asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many civil servants in his Department and at what ranks have (a) an official car allocated to them, (b) first call on official cars from a pool and (c) other than occasional access to an official car on any other basis.

The Permanent Secretary has an allocated car which is available for use by other senior officials. Cars are also allocated as necessary to officers in middle and junior grades who are required to travel regularly as part of their technical and professional duties in the field.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what staff are employed on the work of the Rhubarb Plant Variety Rights Advisory Panel.

No staff are employed exclusively or specifically on this work. On the few occasions when a variety of this species has been entered for plant variety rights the panel concerned has been serviced by the staff of the Plant Variety Rights Office in addition to their normal work.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what salary or fee is normally paid to the Chairman of the Rhubarb Plant Variety Rights Advisory Panel;(2) when he expects to appoint a chairman of the Rhubarb Plant Variety Rights Advisory Panel.

As yet there has been no occasion to appoint a chairman. The work of this panel continues to be undertaken by two members, each of whom can claim a fee of £9 per day.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the cost to public funds of the Rhubarb Plant Variety Rights Advisory Panel.

About £30 in 1971 when the panel last met.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he expects to fill the vacancies on the Plant Varieties and Seeds Tribunal Panel for French Beans and Perennial Delphiniums.

I hope that it will shortly be possible to secure the services of a suitable specialist in French beans. No similar appointment is envisaged for perennial delphiniums unless and until there are any indications that some varieties in this species will be entered for plant breeders' rights.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his estimate of the financial costs to date of the "cod war"; and if he will publish in the Official Report the approximate costs of the following: (a) additional expenses of the Royal Navy arising from its fisheries protection budget of operations off Iceland, (b) damage, (c) repairs to Her Majesty's ships, (d) loss of trawlers' fishing gear met by public funds, (e) hiring of civilian vessels by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, (f) compensation to trawler owners and others, and (g) other administrative overheads including those incurred by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

The known costs to date are: (a) the running costs of Royal Navy ships which operated in waters off Iceland were similar to those that would have been incurred wherever the vessels were deployed; (b) and (c) final and detailed repair costs arising from collision damage will not be available until after work has been completed; (d) none; (e) about £1·8 million; (f) about £74,000, to which must be added compensation, not expected to exceed about £30,000, when fishing was suspended during the Oslo talks; and (g) it is not possible to assess separately the administrative overheads of the cod war from those relating to other areas of administration.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement about the arrangements for payment of compensation to trawlermen off Iceland during the period of the recent negotiations.

Compensation will be payable to the skippers and crews of vessels on the Icelandic fishing grounds which were requested by Her Majesty's Government to refrain from fishing during the period 21·00 hours on 30th May to 09.00 hours on 2nd June 1976. The rates of payment will be £400 per day for trawlers from Grimsby, Hull, Fleetwood, Aberdeen and Granton, except for side trawlers from Fleetwood which will qualify for £350 per day. Parts of a day will be payable on a pro rata basis. Vessel owners will be asked to submit claims and apportion compensation between the various grades on their vessels in accordance with the appropriate port agreements. Administrative arrangements will be similar to those operated in the first period of the compensation scheme in January-February 1976.I shall in due course be submitting a Supplementary Estimate for 1976–77, and in the meantime I shall have recourse to the Contingencies Fund. Authority for the payments will rely on the Estimate itself and on the confirming Appropriation Act.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the latest estimate of the number of EEC directives involving agricultural pro- duction expected during the next two years.

This will depend upon the number of proposals put forward by the Commission and on whether these, and any proposals currently under consideration, are adopted by the Council. Neither of these factors can be foreseen with any precision.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many prosecutions have been instituted for the illegal importation of animals during 1975 and 1976.

There were 52 prosecutions during 1975, 47 of which were under the Rabies (Importation of Dogs, Cats and Other Mammals) Order 1974, which did not become fully operative until 5th February 1975. So far in 1976, 28 have been reported. There were convictions in all cases.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is able to assess the effect of EEC policy on the sugar-refining industry in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

The sugar-refining industry in Scotland, as in England benefits from the assurance of future supplies of raw cane sugar under Protocol 3 to the Lomé Convention agreed between the Community and the developing country sugar producers last year.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service if he will ensure that civil servants, members of nationalised industries and members of private industry travelling abroad in support of Government contracts fly on Birtish airline services on all routes where these airlines operate.

