asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether correspondence covered by Rule 37A(1) also includes enclosures with that letter sent by the prisoner to his legal advisers or by them to him in the ordinary professional course (a) before litigation has been commenced, or (b) after litigation has been commenced.

Prison Rule 37A(1) applies only to correspondence between a prisoner and his legal adviser about legal proceedings to which the prisoner is a party. Enclosures with letters are treated as part of the correspondence and are subject to the rule.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether it would be possible, once a prisoner has ventilated his complaint through normal internal channels, for him to be granted privileged correspondence under Rule 37A(1), by a further amendment thereto, with a solicitor so that correspondence with a solicitor with a view to institution of proceedings once the complaint has been ventilated through normal internal channels, would not be subject to Rule 33(3).

I am not persuaded of the need for such an amendment.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether under the Prison Rules he or his agents can inspect correspondence covered by professional privilege between a prisoner and his solicitor in the course of or with a view to litigation so as to enable him to acquaint himself with the contents thereof.

Under Prison Rule 33(3), the governor or an officer deputed by him may read or examine all correspondence to or from a prisoner, except in so far as Rule 37A(1) provides otherwise in regard to correspondence between a prisoner who is a party to legal proceedings and his legal adviser.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether information gathered from a prisoner obliged to state the full facts of his case to the Home Office or its servants before being allowed facilities to consult a solicitor is utilised by the Home Office in any subsequent proceedings commenced by that prisoner;(2) whether the provisions of the Prison Rules enable him to require a prisoner to give information which would be available under Order 24, Rule 5 of the Rules of the Supreme Court and Order 14 of the County Court Rules 1936.

I assume that my hon. Friend has in mind the requirement for a prisoner to make a complaint about his treatment in prison through the normal internal procedures before he is given facilities to seek legal advice about the possibility of instituting civil proceedings in relation to the matter complained of. No procedure has been instituted under the Prison Rules comparable with those applying under the orders to which she refers. Ventilation of the complaint through the normal internal procedures requires the prisoner to give sufficient particulars of the circumstances and actions giving rise to the complaint to enable the complaint to be investigated. Whether any statement he makes will be utilised in any subsequent proceedings will depend on its relevance to those proceedings.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what regulations, directions, or assistance he proposes to give to prisoners and their legal advisers to distinguish correspondence subject to Rule 37A(1) from correspondence subject to Rule 33(3) so that prison staff may be aware of the reason for the correspondence without the necessity of perusing the communication.

None. I am not persuaded that there is a need for measures of the kind suggested, nor that they could ensure that mere examination of a piece of correspondence without further perusal would invariably be sufficient to establish that it was correspondence between a prisoner and his legal adviser relating to legal proceedings to which the prisoner was a party.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department under what statute or other decision of the courts the governor of a prison is empowered to investigate a criminal offence or to conduct an investigation to decide whether or not a criminal offence has been committed and should be reported to the police.

The Prison Rules 1964, as amended, provide that every charge against a prisoner of an offence against discipline shall be inquired into, in the first instance, by the governor. If the alleged offence is a serious criminal offence, the governor is required to report the facts to Prison Department headquarters, which decides whether the police should be informed. Other cases—for example, petty pilfering or minor assaults other than on a member of staff—do not have to be reported to headquarters but may be dealt with as matters of internal discipline.The governor also has, in accordance with normal Civil Service practice, a general duty to investigate any offence against discipline alleged to have been committed by any member of the prison staff, and to institute disciplinary proceedings in appropriate cases. If, in the course of his inquiry, he has reason to believe that a criminal offence may have been committed, he is required to consult with the appropriate Home Office department to decide whether the police should be informed.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set up a permanent reception centre to provide short-term assistance to newly-arrived refugees.

I am not satisfied that special arrangements of this kind are required.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if a decision is reached to approve a fourth television channel, what would be the delay before such a channel could start transmitting, consequent upon the purchase and commissioning of the necessary transmitting equipment.

The timetable for the start of a fourth television service would depend on many factors, of which the engineering work would be only one. I would ask the hon. Member to await the Government's proposals on the future constitution, structure and organisation of broadcasting, which I hope to publish in the form of a White Paper.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women police officers have been assaulted on duty during each of the past five years.

I regret that this information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate effort and cost.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, in the light of the revelations of Mrs. Patt concerning the practices of the various bodies known collectively as the Unification Church, he will set up a committee of inquiry to hear evidence on the practices of these organisations.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will establish an inquiry into the practice of causing young persons to hand over sums of money and personal property to the various bodies known as the Unification Church after a period of rigorous indoctrination to the effect that Sun Myung Moon is the Messiah; and whether he will further inquire into the ultimate use and destruction of such property and moneys.

