asked the Secretary of State for the Home Depart- ment (1) whether he will advise the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board to review its policy on making public awards to individuals, in view of recent Press publicity on the award to Mr. Hamilton Fairley.(2) when he expects awards to be made to Mr. Paul Thomas, Mr. Gareth Walters and Mr. Stephen Ollerhead, all of whom were in the Welsh Guards at the time of the IRA bomb explosion in Caterham in August 1975, and who were the guardsmen referred to in the answer given on 20th October to the hon. Member for Newbury.

The board's transactions are conducted in confidence, and it is not its policy to make public statements about individual applications. There is a delicate balance to be preserved in these matters, and the working party that is reviewing the operation of the scheme is considering whether there should be any change in this practice. Though I have no responsibility for individual awards I am writing to the hon. Member about this matter.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions, if any, between 1st June 1972 and 31st May 1976 the Howard League for Penal Reform has requested permission to visit Holloway Prison; and on how many occasions permission has been granted.

So far as I am aware only one request was made and this was granted.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the special control unit at Wakefield Prison is currently in use as a special control unit.

No. It ceased to be used as a special control unit on 23rd October 1975.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has submitted plans for independent sewage treatment works at Portland or expressed any view on current proposals.

Plans for an independent scheme for sewage treatment at The Verne prison and Portland borstal have been the subject of local planning consultations but current financial restrictions make it impracticable to indicate when a start is likely to be feasible. The Home Office has not been asked to give a view on any other proposals.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the cost of building Her Majesty's Prison, Albany, to its original specification; and what has been the cost since then of raising the security at Albany to the standards required for dispensing category A prisoners there, including the costs of modifications to security since it became a dispersal prison and following the 1973 review of the dispersal policy.

The cost of building Albany Prison, which was opened in 1967, was £1·2 million, excluding staff quarters. The estimated cost of the subsequent security improvements is £1·6 million. In addition, a system of electric locking, providing night sanitation, was installed in 1972 at a cost of £300,000 and is scheduled for improvement at an estimated cost of £160,000.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will provide a breakdown of the total of £78 per week which it costs to keep a prisoner in gaol.

Figures are not yet available for a detailed breakdown, but within the £78 it is expected that some £64 will be attributable to staff-related expenditure and the balance to general supplies, operating expenses, welfare and prisoners' earnings.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in view of the fact that only £22 million worth of a total of £125 million of cash and property stolen in the United Kingdom was recovered by the police in 1975, what steps he now recommends should be taken to stimulate the recovery of stolen property, tackle the increased crime of this type and aid recruitment to the police force.

We do not regard the recovery of stolen property as the fundamental problem; rather we should be trying to ensure that property is not stolen in the first place, or if it is, that the offender is caught, since a high risk of being caught is the best deterrent. Crime prevention and preventive policing make an important contribution, as does the development of improved investigation techniques. My Department is playing its full part in this work and the strength of the police service is steadily increasing.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what have been the average fines on conviction in cases involving health risks and risks of injury to employed persons during the first six months of 1976, in England and Wales and in Scotland, respectively.

Information relating to 1976 is not yet available. The average fine imposed in 1975 in England and Wales on conviction of offences against the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 was £98. The comparable figure for Scotland is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis into the circumstances in which papers in the hands of the police for periods up to four years have recently reached the Observer newspaper; and whether these papers were given with the permission and consent of the owners of such documents and the police.

I am assured by the Commissioner that no documents relating to any inquiry have been made available to the Observer newspaper by the police

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many refugees from Chile have been accepted by Great Britain in the period 1st August 1976 to date; and how many cases are still awaiting a decision by the Government.

During August and September last, 50 letters of consent were issued to Chilean refugees involving 129 people. There were 416 applications outstanding at the end of September involving 912 people.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been deported, for the years 1975 and 1976 to date, using the deportation procedure laid down by Parliament; how many have been recommended for deportation and subsequently deported after conviction in a magistrates' court or county courts; and into which categories of people such as students, visitors, businessmen and similar groups those deported fall.

