asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) how many environmental health officers have been designated in each county for the purpose of inspecting poultry slaughterhouses and premises under the Poultry Meat (Hygiene) Regulations 1976;(2) on what basis he intends to designate environmental health officers as being suitably qualified to carry out licensing inspections under the Poultry Meat (Hygiene) Regulations 1976.

As the hon. Gentleman is aware, the regulations provide for the designation of suitably qualified environmental health officers and veterinary surgeons for this purpose. No environmental health officer has been designated pending the outcome of curent consultations on the arrangements. Proposals dealing, among other things, with the training and designation of local authority officers have been sent this week to the local authority associations and the professional bodies concerned. With their co-operation, we expect that sufficient environmental health officers will have been trained, as necessary, and designated in good time to meet the main demand for inspections which will arise when the present exemptions from licensing expire in August.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many farmers have been subject to financial penalty in the last 12 months for exceeding their quota of potato production.

All potato producers growing more than 4/10th of a hectare are legally required to register with the Potato Marketing Board. Producers pay the board a levy calculated on the area planted within their quota and an additional levy on area planted in excess of quota. These measures are designed to achieve a reasonable balance between supply and demand, and to avoid heavy surpluses which can hazard the stability of production and involve significant Exchequer cost, and thereby cost to the taxpayer, under the guarantee arrangements. I understand from the board that 3,950 registered producers paid excess area contributions in respect of 5,419 hectares in 1976, and that, for 1975–76, nine growers were fined by the board for making false statements of area planted.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is satisfied with the arrangements for importing breeding livestock from Europe and if he will make a statement.

Since 1972 imports of breeding livestock into Great Britain from Europe have been subject only to animal health controls, including quarantine. The priority to be given to applications to import has been determined on the advice of the Joint Advisory Panel for Livestock Importations. Since the end of 1975 the demand for imported breeding stock has fallen and the quarantine facilities have been more than adequate to meet the present level of demand. My right hon. Friends have therefore accepted a recommendation from the panel that import implications should no longer be referred to it.In future, applications to import livestock from continental Europe will be dealt with in order of receipt. Quarantine requirements may still, however, restrict the number of animals that may be imported at any one time, and necessitate collaboration between potential importers. The new arrangements will be reviewed from time to time in the light of the level of imports. They take into account the agreement recently reached in Brussels concerning animal health conditions for imports from other member States of the EEC.I should like to pay tribute to the panel for the work it has done during the five years it has been in existence. As a result of the recommendations made by the panel, Ministers were able to use the available resources for dealing with imports of livestock in such a way as to give maximum benefit to the British livestock industry.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress is being made in the brucellosis eradication programme; and if he will make a statement.

Progress in the eradication of brucellosis continues to be very satisfactory. By 31st December last, 78,847 herds were accredited in England and Wales, and a further 13,152 undergoing testing. All herds in Scotland are now either accredited or undergoing testing, and the number of accredited herds in Great Britain as a whole now stands at 102.113–65 per cent of the total.On 19th January last year I announced the areas in England and Wales in which compulsory eradication was to begin in 1976 and 1977, and gave a tentative programme of the dates from which compulsory eradication would be applied to the remaining areas of the country. I have recently reviewed the progress made in areas not already scheduled for eradication to begin this year and have decided that the remaining parts of Somerset and Buckinghamshire should be added to the list of areas in which compulsory eradication will begin on 1st November next. The necessary order under the Diseases of Animals Act will be made as soon as possible. Firm decisions on the areas in which compulsory eradication will begin in 1978 will be taken and announced later this year. These will, of course, take account of any EEC scheme for assisting the accelerated eradication of brucellosis that may be adopted.In some areas of England and Wales, notably the initial eradication areas, infection has now reached a very low level and herd breakdowns are becoming increasingly less frequent and less severe. I shall therefore be considering in the next month or so what attested areas should be declared, so enabling movement controls in these areas to be relaxed. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland intends to carry out a similar review in Scotland to consider whether further attested areas should be declared.At the same time, consideration will be given to the merits of prohibiting the

use of S.19 vaccine in those areas. Officials of our two Departments hope to be in a position to discuss proposals with the farmers' unions and other interested organisations in the early spring, with a view to decisions being made and announced by the summer.—[Vol. 903. c.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why he declines to refer the practice of allowing registration in more than one constituency in respect of parliamentary elections to a Speaker's Conference.

The 1973–74 Speaker's Conference made a unanimous recommendation on the question of multiple registration and there seems little justification for asking a new conference to reconsider the question.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many illegal immigrants have been caught; and how many of these have been deported during each of the last five years to the latest available date.

Information about the numbers of people detained and removed as illegal entrants is given in the following table. The figure for those detained during 1976 includes a number of cases where a decision had not been taken or removal had still to be effected at the end of the year.

	Detained	Removed
1972	59*	59*
1973	258	176
1974	157	139
1975	188	154
1976	374†	264†
* Excluding foreign nationals.
† Provisional.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many animals were killed in fires at factory farms in each of the last five years.

