asked the Minister for the Civil Service (1) what are the comparative tuition, accommodation and subsistence costs per student attending the five weeks' residential course at the Edinburgh Centre of the Civil Service College and the six weeks' non-residential course at the London Centre of the Civil Service College, leading to the National Computing Centre's certificate in basic systems analysis;(2) what is the cost per student at each of the three centres of the Civil Service College.

The cost of training per student-day at each of the three centres of the college is dependent upon the extent to which the college is able to plan courses to utilise the capacity of the training accommodation and the extent to which students in Departments and in non-Exchequer bodies take up the places on the courses which are provided. The college aims to provide courses to utilise to the full the available training accommodation, and, when this can be achieved, the costs per student-day for students from Exchequer Departments, after allowing for the average shortfall in attendance experienced in recent years, are expected to be about £39 for Sunning-dale, £32 for London and £34 for Edinburgh. These costs include not only those for the provision of food and accommodation at the residential centres in Sunningdale and Edinburgh but also the estimated costs borne by Departments for the board and lodging of students needing accommodation in London and the expenses incurred by students in travelling to and from the centres concerned.The costs above provide a general comparison of the relative costs of training at the London and Edinburgh Centres and, in the case of courses leading to the National Computing Centre's certificate in basic systems analysis, it is estimated that tuition costs account for about £7··50 per student day at each centre.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what are the fees payable by non-Exchequer bodies for attendance at the five weeks' residential course at the Edinburgh Centre of the Civil Service College and the six weeks' non-residential course at the London Centre of the Civil Service College, leading to the National Computing Centre's certificate in basic systems analysis; and

			1975			1976
		October	November	December	January	February	March
78 Queen Street	…	13	15	13	11	8	7
1480 Maryhill Road	…	11	6	9	3	10	11
1125 Pollokshaws Road	…	8	7	14	7	8	10
3 Crammond Terrace	…	9	9	7	9	5	4

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many persons have been recruited from within Scotland for the Armed Forces in the past 12 months; how this compares with the previous 12 months; and what percentage of total recruitment is represented by the Scottish figures.

£995·50 and £1,144 respectively, both exclusive of VAT. The charge for Edinburgh includes residential and subsistence costs. That for London does not.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what was the cost of the contract for the installation of the new telephone exchange at the Edinburgh Centre for the Civil Service College; and on what date the contract was made.

£35,769·60 including VAT. The contract was made on 10th March 1975.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many Army recruiting centres are located in Glasgow; from which addresses they operate; and how many persons have been recruited at individual centres in each of the past six months.

Army careers and information offices are located in Glasgow at the following addresses: 78 Queen Street; 1480 Maryhill Road, Maryhill; 1125 Pollokshaws Road, Shawlands; 3 Crammond Terrace, Springboig.The number of persons recruited at these locations in each of the past six months for which figures are available is:

The number of Service men and Service women recruited at careers information offices in Scotland in the financial year 1975–76 was 4,569, representing 10·2 per cent. of all recruits in the United Kingdom. This compares with 4,327–10–8 per cent.—in the financial year 1974–75. These figures do not include officer entrants to the three Services or non-commissioned entrants to Queen Alexandra's Naval Nursing Service; these groups are recruited centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will review the purchasing policy of his Department to consider an increase in the amount of canned fish purchased.

The messing system in the Forces allows each unit's caterer to spend up to a specified sum daily on food for each man, obtaining his supplies from Service depots and from NAAFI. Within that cash limit the caterer is required to provide a nutritionally sound diet which also takes account of unit preferences. The Ministry of Defence, therefore, needs to pay careful regard to trends in consumption when determining what quantities and types of food to purchase, and does not seek to influence units' freedom of choice. If an item is popular and attractively priced caterers will automatically tend to make more use of it in arranging their menus. This applies to canned fish as to all other items.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the amount of public expenditure incurred by allowing Admiral Monk, RN, to travel officially from his home in Rosyth to his normal place of work in London.

None. Rear-Admiral A. J. Monk's place of work is the Royal Naval Air Station, Yeovilton, where he has resided since appointment. He was, of course, able to use travel warrants, to which he is entitled under the leave and separation rules applicable to all Service men, to visit his family in Rosyth before they joined him in Yeovil.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether a decision has been made regarding the disposal of 575 acres on the South Site at Bedford, following the recommendation of the Nugent Committee on Defence Lands.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to him by the then Under-Secretary of State for Defence for the Royal Navy on 4th February 1976.—[Vol. 904, c. 610]. This is still the situation.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made in disposing of defence land at Edlesborough, Buckinghamshire as a result of the Nugent Committee Report on Defence Lands.

The recommendation of the Nugent Committee was that Edlesborough should be retained unless the review then being undertaken showed that the facilities there could be transferred to Chelveston. In practice the conduct of the review was overtaken by the considerable changes in United Kingdom defence communication requirements brought about by the 1975 defence review. A study is now in progress to consider the feasibility of reducing the number of Service communication sites, but no decision has yet been reached in respect of Edlesborough.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether the recommendations of the Nugent Committee Report on Defence Lands regarding the site at Chivenor, Devon, have now been fully carried out.

The bulk of the airfield, including a number of married quarters, has been handed over to the Property Services Agency of the Department of the Environment for disposal. A small enclave and some married quarters are being retained by the RAF as was explained by my hon. Friend the then Under-Secretary of State for Defence for the Royal Navy on 4th February 1976.—[Vol. 904, c. 608.]