The available information is given below for deportation orders made under Sections 3(5)(a), 3(5)(b) and 3(6) of the Immigration Act 1971. Information about the categories in which persons deported from the United Kingdom were given leave to enter could not be provided without disproportionate cost.

DEPORTATION ORDERS ENFORCED
	1975	1976 (to 30th September)
Section 3(5)(a) (For breach of conditions)	37	54
Section 3(5)(b) (As conducive to the public good).	39	26
Section 3(6) (Following court recommendations).	334	302
Total	410	382

In addition, 88 and 22 persons were re-deported in 1975 and 1976—to 30th September—respectively, having returned to the United Kingdom in breach of deportation orders made previously.Deportation orders made in a particular calendar year may follow court recommendations made earlier.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the full list of matters which prisoners are allowed to mention in (a) correspondence and (b) notebooks taken out of prison at the end of a sentence; and what are the reasons for these prohibitions.

Prisoners' correspondence and the use which may be made of notebooks are regulated by Prison Rules and Standing Orders, copies of which are in the Library of the House. Prisoners may mention any matter that is not prohibited by these. Such restrictions as are imposed are for the purposes of safeguarding order, discipline, personal privacy, the procedures for dealing with complaints and the prevention of criminal activity.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is his latest estimate of the number of jobs created during the past year as a result of expenditure sanctioned by the Chancellor; and what has been the cost per job.

I estimate that the number of jobs created or maintained by various employment measures during the past year was 180,000. The gross cost per job—ignoring savings of unemployment benefit, supplementary benefit and gains in income tax and national insurance contributions—was £1,030. Over their whole lives I estimate that the measures, including two just coming into operation, will provide 350,000 jobs. Resources have also been provided for 85,000 additional training places; and additionally subsidies have been introduced to encourage employers to recruit young persons for new and existing jobs.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many persons within the Central Region of Scotland are currently registered as seeking employment (a) as school teachers and (b) as teachers in establishments of further and higher education including the universities.

At 9th September, 35 unemployed people were registered for employment as school teachers in the area covered by the Bo'ness, Denny, Falkirk, Grangemouth, Alloa and Stirling employment offices, which corresponds closely with the Central Region of Scotland. There were none registered for employment as teachers in establishments for further and higher education, including universities. In addition, there might be a small number of persons seeking employment as teachers who are registered at the professional and executive offices but are not allocated to particular districts.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of workers is currently unemployed in Liverpool and Merseyside, and in Glasgow and the Strathclyde Region.

Following is the information at 14th October:

	Unemployment rate (per cent.)
Liverpool travel-to-work area	11·2
Merseyside special development area	10·7
Glasgow travel-to-work area	8·5
Strathclyde region	8·7
These figures are provisional.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what are his estimates of the level of employment in the summer of 1976 as analysed by sector in table 1.10 of the National Income Blue Book for 1965 to 1975.

The information required for these estimates will not be available until about the middle of next year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether Her Majesty's Government have at any time received requests for assistance from the United States Government in relation to an offence committed against Section 9 of the United States Endangered Species Act 1973.

To the best of my knowledge there has been no formal request for assistance. Officials are, of course, in contact on these matters, especially in connection with the Endangered Species Convention to which both countries are parties.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the letter he has received from the North-West Industrial Development Association expressing support for the proposal that the Location of Offices Bureau be given a wider role aimed at promoting a better national distribution of office employment.

My right hon. Friend was very interested to note the association's support for this proposal, which is still under consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will ensure in future that public notices relating to planning applications invite all shades of opinion to make themselves known as an alternative to the present practice of inviting only objections to planning applications.

Except for applications involving departures from the development plan, which need be advertised only if the local planning authority are minded to grant planning permission, the present statutory notices already invite any representations to be made.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) whether any local authorities have received loan sanction since 11th February 1976 to build dwellings for sale by direct labour; and, if so, whether he will name the scheme in each case, the gross tender price and the number of dwellings involved;(2) whether he will list the local authorities which have received loan sanction to build dwellings by direct labour since 2nd February 1976, naming the scheme in each case, the gross tender price and the number of dwellings involved.

