asked the Secretary of State for Defence which United Kingdom contractor has been engaged to undertake development work on the Stores Management System for the Tornado aircraft; how long the work has been proceeding; how much money, both direct payment and development money, has been paid to the contractor; and when the system is expected to be operational.

The United Kingdom company concerned is Marconi-Elliott Avionics Systems Ltd. The company was awarded a contract in April 1976 by the NATO MRCA Management Agency for the Stores Management System development work now proceeding. The availability of production units is planned to match the production of aircraft and the system should, therefore, become operational when RAF Tornado aircraft enter service. As regards costs, it is not the normal practice to reveal details of transactions between the NATO MRCA Management Agency, the prime contractor Panavia and its sub-contractor MEASL.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence why it is anticipated that the cost of the less complicated Stores Management System will be considerably higher than the original tender price submitted by GEC-Marconi-Elliott for a more complicated and sophisticated Stores Management System for the Tornado aircraft.

Estimated total costs of the Stores Management System now under development cannot be directly compared with the original tender price based on the first specification. However, it is not expected that total costs of the Stores Management System now under development will be higher than the costs that would have been incurred if work based on the original specification had been concluded.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish in the Official Report the breakdown of the United Kingdom contractor's claims for work done to meet the many changes made to the first design of the Stores Management System; who authorised such changes; and whether such claims were included in the £1 million development money paid to GEC-Marconi-Elliott prior to the decision to downgrade the original design.

All changes to the original specification for the Stores Management System for the Tornado aircraft were authorised by the three partner nations and the NATO MRCA Management Agency acting in concert. As regards costs, it is not the normal practice to give details of contractors' claims or of payments made by the NATO MRCA Management Agency through the prime contractor. In accordance with the conditions of contract, the payments made did allow for approved changes to the specification.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will list in the Official Report the main features of the original specification for a Stores Management System for the Tornado aircraft against which GEC-Marconi-Elliott successfully tendered; and by how much their bid was lower than the next highest tender;(2) if he will list in the

The specifications for the Tornado Stores Management System are classified. To reveal details of tenders submitted to the NATO MRCA Management Agency would breach commercial confidence and obligations to our partners.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the total sum contributed by the Government to Brookhouse Ampersand Limited, a workers' co-operative with premises at Denbigh, Clwyd; and for what specific purposes that sum of money has been allocated.

The Manpower Services Commission has given grants totalling £39,574 to Brookhouse Ampersand Limited under the job creation programme for the purpose of creating temporary jobs for unemployed people in Denbigh during the 12 months ending 2nd January 1978. By that date the sponsor expected to become self-sufficient and thereby provide permanent jobs.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish a full list of all the employment protection measures introduced by the present

Scheme	Great Britain	North West	Merseyside	Kirkby	Ormskirk
TEMPORARY EMPLOYMENT SUBSIDY
Number of workers involved	379,793	104,248	15,434	2,282*	128*
				Knowsley†	West Lancs†
JOB CREATION PROGRAMME
Projects approved	13,630	2,040	950	50	41
Number of jobs created	125,555	22,247	12,735	977	488
WORK EXPERIENCE PROGRAMME
Schemes available at present	12,829	2,081	525	40‡
Number of places involved	44,351	7,737	1,912	146‡
YOUTH EMPLOYMENT SUBSIDY
Applications approved	34,806	6,103	2,916	272*	33*
RECRUITMENT SUBSIDY FOR SCHOOL LEAVERS
Applications approved	30,179	5,152	2,315	160*	27*
JOB RELEASE SCHEME
Applications approved	22,475	7,889	1,354	39*	41*
SMALL FIRMS EMPLOYMENT SUBSIDY
Number of jobs involved	5,338	1,353	1,353	§	§
JOB INTRODUCTION SCHEME
Number of persons assisted	166	50	26	Nil	Nil
* Employment Office Area.
† Local Authority Area.
‡ Figures for Ormskirk constituency.
§ Separate figures not available, (included in Merseyside total.)

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what discussions he has had regarding the responsibility of local authorities to keep up-to-date lists of the numbers of homeworkers operating in their area.

None. As I have already told my hon. Friend, the proce

A list of the special employment measures introduced by the Government and the number of people helped under each of them, in Great Britain, the North West Region, Merseyside, Kirkby and Ormskirk is shown in the table below. Because statistics under the various schemes do not always relate to the same area it is not possible to give precise figures for Kirkby and Ormskirk. The areas covered by the various schemes in respect of these towns are shown in footnotes. I regret that precise information about the number of persons helped by these measures in the area covered by the Ormskirk constituency is not readily available.dure for registration of homeworkers is under review by the Health and Safety Commission.

has asked the Secretary of State for Employment with how many cases his Department has been involved in which applicants for the job release scheme have been unsuccessful because of refusal of approval by a local trade union branch; and if he will make a statement.

My Department is aware of only one such case where it has not been possible to reach agreement on an application made under the job release scheme.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many young people who left school in the summer of 1977 are still without work in the Leek parliamentary constituency; and what was the comparable figure in 1974 for those who left school in the summer of 1973.

