asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the remunerations and expenses allowances of members of the Committee of Inquiry on the Pay of the Police.

The members of the Committee of Inquiry into the Police receive a daily fee of £23, with the exception of the Chairman, Lord Edmund-Davies, who, as a Lord of Appeal in receipt of a full-time salary from public funds, receives no separate remuneration for this work. Travelling and subsistence expenses are reimbursed.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether there has been a significant national or regional increase of cases of drivers failing to stop after accidents involving injury to the person or damage to other vehicles over the period of the last five years;(2) what proportion of drivers failing to stop after reported accidents involving injury or damage were discovered and prosecuted during each of the last five years.

The total number of offences of failing to stop after an accident is not collected centrally. Figures of the number of these offences which let to court proceedings in England and Wales are published annually in "Offences Relating to Motor Vehicles".

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department in the light of the Written Answer by the Treasury, Official Report, 13th January, c. 863, on what evidence he bases his assumption that terrorists are more likely to arrive in the United Kingdom by air from Guernsey than from Germany.

I have made no assumptions of the kind mentioned by my hon. Friend. Traffic coming to Great Britain from Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man is subject to controls under the Prevention of Terrorism (Supplemental Temporary Provisions) Order 1976. Traffic coming to Great Britain from abroad is subject to controls operated under the Immigration Act 1971. Different controls therefore apply depending on the origin of the journey in question.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether all or any of the five individuals currently serving sentences in Northern Ireland prisons for scheduled offences under the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1973 have homes or families in Northern Ireland.

All the five individuals currently serving sentences in Northern Ireland Prisons for scheduled offences under the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1973 have their homes in the Province.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Microbiological Research Establishment near Porton has done any work for the World Health Organisation; whether it is proposed that it should do so in the future; and what are the prospects of closer collaboration between the Microbiological Research Establishment and the World Health Organisation.

The Microbiological Research Establishment has in the recent past carried out work requested by the World Health Organisation on dangerous viruses and has also made its advice available on other matters. Contacts with the Organisation are already close.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the establishment of staff for the Youth Opportunities Programme Office based at Ipswich to serve East Anglia; and how many staff are in post.

I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that the number of staff in post in the MSC Area Office for Special Programmes at Ipswich was 11 at 16th January 1978 and is in process of being built up to an establishment of 17.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will estimate the number of additional jobs which would be required, without extra overtime working, in each of the main sectors of employment by reducing the working week to 35 hours.

No. Such an estimate would depend on the assumptions made about hours currently worked and the effect on output and overtime. The number of additional jobs is very sensitive to variation in these assumptions.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service has been called into the current BBC dispute.

I understand that ACAS held a joint meeting with the parties on 22nd November and is ready to assist if needed.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many disabled persons are unemployed in the Mid-Northumberland local employment area; and what measures he is taking to reduce this number.

I am advised by the Manpower Services Commission that on 8th December 1977, the latest date for which figures are available, 255 disabled people were unemployed in the local employment office areas of Ashington, Bedlington and Morpeth. As stated in my reply of 22nd November 1977 to my hon. Friend the member for Blaydon (Mr. Woof)—[Vol. 939, c. 725–6]—the Government are concerned about the level of unemployment generally among disabled people, but a number of measures have been taken, including the provision of an experimental job introduction scheme, a scheme of capital grants to employers for adaptations to premises and equipment, and the launch of "Positive Policies", a guide to employing disabled people. Disabled people in the Mid-Northumberland local employment area, as in other parts of the country, should benefit from these measures.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what steps the Government propose to take to ensure that temporary employment subsidy payments are more evenly spread amongst different sectors of industry.

It is not feasible to do this while retaining the present scheme. The nature of the scheme is such that the distribution of assistance between industries follows the pattern of redundancies arising in the economy.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what estimates have been made of the proportion of jobs preserved by temporary employment subsidy to jobs lost in unsubsidised competitor firms as a result of the TES subsidised competition.

I regret that I am unable to supply information in the form requested. It is not possible to estimate with any confidence the extent and timing of job displacement occurring as a result of TES.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many firms are receiving temporary employment subsidy for more than 100 workers or for more than 50 per cent. of their work force.

It is estimated that there are about 2,000 firms currently in receipt of TES for either more than 100 workers or more than 50 per cent. of the work force of an establishment.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment, in considering suitable locations for long-term storage and disposal of nuclear waste, what consideration he gives to the desirability of selecting a site where the existing level of natural background radiation is below the average for the United Kingdom.