I regret that the information asked for is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish in the Official Report the recommendations made by the Central Fire Brigade and the Building Regulations Advisory Committee arising out of the fire which occurred at Longlents House, Stone-bridge, in the London borough of Brent, on 4th February 1975.

The Central Fire Brigades Advisory Councils' Working Group on Fire Safety in High Rise Blocks of Flats recommended:(1) that satisfactory means of calling the fire brigade should be conspicuously sited on the ground floor of each block, or, where there are a number of blocks close together, within easy pedestrian access at a distance not greater than 100 metres from each one;(2) that the form of advice to occupants in British Standard Code of Practice CP 3 should be replaced by advice which the Working Group set out; and(3) that guidance on fire fighting in high rise blocks of flats should be issued to fire authorities along lines set out by the Working Group.

APPLICATIONS FOR RESETTLEMENT IN UNITED KINGDOM FROM CHILE AND FROM CHILEAN REFUGEES IN ARGENTINA
						Letters of Consent
					Applications received	Approved	Refused
March 1976	…	…	…	…	62	12	377
April	…	…	…	…	35	17	113
May	…	…	…	…	12	10	26
June	…	…	…	…	39	17	26
July	…	…	…	…	54	50	48
August	…	…	…	…	63	31	20
September	…	…	…	…	127	19	20
October	…	…	…	…	91	11	21
November	…	…	…	…	87	18	30
December	…	…	…	…	132	19	54
January 1977	…	…	…	…
February	…	…	…	…	55	66	55

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Greek Cypriots in 1974, 1975 and 1976 arrived at British sea and airports waiting to gain acccess for work purposes or holidays or visits to their relatives;

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many applications for entry certificates in respect of Chileans have been outstanding for longer than three months, six months, nine months and one year, respectively: and what action he is taking to reduce the delays in dealing with such applications;(2) how many requests for entry certificates were received from Chileans in each of the past 12 months.(3) how many entry certificates were approved in respect of Chileans in each of the past 12 months; and how many were refused.

It is not possible, without disproportionate cost, to say how many applications have been outstanding for a given period. The procedures for dealing with applications for resettlement by refugees from Latin-America are under continuous review and, given the need to establish individual acceptability, applications are dealt with as expeditiously a possible. The monthly figures requested are as follows:what proportion was accepted; what action his officials undertook regarding such applications at British air and seaports; and if he will make a statement.

The number of Cypriots admitted to the United Kingdom and the number refused leave to enter are published in the immigration statistics presented to Parliament each year; but no statistics are available which distinguish between Cypriots by ethnic origin.Applications by Cypriots for admission are dealt with in accordance with the Immigration Act and Rules. My hon. Friend may find it helpful to consult the Home Office evidence to the Select Committee on Cyprus, which was published with the Committee's report, and the Government's observations on that report (Cmnd. 6579).

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection if he will make a statement about implementation of the Consumer Credit Act.

I have made orders and regulations which, with one exception, require creditors and owners making regulated agreements to hold a licence granted by the Director General of Fair Trading from 1st October 1977. The exception concerns non-corporate creditors who make agreements only for credit not exceeding £30, in respect of whom I have considered it desirable to defer licensing. This deferment will be kept under review. My intention, subject to further consideration, is to make a similar deferment for credit brokers in the further stage of licensing.I have made arrangements that moneylenders and pawnbrokers whose licences expire on 31st July will not have to renew these licences on 1st August but will require a licence from the Director General from 1st October.From 16th May the provisions in the Act enabling consumers to obtain and, where appropriate, correct copies of files about them held by credit reference agencies will be effective. From the same date the courts will be given powers to reopen any personal credit agreement they consider extortionate.An essential preliminary to these steps is the identification of those consumer credit and hire agreements which are to be regulated. Accordingly, among the various orders and regulations that I have made has been an order exempting certain agreements from many of the provisions of the Act, including certain short-term credit sales and certain agreements made below a commercial rate of charge. To enable the exemption rate to be calculated I have also made regulations stipulating what charges are to be included in the total charge for credit and how the rate is to be calculated. To assist in calculations Her Majesty's Stationery Office has published a series of tables.I have placed in the Libraries of both Houses an explanatory booklet entitled "Counting the Cost of Credit", which explains and illustrates the regulations for calculating of the rate of charge. Copies are also available in the Vote Office and the Printed Paper Office.I have also made regulations setting out cases where local authority officers need the prior authorisation of the Director General before taking certain enforcement action.Consultation on the implementation of the Act will continue. Among other provisions I hope to introduce this year will be those requiring creditors to disclose their rates in most advertisements and agreements.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection if he will seek to refer to the Monopolies Commission Associated Engineering's bid for SERCK Services; and if he will make a statement.

I shall be announcing the decision as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection if he will refer to the Monopolies Commission the attempted takeover of Johnson Group Cleaners Ltd. by Sketchley Ltd.; and if he will make a statement;

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection if he will refer the proposed take-over of the Johnson Group Cleaners Ltd. by Sketchley Cleaners Ltd. to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission.

My right hon. Friend will announce his decision as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection what is his estimate of the percentage of standard 28 oz loaves currently being sold at a lower price than would have been the case without the implementation of the Bread Prices (No. 2) Order 1976.

