asked the Minister for the Civil Service what are the salaries of the members of the Armed Services Pay Review Board; when these were last increased; and when the next increase is due.

Members of the Armed Forces Pay Review Body are unpaid.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service with reference to his Department's publication, "A Directory of Paid Public Appointments Made by Ministers," if he will give for each entry, where a statement appears that daily fees are paid instead of an annual payment, the amount of the daily fee.

I am grateful to the hon. Member for his suggestion and will ensure that when the new issue of the directory of paid public appointments is produced this year, consideration is given to the inclusion in it of this information.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when she expects the inquiry into the Sutton Centre School, Sutton-in-Ashfield, to report.

Her Majesty's inspectors of schools intend to commence a full inspection of the Sutton Centre School, Sutton-in-Ashfield, early this month and are expected to make their report to the Secretary of State as soon as possible thereafter.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proportion of 3 and 4-year-olds now receives nursery education.

In January 1977, the latest date for which figures are available, 15·3 per cent. of the 3-year-olds and 14·9 per cent. of the 4-year-olds were in nursery schools and classes.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many children of immigrant families are known to have left full-time education in England and Wales in order to continue their education overseas, although their parents have remained in the United Kingdom, in each of the past four years.

This information is not collected by my Department.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy for what sites in England and Wales consents under the Electric Lighting Act 1909 have been granted for the construction of projected nuclear power stations; and what are the type of stations requested in the applications.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment over what sites in England and Wales the Central Electricity Generating Board has planning permission to build a nuclear power station pursuant to Section 40 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1971.

I have been asked to reply also to the Question addressed to the Secretary of State for the Environment.Consents were granted under Section 2 of the Electric Lighting Act 1909 and planning permission was deemed to be granted under Section 40 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1971 for the construction of advanced gas-cooled reactor stations at Sizewell, Suffolk in 1969 and Portskewett, Gwent in 1972, and for the construction of a steam generating heavy water reactor at Sizewell, Suffolk in 1975. The planning permission for the first two expired after five years but an application for renewal of the planning permission at Portskewett is under consideration by the local planning authorities. In addition, the Board has consent and planning permission to construct the second stage of the advanced gas-cooled reactor station at Heysham, Lancashire.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether he will now introduce regulations to fix a maximum charge for petrol at retail outlets.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton, East (Mr. Young) along with the hon. Member for Louth (Mr. Brotherton) on 6th February 1978.—[Vol. 943, c. 382.]

asked the Lord Advocate whether the office of Lord Advocate under the Act of Union 1707 will be affected by the establishment of a Scottish Assembly.

I take the Question to refer to the Union with England Act 1707, which was passed by the Parliament of Scotland and which, together with the Union with Scotland Act 1706, subsequently passed by the Parliament of England, constitutes the continuing legislative basis of the Union. The office of Lord Advocate is not referred to in either Act. The existence of the office of Lord Advocate—which dates from before the Union—will not be affected by any provision of the Scotland Bill. He will remain the senior Scottish Law Officer of the Crown and, with minor exceptions, will retain his existing functions—in particular his duty of advising Her Majesty's Government on questions of Scots law and his role as public prosecutor. He will remain answerable to Parliament for the discharge of his functions. It will not be within the competence of the Scottish Assembly to legislate on this subject.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will give an assurance that Falkland Islanders wishing to enter the United Kingdom will be treated no less favourably than Gibraltarians.

No. The situation in the Falkland Islands is not comparable with that of Gibraltar.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people, other than those from the New Commonwealth, entered the United Kingdom in each of the last five years; for how many dependent relatives permission to enter was granted; and how many men applied to enter to enable them to marry United Kingdom citizens.

Details of the numbers of people admitted to the United Kingdom each year, by country of citizenship or nationality, are given in the annual Command Papers, the latest of which is "Control of Immigration; Statistics 1976" (Command 6883). The Command Papers show the numbers accepted for settlement on arrival who are wives and "Others accepted for settlement on arrival" who are mainly dependants. The numbers of men admitted for marriage to a woman settled in the United Kingdom are shown in total; those admitted for marriage to a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies are not separately identified. Detailed figures for 1977 will be given in "Control of Immigration; Statistics 1977" to be published later this year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish a table showing the number of immigrants, by country of origin (a) who have become permanent residents after being admitted as temporary visitors, (b) who have been admitted as fiances, (c) who, apart from husbands or wives and children, have been admitted as dependants, and (d) who have been allowed to remain in the United Kingdom after entering illegally, to the latest convenient date, annually for the last five years.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 3rd February.—[Vol. 943, c. 339–40.] The numbers of those accepted for settlement who entered as temporary visitors are not known. The numbers of fiances admitted have been recorded separately only from September, 1974 and are as follows:

FIANCES ADMITTED TO THE UNITED KINGDOM
	Commonwealth citizens	Foreign nationals	Total
1974*	43	37	80
1975	683	327	1,010
1976	1,668	522	2,190
1977†	2,014	409	2,423
* September-December only.
† January-September only.

