asked the Lord President of the Council what was the daily, weekly or monthly cost of security measures at the Palace of Westminster on 29th July 1977 and 4th November 1977, respectively; and how this increase falls within the Government's policy of cutting public expenditure.

The estimated staff costs of police officers and custodians employed at the Palace of Westminster for July 1977 was £84,469. For October 1977 these costs were estimated at £105,911. These two estimates are not, however, directly comparable because of changes arising from the decisions, announced by Mr. Speaker on 27th July and effective from 1st October, to establish a combined security force for the Palace of Westminster, and for expenditure on security within the precincts to be borne in future wholly on the Votes of the two Houses.

asked the Lord President of the Council whether, pursuant to his previous reply to the hon. Member for Kingston upon Thames, he will specify which groups whose pay is reviewed by the Top Salaries Review Board will, under the 12-month rule, receive pay increases before and which after Members of Parliament.

I regret that I cannot anticipate decisions about future pay in creases. I can only say that the present settlement dates of those groups whose pay is reviewed by the Review Board on Top Salaries, for the purpose of the 12-month rule, are:

• Armed Forces(senior members): 1st January
• Higher Civil Service: 1st January
• Judiciary—Higher: 26th July
• Lower: 1st January
• Nationalised industry board members: 1st January
• Members of Parliament: 13th June.

asked the Lord Advocate whether he intends to institute proceedings against a procurator fiscal in connection with an incident in a shopping precinct in Kelvingrove.

The incident in question was reported to the Crown Office. Crown counsel, having considered all the circumstances, decided that criminal proceedings would not be justified.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection which of the matters for which he is responsible in England he is not responsible for in Scotland; for which matters he is currently responsible in Scotland; and which matters for which he is currently responsible in Scotland will become the responsibility of the Scottish Assembly and executive under the terms of the Scotland Bill.

The matters for which I am responsible are the same for both countries, namely, prices policy and consumer affairs, including fair trading, consumer safety, consumer credit, quality assurance and standards, weights and measures, and monopolies, mergers and restrictive practices.The matters which are to be devolved are set out in Part I of Schedule 10 to the Scotland Bill. The relationship between those matters and the matters for which I shall continue to be responsible are set out in Parts II and III of that Schedule.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection what percentage of hire-purchase transactions he estimates were for a hire-purchase price exceeding £2,000, so as to be outside the protection of the Hire-Purchase Acts, during each of the years since the £2,000 limit came into force.

I regret that information on which to base such estimates is not available.

asked the Prime Minister when he proposes to meet with other Heads of Government in the EEC.

At the meeting of the European Council on 5th and 6th December.

asked the Prime Minister whether he proposes to institute a review of the security services.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Conway (Mr. Roberts) on 16th November.

asked the Prime Minister what consultations he proposes to have with the TUC.

asked the Prime Minister when he next plans to meet the TUC.

I refer my hon. Friends to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Hazel Grove (Mr. Arnold) on 8th November.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will list his engagements for 24th November.

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

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

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

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

This morning I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet. In addition to my duties in this House, I shall be holding further meetings with ministerial colleagues and others, including one with the Governing Mayor of Berlin.

asked the Prime Minister if he will appoint a Minister with special responsibility for the economic development of Northern England.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Macclesfield (Mr. Winterton).

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

I have at present no plans to do so.

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

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister if he has received the document "Report From Hong Kong", dated 12th November 1977, concerning the recent amnesty relating to corruption charges; what reply he has sent; and if he will make a statement.

I received this document on 16th November. It is being considered and a reply will be sent as soon as possible.

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

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister whether he is satisfied with the co-ordination between the Secretaries of State for Transport, Energy and the Environment in implementing the programmes for energy saving and conservation.

Yes.

asked the Prime Minister when he next plans to meet the heads of nationalised industries.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Peterborough (Mr. Ward) on 17th November.

asked the Prime Minister when he next intends to visit West Yorkshire.

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister when next he intends to visit the West Midlands.

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list the responsibilities which he has allocated to the Secretary of State for the Environment.

