Written Answers

                    The text on this page has been created from Hansard archive content, it may contain typographical errors.
                

Written Answers To Questions

Thursday 24th March 1977

Prices And Consumer Protection

Funerals

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection when he expects the Price Commission's Report on Funeral Charges to be published.

The report is being published today. It is a valuable report on a matter of deep concern to many and I am grateful to the Price Commission for the care and sensitivity with which it has carried out its study.The commission's principal finding is that funeral costs in this country are low compared with elsewhere, and price rises have been in line with those of prices generally and substantially less than the increase in earnings. This is an important reassurance to the bereaved.Profits of smaller businesses, and of coffin manufacturers, were found to be reasonable and even modest, but the commission suggested that the profits of larger companies offered some scope for price restraint. I shall put this proposal to the interests concerned and will make a further statement on the subject when I have their response.Other recommendations in the report concern the practices of funeral directors. The report suggests that funeral directors should display their prices, give written estimates and set up a comprehensive complaints procedure. The Director General of Fair Trading has been invited to consider the negotiation of a code of practice on these points with the trade.The commission notes that in North America—where funeral costs have aroused great controversy—there are voluntary and non-profit making memorial societies. While we do not have the North American problem, the commission suggests that memorial societies could be established here also. I commend this suggestion to the initiative of those who consider that simple, inexpensive but dignified funerals should be encouraged, and who want to do something about it.

Pilkington Brothers Ltd And Uko International Ltd

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection when he expects to publish the report of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission into the proposed merger between Pilkington Brothers Ltd. and UKO International Ltd.; and whether he will make a statement.

The report is being published today. The commission, with one member dissenting, has found that the proposed merger between Pilkington Brothers Ltd. and UKO International Ltd. may be expected to operate against the public interest.Although not excluding the possibility of benefits to the public interest arising from the merger, the commission considered there to be a greater probability of detrimental consequences and that these outweighed any potential benefits. The particular effects, adverse to the public interest, which the commission foresaw were:

1. a risk that Pilkington might not give sufficient priority to the immediate needs of the British mass lens industry;

2. a risk that Pilkington might not give sufficient priority to the development of plastic lenses;

3. the reduced likelihood that the British ophthalmic glass industry and the British lens industry would remain competitive internationally if UKO ceased to be an independent company in a position to exert pressure on Pilkington;

4. the risk of increased prices for blanks and lenses;

5. the risk of adverse effects on the United Kingdom balance of payments;

6. the risk of discrimination against independent prescription houses.

The commission was unable to recommend any actions that would remedy or prevent the adverse effects mentioned and has therefore recommended that the merger should not be permitted.

My right hon. Friend, in the light of the Commission's findings, agrees that the merger should not go ahead and is asking the Director General of Fair Trading to seek an undertaking from Pilkington to that effect.

Price Increases

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection what is his estimate of the increase in prices of funeral charges, soft drink mixers sold in public houses, hearing-aids, call-out charges, prescribed school clothing and intruder alarm systems, respectively, over the last three years after allowing for inflation; and if he will express these increases as a percentage of the average industrial wage increase over the same period.

On funeral charges I refer the hon. Member to the Price Commission's report that was published today. Information on the remaining items may appear in the reports of the commission on these subjects when they are published. The information cannot otherwise be obtained without disproportionate expenditure.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection what was the rate of increase of retail prices on 6th March 1974, or the nearest convenient date thereto, and on 6th March 1977, or the nearest convenient date thereto, taken in both cases at the annual rate.

The annual rate of inflation was 13·2 per cent. at 19th February 1974 and 16·2 per cent. at 15th February 1977.

A period of three months is too short for making a reliable assessment of the trend in price increases. However, for what it is worth, the rise in the retail price index in the three months to 19th February 1974 was equivalent to an annual rate of 17·5 per cent. The corresponding figure for the three months to 15th February 1977 was 21·6 per cent.

Food Prices

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection whether he will give the price of one pound of butter, cheese, sugar, beef (topside), pork (leg fillet half), bacon (middle cut plain), a standard white sliced loaf, one dozen standard eggs, and a three pound bag of flour on the date of accession to the Common Market and at the latest date; and to what extent he attributes these price rises to have been due to Great Britain's entry into the EEC.

Listed below are the average retail prices for these items at 12th December 1972, which was immediately before our entry into the EEC and 15th February 1977, being the latest date for which information is available:

	12th December 1972	15th February 1977
	p	p
Butter, Danish, per lb.	25·2	59·5
Cheese, cheddar, per lb.	32·0	59·5
Sugar, granulated, per kilo	9·6^*	25·5
Beef, home-killed, silverside, without bone, per lb.	59·5	113·4
Pork, leg, per lb.	39·8	68·8
Bacon, middle cut, smoked, per lb	39·1	81·7
Bread, white, 1¾ lb. wrapped and sliced per loaf	10·4	19·8
Eggs, standard, per dozen	22·2	51·0
Flour, self-raising, per 3 lb.	12·1	23·6
^* Converted from "per 2 lb.".

It is not possible to isolate the extent to which EEC entry has been responsible for food price increases because it is not possible to estimate how prices would have moved had we not joined the EEC in January 1973. For example, it is clearly difficult to estimate the price that might in those circumstances have been negotiated with the Governments concerned for Commonwealth sugar or New Zealand dairy products.

Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference

Q9.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will now make a statement on the forthcoming Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference; and who will and who will not be permitted to attend.

I refer my hon. Friend to the replies that I gave to him and my hon. Friend the Member for Derby, North (Mr. Whitehead) in the exchanges following my statement to the House on 15th March.

Peterborough

Q13.

asked the Prime Minister if he will pay an official visit to Peterborough.

I have at present no plans to do so.

Denmark (Prime Minister)

Q14.

asked the Prime Minister when he expects to reply to the invitation from the Prime Minister of Denmark to visit that country.

I have explained to the Danish Prime Minister that I hope to take up his invitation in due course, but no dates for a visit have yet been arranged.

Prime Minister (Engagements)

Q4.

asked the Prime Minister what are his official engagements for 24th March.

Q7.

asked the Prime Minister what are his public engagements for 24th March.

Q12.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his public engagements for 24th March.

Q16.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for 24th March.

Q18.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for 24th March.

Q19.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 24th March 1977.

Q23.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for 24th March 1977.

Q25.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for 24th March 1977.

Q27.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his engagements for Thursday 24th March.

This morning I took the chair at a meeting of the Cabinet. Later today I shall be appearing on the "Nationwide" programme on BBC Television, and I shall also be the guest of the Society of Industrial Artists and Designers at their Annual Minerva Dinner.

Cbi

Q5.

asked the Prime Minister when he last met the leaders of the CBI; and if he will make a statement.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing, North (Mr. Molloy) on 3rd March.

Q11.

asked the Prime Minister when he last met the CBI.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Thornaby (Mr. Wrigglesworth) on 17th February.

North Cotes

Q6.

asked the Prime Minister if he will pay an official visit to North Cotes.

I have at present no plans to do so.

Tuc

Q8.

asked the Prime Minister when he last met the TUC.

Q15.

asked the Prime Minister when he last met the TUC.

Q21.

asked the Prime Minister when he last met the TUC.

I refer my hon. Friends to the reply that I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Hemel Hempstead (Mr. Corbett) on 3rd February.

Rome

Q10.

asked the Prime Minister when he next proposes to visit Rome.

On 25th and 26th March for the meeting of the European Council.

Uganda

Q17.

asked the Prime Minister if he will consult the Commonwealth Heads of State about the continued Commonwealth membership of Uganda.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office to the hon. Member for Ravensbourne (Mr. Hunt) on 2nd March.

Regional Policy

Q20.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list those Ministers who have responsibilities for Government policy towards the regions.

In England the Ministers principally responsible are the Secretaries of State for the Environment, Industry and Employment, though other Ministers are also concerned with policy towards the regions. In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the relevant Secretary of State undertakes many of these responsibilities.

Hertfordshire

Q22.

asked the Prime Minister if he will pay an official visit to Hertfordshire.

I have at present no plans to do so.

Helsinki Final Act

Q24.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will ensure that the lack of progress in implementing Basket III of the Final Act of the Helsinki Conference by the Warsaw Treaty Powers, and especially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Czechoslovakia, is placed on the agenda for discussion by Heads of Government at the Downing Street Summit Meeting on 7th and 8th May.

The precise agenda for the Downing Street Summit is still under discussion and is for agreement by all participants.

Nato

Q26.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will hold consultations with the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany and the President of France as to the most effective methods of strengthening the defences along the central front of NATO.

In recent months I have had the opportunity for exchanges of views on defence matters with both Chancellor Schmidt and President Giscard d'Estaing. Planning for the effectiveness of NATO's defences, however, is a matter for the Alliance as a whole.

Home Department

Police Cadets

49.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why there has been a fall of approximately one-fifth in the strength of police cadets; and what restrictions have been placed on recruiting.

The reduction is the cumulative result of decisions by individual authorities on how many cadets they should recruit. In taking decisions, authorities take into account the number of regular police officers they wish to gain from this source, and the financial implications. As part of the measures needed to keep total expenditure on the police during 1977–78 within the Government's public expenditure plans we have had to ask police authorities to restrict recruitment of cadets, so as to reduce cadet strengths by 31st March 1978 to 55 per cent. of strength at 30th September 1974 unless equivalent financial savings can be found elsewhere in their budgets.

Police (Mortgage Interest Relief)

50.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he intends to take to assist police officers who own their own homes but, on being transferred to an area which necessitates living elsewhere, find themselves losing tax relief on their mortgage repayments.

The general question of tax relief on mortgage interest paid by occupiers of tied accommodation is under consideration by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Police (Broxbourne)

51.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will give sympathetic consideration to the representatives of the borough of Broxbourne to include the whole of the area of the borough within the area of the Hertfordshire Constabulary and thereby end the inconveniences and anomalies of a division of that area between the Hertfordshire Constabulary and the Metropolitan Police.

I am considering the representations carefully in consultations with the other authorities concerned.

Firearms

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department in view of the fact that all the component parts for the making of hand-gun and rifle ammunition can be purchased in the United Kingdom without the need for a firearms certificate whereas ready-made ammunition requires a certificate,

Year					Number of projects	Capital expenditure (£)	Recurrent non-capital expenditure (£ p.a.)	Non-recurrent capital expenditure (£)
1974	…	…	…	…	2	Nil	Nil	170
1975	…	…	…	…	25	29,132	22,328	9,398
1976	…	…	…	…	7	4,757	23,040	780

Attendance Centres, Leicester

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he will pay an official visit to an attendance centre in Leicester.

I have no present plan to do so.

whether he will take action to amend the law.

Under Section 1 of the Firearms Act 1968 it is an offence without a certificate not only to acquire or purchase but also to have in possession ammunition for which a certificate is required.

Messrs, Poulson, Cunningham And Smith

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why John Poulson has had to serve his sentence in Wakefield Goal and why Andrew Cunningham and T. Dan Smith were allowed to serve almost the whole of their sentences in open prisons.

Mr. Poulson was transferred to Ashwell open prison in November 1976. Prior to that date he remained at Wakefield Prison because of medical considerations. The cases of Mr. Cunningham and Mr. Smith were not affected in this way.

Voluntary Organisations (Pre-School Children)

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the number of activities assisted and the amounts granted by his Department to voluntary organisations to run pre-school activities in each of the last three years.

Urban programme grants at the rate of 75 per cent. on local authority expenditure for pre-school activities to be run by voluntarily organisations have been approved as follows:

Departmental Correspondence

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the hon. Member for Ravensbourne can expect a detailed reply to his letter of 22nd October 1976 regarding the case of Mrs. T. Gunawardena.

I wrote to the hon. Member on 15th March. I am sorry not to have been able to reply sooner.

Bail

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of those brought before the courts was released on bail in each of the last 10 years.

Information in the form requested is not available. The available information is shown in the following table:

Persons remanded by magistrates' courts in England and Wales during proceedings relating to standard list of offences whose last remand was on bali.
Proportion on bail (per cent.)
1967	66·1
1968	70·7
1969	72·8
1970	73·2
1971	73·6
1972	79·6
1973	80·6
1974	84·9
1975	86·8

The figure for 1976 is not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of persons released on bail committed crimes while on bail in each of the last 10 years.

I regret that this information is not readily available.

Immigration Officers (Languages)

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many people are currently employed in the immigration control sections of his Department; of these how many can interview an immigrant in each of the 15 languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Indian Constitution, namely Assamese, Bengali, Gujerati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayatam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu, respectively;(2) how many people are currently employed in the immigration control sections of his Department; and of these how many can interview an immigrant in Swahili, Malay and Chinese, respectively.

The number of staff currently employed in the Immigration Service, together with staff engaged on immigration work at headquarters is 2,362 full time and 321 part time. Of these the number in the Immigration Service who can interview an immigrant in each of the following languages is:

Assamese	Nil
Bengali	4
Gujerati	2
Hindi	21
Kannada	Nil
Kashmiri	Nil
Malayatam	Nil
Marathi	2
Swahili	4
Malay	2
Chinese (Cantonese)	Nil
Oriya	Nil
Punjabi	11
Sanskrit	Nil
Sindhi	Nil
Tamil	1
Telugu	Nil
Urdu	40

Language statistics for the staff at headquarters are not at present available but my Department will let the hon. Member have them shortly.

Legal Aid

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions in each of the last five years persons have been given legal aid; and what has been the total cost in each year, respectively.

The readily available information is as follows:

SUCCESSFUL APPLICATIONS FOR LEGAL AID IN CRIMINAL CASES 1971–75, ENGLAND AND WALES
Year	Number of successful applications
1971	186,996
1972	217,013
1973	244,332
1974	292,988
1975	336,368

COST OF LEGAL AID IN CRIMINAL CASES 1971–72 TO 1975–76, ENGLAND AND WALES
£'000's
Financial year	Gross expenditure	Contributions received
1971–72	9,540	233
1972–73	14,090	278
1973–74	16,500	447
1974–75	23,828	621
1975–76	32,802	812

Parking (Diplomatic Immunity)

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what sum remains unpaid from parking fines incurred by those with diplomatic immunity during each of the last three years; how much and what proportion is owed by each mission accredited to the Court of St. James; and how many cars carrying diplomatic immunity are operated by each mission.

