asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many care orders were made in 1971, 1974 and 1975, respectively.

As follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many juveniles were sentenced to (a) attendance centres and (b) detention centres in 1969, 1974 and 1975, respectively.

As follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many supervision orders were imposed on juveniles in 1974 and 1975.

Following is the available information:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many probation orders were made on juveniles in 1969.

In 1969 there were 21,752 probation orders made against persons aged under 17.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of care proceedings involved the offence condition in 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974 and 1975, respectively; and what was the figure as a proportion of all care proceedings in each of these years.

Following is the available information:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many juveniles aged 10 to 14 years were sent to borstal in 1969, 1974 and 1975, respectively.

The minimum age at which a young person may be sentenced to borstal training is 15.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether, in the light of the investigations being undertaken by the United States of America Revenue Service into the financial affairs of the Unification Church, he will undertake similar inquiries into the bodies connected with that organisation in the United Kingdom;(2) whether, in the light of the evidence now before the US Congressional Committee of Inquiry linking Mr. Pak and Mr. Sun Myung Moon and other leading members of the Unification Church with corrupt practices and association with South Korean intelligence and propaganda agencies, he will inquire into the security implications of the network of organisations connected with the Unification Church in the United Kingdom.

We have asked for information to be obtained about the investigations by the U.S.A. Revenue Service to which my hon. Friend refers. As my hon. Friend knows, we are awaiting information about the Congressional Committee of Inquiry, to which he also refers. On receipt of this information we will consider whether any further action is called for on our part.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total sum collected by the Crown Court and magistrates' courts by way of fines in each of the years 1971 to 1976.

The fines and fees collected by magistrates' courts in England and Wales during each financial year of the period in question were as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many hamsters, horses, asses, mules, dogs, cats, rats, mice and birds, respectively, were killed in the course of experiments conducted within the terms of the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876 during the last complete year for which this information is available.

I regret that this information is not at present available; but it is hoped that the review we are conducting of our annual return should in due course make it possible to give figures of this kind.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, in view of the high additional cost of the fire services in Wales during the recent dry weather, he will seek ways of reimbursing the fire services for these exceptional costs from central Exchequer funds rather than from local rates.

Expenditure on the fire service is relevant expenditure for the purpose of the rate support grant and my right hon. Friend has no power to make other payments to local authorities in respect of it.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to increase staff participation within the police forces, the fire services and the prison service; and if he will make a statement.

The police have long-established arrangements for staff participation at both force and national level, and these are reviewed as necessary.In the fire service further developments await the completion of studies into the scope for the extension of industrial democracy in the public services which were announced by the Minister for the Civil Service in reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Thornaby (Mr. Wriggles-worth) on 11th February 1976—[Vol. 905, c. 240–1].For the prison service, the Whitley system provides for full consultation at departmental and local level on all matters affecting conditions of service, and the prison service, like the rest of the Civil Service, is included in the studies announced on 11th February.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the cost per day of maintaining a prisoner at Nottingham, Leicester and Lincoln prisons, respectively.

Information about the cost of inmate maintenance in individual custodial establishments in England and Wales is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the total number of registered unemployed in Northern Ireland; and how this compares with the same period 12 months earlier.

In October the number of unemployed people in Northern Ireland, including 4,703 school leavers, was 56,187, which is 10·6 per cent. of all employees. This figure, which is not seasonally adjusted, represents a decrease of 4,406 compared with September 1976 and an increase of 7,550 compared with October 1975. Of the total 37,810 were males and 18,377 females.

asked the Secretary of State for Nothern Ireland what community and other organisations received grants from the Department of Education under social needs legislation in 1974–75 and 1975–76, respectively; what was the amount of the grant in each case; and when the accounts of the organisations concerned were last audited.

Those organisations which received grant from the Northern Ireland Department of Education, the former Northern Ireland Community Relations Commission and the Department of Community Relations are listed below with the amount paid in each case. The financial situation of each community organisation was scrutinised before approval of grant, which was paid on the basis of vouched expenditure.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the deaths known to have been caused by terrorists in Londonderry city in 1975 and in 1976 on a monthly basis; and if he will list similarly the shooting incidents known to the police during the same period on a monthly basis, stating, if known, the target for the shots fired by terrorists and security forces.