The Secretary of State for the Environment has overall responsibility for the work of the Department of the Environment, including planning, housing, local government, new towns, inner cities, and environmental protection.

asked the Prime Minister when he next plans to meet the CBI.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent, South (Mr. Ashley) on 10th November.

asked the Prime Minister when he next plans to take the chair at the National Economic Development Council.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Mid-Sussex (Mr. Renton) on 22nd November.

asked the Prime Minister when he next plans to visit Northern Ireland.

I cannot say.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will allocate funds for the retraining of teachers of other subjects in modern languages.

No. The evidence is that the shortage of modern language teachers is declining and that the remaining shortage is mainly of graduates and those able to teach two modern languages. A retraining programme for teachers of other subjects would not help to satisfy these needs.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what are the activities of the Further Education Curriculum Unit; when it was started; to whom it is answerable; who are its members; how many civil servants are employed by it; and what is its cost to public funds.

The further Education Curriculum Review and Development Unit is charged with reviewing the range of curricula offered by the further education service and identifying overlap, duplication or deficiencies; determining priorities for action to improve the total provision and suggesting ways in which improvement can be affected; assisting in the general development of further education curricula by carrying out specific studies, by helping with curricular experiments and by contributing to the evaluation of the attainment of objectives; and disseminating information on the process of curriculum development. In carrying out these tasks the unit is giving priority to curricula for the immediate post-school stages of education and in particular to work associated with the pilot schemes of unified vocational preparation and with the youth opportunities programme.The work of the unit is under the direction and control of a board of management whose chairman, Mr. J. R. G. Tomlinson, was appointed by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Science. The members of the board, who were nominated by the major interests concerned and whose appointments by my right hon. Friend are for three years from 1st January 1977, are:

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science, further to her Written Answer to the hon. Member for Ealing, Acton, Official Report, 14th November, column 72, how many secondary schools in England and Wales have squash courts on the premises.

This information is not available in my Department.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when she intends to seek to amend Schedule 2 to the Local Government Act 1974 to enable the pooling between local education authorities of Crombie payments and Burnham safeguarding payments to redundant teacher training staff.

My right hon. Friend hopes to find an early opportunity to do so.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will list the schools and local education authorities referred to in her answer of 14th November 1977 as showing visible signs of damage due to excessive or improper use of calcium chloride and also those 21 schools on which inspection reports are awaited.

I will be writing to my hon. Friend with this information.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service if he will list in the Official Report the dates of purchase of computer equipment currently in use in Government Departments, specifying the Departments in which they are located

A list of computers for administrative and scientific purposes installed in Departments, including their dates of purchase, is published in "Management Services in Government" annually in May and is updated quarterly in respect of new orders. This publication is available in the Library of the House.

SUMMARY OF MINISTERIAL OVERSEAS VISITS DURING THE YEAR ENDING 30 SEPTEMBER 1977
	Number of Visits	Number of Visits made by Ministers	Number of Accompanying Officials	Cost£
United Nations	7	8	45	48,720
EEC	81	124	385	95,250
Diplomatic	39	45	196	158,430
Economic and Trade	22	24	98	50,120
Others	10	10	17	10,200
Totals	159	211	739	362,720

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what is the cost per page of printing the Official Report.

The cost varies considerably from issue to issue depending on: (a) the number of parts printed in a Session; (b) the number of copies issued of each edition; (c) the number of pages in each issue; and (d) the complexity of the contents. Taking a sample period of 12 months from March 1976 to February 1977, the average cost per page was 0·582p.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service, further to his Written Answer, Official Report, 9th November, column 97, whether he will publish in the Official Report a summary of the information supplied to the hon. Member for Newham, North-West in his letter of 1st November 1977, giving the total number of overseas visits by Ministers and their entourages, the number participating, the costs and as much additional information as may be readily available.

A summary of the table, copies of which are available in the Library of the House, is given below:struction industry; but my right hon. Friends the Secretary of State for the Environment and the Minister for Housing and Construction and I are always available to my hon. Friend and representatives of the industry to discuss its problems.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he next plans to meet representatives of the local authorities.