For some weeks after the entry into force of the new arrangements, the situation was complicated by the action of the bread deliverymen. Nevertheless preliminary information about the prices of bread in major shopping centres indicates that in the five weeks from 9th January about 66 per cent. of urban supermarkets had bread at prices 3p or more below the statutory maximum, compared with 44 per cent. in the eight weeks up to Christmas.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for 8th March.

asked the Prime Minister what are his official engagements for 8th March.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 8th March 1977.

asked the Prime Minister what are his official engagements for 8th March.

In addition to my duties in this House, I shall be holding meetings with ministerial colleagues and others.

asked the Prime Minister if he has any plans to visit Macclesfield.

I have at present no plans to do so, although I was very pleased to receive yesterday the girls of Macclesfield High School for Girls who recently won the BBC Top of the Form competition.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will dismiss the Secretary of State for Energy.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Northampton, South (Mr. Morris) on 24th February.

asked the Prime Minister what plans he has to pay an official visit to Denmark.

I have received an invitation from the Danish Prime Minister to visit Denmark, but no dates for a visit have yet been arranged.

asked the Prime Minister if, in the light of the speech made by the Secretary of State for Energy to the Press Gallery luncheon on 14th February on constitutional matters, he is satisfied with the doctrine of collective responsibility.

asked the Prime Minister if he is satisfied with collective Cabinet responsibility, in the light of the speech made by the Secretary of State for Energy to the Press Gallery on 14th February.

asked the Prime Minister if he is satisfied with collective Cabinet responsibility in the light of the speech made by the Secretary of State for Energy to the Press Gallery lunch on 14th February 1977.

asked the Prime Minister if he is satisfied with collective Cabinet responsibility in light of the speech made by the Secretary of State for Energy to the Press Gallery Luncheon on 14th February 1977.

I refer the hon. Members to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Arundel (Mr. Marshall) on 3rd March.

asked the Prime Minister whether the public remarks of the Secretary of State for Transport in London on 19th February on the degree and extent of support for Government actions and policies represents the policy of Her Majesty's Government.

My right hon. Friend's speech raised no issues of Government policy.

asked the Prime Minister if he is satisfied with the number of telephones at present in use at No. 10 Downing Street.

Yes.

asked the Prime Minister whether he has any plans to make an official visit to Switzerland.

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister what issues he proposes to discuss when he meets President Carter.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Shoreham (Mr. Luce).

asked the Prime Minister if he has any plans to visit Farington.

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister why, in view of the information in his possession making charges and allegations that the Treasury deliberately arranged and asissted in creating financial difficulties to ensure the initiation of an incomes policy, he will not appoint a committee of inquiry into these matters.

An inquiry into such allegations would serve no useful purpose.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will reduce the size of the Cabinet.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Northampton, South (Mr. Morris) on 24th February.

asked the Prime Minister if he has any plans to visit Salisbury, Rhodesia.

No.

asked the Prime Minister what plans he has to visit Belgrade.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Macclesfield (Mr. Winterton) on 24th February.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the powers available to the police in Scotland which allow them to stop vehicles at random and subsequently bring charges for minor offences; and if he will list the offences.

Only the courts can give an authoritative interpretation, but Section 159 of the Road Traffic Act 1972 appears to confer upon a constable in uniform an unqualified right to stop a motor vehicle. The constable may subsequently report to the procurator fiscal any offences that he has reason to believe have been committed.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will hire some of the laid-up herring fishing boats for fishery protection work as an interim measure.

I have no evidence that the existing arrangements for fishery protection are inadequate.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales when he expects construction work to begin on the proposed bypass between Dinmael and Tynant on the AS trunk road in Clwyd.

Work on the scheme between Glyn Bends, Tynant and Dinmael School is programmed to start in the financial year 1979–1980, subject to the satisfactory completion of statutory procedures and the availability of funds

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if, in considering plans to simplify the structure of local government, he will bear in mind the recommendations contained in the White Paper "Sport and Recreation" of August 1975 for the dual use of school and recreational facilities and the consequent need for leisure services at present controlled by district councils and education at present controlled by county authorities to be administered by a single purpose authority with a joint education and leisure sub-committee.

I see no need to await a review of the local government structure to achieve a greater degree of joint use of sport and recreation facilities. Much is already being done and we are considering with the Sports Council for Wales what further action can be taken.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what arrangements currently exist for the advertising of vacancies in general medical practices in rural Wales.

In accordance with Regulation 10 of the National Health Service (General Medical and Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 1974 a family practitioner committee in England and Wales may give, in such manner as it thinks fit, public notice of any vacancy for a doctor in its area.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what arrangements currently exist for the provision of general medical care in practices in rural Wales pending the filling of vacancies in those practices.

This is a matter for the local family practitioner committee, which has the responsibility for securing the proper treatment of patients in its area. This responsibility is normally discharged where there is a practice vacancy by the appointment of a locum tenens or by arrangements with doctors in neighbouring practices. I shall be writing to the hon. Member on the details of an individual case to which he has drawn my attention.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what is the proportion of disabled persons employed by Government Departments in the United Kingdom.