I will write to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many operatives and professional, clerical and administrative staff were employed in local authority direct labour building departments in October 1975 and April 1976, respectively, on new housing, other new work, housing repairs and maintenance and non-housing repairs and maintenance.

The breakdown by type of work is available only for operatives. The figures are as follows:

LOCAL AUTHORITIES' EMPLOYEES EMPLOYED ON CONSTRUCTION WORK GREAT BRITAIN
	October 1975	April 1976
Operatives
New Work—housing	11,569	12,665
non-housing	14,317	14,228
Repairs and maintenance—
housing	76,143	75,563
non-housing	75,033	71,560
Total	177,062	174,016
Administrative, professional, technical and clerical staff	88,305	87,840

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many meetings have so far been held by the Working Party on Direct Labour; and when it is expected to produce its report.

The Departmental Working Party on Direct Labour has held two meetings. It will take some time for the working party to complete its task.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will list the persons or organisations outside the Civil Service which have so far given (a) oral and (b) written evidence to his Working Party on Direct Labour.

The following have submitted written evidence to the Departmental Working Party on Direct Labour:

• Asphalt and Coated Macadam Association
• Association of Metropolitan Authorities
• Cambridgeshire County Council
• Committee of Associations of Specialist Engineering Contractors
• Federation of Associations of Specialists and Sub-Contractors
• Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors
• Harlow District Council
• Institute of Municipal Building Management
• Institution of Municipal Engineers
• London Borough Council of Hackney
• National Building Agency
• National Federation of Building Trades Employers
• Nimrod Heating Ltd.
• Redland Roadstone Ltd.
• Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
• Stoke on Trent City Council
• Trades Union Congress
• Mr. W. R. Turner

No oral evidence has so far been given.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he intends to restrict the issuance of circulars from his Department to local authorities which require additional expenditure by local authorities to implement them when no further funds are available from the Government.

All circulars of advice issued by the Department are carefully considered in the light of the current severe restraints affecting local authority expenditure.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he would be prepared to make any further funds available to local authorities to defray the cost involved in implementing Circular No. 876 from his Department.

Although in the short run helping tenants to set up a co-operative will take time and effort on the part of local authority staff, this could be well offset by improved and more efficient standards of management and maintenance and by bringing additional personal resources into housing. In these circumstances I regret that I cannot, with the present constraints on public expenditure, allocate further funds for this purpose than are already available for housing activities generally.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give the number of accidents caused by motor vehicles jackknifing for each year for which figures are available from 1966 onwards and the annual number of fatalities involved.

I regret that the information is not available in the precise form requested. Also it is not possible to separately identify accidents caused by jackknifing from those in which jackknifing was a result of the accident.

NUMBER OF VEHICLES INVOLVED IN ACCIDENTS WHERE JACKKNIFING OCCURRED*
				Fatal accidents	Number of vehicles all accidents
1966–68	…	…	…	Not available
1969	…	…	…	54	790
1970	…	…	…	45	737
1971	…	…	…	52	611
1972	…	…	…	34	523
1973	…	…	…	46	521
1974	…	…	…	44	506
1975	…	…	…	25	442
* Includes articulated goods vehicles, cars towing caravans and other vehicles towing trailers.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport when eastbound traffic on the A3 between Hinchley Wood and Sur-

ESTIMATED REVENUE
			Vehicle Excise Duty £m.	VAT £m.	Fuel Duty £m.	Car Tax £m.
Cars and vans	…	…	567	200	1,785*	190
Goods vehicles	…	…	209	—	440	—
Totals	…	…	776	200	2,225	190
Estimated road construction and maintenance expenditure by central Government and local authorities—£1,760 million.
* Includes VAT on petrol.

Subsidies to British Rail for the calendar year 1976 are expected to total about £500 million inclusive of £108 million paid towards inherited pension costs.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will make

Within the next few weeks, subject to the weather.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what was the total cost of the new underpass and ancillary works on the A3 at New Malden; why the roundabout over the underpass has been made wide enough for five lanes of traffic; and how much would have been saved if it had provided for two lanes only.