I am advised that the level of natural background radiation is insignificant, and that its variation is, therefore, also an insignificant factor. Moreover, any increase in exposure to radiation from long-term storage or disposal of high-level radioactive nuclear waste would itself be only a fraction of the natural background radiation. No decisions about disposal of such wastes can be taken until research has demonstrated the feasibility and safety of one or more methods. I am not at present considering any new locations in the United Kingdom for the long-term storage or disposal of such wastes.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if, in the light of the correspondence between the Leader of the Greater London Council and the hon. Member for Ealing, North, a copy of which has been sent to him, he remains satisfied with the powers of local authorities under Section 138 of the Local Government Act 1972 to assist those who have suffered from natural disasters in their areas.

As I told my hon. Friend when he helpfully brought a deputation to see me on this subject, I am satisfied that local authorities, including the Greater London Council, possess adequate powers under Section 138 of the Local Government Act 1972 to help those who suffer from emergencies or disasters in their area.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will take steps to establish a national navigation authority for the better management commercially and recreationally of Great Britain's inland waterways as proposed by the Inland Waterways Association.

As the White Paper on the Water Industry published in July 1977 said, the Government remain convinced of the desirability of bringing the management of the waterways into the water industry and of creating a national navigation authority. The precise scope and powers of such an authority have still to be worked out. In doing this the suggestions made by the Inland Waterways Association are very much welcomed.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many objections he received to the proposed demolition of B Warehouse, St. Katharine's Dock; and from whom they came.

Objections to the demolition of this warehouse were received from the Victorian Society, the Ancient Monuments Society, the Georgian Group and from two individuals.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will reconsider his refusal to hold a public inquiry into the proposed demolition of B Warehouse, St. Katharine's Dock.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if any nature reserves have been established as recommended by the Nature Conservancy Council in the Somerset Levels, an area of rare plants and animals, endangered by agriculture and commercial peat gathering.

There are six nature reserves in the Somerset Levels which are owned or managed by the Nature Conservancy Council, local authorities, or voluntary conservation bodies. The Council's Consultation Paper on the Somerset Wetlands does not make any specific recommendation for the establishment of reserves, but analyses the conflict of need which exists in the area and examines various approaches that could guide future action. The Council will shortly be considering what action it should take in the light of this paper and the comments received on it. I am arranging for a copy of the paper to be sent to my hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will make a statement on the Government's response to the Cripps Report on the working of the Caravan Sites Act 1968 in relation to the further provision of legal sites for gipsy families.

My right hon. Friend is nearing completion of his consideration of the recommendations in the Cripps Report and hopes to make a statement before long.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what study he has made of recent legislation introduced in four American States requiring a deposit to be paid on bottles and other containers; and if he has any plans to introduce legislation to minimise the pollution of the environment by making such a deposit compulsory in the United Kingdom.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 16th January to my hon. Friend the Member for Stockport, North (Mr. Bennett)—[Vol. 942, c. 50]. One of the tasks of the working party which is studying the question of returnable and non-returnable containers is to examine legislation adopted in the USA and elsewhere for its possible relevance to the situation in this country.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table in the Official Report showing how much of the £400 million allocated to the construction industry will be spent in each of the standard regions of England, in Scotland, and Wales; and how much this represents per head of population.

The allocation to departmental programmes of the £400 million additional expenditure on construction for 1978–79 was given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment on 9th November 1977 in reply to a Question from my hon. Friend the Member for Goole (Dr. Marshall)—[Vol. 938, c. 121–2]. The programmes within the responsibilities of the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Wales were allocated £52 million and £15 million respectively. Most of the amounts allocated to departmental programmes in England were added to the much larger sums already assigned to those programmes in earlier public expenditure plans. As it is these total sums which are then allocated regionally or locally, it is not possible to identify specifically each English region's share of the £400 million.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will review the adequacy of the law on the safety of the public on pavements and highways in the light of the increase in skateboarding.

I have been asked to reply.The Department and other interested Departments are currently reviewing this matter.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent representations have been made to him to allow Dunfermline District Council borrowing powers to finance the provision of the first phase of a sports complex in Dunfermline; and what progress has been made.

Officials of my Department met officials of Dunfermline District Council on 5th December 1977 to discuss the council's proposals for capital expenditure on general services, which includes leisure and recreation. Councils will be advised in March 1978 of their final capital expenditure allocations for 1978–79, and, in accordance with the new system of local authority financing planning, it will be for them to decide, on the basis of the resources available, which projects should take priority.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what arrangements are to be made to give effect to the proposed programme for insulating public sector dwellings; and if he will make a statement.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Dunfermline (Mr. Hunter) on 19th January.—[Vol. 942, c. 311.]

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the total number of self-employed farmers at appropriate periods from 1950 until the latest available date; and if he will provide details of average ages of such farmers at the given dates.

I regret that none of this information is available for the period before 1967. The number of farmers working full-time or part-time on their holdings was 29,000 in 1972 and 24,000 in 1977.The age distribution of farm occupiers drawn from sample surveys for 1967–68 and 1975 is shown below:

	per cent. of population
Age group	1967–68	1975
Under 34	9	8
35–44	17	20
45–64	54	54
Over 65	20	18
	100	100

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will make a statement about the future status of Dollar Academy;(2) what latest discussions he has had with local authorities regarding the future of Dollar Academy.

I understand that the intention of the Governors is that Dollar Academy will become an independent school when the Exchequer grant ceases at the end of the school's 1981–82 financial year. A meeting between representatives of the Central Region, the school and the Scottish Education Department was held on 22nd April 1977, at which the future arrangements for the education of Dollar parish pupils were discussed.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many jobs in Scotland there were directly related to North Sea oil at the nearest convenient date; and how many of these are located in Dundee.

At the end of December 1977 there were 25,400 jobs in Scotland in companies known to be wholly involved in North Sea oil work, of which about 900, onshore and offshore, were in Dundee. Information is not available for that date on the number of jobs directly involved in North Sea oil work within companies not exclusively concerned with such work; but in mid-1976 there were an estimated 11,400 jobs in such companies, of which about 200 were in Dundee.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give a general direction to those nationalised industries for which he is sponsoring Minister that they should meet the quota of 3 per cent. employment of disabled people since, as revealed by the Department of Employment Gazette, they do not curently do so.

No. I have been assured by the Chairmen of the Scottish Electricity Boards and the Scottish Transport Group that, within the obvious constraints imposed by the nature of their operations, the Boards and the Group have due regard to their obligations under the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1944.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will seek to amend the law relating to the position of community councils in Scotland in taking corporate decisions and the status of individual councillors for their actions in pursuing decisions of their community councils; and if he considers the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 requires amendment to safeguard community councils in the exercise of their duties.

My right hon. Friend's understanding is that community councils are in the same position as the numerous voluntary bodies and associations which for many years have carried out activities of the kind which community councils will undertake, without experiencing difficulty over the legal liability of their members. My right hon. Friend is not, therefore, persuaded that there is any need to amend the law relating to community councils.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what has been, and will be, the effects of the cuts in public expenditure amassed in the last two years in each of the health authority areas in relation to (a) the waiting time for beds in each of the medical categories of treatment, (b) the proportion of doctors, nurses, ancillary staff and cleaners to each patient in hospital, (c) the length of delay in dealing with those attending casualty wards or out-patient treatment. (d) the recruitment and training of nurses and doctors, (e) the provision of new hospital beds, (f) the improvement of existing general and mental hospitals, (g) the number of mentally ill patients treated in in-patient and out-patient services, (h) the number of jobs in hospital administration, and (i) the amount spent on new capital projects, respectively.

I regret that I am not able to give the detailed information for which my hon. Friend asks. I cannot estimate what the levels of stalling or standards of performance would have been now or in the future in any particular area in England, had the health authority had more money in the last two years. I cannot, therefore, quantify effects of reductions made from previously planned national levels of expenditure, or of redistribution of resources within health regions.As my hon. Friend will know, there has been a small real terms growth of 1·7 per cent. in 1976–77 and 1·5 per cent. in 1977–78 in resources allocated to hospital and community health services nationally. There has been an increase in recent years in the numbers of inpatients and day-patients treated in National Health Service hospitals, in numbers of doctors and nurses in service, and in admissions to medical schools, and a reduction in the proportion of total expenditure devoted to management costs. It is, nevertheless, clear that the resources available to health authorities do not meet all needs for health care.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the health buildings which have been retained as a result of representations by the relevant community health councils and his decision to reject closure proposals by regional and area health authorities.

St. Nicholas's Hospital, London, SE18.Closure of Cosford Hospital, Wolverhampton was deferred by one year, expiring 31st December 1977.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many deaths from hypothermia were reported to the authorities in the last period for which statistics are available.

The International Classification of Diseases does not have a specific category for hypothermia. The total number of deaths in England and Wales in disease category 788.9 (Other specified symptoms not elsewhere classified) and in accident categories E901 (Excessive cold) and E904 (Hunger, thirst, exposure and neglect) where hypothermia was mentioned on the death certificate was 170 in 1976. The total number of deaths in all categories where hypothermia was mentioned was 585. Comparable figures for 1975 are 125 and 511 respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will give, for the longest and most convenient period of time, the number of letters he has received addressed to him by the hon. Member for Newham, North-West; how many of these he replied to himself; and to what extent the remainder were answered by the junior Ministers in his Department.

Since 9th April 1976, 48 letters have been addressed to me by my hon. Friend. These have all been answered by other Ministers in my Department as they concerned subjects which, because of the volume of correspondence I receive, I have asked my ministerial colleagues to handle on my behalf.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will now publish the Government's response to the first Report of the Select Committee on Violence in the Family, Session 1976–77 on non-accidental injury to children.

I hope to do so within the next few weeks.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what progress has been made on the setting up of a medical centre in the West End of London to treat homeless young people.

A centre opened on 9th January in Great Chapel Street, Soho. This is an experimental project which is being funded over three years by my Department and charitable bodies to provide primary health care for homeless young people in central London. The centre will open initially on weekday afternoons and will be serviced by the Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster Area Health Authority (Teaching).

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what steps he has taken to implement the formation of a national supplies council and regional supply committees within the National Health Service.

I would refer the hon. Member to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Sowerby (Mr. Madden) on 24th November 1977.—[Vol. 939, c. 899.]

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many unemployed people are not receiving un employment benefit because they were previously self-employed; how many of these are receiving supplementary benefit; and for what reasons of policy the self-employed are not entitled to unemployment benefits.

Information is not held in precisely the form requested. However, as at May 1976, the latest date for which figures are available, there were 150,000 men and 57,000 women registered as unemployed but not in receipt of unemployment benefit because of a deficient contribution record. Of these, 130,000 men and 43,000 women were in receipt of supplementary benefit.Although no firm estimate can be made of the number of people who failed to meet the contribution conditions for unemployment benefit because they had previously been self-employed, the findings of the recent internal inquiry, details of which are given in my reply to the hon. Member for Wallasey (Mrs. Chalker) today, suggest that at May 1976 about 67,000 men may have had contribution deficiencies due to self-employment. It has never been found possible to extend unemployment benefit cover to the self-employed, as a class, because of the difficulty in deciding whether people who, to some extent at least, can control their own employment and working patterns are really unemployed. Supplementary benefit may, however, be payable to a person who was formerly self-employed if he is now available for work as an employee.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement on his investigations into the ineligibility of a high percentage of the unemployed to any unemployment benefit and their subsequent dependence on supplementary benefits for their whole period of unemployment.

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 13th January 1978; Vol. 941, c. 858], gave the following information:A special survey of a 1 per cent. sample of people registered as unemployed on 3rd May 1976 but not in receipt of unemployment benefit because of a contribution deficiency was undertaken by my Department in 1977. The aim of the inquiry was to discover the reasons for the marked increase, since 1973, in the proportion of claimants failing to satisfy the contribution conditions for unemployment benefit. The information held by my Department proved insufficient to determine the reasons for contribution deficiencies in the case of 10 per cent. of men and 23 per cent. of women amongst those in the sample whose contribution records could be traced.The main causes of contribution deficiency for the remaining men were attributed to:

	Per cent.
Self-employment	45
Full-time education	30
Non-employment	10
Prison	9
Abroad	4
Immigrant	2
	100

The proportion attributed to the self-employment category was 67 per cent. among those aged 25 or over; in this age group many had been working in the construction industry.The conclusion which can be drawn from the results of the inquiry is that it is likely that the increase in failures to satisfy the contribution conditions over the 1973–76 period was largely due to increases in the numbers of claimants who had previously been self-employed, many of whom may have been working on "the lump", and in the numbers who had been unable in the worsening employment situation, to obtain work on completing a course of full-time education.No firm conclusion could be drawn about the reasons for contribution deficiency among women because of the small number of women covered by the sample and the high proportion of cases for which insufficient information was available.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport how much of the new bus grant for the year 1976–77 originally allocated to the private sector was not taken up, or was reallocated to other sectors.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what has been the allocation of expenditure for local roads in each of the past five years expressed in constant terms; and what is the expected trend over the next three years.

I would refer the hon. Member to Table 2.6 of the White Paper on the Government's Expenditure Plans 1978–79 to 1981–82 (Cmnd. 7049—II).

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what current EEC regulations or directives exist or are under discussion concerning the licensing of drivers who carry non-fare paying passengers in vehicles with more than 16 seats; and what amendments he expects to propose to United Kingdom legislation.

There are no regulations or directives which refer specifically to vehicles with more than 16 seats carrying non-fare paying passengers or which might require legislation about the licensing of their drivers. Such vehicles are among those for which EEC Regulation 543/69 requires the driver to be at least 21 and also to be suitably experienced or to hold a certificate of professional competence confirming that he has completed a course of training. From 16th December 1978 the minimum level of training for such a certificate must be that laid down in EEC directive 914/76. I am considering what action is necessary in relation to this directive.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how long his public television broadcast took on the Nationwide programme on 16th December; what fee he received for this public performance broadcast by virtue of his public office; and why he accepted any payment offered, in view of the long-declared principle that no Minister or top civil servant should receive payments from private or public services additional to the payment from public funds allocated and agreed to by Parliament.

I appeared on the screen for two and a half minutes. I received no fee.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish the statistics on which he based his statement in his Written Answer on 24th November that the United Kingdom trade deficit in manufactures with Germany had improved; and what he expects the bilateral trade balance in manufactures to be in 1978.

The statement in my Written Answer of 24th November was based on the sharp reduction in our trade deficit in manufactures with West Germany which had taken place between the first two quarters of 1977, as the table below shows. The later figures show that in the second half of 1977 the deficit returned to the same level as in the first quarter of the year.

DEFICIT ON TRADE IN MANUFACTURES WITH WEST GERMANY
(OTS BASIS: NOT SEASONABLY ADJUSTED)
1977
QI	350
QII	278
QIII	346
QIV	360

It is not possible to give an estimate for the trade balance in manufactures with West Germany in 1978: no forecasts of bilateral trade balances are produced.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the tax liability of, respectively, a single person, and a married couple with two children aged 5 and 11 years, with gross incomes at £1,000, £1,500, £2,000, £4,000, £8,000, £10,000, and £20,000; and what would be the gains or losses per year compared with the present system if income up to £1,000 received 100 per cent. exemption, reduced thereafter by one-third of the difference between the gross incomes and £1,000, if a 10 per cent. tax rate were then applied to the first £1,000 of taxable income and an extra 10 per cent. on each successive £1,000 up to a maximum 80 per cent. and if child benefit were increased to £4 per child but taxed.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the cost of introducing lower-rate income tax bands of (a) 20 per cent. on first £500: (b) 20 per cent. on first £1,000; (c) 5 per cent. on first £500, (d) 25 per cent. on first £1,000, showing in each case the cost if all taxpayers were included and the cost if the operation of the lower-rate tax band were confined to basic rate taxpayers only.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the estimated annual increase in earnings after tax of a married man with two dependent children in each year since 1970–71 to the latest convenient date.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when his office's banking business was last put out to competitive tender.

It is not the practice of my office to put out its banking business to tender.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will establish a central scholarship fund to assist refugee students and academics.

There are various schemes of assistance for refugee students in the United Kingdom administered by the World University Service and other agencies with grant from the Ministry of Overseas Development. Expenditure on this in the current year is about £4·5 million. The question of assistance for refugee students is being kept under review.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science by what authority Sir Gordon Wolstenholme has banned TUC representatives from the Genetic Manipulation Advisory Group, and for what reasons; what approaches she has received from the TUC on this matter; what was the nature of her reply; and whether she will make a statement.

I understand that the Genetic Manipulation Advisory Group decided on 16th December 1977 for an experimental period of six months to follow a special procedure for examining any proposal for genetic manipulation which the originator considers to be of particular commercial sensitivity. Under this procedure, such a proposal would, providing the Chairman agreed that it justified special handling, be circulated only to, and considered by, those members of the group who had no conflicting interest and who had signed a declaration of confidentiality. The procedure will be reviewed before the end of the experimental period and most proposals will continue to be considered by the full group. Members of the group nominated by the TUC abstained from voting on the adoption of this procedure and have not so far signed the declaration of confidentiality.I have received no approach from the TUC on this matter.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will give a categoric assurance that school meals charges will not be increased during 1978.

I have nothing to add to what my hon. Friend said to my hon. Friend the Member for Gravesend (Mr. Ovenden) on 17th January to the effect that no decisions have yet been taken on this matter.—[Vol. 942, c. 224.]

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will consider convening a meeting with representatives of the London borough of Ealing, the Governors of Cardinal Wiseman School, Ealing, and representatives of the Westminster diocesan authority in an endeavour to resolve the issues affecting the future of the Cardinal Wiseman School.

This is a matter for decision by the local authority, in consultation with the Governors of Cardinal Wiseman School, Ealing, and the Diocese of Westminster Education Commission. I am ready to meet the bodies concerned if they all so wish.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussion has taken place and what decisions have been made about the lease held in perpetuity by Her Majesty's Government since 1862 of Fort San Domingo in Taiwan.

Steps have been taken to dispose of the property following the closure of the British Consulate in Taiwan, but the process not yet complete.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will publish a table in the Official Report showing the number of shotguns, rifles, and pistols held in Northern Ireland by (a) the general public, (b) the security forces, (c) firearms dealers, and (d) firearms collectors, or as much of such information as is available, on 31st December 1977, 31st December 1975 and 31st December 1972, respectively.