On 12th January 1978 there were 28 school leavers under 18 unemployed in the Leek parliamentary constituency, comprising the Leek, Cheadle and Biddulph employment office areas. The statistics do not distinguish between the different dates of school-leaving, but the majority will have left on or after 27th May 1977. There were no school leavers under 18 unemployed in January 1974, but this figure is not directly comparable, since the numbers leaving school in 1973 were much reduced as a result of the raising of the school leaving age in that year.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how, in the current stage of pay policy, the principles contained in his reply to the hon. Member for Woolwich, East (Mr. Cartwright)—Official Report, 3rd December 1976, col. 300—apply in calculating the total salary bill increase and ascertaining whether it falls within the Government's pay guidelines;(2) whether any increase in the average salary of a pay group due to the creation of new jobs filled by either the promotion of existing workers or the recruitment of new employees counts against the Government's pay limit increase.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many employers with over 20 workers are not at present employing their quota of 3 per cent. disabled people; and how many of them do not hold Government permits of exemption.

I am advised by the Manpower Services Commission that as at the conclusion of the annual review on 1st June 1977, 31,763 employers were below the 3 per cent. quota, including 10,060 who had not been issued with permits during the previous 12 months.The issue of a permit does not exempt an employer from the quota obligation under the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1944. It authorises the employer to engage a person who is not registered as disabled when no suitable registered disabled person is available.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish figures quantifying his answer to a supplementary question from the hon. Member for Aylesbury on 31st January on the relative impact on unemployment of public expenditure on job subsidisation schemes as against similar spending on orthodox services such as health, defence and education.

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

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if, in view of the high unemployment in Kirkby, and the potential redundancies at Otis Elevator, Kirkby, he will take all possible steps to ensure that the lifts for the new MSC building in Sheffield are awarded to this company and not, as in the case of the Crown Court building, Liverpool, to a foreign competitor.

No. The contract will be let to another British manufacturer which put in the lowest tender.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his policy towards the keeping of livestock in Bushy and Hampton Court Parks; what has been the average number of deer, cattle and sheep, respectively, kept in these parks in each of the last five years; and what are the planned numbers for 1978.

The number of animals grazing in these parks varies because the Department's deer and their needs are given first consideration. Grazing concessions for other animals take account of this and the conditions in the parks at any given time.The average numbers in each of the past five years were as follows:

BUSHY PARK
	Deer		Cattle
	Fallow	Red
1973	134	83	76
1974	127	91	126
1975	127	104	36
1976	126	110	34
1977	144	124	20

In addition about a dozen horses are permitted to graze in the park. No change in the numbers of deer and horses is planned in 1978, but four additional cattle will be permitted.

HAMPTON COURT PARK
	Fallow Deer	Cattle	Sheep
1973	100	—	200
1974	135	14	200
1975	155	21	200
1976	198	—	200
1977	190	—	200
No changes are planned for 1978

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he can now give the actual or estimated total costs of the recent firemen's strike; and whether he will detail this in costs to Government, local authorities, police, defence, private industry and the insurance companies in particular.

No. I refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave on 2nd February to a Question by my hon. Friend the Member for Chorley (Mr. Rodgers).—[Vol. 943, c. 681–2.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any public funds are now paid to the Harambee Project in Islington.

The only funds for which the Home Office has direct responsibility in relation to the Harambee Project in Islington are those which have been provided under the after-care hostel grant scheme in respect of 15 places reserved for ex-offenders in the hostel at 571 Holloway Road. Financial provision of £3,225 was made for 1977–78 and instalments for the period 1st April to 30th September 1977 have been paid, but no claims have been made for the period following 30th September. I understand that the Manpower Services Commission is funding a Harambee scheme sponsored under the job creation programme.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his estimate of the number of persons whose names appear on the electoral registers of Great Britain in any year who die before the end of the year to which the registers apply; and what is his estimate of the number of persons over the age of 16 years and eight months who die each year in Great Britain.

The estimate requested cannot be made accurately without disproportionate expense. However, the number of persons over the age of 16 years and eight months who died in Great Britain in 1976 was about 650,000.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has received the request from the Greek authorities for documents relating to the murder of Miss Anne Chapman; and what action he has taken.

We have received no such request since the one about which my hon. Friend the Minister of State wrote to my hon. Friend on 10th August 1977.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how close the USSR's nuclear-powered COSMOS 954 reconnaissance satellite came to the shores of the United Kingdom in its final orbits; what advance notice he had of its impending crash; and what forces with proper equipment would have been available to deal with the situation in the event of the satellite's coming down in a major centre of population or elsewhere within the United Kingdom.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to his similar Question yesterday by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish a table showing the number of immigrants admitted to the United Kingdom for permanent residence, including