I can speak only for the Civil Service, where there is a long-standing instruction that, whereever possible, United Kingdom airlines should be used by officials and others whose fares are paid from public funds.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many Regular reservists of what category carry out their training commitments with units of the TAVR.

The number of Regular reservists attached to the TAVR on 31st December 1975, the latest date for which figures are available, was 863.

		Pay	Training Expenses Allowance	Bounties	Miscellaneous Allowances	Total
Officers	…	£481	£11	£60	All ranks £21	£573
Soldiers	…	£215	£6	£48		£290
Amounts shown have been rounded down to the nearest pound

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of recruits to the TAVR remain in the Service after one year.

On 16th January 1976, 73·6 per cent. of members of the TAVR had served for one year or over.

		Officers			Soldiers
		Male	QARANC	WRAC	Male	QARANC	WRAC	Total
1971–72—
1st Quarter	…	129	23	5	4,289	23	181	4,650
2nd Quarter	…	135	20	2	5,085	19	88	5,349
3rd Quarter	…	95	17	5	5,344	33	246	5,740
4th Quarter	…	87	18	1	5,194	26	142	5,468
1972–73—
1st Quarter	…	90	13	7	4,215	33	113	4,471
2nd Quarter	…	104	8	2	2,748	36	78	2,976
3rd Quarter	…	57	7	3	3,202	30	240	3,539
4th Quarter	…	92	12	10	2,935	26	124	3,199
1973–74—
1st Quarter	…	85	14	10	2,778	23	113	3,023
2nd Quarter	…	78	7	6	2,038	32	92	2,253
3rd Quarter	…	44	11	8	2,498	28	147	2,736
4th Quarter	…	76	12	5	2,901	30	135	3,159
1974–75—
1st Quarter	…	88	11	7	3,117	44	166	3,433
2nd Quarter	…	111	22	4	2,770	23	103	3,033
3rd Quarter	…	62	8	13	3,106	44	167	3,400
4th Quarter	…	70	7	7	3,260	36	231	3,611
1975–76—
1st Quarter	…	97	6	3	4,490	80	223	4,899
2nd Quarter	…	128	20	6	3,222	30	175	3,581
3rd Quarter	…	95	8	7	3,298	28	239	3,675
4th Quarter	…	95	13	9	4,999	58	377	5,551

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the total cost to the most recent convenient date of running the TAVR for one year; and if he will break this down to show expenditure

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what was the average amount paid to members of the TAVR during a year to the most convenient date, set out in convenient groupings for rank and type of payment.

The average amount paid to a volunteer member of the TAVR by rank and main types of payment in 1975–76 was as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish in the Official Report the number of recruits to the TAVR during each quarter in the last five years.

The information requested is set out below.on pay, equipment, drill halls and other relevant detail.

The most meaningful figures which can be provided are the estimated costs for 1976–77. A breakdown of these costs is as follows:

	£ million
1. Pay of Permanent Staff	9·0
2. Pay, allowances and bounties of Volunteer Personnel	18·0
3. Equipment Costs	15·0
4. Major and Minor Works Services	5·0
5. Administrative Support and Other Services	14·0
Total	61·0

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will have consultations with the Government of Tonga with a view to the establishment of a

Reserve		Membership	Training commitment (in any one year)
Royal Navy and Royal Marines
a. Retired List Officers	…	RN/RM officers who have completed service on the active list and are in receipt of retired pay and/or Service gratuity	None
b. Emergency List Officer	…	RN/RM officers who have completed Supplementary List, short service or extended service engagements or, having been released from the Active List for private reasons, volunteer to enrol in the Emergency List	None
c. Royal Fleet Reserve	…	Ex-naval ratings and marines under age 45 who have a reserve liability following a period of Regular service	None
d. Naval Pensioners	…	Ex-naval ratings and marines who have completed sufficient Regular service to qualify for a Service pension	None
Army
e. Regular Army Reserve of Officers.	…	Retired Regular Army and short service officers and officers with previous service in the Army Emergency Reserve, the Territorial Army or the Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve	None
f. Regular Reserve	…	Ex-Regular soldiers who have a reserve liability following a period of Regular service	12 to 15 days continuous training, depending on category
g. Long Term Reserve	…	All men joining the Regular Army on or after 28th February 1964 from completion of Regular service until reaching age 45	None
h. Army Pensioners	…	Ex-Regular soldiers who have completed sufficient service to qualify for a Service pension	None