Information in the form requested is not readily available. Records were centralised in 1974, and the number of firearms held in Northern Ireland under firearm certificate or permit on 31st December 1975 and 1977 was as follows:

31.12,75
Shotguns	65,640
Air Weapons	11,810
Rifles 22 Cal.	12,458
Rifles over 22 Cal.	1,461
Pistols/ Revolvers	9,789
Misc.	809
Total	101,964

31.12.77
Shotguns	69,525
Air Weapons	12,112
Rifles 22 Col	12,491
Rifles over 22 Cal.	1,423
Pistols/ Revolvers	10,332
Misc.	777
Total	106,660

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many firearms certificates were (a) issued, and (b) renewed in each of the last five years in Northern Ireland.

The information is as follows:

Certificates granted
1973	7,204
1974	8,167
1975	6,145
1976	5,116
1977	5,484

Certificates renewed
1973	13,234
1974	9,654
1975	32,000
1976	15,361
1977	13,065

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the income from the fees for firearms' certificates in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

Fees received from firearm certificates and permits in each of the last five financial years were as follows:

	£
1972–73	49,867
1973–74	27,488
1974–75	17,227
1975–76	260,449
1976–77	122,148

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Royal Ulster Constabulary officers, and of what ranks, are now engaged full-time on the applications for, issue of, and renewal of firearms' certificates; and what were the ranks and numbers five years ago.

I understand from the Chief Constable that, in addition to 30 civilian staff, one superintendent, one chief inspector, one inspector, one sergeant and one constable are engaged full-time on these duties at RUC Headquarters. At divisional level members of the force of all ranks are engaged on this work as the need arises. Comparable information for 1973 is not available because firearm certificate administration was then being reorganised.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions took place with shooting interests in Northern Ireland before Statutory Rule and Order (Northern Ireland) 1977, No. 360 was made.

None, since fees are levied solely to cover costs. The Department of Prices and Consumer Protection was consulted and accepted the need for the increase.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what were the increases in the cost of processing the applications for and the renewal of firearms' certificates in Northern Ireland over the last five years and in the period since the fees were last increased until 31st December 1977.

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 17th January in respect of costings for the financial years 1974–75 and 1976–77.—[Vol. 942, c. 174.] Information in respect of years prior to 1974 is not readily available.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many vehicles cross Craigavon Bridge, Londonderry, in a 24-hour period: what is the peak flow experienced; what, if it were not for the present security checks, is the estimated peak flow which the bridge can accommodate; what were the figures in 1972 and in 1968; what are the estimated figures for five years ahead; and what were the forecasts for the end of 1977 and for the early 'eighties in 1968 and 1972 or the nearest years to these in which forecasts were made.

No counts of the number of vehicles using Craigavon Bridge have been taken for a 24-hour period, but in 1976 the volume of traffic crossing this bridge during a 16-hour period from 7 a.m. until 11 p.m. was 17,291 vehicles. The peak hour flow was 1,803 vehicles.Craigavon Bridge is estimated to be capable of carrying 6,000 vehicles an hour, under favourable conditions and assuming that there were no security checks.In 1972 and 1968 the volumes of traffic crossing the bridge during a similar 16-hour period were 15,819 vehicles and 24,308 vehicles respectively. During the peak hour, 1,442 vehicles and 2,153 vehicles crossed respectively. It is currently estimated that the peak hour traffic using the bridge under favourable conditions, in 1983 will exceed 3,500 vehicles.No forecasts were made for the end of 1977.A firm of consulting civil and transportation engineers, employed by the Londonderry Development Commission, predicted in 1971 that by 1981 4,357 vehicles would use the bridge during the peak hour flow.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how much Dyfed will have paid in interest on the costs of the Cleddau Bridge by 1999 at the present rate.

This is a matter for Dyfed County Council, which is the highway authority.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales why there was no reference in Welsh Office Circular No. 144/77 "The Signing of Roadworks" to the question of bilingual signing in Wales; and if the absence of any such advice implies that it is now for each highway authority to decide as to the format of bilingual road traffic signs.

The purpose of the circular is to draw attention to the importance of signing road works properly in the interest of safety and to encourage better training for everybody working on roads. It was not directed to the design of temporary signs; highway authorities are already aware that authorisation procedures exist whereby road signs, including those relating to road works, may be in a bilingual form. The circular does not affect this position.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many meetings of the board of the Welsh Development Agency have had a Minister from the Welsh Office in attendance.

My right hon. and learned Friend has had one meeting with the Board of the Agency. In addition, he has frequent meetings with the Chairman and Chief Executive.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish a table showing the number of advance factories in Wales currently available for being tenanted, analysing the total by the numbers empty (a) for less than six months; (b) for between six months and one year; (c) for between one year and two years, and (d) for over two years.

The number of completed advance factories for which tenants are being actively sought, analysed as required, are as follows:

(A)	9
(B)	4
(C)	7
(D)	3

asked the Secretary of State for Trade when he expects to announce a decision on the Mole Valley aircraft route.

