asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish a table showing the value of earnings disregards relating to recipients of sickness and unemployment benefit, invalidity benefit non-contributory invalidity pension, and supplementary benefit, including single parents in receipt of the latter.

Following is the information:

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when claims will be accepted for mobility allowance on behalf of children between the ages of 5 and 10 years.

I am very pleased to announce that we shall shortly be making a further commencement order, under the Social Security Act 1975, to enable claims to mobility allowance to be made on behalf of disabled children aged between 5 and 10 inclusive. This is a further important advance in provision for disabled children. Claims on behalf of disabled children in the 5–10 age group will be accepted from 12th January 1977, and payment of the allowance will start on 13th April.It must be emphasised that the new allowance is payable to disabled children in their own right, whether they are living at home or in residential area. We want every entitled child to receive the allowance from the outset on 13th April. I am, therefore, putting in hand arrangement to draw this announcement to the attention of the families of disabled children—and others concerned—and also to encourage all who may be eligible to claim the new benefit.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many registered child minders there are in England and Wales.

On the basis of the returns at 31st March 1976 the provisional estimate of the number of persons registered as child minders in England is 31·3 thousand. My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Wales advises me that there were 385 persons registered as child minders in Wales at the same date.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what estimate has been made of the number of unregistered child minders.

No official estimates of the number of unregistered child minders are available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many children and juveniles there are in special hospitals; if he will specify their age, sex and location; how many have been detained: up to three months, three to six months, nine to 12 months, 12 to 18 months, 18 to 24 months, two years and over and three to five years; and under what authority they are detained.

The number of patients under the age of 18 and the periods for which they had been detained in the special hospitals on 1st December 1976 were as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many of the 55 juveniles in special hospitals on 6th December 1974 are still detained.

45 are still detained in special hospitals.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if there are separate wards for juvenile girls in special

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if there are separate wards for juvenile boys in special hospitals; if not, why not; how they are accommodated; and what is the age range of the other patients.

There are separate wards for young male patients at Broadmoor Hospital and Moss Side Hospital, and male patients under the age of 18 are placed with these.At Broadmoor Hospital they are in a ward where the age range of the other patients was 18–24 years on 1st December.At Moss Side Hospital they were on 1st December in two wards where the age range of the other patients was 18–19 years and 18–21 years respectively.The two boys under the age of 18 at Rampton Hospital on 1st December 1976 were accommodated in the admission ward where the age range of other patients was 18–36 years.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he expects to introduce legislation to exempt the blind and partially sighted from optical charges.

I have no statement to make at present.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether, if an insurance

No. The small number of female patients under age 18, the range of their intelligence and the different manifestations of their disorders, makes it impracticable to provide separate wards. They are accommodated as follows:medical examiner gives an opinion that an invalidity pensioner is capable of work within certain limits, and the pensioner then wins an appeal before a tribunal, the pensioner can again be disallowed on the same grounds after a further medical examination without it being shown that his medical condition is better than it was when he won his appeal; if so, how many times this can be repeated; and at what intervals.

The question whether a claimant to invalidity pension is incapable of work is decided by the independent authorities appointed under the Social Security Act 1975. These authorities are the insurance officer in the first instance and, on appeal, the local tribunal and the National Insurance Commissioner. In deciding the question, the independent authorities consider all the available evidence and, if fresh evidence that a claimant is in fact capable of work becomes available after a tribunal decision in the claimant's favour, the insurance officer can disallow benefit on those grounds. The number of times, and the intervals at which, entitlement is reviewed as a result of fresh evidence depend on the facts of the case. In the nature of things, it is improbable that fresh evidence will become frequently available at short intervals.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what percentage of those handicapped by a chronic illness or a permanent disability in England and Wales, and Cornwall, respectively, is (a) under 21 years, (b) 21–60 years, (c) 60–75 years, and (d) over 75 years.