Reserve		Membership	Training commitment (in any one year)
Royal Air Force
i. RAF Retired Officers	…	Officers who have retired from permanent or emergency commissions after completing sufficient service to qualify for retired pay	None

We have no requirement for the establishment of defence facilities in Tonga.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will set out in the Official Report the current categories of Regular reservists; and what are their precise training commitments.

The following table lists the current categories of Regular reservists and their respective liabilities for training. However, where training commitments exist, they are not currently invoked.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the proposed small ship docking and refitting complex to be provided at Rosyth Naval Base, and, in particular, whether the use of this proposed complex will have any effect upon the workload at Her Majesty's Gunboat Yard at Haslar, Gosport.

The small ship docking and refitting complex being provided at Rosyth Naval Base will replace three old floating docks and will be used for the maintenance of mine countermeasures vessels, offshore patrol vessels, and

		Wales	Dyfed	Ceredigion
European Regional Development Fund	…	£9,378,268	£573,650	£94,200
European Coal and Steel Community	…	£811,380	Not identifiable	Not identifiable
European Social Fund	…	£11,200,000	Not identifiable	Not identifiable
European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (FEOGA) Individual Projects Scheme		£1,470,537	£454,788	£367,685

Wales has also benefited substantially from other assistance from the European Coal and Steel Community, and by way of contributions from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund to common and special measures designed to improve farm structure and in pursuance of various other EEC directives and regulations. The Welsh element of this assistance is not readily identifiable.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what is the total amount of money received to date in Wales by grants from the EEC; and if he will make a statement;(2) what is the total amount of money received to date in Dyfed and Ceredigion, respectively, by grants from the EEC.

The following table shows EEC grants of various types approved to date for Wales and—where these are separable—for Dyfed and Ceredigion.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what proportion of the £100 million allocated to the Welsh Development Agency by the 1975 Act has been taken up at the latest available date; and how this is divided between the purposes of land reclamation and job creation.

This is a matter for the Welsh Development Agency.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he has taken to advise local authorities in Wales on the matter of his policy on the language appropriate to parking signs, in the light of evidence on this matter which has been sent to him.

My right hon. and learned Friend's intention to introduce bilingual signs generally in Wales is widely known. There seems no reason to give formal advice about parking signs as such.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales on which roads in Wales he has authorised the replacement of road traffic directional signs containing the names of towns by directional signs showing only route numbers; and on what criteria such decisions are based.

On all trunk roads to replace those directional signs showing place names which have been deliberately defaced.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the scale of fees payable to reporters of public inquiries into compulsory purchase orders and the average payment in the most recent convenient year.

The present scale of fees payable is as follows:

• £31·20 per day for inquiry.
• £3·90 per hour for writing of report.
• £1·95 for preparatory work.
• £1·95 per hour excess travelling time.

Most of the payments made during the last financial year fell between £100 and £150.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what advice he has given to local authorities in Scotland regarding the provisions to be made in order to ensure that schoolchildren do not go to prison.

In September 1974, local authorities were encouraged to provide increased residential and other resources particularly to meet the needs of children placed under residential supervision requirements by children's hearings or committed by the courts for residential training. Authorities had been advised in 1971 about the need to provide appropriate accommodation for the short-term detention of children; current plans by authorities will provide 200 new places in such accommodation, including secure places.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what requirement there is for educational bodies or any other public body to report any case of drug taking or glue sniffing among schoolchildren.

The police have a duty to report drug offences for consideration of criminal proceedings. Glue-sniffing is not of itself an offence and action would be a matter for the educational or other public body in the light of the particular circumstances of the case. Where schoolchildren are involved medical and police advice may be sought, but this will not necessarily involve a formal report in each case.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has any information about the incidence of glue sniffing or drug taking among schoolchildren in the area of the Paisley constituency; and, if so, how many cases there have been.

