asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many protests he has received against the recent appointment of Her Majesty's Government's next Ambassador to the United States of America.

I have received 33 letters since 12th May, of which 14 were critical and 15 supported the appointment.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, in view of the written assurance given to the British Youth Council on 31st March 1977 that a total of £6,933 was being transferred to the council, if he will now make arrangement for the payment of this sum less the £2,600 instalment already paid.

As I told the hon. Member on 20th May, parliamentary approval has yet to be sought for the proposed grant in aid. It has been possible to make an advance of £2,600, and the balance in respect of the period to 30th September will be paid as soon as Parliament has approved the Summer Supplementary Estimate. Correspondence between my right hon. Friend's Department and the British Youth Council on matters of administration cannot override the requirement for such approval.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take steps to increase the maximum fine for illegally employing children aged under 14 years in industry in Hong Kong.

Legislation was passed on 4th May 1977 to increase the maximum fine for the illegal employment of children aged under 14 years in industrial undertakings from HK$5,000 to HK$10,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will ask the Belgian Government for a report into the fire disaster in Brussels on 22nd May in which at least eight Britons died.

Yes. The Belgian authorities have already started an inquiry into the cause of the fire.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will recommend the suspension of Uganda from the Commonwealth pending further investigation by an independent body such as Amnesty International or the United Nations of allegations recently made about events in that country.

I would refer the hon. Member to my answer on 2nd March.—[Vol. 927, c. 228]—The issue of the expulsion, or suspension, of a country from the Commonwealth has far reaching implications, and would require very careful consideration by all members of the Commonwealth.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will express in £ sterling the net annual income of an EEC Commissioner exclusively from his income from that office and excluding other income, based on his basic salary, less household allowance, dependent children allowance, education allowance for two dependent children, social security payments, after taxation (wife not working) and including his residence and entertainment allowances; and if he will also express in £ sterling his annual retirement pension based on five years' service.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 24th May—[Vol. 932, c. 429-30]. As to pensions, the position is that a member of the Commission retiring after five years' service would receive for the first three years after his retirement a so-called "Transitional Allowance" amounting after deduction of tax to 1,250,172 Belgian francs (£20,164) per annum. During these three years the Commissioner would continue to receive household, family and education allowances. Subsequently, assuming he has reached the age of 65, he would receive a pension amounting, after deduction of tax and social security payments, to 626,052 Belgian francs or £10,098 per annum. A retired Commissioner who completes the three-year transitional period at an age between 60 and 65 will receive a proportionally lower pension. The figures given apply to the case of an ex-Commissioner still residing in Belgium; the conversions into £ sterling have been made at the commercial rate of 62 Belgian francs=£1 and the same remarks apply as in my answer referred to above.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service on how many occasions over the last two years there has been an industrial dispute at St. Stephen's Parliamentary Press; how many days were lost; and what on average was the amount of pay lost per printer.

Over the last two years there have been four industrial disputes at St. Stephen's Parliamentary Press, including the most recent one. Total man days lost was 1,830 with an average pay lost per printer of £127.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what is the total number of people employed in the printing of the Official Report and other parliamentary papers; and how many of them are members of a trade union.

The total number of industrial staff employed in HMSO on the printing of the Official Report and other parliamentary papers is 599, all of whom are trade union members.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what efforts have been made to find alternative printers of the Official Report.

There has been no occasion to consider alternative printers of the Official Report because the St. Stephen's Parliamentary Press exists to produce parliamentary printing.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service on how many occasions the Official Report has not been printed in 1975, 1976 and to the latest available date in 1977.

There were 11 such occasions in 1975, six in 1976 and 10 to date in 1977. Outstanding issues will be produced as soon as production capacity is available.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service if, in view of the need to preserve for the maximum extent job opportunity in the Civil Service for school leavers, he will give an assurance that the maximum use will be made of the arrangement for voluntary premature retirement for staff approaching retirement age before recruitment is reduced.

I take it that my hon. Friend is referring to the arrangements for the premature retirement of civil servants who are redundant or are of limited efficiency, or where there is an age-structure problem in their grade or group. These are not voluntary retirement arrangements, although many who retire under them may be willing to leave the Service. It would not be appropriate to use these arrangements for the purpose my hon. Friend has suggested. He will, however, know the seriousness with which the Government view the need to provide sufficient job opportunities for school leavers, and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment has announced the various measures we have implemented to alleviate the problem.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service whether he will list the groups of public sector employees in whose pay settlements his Department is involved; whether these settlements are at national or local level; which of these settlements are usually influenced by the findings of the Pay Research Unit, and how: and what the percentage increase in the earnings of each group in 1974, 1975 and 1976.

