asked the Minister for the Civil Service if he will publish a table showing the number of civil servants and the annual cost to public expenditure of administering the Community Land Act, the Employment Protection Act, the Sex Discrimination Act, the Consumer Credit Act, the Price Code, capital transfer tax, the Trade Description Act, the Health and Safety at Work Act, and the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act; and whether he will estimate the cost to industry and commerce of seeking to comply with these Acts and the regulations made under them.

Details of the original estimate of cost and extra public service manpower including, where appropriate, Civil Service staff involved in Government legislation are set out in the Financial and Explanatory Memoranda to the relevant Bills, to which I would refer the hon. Member. Details of current costs and manpower are the responsibility of the Ministers responsible for administering such Acts. The estimated cost to industry and commerce in complying with these Acts is also a matter for the Ministers concerned.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service if he will make a statement with regard to dispersal policy as it affects the North-West of England, with particular reference to Blackpool, Greater Manchester, and Merseyside.

The Government remain fully committed to the programme of dispersal announced in July 1974.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service if he will give the numbers of those who served for not less than 10 years in the Armed Forces, Civil Service, local government, teachers, National Health Service, police and fire services, who (a) do not receive a pension, and (b) do not receive an indexed-linked pension.

I can only answer for the Civil Service. Since 1972 all who leave the Civil Service after five years' qualifying service under the principal Civil Service pension scheme are eligible to receive a pension on reaching the retiring age. All Civil Service pensions are index linked. No detailed information is available about the very considerable number of ex-civil servants who in the past served for not less than 10 years and left without entitlement to a pension.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service whether, in view of the fact that under the present arrangements of paying salary and expenses to persons employed in public life, whether on a full or part-time basis, when they take on Government committee work they can and often do receive more than one expense allowance for travel, and subsistence as expended on the same day; and whether he will limit these claims to one for each day's actual expense incurred.

I am not aware of any abuse of the rules governing the payment of travelling and subsistence expenses to members of Government committees. If my hon. Friend will send me particulars of the cases he has in mind, however, I will gladly examine them.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service when he intends to publish a revised and up-dated version of his Department's 1976 publication "A Directory of Paid Public Appointments made by Ministers".

As the information in the directory remains substantially correct we have no plans to publish a new edition for the time being.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service on how many parliamentary working days during 1975 and 1976 parliamentary papers were delivered late to the Vote Office or not delivered at all as a result of industrial difficulties.

I am having the information assembled and will reply as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate his Department has made of the percentage of gross national product spent by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on civil defence, including the provision of nuclear shelters and centres; and if he will make a statement.

I regret that we do not have sufficient information on which to base such an estimate.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many members of security organisations have been convicted of criminal offences involving dishonesty or violence during the last five years.

The information is not available. The Home Office Criminal Statistics do not include information about the employment of convicted offenders.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a further statement on the detention of the two Indian monks, Mr. R. Roy and Mr. N. Prasad.

These men, who are citizens of India, are detained following my decision that they should not be given leave to enter the United Kingdom. In view of the refusal by the Government of Nepal to readmit them to that country, where they had been living, I have asked the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to assist them as a matter of urgency in applying for permission to live in a country acceptable to them. Those applications are, I understand, being actively pursued.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when it is now planned to start work on the category C prison on the former Bovingdon airfield and what is the latest estimated cost of the prison at current prices.

The prison building programme envisaged in the White Paper on Public Expenditure to 1979–80 (Cmnd. 6393) does not make provision for this project and it is not possible to specify the date on which it will start. The most recent estimate of the cost of the prison is approximately £7 million.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the names of manufacturers who use living animals to test cosmetic and other products.

No. This information is not required by the Secretary of State for the exercise of his powers under the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions have been made at the latest available date against motorists contravening the general 50 mph and 60 mph speed limits since the new regulations were introduced.

In England and Wales in 1975 the number of prosecutions for exceeding the temporary 50 mph and 60 mph speed limits—including those where the speed was above the previous limit of 70 mph—were 11,793 and 13,294 respectively. The figures for 1974 and 1976 are not available.

asked the Attorney-General if he will list all the offences for the prosecution of which his consent is necessary, which also require his consent in the obtaining of (a) a declaratory judgment, (b) a temporary injunction and (c) a permanent injunction, respectively.