I understand that there have been several isolated incidents of glue-sniffing among schoolchildren in the Paisley area in recent months. Exact figures are not available. One case of drug-taking is currently known to the authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what assistance has been given to assist in the establishment of playgroups in Scotland.

Government grant is paid annually to the Scottish Pre-School Playgroups Association to assist with its development work, and the association has been offered£30,500 for the financial year 1977–77. The association also receives grand towards its training programmes and for capital projects.Information is not available about assistance given by local authorities to the association or to local playgroups. Local authorities may, however, qualify for Government grant under the urban programme for schemes to promote playgroups in areas of social need.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people under the age of 18 years are currently in adult wards in mental hospitals.

Precise figures are not available, but the number is relatively small. Most young patients in psychiatric hospitals are in units for children or adolescents.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what statutory powers he has to give the Scottish Development Agency a specific instruction to acquire ownership of the whole or part of a private company.

Neither the Secretary of State nor the agency has power to acquire shareholdings compulsorily, but Sections 4 and 5 of the Scottish Development Agency Act 1975 contain powers which could be used to direct the agency to seek a negotiated purchase.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the population of Strathclyde Region; and how many of that number are over 65 years of age.

The estimated population of Strathclyde Region at 30th June 1975 was 2,504,909. The population aged 65 and over was estimated at 310,898.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the population of the Central Region; and how many of that number are over 65 years of age.

The estimated population of the Central Region at 30th June 1975 was 269,281. The population aged 65 and over was estimated at 32,364.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made by the planning team on the provisions of the hospital services in the area of the Northern Health and Social Services Board; and when its report will be published.

The planning team was appointed jointly by the Northern Ireland Department of Health and Social Services and the Northern Health and Social Services Board. The team's report was published today. Consultations on the report will take place before any conclusions are reached as to the recommendations. Implementation of the proposals in the report would be subject to the availability of finances. Copies of the report have been placed in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he intends to make any changes in the structure and responsibilities of Northern Ireland Departments in the near future.

Yes. I have decided that following the retirement on 30th June 1976 of the present Head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, who is also Permanent Secretary of the Department of Finance, I shall separate the two functions and appoint separate Heads of the Northern Ireland Civil Service and of the Department of Finance. The Head of the NICS, who will continue, as in the past, to have direct access to me, will in future be specifically responsible for the co-ordination of the policies and programmes of all Northern Ireland Departments and for advising me on these matters, including the allocation of resources. His office will be at Stormont Castle in Belfast and he will be supported by a central secretariat, partly located at Stormont Castle and partly at Parliament Buildings.The Head of the NICS will continue as before to be answerable to me for the direction and management of the Civil Service, and especially for recommendations on top appointments. For this it will be structurally and administratively appropriate for the present Civil Service Management Division of the Department of Finance to be an independent Department, and I intend to lay an Order in Council in the near future to give effect to this reorganisation as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will he make a statement about the progress of fish farming in Northern Ireland.

In recent years the Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture has been encouraging the development of the farming of oysters in the sea and rainbow trout in fresh water. A small oyster industry has been established around Strangford Lough; and growers may extend production in the Foyle Estuary and Dundrum Bay. Six of the nine oyster farms which have been established since 1973 are now selling their produce.The 10 commercial rainbow trout farms produced 180 tons of rainbow trout in 1975. These farms purchase ova from the Northern Ireland Department of Agricluture's fish farm at Mouanagher, Co Londonderry, the establishment of which has encouraged the development of this new industry over the last four years.The expansion of both sides of the fish farming industry in Northern Ireland is expected to continue and the Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture will continue to encourage farmers and potential farmers fully to exploit the available resources.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many incursions by terrorists from the Republic of Ireland there were during the seven years from 1969 to 1975, listing each year separately;(2) how many border incidents involving terrorists have occurred during the years 1969 to 1975, inclusive, listing the number for each year separately.

, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 17th May 1976 Vol. 911, c. 378], gave the following answer:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that the 1971 Census figures show that there were 39,000, 35,000 and 33,000 immigrants from the new Commonwealth countries in Brent, Haringey and Ealing, respectively, and 40,000, 21,000 and 30,000 from other countries and, as there were only 1,000 and 2,000, respectively, in York, if he will take steps to provide subsidies to get some of these immigrants to go to York.