My right hon. Friend met the local authority associations in the Consultative Council on Local Government Finance on 18th November, and is in regular contact with them.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will give a detailed list of the houses, flats or properties now allocated to or occupied by Ministers of the Crown, a description of the size of such premises, what is included in the use of the building, so far as cleaning, heating, lighting and upkeep is concerned and the rateable value of the buildings so occupied in each case.

Minister		Address		Approximate area of residence	Rateable value
				sq.ft.	£
The Chancellor of the Exchequer	…	11 Downing Street	…	4,800	3,722
The Secretary of State for Defence	…	Admiralty House	…	5,000	4,068
Home Secretary	…	Admiralty House	…	1,300	1,076
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland	…	Admiralty House	…	3,700	2,888
The Lord Chancellor	…	House of Lords	…	4,100	3,555

The residences form part of larger Government establishments from which they cannot be fully separated, and, therefore, the rateable values are notional. Heating, lighting and any specialised cleaning of furniture and fabric are included with the general upkeep services provided, but Ministers are responsible for their own domestic cleaning arrangements.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what contributions in percentage terms of local authority expenditure on rent rebates and allowances were made by his Department in the last financial year.

The figures in percentage terms were 75 per cent. for rent rebates and 100 per cent. for rent allowances, excluding the costs of administration and discretionary payments made by local authorities. The balance of rate-borne expenditure is relevant expenditure for rate support grant.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many applications have been received from voluntary bodies for financial assistance under Section 13 (1) of the Housing (Homeless Persons) Act 1977.

No organisation has yet made a formal application to my right hon. Friend but I am aware that a number are considering doing so.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the terms of reference of the committee looking into charges for local services in the light of the Layfield Report; what is the membership of the committee; what arrangements have been made for interested bodies and members of the public

The details of occupation are as follows:to give evidence to the committee; what progress has been made to date by the committee; when the committee is expected to have completed its work; and if he will make a statement.

This committee is a joint working group of central and local government officers which the Consultative Committee on Local Government Finance has set up to report to it on central and local government's policies and practices in respect of existing charges for local services, other than housing rents, transport fares and school meals. The group has not taken any evidence and hopes to make an interim report to the consultative council at its next meeting in February.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the arrangements for Ministers and junior Ministers to use their official cars to take their wives shopping and their relatives to railway stations and how payment for such journeys is properly enforced.

I have been asked to reply.Official cars should not be used for journeys that are solely for these purposes.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the courses at the skillcentres for which there are waiting lists, including any course for which there is a waiting list at any centre; and if he will also list the courses at the centres for which not enough applicants can be found.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many men employed in the Department on 14th November 1977 were in receipt of wages and salaries at or below those paid at the basic rate for firemen.

In my Department—including the Commissions, Executives, Services and Agencies for which I am responsible—on 14th November 1977, 11,719 male civil servants were in receipt of wages or salaries at or below the basic rate for a qualified fireman.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what consideration his Department is giving to special regional drives against persons drawing unemployment benefit while working.

All the Department of Employment's regional offices arrange special drives in particular trades or types of employment if there are grounds for suspicion that persons drawing unemployment benefit may be engaged in them. The need and occasion for a special drive is determined by each regional office on the basis of the extent or nature of the suspicion aroused. Special drives are undertaken in addition to the normal investigation of suspected individual cases.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will provide figures for the percentage unemployed in the public and private sectors of the economy in November, on the same basis as that contained in the table published in Written Answers, Official Report, 22nd February 1977, column 557.

This information will be available in early December, and as soon as it is to hand I will circulate it in the Official Report.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many workers, examined in the Employment Medical Advisory Service survey of asbestos workers, have been diagnosed as having very early diagnosable asbestosis: and if all such workers have been told of their condition;(2) if he will publish a definition of all categories described in the Employment Medical Advisory Service survey of asbestos workers, as specified in Guidance Notes MS6; how many workers have been diagnosed as having asbestosis in each category and sub-category used in the survey; and how many in each category and sub-category have been informed of their condition.

I will reply to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate his Department has made about the extent to which traffic through Uttoxeter will be affected by the construction of the proposed Stoke—Derby link road.