I would refer my hon. Friends to the reply I gave to a Question by my hon. Friend the Member for Swansea, East (Mr. Anderson) on 18th January—[Vol. 942, col. 232.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will invite the Police Advisory Board to review the working of the Sex Discrimination Act on the police service.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list any categories of public records and documents for which he is responsible, containing information which is available to the public only upon the payment of a fee, after the passage of 30 years and 100 years, respectively.

There are no public records or documents for which I am responsible which contain information available to the public only upon the payment of a fee.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many men and women were in prison at the latest available date for the offence of simple drunkenness; and where they were located;(2) if he will list (

Under the Licensing Act 1872, Section 12, the maximum penalty for simple drunkenness is a fine.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has reached any conclusion regarding the introduction of duty-free facilities for travellers between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.

I have considered this matter jointly with Mr. Colley Tanaiste and Minister for Finance in the Republic of Ireland. We have decided that as from 1st March 1978 both countries will allow duty-free stores to ships, both passenger and cargo, of not less than 40 tons sailing between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland on routes approved by the two Customs administrations and to aircraft departing from Customs airports on flights between the two countries. Passengers departing on such routes may have access to duty-free shops where they already exist and where suitable control arrangements are made.This will mean, in effect, that passengers and crews on these routes will have access to the same duty-free facilities as are allowed for vessels or aircraft departing for other EEC countries. These arrangements are, of course, subject to review in the context of possible future EEC requirements for restictions on duty-free stores in this field.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a table showing at current prices and at constant prices the starting rate threshold for capital transfer tax and the thresholds for each higher rate band, in March 1974 and in January 1978.

The table below shows the thresholds which were applicable to lifetime transfers in March 1974—and to transfers on death from November 1974—at prices current in March 1974 and at current retail prices in November 1977, the latest month for which figures are available, together with the corresponding thresholds applicable at present

March 1974 Thresholds
At March 1974 prices £	At November 1977 prices† £	Present Thresholds‡ £
15,000	27,400	25,000
20,000	36,500	30,000
25,000	45,700	35,000
30,000	54,800	40,000
40,000	73,100	50,000
50,000	91,300	60,000
60,000	109,600	70,000
80,000	146,100	90,000
100,000	182,700	110,000
120,000	219,200	130,000
150,000	274,000	160,000
200,000*	365,300*	210,000*
250,000*	456,600*	260,000*
300,000*	548,000*	310,000*
500,000*	913,300	510,000
1,000,000	1,826,500	1,010,000
2,000,000	3 653,000	2,010,000
* Life-time transfer only.
† Rounded to the nearest £100.
‡ As proposed in the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Economic Statement on 26th October 1977.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will discuss with the Bank of England the possibility of rationalising cash handling services and the supply of notes and coins in England and Wales to minimise duplication and lack of co-ordination between different banks and reduce security risks.

The matters referred to are under consideration between those concerned, including the Royal Mint, and all parties are conscious of the security aspect.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what is the cost of the collection of value-added tax; and what saving would be made if the threshold were increased to (a) £10,000 (b) £100,000;(2) what is the revenue raised by value added tax; and what revenue would be lost if the threshold were increased to (

In 1976–77, net receipts of value added tax were £3,769·5 million, and it is estimated that the cost of administering the tax was about £80 million. It is not possible to estimate with any reasonable accuracy the saving on administrative costs from any particular

						£ million 1977 Survey Prices
			1977–78	1978–79	1979–80	1980–81	1981–82
England	…	…	63	74	77	64	60
Scotland*	…	…	87	102	94	89	89
Wales*	…	…	34	40	40	40	43
* (i) Includes expenditure by the Development Agencies on derelict land clearance and environmental schemes which are carried out in England by local authorities and included in programme 8; (ii) on investment in individual companies analogous to NED expenditure.

In addition, industry in the regions benefits substantially from other support programmes shown in Table 2.4.Forecasts by English economic planning regions are not available, nor is a breakdown between England, Scotland and Wales of the forecast of regional development grant payments.Details of expenditure in past years are available in the Annual Report on the Industry Act 1972, for those items covered by that Act, for the year ended 31st March 1977 which was published on 26th July 1977.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he intends to open his Budget for the 1978–79 financial year.

An announcement will be made in due course.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will show the public expenditure plans to 1981–82 on total regional support and regeneration, Table 2.4 Vol. II Command Paper No. 7049, broken down by Scotland, Wales and the English economic planning regions.

The table below shows the breakdown of expenditure on regional support and regeneration, other than regional development grants, between England, Scotland and Wales.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the decline in real terms in the total balances in National Savings Bank ordinary and investment accounts over the last 10 years and 25 years, respectively; what the actual values of the total balances were; and what they should have been to have maintained their real value.