There are a substantial number of offences which by the statute creating them may only be prosecuted with my consent. Those statutes do not, however, deal in terms with the position in relation to civil proceedings, whether for an injunction or for a declaration, founded upon an allegation that such an offence has been committed or that its commission is apprehended. That question depends upon the extent of the Attorney-General's inherent powers and is, therefore, part of the issue in the case of Gouriet v. U.P.W. and others, which will, I hope, lead to the clarification of the law on appeal to the House of Lords.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will ask the electricity boards to include within their discount scheme consumers whose total incomes are below the amount they would have received had they been in receipt of supplementary benefit but who have chosen not to make application for benefit.

The only practicable basis on which the Government's electricity discount scheme can operate requires that those who are to receive the help it provides can be readily identified by the Post Office staff who will be issuing discount vouchers. People who have not claimed their entitlement to either supplementary benefit or family income supplement cannot be so identified and cannot be included in the scheme. The Government are of course always concerned to ensure that those entitled to social security benefits claim their entitlement.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy when the Government intend to implement Recommendation 18 of the First Report of the Select Committee of Science and Technology on Energy Conservation that they should provide comparative information about the cost of different fuels and heating appliances.

My Department has today published a free booklet, "Compare Your Home Heating Costs", whose aim is to give an impartial comparison of the typical annual cost of domestic heating by different fuels. The comparisons cover different situations—heating a living room, supplying hot water from an independent system, and partial and full central heating of a typical three-bedroom semidetached house.The booklet, which covers solid fuel, electricity, gas, oil and paraffin, should be of particular help to those who already have a choice of fuels; to those who need to replace a heating appliance or who are thinking of improving their heating system; and to anyone moving into a house or flat where no heating system has yet been installed. It will also give guidance to those who want to know whether they can save money by changing to a different fuel, as it shows typical capital costs of different heating appliances and systems as well as their running cost.I believe that the advice and information given in the booklet, which represents an important extension of the advice given to domestic consumers under the Save-It campaign, will help the consumer to save both money and energy by providing the basis on which to make a more informed choice of fuels and heating systems.Fuel prices and tariffs, and heating requirements, vary in different parts of the country, and in recognition of this diversity the booklet is being published in four different editions, covering Northern England, Southern England, Scotland and Wales respectively.Copies of the booklet have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses of Parliament.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the average price for seed potatoes in each of the last five years; and what is the average current price.

Prices of seed potatoes vary widely according to such factors as variety, grade, date of ordering and time and place of delivery. The figures given below, provided by the Potato Marketing Board, give an indication of the median price level of four major varieties of seed potatoes in early February in each year

MEDIAN PRODUCER PRICES (PER TONNE) FOR CERTIFIED SCOTTISH SEED POTATOES FOR IMMEDIATE DELIVERY AT 1ST FEBRUARY (EXCLUDING BAG AND DELIVERY COSTS)
				1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977
				£	£	£	£	£	£
Maris Peer	…	…	…	16	24	27·50	41·50	215	205
Pentland Crown	…	…	…	16	23	25	49	240	365
King Edward	…	…	…	23	24·50	26	33·50	185	195
Maris Piper	…	…	…	16	24·50	25	32·50	245	265

asked the Lord President of the Council if he will make a statement on the Report of the Joint Computer Committee relating to Computers in Parliament.

The Report of the Joint Committee was published on 25th January and is now under consideration. I am grateful to my hon. Friend and the other hon. Members who served on this Committee.

asked the Minister for Overseas Development if he will specify the aid given in 1976 to developing countries on the principle of surplus capacity aid.

The aid programme helps quite considerably in providing orders to a wide range of British industry which is currently feeling the effects of recession, but I am unable to specify what proportion of our aid in 1976 may have benefited sections of industry where surplus stocks or capacity existed.

asked the Minister for Overseas Development if he will list the items supplied, or shortly to be supplied, to Mozambique under the last aid agreement.

