asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many convictions there were for motoring offences in the United Kingdom in each of the past five years.

The information in relation to England and Wales is as follows:

Offences relating to motor vehicles—findings of guilt
1971	…	…	…	1,480,276
1972	.	…	…	1,658,397
1973	…	…	…	1,833,832
1974	…	…	…	1,948,561
1975	…	…	…	1,973,653

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will allocate more resources to improving relations between the police and minority

					Strength at 30th September 1976	Establishment	Date fixed
Avon and Somerset	…	…	…	…	2,780	2,851	August 1976
Bedfordshire	…	…	…	…	842	941	October 1976
Cambridgeshire	…	…	…	…	1,040	1,090	July 1976
Cheshire	…	…	…	…	1,749	1,805	August 1976
Cleveland	…	…	…	…	1,340	1.411	April 1976
Cumbria	…	…	…	…	1,021	1,079	June 1975
Derbyshire	…	…	…	…	1,572	1,709	March 1976
Devon and Cornwall	…	…	…	…	2,579	2,673	May 1975
Dorset	…	…	…	…	1,076	1,108	May 1975
Durham	…	…	…	…	1,323	1,373	March 1975
Dyfed Powys	…	…	…	…	909	916	June 1975
Essex	…	…	…	…	2,340	2,511	September 1976
Gloucestershire	…	…	…	…	1,058	1,100	May 1976
Greater Manchester	…	…	…	…	6,113	6,735	September 1976
Gwent	…	…	…	…	935	964	April 1976
Hampshire	…	…	…	…	2,779	2,935	August 1976
Hertfordshire	…	…	…	…	1,417	1,472	April 1974
Humberside	…	…	…	…	1,737	1,939	July 1975
Kent	…	…	…	…	2,455	2,615	March 1976
Lancashire	…	…	…	…	3,022	3,080	May 1976
Leicestershire	…	…	…	…	1,652	1,705	July 1975
Lincolnshire	…	…	…	…	1,152	1,182	May 1975
Merseyside	…	…	…	…	4,120	4,342	May 1975
Norfolk	…	…	…	…	1,188	1,264	March 1975
Northamptonshire	…	…	…	…	898	950	July 1976
Northumbria	…	…	…	…	3,195	3,322	June 1975
North Wales	…	…	…	…	1,233	1,276	June 1975
North Yorkshire	…	…	…	…	1,301	1,328	May 1975
Nottinghamshire	…	…	…	…	2,098	2,145	September 1976
South Wales	…	…	…	…	2,988	3,069	May 1975
South Yorkshire	…	…	…	…	2,583	2,752	October 1976
Staffordshire	…	…	…	…	2,030	2,066	September 1975
Suffolk	…	…	…	…	1,029	1,086	May 1976
Surrey	…	…	…	…	1,437	1,503	July 1976
Sussex	…	…	…	…	2,738	2,785	March 1976

The Commissioner is well aware of the importance of this aspect of police work. In deploying the increasing number of police officers available to him he will continue to pay special attention to the needs of areas in which minority groups have settled. The rates of pay of all police officers are governed by Police Regulations.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the present strength of each police force throughout England and Wales and the establishment and when it was fixed.

The information is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his policy towards the setting up of vigilante groups in south London to counter violent crime, in the light of the recent suggestion of Judge Gwynn Morris.

It is the responsibility of the Metropolitan Police to deal with crime in London. They have made it clear that, while they welcome their traditional assistance from members of the public, they are firmly against the formation of vigilante groups in this or any other context. I share that view. Members of the public who want to help the police can best do so by joining the Special Constabulary.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if it is the policy of his

	(1)	(2)
	Approximate weekly rate of rebate	Level of weekly earnings at which refunds exceed those in column (1)
	£	£
Single person	4·95	110·31
Married couple	7·35	117·04
Married couple with—
1 child not over 11	9·35	122·81
2 children not over 11	10·50	126·08
3 children not over 11	11·65	129·35
4 children (two not over 11, two over 11 but not over 16)	13·45	133·97
Notes:
Column (1) represents the value to a basic rate taxpayer of one-fifty-second of his annual tax allowances less family allowance and clawback where appropriate.
Column (2) gives the weekly earnings level exclusive of family allowance at which the taxpayer pays tax on £1 of his annual income at the first of the higher rates—i.e., at 40 per cent.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were the net amounts of weekly income in 1970 of men with earnings equal to the

No.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a table showing the weekly value of tax refunds, assuming previous weekly earnings of £25, £35, £45, £55, £65, £75, £85 and £95 for single people, for married couples and for families with each of one, two, three and four children, who are in receipt of short-term national insurance benefits; and if he will show at what level of previous weekly earnings tax refunds in each of the above mentioned set of family circumstances exceed £4·95, £7·30, £9·35, £10·50, £11·65 and £13·45, respectively.