Information is not available in the form requested, but percentages of those age groups registered by local authorities at 31st March 1975, the latest date for which figures are available, are shown below. Comparable figures in respect of 1975–76 should be available in January 1977. Although numbers of people on local authority registers have more than doubled since the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970 became law, registers do not include all handicapped people.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what percentage of those handicapped by a chronic illness or a permanent disability in England and Wales, and Cornwall, respectively (a) live alone, (b) have no hot water, (c) no inside WC, (d) no fixed bath, or (e) no refrigerator; and what percentage do not live in warden-supervised accommodation.

As far as facilities in the home are concerned, statistics derived from the 1971 census, which is the only relevant source of information, do not distinguish between disabled and able-bodied people. We do not collect information about residents of sheltered housing because of the difficulty of definition of the accommodation. I am, however, in touch with ministerial colleagues

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many inspectors there are under the Nurseries and Child Minders Regulation Act; and to which local authorities they are attached.

Local authority social services departments assumed responsibility for inspection under the Nurseries and Child Minders Regulation Act 1948 in place of health departments with the passage of the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970, but in no local authority is an officer designated as an inspector. In some social service departments these responsibilities are vested in an officer solely responsible for services for children under 5; in others they are combined with duties covering a wider field.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he is satisfied that the ambulance service on the Isle of Wight is able to meet all reasonable demands that are made upon it.

The Isle of Wight Area Health Authority, which is responsible for ambulance services on the Island, is satisfied that it is able to meet all reasonable demands.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many ambulances there are in the Isle of Wight fleet; what is the age of each of them; and when replacements are due.

The information is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is considered to be the average period of service of an ambulance.

Health authorities were advised in 1974 to make provision in their capital programme for replacing ambulances after 140,000 miles or seven years' life.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration he is giving to the need for a national lottery in the light of the Report by the Royal Commission on Gambling.

The Royal Commission has not yet made any recommendations about lotteries. We should wish to see its recommendations before reaching any conclusions about a national lottery.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration he has given to the fact that bribery and fraud charges have been brought in the USA involving Mr. Sun Myung Moon, in the context of the continued activities of the Sun Myung Moon Foundation, a registered charity in the United Kingdom.

We are considering with other Departments concerned some information which we have obtained from the United States about inquiries conducted there into various aspects of the cult's activities and my right hon. Friend will write to my hon. Friend to let him know the outcome. If we receive any evidence of criminal activities in this country we shall pass it to the police.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will invoke the Immigration Act 1971 to prevent Mr. Keith Matthee, a self-confessed BOSS informer, from visiting or staying in the United Kingdom in the light of his proposed tour of British universities.

Mr Keith Vernon Matthee has been admitted here on a visit. On the present information before us there is no reason to believe that he represents a threat to national security or that there are any grounds upon which my right hon. Friend would be justified in requiring him to leave.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will allow privileged correspondence between Mr. Roy Carne, now in Her Majesty's Prison Dartmoor, and his legal adviser.

This is a matter for the governor of the prison under Rule 37A(1) of the Prison Rules 1964, as amended by the Prison (Amendment) Rules 1972.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will as a matter of urgency introduce legislation to amend the Explosive Substances Act in order to enable a court to sentence a person convicted of an offence thereunder to life imprisonment.

The maximum sentence on conviction under Section 2 of the Act is life imprisonment and the other penalties available under the Act are substantial, but I am considering the comments made by the court in a recent case.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average cost of providing sleeping accommodation in Her Majesty's Prisons in new construction during 1973, 1974, 1975 and to date in 1976; and what was the cost at the most expensive prison or similar institution and at the least expensive, during those years.

It is not possible to distinguish the cost of sleeping accommodation from the cost of other facilities provided in a multi-purpose prison building project. The following table gives the overall cost per place of projects which consisted predominantly of the construction of new sleeping accommodation and were completed at Prison Department establishments in England and Wales in the years 1973–76, together with the cost per place for the most

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the regulations for expenses incurred by candidates in local elections were last revised; and if he intends revising the regulations before 12th May 1977.