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether the sites at Lulworth, Dorset, have been released, following the recommendations of the Nugent Committee Report on Defence Lands.

No. In the statement on the Report of the Defence Lands Committee (Cmnd. 5714) in August 1974 the Government announced that it had been decided that the RAC Gunnery School would remain at Lulworth but that improved public access would be arranged. That is the position today.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of United Kingdom gross national product was taken up by defence spending; and how this compares with Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Holland and the Republic of Ireland, respectively.

Defence spending in 1975 as a percentage of GNP is set out in Table 6 of Annex A of the 1976 Statement on the Defence Estimates for the NATO countries. For Sweden and Eire the figures are estimated to be 4 per cent. and 1·5 per cent. respectively. Owing to differences of definition the latter figures may not be strictly comparable with those for NATO.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment when the Health and Safety Commissioner's report into the explosion at the Laporte factory in Ilford is to be published.

The Health and Safety Commission at its meeting on 11th May 1976 agreed that the report should be published and printing is in hand.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what take-up there has been so far of the temporary employment subsidy in the Greater London area.

As at 7th May 1976, 38 applications for the temporary employment subsidy had been received from firms in the Greater London area, and 1,983 jobs were involved. Of these, 22 applications covering 1,332 jobs had been approved, three applications had been rejected, and 13 applications were under consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many young persons have been placed in employment in each of the past six months by the jobcentre located in Maryhill Road, Glasgow.

I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission, that the information requested is as follows:

Numbers of young persons under the age of 18 years placed in Employment by the Maryhill Jobcentre
	Male	FeMale	Total
November 1975	7	5	12
December 1975	10	6	16
January 1976	3	1	4
February 1976	28	5	33
March 1976	2	5	7
April 1976	5	2	7
TOTAL	55	24	79

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he has completed his consultations with the Manpower Services Commission concerning capital grants for adaptations to places of employment; and if he will make a statement.

These consultations have not yet been completed.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will indicate the location of offices of the BNOC and the number of staff employed in each.

BNOC is actively seeking suitable premises for its headquarters in the Glasgow area, but it is for the corporation to decide the need for additional offices elsewhere and to decide on the number and location of staff.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list the agreements under Section 2(1)(e) of the Petroleum and Submarine Pipe-Lines Act 1975 administered by the BNOC.

The participation agreements so far concluded were announced to the House on 26th February—[Vol. 906, 301–3.]—and 16th March.—[Vol. 907, c. 488–90.]

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether the Government's policy that State participation in subsisting licences is subject to voluntary negotiation by the companies involved has now been altered.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will take steps to make it compulsory for vehicles carrying dangerous loads to display appropriate coding symbols.

I hope that consultations on proposals for the compulsory marking of vehicles carrying hazardous goods will take place later in the year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what use is made at ports or on random roadside checks of the portable weighbridge developed by the Transport and Road Research Laboratory and used in developing countries

This type of weighbridge was designed specifically for use in developing countries. None is used in this country.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will make a statement on the progress being made in talks between local authorities and building societies on the question of finance for mortgages for house purchase and improvement.

The talks are continuing, but already a large measure of agreement has been reached on ways of achieving closer co-operation between individual local authorities and building societies. Preliminary guidance to their members has been given by the Building Societies Association and the local authority associations, and there is now evidence that the nomination scheme is beginning to operate effectively in most areas. A further joint meeting will be held on 1st July.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set up a working party to study whether advantage to bulk transport by rail would come from providing modern warehouses and equipment at rail freight termini; and if he will make a statement.

No. Grants are available under Section 8 of the Railways Act 1974 for the provision of sidings and handling equipment for users of freight services. The provision of these facilities at public rail termini is a matter of management for BRB, whose attention I will draw to my hon. Friend's suggestion.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many evictions of families from council houses there have been for rent arrears.

I regret that this information is not available; local authorities are not required to notify my Department of the number of tenants evicted.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to make a statement on the future of the Central Lancashire New Town.

My right hon. Friend expects to make his decision on the development corporation's outline plan this summer.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will issue general guidelines to be followed by local authorities in dealing with homelessness arising in cases of dispossession due to failure to maintain mortgage payments.

We have already done. so. The joint circular on homelessness (DOE/ 18/74; DHSS 4/74; WO 34/74) describes a range of ways in which local authorities can deal with homelessness, irrespective of its cause.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment where the public may see lists of contracts for research or study papers made between his Department and other bodies and organisations, together with the respective terms of reference and cost.

The annual "Register of Research" published by my Department, copies of which have been placed in the Library, includes brief details of such contracts. This has been widely distributed, and copies are available on request without charge to libraries and research organisations. Enquiries by letter or telephone on research in progress may be made to the research section of the Department's headquarters library.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the basis of his statement in reply to a Question on 5th May 1976—[Official Report, c. 634.]—from the hon. Member for Stockport, North (Mr. Bennett) that there is likely to be a rapid increase in the next four years in the number of housing associations organised on a co-operative basis.