The Civil Service Department is involved in a large number of public service pay settlements, but its primary involvement is at national level in pay settlements for non-industrial and industrial civil servants. For the bulk of the non-industrial Civil Service, pay negotiations have in the past usually been based on the findings of the Pay Research Unit putting into effect the detailed recommendations in the report of the Priestley Royal Commission (Cmnd. 9613). The findings of Pay Research Unit do not cover industrial civil servants; the Higher Civil Service, whose pay is subject to recommendations by the Top Salaries Review Body; or some small groupings of non-industrial civil servants, such as teachers, whose pay is linked to that of the profession outside the Civil Service. The information specified by the Question is not available in the precise form requested, but the average levels of increase in basic pay in annual terms for the years 1974, 1975 and 1976 were approximately 7 per cent., 26 per cent. and 9·8 per cent. for non-industrial civil servants, and 9·5 per cent., 29 per cent. and 11·8 per cent. for industrial civil servants.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what is the cost of administering his Department's discount schemes on fuel bills.

The final figure will depend on the total number taking up the discount. The latest estimate is about £1 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what was the main burden of the representations made to him by the Convening Chairman of the Electricity Consultative Council in his letter of 24th February referred to in his parliamentary answer to the hon. Member for Norfolk, South on Monday 16th May 1977; and what was his reply.

This letter and my reply are set out below.

• The Rt. Hon. A. W. Benn, MP,
• Secretary of State for Energy,
• Department of Energy,
• Thames House South,
• Millbank,
• LONDON, SW1P 4QJ.

24th February 1977Dear Mr. BennCPRS REPORT ON "THE FUTURE OF THE UK POWER PLANT MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY"My colleagues and I have met to consider the CPRS Report on "The Future of the UK Power Plant Manufacturing Industry" and its likely effect upon the electricity consumer. We were fortunate enough to have at our meeting advice from both Sir Kenneth Berrill and Sir Arthur Hawkins, and we were pleased to note that the area of difference between the CEGB and the CPRS was not so great as we had been led to believe.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what is the latest official estimate of the total cost of building and operating a commercial size breeder reactor, including all the related fuel cycle and security-safety costs.

In the absence of a final design it is not possible to give a firm estimate of the costs of a full-scale (1300 MW) commercial fast reactor. But at this stage the AEA's view is that the capital cost of the first such reactor might be about £700–£770 million (in 1976 prices), depending on allowances made for contingencies. (This does not take account of the costs of supporting research and development and preconstruction design and project engineering.) The figures might be much higher. They advise that operating costs are difficult to estimate because they will depend very much on:

(a) the load factors at which the station is operated, especially during the first few years;

(b) whether the fuel is stored until the commissioning of further fast reactors justifies the construction of a reprocessing plant to serve several stations, or whether, to provide an early demonstration of commercial reprocessing, an intermediate scale reprocessing plant is constructed concurrently with CFR 1.

In either case, when the station is operated at a load factor of 70 per cent., revenue from sale of electricity will cover all operating costs (including those related to security and safety) and make a contribution towards capital charges.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy how many Magnox reactors are now generating electricity for the national grid; what is their combined electrical output capacity; and how the price of the electricity thus generated now compares with that generated in the most efficient coal-fired and oil-fired power stations, respectively.

The CEGB, SSEB (which is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland) and BNFL have 26 Magnox reactors at 11 power stations which generate electricity for the national grid.The declared net capability of the generating boards' stations is 3,762 MWSO. The gross capacity of the BNFL stations is 480 MW.In the year 1975–76, the latest period for which complete figures are available, the average generation costs of CEGB power stations commissioned in the previous 12 years were as follows: coal-fired, 0·97p/kWh; oil-fired, 1·09p/kWh; nuclear (Magnox), 0·67p/kWh. These figures include interest and depreciation charges appropriate to 1975–76 and an allowance is made in the nuclear figure for appropriate reprocessing costs.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what is the latest estimate of the total construction costs of the five advanced gas-cooled reactor power stations now on order; by what date it is now expected that all five will have been completed; and what will be their combined electrical output capacity.

This information is not immediately available. I shall reply as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement as to the arrangements he proposes for keeping the public informed of incidents affecting safety at nuclear installations.