We have received firm orders under the £5 million loan agreement for textile machinery, generators, air-conditioning equipment, tractors, buses and vehicle spare parts.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give an estimate of the extent to which new techniques in the manufacture of cigarettes, developed voluntarily by the tobacco industry over the last decade, have contributed to the reduction in cancer death rates revealed in the Survey issued by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys "Death Surveyance England and Wales 1968/1974".

The survey to which my hon. Friend refers does not reveal a reduction but a rise in the overall death rate from cancer. The death rate from lung cancer, the form most closely associated with smoking, also rose during the period. There was, however, some falling off in the rate for men under 65. There is good reason to think that this fall reflects a change in the pattern of consumption over the last decade towards cigarette brands with lower tar and nicotine yields.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many deaths have been reported to his Department during the last 30 years attributable to radioactive contamination; and in how many such cases the contamination has been attributable to contacts at work.

I regret the information is not available in the form requested. However, between 1950 and 1975, 14 awards of benefit were made under the industrial injuries scheme for deaths attributable to Prescribed Disease No. 25 "Inflammation, ulceration or malignant disease of the skin or subcutaneous tissue of the bones, or blood dyscrasia, or cataract due to electro-magnetic radiations (other than radiant heat), or to ionizing particles". In the same period only two deaths were attributed on the certificate of death as being due to ionising radiation, other than in the course of medical or surgical treatment, and one of these was ascribed to contact at work. Such certificates are only likely to be issued where a sudden accidental exposure or a clear association with work is brought to the attention of the coroner, and he rules accordingly. This is seldom likely to occur, however, because of the nature of radiation diseases and the length

1. REGIONAL HEALTH AUTHORITIES
					Estimated expenditure per head of population 1976–77
Regional Health Authority					Total £	Revenue £	Capital £
Northern	…	…	…	…	76·8	69·0	7·8
Yorkshire	…	…	…	…	77·0	70·0	7·0
Trent	…	…	…	…	72·3	62·9	9·4
East Anglia	…	…	…	…	75·7	67·8	7·9
North-West Thames	…	…	…	…	92·1	86·9	5·2
North-East Thames	…	…	…	…	96·2	89·7	6·5
South-East Thames	…	…	…	…	94·0	87·2	6·8
South-West Thames	…	…	…	…	93·7	84·5	9·2
Wessex	…	…	…	…	73·6	66·4	7·2
Oxford	…	…	…	…	73·4	66·7	6·7
South-Western	…	…	…	…	75·4	68·7	6·7
West Midlands	…	…	…	…	71·2	65·9	5·3
Mersey	…	…	…	…	85·5	75·9	9·6
North-Western	…	…	…	…	79·1	72·2	6·9

2. AREA HEALTH AUTHORITIES—TRENT REGION
						Estimated expenditure per head of population 1976–77
Area Health Authority						Total £	Revenue £	Capital £
Derbyshire	…	…	…	…	…	54·4	50·8	3·6
Leicestershire	…	…	…	…	…	63·5	51·3	12·2
Lincolnshire	…	…	…	…	…	63·2	58·8	4·4
Nottinghamshire	…	…	…	…	…	77·5	65·9	11·6
Barnsley	…	…	…	…	…	48·2	40·5	7·7
Doncaster	…	…	…	…	…	53·3	50·9	2·4
Rotherham	…	…	…	…	…	58·8	39·7	19·1
Sheffield	…	…	…	…	…	108·1	92·8	15·3

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will state the number of community health councils that have written to him indicating, respectively, their support for and opposition to a ban on the sale of analgesics

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will list the total per capita expenditure, showing revenue and capital separately, in each of the health authorities within the Trent Region, for 1976–77;(2) if he will list the total per capita expenditure, showing revenue and capital separately, in each of the regional health authorities for 1976–77.

The information is as follows:by self-selection techniques.

Of the 330 community health councils in England and Wales 53 have written to support, and seven to oppose, a ban on the self-service sales of analgesics.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he has any evidence of persons, especially the frail elderly, the very sick and chronically disabled, refusing to use child-resistant containers for medicines, or of damaging such containers in order to obtain their contents.