The information available on illegal entrants allowed to remain in the United Kingdom is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what statistical information is collected centrally regarding pornographic material prosecutions; and why his Department does not record court proceedings relating to prosecution of persons producing pornographic material involving children.

Statistics collected centrally on prosecutions in respect of pornographic material, in common with statistics of court proceedings generally, identify the law under which persons have been prosecuted but not circumstantial details of the offence. Thus the information collected does not separately identify prosecutions of persons producing pornographic material involving children.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his latest estimate of the prospective numbers entitled to take up residence in the United Kingdom, being dependants of New Commonwealth immigrants resident in the United Kingdom.

As stated in the Home Office evidence to the Select Committee on Race Relations and Immigration—Minutes of evidence, Thursday 24th February 1977, HC-201-i, paragraphs 13–28, 33–34—estimates of this kind are not available, because the numbers are difficut to identify, change over time, and have little relevance to the numbers arriving in this country which are affected by a wide variety of factors.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are being taken to establish the number of non-registered narcotic addicts.

There is no system of registration of addicts in the United Kingdom. There is, however, an obligation imposed on every doctor by the Misuse of Drugs (Notification of and Supply to Addicts) Regulations 1973 to notify, to the Chief Medical Officer at the Home Office, details of persons whom he considers, or has reasonable grounds to suspect, to be addicted to narcotic drugs. The official statistics of addicts are derived from these notifications. Reminders of this obligation will shortly be sent to all doctors. A few health authorities are also being invited by the Department of Health and Social Security to test the recommendations of a working party on the problems of acquiring information about the extent and nature of drug misuse in an area.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the withdrawal of funds through the Voluntary Services Unit to finance English language classes for Chilean refugees.

While the grant from the Voluntary Services Unit has not been raised to the level requested, funds for the financing of English classes for Chilean refugees have not been withdrawn. An allowance for this purpose continues to be available within the total grant.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will inquire into the activities of the One World Crusade in Luton.

No, but if my hon. Friend will let me have details of any matters which are causing him concern I will study them carefully.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what checks are required to be made by supermarkets which sell alcoholic beverages to ensure that sales are not made to people under 18 years of age.

Section 169(1) of the Licensing Act 1964 prohibits the sale of intoxicating liquor to a person under the age of 18 on any premises for which a justices' licence is in force. The courts have held that the licensee or any servant of his commits an offence under that section if he knows the person in question to be under the age of 18 or disregards obvious evidence of the fact.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the costs of production of the electoral registration lists for each of the last five years.

Electoral registration officers have responsibility for the production of the register of electors in their area, and no statistics are kept centrally on the cost of production. Consultations with the local authority associations have, however, revealed that there has been a considerable increase in production costs since 1969 when fees for copies of the register were set at their present level.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why orders for 1978 electoral registration lists were invited to be placed in November 1977 in the light of the fact that the price rise of 100 per cent. was only first announced in January 1978 to be effective from February 1978.

Copies of the register of electors may be sold by electoral registration officers if there are sufficient copies available after allowing for the number required for electoral purposes. The arrangements for the supply of copies of the register are determined by each electoral registration officer, but the fees payable for copies of the 1978 electoral register cannot take effect until they have been approved by Parliament.

			Citizens of India	Citizens of Pakistan	Other Commonwealth Citizens†	Total
1974‡	…	…	222	175	10	407
1975	…	…	340	463	7	810
1976	…	…	105	215	14	334
1977§	…	…	30	73	4	107
* On 11th April 1974 my predecessor announced that the power contained in the Immigration Act 1971 to remove illegal entrants would not be used retrospectively to send away Commonwealth citizens and citizens of Pakistan who entered clandestinely before 1st January 1973.
† A breakdown between Old and New Commonwealth is not readily available.
‡ 11th April to 31st December.
§ January to September.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when he expects to reach a decision in the claim for compensation by Police Constable David Coldman following a fire in his police house on 25th October 1976;(2) what are the reasons for the delay in reaching a decision in the case of Police Constable David Coldman.

Authority to make an ex-gratia payment to Police Constable Coldman in settlement of his claim for compensation was given to the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis on 3rd February. The circumstances in this case were exceptional, and raised difficult issues of law and principle. I regret, however, the length of time which consideration of the case has taken.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will review the offence of blasphemy.

The Law Commission is about to engage on a review of

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many illegal entrants from New Commonwealth countries and Pakistan were allowed to remain under the terms of the amnesty in 1974, 1975, 1976 and 1977 up to the latest date available, respectively.

