asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he is satisfied that the recent order for additional Kingfisher class patrol vessels will adequately meet the requirements for fishery and oil rig protection.

The Bird class is not designed for oil rig protection. The first of class, HMS "Kingfisher", is currently undergoing trials in the fishery protection rôle. Three more vessels are under construction. No new order has been placed since November 1972.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence in how many cases during the last 12 months compensation has been paid by his Department to residents of the Irish Republic for damage admitted by the Army due to operations along the border in Northern Ireland.

As I said in a reply to a similar Question on 17th May—[Vol. 911, c. 355]—this information could not be obtained without disproportionate effort. However, if the hon. Member has any particular problem

			Liverpool	St. Helens	Birkenhead	Kirkby	Southport	Bootle
1975	April	…	39	9	13	7	10	13
	May	…	30	6	9	4	6	5
	June	…	26	5	10	4	2	9
	July	…	50	18	21	8	7	9
	August	…	82	11	30	5	6	18
	September	…	51	7	13	5	4	8
	October	…	51	7	14	2	5	7
	November	…	25	Nil	10	2	5	4
	December	…	29	7	8	1	2	7
1976	January	…	26	6	4	2	2	6
	February	…	29	7	9	2	2	3
	March	…	43	7	13	Nil	4	3
			481	90	154	42	55	92

Statistics were not maintained for the previous 12 months on the same basis, but the total number of persons recruited during April 1974 to March 1975 inclusive on Merseyside was 773 compared with a total of 914 for the period April 1975 to March 1976 inclusive.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many Army recruiting centres are located on Merseyside; from which addresses they operate; how many persons have been recruited at each centre in each of the past 12 months; and how this compares with the previous 12 months.

There are six Army recruiting centres in the Merseyside area, operating from the following addresses:

(i) Liverpool: Graeme House, Derby Square

(ii) Bootle: 100 The Hexagon, New Strand

(iii) Birkenhead: Kingsland Building, College Street

(iv) Kirkby: 1 Old Rough Lane

(v) St. Helens: 2 YMCA Building, Borough Road

(vi) Southport: Old TA Centre, 24–35 Manchester Road

The number of persons recruited at each of these centres during each of the 12 months previous to March 1976, the latest date for which statistics are available, is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the speech by the Chief of Air Staff to the RAFA conference at Eastbourne on 15th May.

I have already done so.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the suspension of a member of the Wiltshire Army Cadet Force for alleged involvement with Column 88.

A non-commissioned part-time instructor has been suspended from all duties with the Pewsey detachment of the Wiltshire ACF pending full consideration of his alleged involvement with Column 88.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what rules govern the carrying and use of firearms by his Department's police.

The rules are broadly similar to those of other police forces in Great Britain and are contained in Force Standing Orders and in the Ministry of Defence Police Manual. Firearms may be issued only on the specific authority of the Secretary of State or the Chief Constable, Ministry of Defence Police, for a particular duty, to officers fully qualified on that type of weapon.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what increases in quartering charges there have been in respect of Service hirings since the rents payable to the owners of such properties were last pegged.

Increases in charges for Service married accommodation including hirings ranging between 8 per cent. and 18 per cent. were introduced from 1st April 1976, in accordance with the recommendations of the Armed Forces Pay Review Body. The rents payable to landlords for properties taken on as hirings are decided as the result of an agreement freely arrived at between the owner as landlord and the Ministry of Defence as tenant. The charges paid by the occupant are irrelevant to the terms of that agreement.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what gross profit his Department expects to make in the current financial year in respect of Service hirings.

As there is no direct relationship between what rent the Department pays and the quartering charges paid by the Service occupant no question of profit arises.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of the total number of Service hirings is owned by members of the Armed Services.

The information is not readily available.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish in the Official Report a copy of his letter to Mr. R. Hayward commenting on the proposals for further defence cuts, submitted to the National Executive of the Labour Party.

It is not normal practice to publish in the Official Report correspondence between a Minister and the General Secretary of the Labour Party.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what are the estimated reserves of gas in the southern sector of the North Sea which are at present not being exploited.

Estimates of Southern Basin gas reserves not yet being exploited are shown in lines 2 and 3 of the figures in Table 3 of the 1976 Brown Book and amount to some 6 trillion cubic feet.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy, in 1970, 1975 and currently, what percentage and amounts in coal equivalent terms the electricity supply industry used of the following: coal, oil, hydroelectricty and nuclear energy.