Tax refunds for the basic rate taxpayer depend on family circumstances and the week of the tax year and not on previous weekly earnings. The figures are as follows:national average wage, 75 per cent., 150 per cent, and 200 per cent, of the national average wage after deduction of income taxes and national insurance contributions and the additions of family allowances and FIS, where the earner was single, married with two and with four children; and what are the comparable figures at the latest available date.

The, latest available figure in the index of average earnings is for August 1976. For comparative purposes an August figure has also been used also for 1970. The earnings

NET INCOMES IN £ PER WEEK
			Average male earnings	¾ Average male earnings	1½ Times average male earnings	Twice average male earnings
August 1970—
Single earner	…	…	21·93	16·88	32·46	42·99
Married men	…	…	23·04	17·99	33·57	44·10
Married with 2 children	…	…	25·15	20·10	35·67	46·20
Married with 4 children	…	…	27·66	22·61	38 19	48·72
August 1976—
Single earner	…	…	49·72	38·52	73·00	93·51
Married men	…	…	52·07	40·88	75·50	96·88
Married with 2 children	…	…	56·74	45·54	80·17	102·70
Married with 4 children	…	…	62·02	50·83	85·46	108·65
None of these taxpayers is eligible for FIS payments.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the effect on the exchange rate since 1974 of movements in the sterling balances.

It is not possible to say.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the percentage increase (a) in annual unit labour costs since 1971 and (b) in the annual amount

					Percentage increase in unit labour cost for United Kingdom economy (year on year)	Percentage depreciation in effective exchange rate
1971	…	…	…	…	8·2	..
1972	…	…	…	…	8·0	9·1
1973	…	…	…	…	8·3	8·0
1974	…	…	…	…	20·9	4·8
1975	…	…	…	…	33·1	11·0
1976 Q1 on 1975	…	…	…	…	8·5	5·0
1976 Q2 on 1976 Q1	…	…	…	…	3·6	8·3

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he is satisfied with the field radio communications at present existing between allied forces in Germany; and, if not, what plans he has for their improvement.

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 28th October 1976], gave the following information:The figures requested are given in the table below. The percentage increases in unit labour costs are per unit of output and for the economy as a whole; they include salaries, wages, employers contributions and regional employment premiums. The exchange rate figures refer to changes between the last working days of the previous period and the period referred to.

The present arrangements are basically satisfactory, but there remains a need for some improvement in interoperability. The United Kingdom is participating fully in work co-ordinated by NATO to achieve this.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for a replacement for the Nike anti-aircraft missile system in Germany.

The United Kingdom does not operate the Nike anti-aircraft missile system which is deployed in Germany by German, Dutch, Belgian and United States forces. The United Kingdom is participating in NATO studies for the replacement of medium-level surface-to-air missiles currently operative in Germany, including Nike.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many RAF quarters in the vicinity of RAF Brize Norton are now vacant; how this figure compares with a year ago; and what steps he is taking to dispose of accommodation for which Her Majesty's Services have no further need.

Of 1,685 RAF married quarters in the vicinity of RAF Brize Norton 244 were vacant on 1st September 1976, as compared with 152 on 1st September 1975.Following a comprehensive review, an additional 383 quarters have been identified as surplus to RAF requirements. An alternative Service use has been found for a few of these and the rest have been passed to the Property Services Agency for disposal. A total of 223 of these quarters are still occupied by RAF families who will progressively move into the vacant retained quarters.The RAF, in common with the Royal Navy and the Army, keeps its holdings of married quarters under constant review,