The limits are not set by regulation but are laid down in Section 64(2) of the Representation of the People Act 1949 as amended. Further amending legislation would therefore be needed to revise the limits, which were last increased in 1969 for GLC elections and in 1974 for other local government elections.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many local and commercial radio stations have been selected by the Independent Broadcasting Authority following consultations with his Department under the 1973 Act; and what was the date of the last authorisation.

The Independent Broadcasting Authority has awarded 19 franchises to operate independent local radio services. The last of these, for the Wolverhampton and Black Country area, began operating on 12th April 1976.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, in consultation with the IBA, he will consider permitting local radio in the Bedford area.

It would be inappropriate to authorise any further local radio stations while the committee of inquiry into the future of broadcasting under the chairmanship of Lord Annan is still siting, since the future of independent local radio is one of the matters which that Committee has under review.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, in view of his statement that the Metropolitan Police Department does not know how much was paid in basic wages to its uniformed constables during 1974 and 1975, how he monitors expenditure for this purpose of the public funds for which he is responsible.

Expenditure on pay in the Metropolitan Police has been and is continuously monitored, but not by rank.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, in view of the recently enacted Police Act 1976 and the regulations governing complaints against the police which he is making, he will desist from inviting non-parliamentary and non-professional bodies to conduct further research with the aid of public funds into complaints against the police.

I can give no such general undertaking. My Department would consult the police representative bodies about any proposals for research, as it has recently done about the possibility of research being undertaken by the University of Sheffield.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his policy regarding the deportation from the United Kingdom of persons domiciled in the Channel Islands, in view of the fact that it is the policy of the EEC to deny to member States the right to deport the nationals of other member States; and if he will make a statement.

The provision of the Treaty of Rome relating to free movement of workers, to which I assume my hon. Friend refers, do not debar a member State from deporting a national of another member State, although they limit the grounds on which this may be done to public policy, public security or public health. If my hon. Friend has a particular case in mind, I shall be glad to write to him about it.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will review the present system of paying allowances to justices of the peace since it operates to the detriment of the self-employed.

I assume that the hon. Member has in mind the requirement that financial loss allowance may be claimed by a justice of the peace only if he incurs expenditure—other than expenditure on travelling or subsistence—to which he would not otherwise be subject or suffers any loss of earnings which he would otherwise have received.Although a self-employed justice may be at some disadvantage, in the sense that he cannot claim an allowance in respect of income he might have earned during the period he was acting as a justice, I do not think it would be practicable, consistently with the principle that lay justices render unpaid voluntary service, to devise a means of paying an allowance in respect of such loss.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many surveys or statistical inquiries his Department currently has in hand; what is their nature and purpose; how many civil servants are involved; and what is their estimated cost to public funds.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to his Question on 19th November—[Vol. 919, c. 754–55.] Additional information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the updated cost of the proposed sports complex at Camp Hill Prison, Isle of Wight; and whether a contract has yet been placed for its construction.

Contracts have been let at an estimated cost of £316,000.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, following his reply to the hon. Member for Dorset, West on 29th November when he will make his statement on conspiracy and criminal law reform proposals.

Since my reply to a Question from the hon. Member on 29th November, the Criminal Law Bill has been introduced in another place and published. There will be a Government speech in the Second Reading debate in the usual way.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he next intends to meet representatives of the Building Societies Association.

We continue to maintain regular contact with the Building Societies Association.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has received any recent representation on sewerage charges.

My right hon. Friend has received numerous representations on most aspects of water services charges.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will now make a statement on the Sixth Report of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution.

I am still considering the report with my colleagues.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what assistance is provided to inspectors in his Department in hearing appeals; and if he is satisfied that the current arrangements are sufficient to enable them to reach satisfactory decisions in timely fashion.

General administrative support is provided by the Planning Inspectorate. I am satisfied that this is adequate.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received following the announced reduction in the rate support grant.

