuneration of general practitioners on 1st April of each of the last 10 years were as follows:

Year		Consultants £ per annum	Medical Assistants £ per annum	General Practitioners £ per annum
1966	…	3,200–4,885	1,850–3,250	3,700(a)
1967	…	3,200–4,885	1,850–3,250
1968	…	3,200–4,885	1,850–3,250
1969	…	3,470–5,275	2,100–3,810	4,000
1970	…	4,512–6,330	2,520–4,572	4,800
1971	…	4,512–6,840	2,721–4,938	5,185
1972	…	4,836–7,350	2,925–5,313	5,575
1973	…	5,085–7,599	3,156–5,562	5,750
1974	…	5,433–7,947	3,504–5,910	6,377
1975	…	7,536–10,689	4.548–7,812	8,485(b)

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the present number of pay beds in the areas served by the North-West Regional Health Authority and the Lancashire Area Health Authority.

There are 336 authorised

IMPORTS OF PHARMACEUTICALS FOR PAST 10 YEARS
Pharmaceuticals	1966	1967	1968	1969	1970
	£	£	£	£	£
Vitamins and Provitamins	No break-down available	991,457	1,658,416	2,114,412	3,068,461
Antibiotics		3,567,291	3,777,031	5,783,840	8,261,895
Vegetable Alkaloids		1,056,136	1,208,762	1,699,034	1,636,674
Hormones		1,944,889	2,537,242	3,814,008	4,405,247
Glycosides		131,801	112,595	98,930	107,311
Gland Extract		139,042	147,493	163,279	174,270
Antisera		575,059	612,087	1,179,822	1,899,071
Medicaments		6,930,403	8,507,032	9,787,440	13,215,589
Pharmaceutical goods including dressings		667,964	885,062	811,977	955,211
TOTAL	14,593,000	16,004,042	19,445,720	25,452,742	33,723,729
Pharmaceuticals	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975
	£	£	£	£	£
Vitamins and Provitamins	4,687,249	4,532,237	8,568,895	8,679,912	6,765,441
Antibiotics	7,569,055	8,868,348	12,626,590	20,918,444	28,327,880
Vegetable Alkaloids	1,955,343	1,839,476	2,905,162	4,654,504	4,122,454
Hormones	4,827,515	4,958,033	6,711,991	10,345,594	10,721,699
Glycosides	120,672	169,262	211,666	405,627	245,505
Gland Extract	233,112	200,502	408,967	431,491	882,356
Antisera	2,006,132	2,729,817	3,534,174	3,560,996	3,900,962
Medicaments	14,952,928	18,776,315	29,552,218	39,808,238	38,032,073
Pharmaceutical goods including dressings	1,247,300	1,417,165	2,056,128	2,982,947	4,121,198
TOTAL	37,599,306	43,491,155	66,575,791	91,787,753	97,119,568

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if she is satisfied with the present system adopted through the Committee on Safety of Medicines to monitor adverse reactions to drugs in normal use; and if she will place in the Library the Minutes of the Sub-Committee on Adverse Reactions.

In view of the importance of monitoring adverse reactions to medicines, particularly those most recently introduced on to the market, the Committee on Safety of Medicines is constantly

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the cost of imported drugs and pharmaceuticals of different categories used inside and outside the National Health Service over the last 10 years; and whether she will list the appropriate figures.

The costs of drugs and pharmaceuticals imported into the United Kingdom during each of the years 1966 to 1975 are set out in the following table. Categorised costs are not available for 1966.seeking to improve the effectiveness of the system.It would not be appropriate to place in the Library the minutes of the Adverse Reactions Sub-Committee, which are a report to the parent Committee and often contain confidential information.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what account is taken in assessing the income of a student applicant for supplementary benefit of an assessment of the parental contribution to the student's grant which is not actually being paid by the parent to the student; and whether the is proposing to make any changes to the present practice in this respect.