My Department are aware of isolated cases where difficulty has been experienced by the elderly or disabled, but I believe that on the whole the arrangements are working satisfactorily. It is recognised, as I said during the consideration of the Medicines (Child Safety) Amendment Regulations 1976 in the First Standing Committee on Statutory Instruments on 3rd November 1976—(c. 10–16)—that child resistant containers designed to protect children from accidental poisoning may present problems to some adults particularly the elderly and handicapped. It is for this reason that the regulations and the voluntary arrangement with pharmacy representatives allow for flexibility. This enables the pharmacist to use discretion to supply aspirin and paracetamol tablets in a conventional container if asked to by an adult, or if there is a possibility that the patient will have difficulty in opening a child-resistant container.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will invesigate whether the current trial being mounted by Messrs. CIBA Ltd. in which doctors are asked to transfer patients from Trasicor (Oxprenolol) to Slow Trasicor is promotional in its operation; whether acceptance of the offer of a calculator to the doctors involved would be a breach of their NHS contracts; and how long Messrs. CIBA Ltd.'s patent on Trasicor has to run.

I will investigate the circumstances under which the CIBA Ltd. trial on Trasicor and Slow Trasicor is being conducted. The company has been asked to send copies of the protocols and other documents relating to the trial to my Department. The patent for Trasicor (Oxprenolol) is due to expire in August 1981. I will write to my hon. Friend when I have more information.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will ascertain to what extent the Irish system of national lotteries to finance the health services could and should be emulated in the United Kingdom; and whether he will publish a report of his investigations into a national health lottery scheme.

Under present legislation, lotteries of this type are unlawful, and I have made no specific investigation into a national health lottery scheme, although my Department was represented on the Inter-Departmental Working Party on Lotteries which published its report in 1973 (Cmnd. 5506). As the Royal Commission on Gambling is considering the whole question of lotteries in relation to the contribution that might be made from the proceeds of gambling towards the support of other activities, I would wish to have its views before considering whether the Irish, or any other system of national lottery, could contribute to the finances of the health services in England. In any case, I would be unwilling to See major parts of our health services depend upon lotteries for their funds because of the risk of the level of services if support for the lottery declined.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will arrange for an independent inquiry into the cost of National Health Service laundries as requested by a number of private launderers.

I do not consider that an inquiry of the type proposed would serve any useful purpose. In December 1976 my Department issued a circular on new management arrangements for the National Health Service laundry and linen services. Health authorites were asked to review these services with the aim of continuing the process of rationalisation. Existing guidance already requires health authorities who may be considering making new arrangements for the provision of laundry facilities to investigate the various options which may be open to them, including the use of commercial laundries, and to subject each option to economic appraisal by a recognised technique taking account of both the revenue and the capital implications of the choice. Health authorities are then expected to select the cheapest option which is compatible with other requirements, principally the need for absolute reliability of service.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what proportion of the total amount paid out in social security benefits of all kinds in the year 1975–76 was paid to retirement pensioners in the form of retirement pensions, old person's pensions and supplementary pensions combined;(2) what proportion of the total amount paid out in social security benefits of all kinds in the year 1975–76 was paid in respect of long-term sick and disabled persons in the form of invalidity benefit, attendance allowance and invalid care allowance, mobility allowance and non-contributory invalidity pension combined;(3) what proportion of the total amount paid out in social security benefits of all kinds in the year 1975–76 was paid in widows' pensions and widows' allowances combined;(4) what proportion of the total amount paid out in social security benefits of all kinds in the year 1975–76 was in respect of war pensions;(5) what proportion of the total amount paid out in social security benefits of all kinds in the year 1975–76 was in respect of injury or death from industrial cause;(6) what proportion of the total amount paid out in social security benefits of all kinds in the year 1975–76 was paid in respect of family allowances and family income supplement combined;(7) what proportion of the total amount paid out in social security benefits of all kinds in the year 1975–76 was in the form of unemployment, sickness and injury benefits combined;(8) what proportion of the total amount paid out in social security benefits of all kinds in the year 1975–76 was in the form of supplementary benefit excluding supplementary pensions.