I am aware of the views of the local authority associations. My Department has also received a number of queries from individual local authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether, in setting the new rate support grant formula for 1977–78, designed to help the older urban areas, he took account of the effect on areas such as Reddish and Edgeley in Stockport, which have many of the typical problems of the older urban areas.

Each authority's needs element entitlement will be based on the incidence in its area of the needs factors listed in the Rate Support Grant Order. These include a number of factors reflecting the problems of the older urban areas.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects the annual level of private house starts to exceed 200,000.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the condition of the private house building industry.

Private house starts fell to 105,000 in 1974. They rose to 150,000 in 1975 and they should be better than that in 1976. I accept that the immediate prospects are not encouraging, but I want to see as high a level of private house starts as economic circumstances will permit.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what were the numbers of local authority housing completions and starts for 1975; what were the corresponding figures for each of the previous 10 years; what estimates are available for the number of completions and starts in 1976 and 1977; and if he will make a statement.

The figures requested in the first two parts of the Question are published in Housing and Construction Statistics—formerly Housing Statistics—copies of which are in the Library. As to the estimates for 1976 and 1977, completions in Great Britain in both years are likely to be higher than they were last year, when the figure was 146,000; starts are expected to be lower than last year's figure of 153,000.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what conclusions he has drawn from the district auditor's reports on direct labour departments, submitted in the last 12 months.

My conclusions are that many direct labour organisations provide an effective service, but that some need improved management controls.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what investigation he is making into the effect of aerosols on the environment.

My Department is supporting a comprehensive programme of research into the possible environmental effects of certain gases used as propellants in aerosols. The programme is designed to give a better understanding of the behaviour of these gases in the stratosphere.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to publish his Green Paper on housing policy.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply my right hon. Friend gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Hampstead (Mr. Finsberg).

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will review the planning procedures involved in the approval of mining, quarrying and other operations of nationalised industries.

The report of the Committee on Planning Control over Mineral Working is now under consideration. We are not aware of the need for any further review at present.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will consider designating the Vale of Belvoir as an area of outstanding natural beauty.

Responsibility for designating an area of outstanding natural beauty lies with the Countryside Commission. Ministerial responsibility is limited to confirmation of such a designation order.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what he estimates will be the effect on rates in 1977–78 of the rate support grant settlement announced on 22nd November.

If local authorities keep to the agreed levels of expenditure and make sufficient use of their balances, then the national average increase in domestic rates should not be greater than 15 per cent.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the maximum amount by which a court may order repayment of rent arrears to a local authority.

There is no prescribed maximum.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what were the numbers of local authority mortgages for loan purchase granted in 1974, 1975 and to the latest available date in the current year.

The numbers of house purchase loans to individuals reported by local authorities in England and Wales were 75,396 in 1974; 101,952 in 1975; and 18,855 to the end of September 1976. Over 16,000 prospective borrowers referred by local authorities to building societies this year have had their loan applications approved.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how much money will be available to local authorities for home loans in the next financial year; and how this compares with 1976–77.

A total of £236 million was allocated in 1976–77. I hope to announce the allocations for 1977–78 shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether there has been an increase or decrease in homelessness in the last 12 months.

We have just published the figures for the second half of 1975. These show no appreciable differences from the pattern indicated in the figures for the first half of 1975. Figures for 1976 are not yet available, but my right hon. Friend hopes to publish those for the first half of 1976 very early in the New Year. It is too early to draw any conclusions about trends from the figures so far available, and I must emphasise that they are not comparable with figures formerly published by the Department of Health and Social Security about those in temporary accommodation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will now estimate the likely effect of Government expenditure plans upon the level of rents for local authority housing.

I expect to give guidance to local authorities on this very shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will bring forward proposals to encourage owners of houses to enter into short-term letting arrangements without prejudicing their chances of obtaining reposssession.