We are aware that there are more New Commonwealth immigrants in some places than in others; but we do not believe that it would be right or practicable to pay special subsidies to these sections of our community to persuade them to settle in any particular place.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has given his approval to the Police Federation having joined the International Union of Police Associations; and if he supports this move towards wider co-operation among the police staff associations of the EEC and Scandinavia.

Yes, I welcome this initiative, which has my full support.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research has been recently carried out under Government auspices or by industry into the hazards of plastic furnishings in the home in the event of serious fire; and what were the findings in each case.

I have been asked to reply.A three-year research project, sponsored by the Government, to investigate the fire hazards of plastic materials used in the manufacture of furniture was completed last summer. The report on the third and final year of this research, undertaken by the Rubber and Plastics Research Association under the direction of the Fire Research Station, was published last month.Among the findings, it was shown that in fires involving sitting/dining room furniture, under well ventilated conditions, traditional furniture is relatively difficult to ignite compared with modem furniture containing foamed rubber and polyurethane upholstery foams. It also burns less rapidly and produces less smoke. Experiments indicated that the flammability of a modern commercial suite could be reduced to resemble that of traditional furniture by the substitution of less flammable fabrics and by incorporating suitable interlining materials. The basic data from this project are being used in current Government financed research concerned with the development of test methods for determining the ignitability and flammability of upholstered furniture.In addition, the Fire Research Station is engaged on a continuous programme of studies into the behaviour in fire of plastics in furniture and fittings and this programme is kept under regular review.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department in view of the fact that plastic foam materials involved in fires on domestic premises are likely to have been the cause of injury and death, what action he proposes to take to warn the general public about the risks of using such materials in the home.

I have been asked to reply.Such materials present no risks if normal precautions are taken to prevent fires occurring. The Government and other bodies already promote a great deal of publicity on this subject and I do not think there are any specific warnings or advice concerning plastic foams which would serve any purpose.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether Denmark has ratified the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species; and, if so, on what date.

Not to my knowledge.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will take action to ensure that oil rigs and similar floating platforms, which may be surplus to immediate requirements and which proprietors wish to lay up in suitable havens around the coastline of Great Britain, come within local planning control.

I have no reasons to believe that present controls are ineffective.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will make arrangements to ensure that the minutes of meetings of regional economic planning councils are made available to county and district councillors of the authorities within the region.

No. To do so would hamper the councils in their task of taking a broad and independent view of the problems of their regions. Some of the advice councils give is confidential and their minutes could not be made available to councillors without being made more generally available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what were the average earnings of all local government personnnel and the total cost of salaries, national insurance, pensions, etc., for each of the years 1973, 1974, 1975, and for the latest date available.

The available figures for England and Wales are as follows:

AVERAGE GROSS WEEKLY EARNINGS OF FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES*
Negotiating group								1973	1974	1975
								£	£	£
Teachers in primary and secondary schools:
Males	…	…	…	…	…	…	…	46·1	52·3	72·5
Females	…	…	…	…	…	…	…	37·5	43·5	60·0
Teachers in establishments of further education:
Males	…	…	…	…	…	…	…	57·3	63·9	86·5
Administrative, professional and technical staff:
Males	…	…	…	…	…	…	…	48·6	54·8	68·7
Females	…	…	…	…	…	…	…	31·5	33·3	45·5
General and clerical division:
Males	…	…	…	…	…	…	…	31·3	—	—
Females	…	…	…	…	…	…	…	24·0	26·6	36·2
Building and civil engineering:
Males	…	…	…	…	…	…	…	37·9	41·3	54·3
Manual workers:
Males	…	…	…	…	…	…	…	31·2	35·5	47·5
Females	…	…	…	…	…	…	…	19·6	23·3	35·4
* Those whose pay was not affected by absence. Males aged over 21 years, females aged over 18 years. In April of each year
Source: Department of Employment. New Earnings Survey.

Total annual cost of wages and salaries (including employers contributions to national insurance and to superannuation funds)
	£ million
1972–3	3795
1973–4	4386
1974–5	5722
1975–6 (provisional)	6718

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether the procedures, including those involving the blacklisting of contractors, contained in DOE Circular 123/75 will continue under Stage 2 of the incomes policy; and whether he proposes to issue a new circular.

We expect the arrangements to continue. Fresh guidance will be issued if necessary.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what would be the cost of direct customer billing for water supplies instead of the levying of charges for water and sewerage charges by councils as agents for the water authorities; which water authorities intend to introduce such arrangements; and what is his policy with regard to such a change.

I have advised water authorities to pay close attention, when contemplating the extension of direct billing, to the need to avoid an increase in the combined expenditures of water authority and rating authorities. But it is necessary to balance the immediate costs of direct billing against such factors as improved cash flow for the water authority and savings in commission charges and the net cost will depend upon local circumstances. All water authorities already bill some consumers direct for some of their services and most are planning or contemplating further direct billing.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment which Government Ministers and civil servants have the regular use of: (a) the same chauffeur and (b) the same official car; and which types of car are available.

All 21 Cabinet Ministers provided with cars by the Government Car Service have regular use of a Rover 3·5 or a Wolseley 2200 with a regular driver.Twenty seven senior Ministers, Ministers of State and Law Officers have an allocated Wolseley 2200 and driver. Four other Ministers of State each share their allocated Wolseley 2200 with an Under-Secretary of State.Ten Under Secretaries of State/Parliamentary Secretaries and the Chief Whip, House of Lords, have an allocated Wolseley 6. Fourteen Under-Secretaries of State have the use of a specified shared allocation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the average pay of the drivers of Ministers' cars: (a) excluding overtime and (b) for overtime.

The current basic rate of pay of a Minister's driver with inner London weighting is £45 per week. The average earnings for the tax year 1975–76 were £4,628, of which, it is estimated £2,250 was basic pay, £130 disturbed meals allowance, and £2,248 overtime.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether it is customary for the drivers of Ministers' cars who have worked normal hours during the day to remain on duty to take them home at the end of business in the House.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will arrange for records to be kept of the extent to which Ministers' cars are required to wait at the House to take them home so that the resulting additional wages cost can be computed.

Drivers' overtime arises not only for Ministers' late attendance at the House but also as a consequence of other ministerial functions. Furthermore, Ministers' allocated drivers may be employed on other than ministerial duties when not required by their Ministers.I do not propose, therefore, to keep more detailed records for such a purpose as it would be administratively impractical to apportion the cost of overtime working between the several possible causes.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what rules exist for the recording of journeys undertaken by official cars; whether he is satisfied that sufficient records are kept to verify that the cars are correctly used; whether any records are kept for Ministers' cars; and, if so, why.

Drivers of Government car services are required to complete a log sheet for each journey showing details of passenger(s) carried, points of call, times, mileages and fuel issued or purchased, and we are satisfied that with this information it is possible to verify that the cars are properly used. In the case of Ministers' cars, however, details of journeys between points within three miles of Whitehall are not required, and provided cars are being used within certain prescribed limits it is chiefly the responsibility of the Minister concerned to satisfy himself that the car is being used correctly. Log sheets are employed for purposes other than vertification of the actual use of the car, e.g. for vehicle performance and utilisation statistics and for costing.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what were the average and longest hours of overtime worked by Ministers' drivers over a recent period of weeks when the House was sitting; and what were the costs of the overtime in both cases.

The average hours of overtime worked by Ministers' drivers during such a period were 40 hours 2 minutes per week, the longest by any driver being 74 hours 20 minutes. The cost of this overtime, plus after midnight payments, were £60 and £118 respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how much of the annual cost of £760,000 for providing cars for 72 Ministers consists of chauffeurs' overtime.

The £760,000 included an estimated £225,000 in respect of drivers' overtime.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy (1) on how many occasions applications have been made to him for the granting of his consent under Section 2(4)(d) of the Petroleum and Submarine Pipe-lines Act 1976, specifying in each case relating to the borrowing of funds, the granting of loans or the issuing of guarantees;

It would not be appropriate for details regarding applications for consents under Section 2(4)(d) of the Petroleum and Submarine Pipe-lines Act 1975 to be disclosed while they are still under consideration. I have nothing to add to my reply of 24th May 1976—[Vol. 912, c. 4]—in respect of the publication of consents which have been granted.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if, in view of the fact that existing licensees may require the North Sea oil which they have so far discovered in order to meet existing contracts or marketing requirements, he will not, in the national interest, permit BNOC to exercise its 51 per cent. option in such cases.