The investment account service of the National Savings Bank was introduced in 1966. The total balance in investment accounts at 31st March 1967 was £75·7 million, equivalent in real terms to £26·6 million at 31st March 1977. To have retained its internal purchasing power at 31st March 1977, the 1967 balance would have needed to be £215·3 million. The actual balance held at 31st March 1977 was £671·3 million.The total balances in ordinary accounts at 31st March 1952 and 31st March 1967 were £1,872·5 million and £1,730·4 million respectively, equivalent in real terms to £410·7 million and £608·3 million at 31st March 1977. To have retained the internal purchasing power at 31st March 1977, the 1952 and 1967 balances would have needed to be £8,537·3 million and £4,922·4 million respectively. The actual balance held at 31st March 1977 was £1,548·4 million.It should be noted, however, that, in attempting comparisons of balances at different periods of time, there can be no

SUBSIDY PAYMENTS TO INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE IN 1976–77 AND 1977–78
	Privately owned		£ million at 1977 survey prices Nationalised and publicly owned
	1976–77	1977–78	1976–77	1977–78
Agricultural price guarantees	-1·6	2·3
Market support under the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Community	183·5	141·4
Agricultural production grants and subsidies	53·0	57·3
Agriculture—support for capital and other improvements	0·4	0·6
Support for agriculture in special areas	82·1	45·0
Other assistance to agricultural production, food processing and marketing	32·8	19·4
Support for the fishing industry	0·1	—
Forestry			32·8	34·7
Regional support and regeneration: Provision of land and buildings	5·1	7·6
Selected assistance to industry in assisted areas	22·6	44·3
Special assistance for rural and highland areas	—	1·4
Regional employment premium	225·4	3·3	13·0
Scottish and Welsh Development Agencies			4·6	8·6
Technological and industrial sponsorship	0·5	0·4
General support to industry:
Selective assistance to individual industries, firms and undertakings	33·5	35·8
Refinancing of home shipbuilding lending—interest support costs	50·5	26·4
Assistance to the shipbuilding industry	6·4			38·2
Financial assistance to the coal industry			53·5	61·9
Compensation paid to nationalised industries—other than for price restraint			67·3	21·0
Employment services and employment rehabilitation	2·7	5·4
Industrial relations and other labour market services*	126·1	285·8

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the total amount paid in subsidy to privately-owned industry and commerce in (a) the financial year 1976–77 and (b) the current year to the latest convenient date, broken down in each case into convenient categories of aid; and what is the total subsidy to nationalised and publicly-owned industry and commerce similarly broken down.

The following table provides the information, at 1977 survey prices, for the financial year 1976–77 and the latest estimate for 1977–78, the information for both years being consistent with the total subsidies figures published in Table 10 of Cmnd 7049-I. The table relates to Great Britain only.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the yield of each tax levied upon employers.

The only tax which is directly levied on employers as such is the national insurance surcharge, which came into effect on 6th April 1977. This is estimated to yield £1,190 million in 1977–78.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer in view of settlement of a 14 per cent. increase in wages at Ford's, whether he anticipates other similar settlements where no discretionary action by Her Majesty's Government may be appropriate; and if so, how many.

I am afraid the hon. Member's arithmetic is wrong. The rest of the Question is therefore hypothetical.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on his policy towards monetary union within the EEC following the statement made to the European Assembly in Luxembourg on Tuesday 17th January 1978 by Mr. Roy Jenkins calling for the establishment of the framework of monetary union.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will make a statement on the future of the Scottish steel industry.

Discussions between the Government, the British Steel Corporation and the TUC Steel Committee are in progress. These discussions take account of the Corporation's activities in Scotland and elsewhere in the United Kingdom. I will make a statement on the outcome of these discussions at the earliest opportunity.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what is his most recent estimate of the capacity that will be required of the United Kingdom steel industry in the mid-1980s.

The future capacity requirement is one of the topics covered by the current discussions between the Government, the British Steel Corporation and the trade unions which are not yet completed.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if, pursuant to the Prime Minister's statement, Official Report, 17th January 1978, columns 244–5, concerning losses by steel-making industries, he will publish in the Official Report the figures which he had been given which led him to his conclusion.

COMPARISON OF MAJOR STEEL PRODUCERS—PUBLISHED RESULTS 1976–77 AND HALF YEAR 1977
			1976–77—Published results			1977—Published half year results*
Company			Profit/(Loss) £ million	Crude Steel Production Million tonnes	Profit/(Loss) per Tonne £ per tonne	Profit/(Loss) £ million	Crude Steel Production Million tonnes	Profit/(Loss) per Tonne £per tonne
British Steel Corporation		…	(95)	19·7	(4·8)	(204)	8·9	(22·9)
Usinor (France)	…	…	(146)	8·9	(16·4)	(107)	4·3	(24·9)
Italsider (Italy)	…	…	(88)	10·9	(8·1)	(211)	51	(41·4)
Sacilor (France)	…	…	(131)	4·3	(30·5)	(85)	3·2	(26·6)
Cockerill (Belgium	…	…	(31)	5·1	(6·1)	(60)	2·5	(24·0)
Arbed (Luxembourg)	…	…	(22)	4·0	(5·5)	(34)	1·9	(17·9)
Bethlehem Steel (USA)	…	…	‡	‡	‡	(264)†	11·4	(23·2)
* (i) BSC results are for the first six months of the financial year.
(ii) Bethlemen Steel are for the first nine months of the calendar year.
(iii) All others are first six calendar months.
† This includes £435 million write-off of closure costs and other exceptional items.
‡ Not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what current projects by the British aerospace industry are in receipt of support from public funds; and which of these involve projects for British Airways.