Under the Rent Acts certain categories of landlords, including owner-occupiers temporarily absent from their homes, already have an absolute right to recover possession when they need their property again, provided they give notice before the letting begins. The grounds for possession will be reexamined in the current review of the Rent Acts, but there can be no justification for any general relaxation of the security of tenure now given to private tenants.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he intends to take to deal with squatting.

We want to see local housing authorities get the fullest use they can of property in their districts. We have encouraged them to make use of short-life or other housing which would otherwise remain empty, and many of them now let such property to authorised organisations of licensees. But I hold no brief for unauthorised squatting in private or local authority housing which prevents owners or tenants from lawfully occupying their own home. The hon. Member may be aware that the Criminal Law Bill, introduced in another place on 30th November, proposes criminal sanctions in relation to squatting of this kind.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he intends to take to prevent a recurrence of the water shortage next summer.

It is not within the competence of Government to control the weather; but the programme of measures described in the National Water Council's recent report, and referred to in my right hon. Friend's statement of 16th November, should enable the water industry to mitigate the effects of any further prolonged period of dry weather. Adequate supplies should be available to maintain industrial production and employment and most domestic requirements next year—given continued voluntary economy in the use of water.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will list for each water authority area in England and Wales, respectively, the average unit cost per unmeasured property of financially capital expenditure incurred by the authority before 1st April 1976 in providing water for unmeasured supply.

Unit costs will vary from year to year. My Department is calculating the likely impact of the scheme set out in the Water Charges Equalisation Bill for 1977–78 and will make the results known shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the average unit cost of water for each regional water authority for the years 1976–77 and 1975–76.

I assume that the hon. Member has in mind unit costs in the form specified in the Water Charges Equalisation Bill. Subject to that Bill becoming law, I intend that equalisation should take effect from 1977–78. My Department is calculating the likely impact of the scheme for that year and I will make the results known shortly. Figures in the same form are not available for earlier years.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the Government's anti-litter programme.

We consider that the campaign against litter can best be furthered by supporting the activities of the Keep Britain Tidy Group, to which my Department pays an annual grant.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what safeguards he proposes taking to ensure that radioactivity from the additional nuclear waste processing in Cumbria does not have an adverse environmental effect on the coastline and sea off North Wales.

The radioactive wastes discharged to the environment would be subject to authorisation by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and myself under the Radioactive Substances Act 1960. We should want to be satisfied not only that the total discharges were within internationally accepted levels but that they were as far below these levels as was reasonably practicable.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the cost which will be faced in 1977 by a family of four persons for the collection and disposal of effluent from a cesspool.

The cost will be affected by the size of the cesspool, and the frequency with which it has to be emptied, as well as by the costs incurred by the local authorities in collection and the water authority in disposal and by the charging policies of the two authorities. Because of the resulting wide variation in charges no realistic estimate of likely costs can be made.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether it is the policy of his Department to encourage water authorities to buy agricultural land to farm on their own account.

Water authorities can buy land for uses connected with their functions. It is a matter for their day-to-day management whether such land is also used for farming.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will take steps to rename the "Water Authorities" "Water Services".

I am still considering the comments on the Consultative Document, the "Review of the Water Industry in England and Wales" and will take note of the hon. Member's suggestion. A number of these make the point that there is a need, with which I sympathise, for water authorities to be made more directly answerable to the public.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to bring more private rented accommodation on to the housing market.

The current review of the Rent Acts will consider all aspects of privately rented housing and the contribution it can and should make to meeting housing needs.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals he has for phasing out the unnecessary packaging of products in aerosol containers, in view of the possible environmental dangers; and if he will make a statement.

We have no such proposals at present. A decision on whether to regulate the use of certain gases used as propellants in aerosols will be taken in the light of the results of the research programme which my Department is supporting.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement as to the current degree of atmospheric pollution at street level in city centres; if he will set out the order of priority of elimination he has attached to the various elements; and whether he intends to introduce regulations.