The benefits(¹) as a proportion of the total amount paid out in social security benefits in 1975–76 are as follows:

	Percentage
Retirement pensions, old person's pensions and supplementary pensions	58·3
Invalidity benefit, attendance allowance, mobility allowance and non-contributory invalidity pension(2)	6·2
Widows' pensions and widows' allowances	4·4
War Pensions	2·9
Injury or death of industrial cause—industrial injuries benefits(3)	2·4
Family allowances and family income supplement	6·1
Unemployment, sickness and injury benefits(3)	10·5
Supplementary benefit excluding supplementary pension — supplementary allowance	8·9
(1) The remaining benefits not quoted in the questions—maternity benefit, guardians allowance and death grant—represent 0·8 per cent. of the total.
(2) Payment of invalid care allowance did not commence until 5th July 1976.
(3) Injury benefit representing 0·5 per cent. of the total is included in both cases.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he expects to make a decision on the appeal, forwarded to him by the hon. Member for Christchurch and Lymington, by Mr. and Mrs. T. Price of Christchurch, against the refusal by the Dorset Area Health Authority to examine the circumstances surrounding the vaccination of their daughter Tanya against whooping cough, and her subsequent mental and physical incapacity.

I assume that the hon. Member is referring to Mr. and Mrs. Price's appeal against the decision of the Medical Service Committee of the Dorset Family Practitioner Committee not to seek my consent or that of the general practitioner concerned to an investigation of Mr. and Mrs. Price's complaint against that practitioner, which was lodged outside the normal time limit. I have decided to allow the appeal, and letters have today been sent to the parties and to the Family Practitioner Committee notifying them of this decision and directing the Medical Service Committee to investigate the complaint.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many cases of death or serious illness resulting from whooping cough vaccine there were in the area of the Harrow and Brent Area Health Authority in each of the last five years.

In the last five years the Committee on Safety of Medicines has received no reports from the Brent and Harrow area of death or serious illness due to whooping cough vaccine.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what will be the rates of national insurance contributions

		Employer	Employee (standard rate)	Employee (married women opting out of standard rate)
		Per cent.	Per cent.	Per cent.
Civil Service, NHS and local government	…	8·75	5·75	2·0
Armed Forces	…	7·4	4·95	1·8

The percentage contributions for the Civil Service, NHS and local government are the same as those for the main body of contributors. The contributions paid by the Armed Forces are lower, and do not give title to sickness, unemployment or industrial injury benefits while in the Services.There are no arrangements whereby national insurance benefits themselves are subject to reduction in respect of any employer's sick pay or occupational pension arrangements. Employers, however, often take account of benefits which may be payable when devising such arrangements. The bulk of NHS superannuation scheme contributors—broadly, people who joined after 5th July 1948-have their NHS pension reduced to take account of the national insurance flat-rate retirement pension. The reduction, which applies from State pension age, is £1·70 for each year of contributing service under the NHS scheme, subject to a maximum reduction of £67·75 a year. A similar provision applies to the principal Civil Service and Armed Forces pensions schemes.Where NHS employees are on sick leave or maternity leave they claim national insurance benefits in the normal way, and adjustments to salary are made in order to provide payments in accordance with negotiated conditions of service

, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 13th January 1977; Vol. 923, c. 589], gave the following information:From 6th April 1977 the rates of national insurance contributions for employers and employees in the Civil Service, the Armed Forces, the National Health Service and local government will be as follows:Most civil servants sign an undertaking not to claim short-term national insurance benefits, and in return may receive full pay in certain circumstances when off sick or on maternity leave. The arrangements for local government employees are a matter for the local government negotiating bodies and the local authority associations, as appropriate, to determine; I regret that I have no information about these arrangements.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the rental cost per square foot of the space rented in Little St. James's Street for the new Government Press centre.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 28th January.—[Vol. 924, c. 810].

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment further to his Answer in Official Report, 28th January 1977, column 810, if he will give a breakdown of the £830,000 contracted to be spent on the new Government Press centre in Little St. James's' Street, London, S.W.1.

The breakdown the £830,000 is as follows:

	£
Building works	366,000
Engineering services	348,000
Two-way system closed circuit TV	60,000
Equipment for radio studios	20,000
Simultaneous translation and voice amplification	36,000
	£830,000

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has for extending tenant participation in the running of council estates in the overspill areas of the Greater Manchester Metropolitan County.