Civil aerospace projects currently being funded by my Department are Concorde and its Olympus 593 engine and the RB211 and M45H engine programmes. British Airways operate the Concorde with Olympus engines and Boeing 747s and Lockheed L1011s with RB211 engines.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry how much public money has been given by his Department in the form of grants to the YKK Company in Crewe, Cheshire, during the last year for which figures are available.

This company does not have premises in Crewe.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry when he intends to announce a long-term strategy for the future of British shipbuilding.

It is the duty of British Shipbuilders to formulate a corporate plan which will be considered by my Department.

The following is the information:

asked the Secretary of State for Industry whether finance from the Shipbuilding Intervention Fund is being used to subsidise the six 15,500 tons deadweight dry cargo vessels being supplied to the Indian Government by British Shipbuilders Limited.

Negotiations for the supply of these ships have not yet been completed, but British Shipbuilders are expected to require some assistance from the Intervention Fund to secure the orders.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what is his latest estimate of the loss made by the British Steel Corporation during the current financial year and if he will make a statement.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what he expects to be the loss of the British Steel Corporation for the year 1977–78.

I would refer the hon. Members to the answer which I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Feltham and Heston (Mr. Kerr) on 16th January.—[Vol. 942, c. 32–44.]

asked the Secretary of State for Industry when he will next meet the Chairman of the British Steel Corporation.

My right hon. Friend is in frequent contact with the Chairman, whom he last saw on 19th January. There is no firm date for the next meeting.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, of the small investment projects up to £2 million to be proceeded with by the British Steel Corporation in its investment programme, if he will state the total value of these projects.

The British Steel Corporation expects to spend a total of £120 million in its current financial year on investment projects individually costing under £2 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry when he proposes to make a further statement outlining his decisions regarding the future of the British Steel Corporation.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry when he next expects to make a statement on the British Steel Corporation.

I shall make a statement as soon as I am in a position to do so, in the light of progress on the present discussions between Government, the British Steel Corporation and the TUC Steel Committee. I regret that I am at present unable to be specific as to the timing.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will make a statement on progress of the industrial strategy.

At its next meeting on 1st February the National Economic Development Council will be considering the end-year reports which sector working parties have just submitted. I am confident that, through the efforts of all the parties involved, the industrial strategy will secure an improved international trading performance by manufacturing industry.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry in what ways the industrial strategy has contributed to recovery in productivity on the part of British manufacturing industry.

Despite the deepest world recession for 40 years, genuine progress has been made in establishing conditions in which British industry can do well at home and abroad.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry to what extent the powers proposed for industrial improvement areas where they are established within the assisted areas will add to those already existing for industrial and regional aid.

Within industrial improvement areas local authorities will be able to make grants and loans for improvements to amenities as well as grants for the conversion and improvement of industrial buildings. Regional development grants are normally restricted to the adaptation of buildings forming part of qualifying premises, while selective financial assistance is available only for the purposes of Sections 7 and 8 of the Industry Act 1972. Some projects may qualify both under the Industry Act 1972 and the Inner Urban Areas Bill.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry when he expects to receive a recommendation on the future of the HS146 from the Board of British Aerospace.

British Aerospace is continuing to fund work on the HS146. We are discussing the prospects of the HS146 with it, in the context of other potential civil aircraft projects, and hope to reach a decision as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will make a statement on his recent discussions with British Leyland.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what are the most recent discussions he has held with the National Enterprise Board concerning the future of British Leyland; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend met the Chairmen of the NEB and British Leyland last week for a general discussion about British Leyland. My right hon. Friend does not expect to receive the NEB's recommendations until March.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will make a statement on future investment plans for British Leyland.

My right hon. Friend is awaiting a report from the National Enterprise Board on British Leyland's revised corporate plan.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what assessment he has made of the effect on the United Kingdom chemical industry of the agreement made for the supply of chemical manufacturing plants to the USSR under the Government's £950 million line of credit.

Some of the output from these plants would almost certainly be sold on Western markets whoever built the chemical plants in the USSR. The credit available under the agreement helped win significant business for United Kingdom exporters of plant and equipment.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry how many advance factories have been built on Merseyside over the past three years; how many nursery unit factories have been built; and what future plans he has for developing such units and factories.