Atmospheric pollution in city centres arises from a number of sources, but motor vehicle emissions tend to predominate at street level. Government policy has been to prevent an increase in total emissions from vehicles, and since 1972, when surveys began, there has been no detectable change in pollution levels in streets. Because conditions vary greatly from place to place it would not be useful to set out an order of priority for dealing with different pollutants. The question of further measures to control vehicle emissions is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will take steps to ensure that appropriate action is taken by local authorities to protect the rights of owners of land or premises in cases where planning applications are deferred because a local authority decides that the site is either subject to a resolution to acquire by compulsory purchase or may subsequently become subject to such a resolution.

A planning application not determined within eight weeks by a local planning authority is deemed to be refused and there is a right of appeal to the Secretary of State. I have written to the hon. Member about the particular case which he raised.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will consider extending the provisions of the Land Compensation Act.

If my hon. Friend will let me know what extensions to the Act he has in mind I will naturally consider them.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will make a statement on the delays arising from belated decisions on planning reports made to him by his inspectors relative to the Shrewsbury District Council area; how many decisions he has made since October 1974; how many he has approved; how many he has rejected; how many are still outstanding; and what have been the three longest delays.

My right hon. Friend is always seeking ways of reducing the time taken to decide planning appeals. But we can find no reason to take special steps to deal with reports for this council's area. The general situation seems little different from that prevailing nationally. Since October 1974 he has decided 10 appeals in Shrewsbury and Atcham borough: one of these was allowed and nine dismissed. One inspector's report is still being considered. The three longest periods to consider the reports were 15, 16 and 20 weeks.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to extend tenant participation in the running of council estates.

Circular 8/76 issued last January encouraged local authorities to consider establishing tenant co- operatives on suitable estates. A number of authorities have expressed an interest, and I hope that the first agreement, between the Greater London Council and a co-operative in St. Katherine's Estate, Tower Hamlets, will be approved shortly. The circular also referred to the progress made by a number of local authorities in involving tenants, through consultation and participation, in the running of their homes, and urged other authorities to follow their lead. The Department is preparing a handbook providing further guidance.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he is taking to repel the invasion of the city of Bristol by foxes.

None. The local authority already has powers to take appropriate action if it considers it to be necessary, under Section 137 of the Local Government Act 1972.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the future house building programme in new towns.

No. The future house building programme in new towns is contingent on the current review of dispersal policy on which I shall report to the House as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment why he has decided against introducing legislation to enable local authorities to make charges for dealing with planning applications.

Hitherto the view has been taken that no scheme could be devised which is at the same time administratively simple, fair to all types of applicant and productive of worthwhile revenue, but in present economic circumstances I am once more examining the proposal.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps his Department is taking to uphold Parker Morris standards in house building.

Local authority dwellings built for rent are at present required to comply with Parker Morris standards. I see no need to issue fresh guidance to local authorities on this point.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether, in the light of the public anxiety in those places where planning permission is given for the disposal of toxic wastes, the lack of expertise to enable local authorities always to take decisions about which they can be confident and the need for an advisory service to help with the administration of these matters, he will make it a general rule to call in all contested applications for planning permission when toxic wastes are involved.

To call in all such applications automatically would not be justifiable, but each case is considered on its merits.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make extra funds available for the Liverpool City Council for the housing programme; and if he will make a statement.

Liverpool is a stress authority for house building purposes, and accordingly priority is already being given to its programme.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has considered including within the grant structure the reclamation of derelict land in the West Midlands.

Grants amounting to 50 per cent. of eligible expenditure are already available to local authorities throughout the West Midlands region for the reclamation of derelict land, and 100 per cent. grants are available in those parts of North Staffordshire which have been designated as a derelict land clearance area by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Industry. My right hon. Friend is currently considering proposals for changes in the grant arrangements recently put to him by the West Midlands County Council.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what evidence he has received on the current adequacy of his Department's housing cost yardstick; and if he has plans to revise its present level.

The Department reviews the level of tender prices quarterly. The results of the next quarterly review will be announced on 23rd December.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will ensure that the inspector who conducted the public inquiry into the widening of Eastgate Bridge in Bury St. Edmunds takes fully into account the fact that in the period since his inquiry was completed the channel between Abbots Bridge and Eastgate Bridge has not experienced any major build up of water, despite the high volume of rainfall during this period.

The inquiry into the widening of Eastgate Bridge took place on 4th August, and we are now waiting for the inspector's report. Generally speaking, it is not open to inspectors to take into account new evidence submitted after the inquiry, but the Secretary of State can do so. If such new evidence inclines him to disagree with an inspector's recommendation, he is obliged to inform the applicant, the local planning authority and statutory objectors who appeared at the inquiry, of the reason for his disagreement, and to give them the opportunity to make further representations or to ask for the inquiry to be reopened. Until the inspector's report on the Eastgate Bridge inquiry is available I am not, of course, able to say whether the correspondence the hon. Member has sent me constitutes new evidence.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish details showing how rate rebate is calculated.

The current provisions for calculating a rate rebate are contained in the Rate Rebate Regulations 1974 (SI 1974/411), the Rate Rebates (Limits of Rateable Value) Order 1974 (SI 1974/412), the Rate Rebate (Amendment) (No. 4) Regulations 1974 (SI 1974/1552), the Rate Rebate (Amendment) Regulations 1975 (SI 1975/327), the Rate Rebate (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 1975 (SI 1975/1450) and the Rate Rebate (Amendment) Regulations 1976 (SI 1976/1458).Rating authorities may, subject to the provisions of Section 12 of the Local Government Act 1974, make local schemes. Details of these are available from the authorities concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many claimants drew a rate rebate for each year since 1970; and what these totals represent as a percentage of claimants eligible.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave on Friday 3rd December 1976 to my hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull, Central (Mr. McNamara).—[Vol. 921, c. 285.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the total extent of green belt land designated and approved in England and Wales.

About 10 per cent. of the land area of England and Wales.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many acres of land were added to the approved green belt between 1970 and 1974 and since 1974.

The principal additions to green belt between 1970 and 1974 were in the South-East and West Midlands where green belt policies were extended over approximately 2,000 square miles. These additions are being reviewed as county planning authorities draw up structure plans. Six of these have been approved in the West Midlands Region since 1974.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment which designated green belts are at present under consideration for approval.

Green belt proposals in the North-West Region and south Hampshire were submitted in old style development plans, and green belt policies have been reviewed in structure plans submitted in the South-East and West Midlands Regions.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the increase in loan charges to local authorities since April 1974.

The available information is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to publish the list of local authorities who are overspent in 1976–77 together with the extent of such overspending.

As there is no measure of what constitutes overspending for a particular authority, it is not possible to prepare such a list.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimate he has made of the total cost of electricity in the Palace of Westminster in 1976–77.

About £105,000.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will initiate an inquiry into the vertical dispersal of lead particles, the height at which the heaviest formations occur and whether or not the tenants of high-rise flats are subject to any significant health hazard.

No. I am aware of no evidence to suggest that occupants of high-rise buildings may be subject to higher levels of airborne heavy metals than other city dwellers. In the absence of such evidence I do not consider research into the vertical distribution of heavy metals in the atmosphere to be required.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will ask a selected number of London boroughs to carry out surveys of airborne heavy metals such as lead particularly to assess the impact of vertically distributed lead on occupants of high rise buildings used during the daytime as offices without air conditioning facilities.

No. Surveys have been and are being made in London and in other urban areas of airborne heavy metals including lead. On the vertical distribution of lead I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him earlier today to a related Question.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if, in the light of the C. J. Muskett survey of airborne heavy metals carried out by the London borough of Islington, he considers the maximum levels consistent with the standards laid down by the Chief Medical Officer, DHSS, in 1971.