Following the publication of my Department's report "Mole Valley aircraft departure routes: an assessment of the alternatives," in October 1977, a large number of representations were received from hon. Members, local authorities, amenity groups and members of the public in the areas affected. I held a meeting on 5th December 1977 at which those who wished could offer any further views. I have also had the benefit of advice from the Noise Advisory Council, which met specially to consider this difficult question, earlier this month.In the light of all the views that have been expressed, I have decided to confirm the present split route which has been in operation since 1975.I realise that this decision will not be welcome to the communities directly affected by the present routes, but I have noted the advice from the Noise Advisory Council that further changes should be avoided. Moreover, I can foresee no overall environmental benefit in any of the alternative routeing arrangements that have been suggested.In confirming the present arrangements to the Civil Aviation Authority I shall draw attention to the need to correct, so far as is possible, the present tendency for aircraft departing on the easterly Detling route to overfly areas to the south of the nominal route. Removing this bias will, I believe, help to relieve certain areas to the south east of the airport which are at present overflown by aircraft on both Detling and Mole Valley routes.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will consider calling a conference of those in the London boroughs affected by aircraft noise to examine the problem of aircraft noise, in view of growing concern on the matter.

Local authorities, amenity groups and individuals whose areas are affected by aircraft noise already have several channels through which they can bring these matters to my attention. In the case of the London boroughs, these include the Heathrow Airport Consultative Committee and the Local Authorities Aircraft Noise Council. I had a useful meeting with LAANC and other groups concerned specifically with aircraft noise around Heathrow in May 1977, and receive representations from them regularly. I believe that it is best to continue to work, so far as possible, through these existing channels.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what is the present posi tion on the import of yarn from Turkey as a result of the recent changes in international textile arrangements.

United Kingdom imports of cotton yarn from Turkey are covered by assurances which the EEC has secured from representatives of the Turkish industry about the level of their exports of a number of textile products to Community markets. There will be limits both on exports to the Community as a whole and to individual member States. The European Commission is commited to ensuring that these limits are adhered to.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection if he will give an estimate for 1978 of the net effect on United Kingdom retail prices of foodstuffs arising from the end of the transitional period of the common agricultural policy.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Newham, North-West (Mr. Lewis) on 9th December 1977.—[Vol. 940, c. 942–3.]

asked the Secretary of State for Industry whether the Government have given a guarantee of any kind for the recent private borrowings of £50 million by British Leyland.

The detailed arrangements governing these borrowings are commercially confidential. However the Government have given no legal guarantee.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry how many ship-repairing firms have been taken into public ownership; if the Western Ship-repairers and other ship-repairing firms on Merseyside have applied to join the publicly owned British Shipbuilders; and what discussions he is having with the firms concerned.

Almost two-thirds of the 12 ship-repairing companies which were excluded from the Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act 1977 are now owned by British Shipbuilders. No approach by any Merseyside ship-repair company about possible acquisition by British Shipbuilders has been made to my Department or, I am advised, to the corporation.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what representations he has received about the failure of the Post Office to fulfil its responsibility under the Post Office Act 1969 to meet the actuarial deficiency on the Post Office Superannuation Fund: and if he will make a statement.

The Post Office has arrangements for liquidating the deficiency over a period of 20 years from 1st April 1972 by annual contributions to the Staff Superannuation Fund as described in Note VIII to the Post Office's Report and Accounts for 1976–77. These arrangements are fully consistent with the Post Office Act 1969, and are acceptable to the fund's trustees. A number of representations on the deficiency have been made as part of the general process of consultation on the Report of the Post Office Review Committee (Cmnd. 6850).

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many representations he has received in each of the past five years, under the Destructive Imported Animals Act 1932, relating to feral mink.

Statistics are maintained only in respect of sightings reported to my Department under Section 5 of the Act. There were respectively 273, 223, 197, 228 and 227 such reports in the five years 1973–77.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, if he will draw to the attention of the EEC authorities on Monday 16th January 1978 when he meets them to discuss renegotiation of the common fisheries policy, recent contraventions by Dutch and French fishermen of the herring ban in order to reinforce the claims of coastal State control in 50-mile limits.

I am not aware of any recent contraventions of the herring ban by Dutch and French fishermen.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will add parakeets to the species to which the Destructive Imported Animals Act 1932 applies.

The legislation to which the hon. Member refers applies only to mammals. Powers for the control of bird pests are available under the Protection of Birds Acts 1954 and 1967 and the Agriculture Act 1947. I am advised that there are at present no substantial agricultural grounds for exercising these powers in relation to the parakeet.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has been able to assess the specific effects of the end of the United Kingdom's transitional period in the EEC common agricultural policy.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Cannock (Mr. Roberts) on 19th January.—[Vol. 942, c. 641–2.]

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has any plans to ask the European Commission to put forward a proposal to devalue the green pound.

Yes. I have asked Mr. Gundelach to propose a 5 per cent. green pound devaluation at the meeting of the Council of Agricultural Ministers on 23rd–24th January.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what quota figures in terms of tonnes have been agreed for United Kingdom imports of New Zealand butter in 1978 and 1979.

Council Regulation No. 1655/76 of 29th June 1976 authorised the United Kingdom to import 125,000 tonnes of butter from New Zealand in 1978, and and 120,000 tonnes in 1979.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether, in order to facilitate reactor choice, he is prepared to accept the offer of Kraftwerk Union to provide all the data required by the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate about the West German design of a PWR for evaluation without either the Central Electricity Generating Board or the South of Scotland Electricity Board issuing either a letter of intent or entering into a firm commitment of any sort.

			Estimated number of minutes work required to pay for item in
			October	October	October	October	October
			1950	1960	1970	1975	1977
1 pint of ordinary milk	…	…	8	7	6	4	5
1 pint of bitter beer	…	…	23	13	14	12	13
Data are not available for January 1978.

The figures used are the estimated gross weekly earnings and hours for men aged 21 and over in manufacturing and certain other industries covered by the Department of Employments' regular October inquiry into the earnings and hours of manual workers. The results for October 1977 are not yet available but an estimate has been made.The beer prices used may not be fully comparable over a period of time of the length quoted.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many murders were committed in each of the last 20 years for which records are available; how many such instances led to prosecutions in each such year; and in how many and in what percentage of such prosecutions in each year the accused was convicted.

I have talked to Kraftwerk Union as part of my consultations on thermal reactor policy and what it said will, of course, be taken into account in reaching decisions.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will show the number of minutes' work necessary for the average industrial worker in order to earn the price of a pint of milk and of a pint of beer, in 1950, 1960, 1970, 1975 and January 1978.

Assuming the worker to have gross weekly earnings and hours equal to the average for all full-time manual men and deductions for income tax and national insurance appropriate to a married man with two children under the age of 11, the available information is as follows:Mr. Merlyn Rees,

asked the Secretary of State for wales if he will publish a table indicating the number of new advance factories sanctioned in Wales in each of the

			25,000 sq. ft. and larger		10,000–25,000 sq. ft.		Under 10,000 sq. ft.
Year			Number	Floor area (sq.ft.)	Number	Floor area (sq.ft.)	Number	Floor area (sq.ft.)
1974	…	…	6	160,000	8	80,000	20	52,000
1975	…	…	13	375,000	14	140,000	33	133,000
1976	…	…	1	25,000	Nil	—	Nil	—
1977	…	…	5	125,000	15	155,000	153	493,000
Totals	…	…	25	685,000	37	375,000	206	678,000

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what has been the annual investment in manufacturing industry in the United Kingdom for each of the past five years for which figures are available; if he will express these figures as a percentage of gross national product; and what has been the total for both private and public sector investment.

The figures are as follows:

	(1) Capital expenditure by manufacturing industry £ million 1970 prices	(2) Column (1) as percentage of Gross National Product at 1970 Market Prices
1972	1,739	3·2
1973	1,753	3·0
1974	2,028	3·5
1975	1,745	3·1
1976	1,659	2·9
January-September1977 seasonally adjusted	1,306	3·1

No split between public and private sectors is available, but some indication of trends in private sector investment is given by excluding investment by the iron and steel industry. Figures for this industry were published in

asked the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what were the last four calendar years, anlalysed by (a) 25,000 square feet and larger, (b) 10,000 to 25,000 square feet and (c) under 10,000 square feet, indicating the total number and floor area under each category.

The information is as follows:annual receipts from railway season tickets by British Railways in each year from 1970–71;(2) what was the estimated number of British Railways season ticket holders for each year from 1970–71.

The information is available only by calendar years. as follows:

	Number of Season Ticket Holders	Receipts from Season Tickets
		£ million
1970	620,000	42·8
1971	658,000	50·9
1972	641,000	57·0
1973	626,000	60·7
1974	588,000	65·0
1975	619,000	89·7
1976	635,000	117·0
1977	Not yet available

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will publish details of financial aid afforded the private sector of British industry between 1970 and 1974 and 1974 and 1977; and if he will make a statement.

The following table lists for the financial years 1970–71 to 1976–77 the main programmes from which assistance for the private sector has been provided, and for which my Department or its predecessor has been responsible. Most of the information is not kept in the form requested, but the major part of the expenditures listed has been in support of the private sector.