I have made it clear in circulars and speeches that housing associations are expected to explore ways in which various forms of co-operative management and ownership can be introduced. There are already signs that this is happening, in the shape both of new associations established from the outset on a co-operative basis, such as the Fair-hazel and Ladybur co-operatives in North London, and also of existing housing associations such as North British which are actively seeking ways of involving their tenants in co-operative management. Progress will be stimulated by the recent setting up at my request, within the Housing Corporation, of a Co-operative Housing Agency under the directorship of Mr. John Hands to provide guidance and advice for housing co-operatives.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many and which passenger transport executives have purchased ticket cancelling machines to handle multi-journey tickets; by which firms such machines were manufactured; and to which executives they were supplied.

This information is not available within my Department. It is a matter for the passenger transport executive concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the approximate time taken by the Swansea offices of his Department for the renewal of driving licences and for the issue or reissue of provisional driving licences; and if he will make a statement about the efficiency of the offices.

Separate figures are not available for the time taken to renew substantive and provisional driving licences. The average time for all driving licence renewals is 6·5 working days. The average time for issue of a first provisional driving licence is 6·8 working days. The issue of driving licences from Swansea is being handled highly efficiently. The same degree of efficiency is still some way off on the vehicle side of the Swansea operation, but in general I am satisfied with the ways things are shaping up there.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish figures showing the rate of two or more car ownership per household in each of the planning regions of the United Kingdom at the latest available date.

The percentages of households with two or more cars derived from the Family Expenditure Surveys 1973 and 1974 are as follows:

Region/Country	Per cent.
North	5·8
Yorks and Humberside	6·3
North-West	7·8
East Midlands	9·1
West Midlands	12·4
East Anglia	12·7
Greater London	7·4
Rest of South-East	14·7
South-West	12·3
Wales	8·0
Scotland	7·1
Northern Ireland	8·3
United Kingdom	9·6

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion and what tonnage of oil supplies for the European Economic Community is routed round the Cape of Good Hope; by how much the figures have changed in the past five years; and by how much it is anticipated that they will alter in the next five years and the following five years.

The estimated quantity of crude oil imported by the nine members of the European Economic Community in 1975 and transported around the Cape of Good Hope is 316·6 million metric tons, representing 67–8 per cent. of total crude imports. These figures are provisional. In 1970 the figures, covering all the nine present member States, were 265–1 million tons and 51–2 per cent. respectively. I cannot predict how these figures may alter over the next 10 years.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what are the prospects for reopening the border between Gibraltar and Spain; and if he will make a statement.

Successive British Governments have urged the Spanish authorities to open the border. I believe that the Government of Spain are becoming increasingly conscious of the need to take account of the views of the Gibraltarians. I hope that this will in the course of time lead them to reopen the border. The Spanish Government have, in recent months, authorised small and temporary easements of the restrictions on communications between Spain and Gibraltar. I hope that they will take this process further. Meanwhile the gates on the Gibraltar side, as always, remain open every day.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance has been provided by Her Majesty's Government towards relieving the distress brought about by the recent earthquakes in Italy.

Her Majesty's Government are giving £100,000 to the Italian authorities to help them with reconstruction in the disaster area. They have also provided a supply of tents, camp beds and bedding, and the RAF is undertaking at Italian request, an aerial photographic survey of the area.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish a statement indicating the approximate area in terms of square feet now taken up by diplomatic, consular and other buildings occupied by official representatives of the United States of America, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the next largest national delegations in London; and what changes are envisaged in current development plans in each case.

Diplomatic Missions are under no obligation to furnish my Department with these details of their accommodation in London. I have no knowledge of any envisaged changes in the accommodation of either the United States Embassy or the Indian High Commission, which are the diplomatic Missions with the largest staff in London. The area of accommodation to be included in the Soviet Embassy's development proposals for two sites in the Royal borough of Kensington and Chelsea will not be known to my Department until the plans are finalised, when they will form part of a Circular 80 notification to be made to the local planning authority by my Department.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish a statement showing what is now the permitted establishment of diplomatic, consular and other official representatives of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in Great Britain, showing what total numbers, including their households, are based in central London; and if he will publish comparable figures for the United States of America and for the next largest official national delegations in Great Britain.

The fixed limits placed on Soviet officials resident in the United Kingdo mfor periods longer than three months were given by my right hon. Friend in his Written Answer on 1st December 1975 to the hon. Member for Woking (Mr. Onslow).On 6th May 1976 the staff at the Soviet United States, Indian and French Diplomatic and Consular Missions was as follows:

Soviet Union	139
United States	254
India	314
France	290

The numbers of the above officials and their dependants resident in central London were as follows:

Soviet Union	328
United States	677
India	1,032
France	554

The figures for Soviet official representatives attached to missions in the United Kingdom and their dependants include the permanent staff of the Soviet Trade Delegation but do not include officials working at international organisations or other non-representative Soviet organisations, commercial, Press, etc., or Soviet inspectors of industrial equipment attached to British firms exporting to the Soviet Union. In all cases the figures for the Soviet Union are for officials resident in the United Kingdom for periods longer than three months.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is now the total number of diplomatic, consular and other official British representatives in Moscow including their households.

195–78 officials, and 117 wives, children and other United Kingdom members of their households.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current estimate of the cost of constructing the proposed remand centre at North Weald; and what increase this represents on the original estimate when the scheme was first proposed.

The estimated cost has so far been reduced from £3·9 million to £3·5 million at 1975 prices, and will be further reviewed as and when the design is developed.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the sites considered for proposed new remand centres in the London and Home Counties area but rejected as unsuitable for any reason.

The site of the former women's open prison at Hill Hall in Essex was considered but was thought to be less suitable than the proposed site at North Weald.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made on the review of the nationality laws which is taking place.

The review is well advanced but the Government have not yet reached any conclusions on the changes that would be desirable.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many official meetings he has had in the current year with Mr. Hugh Scanlon, Mr. Jack Jones, Mr. Len Murray, Mr. Clive Jenkins, Sir Campbell Adamson, Lord Watkinson and Mr. David Kelly, respectively.

My right hon. Friend is often in touch with representatives of the TUC and CBI, including Mr. Hugh Scanlon, Mr. Jack Jones, Mr. Len Murray, Sir Campbell Adamson and Lord Watkinson, at NEDC and on many other occasions. He has had no official meetings with Mr. Clive Jenkins or Mr. David Kelly.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the report of the working party on the procedure for investigating complaints against the police will be published; and if he will make a statement.

The report is being laid before Parliament and published today. I accept the principal recommendation of the working party that an independent element be introduced into the complaints procedure in Northern Ireland similar to that proposed for England and Wales, and I am considering whether any additional measures are appropriate in the light of the special circumstances in Northern Ireland. I intend to publish a proposal for legislation in due course.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will now make a statement on the subject of the security aspect of recent information made available to Her Majesty's Government by the hon. Member for Manchester, Blackley, concerning the activities of the South African Bureau for State Security and the Anglo-American Corporation in the United Kingdom.

The information made available to Her Majesty's Government is being studied by the appropriate authorities who will consider whether there are any security aspects to it.

asked the Prime Minister when he next expects to met trade union leaders.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Derby, North (Mr. Whitehead) on 11th May.

asked the Prime Minister if he is satisfied that there is adequate co-ordination between the various Government Departments involved in providing protection against the possible introduction of rabies into the United Kingdom.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Plymouth, Drake (Miss Fookes) on 13th May.

asked the Prime Minister whether he plans to hold early talks with party leaders with the aim of reconvening the Speaker's Conference on electoral matters.

Consultations are now in progress.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the extent to which local authorities in Scotland avail themselves of the statutory powers to apply a fixed proportion of rates for supporting the arts, giving details over the last three years.

Prior to local government reorganisation, expenditure by local authorities under Section 132 of the Local Government Act 1948 on public entertainments, including artistic activities, was restricted to the product of 2½ new pence in the pound of rates. This section was replaced by Section 91 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and there is now no statutory limitation on local authorities' expenditure on the arts. Information on authorities' expenditure under Section 132 of the 1948 Act and Section 91 of the 1973 Act is not available centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent representations he has had regarding the conviction of Patrick Meehan; and if he will make a statement.

I have received six representations recently about the case of Patrick Meehan, most of them requests either for an inquiry into the case or for immediate release from prison. I have the case under review at present.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many persons are now employed by the Scottish Development Agency; and how many are employed by the Highlands and Islands Development Board.

516 and 236 respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the average cost of building a four-apartment council house; and what is the total cost involving repayment of capital and interest at current Public Works Loan Board rates.

The estimated average cost of providing a local authority four-apartment house in 1975 was £12,900, including the cost of site servicing and fees. The total repayment of capital and interest over a borrowing period of 60 years at the current Public Works Loan Board interest rate of 14¼ per cent. would be £110,324.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish in the Official Report the terms of reference for the inquiry into the planning application by Shell-Expro for a NGL plant at Peterhead.

The reporter for this inquiry is charged by his minute of appointment

"to hold a Public Local Inquiry and to report with respect to objections and representations received in connection with a proposal to build a natural gas liquids processing and separation plant at North Collielaw Farm, Peterhead."

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether, in the light of his consultations with interested parties, he has reached any conclusion as to the future responsibility for the conduct of parliamentary elections in Scotland.

In the light of consultations with the sheriffs principal, the political parties and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, the Government have reached the conclusion that responsibility for providing the necessary administrative machinery should be transferred to the local government service, the returning officer responsibility to be vested in the appropriate officer who acts as returning officer for regional and island councils elections. The Government intend to introduce the necessary legislation as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry how much of the £17·6 million recently allocated to the United Kingdom by the EEC's Regional Fund has been used to reimburse the Government for their own expenditure and for what other regional development this was used.

£4·6 million of the £17·6 million has been committed from the Regional Development Fund as contributions towards the cost of the United Kingdom regional aids to be paid to 105 industrial and service industry projects. As already announced, these receipts will be retained by the Government and will enable the Government to go ahead with a greater total of regional investment than could have been managed otherwise. For example, the size of the new programme of advance factory building in England announced on 28th November 1975 was fixed after account had been taken of likely receipts from the fund. £13·0 million has been committed as contributions towards the cost of 157 infrastructure projects carried out by local and other public authorities. These receipts will enable the authorities concerned to reduce their borrowing in respect of those projects.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry (1) how much of the £17·6 million recently allocated by the EEC's Regional Fund to the United Kingdom has been allocated for projects on Merseyside;(2) how much of the £17·6 million allocated by the EEC's Regional Fund to the United Kingdom has been allocated for projects in the North-West;(3) if he will list those projects on Merseyside that have been allocated funds from the £17·6 million allocated to the United Kingdom by the EEC Regional Fund;

The European Commission announced its latest round of allocations from the European Regional Development Fund on 29th April. A total of £17·6 million is to be made available as contributions towards the cost of 262 projects in the United Kingdom.The £17·6 million is distributed as follows:

England	£	Projects
Northern	5,752,268	51
North-West	2,721,282	32
Yorks & Humberside	871,015	36
East Midlands	136,016	4
South-West	164,039	11
Northern Ireland	1,823,111	23
Scotland	2,939,654	41
Wales	3,191,369	64

Lists of the projects were published in

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will publish in the Official Report the names and qualifications of the members of the 30 committees set up to examine the key sectors of industry as part of the Government's general industrial strategy.