Following is the information:

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if the Army, the RUC, or the UDR at present are barred from operating in any part of Dungiven. Co. Londonderry, at specific times or days.

There are no parts of Dungiven where the security forces are barred from operating at any time.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland why a copy of the Main Report on Belfast Transport Strategy was sent unsolicited to hon. Members on Her Majesty's Service and franked 52p

Personal copies of all significant NI reports and papers are sent to right hon. and hon. Members representing Northern Ireland constituencies and to party spokesmen on Northern Ireland affairs. The small general demand for such documents does not justify placing them in the Vote Office at Westminster. Copies are also sent to the Library.My hon. Friend the Minister of State said in his foreword to the Main Report on Belfast Transport Strategy that he hoped the report would be carefully studied and views on it made known so that the issues raised might be fully debated. In the light of that statement the report was despatched as soon as it became available and by the cheapest possible means.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the perinatal mortality rate in Northern Ireland and in each area health board at the last date for which figures are available.

For the year ended 31st December 1975 the rates per 1,000 total births were as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the rate of infant deaths under one year per 1,000 live births in Northern Ireland and in each area health board at the last date for which figures are available.

For the year ended 31st December 1975 the rates per 1,000 live births were as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many obstetricians are employed by the Health Service in Northern Ireland; and what is the ratio of obstetricians to 10,000 births in Northern Ireland and in each area health board, respectively.

There are 35 obstetricians, whole-time and part-time, employed by the health service in Northern Ireland; the numbers in whole-time equivalents, per 10,000 births in the areas requested are as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of births in Northern Ireland and in each area health board, respectively, occur in places without full facilities and equipment for resuscitation.

The information for the year ended 31st December 1975 is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many intensive care units for the new born there are in Northern Ireland; where they are situated; and what percentage of births in Northern Ireland take place in a hospital equipped with an intensive care unit.

There is one intensive-care unit for the new born in Northern Ireland. This is situated at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children and is closely associated with the Royal Maternity Hospital, Belfast. In the year ended 31st December 1975 there were 2,823 births at the Royal Maternity Hospital; this represents 10·65 per cent. of total births in Northern Ireland.There are also five special care nurseries attached to maternity units in the Province.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what steps he is taking to increase staff participation within the Civil Service; and if he will make a statement.

The Civil Service has wide-ranging arrangements in the Whitley system at national, departmental and local levels covering all matters affecting the conditions of employment of the staff. These arrangements are continually being developed to accord with current needs.In addition, the Civil Service is included in the co-ordinated series of studies into the scope for the extension of industrial democracy in the public services which I announced on 11th February 1976.—[Vol. 905, c. 240–1.] This Civil Service study is currently being undertaken in consultation with the unions.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service why no general index to the Official Report has been published subsequently to the index for February 1974—October 1974; and when a further volume or volumes can be expected.

It usually takes about two years to complete the cycle of preparing copy, correcting sheets, printing and binding for the index to the Official Report. The volume covering the period February-October 1974 has not yet been published, but it is expected to be available within the next fortnight. The 1974–75 sessional index will be published mid-1977. The delivery dates of the index will, I hope, improve in future years.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland which areas his Department will be responsible for after the implementation of the Government's present devolution proposals.

Part V of the White Paper "Our Changing Democracy—Devolution to Scotland and Wales" (Cmnd 6348), as modified by the Supplementary Statement of August 1976 (Cmnd 6585), sets out the responsibilities which will be exercised by my right hon. Friend's Department after implementation of the Government's present devolution proposals.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps have already been taken at official level towards finding an extra 1,000 civil servants for a possible Scottish Assembly; and if he will make a statement.

The White Paper (Cmnd 6348) gave a gross estimate of extra staff of about 1,000, including 200 for the Assembly itself. This estimate is being examined in the light of the development of planning for devolution and of the savings in the staff of my right hon. Friend's Department which will arise from the reductions in public expenditure already announced. No decisions have yet been taken on how the net requirement for extra staff will be met.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the perinatal mortality rate in Scotland and in each health board at the last date for which figures are available.