The total number of registered disabled people employed by Government Departments is 15,211, and this figure represents 2·09 per cent. of the total work force. These figures relate only to those disabled people who are known to be registered. However, registration is voluntary, and many disabled employees choose not to register. Likewise, there is no obligation to disclose registration to an employer.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service how many civil servants were employed on 28th February 1974;and by what percentage the total employed has increased, comparing February 1974 with the latest available date.

The number of civil servants in post on 1st March 1974—the nearest available date—was 697,059. On 1st January 1977 it was 746,161, an increase of 7 per cent.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many applications he received in Cyprus for Greek and Turkish Cypriots to obtain visas to travel to the United Kingdom in the years 1974, 1975 and 1976; what proportion in each year was accepted; and if he will make a statement.

In 1976 6,354 applications for entry clearance were received from citizens of Cyprus; 5,056 were granted and 860 refused. No distinction is made between Greek or Turkish Cypriots. Figures for 1974 and 1975 are not available, as records of applications were not kept by nationality.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will state the outcome of discussions with the tobacco industry on relevant matters covered by the Government strategy on smoking and health.

I have put a number of requests to the Tobacco Advisory Committee, representing home manufacturers, and to the Imported Tobacco Products Advisory Council, representing importers, and agreement has been reached as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many claimants are, according to the latest available figures, wholly reliant on supplementary benefits; and what is the average weekly payment made to them.

I regret that the information is not available in the form requested, but in December 1975 about 900,000 supplementary benefit recipients had no social security benefit or pension other than family allowances, although some of these would have had other resources.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he is satisfied with the system of indexation of social security benefits.

Yes. The present arrangements are as approved by Parliament in 1975.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many invalid tricyles are on issue from his Department to disabled people; and what is the estimated average cost to his Department.

At 31st January 1977 there were some 19,000 invalid three-wheelers on issue in England and Wales. Expenditure on new vehicles, reconditioned vehicles for reissue, repairs and maintenance including the reserve fleet, insurance, carriage, driving instruction and petrol tax allowance expressed as a cost per vehicle on issue for the last complete financial year, 1975–76, was £363.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement on progress made in finding a suitable alternative to the invalid tricycle.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what recent research has been carried out to find a suitable alternative vehicle to the three-wheeler.

My right hon. Friend had made it clear to drivers of tricycles issued under the pre–1976 vehicle scheme that we expect to be able to replace their tricycles, as they wear out, at least up to 1981. He has also confirmed that, as phasing out proceeds and the0020pattern of need becomes clearer, we shall be looking on home and world markets to help drivers who will still need a specialised vehicle when their tricycles can no longer be replaced. We are interested in all development projects which could lead to a better choice of specialised vehicles, or specialised adaptations to production cars, becoming commercially available to disabled people. My Department and the Department of Transport are jointly considering what further research is desirable in order to identify, among the possible lines of development, those which have the best prospects of effectively meeting the needs of disabled people.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what provisions his Department is making for meeting the demand for spare parts in the repair of mechanical faults on the Invacar.

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for St. Helens (Mr. Spriggs) on 21st February.—[Vol. 926, c. 433–4]—I have written to the hon. Member about the individual case he raised with me.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he last met representatives of widows.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he last met representatives of widows.

I shall myself be addressing representatives of the National Association of Widows at a meeting in the Central Hall tomorrow. My right hon. Friend is due to meet the Chairman of the War Widows' Association of Great Britain on Friday.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what proposals he has for improving chiropody services.

We are about to issue advice to health authoriites in England suggesting ways in which they may be able to improve their chiropody services within the limits of the resources likely to be available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his latest estimate of the number of one-parent families in receipt of supplementary benefit.

About 330,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many recommendations of the Finer Committee have now been implemented in full; how many have been rejected; and what are the prospects of the remainder being implemented.

The Finer Committee's recommendations involve both local auth- orities and a number of Government Departments. The following information refers to those recommendations for which my Department is responsible.19 recommendations have been implemented in full, and one recommendation has been implemented in part.The following proposals involving 80 recommendations in all have been rejected: the proposal that a system of administrative orders should be operated by the Supplementary Benefits Commission for the recovery of maintenance due to women receiving supplementary benefit; the proposal for the guaranteed maintenance allowance; the proposal that lone parents should be entitled to a special addition to the supplementary benefits scale rates; the proposal that when the claimant so requests the Department should arrange to pay the rent direct to the landlord as a matter of course; however, the Department has accepted that rent should be paid direct more readily when the householder is receiving supplementary benefit and is experiencing difficulty in paying the rent; the proposal about the application of the cohabitation rule, but the Supplementary Benefits Commission had regard to this in its own proposals for operating the rule.Of the remaining recommendations, 35 relate to the personal social services and are generally in line with the Government's own views. They are mainly for implementation by local authorities and voluntary bodies. Much is already being done by them, but further progress will depend upon the availability of manpower and financial resources, both of which will be severely restricted for the foreseeable future. Likewise developments on the six recommendations on other miscellaneous matters for which my right hon. Friend and I are responsible and which have neither been implemented nor rejected will continue to be governed for some time to come by limitations on resources. Meanwhile the Government have acted to safeguard the living standards of all members of the community, including lone-parents with low incomes through regular uprating of social security benefits. The total level of benefits, supplementary benefits, widowed mother's allowance and others, being paid to one-parent families is now running at £650 million a year. Of this amount, £380 million has been added by measures taken by this Government since we took office three years ago.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if, in view of the Government's rejection of a guaranteed maintenance allowance for lone parents, he will publish a Green Paper on alternative methods of providing family support for lone parents.