					Royal Naval Reserve	Royal Marines Reserve	Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve	Total
1966	…		…	…	*	—	7 (7)	7 (7)
1967	…	…	…	…	*	3 (2)	2 (2)	5 (4)
1968	…	…	…	…	*	—	7 (7)	7 (7)
1969	…	…	…	…	—	—	1 (1)	1 (1)
1970	…	…	…	…	—	—	—	—
1971	…	…	…	…	—	—	3 (3)	3 (3)
1972	…	…	…	…	—	—	2 (—)	2 (—)
1973	…	…	…	…	2 (2)	—	6 (5)	8 (7)
1974	…	…	…	…	—	—	12 (10)	12 (10)
1975	…	…	…	…	1 (1)	—	17(12)	18 (13)
1976 (to date)	…	…	…	…	10 (10)	—	4(1)	14 (11)
* Not available.

The only readily available figures for RAF reservists relate to the period since 1969 and to those who died as a result of accidents. There were two such deaths, one in 1970 and the other in 1975.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what is the current level of arms sales to Malawi;(2) what plans he has for negotiating further arms sales to the Government of Kenya;(3) what is the current level of arms sales to the Government of Kenya;(4) what is the current level of arms sales to the Government of Tanzania.

It has been the practice of successive Governments not to give details of sales of defence equipment to individual Governments. Each case is considered against the relevant political, financial, economic and security factors

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish the number of reservists who have died in each of the last 10 years while on duty, indicating where known if the death was attributable to an accident.

The regular Reserves have not seen duty during the period specified. The number of members of the Royal Naval Reserve, Royal Marines Reserve and Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve who died while on duty over that period is as follows. (The number dying as the result of accidents is shown in brackets.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he can give an assurance that the development of the MRCA aircraft is proceeding according to expectations.

Yes. We expect that the planned in-service date will be met.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many RAF Nimrods are currently undergoing refit at Woodford Aerodrome, Manchester.

None of the RAF's operational Nimrods is being refitted at HSA's Woodford factory. The Nimrods there are either under construction or are being fitted out for development purposes.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many Nimrods are currently operational with the RAF.

It is not our policy to release this type of information.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what is the total amount at current prices which is planned now to be cut in defence expenditure;(2) what is the total amount at current prices by which the Government have cut defence expenditure from the budgets existing when they took office.

Since this Government took office, the planned level of defence expenditure we inherited has been reduced by some £8,000 million at 1976 Survey Prices. The latest cut was the £100 million reduction for 1977–78 announced in July 1976.

asked the Prime Minister if he will ensure that the composition of the Select Committee to investigate bribery and corruption charges against hon. Members, acting in their parliamentary capacity, will reflect the composition of the House of Commons, by including hon. Members who are not Privy Councillors, are not former Ministers, and whose membership of the House is of less than the average length of time.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the terms of the Motion which appeared on the Order Paper today and which gives the proposed composition of the Select Committee.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many housing action areas and general improvement areas have been (a) declared, (b) acted on and (c) completed in Wales in each year since 1974.

Declarations are as follows:

		HAAs	GIAs
1974	…	1	13
1975	…	19	8
1976 (Oct.)	…	3	2

In a housing action area a local authority has a statutory duty to complete its proposals for the area within a period of five years following the date of resolution. No housing action areas have been completed to date. No such time limit applies in general improvement areas.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many new houses he estimates will be built by local authorities in Wales within the projection of the Public Expenditure White Paper in 1976–77, 1977–78 and 1978–79.

The local authority approvals implied by the Public Expenditure White Paper (Cmnd. 6393) are as follows:

1976–77	…	…	…	6,050
1977–78	…	…	…	6,000
1978–79	…	…	…	5,750

Completions will depend on how local authorities regulate their contracts. These figures take no account of the additional PESC provision announced for 1976–77 and 1977–78.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish in the Official Report the monthly figures for housing approvals, starts and completions in the public and private sectors in Wales in 1976.

For the period January—August 1976, the latest for which

	Jan.	Feb.	Mar.	Apr.	May	June	July	Aug.	Total
Tender Approvals	238	228	1,190	840	864	677	565	168	4,770
(Local Authority, New Towns and Housing Associations).
Public Sector
Starts	715	383	625	574	774	1,030	721	359	5,181
Completions	613	578	542	722	598	842	663	628	5,186
Private Sector
Starts	610	448	530	963	724	881	804	864	5,824
Completions	630	548	526	774	605	612	564	688	4,947

asked the Secretary of State for Wales when he expects to be in a position to make a final decision with regard to the future of Llangwyfan Hospital, Clwyd.