ACCEPTANCES FOR SETTLEMENT, 1973–77
Thousands
	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977 (estimated)
Acceptances on arrival
Total all nationalities	29·6	29·7	40·4	44·1	36
of which
Citizens of New Commonwealth countries and of Pakistan:
Special voucher holders	2·0	3·4	3·8	3·7	2
Husbands	*	0·5	1·4	1·8	1†
Wives	*	2·0*	8·6	10·0	9
Children (under 18)	10·8	10·0	14·3	16·1	13
Others‡	12·7*	9·5*	6·3	5·2	3
Total	25·5	25·3	34·5	36·8	28
Acceptances on removal of time limit
Total all nationalities	25·6	39·2	42·0	36·7	34
of which
Citizens of New Commonwealth countries and of Pakistan:
Husbands	0·1	1·5	3·6	4·5	2†
Wives	2·3	3·5	4·2	4·5	5
Children (under 18)	0·7	0·7	0·9	0·8	1
Exempt from deportation§	3·6	7·4	7·8	6·6	7
Others‡		4·2	2·3	1·8	2
Total	6·7	17·2	18·8	18·2	16
* Husbands accepted for settlement on arrival before 1st January 1974 and wives accepted for settlement on arrival before 1st September 1974 are included in "Others".
† The drop in 1977 is due to the introduction of the new rules relating to male fiances and husbands in March 1977.
‡ Mainly dependants.
§ By reason of having been resident in the United Kingdom at 1st January 1973 and having completed five years' residence.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent approaches have been made to him about the future of the Pool Competitions Act 1971; it he is aware of the anxieties of many major charitable organisations on this matter; and if he will make a statement.

Detailed breakdowns, by country of citizenship or nationality, of the number of people accepted for settlement are published in the annual Command Papers, the latest of which is "Control of Immigration, Statistics, 1976" (Cmnd 6883) published in July 1977. Detailed figures for 1977 are not yet available, but provisional estimates can be made for broad categories and are given below together with corresponding figures for the previous four years:

Representations have been made on behalf of my hon. Friend, and the matter was referred to in the Report of the Goodman Committee on Charity Law. It will not be possible to say what the future arrangements might be until after the Royal Commission on Gambling has reported later this year, but I know there is concern about this, and it is my intention to seek parliamentary approval to the Act being extended for a further year from July 1978.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons, civilian and police, giving ranks,

PERMANENT H.Q. STAFF
	Superintendent	Chief Inspector	Inspector	Sergeant	Constable	Clerk	Clerical Assistant	Typist
1st January
1978	1	1	1	1	1	5	21	3
1977	1	1	1	1	1	3	17	2
1976	1	1	1	1	1	3	12	2
1975	0	1	0	1	1	5	22	2
1974	0	1	0	1	1	3	12	2

PAY*
	Superintendent	Chief Inspector	Inspector	Sergeant	Constable	Clerk	Clerical Assistant	Typist
1st January
1978	7,620	5,690	5,010	4,360	3,490	2,628	2,216	2,221
1977	6,920	5,270	4,610	3,990	3,230	2,498	2,085	2,090
1976	6,710	5,060	4,400	3,780	3,020	2,185	1,772	1,777
1975	—	3,910	—	3,060	2,280	2,079	1,688	1,673
1974	—	3,180	—	2,400	1,730	1,657	1,350	1,254
* Average pay for the rank or grade excluding allowances and overtime.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what are the provisions under which redundancy payments were made to former employees of Strathearn Audio where redundancy payments were not obtainable under the terms of the Contracts of Employment and Redundancy Payments Act (Northern Ireland) 1965; how many employees were involved; and what amount was granted to the employee who served 14 weeks only.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Antrim, North (Rev. Ian Paisley) on 12th January 1978.—[Vol. 941, c. 832.]—It would not be appropriate to disclose details of the payments made to individual workers.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many private hospitals or clinics have been built in Northern Ireland during the last 12-month period for which the informa

The information is as follows:tion is available; what is the number of private hospital beds so created; and what is the number of people registered currently as waiting for treatment in the publicly owned hospitals in Northern Ireland; (2) if he will publish in the

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

asked the Minister of Overseas Development if she will make a statement on the likely benefit in employment in India of the gift by Her Majesty's Government of £52·8 million of new cargo vessels.

It is estimated that the vessels will require crews totalling about 350 persons. There is also likely to be additional employment, which cannot be quantified, for associated administrative and maintenance services.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development what sum she intends to give towards the costs of the medical programme of the South-West Africa People's Organisation of Namibia, in the light of the practice already established by the Governments of Sweden, Norway and Holland.

We do not provide assistance to liberation movements as such, but in addition to the help provided for welfare needs of refugees in Southern Africa, the Government are financing a programme for the education and training of Namibians living outside Namibia. Under this programme, 25 students nominated by the South-West African People's Organisation are currently receiving training in Britain. We have also contributed to the United Nations Fund for Namibia, the United Nations Institute for Namibia in Lusaka and the United Nations Education and Training Programme for Southern Africa, all of which are concerned with the training needs of Namibians.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish in the Official Report a list of the area health authority districts in Scotland in which privately owned hospitals or clinics have been built during the last 12 months for which this information is available, together with figures showing the numbers of people officially listed as waiting for treatment in the publicly owned hospitals in those areas.