The information available on the numbers of illegal entrants allowed to remain in the United Kingdom as having entered before 1st January 1973 is a follows:offences against religion and public worship, and it will be open to it to make recommendations.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what would be the annual cost of extending the weekly payment of £18 for which all young people participating in the Youth Opportunities Programme will receive to (a) all young people aged 16 to 19 years and 16 to 18 years, respectively, with the exception of those in employment, (b) all young people aged 16 to 19 years and 16 to 18 years, respectively, with the exception of those in employment and those at school; and (c) all young people aged 16 to 19 years and 16 to 18 years, respectively, on the basis, in each case, that where a young person is already in receipt of benefit from public funds, such as supplementary benefit or student grant, his weekly benefit would not in total exceed £18.

I regret that this information is not available in the form required and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish the names of the companies known to him to have closed down or reduced their labour force by more than 10 persons in each of the employment areas in Cheshire in each of the last four years.

Comprehensive information of the kind requested is not available. However, I am informed by the

Employment Office Area					February 1974 to January 1975 inclusive	February 1975 to January 1976 inclusive	February 1976 to January 1977 inclusive	February 1977 to January 1978 inclusive
Crewe	…	…	…	…	3	3	2	9
Nantwich	…	…	…	…	—	—	1	1
Sandbach	…	…	…	…	—	2	1	1
Chester	…	…	…	…	4	6	8	12
Congleton	…	…	…	…	—	3	1	3
Ellesmere Port	…	…	…	…	7	9	15	21
Neston	…	…	…	…	—	—	—	—
Macclesfield	…	…	…	…	3	7	1	11
Wilmslow	…	…	…	…	—	—	—	1
Middlewich	…	…	…	…	—	2	—	—
Northwich	…	…	…	…	—	—	10	6
Winsford	…	…	…	…	3	4	7	8
Warrington	…	…	…	…	5	19	21	30
Runcorn	…	…	…	…	—	5	10	14
Widnes	…	…	…	…	—	15	11	10
Total	…	…	…	…	25	75	88	127

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how much is received from the EEC Social Fund to help promote anti-unemployment schemes;(2) how much of the amount received from the EEC Social Fund to promote anti-unemployment schemes is being used to provide training for women.

The major part of allocations from the EEC Social Fund is devoted to the prevention or relief of unemployment in the form of assistance for schemes of training, retraining rehabilitation and resettlement. It is estimated that for 1977 the United Kingdom has secured some £85 million for these purposes.In so far as the special measures introduced by the Government during the past few years to combat unemployment are concerned, schemes of job creation and employment subsidy do not qualify for support from the fund. However, of Manpower Services Commission that details are available of the number of employers that have notified redundancies as due to occur of more than 10 persons since March 1974 and these are in the following table. The information is often provided to the Commission in confidence and I therefore do not feel justified in publishing the names of the firms involved. Furthermore, to identify the number of these firms that have closed down would entail a disproportionate cost on public funds.the £85 million allocated for 1977, some £25 million was for support for new and expanded Government training and work preparation schemes aimed at relieving unemployment, especially among young people. Most of the applications submitted by the United Kingdom are for schemes which are open to men and women equally. A precise analysis of the numbers of women beneficiaries of schemes assisted by the fund is not possible. By way of example, however, 55 per cent. of the participants in 1977 in the work experience scheme—one of the special measures introduced in 1976—were female.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list in the Official Report those counties or parts of counties with a current rate of unemployment of 9 per cent. or more that are not classified as development areas, intermediate development areas or special development areas.

The following table shows counties and parts of counties outside the assisted areas with unemployment rates of 9 per cent. or more at 12th January:

• County
• Isle of Wight
• Employment Office or travel-to-work area
• Clacton
• Deal
• Margate
• Sheerness
• Cromer
• Dereham
• Hunstanton
• Swaffham
• Wisbech
• Ashburton
• Bridport
• Dartmouth
• Kingsbridge
• Western Super Mare
• Axminster^*
• Torbay^*
• Market Drayton
• Ross-on-Wye
• Oakengates^*
• ^*Travel to work area

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will publish figures for the numbers employed in Staffordshire in each year from 1971 to 1976 inclusive.

Following is the information at June each year:

Employees in Employment in Staffordshire
	All employees (Thousands)
1971	362
1972	364
1973	375
1974	372
1975	372
1976	373

The figures are the sum of those for each of the local employment office areas that are mainly within the county.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) if he will list the numbers of disabled people on Section II of his Department's register of disabled people in each impairment group;(2) how many people were on Section II of his Department's register of disabled people at the last date for which figures are available; and what percentage of these were unemployed.