Proposals concerning the future of Llangwyfan Hospital are included in the Clwyd Health Authority's plan for the reorganisation of health services in the Clwyd North Health District which has been submitted to our Department. We hope to announce our decision on the plan shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish the number of unresolved objections, arising from the registration procedure embodied in the Commons (Registration) Act 1965, still outstanding in respect of the former counties of Brecon and Radnor, the whole of Wales, and the whole of England, respectively; and what plans he has for speeding up the processing of remaining objections.

The numbers of unresolved objections arising from the registration procedure are: Powys, 2,544; Wales, 5,458; England, 22,876. I understand the Commissioners' Office has redistributed the commissioners' workload so as to increase resources for dealing with Welsh cases. Efforts are also being made to recruit additional commissioners.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what was total Government expenditure on housing in

Total central Government expenditure on housing in Wales in the years referred to is as follows:

				£ million
1974–75	…	…	…	37·4
1975–76	…	…	…	54·5
1976–77	…	…	…	69·4

The first two years are at outturn prices. The 1976–77 figure is an estimate of final expenditure at 1975 Survey Prices.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many jobs have been provided in Wales in 1976 by firms occupying Government premises for the first time during the year.

701 jobs have so far been provided in 1976.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what was the number of official visits by firms outside Wales seeking industrial localities in Wales in 1976, together with the number of inquiries recorded.

There were 221 inquiries and 72 first visits and 57 follow-up visits by industrialists from outside Wales during the period 1st January to 30th September 1976.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what has been the number of local authority and private house improvements in Wales in 1975 and 1976, together with the figures for conversions, improvements and standard amenities;(2) what has been the number of improvement grant approvals in Wales to date in 1976.

The number of improvements and conversions carried out in Wales in 1975 and 1976 is not yet known. The number of grants approved is as follows:

		January-August
	1975	1976
Local Authority
Conversions	*23	(*)
Improvements	*934	(*)
Private Sector
Conversions	275	179
Improvements	7,525	4,032
Repair	74	75
Intermediate and Special	466	296
* From 1st April 1975 the system of subsidising local authority improvement work changed in accordance with the provisions of the 1975 Housing Rents and Subsidies Act. Subsequent figures are not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how much money was spent on derelict land clearance together with the number of projects in each year since 1970 including 1976 to date.

The information is not readily available in the form requested. The number of projects, and their gross cost, which have been formally approved for grant aid since 1970 are as follows:

Year	Number of Schemes	Gross cost approved
1970	32	1·8
1971	41	2·4
1972	50	2·8
1973	45	4·8
1974	22	2·6
1975	32	7·2
1976 to date	15	1·8

A further 40 schemes at an estimated cost of £10·5 million are currently in the Welsh Development Agency's approved programme and in the course of preparation by local authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what was the total housing revenue account income attributable to rents in Wales in 1975–76.

The latest available estimate in terms of gross rent income is £56·8 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how much new advance factory space has been authorised since February 1974; how much of this is under construction; how much has been completed; and how much is occupied.

A total of 960,000 sq. ft. has been authorised. 102,000 sq. ft. is presently under construction and 537,000 sq. ft. has been completed. 185,000 sq. ft. of space has been formally allocated.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many advance factories in Wales are under construction; how many have been completed since 1965; how many are currently vacant and formally allocated; how many people are employed in advance factories; and what is the total cost.

13 are under construction; 132 have been completed since 1965; 44 are currently vacant, and 88 have been formally allocated; 5,939 people are employed in those occupied. The estimated total cost of the completed factories is £12·76 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many Government factories including advance factories, are currently empty; and whether he will list in the Official Report these factories, together with their size and the date since which they have been vacant.

53 Government factories are currently empty.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) why, in regard to a constituent's allegation that he had been wrongfully detained in a psychiatric hospital in Scotland, forwarded by the hon. Member for Essex, South-East on 21st September, it took three weeks to reply to the effect that the matter was not one for him but for the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland;(2) whether, in matters touching upon a patient's rights in psychiatric hospitals in Scotland, he will direct that there shall be no undue delay in forwarding replies to hon. Members.