The information available to my Department relates to private nursing homes registered with health boards under the Nursing Homes Registration (Scotland) Act 1938. In the 12 months ending 31st December 1977 no new nursing homes were registered, but an extension was built to one registered nursing home in the Tayside Health Board area. The total number of patients awaiting treatment in National Health Service hospitals in that area at 31st March 1977 was 4,330.

asked the Secretary of State if he will publish in the Official Report a list of those area health authority districts in Scotland in which permission has been granted for the building of private hospitals or clinics. together with figures showing the number of beds it is proposed to create and the number of people currently registered as waiting for treatment in the public hospitals in those areas.

I am informed by the Health Services Board that, in terms of its powers under Part III of the Health Services Act 1976, it has not authorised the building of any private hospitals or clinics in Scotland. Information about the number of applications for planning permission for private nursing homes or hospitals granted by planning authorities either before or since the passing of the Health Services Act 1976 is not available centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library a copy of his 15th December 1977 Press release criticising Suffolk County Council for pursuing bus service revenue support policies of which he disapproves; and why this was issued 14 days before the county council itself received a copy.

A copy of the Press notice, issued on 16th December, is now available in the Library. I regret the delay in the county's receipt of this, but my right hon. Friend's views on Suffolk County Council's proposed transport expenditure in 1978–79, including that on revenue support, were fully set out in the formal decision letter sent to the county on 15th December in connection with the transport supplementary grant settlement.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will withdraw those parts of his Press release of 15th December 1977 which Suffolk County Council has shown to be inaccurate.

I am not aware of any inaccuracies in the Press release.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has any plans to accelerate progress on the Castle Donington section of the M42.

No. Preparation of this section of the Birmingham-Nottingham route is proceeding on the normal pattern. Public consultation on alternative routes for an all-purpose road began today.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will relax the criteria to be satisfied before the introduction of speed limits, double white lines, and pelican crossings; and if he will make a statement.

I keep the criteria under review, and those affecting local speed limits are in course of revision; before making any relaxations I should need to be satisfied, after appropriate consultations, that it would be in the interest of road safety to do so.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service if, pursuant to the Prime Minister's reply to the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent South (Mr. Ashley) Official Report, 26th January 1978, col. 1593—that he would ask the Civil Service Department to go into the matter of the allegation that most Government Departments are failing to employ the 3 per cent. quota of disabled persons—he has yet received a report; and what conclusion it reached.

As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister had already asked me to look into this matter, I am replying.The number of registered disabled people employed by Government Departments as at 1st June 1977 was 1·94 per cent. of the total work force, and the figures have been published. This figure relates only to the disabled people who are known to be registered. Registration is voluntary, and many disabled employees choose not to register. Like wise there is no obligation to disclose registration to an employer.Departments do make every effort to employ disabled people where this is possible. My Department has issued a code of practice for the employment of registered disabled persons to all Departments, which have been told to appoint a departmental disabled persons officer to have full and special responsibility for the recruitment and career development of all registered disabled persons in the Department. Additionally the first issue of the annual newsletter, "Quota", a copy of which I have placed in the Library, has been circulated to all establishment officers and departmental disabled persons' officers. The newsletter gives a number of examples and ways in which disabled persons have been helped and includes other helpful information. It calls upon all Departments to ensure that a special additional effort is now made to promote the employment of the disabled in the Civil Service.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service when he will publish a revised edition of "Directory of Paid Public Appointments" made by ministers in view of the number of such appointments made, and the changes in salaries paid, since the publication of the first edition in early 1976.

It is intended that the new issue of the "Directory of Paid Public Appointments' will be produced during the course of this year.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science, further to the statement of the hon. Member for Widnes (Mr. Oakes) Official Report, 13th January, column 2072, by what criteria she judges whether vice-chancellors are good or bad; and if she will list those in each category.

My right hon. Friend makes no such judgments. My comments were to counter critical remarks about staff relations in universities made during the debate on 13th January.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what are the administrative costs of operating the free school meals service in the last full financial year.

My Department does not have this particular information. The cost to local education authorities specifically attributable to organising and administering the school meals service as a whole in 1976–77 was £11 million. This was apart from the other elements of salaries, wages, etc., which bring total overheads to £358 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many school attendance orders she has made during the past 12 months; and if she will publish in the Official Report the name of the local education authority concerned in respect of each order made during this period.

In accordance with Section 37 of the Education Act 1944 school attendance orders are made by local education authorities and not by my right hon. Friend whose role is restricted to determining which school shall be named in an order when the local education authority is of the opinion that the school selected by the parent is unsuitable to the age, ability or aptitude of the child concerned or that the attendance of the child at that school would involve unreasonable expense to the authority. Local education authorities are not required to report to my Department how many school attendance orders they make, and in consequence I regret that the information requested is not readily available.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what Science Research Council projects will have to be dropped as a result of the reductions in budget; and what will now happen to the Science Research Council's two accelerators not scheduled to close until the 1980s.