In the negotiation and operation of participation agreements, the national interest will always be taken into account.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy how much money the Government propose to put up to facilitate the exploration and development of resources on the Continental Shelf following the next round of licensing.

Such future expenditure by Government depends on the nature and extent of commercial discoveries made under present and future licences, and the degree of public sector involvement. Meaningful estimates therefore cannot be made.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what is the United Kingdom capacity for reprocessing nuclear fuel elements; and what plans he has for expanding that capacity in view of British requirements and the need to meet overseas contracts.

The present capacity of British Nuclear Fuels Limited is 1,500 tonnes per annum. The company's plans for providing further capacity to deal with future domestic needs and overseas contracts are under consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what is the capacity for reprocessing nuclear fuels in the Community; and what additional capacity is under construction or planned, giving location and dates of completion.

In the United Kingdom British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. (BNFL) operates a plant at Windscale with a nominal capacity of 1,500 tonnes a year, and plans for expansion to some 3,500 tonnes in the 1980s are under consideration.Commercial reprocessing facilities are also available in France from plants at Marcoule and La Hague and in the Federal Republic of Germany from the plant at Karlsruhe. I understand that the total reprocessing capacity currently available in the United Kingdom, France and the Federal Republic of Germany is about 3,000 tonnes per annum.The British, French and German operators co-ordinate their investments through a jointly owned company, United Reprocessors GmbH and I understand that they plan to expand their joint capacity to about 8,000 tonnes a year by the second half of the 1980s. There are also small reprocessing plants at Mol in Belgium and Saluggia in Italy but neither of these is at present operating commercially.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if energy resources from the Scottish mainland or the Scottish sector of the North Sea were discussed by Ministers, or were a material part of policies considered, at the EEC Council of Ministers' meeting on 13th February 1975.

The main business of the Council of Ministers on 13th February 1975 was the adoption of a resolution on Community energy policy objectives. This took account of the demand and supply situation in the Community as a whole.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if the Scottish energy boards or the Scottish input to United Kingdom energy supplies were included in material before Ministers, or in discussions held, at the EEC Council of Ministers' meeting he attended on 26th June 1975.

The items discussed at the Council of Ministers on 26th June 1975 concerned matters of interest to all member States, including the United Kingdom as a whole.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement about the United Kingdom capacity for nuclear fuel element storage facilities.

I am satisfied with the present amount of United Kingdom capacity for nuclear fuel element storage facilities but the situation is always kept under review. The storage arrangements on licensed sites are subject to strict requirements as to safety imposed and enforced by the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate of the Health and Safety Executive under the Nuclear Installations Act 1965.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy, what consultations he has had with the French Minister responsible for nuclear energy concerning theft, sabotage and terrorism connected with nuclear plant and materials.

My right hon. Friend and I have had no direct discussions about nuclear security issues with the responsible French Minister. These matters are, however, amongst those discussed in various international organisations, including the international Atomic Energy Agency, of which both the United Kingdom and France are members.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy how much plutonium from the United States of America has been imported into the United Kingdom over the past 15 years; what licensing processes it went through; and what it ultimately was used for.

Small quantities of plutonium have been imported from the USA during the last 15 years for civil research and development purposes. All imports of plutonium have been licensed by the Department of Trade. The information requested about quantities is confidential.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy how many civil servants in his Department and at what ranks have (a) an official car allocated to them, (b) have first call on official cars from a pool and (c) have other than occasional access to an official car on any other basis.

Only the permanent under-secretary has an official car allocated to him. No other official has first call on cars from a pool.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy when the strategy document on energy research and development will be available.