I understand from the Supplementary Benefits Commission that where a student claims supplementary benefit during vacations, account is taken of the parental contribution as assessed by local education authorities. There are no proposals for change.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many beds are available for the young chronic sick in the Brent and Harrow area; what is the shortfall in terms of the correct allocation of such beds; how many pay beds are available in this area; how many of these are likely to be included in the first phase of pay-bed removal from the National Health Service; and if she will make a statement.

As I said in my reply to my hon. Friend on 25th February [Vol. 906, c. 260]—there are no beds in the Brent and Harrow area specifically set aside for the young chronic sick; but the area health authority has the use of facilities elsewhere. There are no national norms for such provision; the number to be provided is a matter for local determination in the light of local circumstances.There are 31 authorised pay beds in the area. In the proposals which my right hon. Friend circulated for consultation on 27th February—a copy of which is in the Library—nine were included for phasing out in the first instance.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is her policy towards an extension of the meals-on-wheels service such as that proposed by the Department of Design Research at the Royal College of Art for the National Fund for Research in Crippling Diseases; and if she will make a statement.

My Department plans to sponsor research into alternative ways of developing meals on wheels services. It is envisaged that this will include an evaluation of a pattern of provision similar to that suggested in the Royal College of Art report.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if she will issue guidelines on priorities for the health and personal social services.

I am issuing today a consultative document "Priorities for Health and Personal Social Services in England", which reviews recent trends in the services and suggests strategies for their development up to 1979–80—the years covered by the recent White Paper on Public Expenditure. Copies are available in the Vote Office.The document, which is being sent to all health and local authorities and community health councils in England, and to a wide range of staff and professional organisations, hon. Members, voluntary bodies and others interested in the services, seeks to make planning a co-operative enterprise by promoting extensive discussion of proposed national strategies with all those concerned with the services. The document makes clear the importance I attach to joint planning between health and local authorities and envisages the development of joint financing arrangements.Within the overall strategy of stabilising the level of public expenditure after 1976–77, the Government have decided to allow for some measure of growth in expenditure on the health and personal social services. The document outlines what I see as the main priorities for the use of these limited extra resources and where I see scope for lower rates of growth and for measures which can release resources to meet more pressing needs.The strategies outlined in the document will be accompanied by continuing measures designed to secure redistribution of resources in favour of deprived regions and areas, to which I referred in my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh, Central (Mr. Cook) on 19th February—[Vol. 905, c.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if she will list the cumulative mean size of grant to families of handicapped children by the Family Fund in each month since April 1972; and if she will also list the rate of increase in size of grant each month and the number of first payments to families;(2) how many families received grants from the Family Fund in December 1974 and December 1975, respectively; and what was the average size of each payment;(3) what was the average amount of first payments to families by the Family Fund in each of the last six months.

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 19th March 1976; Vol. 907, c. 657], circulated the following information:

Year			Month	Cumulative mean grant (£)	Percentage increase in cumulative mean grant each month	Number of first payments
1973	…	…	April/May (the first month of operation)	68	—	39
			June	78	14·7	77
			July	107	37·2	68
			August	108	0·9	141
			September	109	0·9	176
			October	146	33·9	226
			November	163	11·6	483
			December	149	−8·6	708
1974	…	…	January	175	17·4	669
			February	188	17·4	669
			March	200	6·4	942
			April	209	4·5	620
			May	213	1·9	1,033
			June	216	1·4	898
			July	219	1·4	1,075
			August	224	2·3	860
			September	232	3·6	755
			October	234	0·9	1,029
			November	233	−0·4	827
			December	243	4·3	755
1975	…	…	January	249	2·5	853
			February	256	2·8	928
			March	258	0·8	769
			April	267	3·5	869
			May	269	0·7	1,219
			June	275	2·2	758
			July	278	1·1	1,146
			August	282	1·4	763
			September	287	1·8	523
			October	289	0·1	457
			November	289	0·0	52S
			December	289	0·0	590
1976	…	…	January	289	0·0	537
			February	290	0·3	635
Footnote:
In my reply to my hon. Friend on 24th February—[Vol. 906, c 182]—the figures for average payment which I gave were the cumulative mean grants per case.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when she expects to be able to reply to the letter of 20th February 1976 from the hon. Member for Newbury on the use of pornography in National Health Service hospitals.

