asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he is satisfied that the budgeting and accounting procedures of regional water authorities in England and Wales are adequate to meet the needs of public scrutiny and control.

The authorities' accounts are subject to audit in the same way as those of local authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will seek to amend the Local Government Act to make it mandatory upon local authorities to open all their sub-committee meetings to the Press and public.

No. The Government have made clear in DOE Circular 45/75 their policy that sub-committees should be open save only where the council resolves to exclude the public on the grounds that publicity would be prejudicial to the public interest. I am sure that local authorities act responsibly in this matter and that further legislation is unnecessary.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what arrangements he is making for improved inspection procedures to avert future accidents to Big Ben.

In future a complete inspection of all the clock's mechanisms will be made every 10 years. My Department, in consultation with the Atomic Energy Research Establishment, which recently carried out specialist tests on the mechanisms, is also considering a programme for more frequent inspection of the vital parts.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many representations he has received from parish councils and from individuals regarding the problems which would arise if in parishes the local precept means that the total rate payment required is in excess of the rate payable within other areas of the same local authority.

Perhaps my hon. Friend would write to me explaining the particular problem he has in mind. The feature of the rating system in which an additional item of the general rate is levied in a parish to raise the money to meet the parish precept is of very long standing. There have been no recent representations directed to this particular point, and I am not aware of any significant problems which it has caused in the past or is likely to cause in the future.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the total number of domestic ratepayers over the past three years in the District Councils of South Norfolk and Breckland; and, of these, how many have receive rate rebates in each of those years concerned.

The number of rate rebates granted in 1974–75 and 1975–76 in the Breckland and South Norfolk Districts is shown below.

	Breckland	South Norfolk
Number granted April-September 1974	3,773	3,009
Number granted October 1974-March 1975.	3,708	3,036
Number of persons receiving rate rebate at 31st March 1976.	4,822	3,603

In 1973–74 the previous rebate scheme was administered by the pre-reorganisation authorities and not all details are available. I have no precise information on the number of domestic ratepayers in the districts concerned, but in April 1975 there were 31,209 domestic hereditaments in Breckland and 31,941 in South Norfolk.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment why the housing finance policy review has not yet reported; on what date it began its work; what date he has fixed for its completion; what is the reason for the delay; and whether he will make a statement.

The review started work in February 1975. I hope it will be com- pleted by the end of the year. It has not been possible to bring the review to a conclusion before now because it was essential to allow sufficient time for full consideration of the complex issues involved.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has now received from the RIBA details of its most recent six-monthly survey of the workload in private architectural practices and in public sector offices; and what action he proposes to take on the principal finding that only 7 per cent. of private practices, compared with 76 per cent. of public offices, have more than 12 months' work in hand.

Yes. The problems facing the architectural profession are an integral part of the problems facing the construction industry generally, and I shall be discussing the situation further in the National Consultative Council for the Building and Civil Engineering Industries shortly.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a further statement about negotiations with the EEC on fisheries limits and associated problems.

I have nothing to add to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on 2nd November.—[Vol. 918, c. 1206–16.]

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether any body for which he is responsible is conducting research on giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum); and whether, in view of the skin damage suffered by children who come into contact with it, he will issue advice to local authorities as to how it can be controlled.

My Department is not now actively conducting research on giant hogweed although the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, investigated the anatomical structure and the toxic effects of this plant some years ago and still retains an interest in the classification of the genus. We have no proposals to issue advice, as suggested, to local authorities on the control of the plant. My right hon. Friend's powers to prescribe weeds as injurious and to take action against them are intended primarily to safeguard food production. There is no evidence that this plant is either common on agricultural land or a threat to agriculture.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many veterinary surgeons on his Department's staff were testing Gumboro poultry vaccine and over what period; what was their recommendation; and when this was made to his Department.

Work on testing Gumboro disease vaccines began at the Ministry's Central Veterinary Laboratory in 1972 and since then four veterinary surgeons have worked part of their time on this problem. In September 1974 recommendations were made to the Veterinary Products Committee as to the standards relating to safety, quality and efficacy that should be applied to these vaccines. On the advice of the committee animal test certificates were granted for two vaccines in November 1974. One of these was given a product licence in August 1975.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will now make a statement about financial assistance for the red meat slaughtering industry.