A discussion document, prepared under the aegis of my right hon. Friend's Advisory Council on Research and Development for Fuel and Power, is being issued as one of the papers for the National Energy Conference on 22nd June. This paper, which puts forward a framework for the future planning of United Kingdom research and development in energy technologies, is an important step towards the formulation of a national energy research and development strategy. We hope that it will be widely discussed so that in the light of comments the framework can be further developed.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what was the total amount of financial assistance provided by Government to the privately-owned aircraft industry in the 20 years from 1956 to date; how much of this assistance took the form of subsidies; what were the figures for subsidy assistance for each year from 1965 onwards to date; and if he will publish a list of the recipient companies.

Full records on a comparable basis are not available, but total assistance to the privately-owned aircraft industry from 1956–57 to 1975–76 inclusive is estimated at about £780 million in gross terms and at historic prices. This total includes launching aid, civil research contracts and the development and production of the Concorde airframe. It excludes support for Short Bros. and Beagle Aircraft Ltd., the purchase of the assets of Rolls-Royce Ltd., and support for aero-engine projects after February 1971. Investment grants and other forms of support not exclusive to the aircraft industry are also excluded. None of the assistance was in the form of subsidies. Full details of the recipient companies are not available, but with minor exceptions all support was given to the British Aircraft Corporation, the Hawker Siddeley Group, Rolls-Royce Ltd., or to one of the companies subsequently incorporated in these groups. Many other companies will, however, have benefited through sub-contracts.In addition, the aircraft industry is eligible for general schemes of assistance to industry as a whole such as investment grants, regional development grants and other assistance under the Local Employment Acts, the Industry Act 1972 and the regional employment premium. Separate figures in respect of these schemes for the aircraft industry are not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry why Merseyside, with a higher total of unemployed than Wales, receives only £22·7 per head of unemployed from the European Regional Development Fund compared to the £43·2 per head in Wales.

I refer my hon. Friend to my reply on 26th May.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will take steps to halt the continuing loss of industrial jobs in the Hackney area and bring forward proposals for creating new employment opportunities.

The loss of industrial jobs in Hackney and other parts of London is attributable to a number of factors, most of which are outside my direct responsibility. IDC policy was modified earlier this year to allow the speculative replacement of obsolete factories in urban areas, and the exemption limit applying to London—and the rest of the South-East—was raised to 12,500 sq. ft. from 1st May.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry (1) how many paid officials serve the Furniture Development Council;(2) what are the functions and duties of the Furniture Development Council;(3) who are the members of the Furniture Development Council.

The functions assigned to the Furniture Development Council are specified in the Furniture Industry Development Council Order 1948. Its principal activity is the collection of a levy on the furniture manufacturing industry, the proceeds of which are used to finance collective research carried out by the Furniture Industry Research Association.The members of the council are as follows:Independent members:

asked the Secretary of State for Trade how many of the 500 company chairmen he wrote to in January 1975 has co-operated with his Department in supplying on a regular basis information relating to the wages and conditions of South African workers; and if he will list those from whom such co-operation has not been forthcoming.

The exact number of British firms with South African affiliates is uncertain, but at least 100 of the 500 firms approached by my predecessor have satisfied the Department that they no longer operate in South Africa or do not employ Africans. 59 firms have provided information to the Department of Trade. 36 of them have published on the lines requested in the White Paper and the remaining 23 appear to have provided information to shareholders or to have notified them of its availability. I shall be prepared to name the firms which have refused to co-operate, when all the firms concerned have had a reasonable opportunity to reply and a complete list can be compiled.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether he is currently having discussions with the Commission about the interest relief grants of 3 per cent. for loans to British suppliers of equipment to projects in the North Sea; whether he has received any complaints from Community Governments about the practice; and whether he proposes to continue or modify the aid scheme introduced under Section 8 of the Industry Act 1972.

I have been asked to reply.After discussion with Commission officials, the Government replied on 15th April to the Commission's proposal that the scheme should be extended to other member States. I have received no corn-plaints from other Community Governments about the scheme. No decision to modify the scheme has been taken.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection if she will list the principal current activities of the Metrication Board.

The principal current activities of the Metrication Board are consultations with consumer, industrial and educational organisations about the national metrication programme; development of aids to help the consumer in the transition to the use of metric units; consultations with agricultural and horticultural industries, the fuel and power industries and the food processing industries about their metrication programmes; general information about metrication including Press briefing, participation in public exhibitions and shows, publications, distribution and loan of books and films.