30 advance factories have been completed on Merseyside in the three years to 31st December 1977. Of these nine comprise 38 terrace or nursery units. A further 19 factories are under construction, seven of which will provide 22 nursery units. My right hon. Friend the Minister of State has already announced that another 16 factories will be built, six of which will comprise 20 nursery units.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what is his current estimate of the rate of expansion of production by British manufacturing industry throughout 1978.Treasury's Press release on 26th October

As indicated in the last, an increase in the volume of manufacturing production of some 3½ per cent. is expected between the second half of 1977 and the second half of 1978.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what plans he has to increase industrial output and performance, particularly export performance.

Improving industrial performance and international competitiveness is the central aim of the Government's industrial strategy and of the work going on under the auspices of the National Economic Development Council. My policies, and those of the Government in general, are all designed to achieve this objective.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry 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 currently do so.

My right hon. Friend has already asked the nationalised industries for which he is responsible to review their employment policies with a view to promoting the employment of more disabled people; and the chairmen have confirmed that they are doing their utmost to increase the number. The figures published in the Gazette relate only to disabled employees who have registered. There are many disabled people employed in these industries who have not registered.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what advice his Department receives from professional production engineers on its industrial policies.

There are five professionally qualified production engineers at Principal level and above working in headquarters divisions of my Department. These are backed up by a further six at ranks below Principal level. There are also a number of professionally qualified production engineers working in the Department's various reasearch establishments.Apart from departmental staff, I am advised by a number of senior professional production engineers, having between them wide industrial experience, who are members of the Steering Group of the Department's Manufacturing Advisory Service or its Merchanical Engineering and Machine Tools Requirements Board. If circumstances require it, my Department is also able to employ specialist consultants to undertake particular investigations and advise me on subsequent action.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will appoint a professional production engineer to his staff to advise on industrial policies.

No. I am satisfied that at present the availability of advice from professional production engineers on matters of industrial policy meets the requirements of my Department.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what further requests for financial assistance he has received from the Meriden Co-operative; and whether he will make a statement on future Government assistance to the cooperative.

For reasons of commercial confidence it is not the practice to disclose whether or not applications for assistance have been received from particular companies. Any applications for assistance received from Meriden Motorcycles Ltd. will be considered against the established criteria and in the light of the circumstances at the time.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what assurances have been sought by the British paper industry about the effect on that industry of the United Kingdom commitment to promote exports of Finnish goods and, in particular, upon the duty-free quota levels for imports from Finland.

The British paper industry has not sought any such assurances, but the British Paper and Board Industry Federation has asked for, and received, clarification of British Aerospace's undertaking to promote the export of Finnish goods.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, in view of the uncertainty surrounding the British Steel Corporation's programme, when a go-ahead will finally be given, if at all, to Port Talbot.

The Corporation's investment programme, including the proposed Port Talbot development, is one of the issues covered by the present discussions between the Government, BSC and the TUC Steel Committee.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry when he proposes to make a statement on the Commission Document R/1964/77 concerning an action programme for aeronautical research.

My right hon. Friend the Minister of State will make a statement on the Commission Document R/1964/77 when he opens the debate today on the motion,

"That this House takes note of Developments in the EEC civil aircraft sector as outlined in the Government's memorandum of 17 January 1978."

asked the Secretary of State for Industry when he will next meet the Chairman of the Chrysler Motor Corporation.

I have no immediate plans for a further meeting with the chairman of Chrysler Corporation.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, further to his reply to the hon. Member for Surrey, North-West on Thursday 12th January, parliamentary Question 421, whether he will publish those sections of the Rolls-Royce plan which he has received from the National Enterprise Board covering the period 1978 to 1982 which are not commercially confidential.

Examination of the plan has shown that there are no sections which can be considered as containing information not commercially confidential, and, therefore, suitable for publication.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry when his Department's banking business was last put out to competitive tender.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy when his Department's banking business was last put out to competitive tender.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade when his Department's banking business was last put out to competitive tender.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection when his Department's banking business was last put out to competitive tender.

I have been asked to reply also to the Questions addressed to the Secretaries of State for Energy, Trade, and Prices and Consumer Protection.The Departments of Industry, Trade, Prices and Consumer Protection and Energy share common accounts services. The Paymaster-General acts as banker, makes payments, receives money and holds balances. Commercial banking services are used for cash requirements and for the transfer of receipts and balances to the Paymaster-General's account at the Bank of England. Banking arrangements are reviewed periodically to ensure that the best possible terms are secured and, where appropriate, competitive quotations are invited.

asked the Attorney-General what representations he has received following the recent judgment relating to racialist incitement; and what action he proposes to take.