It is the Government's policy to encourage authorities to establish arrangements for tenant consultation and participation in the running of their homes, including overspill estates. We hope, fairly soon, to supplement our guidance on this subject.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what would be the extra contribution to local authority expenditure in Cheshire in 1977–78 if the rate support grant were calculated on the basis proposed for 1974–75 in the White Paper issued in January 1974, Command Paper No. 5532.

The eventual distribution of the needs element of RSG in 1974–75 followed the formula proposed in Cmnd. 5532, and gave Cheshire 1·66 per cent. of the total grant. The same share of the grant prescribed in the main RSG Order for 1977–78 would have increased Cheshire's entitlement by about £4·5 million. However, it should be remembered that the needs formula for grant distribution is recalculated each year to take account of the changing patterns of expenditure need. Since payments of the resources element depend partly on rate poundages, no assessment of entitlements for 1977–78, whether on an actual or alternative basis, can yet be made.Cmnd. 5532 proposed a scheme of variable domestic relief for those areas with above average rate increases between 1973–74 and 1974–75. It would not be possible to calculate the effect of a similar scheme for 1977–78, but if the proposed scheme had been implemented for 1974–75 only two districts in Cheshire would have received relief in excess of the current national figure of 18·5p.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether his Department regards Twizell Bridge, near Cornhil, Northumberland, as an important historic structure; and what consideration has been given to its future.

Twizell Bridge is an ancient monument and a grade 2 listed building and as such is recognised to be an important historic structure. Discussions have already taken place and been agreed with the Department of Ancient Monuments and Historic Buildings for immediate remedial works.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will seek to revise the Rent Acts.

I refer to the reply my right hon. Friend gave to a Question from my hon. Friend the Member for Mitcham and Morden (Mr. Douglas-Mann) on 31st January.—[Vol. 925, c. 51–2.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many dwellings were the subject of compulsory purchase orders during 1975 and 1976, respectively.

The only figures available relate to dwellings included in compulsory purchase orders made under Part III of the Housing Act 1957—for slum clearance—and in unfitness orders related to compulsory purchase orders made under Section 112(1) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1971. Following is the information:

Number of dwellings included in orders submitted for confirmation:
1975	…	…	19,672
1976	…	…	25,786

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list in the Official Report the number of compulsory purchase orders confirmed by his Department each year since 1970.

Following is the information:

1970	…	…	1,105*
1971	…	…	1,328
1972	…	…	1,515
1973	…	…	1,544
1974	…	…	1,367
1975	…	…	1,022
1976	…	…	958†
* Include 39 highways cpos from 12th November only.
† Does not include 103 highways cpos after 7th November.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list in the Official Report the number of compulsory purchase orders confirmed by his Department during each month of 1976.

Following is the information:

January	…	…	…	60
February	…	…	…	73
March	…	…	…	111
April	…	…	…	75
May	…	…	…	69
June	…	…	…	77
July	…	…	…	90
August	…	…	…	83
September	…	…	…	91
October	…	…	…	72
November	…	…	…	96*
December	…	…	…	61*
* Does not include highways cpos after 7th November.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will introduce legislation to require builders of houses or flats intended or designed for occupation by elderly people to instal warning lights in the windows.

No. Most housing specially designed for old people is provided by housing authorities, new town development corporations and housing associations to standards set out in Ministry of Housing and Local Government Circular 82/69. Those standards require that an alarm system, communicating with a warden, be provided in accommodation designed to meet the needs of less active elderly people. Where alarm systems are included in accommodation for more active elderly people, they attract an addition to the housing cost yardstick.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he is satisfied that fire precautions and contingencies for the evacuation of old people are adequate in high-rise blocks of flats in the Greater Manchester metropolitan county.

Management of local authority housing is a matter for the authority concerned. Although I understand that most authorities in Greater Manchester as a matter of general practice no longer house old people in high-rise blocks, except possibly on the lower floors, there may well be old people who have occupied these dwellings for many years. The design of these buildings would comply with the Building Regulations or byelaws and codes of practice for fire precautions pertaining at the time of their construction. The precautions and methods used in the evacuation of old people from high-rise flats is again the responsibility of local housing authorities who, in consultation with the local chief fire officer, should be expected to review regularly procedures for each block or group of flats.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what criteria he uses in determining whether or not a housing association receives a revenue deficit grant; whether written guidelines are produced; and whether he will place a copy in the Library.

The statutory requirements for the payment of revenue deficit grant are contained in Section 32 of the Housing Act 1974. Grant is paid if the revenue account expenditure of the registered housing association which the Secretary of State considers to be reasonable and appropriate for the accounting year in question exceeds the income it could reasonably have been expected to receive. Payment of grant is discretionary, and applications are considered individually in the light of the circumstances of each association. Associations are normally expected to contain their total expenditure on management and maintenance within a level determined by reference to the published standard allowances used in the calculation of housing association grant for new projects, and to charge fair rents registered by the rent officer. In deciding whether grant needs to be paid, the overall financial circumstances of the association, including any other income and any accumulated surpluses, is also taken into account.Advice to housing associations on revenue deficit grant—and management grant under Section 31 of the Housing Act 1974 for which similar criteria apply—is included in two notes issued in 1975 and 1976. I am arranging for copies to be placed in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how much money has been paid out annually to housing associations since 1974 through revenue deficit grants.

Payments annually of revenue deficit grant and management grant have been:

Year		Total £ million
1975 (April to December)	…	0·9
1976	…	7·5
1977 (January)	…	0·6

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will list the housing associations which have been in receipt of revenue deficit grants; how much each has received; and which applications have been refused.

Housing associations which have received revenue deficit grant and/or management grant are as follows (List A).Applications for revenue deficit grant and/or management grant have been refused for, or have been withdrawn by, the following associations (List B).

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when the A1-M1 link is scheduled for completion to enable traffic to move from the Midlands to eastern ports, namely Felixstowe; and what steps have already been taken to facilitate the construction of this route.

I have been asked to reply.It is hoped that the A1-M1 link will be completed in the mid-1980s. The Department is currently considering possible routes within the preferred corridor selected in 1975.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to make the A140 from Scole to Norwich a trunk road.

Our Department is discussing the trunking of the A140 between Coddenham and Norwich with Suffolk and Norfolk County Councils. Timing is dependent on the outcome of the discussions.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will advise local authorities to issue disabled parking permits to families with a member suffering from epilepsy or a mental handicap.

Under the regulations a disabled person, whether passenger or driver, can be issued with a disabled person's badge. The decision whether a particular disability falls within the regulations is generally one of medical judgment.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if the continuing practice of 50 mph and 60 mph speed restrictions following the oil crisis is still designed to save fuel;

The limits were introduced in 1974 primarily as a fuel economy measure and have been continued on that basis. We are now considering the replies to a consultation letter about their future and expect to make an announcement before Easter.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what is his estimate of the number of lives saved and serious accidents prevented as a result of the current speed restrictions imposed in 1973 during the oil crisis;(2) if he has any evidence to show that the current 50 mph and 60 mph speed restrictions have caused any additional serious and fatal accidents.

The accident rate in fact declined following the introduction of the limits; but it is not possible to say how far it was due to them and how far to other factors.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the equivalent speed limits on rural single carriageway roads, dual carriageway roads and motorways in each of the following countries, expressed in miles per hour: (a) each EEC country, (b) Spain, (c) the United States of America, (d) Norway, (e) Sweden, and (f) Portugal.

Following is the information:Belgium:

asked the Secretary of State for Transport how many serious road accidents have been recorded by his Department in each of the years 1970 to 1976.

I regret that data for the whole of 1976 are not available.Serious road accidents

asked the Secretary of State for Transport by what proportion he expects the traffic crossing Hampton Court Bridge to drop when the M25 is completed.

By about 25 per cent.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport when he now expects completion and opening to traffic of the M25 (a) from the M3 to the A3, (b) from the A3 to Reigate Hill, (c) from Godstone to Sevenoaks and (d) from Sevenoaks to Wrotham.