I understand that the hon. Member mistakenly sent his letter, addressed to the Secretary of State, to his constituent who was a patient in the Royal Cornhill Hospital, Aberdeen. This inevitably delayed the correspondence. When it reached my Department the papers were immediately passed to the Mental Welfare Commission, whose agreement, after due consideration, to investigate the matter was conveyed to the hon. Member in my letter of 12th October.Every attempt is made by my Department to deal with all hon. Members' correspondence as quickly as possible and there are specific standing instructions to this effect.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the value of long-term supplementary benefit and national insurance rate for short-term

COMPARISON OF SUPPLEMENTARY BENEFIT SCALE RATES* FOR A SINGLE PERSON AND A MARRIED COUPLE WITH GROSS† AND NET‡ AVERAGE EARNINGS
			Short Term		Long Term§		Net Earnings
Date		Single Person	Married Couple	Single Person	Married Couple	Gross Earnings	Single Person	Married Couple
		£	£	£	£	£	£	£
November 1966	…	4·05	6·65	4·50	7·10	20·24	15·22	16·17
October 1967	…	4·30	7·05	4·75	7·50	21·375	15·87	16·82
October 1968	…	4·55	7·45	5·05	7·95	23·00	16·93	17·88
November 1969	…	4·80	7·85	5·30	8·35	25·00	18·02	18·97
November 1970	…	5·20	8·50	5·70	9·00	28·40	20·21	21·32
September 1971	…	5·80	9·45	6·30	9·95	30·70	22·02	23·06
October 1972	…	6·55	10·65	7·15	11·25	35·82	26·31	27·36
October 1973	…	7·15	11·65	8·15	12·85	40·92	29·67	30·71
July 1974	…	8·40	13·65	10·40	16·35	46·25	32·24	33·77
April 1975	…	9·60	15·65	12·00	18·85	54·05	36·70	38·58
November 1975	…	10·90	17·75	13·70	21·55	60·58║	40·58	42·46
* Excluding rent addition.
† Estimates made by the Department of Health and Social Security based on the Department of Employment's enquiry into the earnings of full-time manual wage earners in manufacturing and some of the principal non-manufacturing industries and the monthly index of average earnings.
‡ Gross earnings minus tax and national insurance contributions.
§ Between November 1966 and September 1973, the ordinary rate plus a long-term addition payable only to those over pensionable age and to those under pensionable age, other than the unemployed, who had received supplementary benefit for a continuous period of two years or more.
║ Provisional.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the number of persons drawing supplementary benefit in 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975 and at the latest available date in 1976.

The information requested is shown in the following table:

NUMBERS RECEIVING SUPPLEMENTARY BENEFIT AT A DATE IN THE MONTH SHOWN
			(in thousands)
November 1970	…	…	2,738
November 1971	…	…	2,909
November 1972	…	…	2,911
November 1973	…	…	2,675
November 1974	…	…	2,680
December 1975	…	…	2,793
August 1976	…	…	3,126

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he has included, in his consideration of the various measures he may wish to introduce in the next legislative Session, a Bill to ban all advertising of cigarettes.

No. The Government are following the policy on advertising of

A comparison of short-term and long-term rates of supplementary benefit with gross and net earnings for the period requested is set out in the table below.cigarettes announced by my right hon. Friend during the debate on smoking and health on 16th January.—[Vol. 903, c. 786–871.]

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if his negotiations with the tobacco industry on the health warning to be printed on all packets of cigarettes have now been completed; and if the words printed on the tar content leaflet he issued in August, namely, "Danger cigarettes cause lung cancer, bronchitis and heart disease" were agreed with the industry.

Discussions with the tobacco industry on a revision of the health warning are currently in progress.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will review the arrangements whereby general practitioners are permitted to contract out of service to their patients by using a commercial deputising service, in the light of information sent to him by the hon. Member for Brent, South.

I have taken note of the discussion of the use of commercial deputising services which took place at the recent annual meeting of the Society of Family Practitioner Committees, and to which my hon. Friend has drawn my attention. I understand that a motion designed to secure clear instructions about the extent to which these services might properly be used was referred, after debate, to the management committee for further consideration. I shall of course be very ready to consider any representations which the society decides to put forward. Meanwhile the existing guidance to family practitioner committees on the subject provides that consent should not be given to any standing arrangement under which a deputising service would care for a practitioner's patients on his behalf every night and weekend.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he remains satisfied with the arrangements made under the voluntary price regulation scheme with the National Health Service supplier which had a 65 per cent. increase in pre-tax profits, information about which has been sent to him by the hon. Member for Brent, South.