I would refer the hon. Member to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Welwyn and Hatfield (Mrs. Hayman) on 27th October last.—[Vol. 918, c. 287–8.]

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement about the number of hours single parents have to work in order to qualify for family income supplement.

As my hon. Friend will know from our correspondence on this subject, the Government are in sympathy with the proposal that the hours of work rule should be reduced from 30 to 24 hours per week for lone parents claiming family income supplement and this will be considered when additional resources become available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many lone parents transferred from supplementary benefit to family income supplement in 1974, 1975 and 1976; and if he will give for each year the average delay between the cessation of supplementary benefit and the payment of family income supplement.

Information of this kind is not collected because it is not required for the determination of claims for family income supplement (FIS). In general, however, supplementary benefit may be paid, without recovery, for up to the first 15 days of full-time work; and, if a claim for FIS has been made on taking up work, FIS should normally be in payment, from the date of claim, by the end of the third week of employment.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services why in the 83 pages of the document "Priorities for Health and Personal Social Services in England" there is no mention at all of one-parent families or their children.

They are not singled out for mention because their needs are met through general service provision; services are not specially provided for them alone. I think this is right because, as the Committee on One-Parent Families said—paragraph 8.76 of the Committee's Report—Cmnd 5629—it is not in the interests of one-parent families to establish special services to cater for their needs.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what proposals, if any, his Department has to ensure that a lone parent with a dependent child over 18 years of age who is unable to claim child benefit will not be worse off from lost tax allowances and benefit after the child benefit scheme begins in April.

Child benefit and the increase for one-parent families are payable for children up to the age of 19 years if they are in full time education, although as announced by my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 16th November—[Vol. 919, c. 501–6]—those on advanced courses will be excluded from October. He also explained then that adjustments would be made in the parental contribution scales for student grants to take account of the reduction in child tax allowances.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what estimate he has made of the cost to the National Health Service of phasing out private medical practice.

As facilities for private practice are withdrawn from NHS hospitals income will diminish, but appropriate adjustments have been made to health authorities' revenue allocations to compensate for this. As my right hon. Friend explained in the Second Reading debate on the Health Services Bill, we estimated the full cost of phasing out to be of the order of £20 million by 1980.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will pay a supplement to one-parent families on supplementary benefit to recognise their special needs and ensure that they receive the long-term rate at once rather than after two years.

I would refer the hon. Member to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Gravesend (Mr. Ovenden) on 6th December 1976. Consideration of the earlier payment of the long-term scale rate to lone parents, or any other group, must await financial resources becoming available.—[Vol. 922, c. 71–2.]

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what further advice he is obtaining about the organisation of the National Health Service.

The Royal Commission on the National Health Service has been asked to look at the organisation of the Health Service, and I am hopeful that it will provide some valuable recommendations. In the meantime, I am constantly receiving advice on the subject, much of it unsolicited, from a variety of sources.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Service if he will make a progress report on work towards possible ways of safeguarding the mobility of disabled persons currently possessing an invalid tricycle.

I would refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend's reply to the hon. Member for Braintree (Mr. Newton) on 11th January.—[Vol. 923, c. 1233–5]

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement on the first report of the Health Service Commissioner.

The first report by the Health Service Commissioner for the Session 1976–77 was laid before the House and published in December. The appendix to that report contained the full texts of all the reports issued by the Commissioner on individual cases during the months April to July 1976 with the names of the individuals and health authorities concerned omitted. Beginning with that report the Commissioner intends to report to me at intervals throughout the year appending the texts of all his individual reports in this way, thus providing a complete record of all cases he investigates. The first report for 1976–77 contains the results of 38 investigations involving health authorities in England. In 23 of these cases the Commissioner upheld the complaint in whole or in part. Each individual report is sent by the Commissioner to the health authority concerned and it is for it to consider his findings and recommendations and to take any action it considers appropriate.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what are the latest reports he has had on the Good Neighbour Campaign in giving practical help to the very old, especially those living alone.

Reports from all over the country indicate there is widespread support for the campaign and that a wide variety of activity is taking place involving many thousands of volunteers. By the very nature of the campaign, which is designed to turn sympathy into action, it is not possible to quantify the extent to which the good will it has generated among individual members of the community has been translated into informal practical help.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will make a further statement about the importance of the peripheral/cottage hospital.