As a result of the increases in the science budget for 1978–79 which have recently been announced, the Science Research Council's allocation will be larger in real terms than in 1977–78. In view of alternative facilities available through international collaboration, the Council's particle physics accelerator at Daresbury has now been closed, the accelerator at Rutherford Laboratory will be closed soon and converted to a pulsed neutron source, the Skylark rocket programme is being phased out and no further national satellite is expected after UK 6. All this has been done to make funds available for the development of research in other important spheres, particularly engineering.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what steps his Department is taking to secure markets in the European Community and elsewhere for British coal.

This is primarily a matter for the National Coal Board, and though our output, for various reasons, tends to be more expensive than coal from the major world exporters, the Board is doing everything possible to maintain and expand its export outlets. My right hon. Friend and I have been giving it such help and encouragement as we can and, in particular, have been supporting proposals in the Community which would help enlarge the markets and increase intra-Community trade in steam coal, which we mainly produce.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what percentage of consumers in each area electricity board in the United Kingdom were eligible for the electricity discount scheme in 1977; what percentage of those eligible actually claimed in 1977; and what steps are being taken in 1978 to ensure a higher take up rate.

Information about recipients of supplementary benefit and family income supplement, the two groups eligible under the electricity discount scheme, is not available in a form enabling a comparison to be made with the number of domestic consumers supplied by each area electricity board. In the United Kingdom generally an estimated 12 per cent. of all consumers directly billed by electricity boards were able to claim, and of these nearly 70 per cent. received a discount.Under the first part of the 1978 scheme a £5 special electricity payment was made to all recipients of these allowances in the week beginning 16th January. The second part offers an additional discount on electricity charges over £20 to eligible consumers on production of an electricity board bill or statement and requires a claim to be made. We hope that the wider publicity arranged for this year will produce a high level of take-up.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy (1) what estimate he has made of the number of households in England and Wales in which more than one person will have been paid the special £5 electricity payment for the week beginning 16th January; and what is the consequent cost to public funds;(2) what estimate he has formed of the number of households in England and Wales in which a recipient of supplementary allowance, supplementary pension or family income supplement will be able to claim a discount on their electricity bill, in spite of the fact that one or more other members of the same household has already received the special £5 electricity payment; and what is the consequent cost to public funds.

It is not possible to make these estimates from the information available. However, only a small proportion of the 3·1 million beneficiaries who received these payments are non-householders.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if, pursuant to his answer, Official Report, 27th January 1978, c. 799, to a Question concerning making the supply of further public funds to British Leyland conditional upon the recognition of trade unions in that company's South African factories, he will publish details of his policy on this matter in the Official Report.

I have placed a copy of my letter to my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Heeley (Mr. Hooley) in the Library of the House.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if his detailed answers concerning the day-to-day running of British Leyland, its policy on the import of spare parts and on labour relations in its overseas subsidiaries, represent a new policy towards the answer of such Questions generally or solely towards the operations of British Leyland in South Africa.

There has been no change in policy towards the answering of Questions on British Leyland.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what action is being taken in the Northern Region to assist small businesses.

To provide accommodation for small businesses in the Northern Region the English Industrial Estates Corporation completed 52 nursery units in the three years up to 31st December 1977. A further 66 are under construction and 88 more have been announced. An additional area of factory space for small firms in central Newcastle of about 120,000 square feet was announced in October 1977.In November 1977 a counselling service to provide small businessmen with experienced guidance on their problems was introduced in the region to supplement the existing services provided by the Small Firms Information Centre at Newcastle.Most small manufacturing companies receive regional development grants under the Industry Act. A substantial number of the 124 projects offered assistance in the year ended 31st December 1976 and 139 projects supported in the year ended December 1977 concerned small businesses. Some small companies also benefit from the sectoral schemes under Section 8 of the Act.The Government have established a partnership with local authorities in Newcastle and Gateshead under the programme to assist inner city regeneration. Small firms have a vital contribution to make towards this end. Small firms in the area were given an opportunity to exchange views with central and local government at the conference held in Newcastle in January.The Department of Employment assists eligible firms in the region's special development areas by means of the small firms employment subsidy.In the region's rural areas assistance is also given by the Development Commission through the construction of small factories and by the Council for Small Industries in Rural Areas through credit advisory and training services. These bodies are responsible to the Department of the Environment.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection whether he will seek to amend the law to ensure that duty-free goods are sold at the duty-free price and not at the levels currently prevailing at airport shops.

The prices at which duty-free goods are sold at airports is a matter for the airport authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he is yet able to announce the likely date for the introduction of a new Merchant Shipping Bill.

The Government intend to introduce the Bill at the earliest opportunity but, in view of the pressure on parliamentary time, I cannot at present give a date.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what is the total value of United Kingdom motor vehicle and vehicle component imports as a proportion of total imports during the last 12 months for which this information is available; and what was the figure at the same time in 1976.

5·6 per cent. and 4·3 per cent. by value in 1977 and 1976 respectively.Motor vehicle components are not in all cases separately identified in the Overseas Trade Statistics and the above figures, therefore, include an element of estimation.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade how many companies in Cheshire are known by him to have become bankrupt in each of the last five years.