I have received many representations. Most have urged me to enforce the law in relation to incitement to racial hatred, and I shall continue to authorise the institution of proceedings in cases where the evidence justifies that course.

asked the Attorney-General how many judges continue to sit as permanent judges at the Old Bailey; how many have retired since the passing of the Courts Act 1971; how many non-permanent circuit judges have sat at the Old Bailey during the last year; and what steps are being taken to accelerate the implementation of the provisions of the Courts Act 1971 providing for the abolition of permanent judges at the Old Bailey.

Ten permanent Old Bailey judges now sit there: since the Courts Act, two have retired, two have transferred elsewhere and one has died. No further permanent judges have been appointed: the Courts Act provides not for the abolition of the permanent judges but that there shall be no further appointments. Twenty-seven other circuit judges sat at the Old Bailey in 1977.

asked the Attorney-General why the Director of Public Prosecutions, after the police had sent him the papers on the case, decided not to prosecute National Front members who were subsequently privately prosecuted and convicted of affray and other charges after seriously injuring members of the audience at an indoor meeting in Manchester.

I understand that notices of appeal are about to be served. In those circumstances, it would be proper to treat the case as if it were already again sub judice.

asked the Attorney-General if he will carry out a full inquiry into the working of the Director of Public Prosecutions' office in Manchester, in view of its recent failures.

No. The Director has no office in Manchester, and cases referred to him are considered by him and his staff at his office in London. I have every confidence in the manner in which the Director carries out his duties.

asked the Attorney-General why the United Kingdom did not contest the issue of torture raised against it, in the event unsuccessfully, by the Republic of Ireland in the recent case in the European Court of Human Rights.

The Government took the view that no useful purpose would be served in this long protracted litigation by a re-examination by the Court of matters already dealt with comprehensively by the European Human Rights Commission. We therefore asked the Court not to reach decisions of its own on matters on which the Commission had found against the United Kingdom. This broad approach undoubtedly helped to produce a result which, taken as a whole, was highly satisfactory.

asked the Attorney-General when his Department's banking business was last put out to competitive tender.

My Department has no banking business.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection when proposed EEC regulations covering cosmetic products are expected to be brought into effect in the United Kingdom; what transitional arrangements will be allowed to enable manufacturers, importers and retailers to comply with the regulations; and whether he will make a statement.

Member States are required to implement the EEC Directive 76/768/EEC relating to cosmetic products by 30th January this year, but have discretion to permit the marketing of non-complying products within their territory for a period of up to 18 months from that date.A draft of the implementing regulations has been shown to interested bodies and my Department is considering the comments received. The regulations will now be made as soon as possible. In deciding on operative dates within the 18 months' period from 30th January, account will be taken of the views expressed by manufacturers, importers, retailers and others.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection, in view of the appearance of advertisements involving hotels in Northern Cyprus of which the ownership is disputed and sub judice, whether he is satisfied that those who have contracted to take holidays in those hotels are adequately protected in the event of a decision in the courts favourable to the previous owners of these hotels.

I cannot, without further information, comment on any particular case. However, in general, if a prospective holidaymaker makes a contract direct with a hotel which subsequently changes ownership, and the contractual liability is not assumed by the new owners, the position under English law is that the holidaymaker would not be able to obtain redress other than by suing the former owners for breach of contract. If on the other hand the contract were made with a travel agent or other intermediary the position may be different, and in that event my hon. Friend may wish to draw the situation to the attention of the Association of British Travel Agents.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what part of the £56 million of British Railway's infrastructure costs in 1976 that related to freight was attributable to (a) sidings and (b) routes that were open to freight but not passenger traffic.

British Rail's infrastructure costs related to freight in 1976 were in fact £64 million, of which £5 million was related to sidings, loops, connections etc., and £33 million to routes that were open to freight but not passenger traffic.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will introduce legislation to increase the maximum penalty for failure to stop after accidents involving injury to the person or damage to other vehicles.

No. The penalties for this offence were reviewed during the passage of the Road Traffic Act 1974, under which the maximum fine was increased from £50 to £100.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of total road accident fatalities is represented by motor cyclists in the age groups 16 to 17 years for the last 12 months; and what were the corresponding percentages for 1967 and 1957.

The following is the available information:

16–17 YEAR OLD TWO-WHEELED MOTOR CYCLIST* FATALITIES AS A PERCENTAGE OF ALL ROAD ACCIDENT FATALITIES: GREAT BRITAIN
1957	1967	Percentages October 1976–September 1977
2	4	4
* Includes mopeds and motor scooters.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will introduce legislation to increase the effectiveness of the current law relating to the breathalyser and driving under the influence of alcohol.

The Blennerhassett Committee made several recommendations for increasing the effectiveness of the law on drinking and driving. The Government have accepted these as a basis for legislation, but this will not be introduced this Session.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give a general direction to those nationalised industries for which he is the 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 currently do so.