I am pleased to be able to announce that, in agreement with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Industry, £20 million is being provided under the Industry Act 1972 for a scheme of assistance to the red meat slaughtering industry. The scheme has been drawn up following a submission made by industry representatives.This scheme has been designed to help the industry to press ahead with an investment programme to raise standards of hygiene and efficiency in handling home-produced fatstock and also to equip itself to participate fully in intra-Community trade. The slaughtering industry is a vital link in the meat marketing chain and its improved operation will benefit our producers and consumers as well as the meat trade itself. Details of the scheme are set out in notes which have been prepared for the guidance of applicants, and I am placing copies of this document in the Library of the House.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment when he expects to announce new radiological safety regulations under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, which are presently being drafted by the Health and Safety Commission to replace the ionizing radiation regulations which presently apply only to factories.

I shall reply to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people were employed in manufacturing industry in the United Kingdom and in Wales, respectively, in 1965 and in 1975.

At June 1965, there were 8,561,000 employees in employment in manufacturing industries in the United Kingdom and 311,000 in Wales. At June 1975 the figures were 7,488,000 and 317,000, respectively. These figures are taken from the continuous series of employment estimates which allows for the discontinuities in former series. The figures for Wales do not include employees in the Welsh sector of the Chester Employment Office area, currently estimated to be about 5,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people were in employment in central Government and in local government, respectively, in the United Kingdom and in Wales in 1965 and in 1975.

The numbers of non-industrial civil servants in the United Kingdom were 420,364 on 1st July 1965 and 531,131 on 1st July 1975. The corresponding figures for Wales were 15,849 and 27,900.Information about the numbers employed by local authorities was collected by this Department up to June 1974 for England and Wales and up to June 1975 for Scotland. Information for England and Wales for dates after June 1974 was collected by the Local Authorities Conditions of Service Advisory Board. The information provided by the two series is not strictly comparable; also, during the period changes in local authority responsibilities will have affected the numbers employed. Bearing in mind these qualifications, the numbers employed by local authorities, excluding police forces, in Great Britain were 1,931,645 in June 1965 and 2,452,304 in June 1975. The corresponding figures for Wales were 97,448 and 144,317.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the total number of unemployed, expressed as a percentage of the work force in (a) Scotland, (b) Wales, (c) the North-West, (d) Merseyside, (e) Kirkby, and (f) Ormskirk.

Following is the information:

	Percentage rate of unemployment at October 1976
Scotland	7·3
Wales	7·6
North-West Region	7·0
Merseyside special development area	10·7
Liverpool travel-to-work area* (including Kirkby Employment office area)	11·2
Ormskirk travel-to-work area* (including Skelmersdale Employment office area)	10·6
* Unemployment rates are calculated only for the whole of a travel-to-work area and not separately for its constituent parts. They represent numbers unemployed taken as a percentage of the total number of employees (employed and unemployed).

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether the Government's scheme involving the collective funding for vital transferable skills relative to vocational preparation for young people has received the support and approval of the Engineering Industry Training Board.

I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that the Engineering Industry Training Board has not yet submitted its views on the consultative document "Training for Vital Skills".

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he is satisfied that the scheme relative to training for vital skills could be satisfactorily implemented without further research into the areas where the scheme could be properly introduced; and how many trade associations were consulted on the consultative document, giving the number which approved the Government approach.

I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that, as was acknowledged in the consultative document "Training for Vital Skills", a careful analysis would be required, industry by industry of what occupations involve training in transferable skills and the way these relate to what is known about skill shortages on the basis of available statistical data.Over 250 employers' and trade associations were consulted. All replies are now being studied and information about the response to the Government's views will be given in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he proposes to implement the proposals for the training of vital skills; and in what legislative framework it is expected to be introduced.

The Government and the Manpower Services Commission undertook to reach a decision on the proposals set out in their joint consultative document "Training for Vital Skills" in the light of views expressed on the document. The period of consultation ended on 29th October and the large volume of comment received is being analysed. Once that is done, it will be possible to consider what steps should be taken.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many Press officers there are in his Department; and how this compares with the position 12 months ago.