, pursuant to the reply [Official Report, 2nd February 1977; Vol. 925, c. 209–10], gave the following further information:The first quarterly report of the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate of the Health and Safety Executive concerning incidents at nuclar installations has been published today. I have arranged for copies to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses. Further copies are available, free of charge, from the Health and Safety Executive. Further reports will cover incidents at nuclear installations on a quarterly basis.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list the financial assistance provided through his Department in (a) the Basildon District Council area and (b) the Essex County Council area, for the services for which he has responsibility, in the financial years 1975–76 and 1976–77.

Expenditure by my Department in the South-East Region as a whole is assessed at £109 million in 1975–76. Expenditure for 1976–77 is not yet available. I regret that figures for particular areas within the region could not be identified without disproportionate expense.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether private individuals may examine the accounts of nationalised bodies for which he is responsible.

The accounts of the nationalised industries for which I am responsible are audited by commercial auditors whom I am required to appoint annually. A copy of statements of account and any reports by the commercial auditors are laid before each House of Parliament.

asked the Lord President of the Council whether he will publish in the Official Report a detailed or summary explanation of the various reports and recommendations concerning the salaries and allowances of hon. Members published since 1945; how many of these were postponed, altered or amended because of the economic situation; how many were held up before implementation; when the last Boyle Report was published; and when it is likely to be implemented.

The information is given in the following table:

asked the Lord President of the Council if he will take steps to refer to the Procedure Committee the question of ensuring that Standing Committees considering a Bill after Second Reading should always in the first place hold their meetings during the morning, and only arrange evening sittings, which clash with debates in the Chamber, if unsatisfactory progress is made in the morning sittings.

This matter is already within the terms of reference of the Select Committee on Procedure chaired by my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Warrington (Sir T. Williams). I have no doubt that the Committee will have noted the hon. Member's suggestion.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will order an investigation into the suggestion that vanadium salts could be of use in reducing blood cholesterol levels in mankind.

No. Investigation into the suitability of a substance for medical use is in the first instance a matter for the pharmaceutical industry and the professions concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what benefits are paid to unemployed school leavers in each of the EEC member States, Sweden, the USA and Canada.

Apart from training allowances, two kinds of benefit are provided for unemployed persons in the countries mentioned—unemployment benefit and means-tested social assistance. In the United Kingdom unemployment benefit is payable only to persons who have previously been in employment and, according to the information available to me, this also appears to be the situation in each of the other countries, except Belgium. In the latter, an unemployed school leaver with certain educational qualifications may receive unemployment benefit after 75 days of unemployment. An unemployed school leaver in the United Kingdom can claim social assistance in the form of supplementary benefit; the rate payable depends on his circumstances. Payment of social assistance in the other countries is, in general, administered locally and is subject to local rules and conditions.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many persons in the last 12 months for which figures are available received payments as an exceptional payments addition; what were the five commonest reasons for an exceptional payments addition, what was the total cost to public funds in the last 12 month period; and what percentage of recipients of exceptional payments additions were: (a) pensioners and (b) in regular employment.

I assume that the hon. Member has in mind exceptional circumstances additions paid under paragraph 4(1)(a) of Schedule 1 to the Supplementary Benefits Act 1966. These additions are not made to persons in full-time work. In December 1975, 886,000 pensioners were receiving such additions as part of their weekly payments; and they represented 81 per cent. of those receiving such additions. The most common reasons for additions were heating, special diets and laundry. Other information requested is not available or could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the cost of free vitamins in the latest 12 months for which figures are available.

In the 12 months to 31st March 1977 the provisional cost of vitamins provided free against tokens in England was £22,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) in what circumstances payments are made to social security claimants in respect of fares to interviews for employment; how many such payments were made in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and what was the total cost to public funds;(2) in what circumstances payments are made to social security claimants in respect of fares to social security offices; how many such payments were made in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and what was the total cost to public funds;(3) in what circumstances payments are made to social security claimants in respect of fares to visit sick relatives not in hospital; how many such payments were made in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and what was the total cost to public funds;(4) in what circumstances payments are made to social security claimants in respect of fares to visit children in care; how many such payments were made in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and what was the total cost to public funds;(5) in what circumstances payments are made to social security claimants in respect of fares to visit relatives in hospital; how many such payments were made in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and what was the total cost to public funds.