This information can be obtained from Table 9 of Energy Trends published monthly by my Department and available in the Library of the House. Figures for March, the latest month for which details are available,

						Coal	Oil	Hydro	Nuclear	Total*
						(Million tons coal equivalent)
1970		…	…	…	…	76·2	20·8	2·0	7·7	106·7
	%	…	…	…	…	71·4	19·5	1·9	7·2	100
1975		…	…	…	…	73·4	21·1	1·6	9·3	105·4
	%	…	…	…	…	69·6	20·0	1·6	8·8	100
March 1976		…	…	…	…	8·3	2·1	0·2	1·1	11·7
	%	…	…	…	…	70·9	18·0	1·7	9·4	100
* Excludes natural gas which amounted to 0·2, 3·4 and 0·3 million tons coal equivalent, respectively

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what was the revenue of the electricity supply industry in 1970 and for the latest year for which statistics are available.

The revenue of electricity supply industry in England and Wales in the financial years 1969–70 and 1974–75 was £1,460 million and £2,656 million respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what was the percentage return on capital, or loss, in the electricity supply industry in 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974 and 1975.

The percentage return on average net assets employed in the electricity supply industry in England and Wales in the years in question was:

	%
1969–70	6·4
1970–71	4·1
1971–72	5·1
1972–73	5·8
1973–74	3·0
1974–75	2·3

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he has any proposals to assist owner-occupiers, owners or/and tenants of houses to carry out the work of house insulation by some form of subsidy or otherwise: and, if so, what the proposals are.

Local authorities may, subject to the consent of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment, make available grants for elderly and disabled persons who could not otherwise meet the costs without hardships. Public expenditure constraints make it impossible to give grants for this

asked the Secretary of State for Energy (1) if, in view of the need for formal co-operation between the different energy producing agencies in the United Kingdom as a whole and in Scotland in particular, he will consider setting up a United Kingdom Energy Commission and Scottish Energy Agency to ensure that officials in the various sections work together to harmonise policies rather than through Civil Service intermediaries:(2) what plans he has to ensure the co-ordination of policy making between the various agencies responsible for energy production in Scotland and the United Kingdom as a whole.

As I told the hon. Member in reply to a Question on 3rd May—[Vol. 910, c. 219]—I do not consider that new energy authorities are appropriate. I have the responsibility for overall energy policy which takes full account of Scottish and Welsh interests in consultation with the Secretaries of State concerned. I believe that co-ordination and harmonisation are best promoted by our present arrangements for working with management, trade unions and other interests involved on the development of energy strategy.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy (1) how many consumers the electricity industry served on 1st January 1970 and on 1st January 1976, respectively:(2) what was the national average consumption in kWh by a consumer on 1st January 1970 and 1st January 1976, respectively.

Details of sales, etc., by the public electricity supply system in Great Britain are published in Table 80 of the 1975 Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics available in the Library of the House. Following are the figures:

	1969	1975
Number of consumers at end of year (thousand)	20,200	21,520
Sales per consumer (kWh)	9,066	9,921

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what are the present stocks of coal distributed and undistributed in Great Britain.

At 8th May 1976 distributed stocks were 19·6 million tons and undistributed stocks 11·4 million tons, a total of 31 million tons. These are provisional figures for the latest available date.

asked the Lord President of the Council what is the total number of officers and officials employed by the House of Commons.

The total number of officers and officials directly employed by the House of Commons Departments on 20th May 1976 was 547, including 83 part-time cleaners and 18 other part-time staff. These numbers exclude staff engaged on a casual daily basis and staff of other organisations providing services in the House, such as the Department of the Environment and the police. In addi-

Major road works in period 1976–77 to 1979–80*					Total estimated cost £thousands Sept.1975 prices	Programmed start date	Contract period
Londonderry Council Area
Quay route extension	…	…	…	…	200	1976–77	6 months
Strand Road	…	…	…	…	1300	1977–78	Various contracts over 3 years
Steelstown	…	…	…	…	300	1978–79	18 months
Waterside-Caw (including Glendermott Link)				…	1,200	1978–79	27 months
Coleraine Council Area
B185 University Road	…	…	…	…	350	1979–80	12 months
Limavady Council Area
None
* A firm programme for 1980–81 is not yet available.
The start dates for all schemes are subject to finance being available and completion of the relevant statutory procedures.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of average manual earnings in October 1975 was represented by the income tax threshold for 1975–76 for a married man with two children not over 11 years of age: and what would be the estimated comparable figure in 1976–77 assuming earnings rise at an annual rate of 5 per cent.

I will let the hon. Member have a reply as soon as possible.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will publish in the Official Report the regulations concerning the issue of tax exemption certificates:(2) how many persons currently hold exemption certificates: and how many held them in each of the last five years.

I will let the hon. Member have a reply as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the major road works for the next five years in the council areas of Londonderry, Coleraine and Limavady with the expected cost, start and completion dates in each case.

Following is the information:

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the length of roadway, the estimated cost and the start and completion date for the new road between the Castledawson round-about and Randalstown.