There are at present five Press officers and a chief Press officer in the Department's Press Office. One post is temporarily vacant. There has been no change on the position 12 months ago.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many school leavers are currently unemployed within the areas of the Alloa and Falkirk employment offices; how the figures compare with the same month in each of the past five years; and what steps he is taking to ensure that they find jobs.

In the areas of the careers offices of Alloa and Falkirk—including Grangemouth, Bo'ness and Denny—the numbers of school leavers registered as unemployed were as follows:

	Alloa	Falkirk
October 1971	12	61
October 1972	23	89
October 1973	2	8
October 1974	15	26
October 1975	65	145
October 1976	101	352

Although the current situation gives cause for concern, the numbers for 1976 in Alloa have come down from 252 in July, and in Falkirk from 888, and it is hoped that, with the assistance of the measures introduced by the Government, the numbers entering employment or training should continue to increase.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the Government assistance available to employers to offer apprenticeships; and if he will make a statement about the provision of apprenticeships in the public and private sectors.

I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that funds of about £6·6 million have been made available to 14 industrial training boards in the 1976–77 financial year to support their normal apprentice training programmes. In addition, three forms of assistance are currently available to employers through ITBs and other organisations under the special measures programme: incentive grants paid in respect of additional recruitment to apprenticeships and other forms of long-term training; a per capita supplement to the normal ITB grants paid for all recruitment to off-the-job apprentice training in the construction industry; and grants payable at ITBs' discretion to secure employment and continued training for unplaced award holders and redundant apprentices.The MSC takes the view that industry has the primary responsibility for matching the scale of training to current and future requirements for skilled manpower. The extent of assistance to employers for long-term training under the special measures programme, currently covering some 25,000 grants at a cost of £23½ million, is based on estimates made by ITBs and other organisations of their industries' long-term needs; training awards for initial training under ITB sponsorship are also available under the programme, should recruitment still fall short of these needs.Assistance is available to all sectors of industry, except mainly Exchequer-funded organisations.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if his Department has made any payments to former employees of QRS International Shipping and Travel Ltd. under the insolvency provisions of the Employment Protection Act; and if he will make a statement.

Payments under the insolvency provisions of the Employment Protection Act 1975 will be made to former employees of QRS International Shipping and Travel Ltd. as soon as the liquidator is satisfied as to the amounts. It is expected that the first payments will be made shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what steps he is taking to increase the number of apprenticeships in the engineering industry.

, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 5th November; Vol. 918, c. 729], gave the following answer:I am informed that the Manpower Services Commission has made funds available to the Engineering Industry Training, Board to provide up to 5,000 additional young people with first-year off-the-job craft or technician training. The funds are being used to help ensure that the total intake of craft and technician apprentices to the industry reaches 25,000, the level that the Engineering Board considers necessary in 1976–77. This is being done by providing grants to employers who take on additional apprentices and offsetting any remaining shortfall in recruitment by providing first-year training under the board's sponsorship through a training award scheme.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will raise in the United Nations Security Council the question of Israeli piracy against civil shipping in the Eastern Mediterranean.

No. As I said in reply to a similar question put by my hon. Friend the Member for Greenwich, Woolwich East on 28th October, such a move would be unlikely to assist in resolving the conflict in Lebanon. But we certainly do not condone illegal activities by any party in the area.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will set out the estimated costs to British funds of the preparations being made for the United Kingdom to take the chair at the Council of Ministers next January, including the cost of loss of use of Lancaster House.

Apart from some reassignment of duties among existing staff, the preparations mainly concern the facilities at the Lancaster House complex. As my right hon. Friend the then Minister of State explained on 8th June, the preparations there cover a range of meetings and it is not practicable to assign any particular proportion of the expenditure to the forthcoming British presidency of the Council of Ministers. It is not yet pos- sible to estimate the costs of loss of use of Lancaster House, but it is the intention to mitigate this by using other Government premises to the greatest possible extent.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will see that adequate funds are provided to highway authorities to ensure that existing lorry bypass routes, which are not fully utilised due to poor signposting, are quickly brought up to the required standards so that heavy traffic is guided on to the major road network.