The following table, compiled from provisional figures available from the Metropolitan Police, gives particulars of the total number of fixed penalty notices cancelled annually on grounds of diplomatic immunity for the years 1974 to 1976 and the percentage relating to each mission, except for the period June to September 1975 for which, because of a major revision of the Metropolitan Police computer system, figures

FIXED PENALTY NOTICES CANCELLED ON GROUNDS OF DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY
				1974		January to may 1975		October to December 1975		1976
				Number	Per cent.	Number	Per cent.	Number	Per cent.	Number	Per cent.
Afghanistan	…	…	…	42	0·1	6	—	20	0·1	91	0·1
Algeria	…	…	…	149	0·3	73	0·4	51	0·3	322	0·3
Argentine Republic		…	…	780	1·5	297	1·5	262	1·6	1,092	1·2
Australia	…	…	…	93	0·2	37	0·2	17	0·1	69	0·1
Austria	…	…	…	31	0·1	12	0·1	37	0·2	84	0·1
Bahamas	…	…	…	—	—	2	—	—	—	3	—
Bahrain	…	…	…	95	0·2	58	0·3	50	0·3	444	0·5
Bangladesh	…	…	…	409	0·8	135	0·7	88	0·5	441	0·5
Barbados	…	…	…	458	0·9	80	0·4	127	0·8	403	0·4
Belgium	…	…	…	270	0·5	61	0·3	42	0·3	178	0·2
Bolivia	…	…	…	85	0·2	56	0·3	28	0·2	156	0·2
Botswana	…	…	…	5	—	5	—	2	—	23	—
Brazil	…	…	…	493	0·9	167	0·8	141	0·9	1,200	1·3
Bulgaria	…	…	…	925	1·8	530	2·6	451	2·8	2,510	2·7
Burma	…	…	…	223	0·4	41	0·2	35	0·2	412	0·4
Cameroon	…	…	…	289	0·5	56	0·3	37	0·2	338	0·4
Canada	…	…	…	289	0·5	70	0·3	34	0·2	324	0·3
Chile	…	…	…	199	0·4	102	0·5	50	0·3	287	0·3
China	…	…	…	138	0·3	113	0·6	52	0·3	333	0·4
Colombia	…	…	…	35	0·1	13	0·1	33	0·2	320	0·3
Costa Rica	…	…	…	66	0·1	13	0·1	5	—	27	—
Cuba	…	…	…	2,708	5·1	1,246	6·1	755	4·7	4,571	5·0
Cyprus	…	…	…	2,191	4·1	748	3·7	655	4·1	3,807	4·1
Czechoslovakia		…	…	175	0·3	66	0·3	42	0·3	183	0·2
Dahomey	…	…	…	11	—	1	—	7	—	5	—
Denmark	…	…	…	258	0·5	55	0·3	49	0·3	190	0·2
Dominican Republic			…	52	0·1	23	0·1	29	0·2	86	0·1
Ecuador	…	…	…	207	0·4	126	0·6	49	0·3	197	0·2
Egypt	…	…	…	1,651	3·1	532	2·6	607	3·8	4,923	5·3
El Salvador	…	…	…	68	0·1	68	0·3	96	0·6	358	0·4
Ethiopia	…	…	…	222	0·4	38	0·2	42	0·3	84	0·1
Fiji	…	…	…	17	—	4	—	—	—	22	—
Finland	…	…	…	338	0·6	163	0·8	167	1·0	592	0·6
France	…	…	…	1,101	2·1	691	3·4	495	3·1	2,196	2·4
Gabon	…	…	…	99	0·2	41	0·2	76	0·5	253	0·3
Gambia	…	…	…	352	0·7	58	0·3	73	0·5	240	0·3

broken down by diplomatic mission are not available. It is not possible to give a breakdown by diplomatic mission of the final annual figures derived from statistical returns from all police forces in England and Wales.

The amount of the fixed penalty specified in each notice was £2 in the case of those issued up to 31st August 1975 and £6 in the case of those issued subsequently. There is no question of sums being owed in respect of cancelled notices since the cancellation of a penalty notice on grounds of diplomatic immunity necessarily involves the cancellation of any debt which would otherwise be due as a result of it.

I understand from my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport that the information requested concerning the number of cars operated by each diplomatic mission is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

	1974		January to may 1975		October to December 1975		1976
	Number	Per cent.	Number	Per cent.	Number	Per cent.	Number	Per cent.
German Democratic Republic	51	0·1	44	0·2	33	0·2	165	0·2
Germany, Federal Republic of	260	0·5	71	0·3	51	0·3	315	0·3
Ghana	1,209	2·3	422	2·1	341	2·1	2,186	2·4
Greece	1,327	2·5	297	1·5	299	1·9	1,732	1·9
Grenada	—	—	—	—	—	—	14	—
Guyana	255	0·5	53	0·3	14	0·1	107	0·1
Haiti	26	—	6	—	3	—	20	—
Honduras	88	0·2	37	0·2	38	0·2	67	0·1
Hungary	1,375	2·6	329	1·6	250	1·6	1,311	1·4
Iceland	7	—	7	—	13	0·1	40	—
India	485	0·9	106	0·5	86	0·5	449	0·5
Indonesia	646	1·2	265	1·3	198	1·2	2,060	2·2
Iran	2,807	5·3	942	4·6	656	4·1	3,584	3·9
Iraq	345	0·7	111	0·5	164	1·0	1,410	1·5
Ireland, Republic of	99	0·2	51	0·3	38	0·2	181	0·2
Israel	954	1·8	387	1·9	222	1·4	861	1·0
Italy	301	0·6	130	0·6	102	0·6	469	0·5
Ivory Coast	279	0·5	92	0·5	95	0·6	537	0·6
Jamaica	831	1·6	432	21	328	2·0	2,669	2·9
Japan	272	0·5	194	1·0	132	0·8	950	1·0
Jordan	504	1·0	243	1·2	235	1·5	1,391	1·5
Kenya	436	0·8	177	0·9	110	0·7	1,215	1·3
Khmer Republic	47	0·1	14	0·1	—	—	—	—
Korea	1047	2·0	368	1·8	352	2·2	1,032	1·1
Kuwait	886	1·7	307	1·5	183	1·1	2,274	2·5
Laos	20	—	3	—	4	—	9	—
Lebanon	169	0·3	91	0·4	37	0·2	305	0·3
Lesotho	44	0·1	26	0·1	33	0·2	156	0·2
Liberia	130	0·2	37	0·2	8	—	37	—
Libya	598	1·1	219	1·1	82	0·5	1,143	1·2
Luxembourg	24	—	13	0·1	7	—	17	—
Malagasy Republic	377	0·7	117	0·6	23	0·1	—	—
Malawi	118	0·2	65	0·3	36	0·2	204	0·2
Malaysia	1,160	2·2	344	1·7	264	1·6	1,531	1·7
Malta, Republic of	215	0·4	110	0·5	113	0·7	680	0·7
Mauritius	182	0·3	50	0·2	16	0·1	197	0·2
Mexico	363	0·7	225	1·1	190	1·2	474	0·5
Monaco	—	—	—	—	—	—	4	—
Mongolia	30	0·1	2	—	10	0·1	42	—
Morocco	257	0·5	71	0·3	46	0·3	387	0·4
Nepal	11	—	7	—	7	—	47	0·1
Netherlands	19	—	8	—	8	—	16	—
New Zealand	—	—	4	—	—	—	1	—
Nicaragua	68	0·1	14	0·1	5	—	57	0·1
Nigeria, Federal Republic of	3,124	5·9	1,104	5·4	1,478	9·2	6,450	7·0
Norway	71	0·1	37	0·2	11	0·1	76	0·1
Oman	130	0·2	70	0·3	78	—	463	0·5
Pakistan	1,402	2·7	754	3·7	464	2·9	2,315	2·5
Panama	124	0·2	63	0·3	75	0·5	279	0·3
Paraguay	202	0·4	108	0·5	72	0·4	262	0·3
Peru	424	0·8	162	0·8	56	0·3	468	0·5
Philippines	155	0·3	45	0·2	27	0·2	118	0·1
Poland	1,549	2·9	483	2·4	268	1·7	3,148	3·4
Portugal	180	0·3	75	0·4	64	0·4	456	0·5
Qatar	336	0·6	205	1·0	195	1·2	1,710	1·8
Romania	341	0·6	185	0·9	232	1·4	846	0·9
Saudi Arabia	1,937	3·7	692	3·4	569	3·5	2,970	3·2
Senegal	190	0·4	22	0·1	50	0·3	300	0·3
Seychelles	—	—	—	—	—	—	11	—
Sierra Leone	614	1·2	358	1·8	182	1·1	1,663	1·8
Singapore	31	0·1	26	0·1	19	0·1	57	0·1
Somali Democratic Republic	43	0·1	40	0·2	29	0·2	172	0·2
South Africa, Republic of	6	—	7	—	10	0·1	133	0·1
Soviet Union	672	1·3	301	1·5	230	1·4	1,243	1·3
Spain	245	0·5	156	0·8	166	1·0	567	0·6
Sri Lanka	271	0·5	113	0·6	57	0·4	404	0·4
Sudan	453	0·9	207	1·0	227	1·4	1,187	1·3
Swaziland	60	0·1	17	0·1	23	0·1	203	0·2
Sweden	16	—	5	—	12	0·1	113	0·1

	1974		January to may 1975		October to December 1975		1976
	Number	Per cent.	Number	Per cent.	Number	Per cent.	Number	Per cent.
Switzerland	33	0·1	25	0·l	15	0·1	41	—
Syrian Arab Republic	139	0·3	76	0·4	22	0·1	547	0·6
Tanzania	389	0·7	196	1·0	151	0·9	626	0·7
Thailand	1,068	2·0	360	1·8	228	1·4	820	0·9
Tonga	7	—	4	—	1	—	9	—
Trinidad and Tobago	351	0·7	107	0·5	55	0·3	233	0·3
Tunisia	484	0·9	138	0·7	94	0·6	412	0·4
Turkey	1,052	2·0	320	1·6	181	1·1	1,046	1·1
Uganda	481	0·9	116	0·6	149	0·9	536^*	0·6
United Arab Emirates	119	0·2	181	0·9	70	0·4	322	0·3
United States of America	85	0·2	55	0·3	35	0·2	189	0·2
Uruguay	49	0·1	12	0·1	18	0·1	55	0·1
Venezuela	332	0·6	182	0·9	136	0·8	953	1·0
Vietnam	110	0·2	38	0·2	—	—	—	—
Yemen Arab Republic	282	0·5	57	0·3	53	0·3	307	0·3
Yemen, People's Democratic Republic	82	0·2	25	0·1	35	0·2	322	0·3
Yugoslavia	967	1·8	432	2·1	345	2·1	1,658	1·8
Zaire	378	0·7	164	0·8	131	0·8	623	0·7
Zambia	858	1·6	307	1·5	181	1·1	1,168	1·3
Commonwealth Secretariat	76	0·1	33	0·2	25	0·2	128	0·1
Eastern Caribbean Commission	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	—
EEC Commission	6	—	3	—	2	—	13	—
International Cocoa Organisation	—	—	—	—	—	—	6	—
International Coffee Organisation	49	0·1	43	0·2	35	0·2	81	0·1
Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organisation	8	—	9	—	14	0·1	77	0·1
Western European Union	13	—	1	—	—	—	31	—
United Nations	—	—	1	—	—	—	57	0·1
TOTALS	52,839		20,398		16,106		92,985
^* This figure relates to the period up to 28th July 1976 when diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and Uganda were broken off.

Mr Mark Hosenball

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether he will interview Mr. Mark Hosenball prior to giving effect to his decision to deport him;(2) whether he will announce the decision of the tribunal in relation to the case of Mr. Mark Hosenball.

This matter is now sub judice.

Immigrants

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many immigrants entered the United Kingdom in the 12 months preceding 6th March 1974 or the nearest convenient date thereto; what was the comparable number for the 12 months ending 6th March 1977 or the nearest convenient date thereto.

Provisional figures show that, during 1976, 31,000 Commonwealth citizens and 13,100 foreign nationals were accepted for settlement on their arrival in the United Kingdom. The corresponding figures for the year 1973 were 25,633 and 3,936. Citizens of Pakistan are included as Commonwealth citizens until 31st August 1973 and as foreign nationals thereafter.

Crime

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of crimes involving violence to the person in the 12 months immediately preceding 6th March 1974 or the nearest convenient date thereto, and the comparable figure for the 12 months preceding 6th March 1977 or the nearest convenient date thereto.

The number of offences categorised under the heading of "violence against the person" recorded in the Criminal Statistics as known to the police in England and Wales in 1973 was 61,299. The corresponding provisional figure for 1976 is 77,700.

Broadcasting (Annan Report)

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how, and at what time, the Annan Report is to be published.

The report was presented to Parliament yesterday and is published today.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will cause an investigation to be made to ascertain how the Observer newspaper was able to publish a complete report of the Annan Committee of Inquiry into Radio and Television before the Committee had officially printed and presented its report to him and Parliament.

I am making urgent preliminary inquiries with a view to seeing whether a fuller investigation is called for.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what briefings to the Press have been given on the subject of the Annan Report;(2) what briefings are intended to be given to the Press prior to the publication of the Annan Report.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many copies of the Annan Report will be made available to members of the Press prior to the official time of publication; and to whom.

The usual arrangements for the publication of an important Command Paper have been followed in respect of the Report of the Committee on the Future of Broadcasting.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement about the report of the Committee on the Future of Broadcasting.

The Report of the Committee on the Future of Broadcasting was presented to the House yesterday afternoon, and was published at 9.30 a.m. this morning (Cmnd. 6753).The committee identifies three main objectives for the future: first, to preserve broadcasting in this country as a public service accountable to the public through Parliament; second, to devise a new structure for broadcasting so that it can evolve over the next 15 years; and third, to keep the editorial independence of the broadcasting organisations free from control by political pressure groups and vested interests. The Government accept these objectives, and further consideration of the recommendations in the report will be within the framework provided by them.The committee recommends that there should be four broadcasting authorities—that is two broadcasting authorities in addition to the BBC and the IBA. The BBC would continue to be the main national instrument of broadcasting in the United Kingdom, though it would no longer be responsible for local radio. The IBA—which would be renamed the "Regional Television Authority"—would henceforth be responsible for a regional television service, which would, however, include networked programmes; it, too, would cease to be responsible for local radio. The responsibility for local radio, and for other essentially local broadcasting services, would be vested in a new body which the committee calls the "Local Broadcasting Authority". The committee also recommends that when the national economy permits the kind of service it has in mind, the fourth television channel should be allocated to another new organisation which it calls the "Open Broadcasting Authority" which would provide a variety of programmes, including educational programmes; the principal rôle of this new body would be that of "publisher of other organisations' programmes".As respect the fourth channel in Wales, the committee recommends that Welsh language broadcasting should commence as soon as the Government can find the necessary finance, and that, pending the establishment of the Open Broadcasting Authority, it should be operated jointly by the BBC and IBA.The committee rejects the idea that a commission or council should be set up over the broadcasting authorities, but suggests means by which the public can voice its opinions on broadcasting, including the establishment of a "Public Enquiry Board for Broadcasting" which would from time to time conduct public inquiries into the performance of each broadcasting authority. There would also be a new "Broadcasting Complaints Commission" which would consider complaints against any of the broadcasting authorities by people who believe they have been treated unjustly or unfairly in programmes.When I announced at the end of last month that I had received the committee's report I indicated my intention to arrange full consultations on it.—[Vol. 927, c.

18.] My officials are today writing to all the individuals and bodies who gave evidence to the committee to invite them to submit their comments on the report, and I take this opportunity to extend the same invitation to anyone else, inside and outside Parliament, who may wish to put forward views. In order that these comments can be fully considered and the necessary legislation prepared in good time, they should be submitted by 1st July of this year.

I have already placed on record my thanks to the noble Lord, Lord Annan, and to the members of the committee for the immense amount of work they have done, for the speed with which they have done it, and for the invaluable public service they have rendered.—[Vol. 927, c. 18.] I now repeat these thinks, and I know that I shall be joined by right hon. and hon. Members on both sides of the House. What is now essential is that there should be a full debate, not just in this House but also in the country, on the important issues raised in the report. These are matters upon which the broadcasting authorities themselves will have views and comments which should be contributed to the debate, and I hope that they will be able to find ways, within the constraints placed upon them by statute, or, in the case of the BBC, by the Licence and Agreement, of making their contributions to the discussion.

Standing Advisory Council On Race Relations

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he can now announce the membership of the Standing Advisory Council on Race Relations foreshadowed in the White Paper on Racial Discrimination, Command Paper No. 6234.

The following organisations have accepted invitations to nominate representatives to the Council, as follows:

Association of County Councils, Mr. F. D. Pickering, CBE, Chairman of Berkshire County Council.

Association of District Councils, Councillor J. R. Green, Member of Nottingham City Council.

Association of Metropolitan Authorities, Councillor T. McLatchie, Member of West Midlands County Council and Coventry Metropolitan District Council.

Greater London Council, Mrs. Yvonne Sieve, G.L.C. Member for Ealing, Southall.

London Boroughs Association, Councillor R. W. G. Humphreys, Member of Camden Borough Council.

Confederation of British Industries [To be announced].

Trades Union Congress, Mr. W. H. Keys, General Secretary Society of Graphical and Allied Trades.

National Association of Community Relations Councils, Miss Kate Francis, Executive Officer of the Association.

The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities will be associated with the work of the Council and will be invited to send a representative to any meeting at which a matter of direct interest to the Convention is to be discussed.I have also appointed the following as members of the Council on a personal basis for a period of two years:

Mr. S. I. Aziz, Personnel Officer, Mars Ltd., Melton Mowbray, Leics.