The current total estimated cost is £5·3 million. The junction was designed to cater for expected 1991 traffic flows. Two lanes would be insufficient.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will state figures for revenue in the current financial year from road tax and VAT for each main class of vehicle, fuel tax, and car tax; and if he will give figures for current annual expenditure on road construction and maintenance by central Government and local authorities, and for subsidy to British Rail.

The estimates for revenue and expenditure in Great Britain for 1976–77 are as follows:the results of the questionnaire issued by his Department on the alternative routes for the development of the A27 available to the West Sussex County Council, so that they can be taken into account at the council's next meeting on the subject.

No. We wish to have the views of the council independently of those of individual members of the public.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport why civil servants within his Department concerned with the issue and transfer of vehicle registration marks are selecting which of their duties they will carry out and which they will decline to carry out; what disciplinary action he has taken against civil servants refusing to carry out duties properly assigned to them; what is the most senior grade of civil servant concerned in the refusal to work normally; whether there are any precedents for the blacking of work by civil servants in his Department when he expects a resumption of normal working; and if the career prospects of those engaged in this industrial action are expected to be affected by their behaviour.

The unions concerned claim that widespread abuse of the existing extra-statutory cherished transfer system is adversely affecting their members.Staff up to and including higher executive office in the Department are involved in the ban.Regulations are being made to place the making of cherished transfers on a statutory basis. There have been joint discussions about revised rules designed to check abuses, which will be applied under these regulations, and the unions are currently balloting their members about restarting this work, and I expect to know the result soon.No disciplinary or other action is envisaged at this stage. There are no precedents for blacking work in the Department.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she is satisfied with the present level and number of educational maintenance allowances paid to parents of pupils aged between 16 to 19 years.

I do not think that anyone can be wholly satisfied with a system which results in the wide discrepancies of awards shown in my Department's survey in 1974.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the saving to each LEA in 1974–75 as a result of paying discretionary awards at a reduced rate compared with the full grant rate.

It is not possible to make an estimate of the sum involved for each local education authority.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what discussion she has had with the Chairman and Board of the National Theatre and the Arts Council in respect of the subsidy and costs of running the National Theatre in 1977–78.

The grant from Exchequer funds to the National Theatre is for negotiation between the Theatre Board and the Arts Council. As with its other clients, the Arts Council, when it is informed of its grant in aid for 1977–78, will determine the size of the grant to the theatre in relation to its own assessment of the theatre's needs and the other demands on the council's resources.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what new proposals she intends to bring forward in the light of the Prime Minister's speech on education at Oxford on 18th October.

Following discussions over the next three or 4 months, my Department will put forward proposals as a basis for further consultation.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when she expects to announce firm policy proposals for raising educational standards.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what practical measures she intends to take to improve the standards of attainment of pupils in schools in England and Wales.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proposals for policy changes she proposes to bring forward in the light of the Prime Minister's speech on education at Oxford on 18th October.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what measures she proposes to take to ensure that school leavers and students are better fitted with the skills necessary for working life.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what contribution she proposes to make to the national debate on education recently joined by the Prime Minister.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what plans she has for encouraging local education authorities and teachers to place more emphasis on the place of mathematics, the sciences and engineering in their school and college curricula.

As I stated in reply to a Question by the hon. Member for Conway (Mr Roberts) on 26th October—[Vol. 918, c. 107]—during the next three or four months I intend to discuss the school curriculum and the maintenance of educational standards with organisations representing teachers, their employers, industry and the TUC. These discussions will be followed early next year by wider consultation on specific proposals. The Government's policy on curricula and standards in schools will be announced as soon as possible thereafter.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many letters she has received from the general public since the Prime Minister's speech on education at Oxford on Monday 18th October.

To date my Department has received 131 letters relating directly to the Prime Minister's speech.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether she intends to seek new legislative powers to alter or control school curricula.