The Supplementary Benefits Commission's Policy on the payment of fares is explained in the Supplementary Benefits Handbook (revised February 1977), a copy of which is in the Library of the House. The information requested on numbers of payments and expenditure is not available and could not be obtained without disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list all the items for which benefit can be paid to a social security claimant by way of a loan, as opposed to a grant; and what are the 10 most frequent items for which such loans have been made in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

The Supplementary Benefits Commission does not make loans for items which would be provided by means of an exceptional needs payment.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what percentage of persons who received exceptional needs payments, in the latest 12 months for which figures are available, were retirement pensioners; what were the numbers of persons involved; and what were the 10 most common categories for which such payments were made.

In the 12 months ended December 1975, 265,000 exceptional needs payments—28 per cent. of all such payments—were made to pensioners. The six most common categories for which such payments were made were clothing and footwear; bedding; household furniture and equipment; removal expenses; fuel; and house repair and/or decoration. Other information requested is not available or could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many emergency offices of his Department there are; how much money was handed out by each of these offices, respectively, in the last year for which figures are available; and what facilities exist for the making of emergency payments in areas where there are no emergency offices open at weekends or on public holidays.

The only emergency office is in London and it covers an area radiating about five miles from Charing Cross. It operates in the evenings, at weekends and on public holidays. Benefits paid out are estimated at about £20,000 per annum. Elsewhere emergencies arising outside office hours are dealt with by staff operating from their homes who are contactable by telephone through the police, social service departments and certain other agencies.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services on how many occasions in the last 12 months new order books have been issued to persons whose order books have gone missing, for whatever reason, on, respectively, one, two, three or more occasions.

The information is not currently available centrally, although the case for having it is being studied.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many order books have gone missing for whatever reason in each of the last five years; what proportion belonged to retirement pensioners; and what was the total value of the order books missing in each year, respectively.

Order books reported to the Department as not received, lost, stolen or destroyed in the last five years numbered:

1972	79,911
1973	81,638
1974	80,735
1975	92,396
1976	86,938

The other information requested could not be provided without disproportionate effort.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the total cost of free milk tokens in the latest 12 months for which figures are available.

In the 12 months to 31st March 1977, the provisional cost of milk provided free against tokens in England was £13·3 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will issue instructions to all offices of his Department to make an inquiry into which communications could in future be sent by second-class mail instead of first class without any hardship to the recipient.

The use made of first and second class post is already under detailed study throughout the Department with the aim of increasing the use of second-class post wherever this can be done without hardship to the addressee or adverse effect on the proper discharge of business.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the average time in which a person is a fraud officer in a local office of his Department.

The length of time an individual is employed as a "fraud officer" is a matter for local management to decide but a period of between one and a half and two and a half years is usual.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the total number of separate payments made, in the last 12 months for which figures are available, for working clothes or kit; what was the value of these; and how much of this sum was repaid by persons who had received money for this purpose, once they were in employment.

The information is not available or could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what was the number of files on alleged abuse outstanding to be dealt with in each regional head-quarters on 16th May 1977;(2) in how many cases involving suspected abuses of Giro cheques that have been sent from local offices of his Department to the appropriate regional office of his Department the cases have been returned to the local office marked that the alleged offender be warned and the money recovered, instead of prosecuted; and in how many such cases the money has been recovered in each region, respectively;(3) how many submissions for prosecution for fraud were made by each local office, respectively, in, respectively, Liverpool, Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Newcastle, Norwich, and London to their appropriate regional headquarters, in the first three months of 1975, 1976 and 1977 respectively;(4) if he will publish details of the number of submissions for presentations for abuse of benefit submitted by local offices of his Department to their respective regional headquarters have been turned down as unfit for presentation by the regional headquarters, giving the figures for each regional headquarters for the last 12 months for which figures are available; and what percentage this represented of total submissions in each region.

The information requested is either not available or could be assembled and presented only with a disproportionate amount of work and cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many postal review forms were sent out in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

In the 12 months ended 19th April 1977, which is the latest date for which figures are available, approximately 1,740,000 postal review forms were issued by local offices.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what training courses in the detection of fraud there are which must be undertaken by all local office fraud officers.

All local office staff are trained to be aware of the possibility of fraud in their normal day-to-day conduct of business. In addition, training courses and seminars are provided regionally for local office fraud officers. These training arrangements were recently reviewed and from July 1977 all newly appointed fraud officers will undertake a five-week training programme which includes practical experience and a new centralised training course.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will set out the management information services questions on statistics required by each regional headquarters from local offices of his Department in their region, for the the latest available month, by region.