Financial assistance to local transport expenditure, including the signing of local roads, is given principally through the transport supplementary grant. It is for each highway authority to decide, having regard to the funds available, the standard to which the roads in its area should be signed.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what progress is being made towards the implementation of the tachograph device and EEC hours of work for drivers of heavy lorries.

I would refer the hon. Member to the replies I and my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State, the Member for Gateshead, West (Mr. Horam), gave on 13th October to my hon. Friend the Member for Derby, North (Mr. Whitehead) and on 27th October to the hon. Member for Shipley (Mr. Fox).—[Vol. 917, c. 121; Vol. 918, c. 466–67.]

asked the Secretary of State for Energy when he proposes to make a further statement on the Scottish implications of gas and oil processing and refining policy in the light of developments which have taken place since the statement of 6th December 1974.

The situation is kept under constant review and further statements will be made as and when necessary.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what steps have been taken to ensure adequate energy supplies in the event of a severe winter.

I have sought from the coal, gas, electricity supply and oil industries their assessments of the prospect of maintaining supplies to consumers in the event of a hard winter which might disrupt transport or other supply arrangements. Their reports sent to me reveal that they believe that in general there are substantial stocks of fuel which are well distributed and a considerable amount of spare capacity in the electricity generating system. Conseqeuently, I am advised that the major hazard to supplies this winter lies in a combination of heavy snowfall and prolonged severe frost which can interfere with road and rail movement and freeze up stocks of solid fuel. Inevitably, any sudden onset of severe weather is, I am informed, likely to cause some temporary dislocation of energy supplies, but fuel industries tell me that they have contingency plans for minimising the effects and these are kept under regular review.Below I summarise the reports sent to me, at my request, by the individual industries:

asked the Secretary of State for Energy how many copies were printed and sold, respectively of the Advisory Council on Energy Conservation paper "Policy Statement by the TUC", paper No. 2 "Passenger Transport" and paper No. 3 "Energy Prospects".

2,500 copies of each were printed. Sales cannot readily be distinguished from issues to Government Departments. For the two categories taken together the figures for the three papers are 1,191, 1,253 and 1,267 respectively. The papers were published in June, August and September respectively, and further sales can be expected.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy when last he received estimates from BP of the likely yield of its North Sea oilfields; and whether these revised earlier estimates.

11th October. Whilst the estimates revised the production profile of the Forties Field, they did not increase the total recoverable reserves of the field.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what, at the latest convenient date, was the total number of central Government employees, excluding the nationalised industries, and of local government employees, including RWAs; what these figures represent as a percentage of the total number of persons in employment; and what were the comparable figures 10 years ago.

I can answer only for the Civil Service. On 1st July 1976 there were 744,100 civil servants in post. The comparable figure on 1st July 1966 was 663,761. After making due allowance for staff employed on a part-time basis, these figures are equivalent to 3·38 per cent. and 2·91 per cent. of the number employed in the United Kingdom in June 1976 and June 1966 respectively.Information on other public service employees is a matter for the departmental Ministers concerned.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service how many established civil servants have resigned from the Civil Service since 1956 and have been reinstated, with the effect of regaining their permanent status and pension rights.

At 1st January 1976 there were approximately 6,000 civil servants in post who had regained their permanent pensionable status through reinstatement since 1956.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service if he will give, where exact comparisons can be made, the costs of having the cleaning of Government offices done (a) by contract and (b) by civil servants, on those occasions when each method has been employed in turn.

Information currently held centrally does not permit valid comparisons of the costs of direct and contract cleaning over different periods of time as requested by the hon. Member. My Department and the union representing Civil Service cleaners, are, however, at present jointly conducting a study to compare the cleaning in Government offices by directly-employed staff and by contract labour in a selection of comparable situations. This study is at an early stage and results are not expected for some time.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what savings to public funds would be made if Bills, Order Papers and other House Papers of limited life were printed on paper with an 80 per cent. recycled content.

White papers containing 80 per cent. or more of recycled fibre are available, but they cost more that the white paper currently used. A blue tinted paper with at least 80 per cent. recycled fibre is available, which would be cheaper that the blue tinted paper at present employed; but its inferior machining quality would give rise to additional printing costs and less reliable service.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what official hospitality was afforded to Mr. Boris Ponomarev during his recent visit; and what was the cost to public funds.

Mr. Ponomarev was a guest of the Labour Party, not of Her Majesty's Government. I understand that no official hospitality was afforded to him and that there was no cost to public funds.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service if he will state all categories of public servants, civil and military, who are covered by the indexation provision of the Pensions Act 1971 and what is the number of people in receipt of pensions in each category.

As I told the hon. Member for Gosport (Mr. Viggers) on 12th April 1976—[Vol. 909, c. 373–4]—the detailed list of those United Kingdom public servants covered directly by the Pensions (Increase) Act 1971 is to be found in Schedules 2 and 3 to that Act. The major categories are the Civil Service, the National Health Service, local government, teachers and the police and fire services. In addition the Armed Forces follow the Act by analogy. The numbers of pensioners in the various categories are as follows:

Scheme	No. of Pensioners
Civil Service	293,000
Local government	287,500
Armed Forces	248,000
Teachers	149,500
National Health Service	135,000
Police	66,000
Fire	16,000

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what percentage of the abortions carried out in 1975 were performed in the 25th week of pregnancy, the 26th week, the 27th week and the 28th week, respectively.

Information is not readily available in the form requested, but the number of abortions at the pregnancy duration of 24 weeks or more notified for 1975 in England and Wales was 170 or 0·12 per cent. of the total.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many successful prosecutions have been brought by his Department with regard to abuses of the social security system in the first six months of 1976; and in how many instances convictions were secured.

The number of prosecutions for offences arising from fraud and abuse of the social security system in the first six months of 1976 is 9,290. Convictions were obtained in all but 192 cases.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many trike drivers accepted his Department's invitation to apply far the mobility allowance in advance in October 1975; and how many actually surrendered their tricycles and took the allowance.

Only disabled people between the ages of 15 and 25 were eligible to claim mobility allowance from October 1975 for payment from January 1976, and it is not possible to say how many such claimants were electing to surrender a tricycle. To date nearly 600 holders of tricycles between 16 and 50 have claimed mobility allowance instead and so far about 500 have surrendered their vehicles.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many new applicants asked for a tricycle between 1st January 1976 and the suspension of new issues in July in preference to the mobility allowance; and how many took the allowance.

Of about 30,000 claims dealt with under the mobility allowance scheme by late July of this year, just over 1,000 had been for the trike. About 22,000 successful claimants opted for the allowance and not the trike. Just over 600 successful claimants asked for trikes, but not all of them will have been found able to control the vehicle.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what changes he is proposing to make in the use of the staff and resources of his Department in employment review case work.

This is currently under consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether, in the phasing in of the child benefit scheme from April 1977 to April 1979, any increase in the rate of child benefit for the first or any subsequent child will go in full to recipients of unemployment, sickness or supplementary benefit with children or whether the child additions to these benefits will be reduced in line with any increases in child benefit.

So far as unemployment and sickness benefit are concerned, I would refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Wallasey (Mrs. Chalker) on 8th November 1976. As regards supplementary benefit, child benefit will be taken into account in full as a resource in assessing entitlement for supplementary benefit purposes.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many pharmacies have closed down in England in 1976, in 1975 and 1974, respectively.

According to the records of the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, which is responsible for keeping the register of pharmacies, the numbers of closures and openings and the net reduction in pharmacies in England in 1974, 1975 and 1976 up to 30th September were as follows:

Year	Openings	Closures	Net Reduction
1974	120	326	206
1975	119	356	237
1976 to 30th September 1976	69	197	128

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if Giro cheques in respect of social security benefits can be cashed at places other than post offices; if so, where; and what action is taken by his Department over Giro cheques exchanged for cash in public houses, hotels, or off-licence stores.

Yes. Although Giro cheques issued by my Department are cashable at post offices, they can be paid into a bank account. If the sum involved is large, the Department crosses the Giro cheque and advises the beneficiary that if he does not possess a bank account he may be able to find someone who knows him—for example, a friend or tradesman—who will give him cash in exchange for the cheque. My Department is not concerned with the way in which the beneficiary chooses to obtain his cash.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) in what circumstances a person is allowed to draw unemployment benefits, although that person is working but is being paid in goods rather than in money;(2) what entitlement persons in part-time or full-time work have to unemployment benefit;(3) what disregard of weekly wages or income is disregarded for purposes of unemployment benefit; and if he will make a statement.

A person who is engaged in full-time paid employment cannot satisfy the conditions for entitlement to unemployment benefit on days when he is so employed. A person who is engaged in part-time employment may be entitled to unemployment benefit if—

(a) his daily earnings do not exceed 75p; and

(b) he is available for full-time work, and his part-time employment would not interfere with his taking up such full-time work; and

(c) if his part-time employment is in employed earner's employment, it is not in his usual main occupation.

Where a person is paid in goods rather than money, the cash value of the goods is taken into account for the purpose of condition (

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how many persons in Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds, Hull, Teesside, Bradford, Newcastle upon Tyne, Sunderland, Bolton, Birkenhead, Stockport, Blackpool, Rochdale, Huddersfield, Salford, Blackburn, Oldham and York, respectively, received social security benefits over the last 12 months for which figures are available; and what has been the total cost to public funds of this;(2) how many persons in London, Bristol, Portsmouth, Southampton, Plymouth, Brighton, Southend-on-Sea, Luton, Bournemouth, Reading, Basildon, Thurrock, Ipswich, Norwich, Torbay and Oxford received social security benefits over the last 12 months for which figures are available; and what has been the total cost to public funds of this;(3) how many persons in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, Aberdeen, Inverness, Stranraer and Paisley received social security benefits over the last 12 months for which figures are available; and what has been the total cost to public funds of this;(4) how many persons in Swansea, Newport and Cardiff received social security benefits over the last 12 months for which figures are available; and what has been the total cost to public funds of this;(5) how many persons in Birmingham, Nottingham, Coventry, Leicester, Wolverhampton, Stoke, Derby, Walsall, Warley, Dudley, Northampton and West Bromwich received social security benefits over the last 12 months for which figures are available; and what has been the total cost to public funds of this.

The figures required are not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services why it is necessary to import from the United States of America sterile solution in plastic bags for use in Health Service hospitals; what is the cost of these imports; and what steps are being taken to find a United Kingdom producer.

Virtually all sterile fluids for the National Health Service are produced in this country either by hospitals themselves or by three commercial suppliers. There were some imports from the United States of America for a period up to March this year during a temporary production shortage, and some of these products may still be in the distribution chain.The only items now being imported are a very small quantity of special solutions for which demand is insufficient to justify commercial production here. I regret that information about the cost of importing these items is not readily available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what proportion of medicines and dispensable materials used in Health Service hospitals and medical centres is imported; and what steps are being taken to find United Kingdom manufacturers for these items.

The proportion of imported medicines and dispensable materials used in National Health Service hospitals and medical centres is not readily identifiable. My Department is currently considering with the Pharmaceuticals Sector Working Party how best to encourage companies to focus attention on import substitution investment.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list all those community homes with secure units for: (a) girls aged between 14 and 16 years (b) boys aged between 14 and 16 years and indicate in each case the total number of places and the current vacancies.

There are no secure units in community homes in England provided solely for boys and girls of 14 to 16 years of age. The homes with secure units, other than separation rooms, showing the number of places available and

Regional Planning Area	Name of Home				Total number of places in secure unit	Number usable by girls	Number usable by boys	Vacancies as at 5th November 1976
Area 1	Aycliffe	…	…	…	14	4	14	—
	Benton Grange*	…	…	…	4	4	—	4
Area 2	Rosehead	…	…	…	2	2	2	2
	Spring Cottage	…	…	…	3	3	3	3
	Springhead Park	…	…	…	3	3	—	—
Area 3	Burford	…	…	…	4	4	—	4
	Red Bank	…	…	…	30	—	30	5
	Blackbrook House	…	…	…	5	5	—	—
	Meadowcroft	…	…	…	7	7	—	7
Area 4	Tennal	…	…	…	7	—	7	—
	Rowley Hall	…	…	…	3	3	—	1
	KnowleHill	…	…	…	4	4	—	4
Area 5	Saxon House	…	…	…	3	—	3	—
Area 6	Boyles Court	…	…	…	6	—	6	4
Area 7	Thornbury House†	…	…	…	5	—	5	5
	Crouchfield	…	…	…	12	—	12	5
Area 8	Cumberlow Lodge	…	…	…	6	6	—	—
	Redhill	…	…	…	28	—	28	1
	Stamford House	…	…	…	10	—	10	—
	Duncroft	…	…	…	4	4	—	4
Area 11	Farringdon House	…	…	…	6	6	—	4
	Sedbury Park	…	…	…	6	—	6	—
	Kingswood	…	…	…	20	—	20	1
	The Crescent	…	…	…	6	6	—	2
* Reopening 8th November.
† Undergoing alterations.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list all those community homes catering: (a) for boys aged between 14 and 16 years and (b) for girls aged between 14 and 16 years and indicate in each case the total number of places and the current vacancies.

I am afraid it is not possible without disproportionate effort and staff costs to provide the information sought about all community homes. There are some 2,300 community homes in England providing about 40,000 places for children of all ages. The current number of vacancies in each home would be known only by the local authority or voluntary body responsible for the home.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he anticipates there being sufficient places in community homes to accommodate those girls aged between 14 and 16 years who are now remanded to prison service establishments.

It is too soon to say. There are 99 secure places in observation and assessment centres currently under construction. These will, of

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what discussions he has had with local authorities and other organisations about the provision of extra secure places in community homes and the phasing out of the unruly certificate.

Since the Government announced their intention to make direct grants to local authorities for providing secure accommodation in community homes, DHSS Ministers have discussed the matter with the chairmen of children's regional planning committees, with the Association of Metropolitan Authorities and with other groups. In addition, there has been consultation with the local authority associations and others on ending remand to prison department establishments for 14-year-old girls and on unruly certificates.My hon. Friend may also wish to know that my right hon. Friend and I, together with other ministerial colleagues, have arranged to meet representatives of the local authority associations on 29th November to discuss the recent White Paper on the Children and Young Persons Act 1969.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is satisfied that sufficient progress is being made by local authorities so as to enable the unruly certificate for girls of 14 years to be phased out.

The question of ending remand of 14-year-old girls to Prison Department establishments is still under consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he has any proposals for replacing the present maternity grant by the backdating of the child benefit order book for each new-born child by an agreed number of weeks that would provide an equivalent benefit which is not dependent on a satisfactory national insurance contribution record; and if he will make a statement.

No. For those who are entitled to maternity grant on the present contributory basis, what my hon. Friend suggests would be less flexible than the present system, which allows payment in advance of the birth. It would also mean that stillbirths, for which maternity grant can at present be paid, would not qualify. The gross cost of extending maternity grant, by whatever means, to all mothers is estimated, on the basis of figures for births and grants in recent years, to be of the order of £1 to £1·5 million a year.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if the new works at Hillingdon have been completed; and if any girls aged 14 to 16 years from the London Region have been remanded to Holloway since they came into use.

I understand that the interim works at Hillingdon are due to start on 10th November 1976 and it is hoped that they will be completed within approximately one month.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how much of the savings of £21 million referred to in the Chancellor's speech of 22nd July, Official Report, column 2016, as deriving from proposals on unemployment benefit and invalidity benefit for housewives, is attributable to the suggested restriction on entitlement to unemployment benefit; and what conditions for the restriction are assumed in calculating the figures.

The assumed saving in 1977–78 from the proposed restriction of unemployment benefit for occupational pensioners is nearly £10 million. This is based on the proposals coming into effect in the summer of 1977 and on their applying, on a sliding-scale basis, to all persons aged 60 or over with occupational pensions exceeding £25 a week.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many of the 1·2 millon retirement pensioners receiving supplementary benefit who are tenants in rented accommodation are in receipt of reduced national insurance pensions because of an inadequate contribution record or for other reasons.

I regret that the information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the average period of waiting in each health region for (a) non-acute general surgery, (b) non-acute gynaecological surgery, (c) non-acute orthopaedic surgery and (d) non-acute medical treatment in each of the last two years.

, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 25th October 1976; Vol. 918, c. 73] gave the following information:Information in the form requested is not yet available for 1974 and 1975. The following table gives regional statistics of non-urgent cases on waiting lists for over a year in the four broad specialties of general medicine, general surgery, traumatic and orthopaedic surgery and

NUMBER OF NON-URGENT CASES ON WAITING LISTS BY SELECTED SPECIALTIES AT 30TH SEPTEMBER 1975 AND 31ST MARCH 1976
GENERAL MEDICINE*
	Total Non-Urgent Cases		On list for more than one year		Percentage of cases on list for over one year
Regional Health Authority	September	March	September	March	September	March
	1975	1976	1975	1976	1975	1976
All England	1,901	2,373	104	118	5·5	5·0
Northern	139	183	2	7	1·4	3·8
Yorkshire	159	42	11	2	6·9	4·8
Trent	138	141	9	25	6·5	17·7
East Anglia	74	110	3	3	4·1	2·7
North West Thames	470	572	32	14	6·8	2·5
North East Thames	205	258	20	20	9·8	7·8
South East Thames	161	184	6	7	3·7	3·8
South West Thames	39	94	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil
Wessex	60	58	Nil	3	Nil	5·2
Oxford	69	135	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil
South Western	92	134	1	3	11	2·2
West Midlands	148	228	19	30	12·8	13·2
Mersey	52	59	Nil	3	Nil	5·1
North Western	57	112	1	1	1·8	0·9
Preserved Boards of Governors	38	63	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil
* In the case of general medicine, it is generally acknowledged that long waiting times for admission are not regarded as a problem associated with this specialty and the very small numbers recorded above suggest that these are exceptional cases.

GENERAL SURGERY
	Total Non-Urgent Cases		On list for more than one year		Percentage of cases on list for over one year
Regional Health Authority	September	March	September	March	September	March
	1975	1976	1975	1976	1975	1976
All England	136,630	157,236	38,984	44,172	28·5	28·1
Northern	8,199	9,377	1,221	1,651	14·9	17·6
Yorkshire	8,311	8,450	1,503	1,750	18·1	20·7
Trent	12,481	14,322	4,332	5,205	34·7	36·3
East Anglia	4,282	5,275	1,161	1,220	27·1	23·1
North West Thames	9,023	10,934	1,829	1,928	20·3	17·6
North East Thames	8,307	11,610	1,445	1,651	17·4	14·2
South East Thames	10,242	12,130	2,359	2,900	23·0	23·9
South West Thames	5,880	7,166	800	928	13·6	13·0
Wessex	8,383	8,548	2,197	2,266	26·2	26·5
Oxford	6,931	8,006	2,141	2,271	30·9	28·4
South Western	13,416	14,296	5,582	5,550	41·6	38·8
West Midlands	18,973	20,683	6,764	7,344	35·7	35·5
Mersey	6,064	6,927	1,331	1,835	22·0	26·5
North Western	15,946	19,274	6,313	7,669	39·6	39·8
Preserved Boards of Governors	192	238	6	4	3·1	1·7

TRAUMATIC AND ORTHOPAEDIC SURGERY
	Total Non-Urgent Cases		On list for more than one year		Percentage of cases on list for over one year
Regional Health Authority	September	March	September	March	September	March
	1975	1976	1975	1976	1975	1976
All England	73,346	82,123	24,372	26,290	33·2	32·0
Northern	4,323	4,786	1,256	1,335	29·1	27·9
Yorkshire	3,831	4,409	1,101	1,123	28·7	25·5
Trent	8,381	9,142	3,756	3,646	44·8	39·9
East Anglia	2,575	2,936	1,248	1,106	48·5	37·7
North West Thames	6,078	6,671	1,729	1,937	28·5	29·0
North East Thames	4,487	5,608	1,125	1,315	25·1	23·5
South East Thames	6,085	6,863	1,766	2,253	29·0	32·8
South West Thames	3,937	4,651	1,111	1,153	28·0	24·8
Wessex	4,084	4,033	1,387	1,017	34·0	25·2
Oxford	4,156	4,687	1,493	1,716	35·9	36·6