The figures quoted refer to the company's total business, only a small part of which is devoted to the sale of medicines to the National Health Service. The profits earned by the company from its sale of medicines to the National Health Service do not appear excessive.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if design consultants have been appointed for the new nucleus hospital at Woodside, Newham; and if he will name any consultants so appointed together with the names of hospitals for which they have held comparable responsibilities.

The North-East Thames Regional Health Authority has appointed Walchli and Wilkins as consultant quantity surveyors and are about to appoint the following consultants who are already working on the design: Hospital Design Partnership; Clarke, Nicholls and Marcell; and Roger Preston and Partners.Examples of comparable hospital schemes for which these firms have been consultants are:Walchli and Wilkins (Quantity Surveyors), Southlands, Shoreham.Hospital Design Partnership (Architects), Best Buy hospitals at Bury St. Edmunds and Frimley; Southlands, Shoreham.Clarke, Nicholls and Marcell (Structural Engineers), Basildon; St. James's, Balham; Orsett.Roger Preston and Partners (Service Engineers), Truro; Princess Margaret, Swindon; Wexham Park, Slough.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the target date set by his Department for the data packs and other briefing material in respect of the nucleus design of hospital to be available for engineering and architectural consultants; when these become available; and what is his estimate of the effects of any delay in the construction of the Woodside Hospital, Newham.

I expect that all the design and briefing data will have been completed by May 1977. A considerable amount of design information has already been made available to the North-East Thames Regional Health Authority for its consultants and the remainder will be made available in stages as the design team completes its various tasks. There has been some delay in completing the detailed design work, but the effect on the starting date for the main contract is not yet certain. Major site works are planned to start in mid-1977.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how many persons not permanently resident in the United Kingdom were treated in United Kingdom hospitals under the NHS over the last 12 months for which figures are available;(2) in what circumstances a person not permanently resident in the United Kingdom is given free treatment in a United Kingdom hospital; and how many such cases occurred in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

As well as permanent residents other persons who are ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom are regarded as eligible for treatment under the NHS. Included in this group are people in certain categories who may have come here recently from abroad—for example, immigrants, people holding work permits, members of staffs of embassies and consulates and High Commissions in post in the United Kingdom, and visitors staying for prolonged periods. Others, not ordinarily resident here, may have entitlement under reciprocal agreements or EEC regulations.Under the "Good Samaritan" policy overseas visitors not covered by these arrangements are not denied free NHS emergency treatment if they fall ill or have accidents here or if a pre-existing condition grows unexpectedly worse and its treatment cannot await their return home.The total number of people treated under these arrangements is not known.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether, following the Medicines Commission's review of proposed regulations for the sale of analgesics and the undertakings given by all the manufacturers to implement the safety packaging regulations, he will now make a statement.

I would refer my hon. Friend to my reply to the hon. Member for Wallasey (Mrs. Chalker) on 26th October.—[Vol. 918, c. 251–2.]

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what arrangements have been made for carrying on the work of the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital in an identifiable form following the proposed closure; what is the estimated cost per bed of the alternative arrangements; and what would be the cost per bed of retaining the hospital on its present site.

It is intended that all in-patient services will be transferred to the Whittington Hospital by the end of the year, when it is hoped that the present interim provision may be increased to a total of some 70 beds. These beds should be in two ward groupings. The project team is con- tinuing to plan the long-term establishment of facilities for women within the Islington district general hospital complex of the Whittington and Royal Northern Hospitals. This cannot be implemented until the commissioning of the diagnostic block in the Whittington Hospital allows a greater degree of rearrangement so that the name of Elizabeth Garrett Anderson may be perpetuated in a more suitable way.The estimated cost per bed of the alternative arrangements is about £16 per day which at present is about half the cost of a bed in the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital. In addition, the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital would require considerable capital expenditure if it were to continue on its present site.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many school leavers who left school in the summer of 1976 drew the standard social security benefit of £7·70; and how many are still drawing it.

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how much expenditure has been set aside by the Government and local authorities respectively, for the partial implementation of the Children Act for 1976–77 in England.