The parinatal mortality rates—i.e., stillbirths and deaths in the first week of life—per 1,000 total birth for 1975 in Scotland and in each health board area are given in the table below:

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the rate of infant deaths under one year per 1,000 live births in Scotland and in each health board at the last date for which figures are available.

The infant mortality rates—i.e., deaths under one year—per 1,000 live births for 1975 in Scotland and in each health board area are given in the table below:

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will publish in the Official Report the figures in each of the past five years of (a) prosecutions of men aged over 21 years for homosexual conduct in private with a consenting partner aged over 16 years but under 21 years, (b) prosecutions against the younger partner in such cases and (c) convictions in such cases;(2) if he will publish in the

I regret that the information requested is not available. Homosexual conduct may, depending on its nature, be the subject of prosecutions either for the common law offence of sodomy, or for the offence of gross indecency under Section 11 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885. It is not possible to distinguish within the numbers of prosecutions and convictions for these offences those which relate to homosexual conduct in private where consenting persons aged between 16 and 21 years are involved. Such prosecutions are extremely rare, if not unknown, since the requirement in the criminal law of Scotland of corroboration makes it improbable that sufficient evidence to justify a prosecution could ever be obtained in such cases.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many local firms were among the 43 which sought to submit tenders for the Newton Stewart bypass.

One firm with local connections applied to be considered for this scheme.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what percentage of births in Scotland and in each health board, respectively, occur in places without full facilities and equipment for resuscitation.

All hospitals providing obstetric services have facilities and equipment for resuscitation. In 1975 the percentage of mothers delivered in hospital was as follows for each health board and for the whole of Scotland, according to the mother's place of residence:

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many intensive care units for the new born there are in Scotland; where they are situated; and what percentage of births in Scotland take place in a hospital equipped with an intensive care unit.

There are five intensive care units for the new born in Scotland. These are at the Queen Mother's Hospital, Glasgow, Glasgow Royal Maternity Hospital, Simpson Memorial Maternity Pavilion, Edinburgh, Ninewells Hospital, Dundee, and Aberdeen Maternity Hospital. 25·9 per cent, of births in Scotland took place in these hospitals in the six months period ending 30th September 1975.In addition there are 23 special baby care units attached to other specialist obstetric units in Scotland. 83 per cent, of births in Scotland in the six months period ending 30th September 1975 took place in hospitals providing either intensive or special care units.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many obstetricians are employed by the NHS in Scotland; and what is the ratio of obstetricians to 10,000 births in Scotland and in each health board, respectively.

At 30th September 1975, the latest date for which reliable figures are available, there were 100 consultant obstetricians employed by the NHS in Scotland. The ratio of consultant obstetricians to 10,000 births in Scotland and in each health board is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has yet received any reports of the district auditors inquiring into allegations of waste or improper financial control in direct labour organisations.

Inspection of the accounts of the activities of direct labour organisations, as of other local authority activities, is part of the normal duties of a district auditor. Copies of all reports on district audit are required to be sent to the Secretary of State.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what recent discussions he has had with manufacturers of soft and alcoholic drinks about the environmental nuisance and danger caused by non-returnable cans and bottles; what has been the result of such discussions, if any; and if he will make a statement.

Non-returnable cans and bottles do not in themselves cause environmental nuisance. Like their returnable counterparts, a lot are thrown away irresponsibly, but this can only be tackled as part of the wider problem of dangerous litter. The Litter Acts impose heavy penalties for dropping the litter. In addition, the Government give substantial support to the Keep Britain Tidy Group. But there are, I fear, no easy solutions.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will take steps to ensure that those local authorities which do not abide by the Government's spending rules are suitably penalised.

As I have said before, there are great practical difficulties in attempting to discriminate between local authorities and to identify accurately and in a meaningful way those that are overspending. Government guidance on local authority expenditure has, therefore, always been given on a general basis with each authority being left to interpret the guidelines to its own particular circumstances.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will modify the Staffordshire structure plan so as to delete specific reference to Pelsall and Clayhanger as areas of early development and to include as a planning objective the maintenance of the physical separateness of the existing community in the Aldridge-Brownhills area.