The information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade (1) if his Department consults the Bank of England before listing a bank under Sections 123 and 127 of the Companies Acts;(2) what investigations his Department makes before listing a bank under Sections 123 or 127 of the Companies Acts.

Applicants for both Section 123 and 127 certificates are required by the Department to supply a range of detailed information—for example, on their banking activities and financial position. In the light of this information, verified where possible, a decision on the application is made after consultation with the Bank of England and others.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he has listed the Bank of Credit and Commerce International under Sections 123 or 127 of the Companies Acts.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he has listed Bear Securities under Sections 123 or 127 of the Companies Acts.

A Section 123 certificate was issued to Bear Securities Ltd. on 29th March 1968. It was revoked on 4th January 1978 under the provisions of Section 123(3).

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he has listed the International Commerce Bank under Sections 123 or 127 of the Companies Acts.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade which London airport will be served by the proposed new Braniff International service from Dallas.

Under the terms of the Bermuda 2 Agreement the airport will be Gatwick.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from the Scottish Branch of the Federation of Self Employed concerning the 1978 Budget.

None.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, further to his answer in theOfficial Report, 18th January 1978, columns 238 and 239, whether he will illustrate the evidence from the Family Expenditure Survey showing the positive correlation between income level and the savings ratio; if he will set out figures showing the static path followed by the savings ratio over the last 100 years; and what was the evidence for the statement, with respect to the last 20 years, that the trend in the savings ratio does not reveal a close connection between savings and the level of personal income.

Table 1 of the 1976 report on the Family Expenditure Survey shows that expenditure decreases as a percentage of income as income increases. Similarly, FES data from the 1971 and 1973 reports used in linear regressions of household income on expenditure, making allowance for differences in family size, are also consistent with the view that there is a positive correlation between income level and the savings ratio at a given point in time.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) by how much the rates of all personal tax allowances since 1974 would have to be raised to be worth the same in real terms as when they were first introduced;(2) what amount personal tax allowances would have to be raised to be worth in real terms the same as in 1974.

On the basis of the increase in the general index of retail prices between the financial year 1974–75 at the month of December 1977, the information is as follows:

	Change required to restore value to 1974–75 level
	£
Single personal allowance	+91
Married personal allowance	-22*
Single age allowance	+92†
Married age allowance	-36*†
* The real value at December 1977 is greater than in 1974–75.
† The comparison is with the age exemption limit in 1974–75. Age allowances were first introduced in 1975–76: to restore their value to the level in that year would require an increase of £13 in the single allowance and a reduction of £80 in the married allowance.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what would be the cost to the Revenue of giving the higher personal allowance instead of the personal allowance to those single taxpayers who at present are entitled to child relief, dependent relative relief or housekeeper relief;(2) what is the estimated cost to the Revenue of the dependent relative reliefs and the housekeeper relief.

I will let the hon. Member have a reply as soon as possible.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that Members of the European Parliament receive tax-free salaries, tax-free first-class travel, secretarial and other tax-free allowances worth £20,000 per annum on a taxed basis; whether Members of the House of Peers who are Members of the European Parliament are able also to claim their tax-free attendance and first-class travel in addition to these amounts; and what these total emoluments are worth on a taxed basis to Peers who have a taxed income of £5,000 per annum.

If the allowances paid to United Kingdom Members of the European Parliament exceed necessary expenditure a charge to tax is made on the excess. Members of the House of Lords are not taxed on the reimbursement of the expenses which they incur in attending the House, and those eligible to claim such expenses may do so whether or not they receive remuneration or allowances from any other source. It is not possible to quantify the worth of these allowances because they vary with the number of attendances and the expenses incurred.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why he permitted the Midland Bank to increase its dividend by 15 per cent. against the norm, in view of the company's estimated increased profits of £34 million to around £190 million.

In accordance with the long-standing rules of the dividend control, companies are permitted, with Treasury consent, to increase their dividends above the statutory limit when this is necessary to raise new capital for investment.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from the Associated Scottish Life Offices concerning the Scotland Bill.

None.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from the Committee of Scottish Clearing Banks concerning the Scotland Bill.

None.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from the Scottish Council (Development and Industry) about how Government revenue from North Sea oil should be used to assist the economy of Scotland.

None directly, although its views have been set out in its "Review of the Industrial Situation in Scotland".

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from the Scottish Council of the CBI about how Government revenue from North Sea oil should be used to assist the economy of Scotland.

None.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from the STUC about how Government revenue from North Sea oil should be used to assist the economy of Scotland.

During his visit to Glasgow on 27th January 1978 my right hon. Friend met representatives of the STUC who, in a full discussion of economic policy, explained that they wished to see the additional Government revenue generated by the exploitation of oil and gas reserves used for the restructuring of British industry.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his current estimate of the once-for-all cost to the Government of changing the point at which duty is paid by whisky companies from the time when whisky comes out of bond to when it is retailed.

The loss to the Exchequer in the first year of the change would be around £150 million if the duty on all spirits was paid at the time of retail sale and not as now, on delivery from bonded warehouse. EEC obligations would rule out differential treatment of whisky and other spirits in respect of time of duty payment.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the cost to the Exchequer of the raising of the threshold at which VAT becomes payable from businesses with an annual turnover of £5,000 to those with an annual turnover of £15,000.