I replied to the hon. Member's letter on 19th March 1976.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade (1) if he will investigate the current level of imports of Polish suits as a prima facie case of dumping;(2) what representations he has received from clothing manufacturers in connection with the imports of Polish suits.

I have received a number of representations from individual firms and from bodies concerned with the clothing trade about imports of suits from East Europe generally. My Department is also in touch with the Clothing Manufacturers' Federation about the preparation of an anti-dumping case on suits from Eastern European sources including Poland. In the meantime, as my right hon. Friend announced on 10th March—[Vol. 907, c. 243–4]—arrangements have been made to limit imports of men's and boy's woollen suits from several Eastern European countries including Poland. With these measures virtually all suits from these sources are now restricted.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will list in the Official Report for each paper and board quota serial number under the Import Duties (Quota Relief) Order 1974 (S.I., 1974, No. 2070), the quantities—in tonnes—and values charged with a 4·5 per cent. duty in 1975 and the duty receipts obtained by Her Majesty's Customs therefrom.

Out of 81 tariff quotas established by the Order in question covering goods otherwise chargeable with duty at 4½ per cent. in 1975, 56 were not exhausted during the year and there was no duty charged on these. I understand that once a tariff quota is exhausted details of imports are not recorded under each tariff quota. Consequently, information about the quantities, values and duty receipts on goods within the description of the other 25 quotas after they were exhausted is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what preparations he is making concerning the renegotiation of the Multi-Fibre Arrangement; and if he will set out his aims and the time-scale envisaged.

The GATT Multi-Fibre Arrangement expires on 31st December 1977. Later this year the GATT Textiles Committee will be undertaking a major review of the Arrangement, and it would be better to await this review before making preparations or considering proposals for the renegotiation of the Arrangement.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade on how many occasions an export credit guarantee has been issued to support the purchase of ships built in foreign yards by a foreign purchaser under a United Kingdom licence.

There have been no occations when an export credit guarantee has been issued to support the purchase of ships built in foreign yards by a foreign purchaser under a United Kingdom licence. However, there is a considerable export trade in the supply of ships' components from the United Kingdom to foreign shipbuilders which is supported by export credit guarantees, and occasionally the United Kingdom business is accompanied by licensing of designs from United Kingdom licensors.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether Her Majesty's Government, in the forthcoming UNCTAD talks in Nairobi, intends to favour the integrated approach to the establishment of commodity agreements.

At the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Jamaica 1975 my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister made a number of proposals for dealing with the problems of instability in commodity trade. Discussion on these problems are continuing in a number of international fora, and the United Kingdom is participating fully in the on-going examination of possibilities for international action including the UNCTAD proposals. We continue to believe that it may be possible to reach a consensus on international guidelines for trade in commodities which could be complemented by appropriate specific arrangements for individual commodities. We see difficulties with the package of propsals put forward by the UNCTAD Secretariat, but we are continuing to study them in a positive way.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what action he is taking to promote the most effective provision of health and personal social services in Wales consistent with the expenditure targets announced by the Public Expenditure White Paper, Command Paper No. 6393.

I am publishing today a consultative document setting out policy guidelines for the planning and provision of health and personal social services in Wales up to 1979–80. I am placing a copy in the Library of the House, and have sent a copy to each Welsh hon. Member. The document is being circulated widely in Wales, on a consultative basis, to all health and local authorities, to staff and professional bodies and other organisations concerned with health and personal social services provision.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list those bodies, other than Committees, to which he appoints members other than civil servants; and what is the number of members serving on each body.

My right hon. Friend makes 79 appointments to 11 bodies. The appointments are all honorary. Following is the detailed list:

Imperial War Museum: Two of the 23 Trustees.