I have today placed in the Library a list of members of the economic development committees and other groups which are carrying out the industrial strategy studies.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether, in granting a licence for the export of communications equipment to South Africa by British Marconi, he took account of the fact that the contract was with the South African Defence Department.

I assume that my hon. Friend is referring to tropospheric scatter equipment. Prior to the statement of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on 29th April 1976—[Vol. 910, c. 159–60]—this equipment was not subject to general licence control.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what is the total value of all credits extended to the Chilean Government in the periods since the overthrow of the Allende Government to the most recent date for which information is available.

Information about uninsured United Kingdom private sector lending to the Chilean Government is not available. As to credit insured by ECGD, it is customary not to disclose this in order not to weaken obligations for full payment of all liabilities. However, since May 1972 ECGD cover for sales to Chile has been restricted to business involving not more than six months' post-shipment credit.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade (1) if he will list the value of imports into the United Kingdom of each of the following 10 commodities in each of the last 10 years: cocoa, coffee, copper, cotton, jute, rubber, sisal, sugar, tea and tin;(2) what percentage of the total value of imports into the United Kingdom the combined imports of the following 10 commodities represented in each of the last 10 years: cocoa, coffee, copper, cut-ton, jute, rubber, sisal, sugar, tea and tin.

Following is the information:

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what was the cost of volumes 1 to 7 of the Preliminary Market Appraisal of the Construction Industry in the Far East.

The cost was £9,968.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will publish a table showing from which countries the United Kingdom imports chrome, the percentage of the United Kingdom's supplies from each of these countries and from which countries chrome could be imported, with an estimate of the likely volume of such imports.

In 1975 chromium ores and concentrates were imported from the following countries:

	Percentage of total imports (by quantity)
South Africa	56
Philippines	37
United States of America	3
Cyprus	3
Finland	1

Chromium ores and concentrates are produced in a number of other countries, but importers may be expected to buy from the most advantageous source available to them.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether he will undertake to include representatives of the British film industry on the interim committee on the future of the British film industry.

I have nothing to add to the answer which my right hon. Friend gave my hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton, North-East (Mrs. Short) on 29th April.—[Vol. 920, c. 183–4.]

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what proportion of the United Kingdom's exports has gone to the six original members of the EEC for each of the years since 1970.

Following is the information:

	per cent.
1970	22
1971	21
1972	23
1973	25
1974	26
1975	25
1976 (January-March)	27

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether he will amend the Export of Goods (Control) Order 1970 (S.I., 1970, No. 1288) to remove South Africa's favoured nation status and to prevent the export of military equipment to the Channel Islands.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will revoke the Export of Goods (Control) Order 1970, S.I., 1970, No. 1288, governing the export of military equipment, in view of the fact that it grants South Africa favoured nation status, and enables a whole range of equipment with direct military uses to be supplied to South Africa without export licences or specific Government permission.

, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 30th April 1976; Vol. 910, c. 214], and pursuant to the reply [Official Report, 11th May 1976; Vol. 911, c. 142], gave the following information:Exports of arms to South Africa as to all other destinations, including the Channel Islands, are subject to export licensing control, so no amendment of the Export of Goods (Control) Order is necessary to control these goods. Certain controls on exports of strategic goods to the Soviet and Chinese

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection how many civil servants were employed by the Price Commission on 5th April 1976; and what were the comparable figures for the same date in each of the years since the commission was set up.

Following is the information requested.

Date	Total Staff	Seconded Civil Servants included in Column 2
7th May 1973*	345	345
5th April 1974	589	353
5th April 1975	750	418
5th April 1976	714	325
* The earliest date for which figures are available.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection (1) if she will request the Office of Fair Trading to exclude tour operators from the requirement to end resale price maintenance;(2) if she will consult consumer interests on the desirability of retaining resale price maintenance in regard to package holidays.

I take it that the hon. Member is referring to the practice whereby travel agents do not sell package holidays below the tour operator's brochure price. If this practice stems from an agreement which is covered by the Restrictive Trade Practices (Services) Order 1976 particulars have to be furnished to the Director General of Fair Trading by 21st June 1976. In evaluating such an agreement the Director General would consult all interests likely to be affected, including consumer interests.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection if she intends to introduce legislation to amend the Trade Descriptions Act to make clear that overbooking by airlines and travel agents is not illegal.

Possible amendments to the Trade Descriptions Act can be considered in the light of the recommendations of the committee reviewing the Act, whose report I expect to receive soon.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protec- tion if she will refer the practice of overbooking by airlines and travel agents, in regard to scheduled services, to the Office of Fair Trading for investigation.

The Civil Aviation Authority has published a study of this matter and is consulting airlines about proposals arising out of that study. It would not, therefore, be appropriate to seek the assistance of the Office of Fair Trading.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will list the schemes approved for capital grant in the United Kingdom by FEOGA under its 1975 programme, indicating the specific nature of the scheme in each case.

The following 126 projects from the United Kingdom have been awarded capital grants totalling £10,483,924 under the 1975 programme of Community assistance for individual projects under Regulation 17/64/EEC:

England

Construction of a cold store for fruit and vegetables at Doncaster, South Yorkshire.

Construction of a fish quay building at Bridlington, Humberside.

Construction of a multi-purpose fishing boat to operate from Grimsby, Humberside, and North Shields, Tyne and Wear.

Construction of two fishing vessels to be based at Seahouses, Northumberland.

Construction of five fishing vessels to be based at Grimsby, Humberside.

Installation of milk sterilizing equipment at a dairy at Bradford, Yorkshire.

Construction of four fishing vessels to be based at North Shields, Tyne and Wear.

Expansion of a grass drying plant at Burrington, Devon.

Installation of beef boning and freezing facilities at a meat processing factory in Manchester.

Installation of liquid milk sterilizing equipment at a dairy in Wythenshawe, Manchester.

Expansion and modernisation of a liquid milk dairy at Middlesbrough, Cleveland, and conversion of a dairy at Darlington to carton filling plant.

Construction of a seed processing factory at Micheldever, Hampshire.

Development of an existing meat products and pre-packed salads factory at Durham.

Construction of three inshore fishing vessels to be based at Hull, Humberside.

Expansion of barley storage facilities at a malt factory at Berwick-upon-Tweed.

Improvement of fish docks at Hull, Humberside.

Construction of a vegetable processing and freezing factory at Thorganby, Yorkshire.

Construction of three fishing vessels to be based at Bridlington, Humberside

Expansion and modernization of a factory processing cereals to be used in manufacturing human and animal feeds at Berwick-upon-Tweed.

Construction of a pumping station and other drainage improvements near March, Cambridgeshire.

Improvement of drainage channels near Ellesmere, Salop.

Extension of a quay for landing fish and of a slipway at Brixham, Devon.

Construction of three fishing vessels to be based at Scarborough, Yorkshire.

Construction of a fishing vessel to be based at Amble, Northumberland.

Construction of a new jetty and fish market at Newlyn, Cornwall.

Development of an agricultural demonstration unit at Stoneleigh, Warwickshire.

Construction of a seed research unit at Feering, Essex.

Extension of a grain drying and storage plant at Pocklington, North Humberside.

Construction of a frozen potato products factory at Amble, Northumberland.

Expansion and rationalisation of dairies processing liquid milk at Newcastle.

Expansion of a maize mill at Worksop, Nottinghamshire, to supply maize to the brewing industry and food manufacturers.

Reconstruction of a liquid milk dairy at Durham (2nd phase).

Expansion of butter and milk storage facilities at a creamery at Kendal, Cumbria.

Improvement of refrigeration facilities at a pig processing factory near Malton, Yorkshire.

Extension and improvement of fishing uays at North Shields, Tyne and Wear.

Installation of freezing equipment in a chicken processing factory at Southport, Merseyside.

Construction of a meat de-boning factory at Kirkby, Liverpool.

Construction of a seed warehouse and laboratory at Sleaford, Lincolnshire.

Construction of three fishing vessels all to be based in Devon.

Provision of a heat and control cooker at a potato crisp factory at Widnes, Cheshire.

Modernisation of fish docks at Fleetwood, Lancashire.

Modernisation of works and landing facilities at fish docks at Grimsby, Humberside.

Modernisation of works and landing facilities at fish docks at Lowestoft, Suffolk.

Modernisation of an animal feed mill at Thornton Dale, Yorkshire.

Reconstruction of an animal feed mill at Hoghton, Lancashire.

Construction of a specialised animal feed plant at Oswestry, Salop.

Construction of a pig feed mill at Cranswick. Humberside.

Total amount of grant: £4,703,012

Wales

Expansion and modernization of a dairy at Bridgend, Mid-Glamorgan.

Conversion of boilers at a creamery at Maelor, Clywd.

Modernization of handling and storage facilities at a creamery at Felinfach, Dyfed.

Expansion of an animal feed mill near Pwllheli, Gwynedd.

Total amount of grant: £331,348

Scotland

Construction of two fishing vessels to be based at Whalsay, Shetland.

Construction of three fishing vessels to be based at Macduff, Banffshire.

Construction of 10 fishing vessels to be based at Buckle, Banffshire.

Expansion of an oat mill at Chirnside, Berwickshire.

Construction of a fishing vessel to be based at Scalloway, Shetland.

Construction of six fishing vessels to be based at Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire.

Construction of a stern trawler to be based at Annan, Dumfriesshire.

Extension of a grain warehouse at Dysart. Fife.

Construction of a fishing vessel to be based at Avoch, Ross-shire.

Construction of a fishing vessel to be based at Nairn.

Development of a cheese factory and store at Campbeltown, Argyll.

Construction of three fishing vessels to be based at Pittemweem, Fife.

Construction of four fishing vessels to be based at Aberdeen.

Improvement of a fishing vessel to be based at Peterhead, Aberdeenshire.

Construction of two fishing vessels to be based at Lossiemouth, Morayshire.

Expansion of cattle slaughtering, processing and freezing facilities at a factory at Lockerbie, Dumfriesshire.

Construction of two fishing vessels to be based at Peterhead, Aberdeenshire.

Construction of a fishing vessel to be based at Campbeltown, Argyll.

Construction of a fishing vessel to be based at Wick, Caithness.

Construction of a fishing vessel to be based at Eyemouth, Berwickshire.

Construction of a fishing vessel to be based at Ayr.

Construction of a fishing vessel to be based at Stronsay, Orkney.

Deepening of the fishing harbour at Fraser-burgh, Aberdeenshire.

Equipping of a dairy complex at Aberdeen.

Installation of protein recovery plant at a distillery at Banff.

Total amount of grant: £2,463,553.

Northern Ireland

Construction of a slaughterhouse hall and meat processing facilities at a meat plant in Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh.

Extension of a cold store at Craigavon.

Extension and improvement of a slaughterhouse and meat processing plant at Craigavon.

Modernisation of a pig processing factory at Portadown, Co. Armagh.

Construction of pasteurising and bottling dairy at Ballymena, Co. Antrim.

Construction of a fishing vessel to be based at Portavogic, Co. Down.

Construction of a fishing vessel to be based at Kilkeel, Co. Down.

Provision of cheese-making facilities, a laboratory, an effluent disposal unit and a distribution centre for a dairy at Fivemiletown, Co. Tyrone.

Modernisation and extension of two pig processing factories at Ballymoney and Ahoghill, Co. Antrim.

Expansion of a poultry processing plant at Coleraine, Co. Londonderry.

Installation of a protein recovery and effluent treatment plant at a distillery at Bushmills, Co. Antrim.

Expansion of a milk bottling plant near Londonderry.

Expansion of a potato crisp factory at Tandragee, Co. Armagh.

Extension of meat processing and freezing facilities at Whiteabbey, Belfast.

Construction of a centralised milk laboratory in Belfast.

Total amount of grant: £2,986,011.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list, by county, the total number of quarantine kennels in the United King- dom; and if he is satisfied that the total is adequate.

There are 43 quarantine kennels serving England and Wales and seven in Scotland licensed under the provisions of the Rabies (Importation of Dogs, Cats and Other Mammals) Order 1974 for imported dogs and cats. My right hon. Friend and I are satisfied that the total is adequate. I understand that the one licensed kennel in Northern Ireland is adequate to meet requirements there.Details by counties are as follows:—

England and Wales
Bedfordshire	2
Berkshire	4
Buckinghamshire	1
Cheshire	1
Devon	1
Essex	5
Gloucestershire	2
Greater London	2
Greater Manchester	1
Hampshire	2
Hertfordshire	1
Kent	4
Lincolnshire	1
Merseyside	1
Norfolk	2
Oxfordshire	1
Somerset	2
staffordshire	1
Suffolk	1
Surrey	2
East Sussex	1
West Sussex	2
Worcestershire	1
North Yorkshire	1
West Yorkshire	1
Total	43
Scotland
Fife	2
Grampians	1
Lothian	3
Strathclyde	1
Total	7
Northern Ireland
County Down	1

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will detail the powers of (a) the police, (b) Her Majesty's Customs and Excise, (c) officials from his Department and (d) local authority health regulation enforcement officers in apprehending people suspected of contravening the animal quarantine regulations.

Under the Diseases of Animals Act 1950 the police, or an inspector appointed by the Ministry or a local authority, may detain any person seen or found committing, or reasonably suspected of being engaged in committing, an offence, and if the person fails to give his name and address to the constable's or inspector's satisfaction may apprehend him without warrant and take him before a justice.Proceedings involving animals subject to rabies legislation are not normally taken by Her Majesty's Customs but by the local authorities on whom enforcement is laid. Customs may, however, bring proceedings against a person who, knowingly and with intent to evade, has contravened the import restrictions; and, where they bring such proceedings, they have power under Section 304 of the Customs and Excise Act 1952 to detain the person concerned.Powers of arrest under warrant are contained in the Magistrates' Courts Act 1952 and the Criminal Justice Act 1967. In essence, a Justice of the Peace may issue a warrant to arrest a person who has, or is suspected of having, committed an offence provided:

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what recent discussions he has held with the police concerning offences against the animal quarantine laws.

Representatives of the Associations of Chief Police Officers for all parts of the United Kingdom, together with representatives of the Local Authority Associations, attended a meeting with Ministry officials on 23rd January to discuss all aspects of the implementation of the Rabies (Importation of Dogs, Cats and other Mammals) Order 1974. There is constant liaison on these matters between the Ministry and the police.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list in the Official Report the EEC regulations concerning rabies and importation of animals into the Community, indicating whether Great Britain is in line with the Community in protection regulations.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Mid-Sussex (Mr. Renton) on 12th April 1976.—[Vol. 909, c. 407–8]

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what precautions are taken to quarantine animals owned by members of the Corps Diplomatique who arrive in the United Kingdom.

Our anti-rabies import controls and quarantine regulations apply to British and foreign citizens alike, irrespective of status.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will ban the importation of dogs into the United Kingdom in the light of the possibility of an outbreak of rabies.

Such a ban would be too drastic. The threat of rabies to this country comes with the illegally imported animal and not with the correctly licensed and quarantined one. Our strict quarantine requirements have stood us in good stead for over 50 years, despite the importation of animals from countries with a far higher incidence of rabies than occurs anywhere in Europe. In any case, if a complete ban were justified because of the rabies risk it could not be confined to dogs.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will now invite representatives of the National Yacht Harbour Association to meet him to discuss their concern about the threat which the illegal importation of animals poses in the current effort to prevent an outbreak of rabies in Great Britain.

Representatives of the National Yacht Harbour Association will be meeting Ministry officials on 21st May.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if, in view of the depressed state of the fish canning industry, he will review the purchasing policy of his Department to consider increasing purchases of canned fish products as part of the United Kingdom contribution to the world food programme.

The purchases made by my Department of particular commodities depend upon the stated requirements of the World Food Programme. As the hon. Member will be aware from my reply of 12th April, purchases of canned fish for the World Food Programme so far this year already exceed those for 1975.—[Vol. 909, c. 403.]

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he will publish the Strutt Report on Agricultural Exports.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Brecon and Radnor (Mr. Roderick) on 11th May.—[Vol. 911, c. 134.]

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether the cost of 170 additions of account to the Community's 1976 budget of the proposal to incorporate skimmed milk powder into animal foodstuffs takes any account of the costs borne by those farmers who have to pay for uneconomic foodstuffs.

Benefit			Treatment of tax refund
1. Rent rebates	…	…	Not treated as income.
2. Rate rebates	…	…	Not treated as income.
3. Family income supplement	…	…	Not treated as income.
4. Supplementary Benefit	…	…	Treated as income if, for reasons other than sickness, the recipient is temporarily not working but has not severed all connection with his employer e.g. he is temporarily laid off or on strike.
5. Free Welfare Milk	…	…	Treated as income if, for reasons other than sickness, the recipient is temporarily not working but has not severed all connection with his employer e.g. he is temporarily laid off or on strike.
6. Free School Meals	…	…	Treated as income

The figure of 170 million units of account is the estimated cost of the skimmed milk powder incorporation scheme for the European Community's 1976 budget only.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what were the amounts of fixed headage payments paid under the beef slaughter premium scheme up till 29th February 1976; what have been the amounts; and who bears the cost of variable premiums paid before and after 29th February 1976.

The total amount paid in the United Kingdom under the fixed headage payment up to 29th February 1976 was £96,228,554.Payments of variable premium before 29th February 1976 amounted to £42,977,237. Between 1st March and 7th May a further £8,751,077 has been paid. So far the cost of the variable premium has been borne by the United Kingdom Exchequer; but from 1st September 1976 25 per cent. of the cost of these premiums will be contributed from Community funds.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether, and in what circumstances, tax refunds are treated as income as opposed to capital, in the cases of rent rebates, rate rebates, free school meals, free welfare milk, family income supplement and supplementary benefit, respectively.

The information is as follows:

asked the Secretary of state for Social Services if he will publish a table comparing the weekly tax threshold for a single householder, a married couple, and families with each of one, two, three, four, six eight and 10 children, with the family in-

		Age(s) of child(ren)	Tax Threshold		Prescribed amount for FIS (from July 1976)	Ordinary Supplementary benefit scale rate (from November 1976)
			(a)	(b)
			£	£	£	£
Single Person	…	—	12·98	14·13	—	12·70
Married Couple	…	—	18·37	20·87	—	20·65
Married Couple with:
1 child	…	4	24·13	26·63	39·00	24·25
2 children	…	4, 8	28·90	31·40	43·50	28·60
3 children	…	4, 8, 11	34·35	36·85	48·00	33·95
4 children	…	4, 8, 11, 16	40·37	42·87	52·50	41·75
6 children	…	4, 6, 8, 11, 14, 16	50·58	53·08	61·50	52·60
8 children		2, 4, 6, 8, 11, 12, 14, 16	60·79	63·29	70·50	61·55
10 children	…	2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, 17	71·58	74·08	79·50	73·70

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the minimum level of gross weekly earnings necessary in order to give the parent of a one-parent family financial benefit from taking a full-time job rather than remaining on supplementary benefit, assuming (a) two children aged between 5 and 11 years and (b) three children aged 3, 5 and 7 years and assuming rent at £4·83, rates at £1·80, and expenses associated with going to work which take into account the cost of child minders while the parent is at work as well as travel.

Full-time gross earnings of £9·70 would currently be necessary for the two-child family and £10·80 for the three-child family.The cost of child-minders has not been taken into account because no reliable average figure is known.Work expenses are taken as £1·75 a week.

NET WEEKLY SPENDING POWER—SINGLE PARENT WITH 2 CHILDREN
Date				Wages £25	Wages £30	Wages £35	Supplementary Benefit
March 1976	…	…	…	29·86	29·78	29·90	19·90
August 1976	…	…	…	32·40	32·88	32·74	19·90

Following is the information:It is assumed that all benefits for which the parent is eligible have been claimed.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish a table comparing the net weekly spending power, as defined in the reply to the hon. Member for Norfolk, North on 10th June 1975, column 156, of a one-parent family with two children aged between 5 and 11 years, before and after the introduction of child interim benefit, assuming (a) weekly earnings of £25, £30 and £35 and (b) that the family was on supplementary benefit.

The full effects of child interim benefit in combination with other benefits will not be seen before 20th July 1976 because until then child interim benefit is not counted as income for family income supplement purposes.The following table, therefore, compares the position in March 1976, before the introduction of child interim benefit, with that in August 1976, when the adjustment with FIS has taken place.