asked the Secretary of State for Defence what plans for new nuclear weapon development were accepted by the British Government at the NATO defence meeting in Ottawa in 1977; and whether they included neutron bombs and the development of cruise missiles.

No such plans were accepted. I refer my hon. Friend to the communiqué issued after the meeting, a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what are the current regulations concerning the use of otherwise unoccupied married quarters by single Service men; and how many single Service men are at present living in married quarters.

As a general rule, unmarried Service men have no entitlement to married quarters; but widowed, divorced or separated Service men who have care and control of children of the marriage are entitled to occupy a married quarter. In exceptional circumstances, other unmarried Service men may be so accommodated. It is not possible to determine, without disproportionate effort, how many single Service men are in occupation of married quarters at present.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will make a statement as to the progress of her talks on the possibilities of combining foreign languages with studies in engineering and technology.

My hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State wrote to my hon. Friend on 19th May about the prospects for the early development of language studies in combination with other disciplines, referring to the Department's continuing contacts with the Technician and Business Education Councils. Since then there have been no new developments in relation to technicians, but I understand that the Business Education Council will shortly receive the report of a working party set up to consider the future place of language education in their programme structure. At first degree level, there are already many courses which combine studies in engineering or another technological subject with French, German, Italian, Spanish or Russian.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will make a further statement on the future of the Barbara Speake Stage School, East Acton.

Her Majesty's inspectors paid a further visit to the school on 20th and 21st June 1977. In the light of their report my right hon. Friend has decided not to implement the order closing the school at the end of the summer term. But, although there has been some improvement, I remain concerned by the range and quality of the general education offered by the school, and I am anxious that the recommendations made over the last seven years should be carried out. Consequently I have asked Her Majesty's inspectors to keep the school's progress under review.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will publish in the Official Report details of all basic research being conducted into food processing with the support of public funds, together with the expenditure involved on each project and the location of these establishments at which such research is being carried out.

pursuant to her reply [Official Report, 24th May 1977; Vol. 923, c. 418–9] circulated the following information:

asked the Secretary of State for Energy (1) what review has been made of energy conservation measures taken since the 1973 energy crisis; and if he is satisfied with progress made up to the present date;(2) if he will list in the

Government energy conservation policy was review in 1975–76, and the results were published in the July 1976 White Paper "Energy Conservation" (Cmnd 6575). which summarised the measures already taken and identified the areas on which the next stage of the programme would concentrate.It is not in general possible to identify the energy savings resulting from individual measures and to set them against their cost. However, on the basis of studies by the Department summarised in the report of the Working Party on Energy Elasticities (Energy Paper No. 17 published by HMSO), it is estimated that all conservation measures, including the effects of energy price increases and of the "Save It" campaign, may have produced savings in 1975 of the order of 6 per cent. of total primary energy, though this estimate is subject to a substantial margin of error in either direction. Preliminary calculations suggest that savings at about this level continued in 1976. This is an encouraging achievement, but substantially larger savings will be needed and a review of possible further Government action is now in hand.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what measures have been taken to increase public awareness of the need for energy conservation since the 1973 energy crisis; what has been their total cost; and if he is satisfied with progress made up to the present date.

One of the main ways in which the Government have sought to increase public awareness of the need for energy conservation has been through my Department's "Save It" campaign; this has included advertisements and booklets aimed at the general public, and seminars, specialist publications and films for industry, and has been reinforced by many ministerial and official speeches. The cost of the "Save It" campaign up to March 1977 was £5·9 million. A further £1·9 million has been allocated for 1977–78. Good progress has been made, but much remains to be done.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy (1) what fee is being paid to Taylor Nelson and Associates to conduct a survey among the people who ordered "Save It" booklets;(2)what is the cost to public funds of the survey conducted by Taylor Nelson and Associates on "Save It" booklets;(3)how many completed questionnaires have been received by Taylor Nelson and Associates in their survey on "Save It" booklets;(4)how many market research organisations were invited to submit estimates for the survey of people who ordered "Save It" booklets; and what were their names;(5)what is the total number of people who have been asked to participate in the survey by Taylor Nelson and Associates on "Save It" booklets;(6)what is the cost to public funds of providing stamped addressed envelopes for replies to the Taylor Nelson and Associates survey on the "Save It" booklets.