Commonwealth Foundation: The United Kingdom Trustee. 32 other Trustees are appointed by Commonwealth Governments.

Commonwealth Institute: Myself as a Trustee, the Director, three Trustees, Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Board of Governors, 12 Governors, four Assessors. 32 other Governors are appointed by Commonwealth Governments.

The Southern Rhodesia (Higher Authority for Power) Order 1970: Two of the five members.

The Unofficial Advisory Group on UN Affairs: All 14 members.

Marshall Scholarship Commission: Two of the 20 members.

Overseas Service College (Farnham): Three of the 19 members.

School of Oriental and African Studies: Three of the 35 members.

University College of Wales: Wilson Chair of International Politics Advisory Board, One of the six members.

Advisory Panel on Arms Control and Disarmament: All 24 members of the Panel.

The Advisory Committee on Rhodesian Travel Restrictions: All four members.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what extra developments in the housing programme will follow the increased levels of expenditure announced in the Hong Kong Appropriation Bill 1976.

The increased levels will enable new contracts to be let during 1976–77 for the construction of 44,300 flats to house 267,400 people. This is in addition to the contracts already in hand for the construction of 43,900 flats for 279,900 people.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what extra expenditure on social welfare will be authorised following the increased levels of general expenditure announced in the Hong Kong Appropriation Bill 1976.

The provision for social welfare in 1976–77 is HK$422 million, compared with the revised estimate of HK$370 million for 1975–76. In real terms, this is nearly double the level of expenditure envisaged for 1976–77 in the five-year plan for social welfare published in 1973.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what expansion in the recreational facilities will be made possible by the increased expenditure announced in the Hong Kong Appropriation Bill 1976.

Provision has been made to develop country parks and a new indoor stadium with seating capacity of up to 17,500. Recurrent expenditure on recreation is expected to be double that for 1975–76.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what extra hospital services can be financed by the increased expenditure included in the Hong Kong Appropriation Bill 1976.

It is planned to increase the number of hospital beds from 18,137 to 18,831, a ratio of 4·18 per 1,000 population. Provision has also been included for the opening of two polyclinics and a specialist clinic; and for planning to start on a new teaching hospital.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what improvements in the Hong Kong police force will be made possible by the increased levels of expenditure announced in the Appropriation Bill 1976.

Funds have been provided to bring the police force up to strength, to create a training reserve and to increase the numbers at the police training school. Communications are to be improved, including the establishment of 28 reporting stations to establish greater contact with the general public.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what improvements in education will be made possible by the increased levels of expenditure announced in the Hong Kong Appropriation Bill 1976.

Increases in subsidised places in middle schools including an additional 18,800 in the first year; and provision of a further 1,000 places in the three technical institutes, 700 places in the universities and 959 places at the Hong Kong Polytechnic. The building of 33 new secondary schools will begin and work on two further technical institutes continued.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the names and salaries of the staff at the British Consulate in Bahrain.

Two United Kingdom members of Her Majesty's Embassy in Bahrain perform consular duties, which account for less than one-fifth of their time. They are Mr. E. H. Noble and Mr. M. W. Tym, who are in Diplomatic Service grades 6 and 9 respectively; the current salary scales for those grades are £5,365–£6,365 p.a. and £2,350–£4,135 p.a.In addition, the Consular Section employs one locally-engaged clerk whose current salary is £3,202 p.a.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he is satisfied that a two-week delay in visiting a gravely injured British subject in a Bahrain hospital was the best service that could have been provided by the consulate.

This United Kingdom citizen was admitted to hospital on 30th January. She was and is being visited by friends and colleagues of her late husband and by an Embassy chaplain who is in close touch with the Consul. The Consul visited the patient the day following receipt of a request from my Department that he should do so.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many official functions were held in the British Consulate in Bahrain in each of the last three years; what was the average cost of such functions; and what was the average number of guests.