The length of the proposed new road between the Castledawson roundabout and the end of the Randalstown bypass is about nine miles. The approximately estimated cost is £2·5 million at September 1975 prices. It is not possible to forecast accurately the start and completion dates, which will depend on the finance available for the

		Operation and maintenance—Roads, Car Parks, Lighting	New construction and improvement—Roads, Car Parks, Lighting	Urban and Rural improvement campaign
		£	£	£
COLERAINE COUNCIL AREA
Expenditure
1st October 1973 to 31st March 1974*	…	329,182	488,411	80,700
1974–75	…	698,381	1,266,385	199,641
1975–76	…	744,717	1,642,546	172,507
LONDONDERRY COUNCIL AREA
Expenditure
1st October 1973 to 31st March 1974*	…	227,138	499,947	12,389
1974–75	…	816,456	1,043,728	57,873
1975–76	…	816,519	2,000,340	130,723
LIMAVADY COUNCIL AREA
Expenditure
1st October 1973 to 31st March 1974*	…	314,790	86,137	81,117
1974–75	…	564,676	606,210	229,927
1975–76	…	455,139	972,921	175,413
* The figures for the first half year in 1973–74 could only be provided with a disproportionate use of resources because local government reorganisation effective from 1st October 1973 resulted in changes in the boundaries of the former local authorities which had road responsibilities.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many places have been provided in Government training centres in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years; and to what extent the demand for places has been met.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many advance factories have been built in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years; and how many are presently vacant.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what amounts of money were spent on maintenance of roads, new roads and other expenditure on roads in the council areas of Londonderry, Coleraine and Limavady in each of the last three years.

Following is the information:

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

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons excluded from Great Britain under the provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism (Northern Ireland) Act have been sent to Northern Ireland; and how many have been subsequently detained or charged with offences in Northern Ireland.

46 persons excluded from Great Britain have been remove to Northern Ireland under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Acts 1974 and 1976; 11 of these were held on arrival but all were released after questioning.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons have been excluded from Northern Ireland under the provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act; and how many have been sent to Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland, respectively.

One person has been sent from Northern Ireland to the Republic of Ireland in pursuance of an order excluding him from the United Kingdom.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons have been detained in Northern Ireland under the provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act; how many have subsequently been charged with offences; and with what offences they have been charged.

134 persons have been held in Northern Ireland under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Acts 1974 and 1976. 57 of these persons were subsequently charged with the following offences:

Offence
Murder	19
Attempted murder	9
Conspiracy to murder	1
Explosives offences	15
Firearms offences	10
Membership of a proscribed organisation	1
Burglary	1
Robbery	1
Offences against the person	—
Unlawful collection of information	1

Some of the 57 persons were charged with more than one offence.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons have been charged under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act in Northern Ireland; and under which section of the Act.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the average annual increase in the cost of electricity in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years; and how much profit or loss was made by the NIES in each of these years.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many inquiries concerning industrial investment in Northern Ireland have been made by overseas companies and by British companies, respectively, in each of the last five years.(2) how many ministerial trips abroad to find new investment for Northern Ireland were made in the years 1971 and 1975, respectively.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the annual growth in gross domestic product, industrial production, productivity and real income, respectively, in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what percentage of new jobs established in Northern Ireland were of new jobs promoted in each of the last five years;(2) how many new jobs in manufacturing industry have been created in Northern Ireland during each of the past five years; how many of these result from expansion of existing enterprises; and how many from new investment;(3) how many jobs have been created in each of the last five years by the Urban and Rural Improvement Campaign, the Local Enterprise Development Unit and Enterprise Ulster, respectively;(4) how many jobs have been saved by the Northern Ireland Finance Corporation in each year of its operation; how many new jobs created; and what was the total expenditure involved;(5) how many jobs have been lost in manufacturing industry in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years; how many firms have closed down; and how many have reduced their work force;(6) how many engineering firms in Northern Ireland have closed down or reduced their work force in each of the last five years;(7) how many jobs have been lost and how many new jobs promoted in textiles and in engineering, respectively, in each of the last five years in Northern Ireland;(8) what were the average unemployment figures in Northern Ireland for each of the last 10 years; and how they compare with remote areas in Great Britain;(9) how many people were employed in agriculture in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years;(10) how many people were employed in the construction industry in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much the average annual increase in fares was for Citybus, Ulsterbus and Northern Ireland Railways, respectively, in each of the last five years; and how much profit or loss was made by each authority.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how much has been paid out in ex gratia payments to relatives of persons killed by the security forces;(2) how much has been paid out in compensation to relatives of persons killed by the security forces;(3) how much public money has been paid out in ex gratia payments and compensation, respectively, to persons injured by the security forces.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many claims have been made against his Department for wrongful arrest, ill-treatment or deprivation of liberty; and how many of these have been made under the Criminal Injuries to Persons (Compensation) Act (Northern Ireland);(2) what is the average waiting time for the settlement of claims for compensation in death cases and injuries cases, respectively.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether, in view of the importance of detailed consideration and the widespread public interest, he will introduce legislation on complaints procedure in Northern Ireland in the form of a Bill and not a draft Order in Council.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) in each year since he assumed office to the latest available date, how many letters he has received from Northern Ireland political parties requesting a continuance of direct rule in the foreseeable future, how many from trades unions and other organisations with the same request; and if he will list the bodies making such representations;(2) how many letters he has received since he assumed office during each year to the latest available date, on the subject of direct rule in Northern Ireland; how many of these letters were from persons in Northern Ireland; how many were in favour of direct rule and how many in favour of a devolved Government in Northern Ireland in the categories named; and how many asked for increased representation in Parliament.

, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 6th May 1976; Vol. 910, c. 462–3], gave the following information:I receive some 14,000 letters a year, many of them covering more than one topic. It is not practicable to produce for, but the majority of letters which the analysis which the hon. Member asks I have received recently on constitutional matters are in favour of direct rule.

asked the Minister for Overseas Development what moneys, grants and loans are currently being paid to stated African countries; whether he will take action to stop such grants, etc., where these countries expel British passport holders on the grounds of either colour or race.

Disbursements from the aid programme to all African countries are detailed for the years 1970–1974 inclusive in "British Aid Statistics", a copy of which is in the Library of the House. It is hardly ever appropriate or effective to use the threat of withdrawal of aid as a political lever.

asked the Minister for Overseas Development how much money is disbursed in the present financial year in overseas aid to countries which now make it their practice to penalise or expel residents on racial grounds, or have done so in the past 10 years.

We do not publish forecasts of outturn this early in the financial year. Information on disbursements of overseas aid to all countries is contained in "British Aid Statistics", a copy of which is in the Library of the House. It is impossible to classify countries in the way in which the hon. Member suggests. Of course I deplore racial discrimination wherever it occurs.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a comparison of serious crimes in Scotland and in Sweden, the Republic of Ireland, Norway, and England and Wales, respectively.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave him to a Question on this subject on 11th May.—[Vol. 911, c. 156.]

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what finances the Scottish Development Agency would require in order to maintain the real value of its £200 million budget over the next five-year period, on the assumption that the current rate of inflation remained constant.

An estimate of this kind would depend on so many assumptions as to the timing and makeup of the agency's expenditure as to be meaningless.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the total amount of money spent, at the latest convenient date, on industrial and commercial projects by the Scottish Development Agency.

This is a matter for the Scottish Development Agency.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will confirm, in amplification of his reply to the hon. Member for Aberdeenshire, East on 14th May 1976, that the reporter at the public inquiry into the Shell/Expro planning application at Peterhead will be able to evaluate all factors and hazards including those in Peterhead Bay.

The reporter is free to examine all matters which in his opinion have a bearing on the planning application which is under consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what progress he is making in his discussions with Scottish local authorities over housing co-operatives in Scotland;(2) whether the rôle of the Housing Corporation's new Co-operative Housing Agency extends to Scotland; and, if so, what plans it has in mind for the immediate future.

The Government fully appreciate the need for tenant involvement in housing management to be developed along suitable lines. I propose shortly to issue a consultation paper about tenant participation, including possibilities for housing co-operatives, to the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and other housing organisations in Scotland. The paper will also raise the question of the need for a central source of advice and guidance on cooperatives in Scotland. I would wish to await the outcome of these consultations before commenting on the rôle which the new agency might play in Scotland.

asked the Attorney-General how many persons have been convicted for membership of a proscribed organisation in each quarter during 1974, 1975 and the first quarter of 1976; and how many of these were convicted for that offence alone.

During the quarters referred to, as set out in the table below, a total of 248 persons were convicted in respect of belonging, or professing to belong, to a proscribed organisation, contrary to Section 19(1)(a) of the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1973, of whom 46 were convicted for that offence alone.

Quarter ended	Number of persons convicted of membership of a proscribed organisation	Number of persons convicted only of membership of a proscribed organisation
31st March 1974	1	1
30th June 1974	23	5
30th September 1974	21	3
31st December 1974	42	7
31st March 1975	65	18
30th June 1975	47	9
30th September 1975	8	1
31st December 1975	19	—
31st March 1976	22	2
Totals	248	46

asked the Attorney-General what is the number of inmates in mental institutions whose property is scheduled as being under the care of the Court of Protection.

No statistics are kept of such inmates, but it is thought that the number is approximately 14,500.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he received complaints about the slaughter of whales from individuals, organisations and the media protesting against the uncontrolled slaughter of whales; whether he gave any undertaking about their complaints; and what progress he is now able to report up to the present time.