Many small hospitals provide an essential service efficiently and economically, and some will continue in use for many years. Rationalisation of services to achieve a more efficient use of resources will mean, however, that some peripheral hospitals will have to close or be used in a different way—for example, following the opening of new hospital development. In the long term, hospital services will be centred on district general hospitals in which patients can receive a range of specialist treatment. Complementary to these will be community hospitals, mostly adapted from existing local hospitals, where patients who do not require highly specialised services can be treated close to their homes.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what proportion of children in (a)residential care, (b)foster care and (c)other local authority care is from one-parent families at the latest date available.

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services of how many cases of brain damage caused by whooping-cough vaccination he has been notified, via letters directly from members of the public, letters forwarded by hon. Members, or by groups representing individual members of the public; how many of these he believes are justifiable claims; and how the figure tallies with the information he gave to the House in his statement on 17th February.

As I indicated in my reply to the hon. Member on 2nd December 1976.—[Vol. 921, c. 256]—a good many representations about the alleged after effects of vaccination have been received in the Department over the years but many do not specify the vaccine or the injury received. I am not able to say how many are justifiable claims, but I have no reason to revise the information I gave in my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent, South (Mr. Ashley) on 8th February.—[Vol. 925, c. 1227–39.]

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, pursuant to his reply of 28th February, if he will publish details of the policy on whooping-cough vaccine agreed by his joint committee, specifying whether the committee recommends routine whooping-cough vaccination or whether it recommends that whooping-cough vaccine should be known to be available for those children for whom it may be particularly appropriate or whose parents request it.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the Chief Medical Officer's letter to doctors 17/74 issued in June 1974 and the statement by the Joint Committee in July 1975. I am sending copies to my hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, pursuant to his reply of 1st March, what steps would be required to make available information relating social class to whooping-cough deaths.

It would be necessary to study the death certificates relating to deaths from whooping-cough over a number of years and to estimate the social class in each case; the study is being put in hand.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, pursuant to his reply of 1st March, if he will give the reason why no figures for notifications, per million children aged under 15 years, of whooping cough was not notifiable 1901 to 1940; and if they are not accurately recorded, if he will publish figures that are available or the best available estimate.

As I stated in my reply on 1st March—[Vol. 927, c. 120–2.]—whooping cough was not notifiable nationally before 1940. There is insufficient evidence upon which to base estimates for those years. I would, however, point out that in my reply of 1st March the table showing scarlet fever death rates per million children should have read "0" (a rate of less than 0·5) instead of "nil" (no deaths recorded) for 1951–55, 1956–60, 1961–65 and 1966–70.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services at what age a child is as fully protected as possible by the whooping-cough vaccine if the child is vaccinated according to the schedule advised by his Department; what degree of protection is given by (a)one and (b)two immunisations; and to what extent the protection given by one or two immunisations depends upon the age at which they were given.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation recommended that vaccination against diphtheria, whooping cough and tetanus should commence between the ages of three and six months. The earliest age at which a child would have completed basic immunisation against whooping cough would be about nine months, if commenced at three months. Irrespective of the age at which vaccination begins, it is uncertain how much protection would be afforded by one or two doses but it would certainly be less than that following the completed basic course of three doses.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will detail the criteria by which he decides whether information available to his Department or to his Advisory Committee should be freely available to those interested; and on what grounds he decides to keep such information secret:(2) pursuant to his reply of 25th February, if he will request the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation to make available the evidence on which it bases its advice on whooping cough vaccination.

I will let my hon. Friend have a reply as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, pursuant to his reply of 28th February, if he will give the number of people who have presented oral evidence to the joint committee on aspects of whooping-cough vaccination in each of the last three years.

It is not the normal practice of the joint committee to receive oral evidence, but it does consider all available material both published and unpublished which has a bearing on the vaccines under consideration. Professor Gordon Stewart of Glasgow University, who is not a member of the joint committee or any of its sub-committees, recently attended a meeting of the joint committee and meeting of the Sub-Committee on Complications of Vaccination to expand on the papers which he had previously submitted to those committees.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he expects to receive the report on back pain.

The Working Group on Back Pain was appointed in November 1976 and held its first meeting towards the end of that month. It has since met once. It is too soon to say when it will be able to report.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his latest estimate of the cost per week of maintaining a severely handicapped child in the care of the local authority.

I regret that the information is not available centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether it is his policy to encourage the fostering of handicapped children.

Yes, where their needs can best be met in a foster home. The hon. Member will be glad to know that a number of local authorities and voluntary organisations have set up fostering schemes for handicapped children and that my Department's publication "Foster Care—A Guide to Practice" include guidance on foster care for these children. However, not all handicapped children are suitable for fostering; some who are very severely handicapped require special care and understanding which can best be provided in residential establishments having the staff facilities to meet these needs, though these children too may benefit from short periods, such as holidays, in foster care.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is satisfied with NHS facilities for the care of handicapped children.

The Court Committee in its recent Report (Cmnd. 6684) has emphasised that in its view there is an urgent need to improve health services for handicapped children and I am seeking the views of interested organisations and individuals on their recommendations.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the number of cases that have been approved for receiving attendance allowance and constant attendance allowance, respectively, in each year since the commencement of these schemes.

The table below gives the numbers in receipt of these

NUMBERS OF PERSONS IN RECEIPT OF ATTENDANCE ALLOWANCE AND CONSTANT ATTENDANCE ALLOWANCE (ROUNDED TO THE NEAREST 10)
			Attendance Allowance*	CAA (War Pensions)†	CAA (Industrial Injuries)‡
1948	…	…	—	5,000	—
1949	…	…	—	6,670	—
1950	…	…	—	8,100	—
1951	…	…	—	8,450	—
1952	…	…	—	9,340	1,360
1953	…	…	—	10,550	1,470
1954	…	…	—	10,710	1,720
1955	…	…	—	10,150	1,820
1956	…	…	—	9,650	1,890
1957	…	…	—	9,300	1,930
1958	…	…	—	8,950	1,990
1959	…	…	—	8,670	2,080
1960	…	…	—	8,560	2,250
1961	…	…	—	9,030	2,280
1962	…	…	—	9,210	2,310
1963	…	…	—	9,080	2,250
1964	…	…	—	9,090	2,270
1965	…	…	—	8,890	2,310
1966	…	…	—	8,760	2,350
1967	…	…	—	8,760	2,390
1968	…	…	—	8,500	2,560
1969	…	…	—	8,300	2,570
1970	…	…	—	8,200	2,630
1971	…	…	50,270	8,000	2,580
1972	…	…	85,200	7,770	2,610
1973	…	…	138,160	7,510	2,610
1974	…	…	180,150	7,290	2,640
1975	…	…	215,850	7,050	2,560
1976	…	…	251,040	6,740	—
* The figures are as at 31st December each year. The attendance allowance first became payable on 6th December 1971. The lower rate allowance was introduced during 1973.
† The figures for the years 1948 to 1953 are as at 31st March. The remainder are as at 31st December. Constant attendance allowance for war pensioners commenced in 1917, but figures for years before 1948 are not readily available.
‡ Includes allowances paid under section 159 of the Social Security Act 1975 and under the Pneumoconiosis, Byssinosis and Miscellaneous Diseases Benefit Scheme 1966, and its predecessors.

The figures given are as at 30th September for 1964–1975 and as at 30th October for earlier years.No reliable figures are available for years between 1948, when the allowance was introduced, and 1965, or as yet for 1976.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many children are known to have died because they had not received the anti-whooping-cough vaccination.

Whilst deaths attributed to whooping cough are recorded, it is not possible to say how many children have died because they had not been immunised against whooping cough.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what proportion of

The figures are as follows:

WHOOPING COUGH DEATHS IN ENGLAND AND WALES
		Aged under one
	All ages No.	No.	Percentage
1967	27	24	89
1968	15	15	100
1969	6	4	67
1970	15	13	87
1971	26	22	85
1972	2	2	100
1973	2	2	100
1974	13	12	92
1975	12	11	92
1976*	3	1	33
* Provisional

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his policy towards the support of voluntary social service organisations.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is satisfied that the fullest possible use is being made of voluntary effort in the provision of social services.

Certain voluntary organisations provide services additonal, or complementary, to those provided by local social services authorities. Those services are an essential element in the total provision of social services and I am anxious to encourage their development. The extent to which local authorities use or support the services of voluntary organisations is a matter for them to decide and they have powers under the Health Service and Public Health Act 1968 to give financial support to local projects. Most authorities have appointed an officer with the specific task of co-ordinating voluntary work and some have set up or support, volunteer bureaux.The Consultative Document on Priorities for Health and Personal Social Services, issued last year, drew attention to the need for statutory and voluntary services to work closely together and to the importance of the rôle of voluntary organisations in engaging the help of a wider range of community service.My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Services has power under the 1968 Act to give financial support towards the headquarters costs of national organisations and we are considering how this support could be better deployed.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what steps he is taking to maintain the purchasing power of grants he makes to voluntary work organisations.

I am always prepared to look sympathetically at the financial position of organisations in receipt of grants, and to try, so far as possible, to enable them to maintain their activities.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, in view of the fact that the candidate recommended for the consultant post in dermatology at the Birmingham Skin Hospital has not with- drawn his application, if he will now make a statement on the procedure followed in dealing with this appointment.

In my reply to the hon. Member on 8th February—[Vol. 925, c. 631–2]—I said that the candidate recommended for one of the vacant posts in dermatology based at the Birmingham Skin Hospital had withdrawn his application. I now know that my answer was incorrect, and I apologise for the error. The position is that a properly constituted appointment committee has recommended a doctor for the post, though there was an irregularity when the committee voted. The recommendation will be considered by the West Midlands Regional Health Authority and the Birmingham Area Health Authority (Teaching) at their meetings later this month, and it will be for the authorities to decide whether to accept it.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what proposals he has to increase incentives to work within the social security system.

We are keeping this problem under review, but there are no easy solutions.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what further steps are being taken by his Department to include emphysema and bronchitis in the list of prescribed industrial diseases.

As I explained in my reply to my hon. Friend on 3rd December last —[Vol. 921, c. 305–6]—I cannot hold out any hope on present evidence of prescribing these diseases as industrial diseases.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is satisfied that the recipients of social and national insurance benefits are always made aware of the provision that would be of greatest benefit to them when they are entitled to allowances under one of two schemes of assistance, for example, social security payments or rent and rate rebate allowances.

For manpower reasons, local social security offices cannot calculate enttitlement to rebates as well as to supplementary benefit, but where possible they advise claimants that they might be better off with rebates. Both the supplementary benefit scheme and housing finance generally are of course, currently under review.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what he estimates to have been the cost of supplying voucher books for child benefit to widowed mothers with one child and of adjusting the widowed mothers' allowance books of the same widows by a reduction equivalent to the new benefit.

Widows with one child will receive payment of child benefit by separate order book in the same way as all other persons with one or more children. The cost of supplying a child benefit order book is estimated to be about 85p. The adjustment of the widowed mother's allowance order book is made by computer and the cost is minimal.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many hospitals he has visited in the last three months as a result of articles in the Press.

I have in the last three months visited 19 hospitals. In the same period my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has visited six hospitals, and my right hon. Friend the Minister for Social Security visited one.As to the reasons for these visits I would refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Wells (Mr. Boscawen) on 8th February—[Vol. 925, c.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether there would be any extra cost to public funds before 1980 of continuing to pay the mobility allowance to all existing recipients after they reach retirement age.

This would depend on the precise details, still to be deter- mined, of the phasing programme for extending the allowance to adults nearing pension age. It would depend also on the numbers involved. I regret that it is not possible to give a meaningful estimate at this stage.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether his Department will suggest new sources of NHS finance to the Royal Commission.

My Department has already submitted evidence on NHS financing generally, and will submit further evidence if that seems useful.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether NHS resources will be adequate to maintain existing health standards in 1977–78.

As indicated in part 2 of the White Paper, the Government's Expenditure Plans (Cmnd. 6721), the programme for 1977–78 provided for the nation as a whole for a continuation of the policy that the existing standards of health care should be maintained for a population that includes a growing number of elderly people.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many United Kingdom-trained doctors left Great Britain in the last year for which figures are available.

Emigration statistics are kept by country of birth, and a breakdown by country of training is not available. In the year ending 30th September 1974, 900 fully or provisionally registered civilian doctors born in the United Kingdom or Irish Republic left Great Britain, and 550 such doctors entered Great Britain from abroad. Figures are subject to amendment as more information becomes available. Provisional figures for the period 1974 to 1975 and 1975 to 1976 indicate that the outflow of such doctors was about 200 above that in the period 1973–74 in both years. The net outflow appears to have increased in the period 1974–75 but returned to the 1973–74 level in 1975–76.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish in the Official Report the numbers of general practitioners working within the National Health Service in 1966 and 1976.

In England at 1st October the numbers of doctors in the general medical services, including principals, assistants and trainees were as follows:

1966	20,028
1976(1)	22,051
(1)Provisional figure.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what numbers of casualties he expects in the event of nuclear war; and how his Department proposes to deal with the dead and dying.

The number of casualties would be directly related to the scale and pattern of the attack which cannot be predicted. Whatever the scale, enormous casulties would result, but there would be many more survivors. District authorities and London boroughs would be responsible for arranging for the burial of the dead, when radioactivity had decayed. The arrangements would depend on the magnitude of the task.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will advise the local authorities of the importance of finding alternatives to institutional care that are less costly and more beneficial.

We have given general advice of this kind in the Consultative Document "Priorities for Health and Personal Social Services in England." We give more specific advice on particular services as and when there is a need and scope for it. The recent circular on intermediate treatment for children is an example.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is satisfied with current arrangements for the provision of education and occupation for the mentally handicapped.

Facilities for social training, work training and recreational activities for the mentally handicapped are still far from adequate. The 1971 White Paper "Better Services for the Mentally Handicapped" set out a dtvelopment programme which will take some 20 years to achieve. We intend that progress towards this should continue as rapidly as possible within the limits of available resources. Education for the mentally handicapped is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Science.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement confirming both the future existence and the progressive improvement of the Prince of Wales and St. Anne's Hospitals in the London borough of Haringey.

It is for the health authorities initially to propose the future of hospitals. I understand that long-term plans for the provision of hospital services in Haringey have not yet been agreed.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what progress is being made on a new contract for consultants.

In January I offered the British Medical Association talks without commitment about the principles of a new consultant contract for negotiation and implementation when pay policy permits. It accepted, and submitted proposals for a new contract. Discussions between officials and representatives of the medical profession have now commenced.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will institute a register of qualified osteopaths.

No. There is nothing to prevent the osteopathic organisations from pursuing the possibility of the registration of osteopathy as a profession supplementary to medicine under the provisions of the Professions Supplementary to Medicine Act 1960 should they so desire. Any other kind of registration instituted by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State would require legislation, which, I understand, would not be favoured by the largest organisation of osteopaths, the General Council and Register of Osteopaths Limited, which considers that its own register established in 1936 provides all that is needed.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what changes he proposes in the social security system to take account of changes in personal taxation.