No. That is not my intention.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether she will ensure wherever possible that the education of pupils in voluntary schools is not disrupted at the age of 16 years as a consequence of their schools leaving the maintained sector.

My right hon. Friend can intervene only if a local education authority acts unreasonably, or fails to do its duty. The hon. Member has written to her about a particular situation; he will receive a reply very soon.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether she will issue a circular concerning road safety for people in schools.

My right hon. Friend and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport place considerable importance on the need for adequate road safety education in schools. The Department of Transport, which has primary responsibility for road safety, issued a circular in April 1975 which emphasised the importance of road safety education, and in view of this there is no present intention of issuing a further circular.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if, in view of the Prime Minister's speech at Ruskin College, Oxford, she will now make a statement on the Government's policy towards orientating university and polytechnic students to meet industrial needs and the gearing of school curricula towards science, mathematics and engineering.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she is satisfied with her Department's provision for education and training for industry.

I attach a high priority to encouraging more young people to study engineering and applied science at school, to pursue these studies in higher education, and to enter a career in industry. I am studying as a matter of urgency with my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Industry and Employment how this might best be done.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what are her plans for increasing staff and courses in technical colleges.

The rate support grant settlement for 1976–77 allowed for an increase in staffing at colleges to match the forecast growth in the number of students taking non-advanced courses of further education. For advanced level courses it has been assumed that firmer steps will be taken to tighten staffing ratios as additional students enrol. Proposals for the provision of new courses and the level of staffing are matters for individual colleges and their maintaining local education authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she is satisfied with the provisions for the education of disabled children.

My right hon. Friend is always seeking improvements as resources permit. She welcomes recent progress, which includes the completion in 1975–76 of some 8,250 special school places in England and Wales; an increase in the number of teachers in special schools of over 1,600 between January 1973 and January 1976; and increased provision for handicapped pupils in special classes in county and voluntary schools—from 11,000 to over 18,500—in the same period. The Department is currently discussing with certain local education authorities the monitoring of arrangements for the education of handicapped children in ordinary schools; and the work of the Warnock Committee continues.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if, in the light of the recent pronouncement by the Prime Minister on the deficiencies of the education system, she will undertake to revise her Department's expenditure proposals.

Four-fifths of the money spent on education in England and Wales is the responsibility of local authorities. A great deal can be done within the existing provision and, where necessary, by the adjustment of local priorities. I am naturally looking carefully at national priorities for expenditure on education.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the estimated number of unemployed teachers.

The number of unemployed people registered by the Department of Employment as seeking employment as school teachers in England and Wales in September was 7,187. In addition, 1,984 so registered were seeking posts in higher or further education.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is his latest estimate of the cost in the first year of administering the public lending right scheme.

About £400,000 at September 1975 prices for the first year of full operation. The actual cost would depend on the details of the scheme adopted, the nature and rotation of the sample of libraries, and whether or not equipment is hired or purchased. However, at this stage it is not possible to say when such resources could be made available.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the percentage of undergraduate places on degree courses that are currently unfilled.

In terms of physical capacity in academic departments, it is estimated that altogether some 8 per cent. of places in universities in Great Britain and polytechnics in England and Wales are unfilled. It is not possible to distinguish between undergraduate and postgraduate places. This figure does not take account of availability of staff and other resources which also determine the number of students that may be accepted.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what plans she has to expand nursery and further education provision over the next two years.

The Government's plans for both nursery and further education provision for the years up to 1979–80 were set out in the last public expenditure White Paper (Cmnd. 6393). For 1977–78, however, they are subject to the measures announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 22nd July.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many students have enrolled in Scottish universities for session 1976–77; and what were the comparable figures in each of the previous three years.

I regret that figures are not yet available for 1976–77. The numbers of full-time and sandwich students at Scottish universities in each of the previous three years are as follows:

Academic Year
1973–74	…	…	…	38,953
1974–75	…	…	…	39,744
1975–76*	…	…	…	40,237
* Provisional.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when she expects to make a decision on the Schools Council proposal for a common 16-plus examination.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to a Question from my right hon. Friend the Member for Sunderland, North (Mr. Willey) on 26th October.—[Vol. 918, c. 102–7.]