I am very anxious that the nationalised industries for which I am responsible should play their full part in providing employment opportunities for the disabled. I am sure they recognise their responsibilities, and it is not necessary for me to issue general directions about the matter.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport, assuming current rates of expenditure on road surfacing and reconstruction, what he estimates will be the number of years required to achieve reasonable road standards in the South-East; and to what extent he estimates maintenance costs will be exacerbated if expenditure is deferred.

I am satisfied that reasonable road standards already exist in the South-East.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport of the total road system in the South-East, what he estimates as the percentage requirement for surface treatment per annum to avoid structural failure; and if he will give similar figures for the North-East.

Information in this form is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will indicate the accessibility of Great Britain's five main provincial ports to the motorway system, stating the mileage of each from a motorway access point; and what are his priorities for improving the position.

I shall write to the hon. Member with the detailed information. In general, the improvement of routes to the major ports is one of my main priorities.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what are expected to be the advantages to the residents of Great Britain of substituting kilometres for miles under EEC Directives 71/354 and 76/770.

Apart from the advantages that attach to the metric system generally, an answer should await the period of consultation that will precede any decisions.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what action he proposes to take to ensure that purchasers of remould tyres have a guarantee of adequate safety and durability standards, following the withdrawal of British Standard AU144.

British Standard AU144a was superseded in July 1977 by BSAU144b, and this revised standard provides greater safeguards for the purchaser.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what studies are made into the load-bearing capacities of former side roads before new traffic schemes redesignate them as major routes.

This is a matter for local highway and traffic authorities to decide according to the circumstances of each case.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what is the current legislation regarding parked vehicles in unlit or semi-lit streets during the hours of darkness; if this is conducive to road safety; and if he will make a statement.

Under Section 68 of the Road Traffic Act 1972, vehicles on the road in the dark must, except as provided in regulations, have their lamps lit. Regulations made in 1972 exempted most light-weight vehicles when parked on roads with a speed limit of 30 mph or less, facing in the same direction as the flow of traffic and not less than 15 yards from a junction. In 1975, the exemption was extended to vehicles parked in recognised parking places.The purpose of the 1972 regulations was to introduce order into a confused situation and to improve enforceability. It was thought that an extra 1,100 vehicles parked on 30 mph roads were involved in injury accidents in the year following the introduction of the regulations, but it is not known how far this was due to parked vehicles being inherently more dangerous when unlit or to an increase in the number of parked vehicles.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how many minor accidents were caused by parked vehicles in unlit or semi-lit streets during the hours of darkness in each of the last five years: (a) in Cambridgeshire and (b) in the rest of the country;(2) how many serious accidents were caused by vehicles parked in unlit or semi-lit streets during the hours of darkness in each of the last five years: (

The available information is as follows:

INJURY ACCIDENTS IN DARKNESS WHERE VEHICLE CONTRIBUTED TO THE ACCIDENT: GREAT BRITAIN
	1975		1976
	No street lighting	Street lights unlit	No street lighting	Street lights unlit
Fatal	25	3	12	1
Serious	136	31	157	24
Slight	224	65	220	74
All severities	385	99	389	99

I regret that information for more than two years could be extracted only at disproportionate cost and that statistics of road accidents and casualties in local areas are a matter for the local authorities concerned. I suggest that the hon. Member gets in touch with Cambridgeshire County Council.

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 renegotiations of the common fisheries policy, the difficulties of EEC quota systems without strict licensing.

I refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend's statement on 19th January and to the reply given to the hon. Member for Haltemprice (Mr. Wall) on 12th January.—[Vol. 942, c. 676–86; Vol. 941, c. 817.]

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will now state the corrected figure for the size of the sheep breeding flock at June 1977.

The provisional outcome of the June 1977 census puts the United Kingdom sheep breeding flock at 13,697,000. This corrects the figure given to the hon. Member on 12th December 1977.—[Vol. 941, c. 79.]

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what financial support in subsidies and grants has been provided to the agriculture industry in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Details of the subsidies and grants provided to the agricultural industry are given in the series "Annual Review of Agriculture", published annually. The latest of these is Cmnd. 7058, Table 25 of which gives figures for 1973–74 to 1977–78.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what, if any, species of elm are positively resistant to elm disease; and what research is being pursued along these lines.

No elm is immune to the aggressive strain of Dutch elm disease, although of those grown in the British Isles some, such as wych elm or smooth-leaved elms, show in their natural environment greater resistance than the English elm. The Forestry Commission is associated with and supports current work on the selection and breeding of resistant elms in the Netherlands. Similar work is being done in North America. The Dutch programme includes an investigation into the high level of resistance to the disease shown by some Asian elms with a view to breeding this quality into European species.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will give as detailed a list as may be available of firms' wages councils and trade union agreements which allow employees to have free travel or payment to and from their homes and place of employment; and how many of these are on a tax-free basis.