Subject to the completion of the remaining statutory procedures and to the availability of funds, construction of the M26 from Wrotham to Sevenoaks is expected to start in the summer of this year and the road to be open to traffic by 1980. The sections of the M25 between Sevenoaks and Godstone are under construction and are expected to be open to traffic in the second half of 1979. It is not yet possible to announce the dates for the anticipated completion of the sections of the M25 between Reigate and Thorpe.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will publish in the Official Report both the worst and best pupil/teacher ratios in primary and secondary education, respectively, in schools in England; and if she will make a statement.

Extraction of information in the precise form requested would incur a disproportionate cost. However, in January 1976, in England and Wales out of 23,330 maintained primary schools there were 313 where the ratio of pupils to qualified teachers was greater than 30 to 1 and 25 with a ratio less than 7·5 to 1. Out of 4,982 maintained secondary schools one school had a pupil-teacher ratio above 30 to 1 and four had a ratio below 7·5 to 1.The more extreme ratios will inevitably reflect a range of special circumstances, such as temporary arrangements at the time of the census, or the presence of a relatively high proportion of professional staff who are not included in the total of qualified teachers used for these calculations. Ratios for secondary schools are generally associated with the age range of the school, being for example much higher for middle schools deemed secondary than for sixth form colleges.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many schools in the county districts of the Greater Manchester Metropolitan County have been (a) destroyed by fire and (b) damaged by fire, in the previous three years.

The information is not kept by my Department, nor is it readily available from Greater Manchester County Fire Brigade, in precisely and completely in the form requested. The Department was informed during the last two years of major fires in schools at Rochdale and Bolton, and is aware that there have been school fires in this period in Salford—two—and Wigan—five; but this information is not necessarily complete.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the minimum qualification for entry into colleges of art; and what has been the number of students in these colleges for each of the past 10 years.

There is no national minimum qualification; requirements vary according to the type of course which the individual student seeks to follow.The total number of students enrolled in colleges of art in England and Wales in November of each of the past 10 years is as follows:

1966	…	…	…	118,845
1967	…	…	…	117,658
1968	…	…	…	127,835
1969	…	…	…	118,089
*1970	…	…	…	108,200
1971	…	…	…	90,472
1972	…	…	…	61,034
1973	…	…	…	56,062
1974	…	…	…	54,195
1975	…	…	…	48,722
*The decline in numbers in this and succeeding years mirrors the absorption of a number of colleges of art into polytechnics.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether, in respect of all towns in non-Metropolitan counties with a population of more than 250,000, she will publish information regarding the number of planned school meals and the number actually served, during the recent Christmas holiday break, in secondary or high schools.

This information is not available and could not be obtained without a special inquiry. During 1975–76, 27 local education authorities provided 1,015,883 meals for pupils during school holidays or on Saturdays.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science, if in view of the growing need for further accommodation and facilities in the primary schools at Torrington, she will enable a new primary school to be built there.

I understand that the Devon Education Authority intends to start work on a new 360 place junior school in Torrington before the end of the present financial year.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many children of parents who are not United Kingdom citizens are currently being educated at non-State schools in Great Britain; and what she estimates they are paying annually in fees.

The Department does not collect this information.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what arrangements exist for children of parents who are non-United Kingdom citizens to be educated within the State school system: and how many children are currently taking advantage of this arrangement.

No special arrangements for such children exist. Children of non-United Kingdom parents normally resident in this country are subject to the usual requirements of the Education Acts. Individual local education authorities may, at their discretion admit to school any child from overseas temporarily resident in their area and no records are kept to indicate how many children of non-United Kingdom citizens will, at any one time, be in maintained schools.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will give an assurance that the Committee of Inquiry into the Management of Higher Education will be invited to consider evidence on the methods of validation of undergraduate courses in institutions outside universities.

The committee is basically concerned with the financial control and management of the institutions and its composition reflects this. I do not, at this stage, intend to invite evidence on this subject.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he proposes to introduce legislation to ratify the Council of Europe Convention on Terrorism recently signed by Her Majesty's Government.

It is Her Majesty's Government's firm intention to ratify the Convention at the earliest opportunity, but I cannot yet say when parliamentary time can be found for the legislation to make this possible. It will involve amendment of the existing law on extradition, which is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in how many cases attendance allowance has been wholly withheld or reduced to pay rent arrears to the Housing Executive.