My right hon. Friend will consider all objections made to his published draft modifications to the Staffordshire structure plan before reaching final decisions on how the plan should be modified. These will include the objection put by my hon. Friend in relation to Aldridge-Brownhills.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will seek to amend the Rag Flock and Other Filling Materials Act 1951 to cover filling materials incorporated in imported toys, upholstery and bedding; and if he will make a statement.

I have nothing to add to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend on 20th October 1976. —[Vol. 917, c. 457.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list in the Official Report all the regional grants, incentives, premiums and similar schemes operated by his Department in the last five years, indicating the dates of introduction and where necessary the date of termination of these schemes.

The information is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the total value, at August 1976 prices, of the assistance granted to each region of the United Kingdom, under his Department's special regional schemes, in each of the last five years.

The following information is available, but it is not possible to supply all the details requested by the hon. Member. All figures relate to historical costs.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has seen the report from the Community Development Project entitled "Profits Against Houses"; and if he will make a statement.

I have seen the report, but I see no need to make a statement.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received about the power of local authorities to grant leave of absence to councillors; and if he will instigate a review of the leave of absence procedure.

The Secretary of State has received representations in one such case. It is, however, not a matter on which he can intervene. Section 85 of the Local Government Act 1972 gives an authority power to approve in advance the absence of a member. I am sure that local authorities exercise their discretion responsibly, and I see no need for a review of the procedure.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will lay an order under the Housing Finance Act 1972 to provide for 100 per cent. of rent allowance subsidies to be borne by central Government in the year 1977–78.

I expect to do so shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the latest Joint Staff Watch figure for local government staff; and if he will compare this total with the numbers employed one year earlier.

The latest joint manpower watch figures at 12th June 1976 were published jointly on 21st October by my Department and the local authority associations. A copy of the Press release is available in the Library.The numbers of full-and part-time employees in local authorities in England and Wales, excluding police, agency staff, magistrates' courts and probation staffs,

at June 1975 and June 1976 were as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many applications by local authorities for loan sanction to buy prefabricated homes constructed by Discus of Skipton his Department has so far received; which authorities have applied; how many homes each authority has proposed to buy and at what cost; and if he is satisfied with the financial status of the firm and its ability to obtain "VRIs" to enable the homes, which count as large loads, to be transported from Skipton to the appropriate local authorities.

Four applications have been made to my Department, three from York for 100 units in the sum of £611,668 and one from Stockport for six units in the sum of £40,246, all of which have been approved. In line with normal commercial practice, it is for the authorities concerned to satisfy themselves of the financial standing of any contractor. The question of VRIs is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what is the total acreage of derelict land in England and Wales; and what proportion this is of the total land area;(2) what is his estimate of the total acreage of unused land, including derelict land, held by the British Rail Board or its subsidiaries;(3) what is his estimate of the total acreage of unused land, including derelict land, held by local authorities in England and Wales;(4) what is his estimate of the total acreage of unused land, including derelict land, held by the nationalised industry boards and related bodies.

The total amount of derelict land in England and Wales is about 137,000 acres: this represents 0.37 per cent. of the total land area of these countries. Estimates of the amount of unused land held by the nationalised industries and local authorities could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The latest survey of derelict and despoiled land carried out in England identified as at 1st April 1974 a total of 22,503 acres of derelict land in the category of abandoned British Rail land, of which 15,844 acres was considered to justify restoration.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to avoid a further drought during the next extended period of sunshine.

A drought is a period of time with virtually no rainfall. It is not within the competence of the Government to control such weather, but only to mitigate its effects. The proposals described in the National Water Council's report "Water Supply Prospects for 1977", published on 18th October, are very relevant and I shall be making a statement about them shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what procedures he has prescribed to be followed prior to the demolition or partial demolition of a listed building on which a dangerous structure notice has been posted; and if the procedures so prescribed differ in any way in relation to Greater London.

None. The statutory procedures prescribed for the service of

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will list in the Official Report those county and district councils that have no policy to encourage or discourage the sale of council houses to sitting tenants and others;

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment which regional water authorities are still imposing restrictions on the use of water by domestic or industrial users; and, on the basis of the present replenishment of water reserves, when it is anticipated that these restrictions will be lifted.