Many letters have been received protesting about the alleged "uncontrolled slaughter" of whales. Detailed replies have been sent explaining the work of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) which was set up some 30 years ago to provide for the conservation, development and utilisation of the world's whale resources.The United Kingdom ceased whaling operations in 1963. As a founder member of the IWC, however, we have continued to play an active part in its work.It is disturbing to note that in many of the letters received there has been little or no recognition of the IWC's recent fundamental progress in regulating catches. Under its new management policy there is complete and automatic protection for those stocks which in the past have been over exploited such as blue whales, humpback whales, right whales, gray whales and bowhead whales. All these whales, and nearly all fin and sei whales may not be hunted. Only the more abundant stocks of five species may be caught and these only under the quota schemes set by the IWC on the basis of its expert scientific advice.My right hon. Friend and I welcome the concern of those who have written saying that whale stocks must be properly maintained and protected; this view has been held by successive administrations who have recognised the importance of agreed international action to protect the whale. Since we are anxious that public concern should be better informed than hitherto I have prepared a memorandum setting out the Government's position more fully. Copies of this memorandum have been placed in the Library of the House.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what has been the total cost to the British Government of the fisheries dispute with Iceland, in eluding the cost of civilian patrol vessels, subsidies to fishermen for losses sustained during the dipute, maintenance off Iceland of the Royal Navy protection fleet, and repair of damage sustained by Royal Navy vessels as a result of the dispute.

The estimated total cost to date of civilian defence vessels, together with the compensation paid to crews and officers for lost earnings in the period from 24th January to 4th February when naval protection was temporarily withdrawn, is about £1·7 million. The running costs of Royal Navy ships operating in waters off Iceland are similar to those that would be incurred wherever the vessels were deployed. As regards damage sustained by such ships, I have nothing to add to the reply given by my hon. friend to my hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull, East (Mr. Prescott) on 6th April.—[Vol. 909, c. 130.]

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects to have a report from the Institute of Geological Sciences regarding the mineral resources of Scotland.

The Natural Environment Research Council, through its component body the Institute of Geological Sciences, is carrying out the following programmes related to the mineral resources of Scotland: an investigation of metalliferous and associated minerals, funded by the Department of Industry; an assessment of bulk minerals, currently sand and gravel, funded by the Department of the Environment, partly for the Scottish Development Department; the Geological Survey, funded by the council from my Department's grant in aid and the Departments of the Environment, Energy and Industry; and a geochemical recon- naissance, funded by the Department of Industry.Reports are issued from time to time. Progress depends on the requirements and priorities of the funding Departments.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how local authorities are to interpret that part of the joint circular on public expenditure cuts which relates to reduced educational provision for under-fives, in the light of Section 8 of the Education Act 1944, which lays on them a duty to make such provision.

The effect of Section 8(2) (b) of the Education Act 1944 is to lay on local education authorities not a duty to make provision for pupils who have not attained the age of 5 years but a duty to

"have regard to the need for securing"

that such provision is made, in the form of nursery schools or classes. In other words, they can also have regard to other needs, and weigh one against the other. The guidance in paragraph 37 of the joint circular on the rate support grant settlement 1976–77, issued on 31st December 1975 (DES No. 15/75), is fully consistent with that.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment in what circumstances employment vouchers are issued to women from the Philippines to work as domestic servants in the United Kingdom; and how many have been issued during the last 12 months.

Work permits are issued to women from the Philippines to work as resident domestics in Great Britain in accordance with the provisions of the work permit scheme which are that no suitable worker is available from the resident labour force; the wages and conditions of employment offered are not less favourable than those prevailing for similar work in the same district; the worker is between 18–20 in the case of private domestic service—and 54; and for private or hotel domestic service the worker has had one year's similar experience abroad. Statistics of work permits issued are not available for domestic workers by sex, but I understand that the majority of applications made for domestics as a whole are for women. The most recent statistics available show that for 1975 the number of permits issued for Filipino domestics was 910, of which 562 were for jobs in private domestic service.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many new sheltered workshops are now at the planning stage in the area of the Greater London Council; and if he will issue guidance that on location and accessibility the National League of the Blind and Disabled and the Central Council for the Disabled shall be consulted.

Five. Decisions on location and accessibility are based on an assessment of the need in the area. Each project has its own aspects and I would not wish to indicate specific procedures.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what grants were made to Remploy in 1974, 1975 and 1976, respectively.

The information is as follows:

	1973–74	1974–75
Annual grants	£7·7m	£10·1m
Loans on capital grant	£0·7m	£1·1m
	1975–76
Annual grants	£14·9m (provisional)
Loans on capital grant	£1·9m (provisional)

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what measures he proposes in view of the shortage of work for disabled persons employed in Remploy factories in the West Midlands; and if he will make a statement.