Dr. S. S. Chatterjee, O.B.E., J.P., Consultant Chest Physician, Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester.

Mrs. Yvonne Conolly, Headmistress, Ring Cross Infants School, Islington, London.

Mrs. Pauline Crabbe, OBE, J.P., Secretary London Brook Advisory Centre.

Dr. Farrukh Hashmi, O.B.E., Consultant Psychiatrist, West Midlands Regional Health Authority, Birmingham.

Mr. Hugh W. Hay, a convenor for the Transport and General Workers' Union at General Electric Company, Stoke, Coventry.

Dr. Mohammed Iqbal, Lecturer in Chemistry and Adviser to Overseas Students, Huddersfield Polytechnic.

Mr. Ravi Jain, Organising Secretary, National Association of Indian Youth, Southall.

Miss Cynthia V. John, Solicitor, Gray's Inn, London.

Mrs. K. K. Khan, Teacher, R.C. Notre Dame Girls High School, Dumbarton.

Lord Pitt of Hampstead, J.P., Chairman-designate, Community Relations Commission; Member (former Chairman) of Greater London Council.

Councillor K. M. Shah, Member of Leicester City Council; Importer and retailer.

Professor Harmindar Singh, Lecturer/teacher in World Religions, London.

Councillor S. Springer M.B.E., Member of Hackney Borough Council; London Transport bus driver/operator.

The Chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality will be a member. Until this Commission is established Mr. David Lane will attend as chairman-designate and Lord Pitt will attend in his capacity as chairman of the Commission for Community Relations. During this period Sir Geoffrey Wilson will also attend as chairman of the Race Relations Board.

The Council will be under my chairmanship, and Ministers from the Departments of Education and Science, Environment, Employment, and Health and Social Security will be members. Other Ministers will attend when matters of concern to their Departments are discussed.

Northern Ireland

Terrorism (Tyrone Presbytery's Representations)

52.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what action he took upon receiving the resolution of the Presbytery of Tyrone dated 7th December 1976, in which those members of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland called upon Her Majesty's Government to change their course and use every means available at their disposal to quell terrorism.

I arranged for a full reply to be sent to the Presbytery of Tyrone on my behalf. It was informed that I shared its abhorrence of terrorist violence, and that there was no lack of determination on the part of the Government to root our those responsible. It was told of the RUC's successes in bringing terrorists before the courts and assured that although there were no obvious gaps in the law its application was kept under continuous review.

Defence

Gratuities

53.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence, as the decision made by Her Majesty's Government not to honour the undertaking given to officers in 1966 joining the Fleet Air Arm on short-service commissions for 12 years that they would receive a tax-free gratuity of £5,000 was taken by the Civil Service Department without his approval, whether he will make a statement.

No such decision was taken. I would refer the hon. Member to what my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence said on this matter during the debate on the Defence Estimates on 22nd March.—[Vol. 928, c. 1099–1104.]

Personnel (Numbers)

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many personnel were in the Royal Navy, the Army and the Royal Air Force, respectively, on 6th March 1974 or the nearest convenient date thereto, and on 6th March 1977 or the nearest convenient date thereto.

The information requested is as follows:

	28th February 1974	31st January 1977
Royal Navy and Royal Marines	80,075	76,934
Army	180,496	178,274
Royal Air Force	100,245	87,778
Total	360,816	342,986

The above figures include both United Kingdom and non-United Kingdom personnel.

Riot Control (Conferences)

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether any conferences or symposia on riot control organised under the auspices of his Department since 1969 have been attended by personnel of the United States Army as participants or observers; on what dates; and what subjects were discussed.

No.

Expenditure

asked the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what was the total amount of annual defence expenditure on 6th March 1974 or the nearest convenient date thereto, and 6th March 1977 or the nearest convenient date thereto;(2) what was the total amount of annual defence expenditure on 6th March 1974 or the nearest convenient date thereto, and on 6th March 1977 or the nearest convenient date thereto, applying an appropriate formula to show a true comparison of the level of defence expenditure after taking account of the reduction in the value of money between the two dates.

Actual defence budget expenditure in the financial year beginning 1st April 1974 was £4,164 million. Defence budget Estimates for the financial year beginning 1st April 1977 total £6,329 million. These two figures, converted to the same constant price base, are shown in Cmnd. 6721-II as £5,305 million and £5,447 million respectively, at 1976 Survey prices.

Nimrod Airborne Early Warning System

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he is satisfied that the operational capacity of the Nimrod AEW fulfils the requirements of the United Kingdom air defence region in the airborne early warning rôle as well as AWACS.

Both Nimrod AEW and AWACS could meet the airborne early warning requirements for the United Kingdom air defence region and for the Eastern Atlantic and Channel areas.

Libel Law

55.

asked the Attorney-General if he will seek to amend the laws of libel to exempt distributors from proceedings for libel.

This question was considered by the Faulks Committee on defamation whose report (Cmnd. 5909) was published in March 1975. The committee pointed out that a special defence of innocent dissemination is available to a distributor if he neither knew nor ought to have known that a publication he has distributed contained the libel complained of or was of a character likely to contain a libel; and recommended against any change in the law to exempt distributors all together from proceedings for libel. My noble Friend is still considering this recommendation.

Lawyers' Fees

asked the Attorney-General whether, in view of the Government's policy of not permitting the Leyland toolmakers to maintain their differentials, he will take action to ensure that this policy is carried out when the Government use the services of barristers and Queen's Counsel; and what he estimates would be the saving to the Exchequer if all persons taking legal briefs were paid on the same basis as barristers.

All the Government's policies are fully consistent with the need to maintain the attack on inflation. I regret that it is not possible to estimate the saving to the Exchequer on the hypothetical basis put by my hon. Friend.

Agriculture, Fisheries And Food

"Conservative Monthly News"

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many copies of Conservative Monthly News are purchased by his Department to keep Ministers and senior civil servants informed of current Conservative policy and thinking.

None.

Foreign And Commonwealth Affairs

Greece (Convicted British Subjects)

56.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action consular officials at Her Majesty's Embassy in Athens have taken to assist Mr. Spearman and Mr. Knott following their recent arrest and trial; and when he anticipates that the appeal procedures will be completed.

Consular officials from the embassy in Athens have visited Mr. Spearman and Mr. Knott and their three companions on three occasions. Consular representations were made on behalf of all the five men prior to their being charged. Consular officials assisted with the engagement of a lawyer for the defence. It is expected that the appeal, which was lodged on 18th March, will be heard in about two months' time.

Energy

Offshore Installations (Life-Saving Appliances)

asked the Secretary of State for Energy when he will make regulations under the Mineral Workings (Offshore Installations) Act 1971 concerning the provision and examination of life-saving appliances on offshore installations on the United Kingdom Continental Shelf.

I laid the Offshore Installations (Life-Saving Appliances) Regulations 1977, which come into operation on 1st June 1977, before the House today. These require the provision on offshore installations on the United Kingdom Continental Shelf of certain life-saving appliances, including survival craft, life buoys and life jackets, of alarm and public address systems and of plans of life-saving appliances. The required appliances and plans have to be examined before 1st June 1978 or the installation concerned may not be manned. Thereafter the requirement is for a biennial examination. The regulations also lay duties and obligations on licensees, owners and managers to ensure that the Provisions of the regulations are observed.The examination of life-saving appliances and plans will require the exercise of specialist expertise which is concentrated in my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade. With his agreement, therefore, I have authorised Department of Trade marine surveyors to conduct examinations and issue certificates on my behalf. The foregoing does not disturb the arrangements described in the Prime Minister's statement of 30th July 1976 under which responsibility for inspecting offshore installations rests with my Petroleum Engineering Division which will accordingly enforce the new regulations.

Civil Service

Central Film Library

asked the Minister for the Civl Service (1) what fees were paid to Mr. Bernard Bresslaw for his work in producing films for the Central Film Library;(2) what fees were paid to Miss Angela Rippon for her work in producing films for the Central Film Library.

Mr. Bresslaw and Miss Rippon appeared in two films produced by the Central Office of Information: the former in "In the Movies It Doesn't Hurt", produced mainly for distribution to schools; the latter in "Energy Audit", mainly distributed to industry.Fees paid to performers are negotiated in confidence between the production companies—with the approval of the Central Office of Information—and the artistes' agents. It is not normal commercial practice to disclose such fees.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service who is responsible for deciding which films lent by the Central Film Library should be made available free of charge; and what criteria are taken into account before making such decisions.

The responsibility for deciding which films produced by the Central Office of Information should be made available free of charge through the Central Film Library rests with the COI, in consultation with the sponsoring Government Departments. The main criterion applied is that those films should be on a subject of national importance directed at an audience that would not otherwise be reached since potential borrowers would be unwilling to pay the hire charge for this particular type of film. Some films are acquired from non-official organisations with the sponsorship of the appropriate Department. Decisions on whether or not these films should be "free to borrower" rests with the organisation, which would meet all distribution costs.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service if the Central Film Library has any plans to distribute a film on how to claim social security benefits.

The Central Office of Information makes films at the request of other Government Departments. It has not been approached to make or distribute a film on the claiming of social security benefits.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what was the cost to public funds of producing the film "What are they doing at College".

The film "What are they doing at College", produced in 1973, cost £15,200.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service how much money was spent by the Central Film Library in the last full year on fees and salaries to actors and performers in films.

The Central Office of Information produces documentary films on behalf of Government Departments for distribution by the Central Film Library. It is exceptional to engage actors or performers for these films. In the 12-month period ending February 1977, fees paid to actors or performers who appeared in such films amounted to £3,200.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what was the cost to public funds of producing the film "People Who Like People".

The film, "People Who Like People", was originally produced by a private film company, Lion Pacesetter, for the Hotel and Catering Industry Training Board. It was later acquired by the Central Office of Information for distribution "free to borrower" through the Central Film Library, under the sponsorship of the Department of Employment. No cost to public funds is involved in production or distribution.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what income is received in a full year from hire charges of films lent by the Central Film Library.

In the 12-month period ending February 1977, the income received from borrowers from hire charges was £127,200. In addition, £58,500 was received from other organisations for films distributed "free to borrower".

asked the Minister for the Civil Service how much money has been spent on newspaper advertising by the Central Film Library in the latest year for which figures are available.

During the financial year 1976–77 an estimated £21,700 will be spent on newspaper advertising for the Central Film Library.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what is the cost to public funds in a full year of hiring the following films from the Central Film Library: "In the Movies It Doesn't Hurt", "It shall be the Duty", "Simply Metric", "It Takes all Sorts", "Save It—Energy in Industry", "What are they doing at College", "The Motorway File", "Audit", "People Who Like People", and "Asepsis—Principles in Practice".

Costs for distributing the following films through the Central Film Library in the 12-month period ending February 1977 were:

	£
"In the Movies It Doesn't Hurt"	4,000
"It Shall Be the Duty"	nil
"Simply Metric"	2,800
"It Takes All Sorts"	2,700
"Save It—Energy in Industry"	3,300
"What are they doing at College"	2,950
"What are they doing at
"The Motorway File"	3,550
"Audit" (in CFL since November '76)	590
"People Who Like People"	nil
"Asepsis—Principles in Practice"	nil

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what is the cost to public funds of the Central Film Library; and how many staff it employs.

The Central Film Library, which is an integral part of the Central Office of Information, is charged with being self-supporting. Expenses are incurred for handling COI-produced films sponsored by Government Departments for "free to borrower" distribution. These handling charges amounted to £47,000 in the 12-month period ending February 1977. The COI employs 25 non-industrial and 15 industrial staff in the Central Film Library.

European Community Commission

asked the Minister for the Civil Service (1) if he will list in the Official Report the EEC regulations forbidding the employment of graduates in certain Commission clerical and administrative posts;(2) if he will make representations to the EEC Commission with the purpose of changing the current regulations forbidding the appointment of graduates to certain Commission clerical and administrative posts;(3) if he will list in the

Official Report the grades and salaries of EEC Commission clerical and administrative posts which are forbidden to graduates.

The EEC Staff Regulations contain no reference to the exclusion of graduates from appointment to clerical or administrative posts in the Commission. However, I understand that an administrative decision—which still applies—was made on personnel management grounds some years ago not to recruit graduates to certain clerical and secretarial posts.

Public Appointments

asked the Minister for the Civil Service when he will publish an up-to-date directory of paid public appointments made by Ministers.

I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the Member for Carshalton (Mr. Forman) on 4th February 1977.—[Vol. 925, c. 442.]

Civil Servants

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what was the number of civil servants on 6th March 1974 or the nearest convenient date thereto, and on 6th March 1977 or the nearest convenient date thereto.

The number of civil servants in post on 1st March 1974 was 697,059. On 1st January 1977 it was 746,161.

Her Majesty's Stationery Office

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what was the number of staff employed by Her Majesty's Stationery Office on 1st January 1977; and what were the numbers on the same date in each of the previous five years.

The numbers of staff in Her Majesty's Stationery Office on 1st January 1977 and on the same date in each of the previous five years were:

1st January 1977	7,268
1st January 1976	7,367
1st January 1975	7,081
1st January 1974	7,134
1st January 1973	7,326
1st January 1972	7,353

excluding staff transferred with their work during this period to the Central Computer Agency in the Civil Service Department. 386 staff were so transferred in April 1972 and 19 in March 1974.

Dispersal

asked the Minister for the Civil Service if he will indicate, by Department, how many of the 14,000 civil servants employed in the London borough of Camden are scheduled for dispersal.

It is not possible at present to indicate the number of individual civil servants employed in the London borough of Camden who will be transferred under the Government's dispersal programme.

Education And Science

"Industry, Education And Management"

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether she will place in the Library copies of her Department's document entitled "Industry, Education and Management—A Provisional Report".

This is a provisional document as my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Industry stated in his reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Hemel Hempstead (Mr. Corbett) on 15th February.—[Vol. 926, c. 207.] I cannot add to that reply.

Under-Fives

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will estimate the number of local authorities running under-5 education which will not be repeated in 1977–78 and how many children these courses currently accommodate.

In January 1976, the latest date for which the information is available, there were 440,683 under-fives receiving education in maintained schools in England with some provision being made by all local

		Capital expenditure^*	Current expenditure†	Number of nursery schools and schools containing nursery classes (January)	Number of pupils (full and part time) (January)	Number of adult staff employed in maintained nursery schools and designated nursery classes in primary schools (January)
		Capital expenditure^*	Current expenditure†		Number of pupils (full and part time) (January)	Teaching staff	Nursery assistants†	Total
		£m.	£m.
1973–74	…	—	N.A.	2,259	123,591	3,230§	4,658	7,888
1974–75	…	16	N.A.	2,491	138,828	3,627	5,090	8,717
1975–76	…	30	40	2,838	158,234	4,165	5,779	9,944
^* Information on the number of projects carried out is not collected centrally.
† Separate current expenditure figures are not available before 1975–76.
‡ NNEB students, nursery assistants in primary classes other than designated nursery classes, teaching staff whose infant classes contain children under 5 and heads in charge of nursery classes are excluded. Part time staff are included without reduction to a full time equivalent basis.
§ Estimated.

The majority of under-fives in school are in infant classes that also contain older children. It is impossible to extract for this group all the information requested, but in January 1976 there were 282,449 under-fives in infant classes, and it is estimated that they accounted for £68 million of current expenditure in the 1975–76 financial year.

Stirling University

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what plans she has for the future of Stirling University in the light of the cut-backs in the education budget.

My right hon. Friend expects the university to continue to play its part in the university system of Great Britain.

education authorities. I have no information about local authorities' intentions in this respect for the next financial year, but the White Paper "The Government's Expenditure Plans" (Cmnd. 6721) makes clear that the number of under-fives in school is not expected to decline nationally.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will publish the sums spent, the number of projects covered, the number of staff employed and the number of children involved in under-5 education by local authorities in each of the last three years.

For nursery schools and designated nursery classes the information is as follows:

School Meals

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many children in West Gloucestershire take school meals in 1977; and what were the figures for 1976, 1975 and 1974.

The information is not available in my Department but for Gloucestershire as a whole the figures are as follows:

Year (October)	Pupils in receipt of schools meals at maintained schools
1974	66,907
1975	67,407
1976	65,977

Comparable figures for 1977 will be available later in the year.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the percentage of expenditure on education taken up by school meals subsidy.

In the financial year 1975–76, the school meals subsidy accounted for about 5·5 per cent. of total education expenditure.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the average cost of a school meal to the State in 1977.

The latest available estimate of the gross average cost, which relates to November 1976, is 49p. Taking into account income from meals charges the net average cast to public funds is 37p.

Employment

Gas And Postal Charges

asked the Secretary of State for Employment to what extent he estimates the cost-of-living index figure will rise as a result of the recently announced increases in the postal charges and 10 per cent. on gas charges.

It is estimated that the recently announced increases in postal and gas charges will add eventually about 1/15th of 1 per cent. and 1/7th of 1 per cent., respectively, to the present level of the retail prices index.

Statutes (Enforcement)

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish a list of the Acts of Parliament for whose administration he is responsible from which the police are statutorily excluded.

The Acts from which the police service is totally excluded are the Employment Protection Act 1975, the Contracts of Employment Act 1972, the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1974, and, except for Chief Constables, the Redundancy Payments Act 1965.In addition, they are excluded from the main provisions of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 in so far as these relate to employees.

Employment Protection Act (Claims)

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many claims have been made to date under Schedule 11 to the Employment Protection Act; how many workers are affected; how many claims have been determined; and with what result.

I understand that the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service has received 281 claims formally reported under Schedule 11 to the Employment Protection Act, up to and including 21st March.None of these claims has yet been determined by the Central Arbitration Committee.The service does not require the number of workers covered to be given when a claim is made.

Job Creation Programme

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he is satisfied with the working of the job creation scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Yes. Since the programme was launched in October 1975 it has provided nearly 70,000 temporary jobs, mainly in areas of high unemployment, for people who would otherwise have been unemployed. Three-quarters of those working on projects are young people between 16 and 24 years of age. The Government has allocated a total of £130 million to enable application to be accepted up to 31st August 1977, by which time over 90,000 jobs will have been provided. The future of job creation is currently being reviewed by the Manpower Services Commission.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish in the Official Report the job creation projects proposed or under way on Merseyside, indicating the number of jobs involved in each project.

I regret that the information required cannot be obtained except at a great cost because so much is being achieved. I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that nearly 600 projects are under way or proposed in the Merseyside area, involving about 7,300 jobs.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the total cost of the job creation scheme on Merseyside to the latest available date.

I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that, to date, £14·2 million has been allocated to projects approved under the Job Creation Programme in the Merseyside area.

Unemployed Persons

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people were unemployed on 6th March 1974 or the nearest convenient date thereto, and on 6th March 1977 or the nearest convenient date thereto.

At 11th March 1974, there were 590,071 people registered as unemployed in Great Britain compared with 1,328,382 at 10th March 1977. This latter figure is provisional.

New Year Bank Holiday

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he has now decided the date of the New Year bank holiday in 1978.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Walsall, North (Mr. Hodgson) on 23rd February.—[Vol. 926, c. 626.]

Aliens (Statistics)

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if his Department maintains any statistics relating to aliens resident in the United Kingdom.

No.

Industry

Small Businesses

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will set out his measures for providing financial and other assistance to small firms located outside the assisted areas, especially those in need of relatively small amounts of risk capital which would enable them to make a disproportionate contribution to the export drive.

Small firms outside the assisted areas are eligible for assistance under the sectoral schemes in operation under the Industry Act 1972. Most of these schemes contain a provision providing for assistance towards the cost of consultancy studies for small firms, in addition to the general financial assistance that is available to firms irrespective of size. They also take advantage of the services provided by the small firms information centres, and in the South-West region there is an experimental counselling service for small firms, which, if successful, will be extended to the country as a whole. The provision of risk capital is a matter for the financial institutions.

Industrial Development Certificates

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what was the number of industrial development certificates, for developments of less than 20,000 square feet, refused in the Greater London area and the South-East Economic Planning Region, respectively, in the last two years.

For projects of up to 20,000 sq ft, the number of IDCs refused was as follows:

	1975	1976
Greater London	1	1
South-East Economic Planning Region (including London)	7	3

Note: On 1st May 1976 IDC exemption limits were raised from 5,000 sq ft to 12,500 sq ft in the South-East Region.

British Shipbuilders (Acquisitions)

asked the Secretary of State for Industry (1) what consultation has taken place with the staff of London Graving Dock concerning the negotiations over the disposal of the company's ship-repairing interest to British Shipbuilders; and if he will invite representatives of the staff to participate in the current negotiations;(2) what approaches he has received from London Graving Dock concerning the possible acquisition of its ship-repair interests; what parts of the company's activities are concerned; what is the Government's attitude to the negotiations; and if he will make a statement.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry (1) what consultation has taken place with the staff of Green and Lilley Weir concerning the negotiations over the disposal of the company's ship-repair interest to British Shipbuilders; and if he will invite representatives of the staff to participate in the current negotiations;(2) what approaches he has received from Green and Lilley Weir concerning the possible acquisition of its ship-repairing interests; what parts of the company's activities are concerned; what is the Government's policy on the negotiations; and if he will make a statement.

Following my right hon. Friend's statement to the House on 2nd March negotiations are under way between the Organising Committee for British Shipbuilders and P & O on the possible acquisition of the ship-repairing interests of R. H. Green and Silley Weir at London and Falmouth. London Graving Dock is engaged in similar negotiations on the possible acquisition of its ship-repairing interests. I understand that in both cases the companies have kept their staff informed.

Government Aid

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what action the Government have taken following the decisions announced at the NEDC meeting on 2nd February 1977 to concentrate assistance on five key industrial sectors; and whether he will make a statement on the progress of the industrial strategy in those sectors.

The Government's proposal, which was approved by the National Economic Development Council meeting on 2nd February, was to seek to bring various policy instruments to bear in a concentrated way on the five sectors to exploit opportunities and eliminate constraints identified by the sector working parties. Officials have subsequently held discussions in the Industrial Strategy Staff Group with the other parties involved in the industrial strategy programme on the ways in which this initiative should be pursued. My hon. Friend the Minister of State or I have attended meetings of four of the five sector working parties concerned so as to identify the particular issues that should be pursued, and I hope to meet the fifth working party next week. Talks are now being planned with a number of individual companies in each sector.

British Steel Corporation (Development Strategy)

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what he now estimates to be the cost of the British Steel Corporation's development strategy.

The corporation's development strategy as set out in the 1973 White Paper was originally estimated to cost £3,000 million at 1972 prices.The development of Port Talbot being undertaken later than originally envisaged, the lowering of forecasts of future steel demand and increases in capital costs have all contributed to a series of modifications in the timing and detailed content of the strategy, although its main components have remained unchanged.Up to the end of 1975–76 the corporation had spent £1,226 million on the strategy. The corporation's five-year investment programme, published in Vol. II of the Government's Expenditure Plans (Cmnd. 6721–II) of February 1977, would involve an expenditure of £3,446 million from 1976–77 to 1980–81 at 1976 survey prices—that is, a total of £4,672 million.The details of the continually developing strategy for later years are not yet settled and it is not therefore possible to give precise estimates of costs beyond 1980–81.

National Finance

International Monetary Fund

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what reply he has received from the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund to his letter of 15th December 1976.

None. The request in my letter of 15th December 1976 to the Managing Director of the IMF for a standby arrangement of $3·9 billion was considered and approved by the Executive Board on 3rd January 1977. It is not customary for the Managing Director to reply to such letters—but he did agree to give me the $3·9 billion.

30.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government concerning the forthcoming review of quotas of the International Monetary Fund in 1978.

To seek to ensure that IMF financing facilities are adequate in relation to the growth of world trade and to the likely scale of imbalances in the world payments system.

Charities

11.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the financial concessions arising from registration as a charity.

I can summarise the fiscal concessions available to registered charities by saying that charitable bodies are generally exempt from income tax, corporation tax and capital gains tax. There are certain other fiscal reliefs available in respect of CTT, local authorities' rates and VAT.

Following is the fuller information:

Bodies of persons or trusts established for charitable purposes only are, with one qualification, exempt from income tax, corporation tax and capital gains tax provided the income or gains concerned are applied to charitable purposes only. The qualification relates to profits derived by a charity from trading activities; these profits are only exempt from corporation tax or income tax where the trade is exercised in the course of the actual carrying out of a primary purpose of the charity or where the work on the trade is mainly carried out by the beneficiaries of the charity.

In general there are no provisions for income tax relief to a donor for donations made to charities. However, where an individual executes a deed of covenant binding himself to make annual payments to a charity for a period which may exceed six years he can obtain income tax relief, but only at the basic rate, on the amounts so paid; and if a company similarly executes such a deed it can obtain corresponding relief from corporation tax. In practice the donor deducts basic rate income tax from the payments made to the charity and this tax may be retained provided the payer has sufficient income which has been subject to income tax to cover the payment. The charity can recover the tax which has been deducted.

Transfers of property given to charities or to be held in trust for charitable purposes only are exempt from capital transfer tax up to a total of £100,000 if made on or within one year of death and are exempt without limit if made earlier.

A donor who gives property to a charity is not liable to capital gains tax on the increase in value of that property during the period of his ownership. Where the donor receives a consideration for the asset he will be chargeable only where and to the extent that the consideration exceeds his acquisition cost.

Premises occupied by a registered charity and used for charitable purposes, including shops which sell donated goods, qualify for a statutory 50 per cent. relief from local authority rates. In addition, rating authorities may grant further relief up to 100 per cent. at their discretion.

Charities enjoy a number of specific VAT concessions in that donated goods, exports of goods for the relief of distress and supplies of services or material specifically used in the charitable business of a charity—such as talking book equipment for the blind, medical treatment, etc.—are zero-rated or exempted from VAT. Otherwise, registered charities are given no special privileges under VAT law. Comparatively few charities make taxable supplies in excess of the registrable limit and have to register and account for tax.

Public Bodies (Staff Perquisites)

14.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will cause returns to be made to him from all public bodies indicating the costs incurred in respect of abnormal concessions to staff, including motor cars, tied houses, flats and mortgage interest.

No. Abnormal concessions are not make to staff employed by central Government. The conditions of service of employees of the nationalised industries, local authorities and other public bodies are a matter for those organisations.

Inflation

15.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what further proposals he has for reducing the rate of inflation; and whether he will make a statement.

16.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the latest figure for annual inflation.

33.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he is satisfied with the current rate of inflation; and if he will make a statement.

The rate of inflation in the 12 months to February was 16·2 per cent. The rate of inflation should start falling quite quickly during the summer when we have fully absorbed the impact of last year's depreciation. In the longer term, the continued fall in the rate of inflation will depend on a satisfactory agreement on a third round of pay policy. I believe my Budget next week will substantially improve the chances of reaching an agreement.

17.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the rate of inflation in the United Kingdom in December 1973; if he will also publish the figures for Japan in December 1973 after the oil crisis; and how these rates compare with the present rates of inflation in these two countries.

Over the 12 months to December 1973, the United Kingdom's rate of inflation was 10·6 per cent., while Japan's was 19·1 per cent. The most recent comparison available is for the 12 months to January 1977, when the United Kingdom's rate of inflation was 16·6 per cent. and Japan's 9·2 per cent.

23.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the rate of inflation was last at 8·4 per cent.

The last time the year-onyear increase in the Retail Price Index was under 8·5 per cent. was over the 12 months to March 1973, when the figure was 8·2 per cent. The three monthly increase was 7·5 per cent. at an annual rate in July 1976.

29.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the current rate of inflation, based on the last three months for which figures are available.

Over the three months to February the Retail Price Index rose by 5 per cent.

47.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to be able to honour his commitment to reduce the annual rate of inflation below 10 per cent.

I refer the hon. Member to the Written reply I gave to the hon. Member for Edinburgh, Pentlands (Mr. Rifkind) on 24th February.—[Vol. 926, c. 688.]

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the rate of inflation on 6th March 1974, or the nearest convenient date thereto, and on 6th March 1977, or the nearest convenient date thereto.

The data used to compile the Retail Price Index are collected in mid-month. The latest available figures are for February 1977. The index rose by 13·5 per cent. over the 12 months to mid-March 1974 and by 16·2 per cent. over the 12 months to mid-February 1977.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the percentage rate of inflation which has occurred since 6th March 1974 or the nearest convenient date thereto.

The data used to compile the Retail Price Index are collected in mid-month. Between mid-March 1974 and mid-February 1977 the Index rose by 69·7 per cent.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the current rate of inflation, as defined by the percentage rise in the retail price index over the three months to February, expressed as an annual rate.

Over the three months to February the Retail Price Index rose by 5 per cent. or 21·6 per cent. at an annual rate. The period between the collection of the data used to compile the Index in November and in February was 13 weeks.

Value Added Tax

18.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what increase or decrease in revenue would arise from a single 10 per cent. rate of VAT.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 18th March to the hon. Member for Westonsuper-Mare (Mr. Wiggin)—928, c. 349].

Fares And Fuel Charges

22.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what impact pending increases in fuel charges, rates and public transport costs are estimated to have on the level of inflation.

In the categories my hon. Friend mentions increases are pending in the price of gas, coal and electricity and in London Transport fares. These will increase the Retail Price Index by about 0·55 per cent.

European Community (Taxation Harmonisation)

24.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he has taken to carry out the policy of Her Majesty's Government to harmonise taxation with other members of the European Economic Community.

Her Majesty's Government have played their full part in discussions on the harmonisation of taxation within the EEC, whilst seeking to ensure that any agreements reached were both desirable and practicable.

36.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he plans to hold any discussions on tax rates on personal incomes under his Chairmanship in the EEC Financial Council up to 30th June.

No.

Benefits Taxation (Report)

25.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects the interdepartmental committee now investigating the distinction between representative and beneficial occupation in connection with the taxation of benefits to conclude its deliberations; and if it will be publishing an interim report.

I have received the committee's report and I hope to make a statement shortly.

Income Tax

27.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer by what proportion the average tax deduction has increased from February 1974 to March 1977 for a manual worker earning an average wage in February 1974.

35.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer by what proportion the average tax deduction increased from February 1974 to March 1977 for a manual worker earning an average wage in February 1974.

Estimates of average earnings for February 1974 are not available owing to the three-day week, and estimates for March 1977 have not yet been published, but between March 1974 and December 1976 the tax payable by a married man earning the average manual wage and with two children not over 11 years of age rose by 112 per cent.

Social Contract

26.

asked the Chancelor of the Exchequer if, in forming his policy for the next stage of the social contract, he will consider setting up at the same time an appeals board for those firms and individuals who feel that the operation of the social contract is discriminating and acting unfairly.

As part of the wider social contract, it is Government policy to agree voluntary pay guidelines to be promulgated by the TUC. The detailed arrangements to be made for the period after 31st July are a matter for negotiation in coming months.

Customs And Excise Evasion

28.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer in how many cases during 1975 and 1976 Her Majesty's Customs and Excise agreed to compound alleged offences in accordance with 288(a) of the Customs and Excise Act 1952.

It has not been the policy of the Commissioners of Customs and Excise to publish separate details of the numbers of cases dealt with either by criminal proceedings or by settlement under section 288 before proceedings. Settlements under section 288 are most commonly made in respect of the large number of minor smuggling offences and exchange control offences detected at ports and airports.

Disabled Housewives

31.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, in the light of improved estimates of public sector borrowing requirement, and the fact that payment of NCIP to disabled housewives was postponed as a result of last July's incorrect figure, he will now bring forward the date at which it becomes payable.

No.

National Finance

"Scotland Is British"

32.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from the "Scotland is British" campaign regarding his forthcoming Budget.

None.

Widows

37.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from the National Association of Widows concerning his forthcoming Budget Statement.

43.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received this year urging that the tax burden on widows be relieved.

I would refer my hon. Friends to the answer I gave today to my hon. Friend the Member for Gravesend (Mr. Ovenden).

38.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the amount of income tax paid by widows in the current year.

About £500 million for 1976–77.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many representations he has received in the last year which ask for exemption of widows' and war widows' pensions from taxation.

A number of such representations have been received from hon. Members, widow's organisations and others. 50 per cent. of a war widow's pension is, of course, now exempt from tax.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate he has made to the cost to the Exchequer of exempting widows' pensions from taxation.

About £140 million for 1976–77.

Public Sector Borrowing Requirement

34.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why it is not his Department's practice to make statements in the House regarding the size of the public sector borrowing requirement; and, in view of the current practice of releasing monthly figures to the media, if he will now answer Questions on this matter.

Estimates of the public sector borrowing requirement are published quarterly by the Central Statistical Office, most recently on 3rd March. In addition, a statement of the central Government borrowing requirement is issued each month by the Treasury.

Governor Of The Bank Of England

39.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he last met the Governor of the Bank of England.

42.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he is next meeting the Governor of the Bank of England.

I maintain close contact with the Governor of the Bank of England, meeting him on a regular basis, and also as and when circumstances require.

Interest Rates

40.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he is satisfied with the level of interest rates.

Since late October 1976, short-term interest rates have fallen by about 5 percentage points, and long-term interest rates by nearly 3 percentage points; a little under half of these falls has occurred since my reply to my hon. Friend on 27th January. Lower interest rates will help to support the Government's aims for industrial expansion.

Tax System

44.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has any plans for the reform or simplification of the tax system, especially as it affects those who have to pay the higher rates of income tax.

Certain measures to simplify the tax system are already being taken. Last year's Finance Act contains provisions, due to come into effect in 1979–80, which change the method of giving tax relief for life insurance premiums. The replacement of child tax allowances by child benefits will lisp make a contribution to simplification when the phasing out of the tax allowances is completed. These arrangements apply to all taxpayers, including those liable at the higher rates. As regards further measures, I am always prepared to consider suggestions for further reform or simplification, but the hon. Member will not expect me to anticipate my Budget Statement.

Budget Statement

41.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many representations he has received to date concerning his Budget Statement.

About 110 to date from representative bodies, companies and organised pressure groups, and others from individuals.

Equities

45.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he intends to take to encourage savers to invest in equities.

My right hon. Friend's objective is to find the right balance among savings media so as to encourage the investment in industry, housing, the public sector and elsewhere which the country needs.

Nationalised Industries

46.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the cash flow for costs contained in the White Paper on Public Expenditure are the same as those in the corporate plans of the nationalised industries.

The estimates of the capital requirements and financing of the nationalised industries published in Tables 3.2 and 3.3 of Command 6721-II are based on figures supplied by the industries themselves.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer which nationalised industries, in addition to the gas industry, are being requested to repay existing borrowings by 31st March 1978 on a scale similar to the £100 million which the gas industry has to repay.

None.

Child Allowances

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will seek to change the law concerning tax allowances for children overseas to the practice that a claimant must have been at least a year in Great Britain or produce sworn evidence that the child claimed for is alive and that a certificate of birth or registration is submitted with the tax return.

I have noted my hon. Friend's suggestion.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer to what extent he estimates there would be a saving to the Revenue if no tax allowances were made to claimants for children overseas unless birth certificates were produced for each child claimed.

I regret it is not possible to make an estimate.

Economic Prospects

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his policy with regard to the proposals made in the Cambridge Economic Policy Review No. 3, March 1977, published by the Department of Applied Economics, Cambridge; and whether he will make a statement.

The economic analysis and proposals for policy made in the Cambridge Economic Policy Review were, as usual, interesting. My right hon. Friend's proposals will be set out in a statement to the House on 29th March.

Government Shareholdings

48.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will now establish and make public a central register of all the Government's and other official bodies' shareholdings and investments in public companies.

No. Below is a list of the Government's own shareholdings in public companies. As regards holdings by other official bodies, this information is normally published in their annual

reports, I see no need to duplicate these arrangements by setting up a register.

Company	Shares Held	Proportion of issued share capital held by the Government per cent.
Appledore Shipbuilders Ltd.	150,000 £1 Ordinary Shares	100
Beagle Aircraft Ltd.	1,000,000 £1 Ordinary Shares	100
British Nuclear Fuels Ltd.^*	27,668,000 £1 Ordinary Shares	100
British Petroleum†	186,092,307 £1 Ordinary Shares and 1,000 £1 8% Cumulative First Preference Stock.	48·2
British Sugar Corporation	3,625,000 £1 Ordinary Shares	36·25
Cammell Laird Shipbuilders Ltd.	1,500,000 £1 Ordinary Shares	22·83
Govan Shipbuilders Ltd.	10,000,000 £1 Ordinary Shares	100
Harland and Wolff‡	4,000,000 £1 Ordinary Shares	100
John Hastie & Co. Ltd.	200,000 £1 Ordinary Shares and 500,000 Redeemable Preference Shares.	63
Kearney & Trecker Marwin Ltd.	800,000 13½% £1 "B" Cumulative Preference Shares; 100,000 13½ £1 "D" Cumulative Preference Shares.	26·46
KTM Machine Tools (Holdings) Ltd.	338,141 £1 Ordinary Shares 950,000 Redeemable Convertible £1 "A" Preference Shares and 3,222,200 Redeemable £1 "B" Preference Shares.	77·78
Marathon Shipbuilding Co. (U.K.) Ltd.	20,000 6% Redeemable Non-cumulative £100 Preference Shares.	51·28
Mersey Docks & Harbour Co.	4,137,265 10p Ordinary Shares, 1 10p Special Share.	20·67
National Nuclear Corporation	3,685,000 £1 Ordinary Shares	35
North East Coast Ship Repairers Ltd.	1,800,000 £1 Ordinary Shares	73·47
Norton Villiers Triumph Ltd.	3,500,000 £1 "A" Redeemable Preference Shares and 1,372,000 £1 "B" Redeemable Convertible Preference Shares.	47·5
Radiochemical Centre Ltd.^*	3,266,783 £1 Ordinary Shares	100
SB (Realisations) Ltd.	42,050 £1 5% Redeemable Cumulative Preference Shares, 581,302 25p Ordinary Shares, and 250,000 25p "A" Ordinary Shares.	100
Suez Finance Co.	645,591 FF100 Capital Shares	7·76
Sunderland Shipbuilders Ltd.	7,000,000 £1 Ordinary Stock Units; 2,750,000 £1 Ordinary Stock Units; 1,312,500 £1 Cumulative Preference Shares.	100
Toplis and Harding (Middle East) Ltd.	998 50p shares	99·8
Triang-Pedigree Ltd.	25,000 £1 Ordinary Shares and 1,000,000 £1 Redeemable Preference Shares.	95
Upper Clyde Shipbuilders	875,000 £1 Ordinary Shares and 12,000,000 25p Ordinary Shares.	48·4
Wolverhampton Industrial Engines Ltd.	50,000 10p "A" Ordinary Shares	2·4
^* Section 11 of the Atomic Energy Authority Act 1971 requires the Secretary of State for Energy or the Atomic Energy Authority to retain at least 51 per cent. of the shares in British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. and Radiochemical Centre Ltd.
† In addition, the Bank of England holds 20·1 per cent. of shares in British Petroleum.
‡ The shares are held by the Northern Ireland Department of Commerce.

National Savings Certificates

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what national savings certificates will be on sale next month;(2) if he will raise the permitted number of national savings certificates of the sixteenth issue which can be held by an individual; and if he will extend beyond 31st March 1977 the period during which they can be obtained, in order to encourage saving.

The 16th issue of national savings certificates will be withdrawn from sale at the close of business on 31st March as originally announced. These certificates are very popular, and so far around £600 million worth have been sold, but they are now out of line with interest rates generally. They will be replaced on 1st April by the reintroduction of the 14th issue. The retirement (15th) issue will continue to be on sale.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action he is taking to reduce the current delay in repayment of national savings certificates.

There is currently little delay in the repayment of national savings certificates. During some periods of January and February repayments were taking a few days longer than normal because of unexpectedly high levels of reinvestment into the 16th issue, but, by giving priority to repayments over less urgent work, recruiting casual staff, and overtime working, normal repayment service was restored at the beginning of March. Inevitably a few cases requiring exceptional treatment are subject to some delay.

Manufactures

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how the actual volumes of United Kingdom imports and exports of manufactures in each of the years 1972 to 1976 compare with the volume which can be estimated by combining the Treasury formula on the effect of devaluation with (a) the new index for the effective exchange rate and (b) the old index.

The revision to the recorded value of the effective exchange rate does not entail any revision to measures of competitiveness for visible trade. The series for price competitiveness for exports of manufactures, which is published in the Monthly Review of External Trade Statistics, compares United Kingdom export prices converted into dollars with a weighted sum of competitors' export prices also expressed in dollars. The exchange rate used to put United Kingdom export prices on to a comparable basis with competitors' prices is, therefore, the dollar exchange rate. As the revised series for the effective exchange rate has not affected the series for competitiveness there are no changes on this count in the volume of exports and imports predicted by the Treasury model for the recent past. These predictions depend on many factors, such as world trade and domestic demand, and it is not possible to attribute past errors of prediction to one specific determinant such as competitiveness.

Capital Transfer Tax

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a table showing the current number of civil servants and the current annual cost to public expenditure of administering the capital transfer tax; and whether he will estimate the cost to industry and commerce of seeking to comply with this tax and the regulations made in consequence of it.

It is estimated that the equivalent of about 1,000 full-time staff are currently engaged in the administration of the capital transfer tax at a cost of about £7 million annually. I am not aware of any significant direct compliance costs falling on industry or commerce, as such, in connection with the tax. Individuals engaged in industry and commerce may incur such costs, however, as they did for estate duty.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he intends to issue detailed guidance on exemption from capital transfer tax and acceptance in lieu of that tax of works of art, historic buildings, land and other property which may be eligible for such treatment.

The Treasury has today issued a memorandum of guidance on capital taxation and the national heritage. Copies of the memorandum have been placed in the Library and are being widely distributed to museums and galleries throughout the country and to other interested bodies.

Regional Employment Premium

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has received any representations from sources outside the House expressing concern at the withdrawal of regional employment premium; and if he will name the sources and the nature of the representations made.

My right hon. Friend has received a number of representations on this subject from various sources.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the saving in public expenditure nationally arising from the decision to abolish the regional employment premium.

The abolition of the regional employment premium is expected to save some £150 million in 1977–78 and about £170 million in 1978–79 and thereafter.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the saving in public expenditure in the Northern Region arising from the decision to abolish the regional employment premium.

Payments of regional employment premium in the Northern Region would have cost about £47 million in 1977–78.

Conservative "Monthly News"

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many copies of Conservative Monthly News are purchased by his Department to keep Ministers and senior civil servants informed of current Conservative policy and thinking.

None.

Inland Revenue (Staff)

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff were employed by the Inland Revenue on 1st January 1977; and how many were employed on the same date in each of the five preceding years.

I will let the hon. Member have a reply as soon as possible.

£ Sterling

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the value of the £ sterling expressed in (a) US $, (b) Deutschemarks, (c) Swiss francs and (d) Yen on (i) 6th March 1974, or the nearest convenient date thereto, and (ii) 6th March 1977, or the nearest convenient date thereto.

The information is as follows:

	6th March 1974	7th March 1977
US dollars/£	2·3340	1·7171
Deutschemarks/£	6·22¾	4·09⅛
Swiss francs/£	7·30¾	48·38⅛
Yen/£	668	484

The rates given are the middle-market closing rates on the days in question.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what amount of money would currently be required to have the purchasing power of £1 on 6th March 1974, or the nearest convenient date thereto;

(2) what is the current purchasing power of £1 on 6th March 1974.

The latest date for which information is available is February 1977. In that month, it is estimated that the internal purchasing power of the pound was 59 per cent. of its value in March 1974. Thus: (i) the sum of £1·70 would be required in February 1977 to have internal purchasing power equal to that of £1 in March 1974; (ii) taking the internal purchasing power of the pound as 100p in March 1974, its value in February 1977 was 59p.These estimates are based on the movement in the General Index of Retail Prices.

Public Sector Debt

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total amount of Government debt on 6th March 1974, or the nearest convenient date thereto, and on 6th March 1977, or the nearest convenient date thereto.

An estimate of outstanding public sector debt is compiled only in respect of 31st March each year. On 31st March 1974 it is estimated to have been £53 billion, at nominal values. On 31st March 1976 it is provisionally estimated to have been £73·5 billion, at nominal values. Taking account of the public sector borrowing requirement between 31st March and 31st December 1976, but not of other influences on the nominal value of debt, the outstanding amount of public sector debt can be roughly estimated to have been some £81 billion, at nominal values, at 31st December 1976.

Construction Industry (Tax Exemption Certificates)

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) whether he has any plans to combat the unemployment which will be caused by the refusal of a 714 certificate to firms like Messrs A. Bailey and Sons.(2) why he is refusing 714 certificates to firms like Messrs. A. Bailey and Sons who are not labour only sub-contractors, but cannot operate without such a certificate.

I will let the hon. Member have a reply as soon as possible.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many independent building trade workers have to date been granted the 714 tax exemption certificate; how many have been refused certificates; and how many applications are being processed at the present time.

I will let the hon. Member have a reply as soon as possible.

Chancellor Of The Exchequer

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer in how many of the weeks since he became Chancellor he has failed in his efforts to limit his attendance at dinners and luncheons to not more than two each per week.

Since February 1974, on five occasions for dinner and 12 occasions for luncheon.

Invisible Earnings

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, pursuant to the Written Answer provided to the hon. Member for Nelson and Colne (Mr. Hoyle) on 21st March, Official Report, columns 401–2. he will publish a breakdown of the invisible earnings for the years 1970 to 1976 inclusive, attributed to interest, profits and dividends by providing separate tables for public-sector interest, profits and dividends and private-sector interest, profits and dividends.

I will let the hon. Member have a reply as soon as possible.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will provide a breakdown of the United Kingdom's invisible earnings for the years from 1970 to 1976, inclusive, by providing separate tables showing the total of credits, debits, and net balance for each year (a) for the private sector, and (b) for the public sector;(2) if, pursuant to the Written Answer provided for the hon. Member for Nelson and Colne (Mr. Hoyle) on 21st March,

Official Report, columns 401–2, he will publish a breakdown of the invisible earnings for the years 1970 to 1976,

inclusive, attributed to other services by providing separate tables for financial services and non-financial services; and if he will further publish a breakdown of each of these two sub-divisions into its major components such as banking, insurance and construction.

I will let the hon. Member have a reply as soon as possible.

Tax Allowances

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the principal personal income tax allowances would have to be in April 1977 to restore their real value to that of April 1973 and April 1976, respectively, assuming (a) an inflation rate of 17 per cent. in the year to April 1977, and (b) an inflation rate of 20 per cent. in the year to April 1977; and if he will state the cost of the appropriate changes in each case.

I will let the hon. Member have a reply as soon as possible.

Income Tax

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the various bands of income for tax purposes would have to be in April 1977 in order to cover the same real income as in April 1973 and April 1976, respectively, assuming (a) an inflation rate of 17 per cent. in the year to April 1977, and (b) an inflation rate of 20 per cent. in the year to April 1977; and if he will state the cost of the appropriate changes in each case.

I will let the hon. Member have a reply as soon as possible.

Public Expenditure

12.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has any proposals to strengthen the Treasury's operations in relation public expenditure.

I have no new proposals to put before the House at the present time.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why public sector gross domestic fixed capital formation at 1976 survey prices for the years 1968–69, 1969–70 and 1970–71 was given as £5,991 million, £6,072 million and £6,375 million, respectively, in the Written Answer to the hon. Member for Blaby on 4th February [Official Report, column 483]; and as 6,475 million, £6,275 million and £6,475 million, respectively, in the Written Answer to the hon. Member for Blaby on 16th March [Official Report, columns 235–36]; and which of these two answers is the correct one.

, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 23rd March 1977; Vol. 928, c. 585], gave the following information:The Question answered on 4th February concerned public sector investment only. In that case the figures published in Cmnd. 6721, at 1976 Survey prices, were projected backwards from 1971–72 using the volume changes shown in the national income accounts. This is the best measure for general purposes including comparison with other national income accounts figures. The Question answered on 16th March concerned the whole of public expenditure. In this case national income accounts figures could not be used to carry all the White Paper figures back, because transactions in goods and services only, and not transfers and lending, are estimated in the national income accounts at constant prices. Volume changes before 1971–72 were, therefore, assumed to be as shown in the public expenditure White Paper of December 1973 (Cmnd. 5519) in all cases.There is a substantial difference in the estimates of the changes in the volume of public sector, excluding nationalised industries, gross domestic fixed capital formation over the years 1968–69 to 1971–72 in Cmnd. 5519 and those in the national income accounts. The investment was mainly in housing and other construction work, and the conversion of figures of the value of construction work done—at contract prices sometimes fixed years before—to a constant price (volume) basis always presents severe technical problems. The public expenditure Survey and White Paper estimates for those years are an aggregate of estimates by individual Departments using a variety of methods. Improved methods have now been introduced for general use and the differences from the national income accounts have been narrowed.It would be possible to carry the public expenditure series back to 1968–69 in detail, using public expenditure Survey records; the results would probably be close to those obtained using the figures in Cmnd. 5519, and the considerable expense would not be justified.

Tax Demands (Postal Delays)

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in view of the fact that for several weeks earlier in the year there was serious interference with the post in East London, what guidance was given to collectors of taxes in the area about pursuing taxpayers for taxes alleged to be overdue but unpaid because applications for payment and final notices were delayed in the post; and if he will make a statement.

I will let the right hon. Member have a reply as soon as possible.

Cars (Form P522)

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the number of officials of the Inland Revenue who have been engaged in sending out 300,000 car benefit forms (P522) and in processing the forms on their return.

, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 18th March 1977; Vol. 928, c. 349], gave the following information:A large number of officials will have dealt with the 300,000 car benefit forms (P522) as part of their normal duties. The total time involved is estimated at 170 man years, most of which will have been spent on determining the scale of benefits and completing the coding records from the information provided.

Luncheon Vouchers

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the estimated amount of revenue lost if employers were able to set off against corporation tax, daily luncheon voucher amounts of 20p, 30p, 40p, and 50p.

, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 22nd March 1977; Vol. 928, c. 529], gave the following information:It is not known how the provision of luncheon vouchers is distributed between employers liable to income tax and those liable to corporation tax. However, if it is assumed that the expense was wholly set against corporation tax, and that the increase in value was fully taken up by those providing the vouchers, the cost would be about £20 million, £30 million, £40 million and £50 million respectively.

Personal Incomes

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how long it would take for a married couple without children, with the husband on average earnings, to reach a taxable figure of £5,000 if his earnings increased at the same rate as the average rate of increase since February 1974.

, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 22nd March 1977; Vol. 928, c. 529], gave the following information:On the basis of 1976–77 tax rates and allowances and assuming that average earnings increase from month to month at a constant rate equivalent to the average rate of increase since February 1974, a taxable income of £5,000 would be reached in April 1979.

Incomes Policy

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress he has made with the talks, announced in the course of his statement of 15th December 1976 on the Government's economic measures, with the TUC and other interested bodies concerning the interrelationships between changes in earnings, social security benefits, pensions and rates of direct and indirect taxation (Official Report, c. 1533); and if he will make a statement.

, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 23rd March 1977; Vol. 928, c. 585–6], gave the following information:We have held initial discussions covering a wide range of issues. Talks will be resumed after the Budget.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether payments of up to £100 to council workers in Rotherham as disturbance allowances are within the terms of the current incomes policy.

I have been asked to reply.I assume the hon. Member is referring to employees of the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive who, of course, are not council workers. The executive has, I understand, relocation agreements with its employees, of which this payment is only one aspect. Agreements to enhance job security are allowable outside the pay limits.

Social Services

Radiologists

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the number of qualified radiologists under retirement age in England and Wales, the number of full-time equivalent posts occupied and vacant, respectively; and what regional shortages he anticipates will arise in the coming 12 months.

At 30th September 1976 there were 716 whole-time equivalent consultant radiologists in post in the National Health Service in England and Wales; 43 whole-time equivalent posts were without a permanent holder, but about half of these were occupied by locums. Information about qualified radiologists employed outside the NHS is not available.Supply of qualified radiologists has not kept pace with increasing demand in this specialty in recent years causing a shortage which I would expect to continue in most regions in the next 12 months.

Pay Beds

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give the total percentage increase in daily charges for National Health Service pay beds from March 1974 up to and including 2nd April 1977; and if he will compare this with the increase in retail prices from March 1974 to the latest date for which figures are available.

The information requested is in the tables below. The retail price index at March 1974 was 102·6 (January 1974=100) and at February 1977 the latest date available it stood at 174·1.

TABLE I
DAILY CHARGE FOR PATIENT NOT PAYING SEPARATE FEE TO CONSULTANT OR DOCTOR
	Single Room					Other Accommodation
	1973–74	1976–77		1977–78		1973–74	1976–77		1977–78
Classification at 1st April 1973, 1st April 1976 and 1st April 1977	Charge at March 1974	From 1st April 1976	Increase	From 1st April 1977	Increase	Charge at March 1974	From 1st April 1976	Increase	From 1st April 1977	Increase
	£	£	Per cent.	£	Per cent.	£	£	Per cent.	£	Per cent.
Class A—
Long Stay Hospitals	8·90	20·20	127·0	22·30	150·6	8·20	18·50	125·6	20·30	147·6
Class B—
Psychiatric Hospitals	5·60	12·70	126·8	15·10	169·9	5·10	11·60	127·5	13·80	170·6
Class C—
Acute and Other Hospitals in Non-Teaching Districts	14·50	36·20	149·7	41·30	184·8	13·30	33·10	148·9	37·70	183·5
Class D—
London Teaching Hospitals	21·10	51·20	142·7			19·10	46·80	145·0
London Teaching Districts (other than those in classes A, B and C)				56·80	177·7				53·60	180·6
Class E—
Provincial Teaching Hospitals and RHB/RHA University Hospitals	17·50	42·90	145·1			16·00	39·20	145·0
Provincial Teaching Districts (other than those in classes A, B and C)				48·50	177·1				44·40	177·5
Class F—
London Postgraduate BG				63·60	201·4				58·10	204·2
(Previously part of class D)	(21·10)	—				(19·10)	—

TABLE II
DAILY CHARGE FOR PATIENT PAYING SEPARATE FEE TO CONSULTANT OR DOCTOR
	Single Room					Other Accommodation
	1973–74	1976–77		1977–78		1973–74	1976–77		1977–78
Classification at 1st April 1973, 1st April 1976 and 1st April 1977	Charge at March 1974	From 1st April 1976	Increase	From 1st April 1977	Increase	Charge at March 1974	From 1st April 1976	Increase	From 1st April 1977	Increase
	£	£	Per cent.	£	Per cent.	£	£	Per cent.	£	Per cent.
Class A—
Long Stay Hospitals	8·50	19·30	127·1	21·20	149·4	7·70	17·50	127·3	19·30	150·7
Class B—
Psychiatric Hospitals	5·30	12·10	128·3	14·40	171·7	4·80	11·00	129·2	13·10	172·9
Class C—
Acute and Other Hospitals in Non-Teaching Districts	13·80	34·60	150·7	39·40	185·5	12·50	31·50	152·0	35·90	187·2
Class D—
London Teaching Hospitals	19·60	48·30	146·4			17·80	43·90	146·0
London Teaching Districts (other than those in classes A, B and C)				55·30	182·1				50·30	182·6
Class E—
Provincial Teaching Hospitals and RHB/RHA University Hospitals	16·30	40·50	148·5			14·80	36·80	148·7
Provincial Teaching Districts (other than those in classes A, B and C)				45·80	181·0				41·60	181·1
Class F—
London Postgraduate BG				59·90	205·6				54·50	206·2
(Previously part of class D)	(19·60)	—				(17·80)	—

London Hospitals (Bed Costs)

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the average percentage increase in the unit cost of providing one bed for one week in a London postgraduate teaching hospital during 1976–77.

Costing information for 1976–77 will not be available until after the close of the 1976–77 financial year. In 1975–76 the average cost per week was £295·19.

Dextropropoxyphene

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what steps he is taking to alert doctors to the dangers of prescribing dextropropoxyphene, in the light of the information sent to him by the hon. Member for Brent, South.

I have taken note of the contents of the article in the British Medical Journal, to which my hon. Friend has drawn my attention.The article refers to problems of drug dependence, and this matter is being referred to the technical sub-committee of the Advisory Committee on the Misuse of Drugs at its next meeting.The intrinsic safety, quality and efficacy of dextropropoxyphene are currently being considered in the course of the review of medicines under the Medicines Act. Data sheets and other product information already contain warnings about matters mentioned in the article, but it will be open to the Committee on Review of Medicines to consider whether any further warnings about the correct use of products containing this substance should be included, or any other action taken on these matters.In the meantime, the appearance of this article will serve to alert doctors to the situation.

Hospitals (Costs)

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the average percentage increase in the unit cost of providing one bed for one week in a National Health Service long-stay hospital during 1976–77.

Costing information for 1976–77 will not be available until after the close of the 1976–77 financial year. In 1975–76 the average cost per week was £89·60.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what has been the percentage increase in the average cost per out-patient attendance at National Health Service hospitals since 1969.

The average cost of an out-patient attendance in acute hospitals in England with more than 100 beds was £2·43 in 1968–69 and £9·20 in 1975–76, the latest year for which costs are available—an increase of 278 per cent.

Widows' Pensions

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the current real value of the widows' pensions, taking 1970 as 100.

Taking January 1970 as 100, the value of a widows' pension in January 1977 was 125·4.

Disabled Persons (Vehicles)

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the firms which have held contracts from his Department for the repair of invalid tricycles over the past five years in the Gravesend and Medway area and the periods for which they were under contract.

A repair service has been provided by the following firms:

From June 1966 to November 1974: Ted Jelf Motors (from July 1973 the firm traded as Hazel Motors):

From November 1974 to February 1976: Wards Invalid Carriages Ltd.

From February 1976 to February 1977: Medspray.

From February 1977: Wards Invalid Carriages Ltd.

I shall be writing to my hon. Friend in greater detail.

Epilepsy

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if it remains his policy to phase out specialist hospitals for the treatment of epilepsy;(2) if he is yet able to confirm that St. Faith's Hospital, Brentwood, will close in accordance with the policy of phasing out specialist hospitals for the treatment of epilepsy; and, if so, when.

The only specialist hospital for the care of people with epilepsy is St. Faith's Hospital, Brentwood. Its future is a matter for the Barking and Havering Area Health Authority to consider in the first instance. No proposal has been made by that authority to open consultations with a view to closure. Three experimental hospital-based special centres were set up at Chalfont, York and Park Hospital, Oxford for a trial period, as recommended in the Reid Report on "People with Epilepsy" 1969. These are currently undergoing a formal evaluation by the Department, and it is not possible to make a statement on their future before the full results of this evaluation are known.

Handicapped Persons

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what percentage of persons registered as handicapped with a local authority is (a) over pensionable age and (b) blind and under pensionable age.

Statistics are not collected relating to pensionable age, but 61·6 per cent. of the total number of registered handicapped people are aged 65 years or above, and 3·2 per cent. are blind and aged below 65 years.

Students

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what arrangements will be made to deal with applications from students for social security benefit during the Easter vacation; and if he will now publish details of their entitlement to benefit in the Official Report.

Students' claims to supplementary benefit in the Easter vacation are being dealt with strictly in the order in which they are received, and by reference to the law as declared by the Court of Appeal in the case of Atkinson v. Barnsley Supplementary Benefit Appeal Tribunal. Entitlement will depend on each claimant's circumstances and will be calculated under the normal rules; however, the effect of the Atkinson judgement is that students will be allowed a £4 per week disregard on their student grant, and any who can demonstrate that they have not received an assessed parental contribution may get extra benefit.Under the Social Security (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill at present before the House regulations relating to students may have retrospective effect. They would provide that, normally, any assessed parental contribution to the student grant would be taken into account and that no part of the grant would be disregarded. All claims determined after the regulations came into effect would be dealt with on this basis. However, students who were lone parents or seriously disabled would be allowed a disregard on their grant of £2 per week and any assessed parental contribution would be taken into account only if it was actually received.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what will be the entitlement to social security benefit for students on split sandwich courses due to be completed on 1st April and who will not return to their studies until the end of September and who may be temporarily unemployed during that period.

Students on sandwich courses who cannot find employment in a period separating the academic phases of their course can claim supplementary benefit on the usual conditions.

National Health Service (Staff)

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish a table showing the number of administrative and clerical staff employed in the National Health Service in each of the last five years and their total wage and salary bill in each year.

The table shows the total whole-time equivalent number of staff in the Administrative and Clerical Group employed in the services now covered by the National Health Service in England for the years 1971 to 1975 including community health staff previously employed by local health authorities. The wage and salary bills for this group are not separately identifiable from the accounts of these authorities for the years 1971–72 to 1973–74. The gross expenditure figures shown for 1974–75 and 1975–76 include employers' national insurance and superannuation contributions. Figures for 1976 are not yet available.

ADMINISTRATIVE AND CLERICAL STAFF, ENGLAND
Total whole-time equivalents:
1971	1972	1973	1974	1975
70,396	74,324	77,108	82,758	91,865

	1974–75	1975–76
Expenditure (£ million)	206	283

Supplementary Benefit

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will investigate the payment of supplementary benefit to a 17-year-old schoolboy living in hotel accommodation.

I assume that the hon. Member has in mind the case reported in the Press on 20th March. Young people at school cannot normally claim benefit in their own right, but the Supplementary Benefits Commission has discretionary power to pay benefit in exceptional circumstances. I understand that the commission is satisfied that benefit was properly payable in this extremely unusual case.

Lytham Hospital

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will ensure that the North-West Regional Health Authority co-operates with and helps representatives of the Lancashire County Council and other interested parties to have their views taken into consideration before any final decision is made upon the size and siting of the proposed psycho-geriatric unit at Lytham Hospital;(2) if he will instruct the North-West Regional Health Authority to reconsider the size and site of the psycho-geriatric unit which it is proposed to build at Lytham Hospital.

The North-Western Regional Health Authority approved on 32nd March the acceptance of tenders for work on the proposed new unit to start on 28th March. In taking this decition I am informed that the authority took fully into account local views and representations including those of Lancashire County Council. Approval of the local planing authority has been received for the work.

The regional health authority is providing a detailed report on the need for the unit and the reasons for the chosen site. When I receive and consider this I will write to the hon. Member more fully in reply to his letter to me of 14th March.

Medical Consultant-Population Ratios

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the average number of National Health Service consultants per head of population in Great Britain; and how this compares with the consultant-population ratio in the Isle of Ely and the Cambridgeshire and Norfolk Area Health Authorities, respectively.

At 30th September 1975 numbers of whole-time equivalent hospital medical and dental consultants per 100,000 population were as follows:

Great Britain	22·3
^*East Anglia Regional Health Authority	21·3
Cambridgehire Area Health Authority (Teaching)	26·5
Separate figures for the Isle of Ely and Norfolk Area Health Authority are not held centrally.
^*Includes Cambridgeshire Area Health Authority (Teaching).

Dentist-Patient Ratios

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the average number of patients per National Health Service dentist in Great Britain; and how this compares with the dentist-patient ratio in the Isle of Ely, the Cambridgeshire Area Health Authority and the Norfolk Area Health Authority.

The ratio of National Health Service general dental practitioners to population in Great Britain is 1:4,084 compared with the ratios in Cambridgeshire Area Health Authority and Norfolk Area Health Authority areas of 1:5,028 and 1:4,599 respectively. Information is not available for areas smaller than those of area health authorities.

Maternity Beds

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many maternity hospital beds per head of population is the norm for Great Britain; and how this compares with the current provision of maternity beds in the Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire Area Health Authority and Norfolk Area Health Authority.

Current guidance recommends the calculation of local maternity bed needs in relation to the birth rate of the population served, average duration of stay and bed occupancy rather than on the basis of beds per head of population. In 1975, the latest year for which figures are available, the average number of available maternity hospital—GP and consultant—beds per 1,000 female population aged 15–44 was as follows:

Cambridge AHA	2·2
Norfolk AHA	2·3
Great Britain	2·4

These data are available by area health authority or district and so cannot be given for the Isle of Ely as such.

Doctor-Patient Ratios

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the average number of patients per NHS general practitioner in Great Britain; and how this compares with GP-patient ratio in the Isle of Ely, the Cambridgeshire Area Health Authority and the Norfolk Area Health Authority.

Figures for the Isle of Ely are not held centrally: those for Great Britain and the area health authorities were given in my replies to my hon. Friend the Member for Bedwellty (Mr. Kinnock) on 26th January and 21st February.—[Vol. 924, c. 689–91; Vol. 926, c. 459–61.]

Regional Health Authorities (Expenditure)

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, further to the final paragraph of his Written Answer to the right hon. Member for Wanstead and Woodford (Official Report, 21st March 1977, c. 414–15), on the rate of inflation assume in the 1977–78 allocations to regional health authorities, what rate of price increase has actually been assumed in fixing the cash allocations published by him on 2nd March 1977.

Different price forecast factors apply to the various categories of expenditure of other goods and services in the health authority's cash allocations and for 1977–78 these fall within the range of 8 per cent. to 13 per cent.

Deaf Persons

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what action he is taking on the reports so far received from the Advisory Committee on Services for Hearing Impaired People.

I have now received these reports from my advisory committee: on the rehabilitation of hearing-impaired adults; on the function of the graduate scientist in audiology and on services for hearing-impaired children. I should like to pay tribute to the valuable work carried out by members of the committee. The reports contain a number of far-reaching recommendations for improving services for people handicapped by a hearing loss. I am consulting a wide range of organisations on the proposals and, subject to comments received, I am prepared to make limited funds available to health authorities over three years to help meet the initial cost of posts for hearing therapists, who will perform the central functions set out in the report on rehabilitation.

Benefits (Discretionary Allowances)

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will ensure that the Supplementary Benefits Commission review extends to discretionary allowances paid by local authority social services departments;(2) if the Supplementary Benefits Commission review of benefits extends to discretionary allowances paid by local authority social services departments.

The review, which I am undertaking in close consultation with the Supplementary Benefits Commission, has as its primary focus the supplementary benefits scheme itself. But one of the issues for the review, as identified in the commission's annual report 1975, is the interaction between discretionary payments made by the commission and those made by local authority social service and social work departments.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services to what type of purchases local authority social services departments may make discretionary needs grants; and what guidance he has issued on the quality of goods for which families are issued with grants.

I assume that the hon. Member is referring to the provisions of Section 1 of the Children and Young Persons Act, 1963 under which a local authority social services department may, if it thinks fit, give assistance in kind or, in exceptional circumstances, in cash when carrying out its duty to make available such advice, guidance and assistance as may promote the welfare of children by diminishing the need to receive children into or keep them in care, or to bring them before a juvenile court. The purposes for which any grants are given under this provision, and the quality of goods for which a grant is made, are entirely matters for local authority discretion in the light of individual circumstances. Guidance on the quality of goods has not been issued and would be inappropriate.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is satisfied with the division of responsibility for cash payments for special needs between social security offices and local authority social services.

Yes. The responsibilities of social security offices and local authority social services departments are quite distinct. The Supplementary Benefits Commission has powers to meet exceptional needs with cash payments. Social services departments have no general statutory powers to make cash payments for exceptional needs. Only in the case of child care is there a clear statutory provision—under Section 1 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1963—to allow assistance to be given in the form of cash payments, and Section 1 powers are used only to make cash payments to clients as a means of diminishing the need to receive children into or keep them in care.

Caravans (Purchase Or Hire)

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services in what circumstances (a) local authority social services departments, and (b) social security offices may make grants to cover the purchase or hire of a caravan for limited, or unlimited periods.

It would be open to a local authority social services department to make grants for these purposes under the provisions of Section 1 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1963. Whether such grants are made is entirely a matter for local authority discretion in the light of individual circumstances.In the case of social security offices, supplementary benefit paid to a person whose only accommodation is a caravan would take account of rent, rates or interest charges—but not capital repayments—as for any other type of dwelling.

Giro Cheques

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the total amount of Giro cheques and the average amount of money per Giro cheque for welfare benefits reported in 1976 as not received, lost, stolen or destroyed after receipt and then replaced, but which have been found subsequently to have been encashed.

It is provisionally estimated that during 1976, of the 111 million Giro cheques issued in respect of all benefits, about 77,000–0·07 per cent. of all issues—reported as lost or not received were replaced and subsequently found to have been cashed; on the basis of the value of all Giro cheques issued, these had an average value of about £19.

Unemployment And Sickness Benefits

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish figures showing the number of cases involving unemployment and sickness benefit, separately, that were the subject of special investigation by his Department in 1976, and indicate in how many cases investigated the benefits were (a) reduced and (b) withdrawn.

It is not possible to do this, as the records kept by my Department do not provide such detail.

Cigarettes

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement in the light of the advice of the Health Education Council that health warnings on cigarette packs are resented by the public and may therefore be counter-productive.

I know of no scientific evidence which would indicate that the health warning itself is resented by the public. An investigation carried out for the Department indicated that the attribution of the warning to the Government might be counter-productive and it was for this reason that we negotiated a change of attribution from "HM Government" to "HM Government Health Departments". Indeed the evidence available to me suggests that smokers generally tend to approve rather than disapprove of the health warning; and that for a significant body of smokers it has led them to choose a brand with a lower tar yield. This is an aim of the Government's strategy. The change in the wording I have recently announced should also increase its impact. The revised warning is now to appear for the first time on advertisements. Any reservation about the effectiveness of the warning is, in my judgment, far outweighed by the almost certain consequences of its removal from packets and by its appearance on advertisements.

Overseas Development

Departmental Dispersal

asked the Minister of Overseas Development what administrative benefits are expected to accrue in the implementation of the aid programme as a result of the proposed move of sections of her Department to East Kilbride.

The aim of the Government's dispersal programme, including the move to which the hon. Member refers is not to provide administrative benefits but to secure a better balance of employment opportunities between London and the rest of the country, especially the assisted areas.

India

asked the Minister of Overseas Development how much financial aid was given to India in 1976: and how it was allocated.

According to provisional estimates a total of £109·3 million was disbursed in aid to India in 1976; apart from debt relief it was used to purchase United Kingdom goods and services. The breakdown available was as follows:

Loans	£ million
Contributions to new investment projects	12·2
Components, spare parts and industrial materials to maintain existing investment	4·4
Total Loans	16·6
Grants	£ million
Contributions to new investment projects	16·6
Components, spare parts and industrial materials to maintain existing investment	51·6
Aid to priority sectors (coal and power)	5·4
Supply of Fertiliser	1·7
Debt Relief	11·2
Food Aid	4·6
Technical Co-operation	1·6
Total Grants	92·7
Grand Total Bilateral Aid	109·3

Scotland

Kidney Units

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will make sufficient funds available to the Greater Glasgow Health Board so that the kidney units in the Board's area may continue treating patients at the present level, both as regards numbers of patients and as regards the scale and forms of treatment;(2) whether he received any request from the Great Glasgow Health Board for additional funds to maintain the kidney units in the Board's area at their present level of functioning; on what date he received the request; on what date he replied to it; and what reply he gave.

On 13th September 1976 the Greater Glasgow Health Board requested a meeting to discuss the future funding of the renal dialysis service in West Scotland and senior officers of my Department met the chairman and members of the board on 24th November 1976. It was made clear that the resources for this purpose must continue to be found by the board from its existing allocation for hospital services; that allocations for 1977–78 would allow for very little growth overall; and that any substantial increase in expenditure on dialysis would therefore depend on the board's making savings in other directions.My right hon. Friend has no reason to believe that the board will be unable to continue providing dialysis treatment to the same number of patients and in the same manner as at present. The problem is primarily one of expanding home dialysis services to make places available for new patients requiring hospital dialysis. Since the meeting referred to limited arrangements have been made for health boards to share the cost of expansion in home dialysis in 1977–78. This will benefit the Greater Glasgow Health Board.

Potatoes

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what figures he has to show the likely imports of early or new season potatoes into the United Kingdom; and what estimate he has of the likely effects of these imports on existing stocks of Scottish ware potatoes.

The United Kingdom traditionally imports new potatoes in the spring and early summer. In the first half of 1976 about 250,000 tonnes were imported. I would expect the same or slightly greater supplies this year. These imports will help to ease the supply position and meet consumer demand for new potatoes in the period before our own new crop is available in quantity. I do not expect the imports to have any direct effect on existing stocks of Scottish ware potatoes.

Lime

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what steps he is taking to monitor the use of lime now that the previous method of doing so through subsidy claims is no longer available;(2) what figures he has to show the quantitive and qualitative effects on Scottish farmland of the withdrawal of lime subsidy.

The agricultural lime subsidy ceased to be paid on deliveries of lime made after 30th September 1976. Grants towards the application of lime are still available under the Capital Grants and Crofting Grants Schemes. Arrangements have been made to obtain information about the costs and uptake of lime used on Scottish farms through the continuing sample field enquiry undertaken by my Department. The advisory services of the colleges of agriculture are also carrying out a monitoring exercise on levels of application of lime and my Department's technical officers will keep in touch with the colleges regularly.Insufficient time has yet elapsed to enable a quantitative and qualitative assessment of the effects of the withdrawal of the subsidy to be attempted.

Scottish Development Agency

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what type of telecommunications equipment has been purchased for the two motor vehicles of, respectively, the Chairman and Chief Executive of the Scottish Development Agency; and what was the capital cost of this equipment;(2) what was the capital cost of the two motor vehicles purchased, respectively, for the Chairman and the Chief Executive of the Scottish Development Agency.

These are matters for the agency.

Education

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has now completed the analysis of estimates of subject shortages and surpluses in September 1976; and if he will publish information about the shortage of mathematics teachers.

My right hon. Friend intends to publish information on this subject shortly.

Teachers

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has now completed his consideration of linking the lists of full-time permanent teachers entering and leaving employment with data derived from the annual School Census, to provide information of changes in the teaching force during the course of each session; and if he will publish the result.

A method of linking the monthly lists of full-time permanent teachers entering and leaving employment with data derived from the annual September school census has now been established. I shall write to the hon. Member when information about changes in the teaching force during the course of the current session is available.

Mrs Rachel Ross

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is yet in a position to make an announcement on the issue of an independent inquiry into events consequent on the death of Mrs. Rachel Ross.

There are difficulties about the form of any such inquiry. It could only be given statutory form, equipped with power to call witnesses and to examine them on oath with the protection of absolute privilege, by the establishment of a tribunal of inquiry under the Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) Act 1921. Having regard to the findings of the Salmon Royal Commission about the difficulties and dangers involved in 1921 Act tribunals and their recommendations for the restriction of their use, I have rejected such a possibility.There are other major considerations. There have already been two criminal trials in connection with the death of Mrs. Ross. Patrick Meehan's conviction has been the subject of the grant of a free pardon by Her Majesty, and Ian Waddell was acquitted of the charge of murder. It would be wrong in principle in my view, and potentially unfair to Mr. Meehan and Mr. Waddell, for an inquiry to call in question such past issues. It is also an important principle that, having regard to the nature of the decisions to be taken, the Secretary of State cannot be obliged to give detailed reasons in justification of his decisions in individual cases whether or not to make a recommendation for the exercise of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy: this principle, and the similar principle relating to the Lord Advocate's decisions regarding prosecutions, must not be undermined. These considerations necessarily govern the form and content of any inquiry.I have come to the conclusion, however, despite these difficulties, that it would be in the public interest to establish an independent inquiry—which for the reasons I have indicated, will be held in private—into the circumstances surrounding this case, and the hon. Lord Hunter, Senator of the College of Justice, has agreed to my request that he should undertake it. The report of the inquiry would be published in due course.The terms of reference will be

"To carry out an independent examination of the available information relating to the murder of Mrs. Rachel Ross at Ayr in July 1969 and the action taken by the police, the Crown Office and the Scottish Home and Health Department relating to that case both before and after the trial of Mr. Patrick Meehan; and to report:

So, however, that, without excluding any available information the terms of reference shall not extend to the making of any judgment about—
(1) The guilt or innocence of Mr. Patrick Meehan or Mr. Ian Waddell of the charges contained in the respective indictments against them;
(2) The reasons for and justification of any decision by the Secretary of State for Scotland upon whether or not to make a recommendation for the exercise of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy: and
(3) The reasons for and justification of any decision by the Lord Advocate whether or not to institute, or concur in, any criminal proceedings."

All the papers and other information relevant to the issue in the Scottish Office and the Crown Office will be made available to Lord Hunter, and the Chief Constable of the Strathclyde Police has agreed to co-operate in the same way. It will be open to any person who wishes to do so to provide information or make representations to Lord Hunter concerning the case, and while, as I have indicated, there is no question of his having power to compel the attendance of witnesses, it will be open to him to invite to an interview and to question such persons as he may think necessary.

Trade

Tourist Industry

54.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will include in his series of industrial visits a visit to a centre of the tourist industry, in view of the increasing value of the tourist industry to the economy.

Both my right hon. Friend and I visit centres of the tourist industry from time to time.

Oil Pollution (Convention)

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what progress is being made in consultation with the shipping industry and other interested parties in overcoming such technical problems as need to be overcome in order that satisfactory legislation to implement the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships 1973.

At its sixth session in November/December last year the Marine Environment Protection Committee of IMCO finalised work on:

(a) guidelines to determine the adequacy of shore reception facilities for oily wastes from ships;

(b) a specification for oil/water separating equipment and oil content meters for use in ships;

The Committee considered and agreed a paper submitted by the United Kingdom setting down the outstanding problems requiring solution before the convention can be implemented, and accepted that these now be regarded as the committee's prime objective.Various countries, including the United Kingdom, are carrying out intersessional work in readiness for the next meeting of the committee from 20th to 24th June.

Tea

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will give his assessment of the breakdown in the cost of a given quantity of tea from the plantation to the consumer in the United Kingdom, giving the extent of the added value at key points in the distribution network.

I have been asked to reply.I regret that information is not available in sufficient detail on the value added to tea at all points from the plantation to the consumer. Tea comes from many places in a wide range of prices and qualities, and is subject to a considerable variety of taxes and other imposts. The 1971 Report of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development on the World Tea Economy suggests that the following costs, as a percentage of the London auction price, are as follows:

	Per cent.
Producers' margin	26–39
Transport	9–15
Auction charges	5

These figures do not take account of any of the duties and taxes levied.

Overseas Relatives Reunion Club, Scarborough

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will make a statement on the collapse of the Overseas Relatives Reunion Club of Scarborough which arranges flights for elderly people visiting their relatives abroad; and if there is any action his Department can take to assist those who have made travel arrangements through that firm.

I shall reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

Retail Trading (Inquiry)

asked the Secretary of State for Trade how many companies are involved in the Business Statistics Office's inquiry into retail trading for 1977; and what is the total cost of this exercise to date.

, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 21st March 1977; Vol. 928, col. 383], gave the following information:About 30,000 letters have been sent out giving advance notice of the inquiry, but it is hoped that the number of forms which will have to be completed will be somewhat lower. The cost incurred by the Business Statistics Office to date is £14,000. I am examining how far the sampling fractions for 1977 can be reduced without prejudice to the required degree of accuracy.