The proposed Stoke—Derby link road should slightly reduce the volume of through traffic in Uttoxeter. Much of the east-west long-distance traffic is already removed from the town by the existing bypass.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport which of the matters for which he is responsible in England he is not responsible for in Scotland; for which matters he is currently responsible in Scotland; and which matters for which he is currently responsible in Scotland will become the responsibility of the Scottish Assembly and executive under the terms of the Scotland Bill.

The transport matters which are to be devolved to the Scottish Assembly and Executive are set out in Schedules 10 and 11 to the Scotland Bill. They include highways matters for which I am currently responsible in England but not in Scotland. The Scotland Bill does not provide for the devolution of any of the matters for which I am currently responsible in Scotland.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how many applications he has received for the provision of patrolled school crossings in Cambridge-shire in the last year; and how many of these applications he has granted;(2) what are his current criteria for the provision of patrolled school crossings;(3) if he takes accident near-misses into account when assessing applications for patrolled school crossings;(4) what is his estimate of the cost of installing and maintaining a patrolled school crossing.

Arrangements for school crossing patrols in Cambridgeshire are at the discretion of the county council, which is not required to seek my right hon. Friend's approval. He does not lay down criteria for the provision of patrols as he does for zebra and pelican crossings catering for pedestrians generally. Costs may vary from place to place and could best be ascertained from the authority concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will investigate the variety of concessionary bus fares operated by local authorities with a view to bringing forward proposals for a national scheme to overcome anomalies and inequities in adjacent and similar areas.

As is explained in the White Paper on Transport Policy (Cmnd. 6836), my right hon. Friend has already examined this matter carefully, and has concluded that local authorities are best placed to provide concessionary bus fares.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects work to start on the improvement of the London North Circular Road A406, between (a) Pope's Lane and Hanger Lane, (b) Falloden Way and Finchley High Road, (c) Bounds Green Road and Green Lane, (d) Fore Street and Hall Lane, and (e) Hale End Road to Waterworks Corner.

Work has just started on dualling the section of the North Circular Road between Hale End Road and Waterworks Corner. It is hoped that the improvement of the other four sections will start in the first half of the 1980s, but the precise starting dates will depend on the time taken for completion of the necessary statutory processes and on the availability of funds at the time.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what vehicles are required only to use the nearside or slow lane during the current extensive roadworks on the M6 motorway; and on what basis these particular vehicles are selected for these restrictions.

There are two stretches of roadworks which make it necessary to close one carriageway completely. At junction 3, heavy vehicles are directed to use the hard shoulder while lighter vehicles are directed to use the left-hand lane. This enables heavy vehicles to leave the motorway without crossing the path of lighter vehicles. There is no slip road within the length of the roadworks near junction 14, and as the hard shoulder is not strong enough for heavy vehicles, they are directed to remain in the left-hand lane while light vehicles use the hard shoulder.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport when he proposes to give advice to local authority bus undertakings concerning the new arrangements negotiated at the recent meeting of EEC Transport Ministers regarding the regulation on drivers' hours; and if he will make a statement.

The decision of the Council of Ministers on a "safeguard" provision for the step by step implementation of EEC Regulation 543/69 on drivers' hours empowered the EEC Commission to decide on the detailed programme of implementation. The Government's proposals are with the Commission, but further advice cannot usefully be given to bus undertakings until the formal decision of the Commission has been received.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects double glazing of qualifying properties under the Noise Insulation Regulations to commence at Great Barr and Perry Beeches, Birmingham.

Work commenced in both areas on 7th November.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to announce his decision on the proposals to build the M54.

My right hon. Friend will make an announcement about the M54 as soon as possible.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he proposes to take to ensure that the situation of the pigmeat industry in the United Kingdom is fully considered at the next meeting of EEC Ministers on 12th and 13th December.

I have lost no opportunity in the past to urge upon both the Commission and the Council of Ministers the need for action to ease the pressure on the United Kingdom pigmeat sector arising from the way that monetary conpensatory amounts are calculated. I shall be raising the matter again when next the Council meets on 12th-13th December.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will consider introducing legislation to seek to secure better fire warning systems in factory farm buildings.

We have no evidence that livestock are unduly at risk in these buildings, but the Farm Animal Welfare Advisory Committee is about to review the position, and my right hon. Friend the Minister will consider its findings.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a start on revaluing the green pound, in view of the problems being faced by British farmers on all production fronts and not just pig producers.

My right hon. Friend has always made clear that he has no objection in principle to changing the United Kingdom representative rate, but we believe that the timing and extent of any change must be judged according to the overall national interest. In considering the balance of arguments we shall, of course, take full account of the needs of agriculture, together with the wider interests of the country as a whole.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the effects of the artificially low level of the green pound on the agricultural industry in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

Agriculture in Northern Ireland is influenced by a great many factors and the effects of the green pound cannot be reliably assessed. My right hon. Friend and I recognise the special circumstances of Northern Irish agriculture, and we shall continue to take these into account in decisions about the representative rate.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the effects of the artificial level of the green pound on the home production of beef and imports of beef from the Republic of Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

On the basis of the present representative rate, appropriate intervention buying-in prices and target prices for premium have been implemented for the current beef marketing year, and they are supporting the market and producers' returns at the present time. United Kingdom beef imports from the Irish Republic have been influenced by the gap between the representative rates in the United Kingdom and the Irish Republic. It is not possible to say how far the size of the gap has affected the level of these imports, bearing in mind that over 1977 as a whole there has also been an increase in Irish beef production and a decrease in United Kingdom beef production compared with 1976.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimates he has made of the effects of the artificial level of the green pound on the pigmeat industry; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend and I are, of course, fully aware of the pressure of imports on the profitability of our pigmeat production and processing industries. In our view, this arises less from the level of the green pound, which also helps the producer by restraining cereals prices, than from the fact that monetary compensatory amounts on pig-meat are calculated on the wrong basis. We are continuing our efforts to secure a fairer method of calculating these amounts.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what estimate he has made of the effects of the artificial level of the green pound on milk production; and if he will make a statement; (2) what estimate he has made of the effects of the artificial level of the green pound on levels of food production in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

Production is affected by many factors, including the weather, the cost of inputs, technological progress and market conditions, as well as by the value of the green pound. I cannot usefully speculate on how much production might have varied under different combinations of these factors.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimates he has made of the effects of the artificial level of the green pound on future employment levels in agriculture; and if he will make a statement.

The long-term trend of employment levels in agriculture has been and still is one of gradual decline. The recent manpower report of the Agriculture EDC recognises that this long-term trend will continue into the 1980s, although at a lower rate of decline. Short-term fluctuations in the green pound level have an insignificant effect upon this long-term trend.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the effects of the artificial level of the green pound on levels of imports of agricultural produce from the rest of the EEC; and if he will make a statement.

Such imports depend on many factors, including the levels of domestic demand and production, the foreign exchange value of sterling, and

Body	Salaried	Fee-Paid	Unpaid
Agricultural Chemicals Approval Scheme (Insecticides, Fungicides and Herbicides): Scientific Advisory Committee	—	—	7
Agricultural Colleges: Governing Bodies—
Chadacre Agricultural Institute	—	—	1
Harper Adams Agricultural College	—	—	1
Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester	—	—	1
Seale Hayne Agricultural College	—	—	1
Shuttleworth College	—	—	1
Wye College	—	—	1
Agricultural Land: Committee of Inquiry into the Acquisition and Occupancy of	—	—	11
Agricultural Mortgage Corporation Ltd.	2*	—	—
Agricultural Research Institutes: Governing Bodies—
Animal Virus Research Institute	—	—	7
Glasshouse Crops Research Institute	—	—	14
Grassland Research Institute	—	—	13
Houghton Poultry Research Station	—	—	9
National Fruit and Cider Institute (Long Ashton Research Station)	—	—	3
National Institute of Agricultural Engineering	—	—	14
Plant Breeding Institute	—	—	10
Agricultural Statistics Consultative Committee	—	—	7
Agricultural Training Board	1	—	26
Agricultural Valuation Committee	—	—	12
Agricultural Wages Board	—	5	—
Agricultural Wages Committees	—	62	—
Agriculture and Horticulture in England and Wales:
Advisory Council for	—	—	12
Apple and Pear Development Council	1*	20*	—
Badgers and Tuberculosis: Consultative Panel on	—	—	14
British Sugar Corporation	3*	—	—
Central Council for Agricultural and Horticultural Co-operation	2	12	—
Committees of Investigation for Great Britain and for England and Wales	—	7	—
Consumers' Committees for Great Britain and for England and Wales	—	—	12
Covent Garden Market Authority	8	—	—
Coypu Strategy Group (Ad Hoc)	—	—	6
Eggs Authority	13	—	—
Experimental Horticulture Stations: Advisory Committees	—	—	95
Experimental Husbandry Farms: Advisory Committees	—	—	122
Farm Animal Welfare Advisory Committee	—	—	17
Farm Settlements: Smallholdings Advisory Committee for Selection of Tenants	—	—	—
Fisheries Research and Development Board	—	1	5
Flood Protection Research Committee	—	—	9
Food Additives and Contaminants Committee	—	13	—

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will publish a list of all bodies to which he appoints members other than civil servants, distinguishing between full-time and part-time, salaried, fee-paid and unpaid appointments, indicating for each category of appointment the number of such appointees.

The information is as follows:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will call a special meeting of Ministers concerned with economic, employment, trade and industry affairs to discuss the impact of current wage demands and the rate of increase of earnings to better establish the degree of progress towards the Government's target of single-figure inflation.

Such matters are regularly discussed by Ministers.

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

The retail price index rose by 14·1 per cent. over the 12 months to October. This is the fourth successive month in which the rate of inflation has fallen, it is expected to fall further to 12 per cent. or 13 per cent. by the end of the year.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest estimate of the cost of tax relief on mortgage, life assurance and bank loan interest, and on contributions to superannuation and retirement pensions and medical insurance.

The latest estimate for 1977–78 of the cost of income tax relief in respect of mortgage interest, including that on loans from insurance companies and banks is about £1,070 million. This takes account of the recent reduction in the rates charged by building societies, but assumes that there is no further change in the year.I regret that there is at present insufficient information on which to base an up-to-date estimate of the cost of tax relief on contributions to occupational pension schemes, but the estimated cost of retirement annuity relief for 1977–78 is about £70 million.The cost of medical insurance premiums is not deductible for tax purposes by an individual.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in the Official Report a table for each year since 1945 in the form of an annual index, output per person employed, indicating break periods caused by redefinitions of the index where appropriate.

The table below shows output per person employed in the United Kingdom at constant 1970 prices in index number form (1970=100):

1945	…	…	..
1946	…	…	..
1947	…	…	..
1948	…	…	61·2
1949	…	…	63·4†
1950	…	…	65·1
1951	…	…	65·5
1952	…	…	65·0
1953	…	…	67·3
1954	…	…	69·0
1955	…	…	70·4
1956	…	…	70·6
1957	…	…	72·0
1958	…	…	72·5†
1959	…	…	75·6
1960	…	…	78·4
1961	…	…	79·1
1962	…	…	79·8
1963	…	…	82·2
1964	…	…	86·0
1965	…	…	87·6
1966	…	…	89·0
1967	…	…	91·6
1968	…	…	96·0
1969	…	…	97·9†
1970	…	…	100·0
1971	…	…	103·3
1972	…	…	105·5
1973	…	…	109·2
1974	…	…	108·3
1975	…	…	107·0
1976	…	…	109·0
..=not available.
† = redefinitions at this point may have caused some discontinuity in the series.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether it is possible to estimate the size of the investment currency pool at a certain point in time; whether he will estimate the size of the pool at some convenient date in 1970, 1973 and 1976; and whether he will explain the principal factors which cause the pool to grow or shrink in value.

The so-called investment currency pool represents certain foreign currency assets privately owned by United Kingdom residents. By far the largest part consists of United Kingdom private investment overseas on portfolio account, for which inevitably very precarious estimates are contained in Table 11.1 of the publication "United Kingdom Balance of Payments 1966–76". The bulk of such investments would be likely under current rules to yield investment currency if sold. The value of these assets depends principally on the prices ruling on the relevant stock exchange.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are his estimates of total wages and salaries, numbers employed, actual and in full-time equivalents, in central Government, local government and the nationalised industries in 1975, 1976 and in 1977 to the latest available date.

Figures for 1977 are not yet available. The information available for 1975 and 1976 is given in Table 1.10 of "National Income and Expenditure 1966–1976".

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will list the successive forecasts which he has made of the public sector borrowing requirement in 1977–78, specifying the date and anticipated size of the public sector borrowing requirement on each occasion and the causes of any revisions.

My right hon. Friend gave an estimate of £8.7 billion in the Letter of Intent of 15th December 1976 to the IMF. In his Budget Statement to the House on 29th March this year he gave a forecast of £8½ billion. This was revised to £7½ billion in his statement of 26th October. Relevant factors relating to the revision are given in the note "Economic Prospects to end-1978" published on 26th October, to which I would refer the hon. Member.

			Single man			Married man with 2 children under 11
			Percentage of income taken in Tax plus			Percentage of income taken in Tax plus
Year			Tax	NIC	NIC	Tax	NIC	NIC
			%	%	%	%	%	%
1945–6	…	…	23·0	1·7	24·6	4·4	1·7	6·0
1946–47	…	…	14·9	3·3	18·2	—	3·2	3·2
1947–48	…	…	14·8	3·1	17·9	—	3·0	3·0
1948–9	…	…	12·3	3·6	15·9	—	3·4	3·4
1949–50	…	…	12·6	3·4	16·0	—	3·3	3·4
1950–51	…	…	11·0	3·3	14·2	0·5	3·2	3·7
1951–52	…	…	13·1	3·1	16·2	0·7	3·0	3·6
1952–53	…	…	11·2	3·2	14·4	—	3·1	3·1
1953–54	…	…	10·6	3·0	13·6	0·3	2·9	3·2
1954–55	…	…	11·8	2·8	14·6	1·0	2·7	3·7
1955–56	…	…	12·7	3·0	15·7	0·4	2·9	3·3
1956–57	…	…	13·5	2·8	16·3	0·8	2·7	3·6
1957–58	…	…	14·2	2·9	17·1	1·5	2·9	4·4
1958–59	…	…	14·5	3·9	18·4	1·8	3·7	5·6
1959–60	…	…	14·4	3·7	18·1	2·3	3·6	5·9
1960–61	…	…	15·1	3·4	18·5	3·2	3·3	6·6
1961–62	…	…	15·5	5·1	20·6	3·7	5·0	8·7
1962–63	…	…	16·0	4·9	20·9	4·1	4·8	8·9
1963–64	…	…	16·1	5·5	21·6	3·0	5·3	8·3
1964–65	…	…	17·2	5·3	22·5	4·5	5·2	9·7
1965–66	…	…	18·9	5·4	24·3	5·9	5·3	11·3
1966–67	…	…	19·3	5·5	24·8	6·5	5·4	11·9
1967–68	…	…	20·0	5·8	25·7	7·4	5·7	13·1
1968–69	…	…	20·8	5·6	26·4	10·8	5·4	16·2
1969–70	…	…	21·7	5·2	26·8	12·5	5·0	17·5
1970–71	…	…	22·9	5·8	28·7	14·2	5·6	19·8
1971–72	…	…	22·4	5·8	28·1	13·1	5·6	18·7
1972–73	…	…	20·5	5·9	26·4	12·3	5·8	18·2
1973–74	…	…	21·6	5·9	27·5	14·6	5·8	20·4
1974–75	…	…	25·0	5·9	31·0	16·8	5·8	22·6
1975–76	…	…	27·5	5·5	33·0	20·0	5·4	25·3
1976–77	…	…	27·8	5·8	33·5	19·3	5·6	24·9
1977–78	…	…	25·5	5·8	31·3	17·1	5·6	22·7

For years up to and including 1969–70, average earnings are the Department of Employment's estimates of the average earnings of full-time male manual workers in October of each year, except for 1945–46 where the figures relate to July. For later years the figures are based on the average of the New Earnings Survey estimates of the average earnings of full-time male manual workers in April at the start and finish of each income tax year, except for 1977–78, where the April