Detailed information on travel-to-work allowances is not collected by my Department.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how the interests of Peterborough will be represented in the work of the area board for the youth opportunities programme based at Ipswich.

I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that the board based at Ipswich will cover the counties of Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk. Its members have yet to be appointed. Consultations about membership are being held with trade unions, employers and local authorities so as to ensure that the board is fully representative of all parts of its area.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what financial conditions have been attached to the operation of projects under the two special programmes for unemployed people announced by him on 29th June 1977 and due to commence in April 1978.

I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that the financial conditions which will be attached to the operation of projects under the new special programmes for unemployed people are still under consideration, but it is hoped to publish details shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will consider aid in the form of temporary employment subsidies to those businesses in and around Wisbech which were so damaged by last week's floods as to cause staff redundancies pending restoration.

Any private sector company facing a redundancy of 10 or more workers in an establishment, no matter what the cause of redundancy, may apply for TES.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment when he expects the Health and Safety Commission to complete its review of the training and qualifications of safety officers; and if he intends to publish a report of the review.

I refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 16th December 1977.—[Vol. 941, c. 437.]—The Chairman of the Health and Safety Commission is unable to give me a firm date for the completion of its review. This is a complex subject. There may well be a need for further discussions with interested parties, but it is too early to say what form these might take.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many male employees retire at the age of 60 years as part of their conditions of service; and how many of these men were in the public and private sectors of the economy, respectively.

The latest published Government Actuary's survey of occupational pension schemes, from their Fourth Survey of 1971, shows that 8·7 million male employees were then members of occupational pension schemes. Of those 8·7 million, 20 per cent.—about 1·75 million—were members of schemes which had a normal pension age of 60, of whom about ½ million were employed in the private sector.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether any geographical changes have been made in the last three years to the Inner and Outer London areas, for the purposes of qualifying for London weighting allowance.

It is for negotiators to determine appropriate boundaries, in the light of their particular needs and subject to counter-inflation policy. My Department does not collect comprehensive information about such settlements.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the present levels of unemployment on Merseyside; what action his Department is taking to reduce the numbers of unemployed in the area; and what success he has achieved.

On 8th December there were 87,202 persons unemployed in Merseyside—which represented an unemployment rate of 11·5 per cent.The area is continuing to benefit from the special measures which were introduced to help alleviate the effects of the increased unemployment brought by the recession and which are administered by my Department and the Manpower Services Commission. So far, it is estimated that these measures have assisted over 41,000 persons on Merseyside. The area will also stand to benefit from the special temporary employment programme and the youth opportunities programme which are due to come into operation in the coming months.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will state the nature of his representations on the wage settlement by the Retail Food Trades Wages Council for England and Wales in excess of the Government's 10 per cent. guideline and their results; and whether the Government will include the firms which pay this money on their blacklist of firms which have failed to honour the Government's 10 per cent. guideline.

The Council was told that its proposals could not be reconciled with the guidelines and asked to reconsider them. It did so, but decided to confirm its proposals. On the second part of the Question, any employer who does no more than is necessary to comply with a wages order is fulfilling a statutory obligation and is, therefore, not in breach of the guidelines.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he is aware of the practice being adopted by the BBC and independent television to increase salaries of their news reporters and others on a comparability basis; whether this falls within the Government's wage policy; and whether workers in industry will be able to use the same basis to increase their salaries.

I am not aware of any such practices. Increases on the basis of comparability would not be consistent with the pay guidelines unless they result from awards by the Central Arbitration Committee in relation to claims under Schedule 11 to the Employment Protection Act or the Fair Wages Resolution.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what steps are being taken to deal with the level of unemployment in the North-West Region, with particular reference to the Greater Manchester Area.

The North-West will continue to benefit from the special employment measures which we have introduced and which have already been of considerable assistance. So far, over 150,000 persons have been assisted in the region, including 36,000 in Greater Manchester. Further benefits, particularly for young people, should result from the youth opportunities programme and the special temporary employment programme in coming months. The whole of the region, including Greater Manchester, has assisted area status and will, therefore, stand to benefit, in the longer term, from the regional incentives available to firms expanding or moving there.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many visits to countries within the EEC have been made by personnel employed by the Health and Safety Commission and its Executive; what is the total cost of such visits; and if he will make a statement.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to the hon. Member for Aberdeen, South (Mr. Sproat) on 9th January. [Vol. 941, c. 640.] Members of the Health and Safety Executive attend meetings to consider and negotiate European Community proposals dealing with occupational safety and health. The main burden of this work is concerned with EEC directives of which approximately 60 are in various stages of development. Other visits are made by experts to participate in the development of Community policy on occupational health and safety. Visits to countries within the EEC are, of course, sometimes made for purposes other than Community business, but statistics of such visits could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will instruct the Training Services Agency to issue guidelines to the industrial training boards to enable negotiations on pay increases for training board employees to begin without further delay.