asked the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received from Welsh local authorities requesting separate legislation for the establishment of a Welsh Assembly.

One, Sir, from Cardiff City-Council.

Notwithstanding the modesty of the number of requests that the right hon. and learned Gentleman has received, will he add his own voice to the growing number within this House who believe that any Welsh legislative assembly is an issue pre-eminently suitable for a separate piece of legislation?

I am always glad to hear of the hon. Gentleman's interest in Wales. I must tell him that he will have to await the statements by my right hon. Friend the Lord President of the Council.

Is the Secretary of State aware that the Wales TUC has consistently stood not just for the kind of executive body that the Government favour but for a legislature that would have the full ecenomic powers of which the Government spoke in their manifesto?

No one is more well aware than I am of the views of the Wales TUC. If we are to have devolution, it is imperative that the Labour Government remain in office. I was sad to see the hon. Gentleman in the Opposition Lobby on the vote of confidence in the Government.

When my right hon. and learned Friend is considering this issue, will he note the representations that have been made by the Labour, Liberal and Conservative Parties? Will he bear in mind that in the recent local elections the nationalists did very badly and lost three seats in my constituency alone, a fact that they did not publicise in their reports?

I am sure that all hon. Members are aware of the situation in the local elections. My right hon. Friend the Lord President of the Council will take full account of all representations.

Does the Secretary of State agree that if the devolution proposals are to be meaningful we need two separate Bills, one for Wales and one for Scotland, running concurrently in the next Session?

The hon. Member has made that point before. It will be taken into account.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will now answer Questions relating to the Welsh Development Agency, the Land Authority for Wales and similar bodies.

My right hon. and learned Friend will answer such Questions where they relate to matters of Government policy or the use of his statutory powers. I do not exercise close supervision over the day-to-day administration of the bodies concerned, and I am following long-standing practice in saying that Questions relating to such matters should be addressed to the bodies themselves.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the Questions that I put to him about the Land Authority, which he refused to answer, did not deal with day-to-day matters but dealt with the operations of the Land Authority on an annual basis? Are the Government aware that the refusal of the Welsh Office to answer Questions about these bodies and the decision to treat them in the same way as nationalised industries is contrary to the spirit of the assurances we were given when we were dealing with the legislation setting up the bodies? Irrespective of whether the hon. Gentleman intends to answer Questions about these bodies, can he tell us why, when we table Questions that he refuses to answer and that are passed on to the bodies concerned, we have to write to the respective chairmen asking for replies?

Perhaps I should make it clear that my hon. Friend the Member for Merthyr Tydfil (Mr. Rowlands), when dealing with this specific point in the Committee proceedings on the Community Land Bill, said:

"For any action he may take"

"in the way of a direction, be it specific or general, to the Land Authority he will be answerable to this House, through Question Time and so on."—[Official Report, Standing Committee G, 12th June 1975; c. 992.]

Does the Minister not find it anomalous that he and his right hon. and learned Frend are only too willing to make announcements about new advance factories whereas they will not answer Questions about the activities of the Welsh Development Agency? Does he accept that one of the regrettable things is that the Government's political involvement in the detail of decision-making on the location of advance factories is much too great, particularly in view of the fact that the Government do not accept responsibility to hon. Members for such matters in the House?

The hon. Gentleman is wrong. Clearly there are certain functions of these bodies which Parliament has made subject to the approval of the Secretary of State. Advance factories and derelict land clearance are such functions. In such cases it is right and proper that the agreement of my right hon. and learned Friend should be sought.

Will the Minister bear in mind that these are not private enterprise bodies that are responsive to competition or any competitive element? On the other hand, throughout the passage of the Bill the Minister was at pains to take credit for the fact that these bodies would be highly democratic, in the sense that he would answer for them in the House and be subject to questioning. It now appears that that is not to be so.

I think that the hon. Gentleman is completely mistaken. If he looks through the Committee reports, he will see that the Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Merthyr Tydfil (Mr. Rowlands), who took the Bill through Committee on behalf of the Welsh Office, said quite clearly under what conditions my right hon. and learned Friend would be answerable to the House for these questions. We are following the well-established practice of a number of Governments. A similar body is the Highlands and Islands Development Board. Questions on day-to-day matters in respect of that body are not answerable in the House.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales when he next intends to meet the EEC Commissioner with responsibilities for agriculture.

I have no plans to meet Mr. Gundelach in the immediate future.

Does the right hon. and learned Gentleman agree that the ruling of the European Court over the weekend to forbid the Government to pay the subsidy to pig producers in Wales will have a disastrous effect on the industry? What plans has he in mind, short term and long term, to help the pig industry in Wales?

My right hon. Friend and I are conscious of the real difficulties of the pig sector. My right hon. Friend has done his utmost to try to help it. I have not yet seen the text of the judgment delivered in the court on Saturday, but my right hon. Friend and I, and other ministerial colleagues, will consider the matter as soon as may be.

Is my right hon. and learned Friend aware that resentment against various policies of the Common Market goes way beyond the unfortunate case of pig breeders in Wales and extends to every household and every consumer—indeed, to all those who are now faced with ever-rising prices? Will he tell Mr. Gundelach that it is fast becoming the majority opinion in this country that we made an absolutely crazy mistake to stay in the Common Market and that a great deal of support is being given to the idea of withdrawal from the CAP?

That does not arise from the Question put by the hon. Member for Cardigan (Mr. Howells). We may differ on whether it was right to stay in the EEC, but I can assure the House that my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food will do his utmost for the whole of British agriculture and for the consumer.

When the right hon. and learned Gentleman meets the Commissioner will he make clear to him that one of the main anxieties of farmers in Wales these days is the future of the boards, especially the Milk Marketing Board? Will he make it clear that the Government will not tolerate their disappearance, or even their erosion?

I can assure the hon. Gentleman on that score. Time after time my right hon. Friend has made it abundantly clear where the Government stand on the future of the Milk Marketing Board. It is an organisation that has brought immense good to Wales over a long period. I know its significance as well as anyone.

Does my right hon. and learned Friend agree that the chickens are now coming home to roost for British farmers who supported British entry into the Common Market? Does he agree that we had a perfectly efficient agriculture industry, giving a fair deal both for the consumer and for the farmer? Is it not time that the Government give notice that we shall contract out of the common agricultural policy?

I am not sure whether chickens coming home to roost arise from a Question about pigs. I am confident that my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food will do his utmost both for agriculture and the consumer, who is dependent upon agriculture.

As the pigs are now coming back into their pig sties, as it were, is this not a good example of the need for a national agricultural policy so that we may do what we think is right for British pig producers?

We know the stand that the hon. Gentleman has taken on the whole issue of the CAP. I can assure the hon. Gentleman that in this case my right hon. Friend was seeking to do his utmost to help the pig industry.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish in the Official Report details of the scales of services and facilities in Wales for the mentally sick and handicapped as compared with the rest of the United Kingdom.

Information relating to Wales is already published in "Health and Personal Social Services Statistics for Wales" and the "Digest of Welsh Statistics". Key indicators can be found in "Regional Statistics No. 12". All these documents are in the Library. More comprehensive information for Wales will be contained in "Hospital Psychiatric Services for Wales", the first issue of which will be available in July. A copy of this will also be placed in the Library.

I am grateful for the bibliography. Does my hon. Friend appreciate that the all-party parliamentary committee on mental health is deeply concerned that there are gaps in the services throughout the country, including Wales? Has my hon. Friend taken the opportunity of discussing these matters in Wales with the Secretary of State for Social Services? If so, what has been the outcome?

In the Welsh Office we are deeply concerned about the future of services for the handicapped and the mentally ill. I can assure my hon. Friend that I am never slow to ram home the message when I meet the area health authority chairmen every month in Wales. This sector of our hospital community must have more and more resources and more and more of our time.

However concerned the hon. Gentleman may be, will he explain why the White Paper "Better Services for the Mentally Ill" does not apply to Wales? When can we expect initiatives from his Department in place of the White Paper?

Why should the Welsh Office not have policies that are separate and different from England from time to time? My right hon. and learned Friend has already indicated his priority. Only last month he gave £200,000 for the mentally ill and handicapped, most of which has gone into West Wales at St. David's Hospital.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received from workers and employees in the building industry in Wales concerning the need to stimulate spending and employment in building and construction.

I have met the National Federation of Building Trade Employers and the Union of Construction and Allied Trades and I share the concern expressed by the Joint Advisory Committee for the Building and Construction Industry in Wales. My right hon. and learned Friend was, therefore, pleased to announce last Wednesday an addition of £5¾ million over the next two years to the expenditure programmes within his responsibility. This will all be spent on construction projects.

I am grateful for that answer, especially for the extra finances to flow into building and construction and for the review taking place of housing expenditure among local authorities. Does my hon. Friend agree that in order to stimulate the sort of improvement and the employment that we need a great deal more finance will have to be allocated to combat unemployment and to ensure that the pace of improvement of housing stock and the development of new houses set by previous Labour Governments is well and truly sustained by this Government?

I agree that there are man spheres of public life in which it would be desirable to increase public expenditure if we had earned the money before we spent it. Within the capital resources available we have sought to allow each local authority to take its own decisions—namely, whether it will spend money on building new houses or on improving them.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the £5 million contribution over two years is minimal and will have little effect? Has he looked into the effect on unemployment of the denial of the 714 certificate to small builders, very often on the ground that they have been unemployed at some time over the past three years?

There has been a lengthy debate in the House on 714 certificates. When I met the National Federation of Building Trade Employers in Cardiff I took up this issue and was able to ensure that certificates would be granted to those who up to that time had found some difficulty in obtaining them. The £5¾ million is an extra £5¾ million. I am sure that when the allocations are made known—they will be announced within the next few days—many parts of Wales will consider the £5¾ million extremely valuable.

Does the hon. Gentleman accept that the £5¾ million, while welcome in itself, is a very small sum compared with the cutbacks that the Government announced some time ago? Does he not think it outrageous that at a time when 15,000 construction workers are unemployed in Wales there should be 60,000 families waiting for council houses and a seriously deteriorating situation in respect of house repairs? What action are the Government going to take?

In answer to a question last week I announced the setting up of a working party to consider expenditure on housing in Wales. The need for the working party to be set up was that last year many housing authorities in Wales, for various reasons, were unable to spend the moneys that we had allocated to them. I understand the hon. Gentleman's desire to throw stones at the Government, but sometimes the stones need to be thrown much closer to home.

Clearly the new and welcome £5¾ million will have some effect on employment. Has any estimate been made of the employment effects of a certain scale of investment?

I should have to have notice of that question. However, my right hon. and learned Friend is anxious to ensure that the extra £5¾ million is spent on projects that will aid the construction industry in Wales.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make an official visit to Newport.

I have no immediate plans to do so.

Will my right hon. and learned Friend direct his attention once again to the closure of the Westinghouse factory and the bus depot at Newport, and also, now, to another brainwave on the part of the management of the British Steel Corporation, to close the pipe mill at Llanwern? Is it not time for the Welsh Office to counteract these measures by urging development area status for Newport, bearing in mind that for a very long time other industrial centres in Wales have had relatively better unemployment figures?

I respect the advocacy of my hon. Friend, over a long time of development area status for Newport, but it is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Industry. Obviously the closure of the pipe mill is a matter of great concern, but I understand that if the closure is confirmed every effort will be made by the BSC to find alternative jobs in the area and in other parts of the tubes division. Any closure hurts, and no one other than my hon. Friend is more concerned than I to ensure that new industry goes to the area.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what is the estimated cost of the strike at the Port Talbot steelworks.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement about the economic consequences of the strike at BSC, Port Talbot.

Although this is primarily a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Industry, I understand that the cost to the British Steel Corporation up to 21st May was about £13 million. This does not take into account the very substantial costs there will be of restarting operations and overcoming the disruption brought about by the strike, or of the import costs and losses of export earnings.

Is my right hon. and learned Friend aware that this disastrous strike, which has very little, if any, public support, will have a serious effect on the tinplate industry in my constituency and on industry in the whole of West Wales? Is he aware of the ominous trend whereby the British Steel Corporation has decided to hold up its development plans? In view of the seriousness of the situation, will my right hon. and learned Friend consider convening a meeting between the head office of the union, its officials, and the BSC to explore the possibility of finding a basis upon which work may be resumed?

I understand fully the force of my hon. Friend's comments. During the strike I have done what I could as a local Member of Parliament to see whether there could be some movement by the parties in the interests of the whole area. I appeal earnestly to those on strike to respond to the appeal of the TUC steel committee. In my opinion, it would not be helpful to say more at this stage. I trust that hon. Members will wait to see what transpires from a meeting which I hope will take place this week.

What is the estimated cost of the strike to the many small businesses dependent on the steel industry, particularly the haulage and maintenance businesses and construction companies?

The cost cannot be calculated. Plainly it is additional to the sum that I have mentioned. But the whole area will suffer until the matter is resolved. I trust that the House will note my comment that it would be best at this stage to await developments this week.

My right hon. and learned Friend will know from his local knowledge that it is a question of the effect not only on exports but on the economy of the whole of South-West Wales. He will realise that his initiatives in trying to work behind the scenes to bring peace are known to his colleagues locally. Does he agree that Wedensday's meeting is likely to provide the best way out on a basis of dignity for all concerned in this sad dispute?

I am sure that my hon. Friend's remarks will be noted.

I associate myself and my colleagues with the appeal of the Secretary of State for a satisfactory outcome to this very sad dispute. However, bearing in mind the serious consequences for many other companies in this part of Wales and the implications of the BSC's announcement of postponement of the £835 million investment, can the right hon. and learned Gentleman assure the House that he or the Secretary of State for Industry will give further information to the House at the earliest opportunity and will keep us informed of developments?

That is a matter for my right hon. Friend. Let us see what happens in the course of the week.

Does the Secretary of State agree that these unhappy events greatly strengthen the case for maintaining Shotton in full production as a balancing plant?

I do not think that that adds one iota to improving the situation. I have asked the House to see what happens in the week. Anything said now will not help matters.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales whether he is satisfied with present Government regional policies as they affect Wales.

Yes, Sir.

I am glad that the Secretary of State is so pleased. Is he aware that there is dismay in my constituency at the already visible consequences of being deprived of regional incentives that are available to every adjoining area and that, in view of the catastrophic employment situation in my constituency, he must devise some measures of direct aid even if, for the time being, we cannot have full development area status?

I know that the hon. Gentleman wants even wider development area status—[Interruption.] It seems that does not; he rejects it. Perhaps he forgets that Mold, which is in his constituency, comes within the new development area. I have gone to the trouble of reading his famous speech about Slough, in which he advocated bigger and better Sloughs for Welshmen who might have to be exported because of the lack of employment. He said, about the granting of development area status:

"All that this does is to shift puddles of unemployment from one place to another, rather like councils in South-East England trying to move gipsies from the area of one council into the area of an adjoining council."—[Official Report, Welsh Grand Committee. 28th April 1971; c. 30.]

Is my right hon. and learned Friend aware that many people, not only in Wales and Scotland but in the regions of England, are becoming aware of the advantages likely to accrue to Wales in terms of political clout and regional development by the establishment of the Welsh Assembly? Will he urge on his right hon. Friends the need to institute the Assembly as soon as possible?

I am sure that my hon. Friend will await the statement in due course by my right hon. Friend the Lord President of the Council.

The right hon. and learned Gentleman has quoted the speech of my hon. Friend the Member for Flint, West (Sir A. Meyer). Will he remember what he said in his last election address, to the effect that without jobs there was no reason for young people to stay in Wales? What does he have to say about that now?

The Government, faced with one of the deepest recessions that the world has experienced for a long time, are using every weapon at their disposal to ensure that there are jobs in Wales.

Would the right hon. and learned Gentleman consider the powerful speech made on this subject last week by my hon. Friend the Member for Flint, West (Sir A. Meyer), in which he drew attention to the anomoly that tourist aid is confined to development areas and that the needs of tourism should be separately identified and should not necessarily coincide with the industrial arguments, and the case advanced on that occasion by the Minister about the industrial needs of the area?

I am sure that that can be looked at. I read the hon. Gentleman's speech and the reply. It can be pursued to see whether anything can be done. However, I assure the hon. Gentleman that we are doing what we can to help his area, and so is the Welsh Development Agency. I give as examples the recent announcement about derelict land schemes and that organisation taking a share in a company in the Rhyl area. We wrote in December to Rhuddlan council about the development of the Rhyl promenade and its application for European aid. We are still awaiting an answer.

Does the right hon. and learned Gentleman accept that the announcement that he made two years ago about special development area status for parts of Gwynedd has had a minimal effect on the employment problems of the area? There are still 10 empty advance factories in my constituency.

I am deeply aware of that. No one is more conscious than I of the need to look at every possible opportunity to see what further can be done with regard to special development areas. In the Budget the Chancellor announced one part of the help, which I think will be valued in due course.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. In view of the unsatisfactory nature of the Secretary of State's reply. I beg to give notice that I shall seek to raise the matter on the Adjournment.

Evans asked the Secretary of State for Wales what is his policy regarding the representation of Wales at international conferences.

The Welsh Office is represented at international conferences whenever it is appropriate to do so.

Is the right hon. and learned Gentleman aware that during the 25-year reign of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II the British Empire has been transformed into a Commonwealth of 36 separate and equal nations? Although Wales is older than any one of those nations, we have no comparable status with any of them. Will the Minister at least now make amends by giving us something like observer status at the coming Commonwealth Conference?

The hon. Gentleman really has disclosed his full hand today. He is a separatist first and last, and the sooner he makes that abundantly clear to the people of Wales the better. He really stands for an independent Wales, and it does him no good going about Wales saying that he does not. That is what he stands for, and the people of Wales should know it.

My right hon. and learned Friend does the hon. Member for Carmarthen (Mr. Evans) an injustice. The hon. Gentleman is not for an independent Wales; he is obviously for an observer status Wales. With regard to international conferences and associations, can my right hon. and learned Friend tell me whether he has any up-to-date details about the great sheep deal between Plaid Cymru and Colonel Gaddafi, and whether there has been any development in the last 10 months on that score? Will my right hon. and learned Friend embrace the idea of internationals at Wembley and inform the Football Association that while it may be used to sterile national anthems, many of us want to sing ours on great sporting occasions, and we shall be singing it next Tuesday?

I have every sympathy with my hon. Friend on the second part of his Question. I recall a famous occasion at Twickenham in March 1974 when our anthem was not played officially, and I and my right hon. and learned Friend the Lord Chancellor stood up when the anthem was sung unofficially, and from that moment we saw progress being made. [Interruption.] No, we won.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will review the criteria relative to the purchase of existing housing stock by local housing authorities, with particular regard to helping authorities in areas where second and holiday homes are prevalent to buy houses that come on the market and let them to local people on the waiting list for council housing.

Housing authorities already have adequate powers under the Housing Acts to acquire existing properties to meet housing needs in their areas. The main block allocations given to housing authorities in Wales for 1977–78 can be spent on these acquisitions at the discretion of the authorities.

Is the Minister aware of the difficulties experienced in areas such as Dwyfor, Arfon and other parts of Gwynedd because of the pressure of the second-home market on house prices and the comparability between the market price and the district valuation? In view of his answer, can he give an assurance that he will meet representatives of the district councils in those areas to discuss the matter further?

I am always willing to meet district councils in Wales on any aspect of housing policy. I remind the hon. Gentleman that since May 1976 the councils have had the power to use their own valuers. But it is true that market value remains the prime consideration. I do not think that the hon. Gentleman is really suggesting that local authorities should be paying above the market price for these properties, otherwise not only the local authorities but the incoming tenants would suffer.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales whether he is now able to announce starting and expected completion dates of the proposed West Glamorgan residential autistic unit at Maytree School, Morriston, Swansea.

In view of its importance this unit will be included among the projects to be financed out of the additional public expenditure of £5¾ million announced by my right hon. and learned Friend last week. Subject to formal approval of the plans and cost on tender, the scheme will be undertaken within this year's school building programme. I would expect the work to be completed by about February 1979.

As my hon. Friend well knows, there is currently no special educational unit in Wales catering specifically for autistic children and adolescents, but parents have done an immense amount of work to get this off the ground. Therefore, the announcement today that resources have been found will be greatly welcomed in the whole of South Wales.

That is a very good statement but a very poor Question.

Edwards asked the Secretary of State for Wales what action he proposes to take following publication of the CBI Report on standards of numeracy and literacy in Wales.

I welcome this publication as one of many useful contributions on education in our schools. All such contributions are being borne in mind as work proceeds on the consultative document that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Science and my right hon. and learned Friend hope to publish in the summer.

Is it not highly disturbing that there should have been this sharp decline in the levels of educational attainment, so that apparently large numbers of young people are now leaving the schools without the basic skills necessary for jobs in industry and elsewhere? Will the Minister ensure that action is taken to deal with this situation, and will he tell us whether he proposes to do anything about the specific recommendations contained in this excellent report?

The inquiry that I have commissioned into the examination achievements of school leavers in Wales is almost completed and it is my intention to seek the views of educational interests shortly on this matter. With regard to the specific publication, we have been grateful for it because it adds to the great debate which the Prime Minister has started and which, in part, we shall be concluding with the Green Paper published in the summer.

Before taking any action, will my hon. Friend carefully consider the contents of the CBI Report and whether it has examined the same category of person as it had previously, since the individual expectations of our young people are so much higher today that people who would go into the kind of jobs envisaged are likely to have a different standard?