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science, if she will take steps to introduce legislation that will prevent anyone leaving school until he or she has mastered basic reading, writing and arithmetic.

No. Crucial though these skills are, it is impractical to use legislation in this way.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether she is satisfied with the appointment of governors of the British Film Institute.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps have been taken to transfer the responsibilities of the British Film Institute in Wales to the Welsh Arts Council.

Under the proposals published in November 1975 (Cmnd. 6348) for devolution to Scotland and Wales, the Welsh Assembly will be responsible for the arts, except the export control of works of art. The British Film Institute is concerned with the art of the film. Up to the present, the Welsh Arts Council has by an informal arrangement acted as the agent in Wales of the British Film Institute for those of its functions which are not carried out by the institute's headquarters. These arrangements will be reviewed when the Government publish their more detailed proposals for devolution to Wales.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proportion of the British Film Institute's grant in 1976–77 and in 1977–78 is to be transferred to the Welsh Arts Council.

In 1976–77 the Welsh Arts Council acts as the agent of the British Film Institute in Wales in respect of £15,000 of the resources available to the regions and to Wales of £218,000, out of its total grant of £2·514 million. The greater part of the grant—nearly £2 million—is spent on the BFI's own internal activities. In addition, the institute at present operates on a United Kingdom or "England and Wales" basis in making grants for "Housing the Cinema", film production, and in giving assistance to other organisations concerned with the art of the film. It will be for the institute to consider, in relation to the resources made available to it in 1977–78, and in relation to the Government's plans for devolution to Wales, what the arrangements should he for that year. These resources will not be made known until the publication next year of the Estimates for that year.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the formula whereby the percentage of the British Film Institute's grant transferred annually to the Welsh Arts Council is determined.

The extent to which the Welsh Arts Council acts as the agent for the British Film Institute in Wales is a matter for negotiation between the two bodies. The institute is concerned to ensure that those of its resources which are spent outside its own organisation are fairly distributed throughout England and Wales. Further discussions are planned in which my Department and the Welsh Office will participate.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will appoint a representative from Wales to the governing body of the British Film Institute.

My right hon. Friend will bear the hon. Member's suggestion in mind. She is always grateful for individual recommendations for membership from the widest possible sources.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she is satisfied with the education available to mature business managers to teach them how to utilise the skills of graduates with knowledge of modern scientific and technological methods which need to be used in industry.

The diverse post-experience management courses available at universities and within the further education system are aimed specifically at business needs and designed in consultation with experienced managers. The providing bodies are always open to suggestion for improvement and business is increasingly taking advantage of the courses.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether she will publish the full text of her Department's paper on developments in education from which passages were quoted in the Press on 14th October 1976.

No. This document was prepared for internal discussion.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when she hopes to make a statement on her plans for revising school transport arrangements.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the result of her examination of the review by her Department's working party of the arrangements for school transport, and in particular the proposal of a flat-rate fare.

I refer the hon. Members to the answer I gave earlier today to Questions by the hon. Members for Bedfordshire, South (Mr. Madel) and Shoreham (Mr. Luce).

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will consider the advisability of allowing the supplementation of free school transport by transport bearing a contribution from parents willing to make such contribution and of introducing any legislation which may be required with a view thereto.

As the law now stands, transport which LEAs are obliged to provide for schoolchildren living outside the statutory walking distances must be free of charge. Our proposals for the abolition of the walking distances coupled with the introduction of a flat-rate fare proved to be unacceptable to those whose children now travel free and to LEAs generally which were especially concerned about the administrative implications of charging. Local education authorities already have wide discretionary powers to assist with the fares of any pupil not covered by the walking distance provisions and to allow that pupil to use transport provided for pupils entitled to travel free. However, they are finding it increasingly difficult within the present financial constraints to make use of these powers.Schools and groups of parents who buy and operate minibuses need to take considerable care in meeting the costs of running their vehicles to keep within the Road Traffic Acts which are, of course, primarily the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she intends to approve the proposal to spend approximately £1 million on reorganisation of secondary education in Matlock before the end of 1977, in view of the national economic situation and the fact that the new comprehensive school would still be spread over at least four different sites over three miles apart.