Remploy itself is responsible for securing orders as part of its commercial operations. I know that the company is doing all it can to improve its sales so as to increase the work it provides for its disabled people.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a public reaffirmation of the Government's willingness to resolve the fisheries dispute with Iceland through mediation.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will consider requesting NATO to place observers on board Royal Navy protection vessels operating off Iceland to monitor incidents with the Icelandic coastguard.

We have already made this suggestion to NATO. As my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Defence told the House on 9th March, it was, unfortunately, rejected by the Icelandic Government.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will set out the diplomatic efforts made by various Governments during the last month to bring about a resolution of the fisheries dispute with Iceland.

I have nothing to add to the statement my right hon. Friend made to the House on 19th May in reply to another Question by the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will declare Mr. Russouw, Second Secretary of South African Embassy, persona non grata.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Heeley (Mr. Hooley) on 19th May—[Vol. 911, c. 559]—Mr. Russouw left the same day.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the official discussions with the Nigerian Government in respect of the demands to extradite ex-President Gowon.

I refer my hon. Friend to my reply to the Member for Bury St. Edmunds (Mr. Griffiths) on 20th May. —[Vol. 911, c. 727.]

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what changes have been made in the list of United Kingdom representatives at the North Atlantic Assembly.

My hon. Friends the Members for Ilkeston (Mr. Fletcher) and Hammersmith, North (Mr. Tomney) have replaced my hon. Friends the Members for Liverpool, Kirkdale (Mr. Dunn) and Erith and Crayford (Mr. Wellbeloved) as representatives from the Government at the North Atlantic Assembly.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure that British subjects captured in Angola and held there awaiting trial will be properly represented at that trial; and what information he can give about their whereabouts and the treatment they are receiving.

As the hon. Member knows, we have no consular representation in Luanda. We are awaiting a reply to our urgent request to the Angolan authorities for factual information about the case. Meanwhile, we understand from relatives of some of the accused that they are being allowed to nominate their own lawyers.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will appoint a senior official from his Department to the British Trade Mission in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

There is no intention at present to appoint an official from my Department to the Economic Co-operation Office in Riyadh but I will keep the matter under review. My Department is represented on and closely involved in the work of the Anglo-Saudi Arabian Joint Commission and will provide any specialised assistance required.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if, pursuant to the Minister of State's reply [24th February 1976, Official Report, column 178] he will make a statement on his negotiations with the drug industry on doctor education on prescribing and drug costs and in it list the points he is raising with the industry; and if he will conduct similar negotiations with the BMA and the bodies responsible for doctors' education.

Discussions with the association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry are not yet concluded. I hope to make a statement soon. The British Medical Association is aware of the discusions, and I would propose to consider the results jointly with them and with the bodies responsible for medical education.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what proportion of children are screened for deafness in their first year;(2) how many children with severe congenital sensorineural deafness are diagnosed in their first year;(3) how many babies have been born deaf per annum for the last five years as a result of maternal rubella.

I regret that the information is not available in the form requested, but profound prelingual deafness in children is believed to occur in some 15 out of every 10,000 live births. I am concerned about the arrangements for detecting hearing loss in infants and children; health authorities are being consulted about their current procedures and I shall consider the need for further action in the light of this.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how much was paid to persons in the 60 to 64 years age group in 1975 in the form of (a) supple- lementary benefits and (b) sickness benefits.

In 1975 about £86 million in supplementary benefit and £55 million in sickness benefit went to the 60 to 64 years age group.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when the hon. Member for Warwick and Leamington can expect a reply to his letter of 25th February to the Under-Secretary of State concerning national dried milk.

As I explained in my letter of 19th May, we are consulting bodies representative of the medical profession and the other interests involved about the future of national dried milk I shall provide the information requested by the hon. Member as soon as possible after those consultations have been completed.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement on the restrictions that the Family Fund has now introduced on the grants it makes, and on the falling value of the grants awarded.

I am not aware of any new restriction operated by the fund other than the substitution of grants for car hire in cases where, formerly, a second-hand car would have been purchased. The fund is continuing to give help in cases where this will complement the help given by the statutory bodies. I am satisfied that the original objectives of the fund have not changed, though the fact that it now operates within a budget means that it has to scrutinise applications carefully.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many British doctors have emigrated to work overseas each year since 1970; and what is the current monthly average based on the most recent figures available.

I have nothing to add to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Gower (Mr. Davies) on 18th March.—[Vol. 907, c. 629.]

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what consultations he has had, and what conclusions he has reached, about the future of the Royal London Homoeopathic Hospital and of future facilities for homoeopathic training generally within the NHS.

A working party, on which homœopathic interests will be represented, is to consider a single management authority for the National Hospitals for Nervous Diseases, the Hospitals for Sick Children and the Royal London Homoeopathic Hospital. The content and form of postgraduate medical education, including homoeopathy, are primarily matters for the medical profession itself.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what consideration he has given to permitting urgent repairs at the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital while its present use continues; and whether he has yet reached a decision about its long-term future.

Repair of the theatre lift at the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital would not be economic. The hospital's own consultants and staff currently have use of gynaecological and surgical facilities at the Royal London Homoeopathic Hospital. The future location of the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital is being considered by the area health authority.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many variations in the national insurance death grant have been made since 1948; and how many men and women are ineligible for it on their death because they were born before either 5th July 1883 or 5th July 1888.

Death grant has been increased twice since it first became payable in 1949.It is estimated there are about 10,000 men and 189,000 women for whom no death grant will be payable because they were over the minimum pension age on 5th July 1948.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the annual expenditure on national insurance death grants for men born on or after 5th July 1883 but before 5th July 1893 and women born on or after 5th July 1888 but before 5th July 1898.

The estimated expenditure for 1976–77 is £2¼ million.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he is able to make an announcement regarding disabled people and occupational pension schemes.

I have today written to Sir Philip Allen, Chairman of the Occupational Pensions Board, requesting the board to consider and advise on what measures would be most conducive to the elimination of any unreasonable restrictions on the availability of occupational pension scheme cover to disabled people.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service if he will set out the rate of London allowance payable to civil servants in May of each year since 1974.

The rates of Civil Service London weighting effective on the dates shown were:

	Inner London	Outer London
	£	£
May 1974	410	260
May 1975	410	260
May 1976	465	275

Inner London is the area within a radius of five miles of Charing Cross. Outer London is the area beyond that and within an 18-mile radius, with certain additions.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service whether London allowance is taxable.

Yes.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what, for the latest convenient year, was the expenditure by his Department in respect of (a) travel by warrant and (b) repayment for travel and subsistence allowances, with comparable figures 10 years previously.

The expenditure by the Civil Service Department in 1975–76 in respect of (a) travel by warrant was £168,560 and (b) repayment for travel and subsistence allowances was £901,245. These figures include the payment of expenses to candidates in recruitment competitions run by the Civil Service Commission.The Civil Service Department was established on 1st November 1968, and expenditure from 1969–70, the first full year of the Department, onwards is as follows:

	£
1969–70	259,451
1970–71	304,239
1971–72	354,286
1972–73	442,957
1973–74	458,955
1974–75	693,382

Separate figures for travel by warrant and repayment for travel and subsistence are not readily available for these years, which are not directly comparable to 1975–76 due to changes in the structure of the Department.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what percentage of the total number of civil servants is represented by those who have been dispersed to each of the assisted areas in the last two years.

The percentage of Civil Service numbers represented by posts dispersed to assisted areas within the following economic planning regions are:

	October 1973 to September 1974	October 1974 to September 1975
Northern	0·01	—
Yorkshire and Humberside	0·01	—
North-West	0·01	0·02
South-West	0·01	—
Scotland	0·10	0·05
Wales	0·05	0·04

asked the Minister for the Civil Service how much Central Government spent in 1973–74, 1974–75 and 1975–76 on computer equipment including peripherals; what part of this expenditure was equipment which constituted or formed part of computer systems larger than Atlas; and what part of the latter figure relates to acquisitions from ICL, NCR, Honeywell, Burroughs, IBM and Univac, respectively.

Expenditure on procurement of computer equipment for central Government in the past three years has been as follows:

	1973–74 Outturn £'000	1974–75 Outturn £'000	1975–76 Provisional Outturn £'000
Purchase of computer equipment	18,633	18,594	25,352
Hire of computer equipment	2,459	2,775	4,548
The figures exclude VAT.
The figures cover acquisition of all types of computer equipment including terminals and data preparation equipment.

A breakdown of these figures in the manner requested by the hon. Member could not be provided without disproportionate expense.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service how much central Government spent in 1973–74, 1974–75 and 1975–76 on computer equipment, including peripherals from ICL, NCR, Honeywell, Burroughs, IBM and Univac; and what part of this expenditure relates to parts, components and peripherals imported from abroad in each case.

Expenditure on procurement of computer equipment for central Government in 1973–74 and 1974–75 from the companies named by the hon. Member has been as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what specific matters contained in his recent Transport Review were brought to his attention by the statutory Railway Transport Users' Consultative Committee; and what specific invitation was sent to those committees to provide information or comments for the review in its formative stages.

I invited the Central Transport Consultative Committee to express views about future transport policy when I met it last year. The gist of its response is set out in its annual report for 1975, which was laid before Parliament on 11th February 1976. This summarised the committee's views about the need for an integrated transport policy, a stable rail investment programme, cuts in services and pricing policy, all of which were taken into account in preparing the Consultation Document on Transport Policy.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many regional offices of the Price Commission there are; how many of these are leasehold; and how many are freehold; what is the current rent of each of the leasehold offices; and what prices were paid for the offices which are freehold.

The Price Commission has 15 regional offices: 14 occupy leased premises, for which the total annual rent is £86,319. For commercial reasons rents of individual properties are confidential. The fifteenth office occupies part of an existing Crown building put up shortly after the Second World War. Information about its cost is not readily available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he has received representations to license independent commercial bureaux operating exchange arrangements for local authority tenants; and if he is considering taking this action;(2) if he will list the independent commercial bureaux operating exchange arrangements for local authority tenants and ascertain the charges they make.

No representations have been made to me to license these bureaux and I am not considering any such action. Nor am I aware of any need to list such bureaux or ascertain the charges they make, and it is not my intention to do so. But if my hon. Friend is aware of any problems in relation to exchange bureaux I should be grateful if he would write to me.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to receive the report of the Housing Service Advisory Group's review of facilitating the movement of local authority tenants.

In the autumn of this year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will issue a circular to local authorities about the need to guarantee mortgages for those people who do not normally meet the building societies' criteria for loan advances.

I am considering this.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many mortgages, and to what value, have been guaranteed by local authorities in the last year.

English authorities in 1975–76 reported guarantees for 45 mortgages. Information about the value of these mortgages is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what advice he has issued as to whether passenger transport executives should purchase British or foreign equipment.

None, but I would expect them to give British firms every opportunity for consideration, subject to their products being competitive.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) whether he is aware that certain lessees of residential property in blocks of flats are being served with demands and may be liable for large sums of money for the repair and maintenance of the demised property due to the failure to ensure such repairs and maintenance by the responsible persons before the lessees entered into their leases; and if, having regard to the liability which many lessees may find it impossible to meet, he will consider legislation to deal with the situation;(2) whether, in view of the fact that some lessees of residential property are being served with demands for considerable sums of money said to represent a percentage of the total amount to be expended upon the repair and maintenance of the whole block of flats, when they could not know the state of repair and maintenance other than that of their own flats when they entered into the leases, and, having regard to the financial obligations which may be imposed upon them, if he will consider appropriate legislation;(3) whether, having regard to the large increase in service charges now being demanded from lessees in blocks of flats, he will consider the introduction of legislation to protect such lessees;(4) if he will consider extending the effect of Section 124 of the Housing Act 1974 so as to protect lessees against large demands in respect of service charges, particularly by speculative landlords.

I am aware of the serious problems some leaseholders are facing over their service charges. I accept that, whilst some legal remedies are available —for example, where charges are unjustifiable, or to enforce repairing covenants —the present situation is far from satisfactory. It remains the Government's intention to look again at the existing legislative provisions, including Section 124 of the Housing Act 1974, but complex legal questions are involved which are not capable of easy solution.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment on how many occasions his Advisory Committee on Rent Rebates and Rent allowances has considered the question of the total disregard of war widows' and war disablement pensions in the calculation of rebate and allowance entitlement; and what have been its conclusions.

The Advisory Committee on Rent Rebates and Rent Allowances has discussed this matter on a number of occasions and recently reviewed the position. It concluded that a total disregard of these pensions would not be justified.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the division of rail subsidies for London suburban services between the inner and outer areas; and what evidence he has of the relative incomes of commuters in the two areas.

The grant is paid for the passenger system as a whole. Separate figures for subsidy to these groups of services are not available. On a broad allocation of costs and earnings, however, the board estimates that the inner suburban group of services fall short of their allocated costs by more than twice as much as the outer suburban group.The National Travel Survey 1972–3 contains information about household expenditure on travel to work by train by household income for residents of Greater London and the rest of the South-East.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what would be the total annual interest charges arising from the road investment programme undertaken between 1950 and 1976 if the same criteria were applied as for investment by British Railways.

I would refer my hon. Friend to Paper 5 in Volume 2 of the Consultation Document on Transport Policy, which explains that over the years tax paid by road users has exceeded current and capital expenditure on roads by a large margin and that it would be unrealistic to visualise any significant amount of loan charges arising.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he is satisfied that there was no unreasonable delay in his Department between the inquiry held in Eastbourne on 8th December 1975 and his dismissal on 6th May 1976 of the appeal by Waterhouse Coaches Limited against the decision of the Traffic Commissioners for the South Eastern Traffic Area conveyed to Waterhouse Coaches Limited on 27th March 1975, under Section 143 of the Road Traffic Act 1960.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the expected net increase in revenue from local authority dwellings in the current year after allowance has been made for increased rent rebates and increased social security payments arising from rent increases.

About £93 million for England and Wales, if the average increase in rent, before rebate, is 60p a dwelling a week.

Walker asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many local authority tenants have occupied their houses for the following periods: less than five years, five to nine years, 10 to 14 years, 15 to 19 years, 20 to 24 years, 25 to 29 years and 30 years or more.