The total cost to my Department of the survey conducted by Taylor, Nelson and Associates among the people who ordered "Save It" booklets will be approximately £7,600. This figure includes the cost of business reply envelopes and the fee paid to Taylor, Nelson and Associates.Over 260,000 coupons were received in response to advertising and a sample of 800 people were asked to participate in the survey. They were approached either for a personal interview or by telephone or by letter.The survey has not yet been completed, but it is anticipated that the final number of respondents will be around 560.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether he will seek to discuss with members of OPEC the possibility of the United Kingdom joining OPEC as an associated member, though not qualified for full membership.

No.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the respective totals of (a) income tax and (b) corporation tax collected in the area covered by the Highlands and Islands Development Board.

The latest estimate of income tax payable in the area covered by the Highlands and Island Development Board is that from the Survey of Personal Incomes for 1974–75 and is about £50 million. About £2 million corporation tax was collected in 1976–77.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the Government's current financial aid to the War Graves Commission.

Her Majesty's Government finance 77·81 per cent. of the expenditure of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The remainder is financed by the other participating Commonwealth Governments. In addition. Her Majesty's Government refund value added tax paid by the Commission in the United Kingdom. As indicated in the Supply Estimate for Class II Vote 6 (HC 231-II) the estimated United Kingdom contribution in 1977–78 is £5,333,000.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a table in the Official Report showing the capital expenditure by nationalised industries in 1975–76 in England, Scotland, Wales and the United Kingdom, respectively, analysing the data into sectors corre-

CAPITAL EXPENDITURE BY NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES 1975–76
	England	Scotland	Wales	United Kingdom
	£m	£m	£m	£m
Fuel	1,148	308	88	1,710*
British Steel Corporation	330	96	86	592
Post Office	811	73	54	947
Airways and airports	57	10	1	156
Surface transport industries†	173	31	13	323
Total	2,519	518	242	3,728
* Including British National Oil Corporation.
† Excluding capital expenditure financed by PTE's and local authorities.

The figures for England, Scotland and Wales are that part of the gross domestic fixed capital formation and other capital expenditure by nationalised industries which could be identified from official records, in autumn 1976, as having been incurred in those countries. The figures for the United Kingdom include subsequent revisions, but the breakdown of these revisions by country is not available yet.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a breakdown of his Budget estimate of 845,000 taken out of tax as between earning wives and others.

					Number of prosecutions	Number of convictions	Fines and costs imposed £
Year ending—
31st March 1975	…	…	…	…	334	334	77,608
31st March 1976	…	…	…	…	1,471	1,470	391,001
31st March 1977	…	…	…	…	4,104	4,099	778,174

Records are not kept in such a way that costs can be separated from fines.No record is kept of the maximum amounts of fines which might have been imposed and the information could only be obtained at the cost of disproportionate time and effort. Undoubtedly, however, the maximum amounts would have been substantially higher than the figures shown above.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much increase in the tax on petrol per gallon would be required to compensate for the abolition of the road fund licence.

Following is the information requested:

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the total number of VAT prosecutions in each of the last three years, the total number of resulting convictions, and the total amount of fines imposed; and what percentage in each year of the maximum fines which might have been imposed is represented by the total actually imposed.

The figures relating to VAT prosecutions in each of the last three years are:

To compensate for the total abolition of vehicle excise duty, the duty on all road fuel would have to be increased by about 18½p a gallon, which, allowing for VAT, would raise the price to the private motorist by 21p a gallon.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is satisfied that the retail price index is a satisfactory measure of the rate of inflation.

I am satisfied that the General Index of Retail Prices is a very good measure of the average rate of inflation experienced by households.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest estimate of the increase in the retail price index since August 1975.

Between August 1975 and May 1977 the retail price index rose by 30·4 per cent.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what response he has made to the letter to him from the President of the Royal Institute of British Architects, dated 26th May, about extending tax relief on foreign earnings to partners in professional practice; and if he will make a statement.

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 29th June 1977; Vol. 934, c. 229], gave the following information:My right hon. Friend has replied to the President of the Institute explaining that for a number of reasons it has not been possible this year to extend the new tax reliefs for employees working overseas to partners and the self-employed generally, but that he expects to be able to have a provision ready in time for the next Finance Bill.

asked the Prime Minister (1) to what growth targets the leaders at the Downing Street Summit have committed themselves;(2) what information he has on which countries are adhering to their commitments on growth targets set at the Downing Street Summit and which are not meeting those targets.

As was stated in the Downing Street Summit Declaration, those Governments which have adopted reasonably expansionist growth targets for 1977 will keep their policies under review and will adopt further policies if needed to achieve their stated target rates. Other Governments will pursue stabilisation policies designed to provide a basis for sustained non-inflationary growth. These undertakings were welcomed by OECD Ministers at their meeting in Paris on 23rd and 24th June.

asked the Prime Minister (1) what liaison there has been with other countries on monitoring the Downing Street agreement;(2)if he has set up a team to monitor the Downing Street agreement;(3)what monitoring there has been of the Downing Street agreement.