Environment

Housing (Dampness)

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will institute a special inquiry into the causes of dampness in boh pre- and post-war housing and into new research to produce materials to combat dampness in otherwise satisfactory housing stock.

No. The causes of dampness are understood, and research is already taking place into ways of combatting it.

Water Rating

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what reason he has been given, following his letter to the hon. Member for Bury St. Edmunds stating that water rate should not be levied on the business premises of Mrs. Y. P. Smith of Thurlow Motors, Suffolk, and that any rate paid since these premises were separated from her house should be repaid, for the Anglian Water Authority continuing to levy the said rate on grounds that his interpretation of the law is wrong.

Under paragraph 46(4) of the Third Schedule to the Water Act 1945 a water authority is entitled to treat as one property for water charging purposes properties which, although separately rated, are adjoining with communication between them otherwise than

					Lambeth	Lewisham	Wandsworth
Total stock of dwellings	…	…	…	…	103,000	95,000	106,000
Unoccupied
Council dwellings^*	…	…	…	…	2,859	1,163	1,064
Private dwellings†	…	…	…	…	2,216	2,400	1,742
Other dwellings (housing associations etc.)				…	308	200	not available
^* The figures for GLC dwellings are, I understand, not readily available.
† The figures for private dwellings are based on vacant hereditaments in the rating lists and may include parts of multi-occupied properties and dwellings already demolished.

Yorkshire And Humberside

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the reasons for his delay in publishing his Department's response to the Yorkshire and Humberside Economic Planning Council's Regional Strategy Review, which was submitted to him in February 1976.

The Yorkshire and Humberside Regional Strategy Review has deserved substantial study and discussion. My right hon. Friend hopes soon to be able to publish the response.

Ramsgate (Land Purchase)

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the average weekly cost to public funds arising out of the interest charges incurred by the Housing Corporation in financing the purchase of the Convent of the Assumption site, Ramsgate; for how many weeks these interest charges have by a public highway. Water charges may be levied on the combined rateable value of both properties. Although I had understood from the Anglian Water Authority that there was no communication between these two properties, that now tells me that there is in fact coma matter for the Anglian Water munication, and that it intends to exercise its right to charge. This is entirely Authority.

Empty Houses (South London)

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many houses are unoccupied, derelict or not, in each of the London boroughs of Lambeth, Lewisham and Wandsworth.

I understand from the local authorities concerned that the figures are as follows:now been incurred; and if he will make a statement.

Interest charges of £1,309·57 per week have been incurred since 29th August 1974.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment on what date his Department advised the Housing Corporation that funds would no longer be available for the development of the Convent of the Assumption site in Ramsgate; and if he has instructed the Housing Corporation to dispose of the site.

18th August 1976. The Housing Corporation will dispose of the site as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he is satisfied with the progress that is now being made towards the sale of the Convent of the Assumption site, Ramsgate; and if he will make a statement.

The Housing Corporation is anxious to sell the site as quickly and advantageously as possible. I understand that it is currently awaiting a renewal of the outline planning permission.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give his estimate of the price the Housing Corporation now expects to receive from the sale of the Convent of the Assumption site in Ramsgate.

The Housing Corporation intends to obtain the best available price by public tender; it would defeat that purpose to disclose its expectations.

Gipsies

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what counties, county boroughs, London boroughs, or other areas have been designated by orders under Section 12 of the Caravan Sites Act 1968; and what was the date of each order.

The following areas have been designated:

	Date of making of order
LONDON BOROUGHS
Barking	21.3.73
Bexley	17.4.75
Croydon	28.5.75
Enfield	4.3.75
Greenwich	28.5.74
Hammersmith	1.5.75
Havering	21.3.73
Kensington and Chelsea	17.4.75
Merton	16.5.73
Newham	21.3.73
Redbridge	21.3.73
Richmond upon Thames	21.12.72
Sutton	28.5.74
Waltham Forest	21.3.73
Westminster	30.10.74
FORMER COUNTY BOROUGHS
Bolton	2.1.74
Bury	8.5.73
Leeds	8.5.73
Lincoln	2.1.74
Manchester	13.12.72
Oxford	28.5.74
Plymouth	25.8.72
St. Helens	25.9.72
Stoke-on-Trent	25.9.72
Wolverhampton	13.12.72

No counties have been designated, and no other areas are eligible for designation.

Animals (Endangered Species)

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he is refusing to license the import of live animals on Schedule 1 to the Endangered Species (Import and Export) Act 1976 if they are listed also in Appendix 2 of the Washington Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species and totally prohibited exports from the country of origin.

Licences are not granted for the import of species whose export is known to be prohibited by the exporting country. In addition, all imports of species listed in Appendices I and II of the Washington Convention require an export permit or equivalent documentation from the exporting country as well as an import licence.

Cromwell's Green

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give an assurance that Cromwell's Green will be restored to its rightful owner during 1977.

The ownership of Cromwell Green has not changed, and it is not intended that it should.

Northgate House, Derby

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if the Property Services Agency was instructed to lease Northgate House, Derby, for the purpose of administering a wealth tax; and what plans the agency now has for the future of these offices;(2) when his Department secured a lease for Northgate House, Derby; for what purpose; and at what cost;(3) how long Northgate House, Derby, leased by his Department, has remained unoccupied; what public funds have been spent to date; what it is planned to spend; and for what purpose.

A lease of Northgate House, Derby, was secured by the Property Services Agency in February 1976 to house an Inland Revenue capital tax office. The building has been unoccupied since then. We hope to decide on an alternative use shortly. Expenditure so far has been limited to rent. Its amount is confidential between the lessor and my Department. Some expenditure will be required on works services when a decision has been taken on the alternative use.

Rented Housing

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimate he has made of the number of housing units available for private letting on 6th March 1974 or the nearest convenient date thereto, and on 6th March 1977 or the nearest convenient date thereto.

The number of dwellings rented from private owners in England and Wales in December 1973 is estimated to have been about 31 million. In December 1975, the last date for which estimates are available, the number was 2–9 million. These estimates include dwellings rented with farm or business premises or by virtue of employment. They include certain assumptions regarding the tenure distribution of gains and losses in the housing stock and are, therefore, not based on direct evidence.

Derelict Houses (Knowsley And Kirkby)

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what proposals he has for helping Knowsley Council deal with its vandalised derelict houses;(2) what is his estimate of the number of vandalised and derelict houses/flats in Kirkby; and what would be the cost of making them habitable.

The amount of money allocated to Knowsley Council under Section 105 of the Housing Act 1974 for conversions or improvements, including associated repairs, takes account of the council's special problems of vandalised dwellings: Knowsley Council estimates that there are some 1,700 empty dwellings in Kirkby of which approximately 700 have been vandalised. I shall be meeting the council in the near future to discuss this problem and to explore possible courses of action.

Local Government Expenditure

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list in the Official Report the total rate and grant borne expenditures of each London borough, metropolitan county, metropolitan district, non-metropolitan county and non-metropolitan district in England and Wales for the years 1974–75. 1975–76 and 1976–77 at 1975 prices.

Figures are not available on a constant price basis. I am writing to my hon. Friend.

Hospital Kitchens (Report)

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the case of Richard North who was suspended from duty after he disclosed details of a report on hygiene in hospital kitchens.

Mr. North is an officer of the Leeds Metropolitan District Council. The action it has taken is within its jurisdiction. My right hon. Friend has no power to intervene in the matter.

Wales

Advance Factory, Pentwyn, Cardiff

asked the Secretary of State for Wales when he expects to announce a tenant for the advance factory at Pentwyn, Cardiff.

Negotiations with a prospective tenant are still continuing.

Schools Reorganisation (Llangollen And Chirk)

asked the Secretary of State for Wales when he expects to announce his decision on the proposals for reorganising primary and secondary education in the Llangollen-Chirk area.

As soon as possible, but we require more time to consider all the issues involved.

Transport

Railways

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will make a statement on the Government's current plans for the development or reduction in British Railways' services; to what extent there are intentions of increasing or reducing Government grants; and how this will increase or reduce the track mileage and passenger services and the general efficiency and running of British Railways services.

The Government's current intentions for rail support and investment are set out in Cmnd. 6721 Vol. II. Under the public service obligation imposed by the Minister for Transport in December 1974 the Board has a statutory duty to operate its passenger railway so as to provide a public service comparable generally with that provided then. Other wider issues, concerning the rôle of the railways within transport policy as a whole, will be considered in my forthcoming White Paper.

M1, Yorkshire (Safety Fence)

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will indicate the annual maintenance costs and anticipated accident cost savings of the guardrail being installed on the central reservation of the M1 in South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire under the present programme.

Separate figures are not available for the annual maintenance cost of this particular length of motorway safety fence, but it should be close to the national average of about £300 per mile. Savings of fatal and serious accidents should be achieved, possibly at the expense of less serious ones. We have no means of predicting accurately the overall cost saving, but would expect it to cover maintenance costs and contribute to capital cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate, in absolute and percentage terms, the anticipated reduction in deaths and injuries and in the numbers of fatality and injury accidents as a consequence of the guardrail being installed on the central reservation of the M1 in South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire under the present programme.

We cannot, with any confidence of accuracy, predict in absolute or percentage terms what reduction in fatal and injury accidents is likely to occur. An early study suggested that savings of 9 per cent. of fatal accidents and 1 per cent. of serious accidents and some increase of less serious ones occurred due to the installation of central reserve safety fences on the M1.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will specify the projected benefit-to-cost ratio of the guardrail installation on the central reservation of the M1 in South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire under the present programme.

No precise figures are available. Such evidence as exists suggests that fatal and serious accidents resulting from crossover collisions will to a considerable extent be prevented by the provision of central reserve safety fences.

Seat Belts

asked the Secretary of State for Transport how many drivers and passengers in motor vehicles were killed or seriously injured in road accidents who were not wearing scat belts during 1974, 1975 and 1976, and who would be likely to have been exempt from the requirement to wear seat belts if legislation concerning the compulsory wearing of seat belts had been operative.

It is unlikely that the exemptions that would be needed if wearing become compulsory would reduce significantly the potential savings of 1,000 fatal and 10,000 serious casualties for each of these years. Exemptions similar to those which we would envisage in Britain have proved compatible with wearing rates of up to 90 per cent. in New Zealand and Australia—and the non-wearers will have included some who were not exempt.

Severn Bridge

asked the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects work to start on the repair of the Severn Bridge.

It is expected that work will start on site early in April.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what is his estimate of the cost of repairing the box girders on the Severn Bridge.

It is estimated that the cost of replacing the rocker assemblies will be about £200,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what stage the negotiations for the contract to repair the Severn Bridge have reached.

The principles of the proposed contract have been established but some details remain to be settled.

asked the Secretary of State for Trannsport if he can give any estimates of the delays being created for traffic attempting to cross the Severn Bridge.

For periods of about half an hour during morning and evening peaks, short delays with queues of up to half a mile have occurred in the west-bound direction. In the eastbound direction similar delays have occurred on

DEATHS AND SERIOUS INJURIES PER MILE 1971–75
		(a)	(b)	(c)	(d)
		Motorways	Dual Carriageways (A-Roads)	Winchester By-Pass	A333 Kingsworthy-Popham
1971	…	1·59	3·37	5·35	3·30
1972	…	1·29	3·13	4·52	4·94
1973	…	1·16	2·87	5·19	3·05
1974	…	0·94	2·48	3·19	1·39
1975	…	1·00	2·17	5·54	1·52
1976	…	not yet available		5·87	1·90

Roads (Economic Assessment)

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of the economic benefit attributable to a typical trunk road scheme relates to time saved on leisure journeys in private vehicles.

About 13 per cent. Most of the benefits of new roads come from savings in working time-50 per cent.—accident saving—20 per cent.—and journeys to work—7 per cent. Even if leisure journeys were entirely ignored, the economic justification for most road schemes would still he good.

Road Construction Programme

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what was the total mileage of trunk roads and motorways for which he is responsible which were planned on 6th March 1974, or the nearest convenient date thereto, to be built within the next following five years, compared with the mileage of similar roads planned to be built in the five years next following 6th March 1977 or the nearest convenient date thereto.

most days, but for a period about 2½ hours during Friday evenings the queues have been up to 1½ miles long.

Road Accidents

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what is the average number of deaths and serious injuries per mile on: (a) motorways, (b) dual carriageway trunk roads, (c) the Winchester bypass and (d) the section of the A33 between the western end of the M3 and the northern end of the Winchester bypass for each year since the opening of the M3.

I regret that the information cannot be readily obtained in the precise form requested, but the following information is available:

I regret that information is not available in the form requested.

Concessionary Fares

asked the Secretary of State for Transport under what specific statutory authority travel concessions for children are granted.

Bus and rail operators do not in general require specific statutory authority to offer travel concessions to children. This is a matter for their commercial judgment, subject, in the case of bus operators, to the approval of the Traffic Commissioners under the Road Traffic Act 1960. Municipal bus undertakings have powers to grant concessions by virtue of the Public Service Vehicles (Travel Concessions) Act 1955 and the Travel Concessions Act 1964. Passenger transport executives are similarly empowered by Section 10 of the Transport Act 1968, and the London Transport Executive by Section 6 of the Transport (London) Act 1969.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of persons registered as handicapped with a local authority he estimates is eligible for travel concessions under Section 15(2) of the Transport Act 1968.

I regret that this information is not available. Local authorities and passenger transport executives are not required to inform the Department about reductions or waivers of charges authorised under Section 15(2)(b) of the Transport Act 1968.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the local authorities and passenger transport executives which provide travel concessions for children other than for travel to and from school.

At the time of a survey in August 1976 the following local authorities paid some or all of the cost of reduced fare travel for children other than travel to school, on buses in their areas:

Greater Manchester County Council

South Yorkshire County Council

Blackburn Borough Council (in respect of Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive services in the borough)

Darlington Borough Council

Derby Borough Council

Rhymney Valley District Council.

Road Fund Licences

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what is the period of grace allowed to motorists renewing their road fund tax discs.

By law, none; by administrative concession of 50 years' standing, 14 days.

Volume 928: debated on Thursday 24 March 1977

Written Answers To Questions

Prices And Consumer Protection

Funerals

Pilkington Brothers Ltd And Uko International Ltd

Price Increases

Food Prices

Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference

Peterborough

Denmark (Prime Minister)

Prime Minister (Engagements)

Cbi

North Cotes

Tuc

Rome

Uganda

Regional Policy

Hertfordshire

Helsinki Final Act

Nato

Home Department

Police Cadets

Police (Mortgage Interest Relief)

Police (Broxbourne)

Firearms

Attendance Centres, Leicester

Messrs, Poulson, Cunningham And Smith

Voluntary Organisations (Pre-School Children)

Departmental Correspondence

Bail

Immigration Officers (Languages)

Legal Aid

Parking (Diplomatic Immunity)

Mr Mark Hosenball

Immigrants

Crime

Broadcasting (Annan Report)

Standing Advisory Council On Race Relations

Northern Ireland

Terrorism (Tyrone Presbytery's Representations)

Defence

Gratuities

Personnel (Numbers)

Riot Control (Conferences)

Expenditure

Nimrod Airborne Early Warning System

Libel Law

Lawyers' Fees

Agriculture, Fisheries And Food

"Conservative Monthly News"

Foreign And Commonwealth Affairs

Greece (Convicted British Subjects)

Energy

Offshore Installations (Life-Saving Appliances)

Civil Service

Central Film Library

European Community Commission

Public Appointments

Civil Servants

Her Majesty's Stationery Office

Dispersal

Education And Science

"Industry, Education And Management"

Under-Fives

Stirling University

School Meals

Employment

Gas And Postal Charges

Statutes (Enforcement)

Employment Protection Act (Claims)

Job Creation Programme

Unemployed Persons

New Year Bank Holiday

Aliens (Statistics)

Industry

Small Businesses

Industrial Development Certificates

British Shipbuilders (Acquisitions)

Government Aid