Restrictions under Section 1(3)(b) of the Drought Act 1976 remain in force in Thames and for certain uses or areas in Anglia, Severn-Trent and Yorkshire. Hosepipe bans also still apply in a number of areas. The authorities concerned are all keeping the situation under constant review and relaxing restrictions as soon as they believe it is safe to do so, having regard to necessary resources for next year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will detail the number of claimants in 1975 entitled to, but not drawing: (a) rent or rate rebate, b) rent allowance for unfurnished accommodation and (c) rent allowance for furnished accommodation, and the average rebate of each of these three classes of beneficiary in 1975.

The information is as follows:(2) if he will list in the Official Report those county and district councils which have not agreed to the sale of council houses to sitting tenants;(3) if he will list in the

The latest available figures are for 1975 when 114 authorities in England and Wales sold 2,089 dwellings. Table 13 of "Local Housing Statistics" No. 37 shows which authorities sold in that year. A copy of this document is available in the Library. The returns received from local authorities show only the number of houses sold.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment, bearing in mind the policy of some nationalised industries to sell tied houses to sitting tenants and the Rent (Agriculture) Bill, if he will now introduce legislation to seek to make the sale of council houses, to sitting tenants who wish to purchase, obligatory.

I have no plans to introduce such legislation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will require those licensed stallholders operating within the Royal Parks who charge 40 pence for a canned drink to reduce their charges.

With one minor exception in Bushy Park, the Secretary of State does not license stallholders as such to sell canned drinks within the Royal parks. At times of peak demand the caterers who run restaurants and cafeterias may be allowed to operate additional selling points in the same or a neighbouring park at prices not exceeding those approved for the cafeterias. A price of 40p would not be approved for an ordinary can of soft drink, and I would be very glad to have details if the hon. Member could show that such a price was charged at a stall belonging to one of our licensed caterers and not by one of the pirate traders who plague us in the summer.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many stallholders are licensed to sell drinks, ice cream and hot dogs within the royal parks; what is the period and cost of each licence; and if a condition of a licence is the prominent display of the price of all goods being offered for sale.

Not more than one caterer has a contract to operate in any Royal park, with the exception of Richmond Park where there are two. These contractors are mainly concerned with the operation of restaurants and cafeterias. They are often allowed additional selling points according to demand but they are not allowed to sub-contract these facilities without the authority of the Department. The contracts are generally for a five-year term and the contractor is required to pay the Department an agreed proportion of his receipts. It is a condition of these contracts that the prices of all goods offered for sale should be displayed, and this applies to extra selling points as well as to the principal establishments.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what was the total amount of (a) assistance offered to date and (b) moneys paid to date under the ferrous foundry industry scheme, since the commencement of the scheme.

£15,822,000 offered, £717,000 paid.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what steps he is taking to increase staff participation within the publicly-owned industries for which he has ultimate accountability; and if he will make a statement.

The Government have set up a committee of inquiry under Lord Bullock to advise on questions relating to representation at board level in the private sector, and have also set in hand a study of the role of employees in relation to decision-making in the nationalised industries. Co-ordinated studies covering the public services, including both central and local government, and related bodies have also been initiated. The intention is that the various studies should be completed in time for the Government to be able to take an overall view of the private and public sectors after the Bullock Committee reports.More particularly, the Post Office Board and the Council of Post Office Unions have, at my right hon. Friend's request, entered into discussions about the possibility of an experiment in industrial democracy in the Post Office, and he has asked the two sides to let him have their proposals as soon as they can. The Industry Act 1975 requires the National Enterprise Board to promote industrial democracy in the undertakings which it controls. Most encouraging progress, to which the Government attach high importance, has been made within British Leyland. The Bill to take the aircraft and shipbuilding industries into public ownership imposes a duty on the new corporations to promote industrial democracy in a strong and organic form.However, these initiatives should not be interpreted as indicative of the Government's definitive views on the question of industrial democracy in the nationalised industries as a whole. The Government will not be in a position to reach a final view on this until they have received and considered the reports of the Bullock Committee and the public sector studies.