I assume that the hon. Member's Question relates to the type of management information obtained from local offices by regional offices.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the cost of free prescriptions in the latest 12 months for which figures are available; and what percentage of this was in respect of retirement pensioners.

In 1976 the cost of free prescriptions in England is estimated as £286 million of which 52 per cent. was in respect of retirement pensioners.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the cost of free spectacles in the latest 12 months for which figures are available; and what percentage was in respect of retirement pensioners.

Glasses are supplied free or at reduced cost to children and to adults with a low income. The charges so forgone in England are estimated to be about £6·5 million for the financial year 1976–77. There is not sufficient information to estimate what proportion of this was in respect of retirement pensioners.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the cost of free dental treatment in the latest 12 months for which figures are available; and what percentage of this was in respect of retirement pensioners.

The cost of treatments in courses with no chargeable elements, together with those courses which included chargeable elements but were supplied to patients not required to pay, and the non-chargeable elements in courses which attracted a patient's contribution, amounted to £109 million in the 12 months ended December 1976.Retirement pensioners are not automatically exempt from dental charges and figures for full remission on income grounds are not broken down into categories of patients.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what would be the cost of extending eligibility for the mobility allowance to women aged 60 to 65 years.

At the £7 a week rate effective from November this year the additional cost might be of the order of £8 million in a full year.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement on the possibility of linking the value of the mobility allowance to the cost of motoring or of public transport.

The November increase in mobility allowance, from £5 to £7 a week, will provide a larger percentage increase than would have been made on the basis either of the general retail price index or of the movement in items reflecting transport costs—which has been slightly less than that of the general index. We are not proposing any change in the present statutory provisions for an annual review of the level of the allowance.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) in how many cases in each of the last 10 years the decision of the statutory authorities has conflicted with the opinion of the family doctor in cases of attributing death to pneumoconiosis;(2) in how many cases in each of the last 10 years the decision of the statutory authorities has conflicted with the opinion of the coroner in cases of attributing death to pneumoconiosis;(3) in how many appeals against the decision of the statutory authorities, in cases of ruling on death claimed to be due to pneumoconiosis, the appeal has been allowed in each of the last 10 years.

I regret that the information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will introduce legislation to provide that the decisions of a family doctor and the coroner should be accepted when they agree on attributing death to pneumoconiosis and that the pneumoconiosis medical panel should have the right to appeal when it wishes to do so.

No. I understand the reason for my hon. Friend's suggestion, and I recognise that the question whether death has resulted from pneumoconiosis within the meaning of the Social Security Act 1975 can be a difficult one. But, where there is a conflict of medical opinion, it seems to me right that the weight to be given to evidence from the different sources should be determined by the independent statutory authorities responsible for determining claims to industrial death benefit—the insurance officer or, on appeal, the local tribunal or Commissioner.The Government have, however, given practical expression to its concern in this field in the Social Security (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1977. Under that Act, entitlement to industrial death benefit can be automatic where death was due to a pulmonary disease and disablement from pneumoconiosis had been assessed at 50 per cent. or more in life.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services in how many cases of death being attributed to pneumoconiosis in the last 10 years the insurance officer or other authority has appealed; and in how many and what percentage of cases the appeal was successful.

I regret that the full information requested is not available. The table below shows the position over the four year period 1973–76.

	Number of Appeals to National Insurance Commissioner by Insurance Officer	Number of successful appeals	Percentage successful
1973	10	10	100
1974	9	8	88
1975	7	7	100
1976	5	4	80

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will list the groups of public sector employees in whose pay-settlements his Department is involved; whether those settlements are at national or local level; which of those settlements are usually influenced by the findings of the Pay Research Unit and how; and what was the percentage increase in the earnings of each group in 1974, 1975 and 1976.

There are 34 main groups of staff in whose pay settlements my Department is involved; they include a wide range of medical, professional, scientific, administrative and ancillary staffs. All settlements are made at national level. The settlements for some groups are influenced by settlements in the Civil Service, and elsewhere, although there is no direct link with the Pay Research Unit.The percentage increase in earnings are not available for all groups; the percentage increase in basic salaries of each group in each of the years requested cannot be provided without disproportionate effort, but as an illustration the average percentage increases for staff within the Nurses and Midwives Whitley Council were 37·9 per cent. in 1974, 16·8 per cent. in 1975 and 13·9 per cent. in 1976.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the value per week at current prices to a family on average national earnings with three children under 11 years of age of family allowances and child tax allowances combined in 1955; and what is the current value today.

The net value per week of family allowances and child tax allowances in 1955 to a married man on national average earnings of manual workers with three children under 11 was £7·25, in April 1977 prices. The present combined value of child benefit and child tax allowances to a man in the same situation is £7·60.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the financial assistance provided through his Department in (a) Basildon District Council area and (b) Essex County Council area in the financial years 1975–76 and 1976–77.

Information in the form requested is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services why part-time teachers are not paid unemployment benefit; and to what other occupations similar disqualification applies.

Part-time workers, whether in teaching or any other occupation, are entitled to unemployment benefit if they satisfy the conditions which apply to all persons claiming benefit. If my hon. Friend will let me know of any particular case which he may have in mind, I shall be glad to look into it.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services why it was decided to undertake a survey by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys into drinking in Scotland; on whose recommendation it was decided that the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys should conduct this survey; what is the estimated cost to public funds of the survey; and which Department is likely to use the results.

The survey was requested by the Scottish Home and Health Department in order to monitor the effects of changes in drinking hours in Scotland. The estimated cost of the survey is £70,800.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the questions being asked in the survey being carried out by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys into attitudes to protective legislation.

The questionnaire to be used in the survey of protective legislation is not yet ready. When the survey is complete a copy of the questionnaire will be placed in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the questions asked by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys during the survey on drinking in Scotland.

A copy of the questionnaire used in this survey has been placed in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the total number of staff employed by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys in each of the years 1966 to 1976; and how many staff are currently so employed.

The number of staff employed by OPCS on 1st April of each year was:

Year	Total Staff
1966	1,436
1967	1,747
1968	1,708
1969	1,699
1970	1,964
1971	2,077
1972	2,488
1973	2,583
1974	2,742
1975	2,870
1976	2,645
1977	2,605

The number of staff currently employed is 2,585.OPCS was created on 11th May 1970 by the merger of the General Register Office for England and Wales and the Government Social Survey Department; the figures given for dates before then are totals of the staff of the two separate departments.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the salary grades for employees of the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys.

The staff of the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys are members of standard civil service classes and are paid accordingly.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if the survey carried out by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys into drinking in Scotland has yet been completed.

No. The survey is likely to be completed at the end of 1977.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services who was responsible for deciding that the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys should conduct a survey into attitudes to protective legislation; why the decision was taken; what is the total number of people being interviewed by the Office during the survey; what is the cost to public funds of the survey; how many staff employed by the Office have been required to conduct this survey; and which Department is likely to use the results.

The Equal Opportunities Commission requested the survey. The Commission has a statutory duty to review (in consultation with the Health and Safety Commission) the discriminatory provisions of the Health and Safety legislation. About 2,500 persons will be interviewed. The cost of the survey will be £75,000. About 10 full-time staff of the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys will be employed in the survey for some months. In addition a number of part-time interviewers will be employed. The Equal Opportunities Commission will incorporate these findings, as appropriate, in the report on its review to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many staff employed by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys have been required to conduct the survey on drinking in Scotland; and what is the approximate length of time required by the Office to conduct it.

About eight full-time staff of OPCS and 60 part-time interviewers have been employed on this survey, in most cases for short periods. Work began in June 1976 and is likely to be completed at the end of 1977.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the total sample of people being inter- viewed in connection with the survey being undertaken by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys on drinking in Scotland; on what basis the Office selected the people it questioned during the course of the survey; and how many people refused to take part in it.

The survey was carried out in two stages. 1,675 people were interviewed in the first stage and a further 107 refused to take part. In the second stage, 1,443 people who had been interviewed in the first stage were re-interviewed and 155 declined. The sample of people approached in the survey was selected at random from electoral registers.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he has yet received the report of the Occupational Pensions Board on the question of occupational pension scheme cover for disabled people.

The board's report was received on 13th May 1977 and it will be published as soon as possible.The Government will give careful consideration to the board's report.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many applications for (a) a higher rate, and (b) a lower rate and formerly single rate attendance allowance have been made in each year since 1971; and what proportion of these have been granted (i) on application, and (ii) after an appeal.

Claims are made for attendance allowance as such, and not for the higher rate or the lower rate. Details of the number of claims decided and of the decisions given on review for each of the years since 1971 are set out in the following table. It is not meaningful to quote reviews as a proportion of either claims, awards or rejections, as people apply for a review not only because they are dissatisfied with the initial decision, or an earlier review decision, but also because their attendance needs have changed since the earlier decision (which may have been made years before).