I am advised by the Manpower Services Commission that registered disabled people are classified as being appropriate to Section I—those capable of open employment—or Section II—those capable of employment only under sheltered conditions—only on becoming unemployed.The following breakdown by medical category of the total of unemployed registered disabled people in Section II relates to 14th April 1977, the date on which the annual analysis of this information was last prepared:

Nature of disablement	Section II Unemployed registered disabled people
Amputations	223
Arthritis and rheumatism	384
Diseases of the digestive system	210
Diseses of the genito-urinary system	56
Diseases of the heart and circulatory system	951
Diseases of the respiratory system	1,019
Ear defects	285
Eye defects	831
Injuries of head, face, neck, thorax, abdomen, pelvis, trunk	268
Diseases, injuries and deformities of the lower limbs	764
Diseases, injuries and deformities of the upper limbs	377
Diseases of the skin	44
Injuries, diseases and deformities of the spine	949
Organic nervous diseases	1,676
Mental disorders	2,640
Tuberculosis (pulmonary)	145
Tuberculosis (non-pulmonary)	39
Other diseases and disabilities	360
Total	11,221

On 12th January 1978, 10,713 Section II registered disabled people were unemployed. This represented 14.3 per cent. of all unemployed registered disabled people.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people were employed in sheltered workshops at the last date for which figures are available.

I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that at 31st March 1977 the figure was 13,345.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish figures showing the number of people currently registered as unemployed in Birmingham as a whole and for each employment office area, respectively; and what were the numbers last year.

The information is given in the following table:

Employment office area	January 1977	January 1978
Aston	4,507	3,410
Birmingham	5,509	5,865
Erdington	—*	1,436
Handsworth	5,045	4,401
Selly Oak	8,282	7,500
Small Heath	7,199	5,450
Sparkhill	2,501	3,888
Sutton Coldfield	1,838	1,889
Washwood Heath	4,887	4,392
Birmingham City (Total)	39,768	38,231
* Figures included with Aston.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what estimate he has of the acreage of derelict and unused land held by health authorities and hospital boards.

No estimates are maintained centrally. Health authorities in England have a continuing duty to review their land holdings and dispose of any land no longer required, in close consultation with local authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what is the supplementary benefit to a wife in a polygamous marriage who is not classified as the wife;(2) if he will publish a statement in the

If a man satisfies the normal conditions for receiving supplementary benefit, he may make a claim for more than one wife living in the same household. In theory, there is no limit to the number of wives for which a man may claim as his dependants. In practice, inquiries suggest that very few such claims are made and no payments are known to have been made to a man in respect of more than two wives. In these circumstances, the amount of benefit is calculated on the basis of the resources and requirements of all those living in the household. The amount allowed for a second wife in a household is the difference between the scale rate for a married couple and that for a single householder: this is a lesser charge on public funds than if the second wife was treated as a separate claimant. No information is available on which to make an estimate of the number of polygamous marriages in Great Britain.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what would be the cost of reducing the retirement age for men from 65 years to 60 years and how many men would be affected.

This would depend on the extent to which men took advantage of the reduction in pension age and retired earlier. But, on the assumption that the pattern of retirement of men between 60 and 64 would be the same as the existing pattern of retirement of men between 65 and 70, the additional long-term cost to public funds of reducing men's pension age to 60 is estimated to be of the order of £2,500 million a year. If men's pension age were reduced to 60, an estimated 1,360,000 additional men would be of pension age.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what inquiries he has made and what action he has taken following allegations made by Mrs. A. Chester, Chappell Road, Droylsden about the posting of a notice at a hospital in Droylsden in connection with the resuscitation of babies after a certain method of abortion.

My Department took steps to try to investigate the allegation when it was brought to my attention last August in the form of a letter to a local newspaper, but the complainant was unwilling to provide the information required to pursue the inquiries. Nor did the health authority concerned know of any circumstances which would provide any foundation for the allegation.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will provide a list of all the research projects designed to develop alternative systems instead of the use of animals in toxicity testing and hazard evaluation funded by his Department or by an organisation funded by his Department; and what proportion of his research and development budget is devoted to such projects.

My Department does not fund any projects to develop alternative methods of toxicity testing and hazard evaluation to replace the use of animals.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will withdraw the Health Service Ombudsman poster recently put out by the Central Office of Information and arrange for it to be reworded to accommodate the role of the community health councils as patients' friend and who, to date, have had no publicity from the Central Office of Information.

My right hon. Friend has no power to revise publicity material prepared for the Health Service Commissioner, who holds an independent office under the Crown. I welcome any publicity for the work of community health councils but in general this is better achieved locally, although my Department is always ready to consider specific ways of helping with the facilities available to central Government. I understand that a working party of the Association of Community Health Councils for England and Wales is currently considering the question of national publicity for community health councils.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what clinical results have so far been established in respect of the drug Proplex; and if this is yet regarded as suitable for home treatment of haemophiliacs under the National Health Service.

Proplex is on the market in the United Kingdom. A product licence was granted after consideration of the results of clinical trials in the United States of America. Proplex is indicated for use in the treatment of Christmas disease (haemophilia B): it is inappropriate for the treatment of the commoner form of haemophilia, haemophilia A. It may also be useful in the haemorrhagic conditions of the newborn and in coagulation disorders associated with hepatic disease. It is at present available only from specialised haemophilia centres and is normally administered under medical supervision. It is administered by intravenous injection, and the question of home treatment is a matter for the doctor concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish the tables enclosed with his letter, dated 13th December 1977, to the hon. Member for Norfolk, North, showing the effects of the poverty trap on the spending power in and out of work of a single mother with two children; and if he will extend table 2 to include the level of gross earnings at which the mother is free of the poverty trap.

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 16th January 1978 Vol. 942, c. 85], gave the following information:It is a matter of judgment as to what level of marginal tax rate by way of tax, national insurance contributions and withdrawal of means-tested benefits constitutes the poverty trap. While not accepting that the poverty trap extends to anywhere near the points at which free school meals are withdrawn, which occur over, and above, a wide band of earnings where only the basic tax rate and the ordinary national insurance contributions apply, the tables are reproduced below. The tables in any event relate only to the assumptions made by the hon. Member and have no general validity.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will update the table given to the hon. Member for Norfolk, North Official Report, 28th July 1977, columns 589–90.

(Thousands)
Grand Total		Over Pension Age		Unemployed		Others under Pension Age
Families	Persons	Families	Persons	Families	Persons	Families	Persons
2,940	4,725	1,687	1,981	654	1,427	599	1,317

The information for December 1977 will not be available until the summer of 1978.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will update the table on supplementary benefits,

SUPPLEMENTARY BENEFIT RATES (INCLUDING RENT) AS A PERCENTAGE OF NET AVERAGE EARNINGS*
		Married couple
Year	Single householder	Without children	With two children both aged under 5	With four children, two aged under 5 and two aged 5 to 10	With four children aged 3, 8, 12 and 14
1954	26·7	39·7	46·7	55·1	58·4
1955	26·5	38·9	45·8	54·7
1956	27·4	39·9	46·9	54·9
1957	26·6	38·6	45·2	52·6
1958	30·3	44·2	51·2	59·0
1959	31·0	45·9	53·7	61·9	65·7
1960	29·6	43·5	50·9	58·3
1961	31·1	45·3	52·9	60·3
1962	32·2	46·6	54·2	61·7
1963	34·1	48·5	55·9	64·4
1964	32·1	45·9	52·9	60·1	63·7
1965	36·1	51·7	59·0	66·7

	Ordinary	Long-term†	Ordinary	Long-term	Ordinary	Long-term	Ordinary	Long-term	Ordinary	Long-term
1966	37·8	40·8	53·9	56·7	61·2	63·6	68·8	71·0
1967	38·9	41·8	55·5	58·2	62·9	65·3	70·2	72·3
1968	38·6	41·6	55·1	57·9	63·3	65·8	70·4	72·7
1969	37·8	40·6	54·2	56·9	62·4	64·8	69·7	71·8	73·5	75·5
1970	37·0	39·5	52·9	55·3	61·4	63·6	69·4	71·3
1971	37·6	39·8	53·9	56·1	61·9	63·9	69·2	70·9
1972	35·3	37·6	51·1	53·3	59·6	61·6	67·6	69·4
1973	36·0	39·4	49·3	53·2	59·3	62·9	65·7	69·0
1974	34·6	43·5	49·6	59·6	60·6	67·7	67·2	73·6	72·6	78·9
1975	36·0	42·0	51·5	59·2	60·7	67·7	67·4	73·8	72·6	78·9
1976	37·1	43·4	52·7	60·8	60·1	67·5	67·1	73·7	72·4	79·0
1977‡	38·1	44·1	53·5	61·3	61·5	68·7	69·4	76·0	75·0	81·5
* Estimated earnings of male, adult, full-time manual workers based on the Department of Employment's October enquiry into the earnings of manual workers employed in manufacturing and certain other industries plus family allowance or child benefit less tax and national insurance contributions.
† The long-term addition was introduced in 1966. The long-term rate started in 1973.
‡ Provisional.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how many

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 31st January 1978; Vol. 943, c. 113], gave the following information:Estimates of the number of families and persons dependent on supplementary benefit are now available for all categories for December 1976 and are as follows:given to the hon. Member for Norfolk, North,

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 31st January 1978; Vol. 943, c. 113], gave the following information:claims for (

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

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what advice he has given to county councils on the provision of contraceptive pills for children in care.

None that relates specifically to children in care. Our general policy towards the young is to ensure that all those at risk of pregnancy should have access to contraceptive advice and services. We are concerned that young people are encouraged to take a responsible attitude to personal relationships. We are equally concerned to protect them against unwanted pregnancies; in 1975 there were 1,506 births and 2,200 induced abortions among girls aged under 16 in England and Wales. The provision of contraceptive pills is a matter for discussion between the young person and her doctor.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development what is the average time-lag between placing an order and receiving delivery of Land Rovers ordered from British Leyland for developing countries under the British aid programme.

About 14 months.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales whether work may proceed on the improving of the A55 between Bangor and Conway without awaiting decisions relative to the new route of the road through Conway.

Yes. Subject to the completion of outstanding statutory procedures, I hope to start work on the improvement of the A55 between Conwy Morfa and west of Llanfairfechan in the early 1980s and on the Bangor bypass in 1980.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will publish in the Official Report the attendance figures for 1977 at the National Museum of Wales, including its outstations, and indicating the percentage increase or decrease on the attendance figures for 1976.

Total attendances at the National Museum of Wales and its outstations for the calendar year 1977 were 704,125. This was an increase of 16 per cent. on the figures for 1976. Figures for two new outstations are included for the first time in the 1977 attendance figures.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will specify the sums paid under certificates of indemnity issued by the National Museum and Library in Wales in respect of claims for loss of, or damage sustained by, objects lent to them during the 10 financial years from 1967–68 to 1976–77 inclusive, broken down into the individual years, and divided in each year between (a) claims satisfied in respect of long-term loans to the permanent collections, and (b) claims satisfied in respect of loans to temporary exhibitions.

One payment has been made during this period under a certificate of indemnity issued by the National Museum of Wales. This was for £595 in the financial year 1976–77 in respect of a temporary exhibition.No payments were made during the period under certificates of indemnity issued by the National Library of Wales.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will specify the total amounts covered by certificates of indemnity issued by the National Museum and Library in Wales in respect of loans to them of objects over the past 10 financial years from 1967–68 to 1976–77 inclusive, broken down into the individual years, and divided in each year between (a) long-term loans to the permanent collections, and (b) loans to temporary exhibitions.

				National Museum of Wales		National Library of Wales
Financial year				Long-term loans	Loans to temporary exhibitions	Long-term loans	Loans to temporary exhibitions
				£	£	£	£
1967–68	…	…	…	500,000	—	1,000,000	—
1968–69	…	…	…	500,000	—	1,050,000	—
1969–70	…	…	…	1,000,000	—	1,150,000	—
1970–71	…	…	…	1,000,000	64,375	1,275,000	—
1971–72	…	…	…	1,500,000	—	1,435,000	—
1972–73	…	…	…	2,000,000	—	1,600,000	—
1973–74	…	…	…	2,000,000	1,112,000	1,775,000	—
1974–75	…	…	…	3,500,000	96,300	1,925,000	—
1975–76	…	…	…	4,100,000	79,659	2,150,000	—
1976–77	…	…	…	4,900,000	12,700	2,300,000	—

asked the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will specify the total amounts at 1st January 1978 covered by certificates of indemnity issued by the National Museum and Library in Wales, in respect of objects lent to their permanent collections on a long-term basis, broken down to the individual institutions, and recording the comprehensive total for both institutions together.

The amounts as at 1st January 1978 covered by certificates of indemnity are as follows:

	£
National Museum of Wales	5,434,000
National Library of Wales	2,750,000
Total	£8,184,000

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will review the restrictions on developments on A roads so as to avoid unnecessary curtailment of traffic which may come out into such roads.

My right hon. Friend has power to restrict development on trunk roads only. He uses the power only when necessary in the interests of traffic movement or safety on these vital routes.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport when the statement on road safety measures, promised in the transport policy White Paper, will be published; and whether it will include measures on the compulsory wearing of safety belts.

The approximate amounts covered by certificates of indemnity are as follows:

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Totnes (Mr. Mawby) on 1st February 1978.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to publish the new edition of the Highway Code; and whether, irrespective of previous practice, it will be his intention to circulate this to every registered driving examiner and driving instructor in the United Kingdom.

The new edition of the Highway Code will be published on 14th March. A copy will be issued to each of the Department's driving examiners. I would expect driving instructors to provide their own.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will provide information concerning the proposed design standards of the M1-A1 link on the route from the Midlands to the East Coast ports; and whether account is being taken of the economic advantages of a motorway on which commercial transport is permitted to travel at higher speeds that on all-purpose dual-carriageway roads.

Design standards for the M1-A1 link road are still being considered but it is expected to be largely single carriageway. All relevant factors, including the economic advantages of a route on which lorries would be permitted to travel at a higher speed, will be considered in the light of the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Trunk Road Assessment.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects that construction of the M1-A1 link in the route from the Midlands to the East Coast ports will commence and be completed; and whether plans for this are being expedited in view of his assurances that routes to the ports are receiving priority.

Detailed investigations are continuing into the preferred corridor. Subject to the satisfactory completion of the statutory procedures, construction of sections of the proposed new road could start in the early 1980s.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the 23 local authorities quoted by the Under-Secretary of State as having no concessionary fare schemes for pensioners; and if he will indicate in which of the authorities there is a municipal transport undertaking wholly controlled by the local authority.

On the basis of a survey carried out in 1976, 56 districts have no concessionary fare scheme:

• Alnwick
• Arun
• Berwick-on-Tweed
• Beverley
• Boston
• Breckland
• Broadland
• Caradon
• Carrick
• Charnwood
• Chichester
• Christchurch
• East Devon
• East Lindsey
• Eden
• Hambleton
• Harborough
• Horsham
• Kennet
• Kerrier
• Leominster
• Maldon
• Malvern Hills
• Mendip
• North Cornwall
• North Dorset
• North Norfolk
• North Shropshire
• North Wiltshire
• Penwith
• Poole
• Purbeck
• Reigate & Banstead
• Restormel
• Rother
• Salisbury
• South Hams
• South Herefordshire
• South Holland
• South Norfolk
• South Northamptonshire
• South Shropshire
• Stafford
• Stratford-on-Avon
• Tandridge
• Teignbridge
• Tiverton
• Tunbridge Wells
• Tynedale
• Wealden
• West Devon
• West Dorset
• West Somerset
• West Wiltshire
• Wimborne
• Woodspring

Of these, 19 appear to be Conservative-controlled and the rest to be independent. None of these authorities has a municipal transport undertaking.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he is satified with the drop tests of 9 metres and 1 metre carried out on containers used to carry plutonium by air from Carlisle to Wick; if he will have tests carried out which more adequately represent the heights at which these aeroplanes fly; and if he will take steps to suspend the flights until more adequate tests have been carried out.

I am satisfied that the drop tests which are carried out on these packages in accordance with the international regulations and those laid down by the Department adequately test the stress to which the packages might be subjected in a severe accident. There is, therefore, no question of suspending any flights, because all the required precautions have been taken. The demonstration of the adequacy of the testing arrangements is a rather involved matter, but if my hon. Friend would like to pursue it further I will write to him.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will now review, and report on, the existing methods and procedures for training and maintaining standards of professional proficiency of all driving instructors and examiners to ensure comparability of standards of driving proficiency through out the United Kingdom.

These matters are always kept under review. My right hon. Friend sees no need for any special action at this time. He is satisfied that the standard of the "L" driving test is uniform within the limits of practicality.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he is satisfied that driving standards in Europe are broadly comparable with those in the United Kingdom;(2) what consideration he is now giving to a European driving licence; and if he is satisfied that there is adequate comparability of driving instruction, tests, and examination throughout EEC member countries to ensure that all holders of such a licence would meet a minimum comparable driving standard and proficiency.

As I told the hon. Member for Banbury (Mr. Marten) on 1st February—[Vol. 943, c. 191–2]—proposals for European driving licences are to be examined further by officials.Minimum standards for driving tests have been proposed for adoption; but where—as is the case of tests for drivers of heavy goods vehicles and public service vehicles particularly—United Kingdom standards are already higher than those proposed, my right hon. Friend intends to maintain our standards.Driving instruction is not compulsory for learner drivers in the United Kingdom, and the EEC proposals would not make it so.I would not venture to compare general driving standards in different countries on the basis only of minimum standards for instruction and testing of drivers.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will advise county councils not to terminate their highway agency arrangements with district councils during the present period whilst the reallocation of functions is under consideration.

This is a matter to be settled between the authorities concerned, but I hope that existing arrange ments will not be upset when they are working well and districts wish to retain them.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the cost to the Exchequer of a 10 per cent reduction in basic tax rates (a) in Scotland and (b) in the United Kingdom

Assuming that the hon. Member is referring to income tax, the estimated cost of a reduction of 10p in the basic rate for the United Kingdom at 1977–78 income levels, is about £4,500 million. A precise figure for Scotland is not available. If the cost were in proportion to the tax bills in the two countries, it would be about £280 million.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what would be the estimated cost of granting additional personal tax allowances, equivalent in amount to an average widow's pension, to all single-parent families and to single people looking after aged or disabled parents.

Single-parent families are already entitled to an additional personal allowance of £510 and single people with dependent relatives may claim the dependent relative allowance. If each of these groups were entitled to a further allowance equal to the basic widow's pension, the loss of revenue at 1977–78 income levels would be about £150 million.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer 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.

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 3rd February 1978; Vol. 943, c. 355], circulated the following information:A single taxpayer entitled to child allowance is already entitled to claim an additional personal allowance, which together with the single allowance is equivalent to the allowance for a married man. The estimated cost of granting the equivalent of a married allowance to single persons claiming a dependent relative allowance or housekeeper allowance is about £60 million.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the estimated cost to the Revenue of the dependent relative reliefs and the housekeeper relief.

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 3rd February 1978; Vol. 943, c. 355], gave the following answer:About £30 million.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why value added tax must be paid when a visor for a motor cyclist's helmet is purchased separately but not when the visor is purchased as part of an approved helmet; and whether he will take steps to alter the requirements to remove this and any other similar anomalies relating to value added tax on safety equipment.

Motor cyclists' protective helmets are zero-rated along with protective boots and helmets for industrial use. To extend this relief to separate parts such as visors or to other safety equipment would complicate the administration of the tax for both traders and the Customs.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, further to the Written Answer given to the hon. Member for Ormskirk (Mr. Kilroy-Silk) on 12th January, Official Report, column 790, how many firms are now being subjected to economic sanctions for having negotiated pay settlements above the voluntary 10 per cent., giving the names and addresses of each firm, and the Government discretionary action taken or threatened in each case;(2) further to the Written Answer to the hon. Member for Ormskirk on 12th January,

Discretionary action has been taken against 23 firms which have negotiated settlements outside the guidelines for this round. Discretionary action has not yet ceased against any of these firms. On the remainder of his Questions, I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the right hon. Member for Jarrow (Mr. Fernyhough) on 7th February.—[Vol. 943, c. 1232–3.]

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer from what sources he obtains information about firms against which the Government take discretionary action to preclude them from tendering for Her Majesty's Government contracts and the form of notification given to these firms of their exclusion.

Information may reach the Government from a wide variety of sources, including informal contacts with negotiators, published information or queries raised by hon. Members or members of the public. Once the Government have decided that the procedures for discretionary action should be set in motion, a letter is sent to the firm concerned informing it.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will now publish the names of all those companies currently being blacklisted by the Government for having exceeded the 10 per cent. pay guideline.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the right hon. Member for Jarrow (Mr. Fernyhough) on 7th February.—[Vol. 943, c. 1232–3.]

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in view of the uncertainty surrounding the future of dividend control and its effect on industry in securing additional capital through rights issues or contesting take-over bids, he will make a further statement.

The legislation under which dividends are controlled expires on 31st July 1978. It is too early yet to consider whether any legislation on dividends might be needed as part of counter-inflation policy when the present round comes to an end. If, however, there were to be new legislation, I would propose to continue the existing provisions relating to the raising of new capital and to defence against takeover bids, as well as the other provisions whereby companies may pay dividends above the statutory limit.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why the local transport figures in table 2.6 of Command Paper No. 7049, the Government's expenditure plans, do not add up to the total of £1,400 million given for 1977–78; and why no corrigendum has been issued.

The 1977–78 estimates for bus, underground and ferry services and for concessionary fares were incorrectly recorded and should have read 150 and 101, respectively. The error is regretted. A corrigendum will be issued in due course.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in the light of the fact that under the present economic situation, if continued in the future, there will be a disappearance of the balance of payments' surplus including the benefits of North Sea oil by 1982, what action he has taken or intends taking to change this situation.

The trends that led to the past worsening of our economic situation were, above all, inflation and poor relative industrial performance. We have reduced inflation, and it will come down further. We launched the industrial strategy to improve industrial performance. Rising manufacturing investment and our increased share of world exports of manufactures in 1977 show that we can succeed.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will provide a list of all the research projects designed to develop alternative systems instead of the use of animals in toxicity testing and hazard evaluation funded by his Department or by an organisation funded by his Department; and what proportion of his research and development is devoted to such projects.

None with this specific aim, although my Department has commissioned a number of projects designed to aid the interpretation of carcinogenicity tests, and to evaluate alternative tests designed to establish food safety. Some of these alternative tests presently utilise animal organs, but in these cases, the animals are not the subject of long-term experimentation.It is not possible to cost separately those aspects of the alternative tests which do not involve the use of animals.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will make available to the House the papers prepared on the industrial strategy for the meeting of the National Economic Development Council on 1st February.

I have arranged for copies of the two main papers taken at the NEDC meeting, amended in order to exclude information which must remain confidential, to be placed in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection if he will consider changes to legislation on property sales to seek to restrict the activities of estate agents so that (a) once an offer has been accepted by the vendor, the property is withdrawn from the market; (b) when a contract is sent out, no more offers be considered till it is cleared and (c) a reasonable time be given to a prospective purchaser, whose offer has been accepted, in which to make pre-contract inquiries, have mortgage arrangements finalised, and have the property surveyed.

No. The freedom to withdraw prior to contract in these circumstances is equally available to buyer and seller and may have advantages for both. The Law Commission, in its 1975 Report, found that this system served its purpose well in the vast majority of cases, and I am not convinced that changes in the law designed to deal with such matters might not create more problems than they solved.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection when he will raise the upper limit in the hire-purchase Acts.