I agree with my hon. Friend in all that he has said. There is a gulf between our schools and industry. We have to bridge that gulf. It is a fact that the report has in part been criticised by some of the teachers' organisations.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what improvements to the South Wales-North Wales Trunk Road (A 470) have been carried out over the past 10 years; and what proposal he has for further improvement of the route.

Twenty-two schemes, each valued at over £50,000, have been completed since January 1967, at a total cost of over £28 million. A further 38 schemes, valued at about £62 million, are in progress of being prepared.

I thank my hon. Friend for that reply. I am glad to know that the Government are giving priority to this road as well as to the east-west link, which will improve the link-up with England. With regard to the development of the A470, will my hon. Friend bear in mind the need for a bypass at Abercynon and a link road in the Cynon Valley at Aberdare because of the traffic congestion?

I shall bear that in mind. I ought to tell my hon. Friend that this road scheme would seem to be the responsibility of the Mid-Glamorgan county authority, but it is aimed to start work on the next section of the new Cardiff-Merthyr trunk road between Abercynon and Pentrebach in 1981, at a likely cost of £23 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what allocation he intends to make to local housing authorities for mortgage lending in 1977–78; and what are the comparable figures for each year since 1974.

There is no separate allocation for mortgage lending in 1977–78, but the block allocations, amounting to almost £15 million, include provision for lending. Details were given in my reply to the hon. Member for Caernarvon (Mr. Wigley) on 6th April 1977. No specific allocations for lending were made until 1976–77, when the figure was £17·7 million, of which £14 million was taken up.

Is the Minister as satisfied now as he was a year ago that the building societies are coming in to fill the gap that has been caused by a reduction in mortgage lending by local authorities?

No, I am not satisfied now, nor was I satisfied then. What I indicated to the hon. Gentleman was that the extra £5 million that has been reserved for this purpose by the building societies will partly replace the cut that has been announced. I repeat that the extra £8½ million that the building societies have set aside for lending in Wales in 1977–78 will likewise be put to good use by local authorities in Wales. It is hoped that the money will be used for priority cases first.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service whether, in the light of recent developments in Government policy on metropolitan areas, he will reconsider the need for a further review of the Civil Service dispersal proposals following the Hardman Report.

The Government have recently reviewed the dispersal programme announced in 1974. We have concluded that no useful purpose would be served by a further review.

Does the Minister agree that there have been substantial changes in economic and financial conditions since the original decisions were made and, in particular, that recently the Government have made a fundamental change of policy in relation to the new towns, aimed at reattracting jobs to London instead of locating them elsewhere, and also on inner urban areas? In the light of all these matters, does the Minister not think that a serious reappraisal should be made and published to Parliament, so that the House can decide?

We have conducted a review recently and are determined that the dispersal programme, as announced in July 1974, will go ahead. I have no wish to minimise the problem. Some places—particularly London, to which the hon. Gentleman referred—have been particularly badly hit by unemployment, but for Greater London the current unemployment rate is 4·1 per cent., compared with 10·5 per cent. for Merseyside, 9·1 per cent. for Glasgow, 7·5 per cent. for Teesside, and 6·1 per cent. for Cardiff.

The overall unemployment rate in Greater London may be 4·1 per cent., but is my hon. Friend aware that in pockets of London such as South-East London it is nearly double that figure? Is he aware that among my constituents there is very great bitterness that with an unemployment rate at this level there is a determination to press ahead with some of these idiotic schemes, such as, in particular, the removal of the Government Chemist to Cumbria, which means that skilled workers who need to deal with matters concerned largely with Heathrow Airport are to be sent hundreds of miles away?

My hon. Friend is right to express the concern of his constituents about this matter. The problem in London is the contraction in manufacturing jobs and not wholly the contraction in service, clerical and administrative jobs. The shortage in the Scottish, Welsh and English regions is of jobs for all kinds.

Will the Minister say perfectly clearly—just for a change—whether it is his intention that only the job will be moved or that the person who is doing the job will be moved? If it is the latter, it will do very little for those who are unemployed in the region. If it is the former, it will do very little for London.

I assure the hon. Gentleman that essentially it is the jobs that will be moved. In terms of benefit to the community, I suggest that the hon. Gentleman looks at the successful dispersal operations that have taken place—first, the dispersal of the Royal Mint from Tower Hill to Llantrisant in South Wales and, secondly, the successful operation involving the dispersal of the Post Office Savings Bank to Cowglen in Scotland. Had there been no such dispersal there would have been 5,000 fewer jobs in Cowglen than there are at present.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service when he next intends to visit Scotland to view possible locations for the dispersal of Civil Service jobs.

I intend to visit the Central Region of Scotland on the 27th May, but I should perhaps emphasise that the Government have at present no plans to locate further Civil Service work in Scotland, other than those that have already been announced. But, as and when opportunities occur, the claims of other places will be considered.

Bearing in mind that the male unemployment rate in some parts of Scotland, for example, in Kilsyth, in my constituency, is more than 20 per cent., is my hon. Friend aware that many people in Scotland will be very pleased about his reaffirmation today of the Government's commitment to disperse jobs to Scotland? Will he confirm that it is still under active consideration to disperse some jobs to the Central Region? My hon. Friend can be assured of the utmost co-operation on the part of the local authorities in that area.

I look forward to having the opportunity of meeting my hon. Friend on his home ground and examining the facts that he has indicated to the House today.

Does the Minister realise that the whole Hardman exercise has become pure pantomime, because the number of people dispersed to Scotland—where the hon. Member for West Stirlingshire (Mr. Canavan) comes from—in the past two years has been 0·02 per cent.? Why will he not face the fact that the Civil Service will not move from London? Why will he not scrap the whole thing and look at it again?

The hon. Gentleman can produce whatever percentages he likes in terms of dispersal but he knows as well as I do that the Hardman proposals, which were announced in July 1974, envisaged a dispersal over the 10-year period 1974–84. The reasons for the increasing interest on the part of some hon. Members is that we are coming now to the dispersal operation itself, and the dispersal commitments will be honoured.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service whether he proposes to reactivate the Pay Research Unit in the Civil Service.

I explained to the hon. Member on 6th December that reactivation of the work undertaken by the Pay Research Unit before its suspension would be dependent on the future development of national pay policy. That remains the position.

When will the Minister stop giving his well-known imitation of an ostrich, with his head buried firmly in the sand? Is it not true that in terms of occupational pensioners there are two nations—the inflation-proofed and the rest? Now that inflation is once again nearing the Labour norm of 20 per cent., is not this the right moment to reactivate the Pay Research Unit, as many civil servants themselves want, so that the value of inflation proofing can be established?

The hon. Member is quite right in saying that many civil servants want the reactivation of the Pay Research Unit—but they want it for something slightly different from what the hon. Gentleman wants. He wants the unit's reactivation merely to consider the question of pensions. If we are to reactivate the Pay Research Unit, pensions are only one element in the general remuneration and salaries that civil servants receive. The reactivation should be considered only in the context of the Government's national pay policy.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service on how many occasions the Hospitality Fund has been used to sponsor functions in Trust House Forte hotels.

The information is not readily available, since the Government Hospitality Fund does not record details of which commercial group a particular hotel belongs to.

I suppose that is why my hon. Friend finished in the mess that occurred a few weeks ago, when a Minister was faced with the choice of having to face a picket line, cross it, or go back whence he came.

The Civil Service Department and, certainly, the Government Hospitality Fund do not instruct any Minister in regard to the crossing of picket lines. I should have thought that the Government Hospitality Fund was taking a very reasonable approach to this issue by keeping in the forefront of its mind the basis on which Government hospitality is provided. The basis of Government hospitality is the promoting of good will. If there is an industrial dispute at an individual hotel which might give rise to embarrassment to guests of Her Majesty's Government, that is not the hotel that we would select for Government receptions and hospitality.

Will the Minister be very careful not to follow the bad example of three of his colleagues in taking sides in industrial disputes recently, and will he not allow blackmail of the kind that is going on at, for example, the Randolph Hotel, Oxford to prevail against the operations of the Government?

I have spent half my life taking sides in regard to industrial disputes. However, having said that, the Government Hospitality Fund is in no way involved in blackmail and would not wish to associate itself with any such charges. I have explained the basis. Our concern is to prevent embarrassment to guests of Her Majesty's Government.

The Minister said that this was not a matter of taking sides but of avoiding embarrassment to the Government's guests. If some bunch of thoroughgoing nasties, such as the National Front, had an embarrassing picket line outside a hotel, would the Government not expect its guests to go through that line?

Government hospitality would certainly take account of any picket lines, or demonstrations of any sort that were calculated to embarrass guests of the Government.