I refer my hon. Friend to the replies which I gave to him on 12th May and to the hon. Member for Carshalton (Mr. Forman) on 16th June.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development what estimate her Department has made of the benefits in trade terms that flow to the United Kingdom from United Kingdom contributions to, first, multilateral aid and, second, bilateral aid.

Aid given through multilateral organisations is not tied, and in 1976 amounted to £141 million or 27 per cent. of gross British aid. But our membership of these organisations makes British firms eligible to compete for procurement from such funds, and we estimate that orders they are now winning are broadly equivalent in value to our contributions. In 1976 some 67 per cent. of British bilateral aid was effectively tied to the procurement of British goods and services. Our total bilateral aid amounted to £381 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what assistance has been given by his Department, or agencies financially responsible to him, to the women's co-operative known as the Doon Valley Clothing Company;(2) what assistance has been given by his Department to the women's co-operative known as the Doon Valley Clothing Company.

My Department has not offered any financial assistance under the Industry Act 1972. The position of agencies responsible to my right hon. Friend is a matter for the agencies concerned, but I know the SDA maintains close touch with the company.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what steps have been taken to form a consultative body on angling as laid down by the Freshwater and Salmon Fisheries (Scotland) Act 1976; and whether he will now list the names and interests of the members of that body;(2)whether he will make a statement about the up-to-date effects of trout angling as a result of the Freshwater and Salmon Fisheries (Scotland) Act 1976;(3)whether he will list the protection orders (

Invitations have been issued for the purpose of setting up a consultative body as provided for in the Act and I hope to make an announcement shortly. Considerable interest has been shown by riparian proprietors and angling clubs in the opportunities offered by the Act for improved access and protection and 20 general inquiries have been received. As yet, no detailed proposals in terms of Section 1 of the Act have been submitted and no protection orders have been made. I understand, however, that the preparation of proposals in respect of several of Scotland's major river systems is in hand.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what statutory authority permits a doctor to prevent his patient seeing his own medical records if he wishes to do so; and whether he will amend the law to change this practice.

This is not a matter which is governed by statute. A decision on disclosure to the patient of his medical record is for the doctor responsible for his treatment at the time to take as a matter of professional judgment and is not a matter on which I consider it would be appropriate to suggest legislation.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many eye tests were undertaken by opticians under the National Health Service in the Leek parliamentary constituency in each of the past three years.

Information in the form requested could not be provided without disproportionate expenditure in staff costs. However, the number of sight tests carried out under the general ophthalmic services, by ophthalmic opticians in the former Staffordshire Executive Council area, and from April 1974 in the larger Staffordshire Family Practitioner Committee area, in both of which the Leeek constituency is included, were as follows:

	Calendar year
Staffordshire Executive Council area—
To 31st March	1974	16,800
Staffordshire Family Practitioner Committee area—
From 1st April	1974	93,000
	1975	131,800
	1976	132,133

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how many babies were born with physical damage in the Forest of Dean in 1976, 1975, 1974, 1966, 1956 and 1946;(2) how many babies were born physically damaged in 1976, 1975, 1974 and in 1964, 1954 and 1944.

The numbers of babies notified as having congenital malformations observed at birth in England and Wales are as follows:

1964	…	…	14,564
1974	…	…	12,729
1975	…	…	12,230
1976*	…	…	12,214
* Provisional.

The notifications, which were started in 1964, are made on a voluntary basis and may, therefore, understate the true numbers. Figures are not available for areas smaller than area health authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many children are in care in the Leek parliamentary constituency; and how this figure compares with the position 12 months ago.

Children in care statistics are collected centrally only in respect of local authority areas. However, I am informed that the number of children in the care of Staffordshire County Council whose address before coming into care was in the Leek parliamentary constituency was 116 in May 1976 compared with 135 in May 1975.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many babies died at birth in 1976, 1975 and 1974 and in 1964, 1954 and 1944.

							Combined area of Newent Rural District East Dean Rural District West Dean Rural District Lydney Rural District	Forest of Dean County District*
1946	…	…	…	…	…	…	N/A.	N/A
1956	…	…	…	…	…	…	22	N/A
1966	…	…	…	…	…	…	13	N/A
1975	…	…	…	…	…	…	8	10
1976	…	…	…	…	…	…	N/A	N/A
* The Forest of Dean County District was formed on 1st April 1974 from the four rural district' combined above and part of Gloucester rural district.
N/A = Not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many maternity units there are in National Health Service hospitals in the United Kingdom.

In 1975, the latest date for which figures are available, there were 682 National Health Service hospitals with maternity facilities in the United Kingdom.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many maternity units there are presently in (a) Gloucestershire and (b) West Gloucestershire.

There are eight maternity units in Gloucestershire, of which two, Dilke Memorial Hospital, Cinderford and Lydney and District Hospital are in West Gloucestershire.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if his Depart-

Figures for England and Wales are as follows:

			Deaths
		Still-births	Under 1 day	1 to 6 day
1944	…	21,306	6,546	6,552
1954	…	16,200	5,098	4,950
1964	…	14,546	6,230	4,307
1974	…	7,175	3,328	2,666
1975	…	6,295	2,992	2,482
1976*	…	5,700	N/a	N/a
* Estimated.
N/a = Not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many babies were still-born in the Forest of Dean in 1976, 1975, 1966, 1956 and 1946.

The numbers of stillbirths, classified by area of residence of the mother, are as follows:ment offers any advice to area health authorities on the future of maternity units in the United Kingdom.

The consultative document "Priorities for Health and Personal Social Services in England" suggested that health authorities should rationalise maternity provision to improve standards of care and make the best use of resources, and that wherever possible maternity beds should be concentrated in district general hospitals, where the full range of facilities to safeguard mothers and babies is available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he has any plans to restrict prescriptions for Lyndiol; and if he will make a statement.

The former Committee on Safety of Drugs issued a warning to doctors in 1969 stating that the incidence of thromboembolism was higher among women taking oral contraceptives containing larger doses of oestrogen—75 mcg or more daily—than among those taking preparations containing a smaller dose—50 mcg daily. It advised that, since there is no evidence that preparations containing 50 mcg of oestrogen were less effective than the higher dose preparations, oral contraceptives containing the smaller doses should normally be prescribed. Subsequently, oral contraceptives containing 20, 30 and 35 mcg of oestrogen have been marketed after licensing.Last year the Committee on the Review of Medicines recommended that preparations containing more than 50 mcg of oestrogen should no longer be promoted for use as oral contraceptives. The manufacturers of the products concerned have since agreed to such a proposal and, in the case of Lyndiol 2.5, the manufacturer gave notice in March this year that manufacture of this tablet had ceased, the product was to be withdrawn from the

	1976	1975	1974	1966	1956	1946
Dilke Memorial Hospital, Cinderford	105	127	148	314	254	236
Lydney and District Hospital	82	101	101	213	214	257

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what progress has been made in the discussions in the EEC on the draft directive about general nurses.

The Council of Ministers at its meeting on 27th June approved two directives on general nurses. One provides for co-ordination of training leading to first level nursing qualifications—i.e., State Registered Nurses in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and Registered General Nurses in Scotland. The other provides for mutual recognition of the qualifications so that these nurses may move readily between member States and be guaranteed recognition of their professional qualifications and access to the practice of their profession throughout the Community. The directives are to come into effect in two years time, and the Government will now discuss the details of implementation with the statutory bodies and the profession.The Council of Ministers has also agreed to set up an Advisory Committee on Nurse Training composed of experts in the nursing profession and so endorsed market, and the product licence would be cancelled within the next few months.Oral contraceptive preparations are available on prescription only. Although the product licence may restrict the indications for use for which a product may be promoted it remains a matter for clinical judgment whether in an individual case a doctor decides to prescribe a prepartion with a high oestrogen content for contraceptive purposes. However, in the case of Lyndiol, this product will cease to be available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many babies were born at the various maternity units in the Forest of Dean in 1976, 1975, 1974, 1966, 1956 and 1946.

Following is the information requested:one of this Government's major objectives of ensuring a high standard of training throughout the Community.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he expects to receive the first Report of the Health Services Board recommending further reductions of accommodation and services for private patients in NHS hospitals; and if he will make a statement.

As I told my hon. Friend the Member for Dudley, West (Dr. Phipps) in my reply to his Question on 21st March—[Vol. 928, c. 412–13.] I agree at the request of the Board to extend the length of the initial period from 22nd May to 16th July. Recently the Chairman of the Board, Lord Wigoder, wrote to me again seeking a further extension of the initial period until 30th September. I considered this unanimous request of the Board and its reasons for asking for more time very carefully before agreeing to it. I noted particularly Lord Wigoder's statement that in so far as the Board's

"proposals have also to include the date upon which they take effect, we would hope that this date would not in any event appreciably differ from any date we would have determined were the July 16 deadline still to stand."

I am placing copies of Lord Wigoder's letter and my reply in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will list by category and value the main services purchased by his Department for the most recently available year;(2) if he will list by commodity group the value of the main goods purchased by his Department in the most recent year for which statistics are available.

The main goods and services purchased by my Department in the year ending 31st March 1977 were as follows:

	£
Telecommunications (rental, cost of calls, etc.)	302,000
Postal services	198,000
Cleaning	42,000
Press advertising (including notices required by Statute)	27,000
Books, periodicals, newspapers	21,000

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish a table showing the average per capita income in each of the eight counties of Wales for the most recently available year.

Taxable incomes per head for each of the eight counties of Wales for 1974–75 were as follows: (¹)(²)

			£
Clwyd	…	…	878
Dyfed	…	…	819
Gwent	…	…	909
Gwynedd	…	…	784
Mid Glamorgan	…	…	878
Powys	…	…	841
South Glamorgan	…	…	971
West Glamorgan	…	…	934
(1) Based on data from the Inland Revenues Survey of Personal Incomes 1974–75.
(2)Population figures used are the Registrar-General's mid-year estimates for 1974 for the Welsh counties.

These figures are derived from a sample survey of incomes reviewed for tax purposes by the Inland Revenue for the year of assessment 1974–75. Incomes below £625 per annum, the tax limit for that year, are excluded as are other incomes not liable to tax—for example, certain social security benefits. As the data are based on a sample survey, the figures, particularly for the less populated counties, are subject to appreciable margins of error.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the housing associations operating in Wales which receive financial assistance from the Housing Corporation.

Following is the information:

• Abbeyfield (Cardiff) Housing Association
• Abbeyfield (Colwyn) Housing Association
• Adamsdown Housing Association
• Anchor Housing Association
• Arcon Housing Association
• Baptist Mens Movement Housing Association
• Carinthia Housing Association
• Cymdeithas Tai Clwyd
• Deeside and Border Counties Housing Association
• Druslyn Housing Association
• Dunraven Housing Association
• Elim Housing Association
• Family (South Wales) Housing Association
• Family (Swansea) Housing Association
• Family Care Housing Association
• First Northern Counties Housing Association
• Gwalia Housing Association
• Hafod Housing Association
• Hanover Housing Association
• Harlech Housing Association
• Johnnie Johnson Housing Trust
• Llandudno and North Wales Housing Trust
• Llewellyn Almshouses Housing Association
• Mid Wales Housing Association
• Monmouth and Llandaff Housing Association,
• Newydd Housing Association
• Pierhead Mersey Housing Association
• Rhydaman Housing Association
• Royal British Legion Housing Association
• Second Collingwood Housing Association
• Single Parent Housing Association
• Slocombe Cottages for the Aged Housing Association
• Spiral Housing Association
• St. Davids Diocesan Housing Association
• Taff Housing Association
• United Kingdom Housing Association
• Wales and West Housing Association
• Western Permanent Housing Association
• YMCA Housing Association
• YWCA Housing Association.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many housing action areas have been declared to date in Wales; and if he is satisfied with the number declared.

25. I am satisfied that the number declared represents a realistic assessment of the capacity of authorities to undertake the resulting work. I expect further declarations as authorities consider they can take on the additional responsibilities.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the applications for partnerships from authorities with inner city problems.

Applications for partnerships with central Government to tackle inner city problems have been received from the following local authorities: Bristol, Bolton, Bradford, Brent, Hackney, Hammersmith, Haringey, Humberside County Council on behalf of Hull and Grimsby, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Leeds, Newcastle upon Tyne, Nottingham, Oldham, Sheffield, Southampton, Tyne and Wear (County Council and Metropolitan Borough Councils for a county-wide partnership), Wands-worth, Wirral, Wolverhampton.In addition some 10 further local authorities have applied for some form of special assistance.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he proposes to seek further programmes from authorities with inner city problems for the expenditure of money on construction work under the proposals announced in the Budget Statement.

I announced in April that a number of authorities in England were to be asked to submit programmes of additional construction expenditure in inner cities not exceeding £57 million as a first instalment of the programme announced in the Chancellor's Budget Statement. The authorities concerned were those from whom partnerships with central Government are under discussion—Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester/Salford, and in London the Docklands area and Lambeth. I now propose to seek programmes in total not exceeding a further £16 million in respect of their inner areas from a number of other authorities with serious problems. The authorities from whom proposals are now being sought are in the attached list. Programmes for the remaining £10 million available for England will be sought in the light of further developments in inner city policy.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he is satisfied with the take-up of grants by housing co-operatives in the Greater London area; and if he will make a statement.

During the current financial year the Housing Corporation has set aside for co-operative schemes up to 10 per cent, of the total allocation of approvals in the Greater London area, and a number of other co-operatives, such as Pooles Park, Fairhazel and Ladybur, are being funded by local authorities. The rate of take up is still fairly slow but should be improved by the work of the Co-operative Housing Agency in providing advice and guidance.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set out the number of existing council houses sold by each of the local authorities in Greater London in 1974–75 and 1975–76.

Sales of existing council houses reported during 1974–75 and 1975–76 by local authorities in Greater London were as follows:

		1974–75	1975–76
Greater London Council	…	40	—
Barnet	…	47	52
Bexley	…	—	118
Bromley	…	2	37
Croydon	…	26	20
Enfield	…	10	16
Havering	…	—	82
Kensington and Chelsea	…	43	16
Kingston	…	4	—
Redbridge	…	25	5
Richmond	…	6	6
Sutton	…	18	10
Westminster	…	27	17

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set up an independent inquiry into the financial implications for local authorities in Greater London of selling existing council houses.

I have no current proposals to establish an inquiry into the financial implications of the selling of council houses, but I will wish to consider comments on this and other matters discussed in the green paper during the coming months.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any expansion has taken place to enable children under 5 years of age to stay with their mothers in prison, as recommended in Recommendation 225 of the Finer Report; and what research and action has taken place on the second part of Recommendation 225.

Additional facilities have been provided, at Askham Grange Prison, to enable children of up to 5 years of age to remain with their mothers in prison, and will be brought into use as soon as the necessary specialised nursing staff have been recruited; further places will become available when the new Holloway Prison is completed. Holloway already has places for 12 mothers with their children and these places are available for mothers on remand as well as convicted women.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will take action to ensure that when the police arrest Press photographers, if they consider the law has been broken, they take care not to damage the Press photographer's camera and destroy the films of any incident which may have been recorded.

I have no reason to believe that the police behave improperly in these matters. If, however, anyone wishes to complain about a particular incident the proper procedure is to make the complaint to the appropriate chief officer of police, who is responsible for recording and investigating complaints against members of his force.

Lewis asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will give for the longest and most convenient stated period details of complaints against the police investigated by the police for a period exceeding three months before making a report and details of where these investigations have taken three months to six months, six months to 12 months and 12 months and beyond; and what is the longest time taken.

The information requested is not readily available and could not be obtained without disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, excluding any questions affecting national security, he will release and publish all reports he has on record concerning the Church of Scientology.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total amount received in fines as a result of convictions for traffic offences in the United Kingdom during the past year; and how much remains uncollected.

I regret that this information is not available and could not be obtained without disproportionate expense.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the estimated cost to public funds of the police presence at the Grunwick picket line.

This information could not be obtained without disproportionate effort and cost.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any assessment has been made of the effect of the police presence at Grunwick on the adequacy of policing elsewhere in London; and what action he proposes to take to ensure that there is no resultant increase in crime elsewhere in London.

It is a feature of police work, particularly in the Metropolitan Police district, that substantial resources have to be made available from time to time to deal with major incidents. This inevitably affects police cover elsewhere, but the calls are spread widely to minimise the effect on any one area. These arrangements are an operational matter for the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis.

asked the Secretary of the State for the Home Department what consideration has been given to the independent medical evidence concerning Mr. George Ince, serving sentence at Wormwood Scrubs Prison.

I have read the independent medical report carefully and it has been studied by the responsible members of the Prison Medical Service.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why leaders of the ZUPO delegation were allowed only 72 hours in the United Kingdom and why the Patriotic Front leaders have had no restrictions placed on the length of their stay.

The Leaders of the Zimbabwe United Peoples Organisation arrived holding documents, purporting to be passports, issued by the illegal regime in Rhodesia. Although they were not in possession of valid travel documents it was decided to admit them for three days. The Patriotic Front leaders held valid United Kingdom concessionary pass-ports and were admitted as visitors according to normal practice.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department under what power he has implicitly refused permission to any probation committee for the appointment of ancillary staff by refusing to provide grant aid.

Section 51(3) of the Powers of Criminal Courts Act 1973.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in years other than the current financial year, how many probation committees had sought prior permission from the Home Office to make appointments of ancillary staff in accordance with the Probation Rules; how many such requests have been refused; how many were agreed; and where they were, in either case.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if the Health and Safety Commission's full review of the factors affecting dispersal of its London buildings and that of the headquarter offices of the executive, including the full range of possible locations in the United Kingdom, is now completed; and what recommendations have been made to him.

I can confirm that the Chairman of the Health and Safety Commission has completed his review of the implications of dispersing the head-quarters of the Commission and Executive out of London and has let my right hon. Friend have his recommendations. My right hon. Friend has the whole matter under active consideration with those of my colleagues who have an interest, but it would be premature of me to disclose the recommendations of the Commission until we have had an opportunity to assess them more fully.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what proposals have been submitted to him by the Health and Safety Commission under Section 11(3) of the Act; what proposals he has approved under Section 12 of that Act; on what date or dates these proposals were submitted; and on what date each proposal was approved or otherwise.

The Chairman of the Commission submitted proposals for a

		Under £50	£50–99	£100–149	£150–199	£200–249	£250–299	£300+
Factory Inspectors	…	291	262	171	75	26	6	1
Other staff	…	235	206	156	86	31	7	13

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the total estimated number of school leavers, college leavers and others in Great Britain who will be seeking a job for the first time during the months of June to September of this year.

Estimates provided by the Department of Education and Science and the Scottish Education Department indicate that about 564,000 young people will be leaving school to seek employment this summer. I regret that similar estimates of leavers from further education colleges and other higher eduction establishments are not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment when he proposes to publish new regulations for the licensing and conduct of employment agencies, including domestic agencies.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many factory inspectors have claimed travelling allowances for the month of March 1977 of less than £50, of over £50 but less than £100, of over £100 but less than £150, of over £150 but less than £200, of over £200 but less than £250, of over £250 but less than £300, and of over £300; and what are the corresponding figures for the remaining Health and Safety Executive employees.

In the month of March 1977 claims for travelling and subsistence fell into the following bands of expenditure:

Consideration is being given to the possible need for a small number of additional regulations to be made under the Employment Agencies Act 1973. The matters under examination principally concern the scope of the Act, but the position in regard to au pair agencies' charges to workers is included. Interested bodies will be consulted soon about any proposals for regulations resulting from this examination.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether there has been a case in the last 12 months where benefit overpaid to an individual has been repaid, following a decision by the independent adjudicating authority that a sum should be repaid, following a decision not to prosecute.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people were out of work in each of the employment areas in the Leek parliamentary constituency at the most recent count; and what were the comparable figures for the same month in 1973.

Following is the information:

Employment Office area		June 1973	June 1977 (provisional)
Biddulph	…	121	217
Cheadle	…	138	263
Kidsgrove	…	293	464
Leek	…	163	585

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the level of youth unemployment in Christchurch, and in Lymington, at the latest convenient date; and what were the corresponding figures on the same date for each year since 1970.

The numbers registered as unemployed are analysed by age ranges in January and July. The following table gives the numbers under 18 years of age for January each year:

			Christchurch	Lymington
January 1970	…	…	—	66
January 1971	…	…	—	58
January 1972	…	…	—	61
January 1973	…	…	—	31
January 1974	…	…	—	—
January 1975	…	…	—	—
January 1976	…	…	11	62
January 1977	…	…	36	123

From January 1970 to January 1973 figures for Christchurch are included with those for Lymington.Information is not available for January 1974 because of an energy crisis and for January 1975 because of industrial action by some staff within the Department of Employment Group.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what steps he will take to encourage the filling of 1,458 vacancies currently notified in the Nottingham employment district area so as to reduce the total of 14,575 persons currently unemployed in the same area.

I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that ESA staff in the Nottingham district are taking special steps to reduce the number of unemployed. These include the mounting of special displays at the jobcentres, open- ing a mini-office for a short period in a shopping centre, and running a half-hour phone-in programme once a week on local radio.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he has received from the Royal Commission on the Distribution of Income and Wealth the progress report mentioned in the terms of the reference on lower incomes which was announced on 22nd June 1976; and if he will make a statement.

The Chairman of the Royal Commission, Lord Diamond, has written to me to report on progress under the lower incomes reference.The Commission has received written evidence from members of the public at large and from a number of individuals and organisations who were approched, including Government Departments and local authority associations, the TUC and the CBI. The taking of oral evidence from selected witnesses, the timing of which has inevitably depended on the speed with which the evidence could be produced by the bodies concerned, has been completed very recently.The Commission has put in hand an internal programme of research over a vide field, and has commissioned the Centre for the Economics of Education at the London School of Economics to carry out certain analyses. In addition, the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys is at the Commission's request engaged upon a follow-up survey among the respondents to the 1975 General Household Survey. The Commission has also had discussions with and has commissioned work from academics specialising in the subject matter of the reference.All this work has been carried on side by side with the further work arising out of the quite separate standing reference. Under that reference, the Commission published a further report in October 1976, and has since been engaged on a number of research projects needed for the next report under the Standing Reference.In the light of the progress which has been made the Commission hopes to present its report on the lower incomes reference early in 1978.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he has evidence that workers are being dismissed for joining trade unions.

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 29th June 1977; Vol. 934, c. 248], gave the following information:The decisions of the industrial tribunals indicate that workers are being unfairly dismissed for joining independent trade unions or for taking part in the activities of such unions.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment which sections of which statutes specifically protect the right of a worker to join a trade union without for that reason incurring his dismissal.

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 29th June 1977; Vol. 934, c. 248], gave the following information:Paragraph 6(4)(

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he has evidence that workers are being dismissed for failure to join a trade union.

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 30th June 1977], gave the following information:The decisions of the industrial tribunals indicate that workers are being dismissed for failure to join a trade union in a closed shop.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment which sections of which statutes specifically protect the right of a worker to refuse to join a trades union without for that reason incurring his dismissal.

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 30th June 1977] gave the following information:Paragraph 6(4)(

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he is satisfied with the availability of apprenticeship opportunities for people seeking full-time employment in the hotel and catering industry.

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 28th June 1977; Vol. 934, c. 114], gave the following information:I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that, although the total number of apprentices is not known, in the current training year there are 2,231 craft trainees registered with the Hotel and Catering Industry Training Board and that the total numbers of candidates for City and Guilds hotel and catering craft examinations during last year rose to around 23,000. In addition, to stimulate recruitment above employers' normal intakes 200 premium grants have been made available and up to 30 training awards allocated to the industry for 1977–78 under the programme of special training measures. All this represents a substantial training effort to meet the needs both of the industry and of those seeking to enter it.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish a detailed list of people sent abroad on lectures or similar activities during the past 12 months.

In the 12 months ended 30th June 1977 the following persons have undertaken lecture tours or similar activities under the sponsorship of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office:

• Mr. D. H. Frost, MBE, to the Caribbean
• Mr. Jeffrey Frost, to Italy
• The Lord Greenhill, to Finland
• Mr. G. Leech, to Ghana, Ivory Coast
• Mr. Cyril Plant, CBE, to the Caribbean
• Mr. D. H. Powell, to Yugoslavia
• Professor K. Simmonds, to Ghana, Nigeria
• Sir Peter Tennant, CMG, to Australia, Mauritius and United States.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the number of visas for entry to the United Kingdom issued, respectively, in the 12 months before the signing of the Helsinki Agreement and in the last 12-month period for which figures are available, to citizens of Yugoslavia, the USSR, Romania, Poland, Hungary, East Germany, Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia, respectively.

Comprehensive figures in the form requested are not available and the compilation of those which might be obtainable would involve disproportionate expense. Command Paper 6064 "Home Office. Immigration Statistics 1974" does, however, provide a record of admissions to the United Kingdom of

	SDA		DA		IA
	Amount £000	Estimated employment arising	Amount £000	Estimated employment arising	Amount £000	Estimated employment arising
Insurance	778	392	66	65	78	118
Banking	115	150	130	214	2,476	2,005
Other business services	849	996	718	554	1,543	2,140

New employment in these sectors also arises from Government assistance to manufacturing industry and the consequent increase in demand which they create locally for business services.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will publish estimates for the latest year for which figures are available showing the variability of Government expenditure per job created or maintained under the system of regional development grants, if possible in the form of a statistical distribution relating numbers of jobs affected to ranges of cost per job.

As was explained in the White Paper "Industrial and Regional Development" issued in March 1972 (Cmnd. 4942) regional development grants are not limited solely to projects which nationals from most of the countries mentioned for the nearest calendar year preceding the signature of the Final Act, and Cmnd. 6504 "Home Office. Control of Immigration Statistics 1975" gives the latest similar information. Nationals of Yugoslavia visiting the United Kingdom do not require visas.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what financial assistance and grants to encourage new employment in special development, development and intermediate areas have been made to insurance, banking and business services, respectively.

Up to 31st May 1977 offers of regional selective assistance under Section 7 of the Industry Act 1972 had been made as follows in aid of new employment projects having a choice of location between the assisted areas and elsewhere:provide employment. No statistics are available of the number of jobs created or maintained by these grants.