The numbers of guests entertained by the two Consular Officers in Bahrain, together with the costs in each of the past three complete financial years, are as follows:

1972–73	…	470 guests	…	£917
1973–74	…	997 guests	…	£944
1974–75	…	797 guests	…	£780

The number of official functions covered by these figures is not readily available.Both officers have other duties, and consular work occupies less than one-fifth of their time. It is not practicable to divide their official entertaining between consular and non-consular functions.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the functions of the Bahrain consular staff.

These embrace the whole range of consular duties, both statutory and non-statutory, namely:

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British staff are employed at the Bahrain Consulate.

There is no separate consulate in Bahrain. The Head of Chancery of the Embassy is also Consul in addition to his other duties and he is assisted by a Vice-Consul who is also the Third Secretary, responsible for administration.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the annual cost of keeping his consulate in Bahrain.

Consular work at Bahrain is covered on a part-time basis by two United Kingdom based and two locally-engaged members of the staff of the British Embassy. The estimated annual cost of such work is between £5,000 and £6,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British subjects are domiciled in Bahrain.

There are in excess of 4,500 United Kingdom citizens resident in Bahrain. The Embassy has no means of knowing how many of these persons may be domiciled there.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will dismiss the British Consul in Bahrain.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many consular visits to British subjects were made in each of the last three years; and what was the average time-lag between notification of a case and the consular visit.

Posts are not required nor do they have the staff to keep records of all visits to British subjects except those who are detained pending or after trial in prison.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the current rate of exploitation of phosphates on Ocean Island; and how this compares with the rate of extraction in 1973, 1974 and 1975.

The rate of shipment of Ocean Island phosphate for the present phosphate year ending 30th June 1976 is 450,000 tonnes. Shipments for the previous three years were as follows:

July 1972-June 1973 607,499 tonnes; July 1973-June 1974 610,489 tonnes; July 1974-June 1975 596,262 tonnes.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will now rescind his instructions that passports should be withheld from men intending to travel to Angola as mercenaries and should be withdrawn from persons who went to Angola as mercenaries; and if he will return unconditionally the passports still held.

Yes. In the present situation my right hon. Friend sees no reason to maintain the restrictions which I announced in a Written Answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Mr. Newens) on 19th February.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he intends amending legislation to enable the Commissioner of Complaints to investigate cases of industrial injury if an appellant so wishes.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what action he proposes to take about compensation for property which has been demolished in the course of security measures but for which, for technical reasons, compensation has not hitherto been payable.

A number of empty properties were demolished in the past—and particularly during 1972 and 1973—by or on behalf of the security forces, to prevent their being being used as cover for terrorist attacks. I have been aware that, in a number of instances, the necessary Order under Northern Ireland emergency legislation was, owing to the urgent security requirements at the time, not formally issued. The property owner has, in consequence, been unable to claim compensation under the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1973.My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence and I have therefore jointly approved an arrangement to make payments on an extra-statutory basis to claimants of the sums that would have been payable under the compensation legislation if the necessary order had been obtained.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence which major items of equipment at present carried by Belfast aircraft cannot be carried by Hercules aircraft after the disbandment of the Belfast force.

A number of items, including trucks and trailers of various kinds, fall into this category and will in future be moved by surface means. There is, however, no operational requirement to retain the Belfast force to transport the items concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what reduction in RAF aircraft numbers was decided upon during the 1974 defence review.

For reductions affecting the RAF front line I would refer the hon. Member to Chapter I of Cmnd. 5976.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if, further to his reply to the hon. Member for Woking (Mr. Onslow) in columns 763–4 of the Official Report of 5th March 1976, he will publish estimates of the level of defence expenditure projected from 1973–74 onwards in Command Paper No. 5519. revalued at 1975 survey prices, and separate estimates of the reductions in defence expenditure announced in April 1975 and February 1976 at 1975 survey prices; whether there are any policies in the defence areas for which financial provision is currently being made by claims on the contingency reserve; and, if so, what they are.