The VAT registration limit was raised from £5,000 to £7,500 a year from 1st October last. It is estimated that the loss of revenue which would result from raising it to £15,000 a year might be of the order of £25 million in a full year.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he intends to take to replace the regional employment premium.

As my right hon. Friend explained in his statement of 15th December 1976, the withdrawal of regional employment premium was accompanied by the introduction of a number of more selective measures designed to assist employment and investment which have since been expanded and complemented. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment announced in the debate on 30th January our intention to continue in broadly similar form those employment measures for which the closing date for applications is 31st March.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his supplementary answer to the hon. Member for Somerset, North (Mr. Dean)—Official Report, 15th July, col. 1003, and the reply by the right hon. Member for Salford, West (Mr. Orme) to the hon. Member for Lewisham, West (Mr. Price)—Official Report, 18th July, cols. 362–3—both of which stated that improvements to occupational pension schemes after 31st July 1977 were freed from pay policy limitations remain Government policy; and why he is threatening to blacklist the Sun Alliance Insurance Group for making such an improvement.

My right hon. Friend the Minister for Social Security made it clear on 18th July—[Vol. 935, c. 362–3]—that the relaxation in respect of occupational pensions related to improvement in pension provision. The device of suspending contributions to a scheme to provide additional increases in net earnings is not an improvement in pension provision, and accordingly any increase secured in this way is subject to guidelines. The last part of the hon. Member's Question, therefore, is based upon a misapprehension.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what effect would be caused to his economic strategy for 1978–79 by an increase in local authority expenditure of 16 per cent.

I am not sure what the hon. Member has in mind. Table 5 of Volume 1 of the Public Expenditure White Paper (Cmnd 7049) shows that total public expenditure by local authorities in Great Britain at 1977 Survey prices is planned to increase by 2·1 per cent. in 1978–79 compared with the estimated out-turn in 1977–78. An increase of 16 per cent. would mean that expenditure would be £2,070 million above the planned total. The effects of this hypothetical increase would obviously be far reaching.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will treat divers in the North Sea as self-employed for tax purposes; and if he will make a statement.

I have given further careful consideration to this matter in the light of representations received. As I have made clear on several occasions, these divers fall to be treated as employees under the existing law. Nevertheless, after a careful examination of their particular circumstances, I recognise that there are certain distinctive features about their work, such as the danger which it entails, their vulnerability to long-term health hazards, the exceptional travelling difficulties involved and the shortness of their working life. Taking into account these and other factors, my right hon. Friend is now prepared to introduce legislation in the coming Finance Bill which will provide that earnings from diving operations in connection with exploration or exploitation activities in the United Kingdom Continental Shelf will, with effect from 1978–79, be assessable under Schedule D rather than Schedule E.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the growth rate of the United Kingdom economy in the latest 10-year period in which a comparison can be made with other EEC countries; and whether he will publish a table showing those growth rates.

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 2nd February 1978: Vol. 943], gave the following information:The average percentage per annum growth rates of GDP for the current EEC

member countries over the period 1967–1976 were as follows:

West Germany	3·5
France	4·2
United Kingdom	1·8
Italy	4·1
Netherlands	4·1
Belgium	3·7
Ireland	3·6
Denmark	3·0
Luxembourgdeg	3·3
*The average for Luxembourg is based on the period 1976–1975.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, assuming the same per annum growth rate for each country as in the last 10 years, what will be the gross domestic product per head, expressed in the same currency in 1985 in each EEC country; and how this compares with the current position at the latest available date.

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 2nd February 1978; Vol. 943], gave the following information:The following table shows the gross domestic product per head in 1975 dollars in (

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the current value in United States dollars of the European unit of account and the agricultural unit of account, respectively; what were these values on 1st January of each year from 1970 to 1977; by what percentage common agricultural policy prices in each EEC member State diverge from the agricultural unit of account on 30th January 1978; and what the divergence would be if the market rate for the European unit of account were to be substituted for the agricultural unit of account or if prices now expressed in agricultural unit of account were to be expressed in European unit of account on the basis of these units having equal value.

The information requested is being assembled and I will reply to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he expects to have the results of the pilot survey at Wyre Forest, Hereford and Worcester, into land ownership.

It will take some time to complete the survey but I expect to receive some results in the early spring.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will take steps to ensure that all local planning authorities in Wales comply fully with the provisions of Schedule 16 to the Local Government Act 1972, when properly required thereunder by Welsh community and town councils to supply them with information indicating the nature of the devlopment, and identifying the land, to which a planning application relates.

I refer the hon. and learned Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Caernarvon (Mr. Wigley) on 1st February 1978.—[Vol. 943, c. 234.]

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish in the Official Report a list of the area health authority districts in England and Wales in which privately-owned hospitals or clinics have opened during the last 12 months or nearest 12-month period for which this information is available, giving the numbers of each area, together with figures showing the number of people on the waiting lists for treatment at the publicly-owned hospitals in those areas.

The following information relates to premises registered under the Nursing Homes Act 1975 between 1st January and 31st December 1976, which is the latest period for which information is readily available. Information relating to health districts within each area health authority is not available.

Area Health Authority	Number of Homes opened during 1976	Waiting List* at 31st December 1976
ENGLAND
Avon	2	6,370
Bedfordshire	1	4,460
Berkshire	1	10,940
Bradford	1	3,984
Buckinghamshire	1	6,921
Calderdale	1	2,826
Cheshire	1	10,121
Cornwall/Isles of Scilly	1	4,093
Devon	1	14,195
Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow	1	8,857
East Sussex	1	9,076
Enfield and Haringey	1	4,628
Essex	1	14,379
Greenwich and Bexley	1	2,645
Hampshire	1	16,130
Kent†	—	21,546
Norfolk	1	13,637
North Yorkshire	1	6,920
Nottingham	1	11,641
Rochdale	1	2,833
Sefton	1	5,797
Staffordshire	1	10,012
Suffolk	1	3,853
Surrey	1	11,092
Warwickshire	3	6,096
West Sussex	4	6,247
Wiltshire	2	9,020
WALES
No homes were opened during this period.
* The information on waiting lists relates to in-patient treatment only Information is not available for out-patient or day-care treatment.
† It is likely that homes were opened in Kent during the period but a precise figures is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many retirement pensioners were in receipt of supplementary benefits at the last convenient date; how these numbers compare with the situation in 1973; and what percentage, respectively, these constitute of the total number of persons in receipt of retirement pensions on these dates.

1,831,000 retirement pensioners were receiving supplementary benefit in December 1976. This figure excludes those receiving widow's benefit but includes dependants as well as claimants. The comparable figure for December 1973 was 2,031,000. These figures represent 22 per cent. and 26 per cent. respectively of the total number of retirement pensioners at those dates.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, further to his reply to the hon. Member for Norfolk, North, Official Report, 18th January c. 272, when he will be able to publish the figures; and whether the industrial action was deliberately designed in order to limit the amount of information available to the public.

It will never be possible to compile figures for 1976 because the

MALE DEATHS FROM BRONCHITIS, EMPHYSEMA AND ASTHMA IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1970–1972
	Deaths registered in 1970–1972
	Bronchitis, emphysema and asthma		Asthma only*		Standardised mortality ratio for bronchitis, emphysema and asthma	Proportional mortality ratio for bronchitis, emphysema and asthma
Occupation Order	15–64	65–74	15–64	65–74	15–64	15–64	65–74
1. Farmers, foresters, fishermen	529	1,158	31	30	82	90	77
2. Miners and quarrymen	928	2,052	12	9	249	169	150
3. Gas, coke and chemical makers	122	226	6	5	101	91	106
4. Glass and ceramics makers	97	117	5	—	165	148	130
5. Furnace, forge, foundry, rolling mill workers	288	472	12	2	184	144	122
6. Electrical and electronic workers	263	468	27	5	86	81	93
7. Engineering and allied trades workers NEC	1,951	2,900	127	34	101	95	97
8. Woodworkers	299	499	24	5	87	90	95
9. Leather workers	94	205	4	6	150	126	102
10. Textile workers	174	394	9	7	132	118	114
11. Clothing workers	82	124	3	3	101	97	74
12. Food, drink and tobacco workers	289	523	10	8	117	104	111
13. Paper and printing workers	138	235	10	4	76	81	96
14. Makers of other products	131	198	5	1	83	96	107
15. Construction workers	618	1,011	27	10	116	103	108
16. Painters and decorators	351	540	24	8	120	107	112
17. Drivers of stationary engines, cranes, etc	393	637	16	7	117	114	115
18. Labourers NEC	2,268	3,543	81	33	195	143	124
19. Transport and communications workers	1,459	2,591	94	22	123	110	108
20. Warehousemen, storekeepers, packers, bottlers	717	1,168	29	11	113	105	109
21. Clerical workers	938	1,434	75	29	84	85	80
22. Sales workers	866	1,446	78	29	74	82	80
23. Service, sport and recreation workers	1,185	1,915	61	27	121	105	105
24. Administrators and managers	276	566	29	12	30	40	59
25. Professional, technical workers, artists	483	725	77	21	39	52	59
26. Armed forces (British and foreign)	51	135	3	2	128	67	79
27. Inadequately described occupations	193	268	17	2	80	113	111
These data should be used with caution. The Registrar General's decennial supplement Occupational mortality 1970–72 comments on the difficulties in interpretation and discusses the mortality of individual occupations. The supplement is expected to be published on 9th February.
* Included in the previous column.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the incidence of death by bronchitis and emphysema among males by occupational category.

Information is available as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give an estimate of the annual number of deaths certified as due to heart attacks, strokes, and infections but where death has been induced by hypothermia; and whether he is satisfied that the appearance of hypothermia as the cause of death on death certificates is a valid criterion for judging its incidence.

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 2nd February 1978; Vol. 943, c. 265.], gave the following information: