asked the Lord President of the Council whether he will arrange for the copies of the 19th edition of "Erskine May" missing from both the Aye and No Lobbies to be replaced.

Replacement copies of the latest edition of "Erskine May" have been ordered and will be placed in the voting Lobbies as soon as they are available.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for 9th February.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will list his official engagements for 9th February 1978.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 9th February 1978.

asked the Prime Minister what are his official engagements for 9th February.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for 9th February.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his engagements for Thursday 9th February.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his engagements for Thursday 9th February.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 9th February.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his engagements for Thursday 9th February.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for 9th February.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for 9th February.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for 9th February.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for 9th February.

This morning I met President Sadat and we discussed the present position in the Middle East. I also presided at a meeting of the Cabinet. In addition to my duties in this House, I shall be holding further meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. This evening I hope to attend a reception being given by Her Majesty the Queen for winners of the Queen's Awards in 1977.

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

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Hillsborough (Mr. Flannery), on 2nd February.

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

asked the Prime Minister when he proposes next to meet the Confederation of British Industry.

I refer my hon. Friends to the reply which I a gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Rossendale (Mr. Noble) on 7th February.

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

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

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

asked the Prime Minister when he next plans to meet the Trades Union Congress.

I refer my hon. Friends to the reply which I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Chester-le-Street (Mr. Radice) on 2nd February.

asked the Prime Minister which Ministers are responsible for pay policy.

Pay policy is matter of collective responsibility.

asked the Prime Minister if the speech by the Secretary of State for Energy to the School of Oriental and African Studies on public ownership given on 24th January represents Government policy.

asked the Prime Minister if the speech of the Secretary of State for Energy about further nationalisation of industry, made at the School of Oriental and African Studies on 24th January, represents Government policy.

asked the Prime Minister if the speech by the Secretary of State for Energy on 24th January, to the School for Oriental and African Studies, on nationalisation represents Government policy.

asked the Prime Minister whether the speech by the Secretary of State for Energy on public ownership to the School of Oriental and African Studies on 21st January represents Government policy.

asked the Prime Minister whether the public speech made by the Secretary of State for Energy at the School of Oriental Studies on 24th January on the subject of public ownership represents Government policy.

asked the Prime Minister if the speech on public ownership made by the Secretary of State for Energy on 24th January at the School of Oriental and African Studies represents Government policy.

I refer the hon. Members to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for St. Marylebone (Mr. Baker) on 26th January.

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

I have at present a no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister when he next intends to meet the President of the French Republic in a bilateral summit meting.

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister whether the public statement of the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the "World this Weekend" on 21st January on immigration represented Government policy.

Yes.

asked the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on his meeting with the Greek Prime Minister on 26th January.

Mr. Karamanlis paid a short working visit to London on 25th January. During our discussions, which were conducted throughout in a spirit of great friendliness, Mr. Karamanlis urged on me the importance to Greece of a successful outcome of her application for full membership to the EEC. He said that the Greek Government were concerned that the negotiations should go forward rapidly. I confirmed to him the British Government's full support for the Greek application. The British Government shared the Greek Government's desire that negotiation should proceed as rapidly as possible.We also discussed other topics of mutual concern and interest. On Cyprus we agreed that the best chance of achieving a lasting and equitable solution to the long-standing problems on the island was through the inter-communal talks under the aegis of the Secretary General of the United Nations. Mr. Karamanlis explained to me the Greek Government's views about Greece's relationship with NATO and her attitude to various problems in the Aegean.

asked the Prime Minister if he is satisfied with the progress in achieving the economic, financial and industrial goals of his Administration.

Substantial progress has been made—and the country is aware of how the prospect has improved—but there is much more to be done.

asked the Prime Minister if he will pay a visit to the Isle of Ely.

I have at present no plans to do so.

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

I have no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister if he is satisfied with co-ordination between the various Departments of State and Ministries concerning the compilation and use of black lists of companies considered to be in breach of the Governments' pay guidelines.

I am entirely satisfied with co-ordination of the arrangements whereby a firm's breach of the pay guidelines is taken into account in the exercise of the Government's discretionary powers where appropriate.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will provide a full list of the discretionary powers which he possesses.

I assume that my hon. Friend is refering to discretionary powers available to the Government in pursuance of their pay policy. I accordingly refer him to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury to the hon. Member for Kingston upon Thames (Mr. Lamont) on 24th November 1977—[Vol. 939, c. 854.]

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether the French Ministry of Agriculture has made proposals to his Department concerning the possibility of the United Kingdom exporting carcase lamb to France from 1st January 1978; what offer was made; what reply was given by his Department and for what reasons; and if he will make a statement.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what discussions his Department had with the French Ministry of Agriculture concerning the export from the United Kingdom of carcase lamb prior to the announcement of the Irish-French agreement; what proposals were made by the French Ministry officials; what was the response of his Department and the reasons; and if he will make a statement.

Despite United Kingdom requests for consultations before the announcement of the changed arrangements for the export of Irish lamb to France, no prior discussions were held with French Ministry officials, and no proposals have been made by them to the United Kingdom Government. The United Kingdom Government asked the EEC Commission to act with a view to ending the heightened discrimination against United Kingdom exports to France. The EEC Commission has now started proceedings under Article 169 of the EEC Treaty by asking the French Government to justify their import controls.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what study his Department has made of the employment potential of an expanded agricultural sector.

This is being considered in the review of the White Paper "Food from Our Own Resources"—Cmnd. 6020—currently being undertaken by my Ministry. My hon. Friend will recall that the EDC for Agriculture's Manpower Group whose report was published in May 1977 considered that meeting the original White Paper's objectives would entail some slowing down in the rate of people leaving the industry.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the number of farming units within the EEC in 1974; and what was the number at the latest available date.

The best available information is as follows:

Number of agricultural holdings of 1 hectare and over
		Million
1974	EEC, excluding Italy and the Irish Republic	2·9
1976	EEC, excluding Italy and Irish Republic	2·7

NOTE. This information is published in "Eurostat Year Book of Agricultural Statistics" by the Statistical Office of the European Communities (SOEC), and in the Annual Reports by the EEC Commission "The Agricultural Situation in the Community". It has not been collected for Italy since 1970—when there were 2·2 milion holdings—and was collected for the Irish Republic only in 1970 and 1975. There were 0·3 million holdings in both years.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to what degree green rates of currency differ from gross actual rates in each of the EEC communities and the EEC as a whole.

I assume that my hon. Friend is referring to the difference between representative and market rates before the deduction of 1·5 percentage points which is made in the calculation of the monetary compensatory amounts (MCAs) of member States with free floating currencies and negative MCAs. On this basis and using the new representative rates agreed for the United Kingdom, Italy and France and the market rate used for calculating MCAs from 6th February, the percentage differences are

Benelux	+ 1·4 per cent.
Denmark	nil
Germany	+ 7·5 per cent.
Ireland	- 3·6 per cent.
Italy	- 18·0 per cent.
France	- 18·5 per cent.
United Kingdom	- 20·9 per cent.

To obtain a Community average these figures have been weighted by agricultural production weights. On this basis the Community average is—9·7 per cent.

asked the Minister of Agriculture. Fisheries and Food how close to self-sufficiency are the countries of the EEC in (a) dairy products and milk, (b) beef, (c) pigmeat, (d) poultry, (e) eggs, (f) cereals, and (g) lamb.

The latest information on self-sufficiency in the EEC is as follows:

	Percentage
Commodity	Self-sufficiency (a) (b)
Dairy Products and Milk
Butter	107
Cheese	101
Skimmed Milk Powder	109
Condensed Milk	147
Whole Milk	100(c)
Beef and Veal	99
Pigmeat	99
Poultrymeat	104
Eggs	100
Cereals	87
Mutton and lamb (d)	64
(a) This information is based on statistics produced by the Statistical Office of the European Communities.
(b) The figures given represent the percentage that home production forms of total domestic utilisation. They relate to the crop year 1975–76, or the calendar year 1976 except where specified.
(c) This figure relates to the year 1975.
(d) A separate figure for lamb is not available.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how close to self-sufficiency the United Kingdom was in 1977 in (a) dairy products and milk, (b) beef, (c) pigmeat, (d) poultry, (e) eggs, (f) cereals, and (g) lamb.

Except for milk for liquid consumption in which we are fully self-sufficient, the information requested is set out in Tables 7–17 of the White Paper. "Annual Review of Agriculture 1978" (Cmnd. 7058).

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will take action to establish conclusively the causes of the gas explosion in Brentford in December 1976 and to allocate responsibility.

The prime cause of this explosion has already been established by the inquiry into serious gas explosions set up jointly by myself and the Chairman of the British Gas Corporation in January 1977—[Vol. 923, c. 347]—and set out in the report of the inquiry published in June 1977, copies of which were placed in the Library of the House.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether it is the policy of Her Majesty's Government to sell all or any part of British National Oil Corporation oil, (a) pursuant to inter-Government bilateral trade agreements, (b) in bulk crude oil sales between Government agencies, or (c) on the open market under competitive tender.

The disposal of BNOC crude oil is a matter for the Corporation, which will naturally consult my Department as appropriate.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy when he now expects Dungeness B power station to be commissioned.

I understand from the CEGB that the first reactor unit at Dungeness B is expected to be commissioned in the spring of 1980.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will provide a full list of the discretionary powers which he possesses.

I refer my hon. Friend to the statement which my right hon. Friend made on 24th November 1977.—[Vol. 939, col. 854.]

asked the Secretary for Energy what is the source of his Department's information leading to guidance being given concerning companies alleged or considered to be in breach of pay guidelines.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary gave to the hon. Member for Hastings (Mr. Warren) on 8th February 1978.—[Vol. 943, col. 590.]

asked the Secretary of State for Energy (1) if he will state with regard to guidance given by his Department as a result of an alleged or considered breach by companies of the pay guidelines (a) the date of the guidance by his Department on the placing of the company's name upon a black list, (b) the terms of the guidance or black list, (c) whether the company was informed in each case, (d) to whom the guidance or black list was distributed, and (e) the reason for the placing of the company on the black list;(2) what are the names of the companies which have been the subject of guidance from his Department in relation to the pay guidelines.

I must refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that the Prime Minister gave to my right hon. Friend the Member for Jarrow (Mr. Fernyhough) on 8th February 1978.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether his Department has issued guidance in connection with pay guidelines.

The Government's published guidelines have been automatically drawn to the attention of all relevant industries.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether his Department has issued guidance concerning companies which are alleged or considered to have been or to be in breach of the pay guidelines.

Guidance of this kind has been sent out at official level through sponsoring departments, including the Department of Energy.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what is the foreign services allowance in Gibraltar for a civil servant in the highest salary band and the lowest salary band, respectively; and what percentage increases have been made in such allowances in the last 12 months.

The current rates of foreign service allowance effective from 1st December 1977 are given below, with the percentage increase over the previous rates—effective from December 1976—given in brackets:

	Single Officers		Married Officers
	A	B	A	B
	£pa	£pa	£pa	£pa
Band 1	670	845	2,795	2,820
	(74%)	(86%)	(71%)	(71%)
Band 5	670	845	2,210	2,230
	(74%)	(86%)	(54%)	(54%)
A= Accommodated in Service messes or in married quarters or hirings.
B= Accommodated in private accommodation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what fresh instructions have been issued to immigration officers during the past six months regarding the counting of people arriving in or leaving the United Kingdom.

The process of refining statistical procedures in this field, at ports and elsewhere, is a continuing one. No major change has been introduced in the past six months.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many refugees from Vietnam have been admitted to the United Kingdom; and how many more he is prepared to admit.

Under the arrangements described in my reply of 7th February to a Question by hon. Friend the Member for Warley, East (Mr. Faulds)—[Vol. 943, c. 488]—278 refugees from Vietnam have been admitted to the United Kingdom. 127 of them were "small boat" refugees and a further 46 of these are expected to arrive in the near future. In addition, 138 people who were in the United Kingdom at the time of the change of regime in Vietnam have been allowed to stay.There is no numerical limit on the admission of refugees from any part of Indo-China who have previous connections or ties with the United Kingdom.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department by what percentage the current numbers of convictions for murder, attempted murder, manslaughter and crimes of violence, respectively, have exceeded the total for 1963, the year before the introduction of the Bill to abolish capital punishment.

The information is as follows:

PERCENTAGE INCREASE FROM 1963 TO 1976 IN PERSONS CONVICTED OF OFFENCES OF VIOLENCE AGAINST THE PERSON—ENGLAND AND WALES
	Percentage
Murder	+ 126
Attempted murder	+ 50
Manslaughter	+ 142
Other offences of violence against the person	+ 200
Total	+ 199

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide a full list of the discretionary powers which he possesses.

If my hon. Friend is referring to powers which might be used in support of pay policy, I would refer him to the reply given on 24th November 1977 by my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury to a Question by the hon. Member for Kingston upon Thames (Mr. Lamont).—[Vol. 939, c. 854.]—In my case only the power to place contracts is relevant.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign manufactured cars have been ordered by constabularies throughout the

Police Force	Acquisitions
	1974	1975	1976	1977
Avon and Somerset	—	—	2	—
Cambridgeshire	5	7	4	—
Derbyshire	13	—	—	—
Durham	1	—	1	3
Gloucestershire	2	—	—	—
Hampshire	7	16	28	6
Lincolnshire	7	7	—	—
Thames Valley	1	1	1	—
West Mercia	—	8	8	8
West Yorkshire	—	1	—	—
Metropolitan Police	2	—	3	4
	38	40	47	21

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) of the total number of dependent relatives of immigrants resident in the United Kingdom that entered the country in 1977, how many were (a) husbands, (b) wives, (c) children, (d) grandparents and (e) others;(2) what is the average number of dependants per immigrant that entered the United Kingdom in 1977.

The information available relates to the nationality of those admitted and the reason for their acceptance but does not distinguish those who are dependants of immigrants to this country. For the available information I refer the hon. Member to the reply my right hon. Friend gave to a Question by the hon. Member for Horsham and Crawley (Mr. Hordern) on 3rd February 1978.—[Vol. 943, c. 339–40.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many male fiancés and female fiancées of immigrants resident in the United

Statistics of orders are not readily available. Police forces in England and Wales notify the Home Office of acquisitions of foreign-made cars. Notifications for the period 1st January 1974 to 31st December 1977 were as follows:Kingdom were (

The available information relates to the nationality of fiancés and fiancées admitted to this country, and of spouses accepted for settlement by reason of marriage and does not distinguish those intending to marry or married to an immigrant, nor those accepted for settlement by reason of marriage who were admitted as fiancés. The available information for January-September 1977 is as follows:

FIANCE(E)S ADMITTED TO THE UNITED KINGDOM
	Male fiances	Female fiancees
All nationalities	2,423	2,563
of which:
Citizens of New Commonwealth countries and of Pakistan	2,339	2,381

PEOPLE ACCEPTED FOR SETTLEMENT ON REMOVAL OF TIME LIMIT BY REASON OF MARRIAGE
	Men	Women
All nationalities	3,013	6,527
of which:
Citizens of New Commonwealth countries and of Pakistan	1,438	3,853

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will list those local authorities which have (a) cut and (b) abolished their budgets for school clothing grants, detailing those authorities who are advising parents that they can claim help from the Supplementary Benefits Commission; and if she will ask these authorities to cease providing this information, which is misleading.

My Department does not collect information about how local education authorities exercise their discretionary power to provide school clothing grants. The practice of the Supplementary Benefits Commission in giving assistance for the provision of children's clothing is explained in the Supplementary Benefits Handbook, copies of which are available to all local authorities and to members of the public through Her Majesty's Stationery Office.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many schools and how many local authorities teach new maths; and to what extent this forms part of the mathematics syllabus.

My Department does not collect statistical informa- tion about the mathematics syllabus used in schools or the methods used in teaching individual subjects.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether she will ensure that in any negotiations in the future with university staff her Department will take into consideration the erosion of the standard of living over the last few years of those teaching in universities.

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 7th February 1978 to a Question from the hon. Member for Croydon, South (Mr. Clark.)—[Vol. 943, c. 466–7.]

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will provide a full list of the discretionary powers which she possesses.

The main financial powers conferred on me by or under the Education Acts 1944 to 1976, the Science and Technology Act 1965 and other relevant legislation give me discretion to pay or withhold grants, to attach conditions to the payment of grants and to authorise, or attach conditions to the authorisation of, capital expenditure.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the infant mortality and perinatal mortality statistics for 1977 for Wales, and for each area health authority.

The information requested is as follows for Wales:

Perinatal mortality rate per 1,000 total births	Infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births
17·9	13·2
All figures are provisional.

Figures for area health authorities are not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what was the total expenditure on Service recruitment in each year since 1970.

Total expenditure on Service recruitment activities for the years 1970–71 to 1976–77 was as follows:

1970–71	£12·9 million
1971–72	£14·2 million
1972–73	£15·2 million
1973–74	£16·9 million (£0·341 million)
1974–75	£19·9 million (£0·353 million)
1975–76	£24·2 million (£0·372 million)
1976–77	£26·3 million (£0·453 million)

Figures in brackets represent rentals of careers information offices which are included in the figures for total expenditure.Similar figures for earlier years are not available and are not included in total expenditure for these years.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to resume advertising in cinemas for recruitment to the Armed Services.

There are at present no plans to resume advertising in cinemas for recruitment to the Armed Services.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will provide a full list of the discretionary powers which he possesses.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to the hon. Member for Kingston upon Thames (Mr. Lamont) on 24th November 1977.—[Vol. 939, c. 854.]

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will make a statement on his Department's policy concerning a contract placed with the firm of T. Baker and Sons, Tipton, Staffordshire, and now cancelled stating (a) why the contract was cancelled, (b) how long T. Baker and Sons had been working for his Department and (c) any additional cost to public funds involved in letting a new contract.

No contract with T. Baker and Sons (Transport) Ltd. has been cancelled. The firm has for some years undertaken transport work for the Ministry of Defence on a day-to-day basis, but as the firm is in breach of the pay guidelines, alternative arrangements have now been made. This will involve some slight extra cost in the short term, but as freight rates are subject to frequent changes it is not possible to quantify the amount.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection if he will provide a full list of the discretionary powers which he possesses.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury to the hon. Member for Kingston upon Thames (Mr. Lamont) on 24th November 1977.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection what has been the outcome of his Department's discussions with the Price Commission on the standing reference to the commission of fresh food prices; and if he will make a statement.

My Department, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Price Commission have been reviewing the collection and presentation of information on prices and distributors' margins for fresh food with a view to providing more comprehensive, regular and up-to-date information. The first of the Commission's new-style monthly reports on fresh food prices has now been received and copies have been placed in the Library of each House.For fresh fruit and vegetables, fish and eggs the reports will give up-to-date information not only about retail prices of individual items, but also about movements and trends in first-hand and retail prices. This will enable a watch to be kept on the relationship between firsthand and retail prices and give an early guide to the possible need for closer scrutiny of a particular area. The reports will also look at the aggregate value of distributors' gross margins in relation to the overall turnover of a particular sector. This information will not indicate a trade's actual net profitability, since distributors' overheads and other costs have to be met out of their gross margins, but it will help to put the information about first-hand and retail prices of individual classes of products into a fairer perspective.The collection and presentation of information on similar lines for carcase meat, poultry and bacon presents considerable methodological problems which require further study by the Commission. For the present, therefore, the reports will be confined to providing detailed information about retail prices and price trends for these commodities.Reports containing the information set out above will in future be produced every month and copies will be placed in the Library of each House as soon as they are available. Our aim is to ensure in this way that the latest information about what is happening to fresh food prices is readily accessible to all concerned.The new arrangements for work under the Commission's standing reference will provide an up-to-date picture of the situation. The reports should also provide an essential background of information on trends in prices and margins over recent years against which to study the short-term movements revealed by the Commission's monitoring.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing net investment in manufacturing industry for each year since 1945 in terms of both current prices and revalued at 1970 prices.

Figures are available only from 1948. They relate to gross domestic fixed capital formation in manu facturing industry less capital consumption.

NET DOMESTIC FIXED CAPITAL FORMATION IN MANUFACTURING
£ million
	Current Prices	Constant 1970 Prices
1948	132	300
1949	173	382
1950	228	487
1951	266	529
1952	262	467
1953	242	423
1954	266	461
1955	332	540
1956	444	686
1957	499	736
1958	446	640
1959	388	556
1960	518	728
1961	698	959
1962	591	789
1963	437	562
1964	563	708
1965	692	836
1966	727	844
1967	658	770
1968	700	793
1969	901	982
1970	1,040	1,040
1971	944	859
1972	671	570
1973	729	552
1974	1,244	791
1975	959	474
1976	855	365

Source: Central Statistical Office (figures for 1966–76 from "National Income and Expenditure 1966–76", tables 11.7 and 11.8).

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, in view of the fact that the Post Office is again to raise its postal charges by ½ penny per letter in order to raise a further £50 million per annum, and in view of its profits, the fall in the inflationary spiral and the need to help prices down, he will take steps to stop these increases; and to what extent such increases will raise the cost of living.

No such proposition has been made by the Post Office.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry on what date the basic scheme for a redundancy scheme at Harland and Wolff was submitted to the Government after the consultations between that company, British Shipbuilders and the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions.

Proposals were received on 23rd December 1977.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will provide a full list of the discretionary powers which he possesses.

On the assumption that the Question is directed to those discretionary powers used to support the pay policy, I refer the hon. Member to the answer which the Chief Secretary to the Treasury gave to the hon. Member for Kingston upon Thames (Mr. Lamont) on 24th November 1977.—[Official Report, Vol. 939, c. 854.]

asked the Secretary of State for Industry how many new public national governmental organisations have been created and for which he is responsible since the Government assumed office; and how many paid situations there are within them.

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, Vol. 943, c. 376–7], gave the following information:The following public bodies of a national character have been created:

Number of salaries Board appointments
British Aerospace	11
British Shipbuilders	9*
Clothing Industry Scheme Advisory Board	—
Committee of Inquiry into the Engineering Profession	—
Electronics Components Instrumentation and Automation Industry Support Schemes Advisory Board	—
Garment and Allied Industries Requirements Board	—
Iron and Steel Employees' Readaptation Benefits Scheme Advisory Committee	—
Manufacturing Advisory Scheme Steering Committee	—
Manufacturing Machinery Advisory Committee	—
National Committee on Computer Networks	—
National Enterprise Board	10†
National Maritime Institute Board	—
Non-Ferrous Foundry Scheme Advisory Committee	—
Waste Management Advisory Council	—
*Includes one member who does not draw a salary.
† Includes two members who do not draw salaries.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the United Kingdom supported United Nations General Assembly resolution 32/9 H which called for a special session in April 1978 of the General Assembly on the question of Namibia; if he will himself attend such a special session; and what proposals he will lay before it to ensure the ending of the illegal occupation of Namibia by South Africa.

The United Kingdom, together with the United States, Canada, France and the Federal Republic of Germany, abstained on this resolution because, in view of the discussions on the future of Namibia in which they are involved, it would have been inappropriate to register a specific approach to the question of a special session. My right hon. Friend will consider the questions of attending a special session, and of laying before it any proposals on the ending of the South African occupation of Namibia, in the light of circumstances at the time.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will provide a full list of the discretionary powers which he possesses.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury to the Question from the hon. Member for Kingston upon Thames (Mr. Lamont) on 24th November 1977.—[Vol. 939, c. 854.]

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which countries in the EEC allow the right of abode and the right of nationality to a woman who marries a national of the country.

Detailed information on how the immigration regulations of other EEC member States are applied to aliens who marry citizens of those States is not easily available.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which countries in the EEC allow the right of abode and the right of nationality to a man who marries a national of the country.

Detailed information on how the immigration regulations of other EEC member States are applied to aliens who marry citizens of those States is not easily available.Right of abode is a new concept in this country introduced by the Immigration Act 1971, and has no equivalent in any other EEC member State.The position as regards the right of alien men who marry citizens of another member state to acquire the citizenship of that state is understood to be as follows:

asked the Minister of Overseas Development what expenditure has or will be incurred in the purchase or leasing of property in Managua to accommodate officials engaged upon the programme of technical aid to Nicaragua.

The Nicaraguan Government reimburse the cost of renting accommodation for our technical co-operation officers in that country. The total cost to them is approximately £1,340 a month. In the case of one officer only my Department contributes some £13 a month to the rental costs.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development whether she will issue a general instruction that no further British Government aid shall be given to Tanzania until that Government discharge their admitted debts to British subjects in respect of compensation for nationalisation of their property.

No. The Government of Tanzania are making progress on the settlement of British subjects' claims for compensation.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development whether she will list the amount of overseas aid granted to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1976–77 and 1977–78, stating for what projects it was allocated in each financial year.

The amounts in each financial year are as follows:

1976–77	£
EEC food aid—UK contribution	275,000
Technical co-operation (nearly all training in Britain)	59,000
TOTAL	334,000
1977–78
EEC food aid—UK contribution	673,000
Technical co-operation (English language teaching programme mostly in Britain)	200,000
Grant to UNICEF for work in Vietnam	500,000
Grant to British Hospital in Vietnam Appeal	25,000
TOTAL	1,398,000

asked the Minister of Overseas Development whether she will undertake to consult the General Council of British Shipping before she allows British Shipbuilders to make gifts of merchant ships to foreign countries, using British aid money.

There is no question of British Shipbuilders making gifts of ships. The provision of ships under aid arrangements is a matter for agreement between the overseas Government concerned and Her Majesty's Government, who provide the aid finance to the purchaser. My Department would invariably consult the Department of Trade and the Department of Industry, who are aware of the interests of the relevant United Kingdom industries. I would not normally expect also to consult the General Council of British Shipping, though I have today had a general discussion with it, at my invitation.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development whether her Department is in negotiation with the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, with a view to British Shipbuilders giving merchant vessels to Vietnam; if so, when these negotiations were started; and when she expects them to be concluded.

No, not at present. Late last year British Shipbuilders began negotiations with the Vietnamese authorities about the possible purchase of several new British-built cargo vessels. It is not yet possible to say when these negotiations will be concluded. The Government of Vietnam have been told that it will be appropriate to make a grant from the aid programme towards the purchase of these ships, within the context of the Aid-Trade Contingency Fund, of which my hon. Friend informed the House on 13th January 1978.—[Vol. 941, c. 849–50.]

asked the Minister of Overseas Development if she will give details of the proposed membership of the working groups on sovereignty and economic affairs in the Falkland Islands; and whether the Falkland Islands will be represented.

I have been asked to reply.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development what are the terms of reference of the two working groups in sovereignty and economic matters which are to be set up following recent talks with Argentina about the Falkland Islands.

I have been asked to reply.The working groups, whose deliberations will be

asked the Prime Minister if he will provide a full list of the discretionary powers which he possesses.

I have been asked to reply.I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave on 24th November 1977—[Vol. 919, c. 854]—to the hon. Member for Kingston upon Thames (Mr. Lamont).

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether it is part of the Government's industrial strategy to sell North Sea oil to facilitate British exports to particular markets abroad; and to what extent barter arrangements are contemplated.

It is not generally Government policy to promote exports by linking the sale of one product to the sale of another.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade why the Government have refused to sanction the Sun Alliance new wage agreement on the grounds, in part, that it is introducing a non-contributory pension scheme; and how this is contrary to the Government's 10 per cent. guideline, in view of the non-contributory pension schemes for the Civil Service.

Sun Alliance's recent pay agreement provides for a total increase in earnings of 13 per cent., 3 per cent. of which represents a waiver of contributions to a pension scheme. It is this change from a contributory to a non-contributory scheme that, in the Government's view, takes the settlement beyond the pay guidelines. The Government have no objection to non-contributory pension schemes as such, many of which have existed for years in both the public and private sectors.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what is Her Majesty's Government's policy with regard to trade with Uganda in the light of the export of 3,000 Friesian cattle from Great Britain to Entebbe.

Arms and ammunition may not be exported to Uganda. As my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs told the House on 25th January, it would be a very serious course to embark on full scale trade sanctions, and no special restrictions are placed on civil trade with Uganda.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether Her Majesty's Government intend to follow the example of the Government of the Netherlands and pledge an initial contribution of 25 million dollars to a common fund for commodities.

As proposed by the developed countries collectively at the outset of the second session of the common fund conference, the fund's buffer stocking facility should in our view be based on cash deposits form countries as members of international commodity agreements, and on market borrowing, rather than on direct contributions from the fund's own member Governments.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will provide a full list of the discretionary powers which he possesses.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury to the hon. Member for Kingston upon Thames (Mr. Lamont) on 24th November 1977—[Vol. 939, c. 854.] I also refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Chester-le-Street (Mr. Radice) on 2nd February 1978—[Vol. 934, c. 304]—concerning administration of the cost escalation scheme under Section 5 of the Export Guarantees Act 1975.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what is the total value of United Kingdom motor vehicle and vehicle component exports as a proportion of total exports during the last 12 months for which this information is available, and what was the figure for the corresponding period in 1976.

8·1 per cent. and 8·5 per cent. by value in 1977 and 1976 respectively.NOTE. 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 if he is satisfied with the outcome of the recent negotiations between the EEC and Japan prior to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade; and if he will make a statement.

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 1st February 1978; Vol. 943, c. 213–14], gave the following information:The first sentence of the answer should read as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Employment, in view of the fact that electricity charges are to rise again in April by 5 per cent., raising the price of electricity to an average of 2·7p per unit, the highest charge ever, to what extent this will raise the cost of living; and what action he proposes to take to prevent these increases in view of the fall in the inflationary spiral.

I am informed by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy that no formal proposals have yet been made by electricity area boards for an increase in charges. Should an increase of 5 per cent. be implemented it would add about one-tenth of 1 per cent. to the retail prices index. Any proposals for an increase would be considered by the Price Commission in pursuance of its statutory responsibilities.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment, for the longest and most convenient period of time, on how many occasions he has taken action against employers for failing to carry out wage council regulations; and what action was taken and with what results.

Since 1963, 31 employers have been fined a total of £2,598 for breaches of wages council regulations. Over the same period arrears paid following assessment by the Wages Inspectorate amounted to £3,765,113 for 220,121 workers, and civil proceedings for the recovery of arrears were taken against 44 employers.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list those addresses of the offices used by his Department, the number of civil servants employed and their duties; and under what statutory authority they are operating the Government's pay policy.

On 1st October my Department employed 23,677 permanent staff and 2,309 casual staff in post at 1,095 offices throughout the country, the addresses of which are available in the relevant telephone directories. These staff are engaged in advising upon and executing my Department's wide-ranging responsibilities in the manpower field.Staff concerned with pay policy carry out their duties under my right hon. Friend's general powers as Secretary of State to put into operation Government policies, and I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Melton (Mr. Latham) on 31st January.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many disabled people are currently employed in enclaves.

I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that on 31st March 1977, the latest date for which figures are available, the number was 119.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the criteria for employment in a sheltered workshop.

I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that sheltered workshops are provided so that severely disabled people, whose disabilities are such that they cannot obtain or retain jobs under ordinary working conditions, may have opportunities to work under sheltered conditions. Sheltered workshops provide paid and productive employment in a commercial environment, and the conditions of work approximate as closely as practicable to those in open industry. In order to be considered for entry into sheltered employment severely disabled people must be able to do a full week's paid work which will contribute substantially to the cost of the undertaking.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the number of disabled people in sheltered workshops in each impairment group at the last date for which figures are available.

I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that it is not possible to provide complete figures by impairment groups. The numbers and types of disability of Remploy's disabled employees at 31st March 1977 were:

Type of disability	Nos.
Amputation	255
Arthritis and rheumatism	271
Diseases of the digestive system	128
Diseases of the genito-urinary sytem	64
Diseases of the heart and circulatory system.	614
Diseases of the lungs (except tuberculosis)	550
Diseases of the skin	40
Ear defects	303
Eye defects	143
Injuries of the head, face, neck, thorax, abdomen, pelvis and trunk	159
Injuries and diseases (except TB) of upper limbs	255
Injuries and diseases (except TB) of lower limbs	686
Paraplegia	231
Injuries and diseases (except paraplegia and TB) of the spine	558
Psychoneurosis and other mental illnesses	749
Epilepsy	813
Organic nervous diseases other than epilepsy	606
Mental sub-normality.	861
Tuberculosis—pulmonary	271
Tuberculosis—non-pulmonary	96
Other diseases and disabilities	319

Of the people in sheltered employment outside Remploy there were, at 31st March 1977, 1,832 blind people and 131 partially sighted people in workshops for blind people. Information about the type of disability of the other 3,410 sighted severely disabled people in workshops run by local authorities is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will provide a full list of the discretionary powers which he possesses.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to a Question by the hon. Member for Kingston upon Thames (Mr. Lamont) on 24th November—[Vol. 933, c. 854.]

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will give instructions to the Cabinet Office for the publication of the Solomons Report on the possibilities of a scheme for universal community service by young people.

Various internal papers on the possibilities of a scheme for uni- versal community service by young people have been prepared and discussed. But it is not our practice to publish internal discussion papers. Many proposals, however, to reduce youth unemployment, including community service, have been considered by my Department and the Manpower Services Commission, and were discussed in the Manpower Service Commission's report "Young People and Work", published last year. That report set out the arguments against compulsory community service, which I accept, but a large expansion of community service opportunities for unemployed young people is an important part of the new youth opportunities programme which comes into operation on 1st April.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish figures showing the numbers of people under the age of 18 years currently registered as unemployed in the Hackney and Shoreditch, the Holloway and King's Cross, and the Camden Town employment office areas, respectively; and what were the numbers at the same time in 1977, 1974 and 1973.

The information is given in the following table. Because of industrial action by some staff in the Department of Employment Group, figures for January 1974 are not available.

	Numbers of people under 18 years of age registered as unemployed
Employment Office Area	January 1973	January 1977	January 1978
Hackney	97	326	326
Shoreditch	55	96	138
Holloway	100	202	300
King's Cross	8	76	53
Camden Town	42	150	149

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what is the route to be followed in Northamptonshire by the A1-M1 link road.

The preferred corridor for the M1-A1 link road, which was announced on 7th August 1975, is the green alternative, considered during public consultation. Investigations to find the most suitable route for publication as a statutory proposal under the Highways Acts are proceeding.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport why, according to Command Papers Nos. 6721 and 7049, the cost of local road construction in 1972–73 and 1973–74 appears to be lower in 1977 survey prices than in 1976 survey prices; and, if this negative inflation rate is due to competitive tendering in road construction, why this is not reflected in the figures for motorway and trunk road construction.

Different revaluation methods are used for the two programmes partly because of differences in the nature of trunk road and local road schemes—the former usually take longer than the latter—and partly because of differences in the information available. I shall write to the hon. Member about the technical details.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport how much under-speeding occurred in 1976–77 and in 1977–78 in local road construction and in local road maintenance; and to what extent this underspending was due to bad weather, and to what extent to the moratorium on new starts.

It is estimated that in 1976–77 capital expenditure provision for local roads was underspent by about £70 million and maintenance expenditure by about £50 million at November 1976 prices. In 1977–78, the latest estimates suggest that capital expenditure on local roads is likely to be on target, and maintenance expenditure about £15 million below provision, at November 1976 prices. While bad weather and the moratorium on new starts would be contributory factors in the underspend in 1976–77, I cannot quantify their effect.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport when he plans to publish the preferred route for the Hunton Bridge to South Mimms section of the M25 outer London orbital lorry route.