I shall be considering the Derbyshire authority's proposals for Matlock within the next few weeks I understand that their implementation would cost about £600,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) when she will sanction Derbyshire County Council's proposals for secondary reorganisation in Matlock;(2) when she will sanction Derbyshire County Council's proposals for secondary reorganisation in Ilkeston;(3) when she will sanction Derbyshire County Council's proposals for secondary reorganisation in Ripley;(4) when she will sanction Derbyshire County Council's proposals for secondary reorganisation in the Derby-Kilburn area.

My right hon. Friend expects to reach a decision on the Ilkeston, and the Ripley Denby and Kilburn proposals, during November, and on the Matlock proposals in December.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when she will sanction Derbyshire County Council's proposals for secondary reorganisation in Tibshelf.

These proposals were approved by my right hon. Friend on 22nd October 1976.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she has any plans for dealing with the problem of truancy.

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave earlier today to a Question by the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. McCrindle).

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what progress has been made in establishing the Genetic Manipulation Advisory Group proposed in the Report of the Working Party on the Practice of Genetic Manipulation.

I am glad to tell the House that Sir Gordon Wolstenholme, OBE, has agreed to serve as the first chairman of the group which will be responsible for examining proposals from laboratories, for assessing the hazards involved and for advising on appropriate precautions. I hope to be able to announce the names of other members of the group shortly. The Government will consider the making of regulations specifying the proposals to be submitted when the Health and Safety Commission has completed its consultations and has put forward recommendations.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the total number of passes in French for all boards for the A-level summer examinations in each year from 1970 until the latest year for which figures are available.

The following is the information:

GCE A Level passes in French Summer examination
1970	…	…	…	…	18,049
1971	…	…	…	…	18,099
1972	…	…	…	…	17,393
1973	…	…	…	…	17,054
1974	…	…	…	…	17,135
1975	…	…	…	…	16,919

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what measures she intends to take in order to monitor the experimental methods used to provide tuition for disruptive pupils in special units which have been established by certain local education authorities.

Her Majesty's Inspectorate is already preparing a survey of special units for difficult and disruptive children in different parts of the country. HMI will be consulting local education authorities about what they are doing in this field and will be visiting a sample of the units.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what action he is taking in view of the report of the Sunderland Community Health Council, which shows that the expenditure on the health services in Sunderland is well below both the regional and national averages.

Financial allocations to Sunderland Area Health Authority are a matter for the Northern Regional Health Authority, which has already made arrangements to raise the level of financial resources available to this area as quickly as practicable.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will now inflation-proof all pensions against inflation to the same degree that Civil Service pensions are proofed.

Social security pensions and war pensions are already protected against inflation. Furthermore, under the Social Security Pensions Act 1975 the increase in the State retirement pension of people who have been contracted out as members of an occupational pension scheme will be sufficient to provide price protection of the guaranteed minimum pension which they receive from that scheme.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many copies of leaflet CH1 (T) on the new child benefit have been distributed; at what total cost; and why the number of such circulars despatched to sub-postmasters in various Suffolk villages vastly exceeded the population of those villages.

The total cost of distributing 12 million copies of the leaflet CH1 (T) is estimated at £9,000.Arrangements for the distribution of leaflets to individual sub-postmasters are made by the Post Office, but I understand that with a large task like child benefit it is more economic to distribute leaflets on a general scale than to attempt to be specific.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the cost of producing and distributing his Department's leaflet CH1 (T) which relates to the child benefit scheme.

The cost of producing and distributing leaflet CH1 (T) is estimated to be £156,580.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is satisfied with the arrangements made by local offices to investigate cases where non-receipt or loss of Giro payments are reported.