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 25th October 1976; Vol. 918, c. 66], gave the following information:As my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Wales has explained in his reply to the hon. Gentleman on 25th October—[Vol. 918, c.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will tabulate, by region and by area, the management costs of the NHS in England

					Managerial Staff Costs	Non-Staff	Total
					£'000	£'000	£'000
Northern	…	…	…	…	13,591	840	14,431
Yorkshire	…	…	…	…	15,293	914	16,207
Trent	…	…	…	…	19,050	1,132	20,182
East Anglia	…	…	…	…	7,837	484	8,321
North-West Thames	…	…	…	…	17,854	1,104	18,958
North-East Thames	…	…	…	…	19,577	1,236	20,813
South-East Thames	…	…	…	…	19,303	1,130	20,433
South-West Thames	…	…	…	…	14,860	1,026	15,886
Wessex	…	…	…	…	11,612	832	12,444
Oxford	…	…	…	…	10,518	624	11,142
South-Western	…	…	…	…	14,070	892	14,962
West Midlands	…	…	…	…	22,366	1,360	23,726
Mersey	…	…	…	…	11,293	625	11,918
North-Western	…	…	…	…	17,955	1,071	19,026
England	…	…	…	…	215,179	13,270	228,449
Notes:
Costs relating to Wales are the responsibility of my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.
Staff costs relate to numbers in post at 31st March 1976, and include employees' superannuation and national insurance contributions but exclude London weighting.
Non-staff costs are estimates based on the accounts for 1975–76. They are not included in the current standstill arrangements.
Managerial works staff costs—of £1·837 million—and non-staff works costs are not included in the above table.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether his inquiry into poverty trap issues will also be looking at the problems associated with the fact that it now pays many people to remain out of work for certain periods of the year rather than to take jobs; whether this will be an inter-departmental inquiry involving the Treasury and Inland Revenue as well as his own Department; and when he expects to be in a position to make recommendations on the situation.

I am afraid I cannot at this stage usefully add to what I said on this subject in the House in answer to

I regret that all the figures requested are not available. The figures tabulated below, which cover 1976–77 only, have been produced in order to monitor the "standstill" on management costs embodied in Health Circular HC(76)36. Figures for each area are not available centrally.Questions on 26th October.—[Vol. 918, c. 255–8.]

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will compare the FIS entitlement with the tax liability and the national insurance contribution for a married man with two children earning £35 per week.

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 26th October 1976; Vol. 918, c. 130–1], gave the following information:A married man with two children aged under 11, currently earning £35 per week and receiving £1·50 family allowance, would be entitled to £3·50 family income supplement. He would pay tax of £1·78 and national insurance contributions of £2·01, a total of £3·79.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what would be the price of imported butter and cheddar-type cheese in the United Kingdom if the CAP were in full operation and the green pound were abolished.

I regret that, because of the number of different factors influencing market prices, it is not possible to give a precise estimate of the effect of moving to full Community price levels and eliminating the gap between the green pound and the current market value of the pound. However, two of the most significant of the factors influencing the market, accession compensatory amounts and monetary compensatory amounts, both of which operate to keep prices down in the United Kingdom, would be eliminated in these circumstances. The current rates for these are as follows:

Butter (82% fat)	Cheddar Cheese
ACA £368·98 per tonne*	£128·27 per tonne*
MCA £375·24 per tonne	£360·68 per tonne
(*after applying the monetary coefficient)

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the total waiting list for houses in Londonderry City in 1970; what was the total waiting list in Londonderry Rural District Council area in 1970; and what is the total waiting list in the area at present covered by the Londonderry District Council.

This matter is the direct responsibility of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if the "Matthew's Stop Line" for Belfast and the related proposals for accelerated growth and growth in selected centres is still part of Government policy in Northern Ireland.

While strategic policy must be, and has been, modified from time to time in the light of changing circumstances, it remains Government policy to concentrate growth in designated areas, and to maintain a prudent degree of physical control over the expansion of the built-up area of Belfast. The instrument for this control has been the Matthew Stop Line. Future policy envisages the continued containment of the Belfast urban area within this line except possibly at Poleglass; proposals for development there are now the subject of a public inquiry.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will now publish the security statistics for the third quarter of this year.

The information is as follows: