asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, as British law only recognises the right of a man to have one legal wife, on what basis any person entering the United Kingdom from any other country is permitted to bring in as many as four wives; how this is permitted; and whether a man can claim the same rights for mistresses.

While ultimately only a court can decide whether a marriage which has taken place overseas is valid in United Kingdom law, it is my understanding that a marriage will be recognised as valid, even if polygamous, provided that it was one that each of the parties had the capacity to contract under the law of his or her domicile and was valid under the law of the country where it was contracted. The Immigration Rules provide for the admission for settlement of the wife of a sponsor settled in the United Kingdom. A wife's entitlement stems from a marriage which is valid under the law of this country.The answer to the last part of my hon. Friend's Question is "No", but a woman who has been living in permanent association with a man may be admitted as if she were his wife, due account being taken of any local custom or tradition tending to establish the permanence of the association.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department which, of the various immigrant organisations, as detailed on pages 34, 35 and 36 of the 1976–77 annual report of the United Kingdom Immigrant Advisory Service, receive financial aid from Government sources; and what amounts have been paid each year to each organisation since the date of their inception or commencement of such payments.

My Department gives no financial support directly to the immigrant organisations listed in Appendix III of the 1976ߝ77 annual report of the United Kingdom Immigration Advisory service. The discretionary aid given by the former Community Relations Commission to immigrant and other organizations is shown in the annual reports of the Commision for 1968ߝ76. The Commision for Racial Equality is now empowered to give full similar support. Its first annual report will be published later this year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has received the communication from the hon. Member for Newham, North-West drawing attention to the case of an Iranian who was allowed to settle and marry in the United Kingdom; whether she had to go through the same procedure of waiting as those in the African and Asian countries who wish to come to the United Kingdom to marry; and whether he will make a statement.

Unless they require visas in any case women do not normally need entry clearances in order to come here to marry.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department under what statutory authority a judge can sentence a man to imprisonment on a criminal charge, who after one day's imprisonment is released by the same judge when no fresh evidence on appeal has been heard; and on how many occasions such procedures have happened for the longest and most convenient period of time.

Section 11(2) of the Courts Act 1971 provides that a sentence imposed, or other order made, by the Crown Court when dealing with an offender may be varied or rescinded by the Crown Court within a period of 28 days. There is no central record of the number of occasions on which a sentence has been varied or rescinded in accordance with this section.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will list against all probation areas the number of community service orders made in the last 12 months for which figures are available, and the average number of hours worked per week on such orders in each area.

Returns made by the Probation Service for the period 1st April 1976 to 31st March 1977, the latest 12 months for which figures are available, show the number of persons given community service orders—some of whom had more than one orderߞas follows:

Avon	296
Bedfordshire	93
Berkshirre	130
Buckinghamshire	135
Cambridgeshire	71
Cheshire	352
Cleveland	322
Cumbria	100
Derbyshire	42
Devon	177
Dorset	167
Durham	145
Essex	330
Gloucestershire	92
Hampshire	112
Hertford and Worcester	90
Hertfordshire	72
Humberside	114
Kent	550
Lancashire	118
Leicestershire	152
Lincolnshire	143
Inner London	828
North-East London	216
South-East London	163
South-West London	144
Middlesex	416
Greater Manchester	243
Merseyside	730
Norfolk	50
Northamptonshire	139
Northumbria	220
Nottinghamshire	492
Oxfordshire	112
Salop	130
Somerset	158
Staffordshire	263
Suffolk	81
Surrey	128
East Sussex	82
West Sussex	72
Warwickshire	72
West Midlands	104
Wiltshire	101
North Yorkshire	79
South Yorkshire	399
West Yorkshire	411
Gwent	65
North Wales	99
Powys	2
South Glamorgan	217
Mid Glamorgan	83
West Glamorgan	100

Three areas, Cornwall, Dyfed and the City of London, did not have community service arrangements in the period.The other information requested is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many community service orders were made in the last 12 months for which figures are available and in each of the previous five years; and, of these, how many were made in magistrates' courts and in Crown courts, respectively.

The latest available figures are for 1976 and are given in "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales, 1976", page 58. Figures for previous years are given in previous issues of "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales"—for 1975 on page 42, for 1974 on pages 72 and 164 and for 1973 on pages 64 and 146.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons were dealt with for failing to comply with the terms of community service orders in the last 12 months for which figures are available and in each of the previous five years; and, of these, how many had failed to comply by committing a fresh offence.

The available information is as follows. Returns made by the Probation Service indicate that 638 community service orders were revoked under Section 16 of the Powers of Criminal Courts Act 1973 for breach of requirements in the period 1st April 1976 to 31st March 1977 and 153 in the previous 12 months. In addition, 433 orders were revoked under Section 17 of the Act in the period 1st April 1976 to 31st March 1977 following the imposition of a custodial sentence for a further offence, and 208 in the previous 12 months.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that the latest figures for the London Borough of Newham show that the number of people in the borough of overseas origin is half as much again as the previous figure and that there are now between 18 per cent. and 19 percent. or 42,000 to 46,000 persons compared with 28,000 in the 1971 census, the great majority of whom are Asian and West Indian; and, as this is causing housing, employment, health, schooling and educational and other problems, what action he has taken or is taking to assist the local authority to overcome these problems.

I am aware of the results of the 1971 census and also that there has been a small reduction in the total population of the London Borough of Newham since then, but I am not aware of the source of the more recent figures quoted by my hon. Friend, nor their definition. Financial assistance to local authorities from central Government already takes account of their particular needs. The only assistance for which my right hon. Friend is directly responsible is grant aid under Section 11 of the Local Government Act 1966, and substantial sums have been paid to Newham under this provision.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, further to his Written Answer to the hon. Member for Horsham and Crawley (Mr. Hordern), Official Report, 3rd February, columns 339–40, if he will provide a further table showing (a) how many of the children under 18 years accepted for settlement in each of the years specified were aged 16 years or over, and (b) how many of the husbands, wives, children or other dependants enumerated under the various headings of his Written Answer were husbands, wives, children or other dependants of citizens of the New Commonwealth or Pakistan who were themselves accepted for settlement in the United Kingdom on or after 1st January 1973.

I regret that the information requested is not available. No breakdown by age is available of the children accepted for settlement. Statistics of acceptances for settlement are classified by the date of acceptance and by the citizenship or nationality of the dependant and not of his sponsor.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what restriction or embargo he has imposed on the preparatory work for court buildings for the newly formed Petty Sessional Division of Newham; what would be the cost of such preparatory work; and what representations he has received on this question.

Severe restrictions on capital allocations for magistrates' courts buildings have meant that since last March forward planning could be allowed only on a small group of top priority schemes which would have first call on any additional allocations that might become available in future years. The Newham scheme could not be included in this group. I explained on 16th February to a deputation from the Greater London Council and the Outer London Magistrates' Courts Committees that no indication could yet be given of when capital resources might permit the resumption of planning on a wider front, but that I would consider carefully what had been said about the needs of a number of outer London boroughs, including Newham. I was told that Greater London Council planning costs to tender stage on the Newham project might be of the order of £92,000.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he has taken following the conclusions of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration to his report on Case No. C249/77.

The Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration found that no maladministration has occurred in this case; and no action with respect to the individual complainant was called for Owing to a variety of factors, including the need for restraint in public expenditure and the continuing high level of the prison population, there is no early prospect of any general improvement in conditions in local prisons, to which the Parliamentary Commissioner referred in the conclusion of his report.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish a list of the organisations whose representatives have a right of entry into (a) a private home and (b) a private business.

I am writing to the hon Member about the available information.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many cases since the abolition of capital punishment for murder in the United Kingdom he or his predecessors have had to decide whether to make a recommendation to the Queen on the exercise of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy in respect of a sentence of death pronounced by a court in the Isle of Man.

One, in 1973.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many inquiries were received by the voluntary repatriation programme from New Commonwealth immigrants settled in the United Kingdom in each year since the programme's inception.

The information is not available in the form requested. I understand that the number of inquiries received by International Social Service of Great Britain about the arrangements it administers under Section 29 of the immigration Act 1971 is:

Financial Year	1972–73	57
Financial Year	1973–74	271
Financial Year	1974–75	245
Financial Year	1975–76	274
Financial Year	1976–77	520
April 1977-January 1978(incl)		373

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are being taken to publicise the voluntary repatriation programme.

Information about the financial assistance available under Section 29 of the Immigration Act 1971 has been made available to local authorities, the National Council of Social Services, citizens advice bureaux, community relations councils and others.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish figures giving the number of cases of drunken driving and of offences resulting from alcoholism or an excess of alcohol: (a) in Cheshire and (b) in the area covered by the Macclesfield Constabulary for the latest 12 months period or which figures are available; and how this figure corresponds with 1975 and 1976.

The numbers of prosecutions for offences associated with driving or being in charge of a motor vehicle after consuming alcohol or taking drugs dealt with at magistrates' courts in Cheshire are to be found in the publications "Offences relating to motor vehicles" 1975 and 1976. Prosecutions for these offences in courts in the Macclesfield petty sessional division were 173 in 1975 and 184 in 1976. Numbers of findings of guilt for offences of drunkenness in Cheshire are to be found in the publications "Offences of Drunkenness, England and Wales" 1975 and 1976. Information regarding offences of drunkenness in Macclesfield petty sessional division is available only at disproportionate cost. Figures for 1977 are not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any proposals to amend the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876.

No, but, if the hon. Member has in mind any particular aspect of the legislation, which could be considered as part of the continuous appraisal to which it is subjected, then perhaps he will let me know.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development if she will publish a further White Paper explaining the reasons for the additional £90 million assistance being provided to the Crown Agents; and if she will state in it any conditions she has laid down governing its use.

No. No new factors in the circumstances of the Crown Agents have arisen, and, indeed, their financial position has strengthened. I gave the reasons for making this further recoverable grant in my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Islington, South and Finsbury (Mr. Cunningham) on 15th February. The same guidelines will apply to this grant as to the earlier grant.—[Vol. 944, c. 225–6.]

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to reduce the numbers of road traffic accidents which involve heavy haulage vehicles.

The Transport Bill contains provisions for strengthening the control of overloading and bad maintenance. Other action under consideration includes the introduction of new requirements for braking to reduce the risks of jackknifing.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport when the Midlands Road Construction Unit installed a paper shredder; and at what cost.

July 1974, at a cost of £95·50.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what steps will be taken to make ex-gratia payments to those who were misled by overprinted words on vehicle excise duty renewal reminder and application forms sent to them at the time of the Budget last year.

Arrangements are now being considered and I will make a statement in due course. As regards the three cases referred to the Parliamentary Commission for Administration a supplementary estimate is being presented to meet the expenditure and in the meantime payments will be made from the Contingencies Fund.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry how many village communities with populations in excess of 1,000 persons are without any post office facilities.

The information requested is not readily available.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will describe the principal activities of North East Audio Ltd., in which the National Enterprise Board has invested £99,000.

This company develops and produces cassette recorders. The Board's share investment is £439,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will describe the principal activities of Irpor Ltd., in which the National Enterprise Board has invested £40.

This company holds patents for products of another associate company of the Board.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will describe the principal activities of Packaging Methods Ltd., in which the National Enterprise Board has invested £47,000.

The company develops and produces corrugated paper forming machinery. The Board's share investment is £147,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will describe the principal activities of Pitcraft Ltd., in which the National Enterprise Board has invested £87,000.

My right hon. Friend's approval was not required for this investment and this is therefore a matter for the Board. I understand that its share investment is £487,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection if he will introduce legislation to seek to provide that, where a firm has taken advantage of the minimum profitability safeguards in the Price Code to increase prices during an investigation of an application for higher prices by the Price Commission, any increase in taxable profits it makes in the year of such increase over the previous year will be subject to a profits levy reducing after-tax profit to the level of the previous year.

No. I believe that the question of profit is adequately covered by Section 2 of the Price Commission Act. My right hon. Friend is, however. keeping the working of the safeguard regulations under review, and he will introduce any changes in the regulations that may appear to him to be desirable when we have more experience of their operation.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection what action he proposes to take to investigate the excess profits made by petrol and oil distributors during the current delivery drivers' dispute.

I am not aware of any widespread profiteering, but the Price Commission monitors all complaints it receives about prices and margins. If my hon. Friend has any particular case in mind, he may like to write to the Chairman of the Price Commission.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection how many applications he has received for capital cost grants for new consumer advice centres under the scheme announced on 29th November 1977; how many have been approved; and whether he will list those centres offered grants.

My Department received 46 applications. With the funds available 28 have been approved, all but two of which are for new centres.The centres which have been offered grant-aid are:

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection what action he proposes to take in the light of the Price Commission's report on the question of rail passenger fares in London and the South-East, and when such action will be taken.

My right hon. Friend, together with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport, is considering this report, and discussions have taken place with the British Railways Board. The Government's conclusions will be announced shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade, in view of the continued failure of the Council of the Performing Right Society Limited to provide all the society's members with the details of the amounts loaned to certain of the society's officers at less than the market rate of interest, as the society has now confirmed, if he will now institute the investigation into the affairs of the society under Section 165(b)(iii) of the Companies Act 1948 which has been under consideration for over six months.

I am considering the information which has been made available to my Department on this subject and I expect to be in a position to reply to the application for the appointment of inspectors shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether the investigation into the affairs of Keyser Ullman prior to March 1976 in respect of loans to directors and other matters has been concluded; and if he will make a statement.

There has been no investigation under the provisions of the Companies Acts 1948 and 1967 into the affairs of Keyser Ullman Limited.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether he will consider seeking to extend the provisions of the Restrictive Trade Practices Acts 1956 to 1976 to union restrictions on productivity

NEW CARS
			1975	1976	1977 (latest available period)
United Kingdom		…	1,865	600	1,556 (January to December)
France	…	…	668	492	968 (January to October)
Italy	…	…	1,899	464	n/s
West Germany		…	18,233	22,398	16,123 (January to November)
Denmark	…	…	6	2	1 (January to September)
Total		…	22,671	23,956

USED CARS
		…	1975	1976	1977 (latest available period)
United Kingdom		…	113	291	616 (January to December)
France	…	…	n/s	n/s	1 (January to October)
Italy	…	…	n/s	37	140 (January to August)
West Germany		…	127	355	1,074 (January to November)
Denmark	…	…	n/s	n/s	n/s
Total		…	240	683
Sources: Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. National Sources.
n/s = Not specified.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what progress has been made in the calculation of amounts due to former employees of Grafton Man-quest, Bury St. Edmunds, pursuant to the protective award made to them by an industrial tribunal.

I have been asked to reply.No.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade, further to his reply to the hon. Member for Ealing, Acton, Official Report, 14th February, if he will now list the military airfields in London.

I have been asked to reply.RAF Northolt and RAF Kenley.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what numbers of EEC cars were exported to Japan in 1975, 1976 and 1977; and what is the estimated number for 1978.

The numbers of recorded exports of cars from EEC countries to Japan in the past three years are as follows. Estimates for 1978 are not available.

I have been asked to reply.Calculations of the amounts due to 108 former employees in respect of the protective award remuneration payable to them under Section 64 of the Employment Protection Act 1975 are being finalised. It is hoped that details of these calculations will be sent to the area officer of the National Union of Tailors and Garment Workers—who is acting on behalf of those employees—by the end of this week. Attempts are being made to trace three other employees who are also covered by the award.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the total cost of local government in the year before reorganisation and at the latest date; and to what extent he estimates these various reorganisations have added to the inflationary spiral.

In 1973–74 expenditure by local authorities in England and Wales ranking for rate support grant amounted to £10,114 million at 1977 survey prices. This year the figure is estimated at some £11,500 million. The 1973–74 figure does not include expenditure since transferred out of local government. The reorganisation of local government coincided with a period of accelerating inflation. It is not possible therefore to identify whether, or to what extent, reorganisation was a causal factor.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many houses have been repossessed following mortgage default in each of the last five years on (a) local authority mortgages and (b) building society mortgages; and what investigations his Department has made into the causes of mortgage arrears.

Information about number of repossessions is not available. My Department, however, will discuss with local authority representatives the possibility of obtaining relevant statistics as regards local authority mortgages. The Department has not carried out any general investigation into the causes of mortgage arrears, but, following the Finer Report on One Parent Families, advice was given to local authorities in Circular 78/77 on appropriate action where foreclosure is envisaged.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many improvement grants were made available to householders in Cheshire during the last year for which figures are available.

Local authorities in Cheshire reported that renovation grants for a total of 1,220 privately owned dwellings were approved in 1977.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many units the current housing stock are under owner-occupation; and how many such units will benefit from the budget allocated towards thermal insulation as announced on 12th December.

It is estimated that about 9·6 million dwellings are owner-occupied at present. The housing measures included in the first stage of the Government's energy conservation programme announced by my right hon. Friend on 12th December related specifically to the public sector.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many new units of housing have been constructed in each of the past three years with solid walls but without adequate wall insulation such as insulating board, hardboard, or panelling, in the public and private sectors, respectively.

This information is not collected. However, all dwellings constructed subject to the Building Regulations will have complied with the requirements for thermal insulation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many units of the current housing stock have no cavity walls; and how many such units will benefit from the budget allocated towards thermal insulation as announced on 12th December.

Current information suggests that between 12 and 13 million dwellings in Great Britain have no cavity walls. Public sector dwellings in this category may benefit from funds provided under the energy package announced in December to the extent that they qualify for the basic measures covered by that package.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many new units of housing have been constructed in each of the past three years without cavity wall insulation in the public and private sectors, respectively.

These figures are not collected.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many units of the current housing stock have no loft or loft access; and how many such homes will benefit from the budget allocated towards thermal insulation as announced on 12th December.

No precise figures are available but it is estimated that some 5·8 million dwellings in England have either no loft or no loft access. Information about the distribution of these dwellings between tenures is not available, and I cannot therefore say how many will benefit from the measures for thermal insulation of public sector dwellings announced by my right hon. Friend on 12th December.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if the budget allocated for thermal insulation under the programme announced on 12th December last, will include expenditure on insulating walls and ceilings for homes where there are no lofts, or no access to lofts, or where there are no cavity walls.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what proportion of the budget for building insulation announced on 12th December will be allocated towards cavity wall insulation; and how many homes in the public sector will be so insulated annually.

The programme of measures in local authority, new town and housing association dwellings will not include cavity wall insulation. As far as the civil and defence estate is concerned, I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend to the hon. Member for Hove (Mr. Sainsbury) on 18th January. Provisional estimates suggest that within the civil and defence estate same 20,000 or so houses each year will have cavity wall insulation installed.—[Vol. 942, c. 247–8.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the planned expenditure in the next financial year on energy conservation in the public housing and public building sectors; what proportion of the total public sector building stock will be improved; and what proportion fails to meet recommended standards of thermal insulation.

In his statement on 12th December 1977 my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy announced measures totalling £55·5 million. These are in addition to the existing work planned under the auspices of the Property Services Agency, which amounts to £3·6 million, and of the Department of Education and Science, the Department of Health and Social Security, and local authorities, where the sums to be spent specifically on energy conservation are not separately identified. On the second part of the Question, Government policy is to improve all public buildings whose condition justifies it. In answer to the third part of the Question, there are no recommended standards for the thermal insulation of existing buildings.—[Vol. 941, c. 30–2.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment to what degree the building of back-to-back houses is prohibited; and what circulars have been issued to local planning authorities on the matter.

I would refer the hon. Gentleman to Section 5(i) of the Housing Act 1957. No circular on this issue has been sent to local authorities in recent years.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if, in view of the difficulties faced by the North West Water Authority because of its inheritance of dilapidated physical assets, he will provide additional Government finance so that the authority can deal with the problems such as those as the pollution of Kirkby Brook.

My Department is considering the representations made by the authority about the condition of its buried assets and the associated financial problems.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many licences have been granted in each region for poisonous waste disposal; and how many indictments and convictions there have been under Parts I, II, III and IV of the Control of Pollution Act 1974.

So far the number of waste disposal sites licensed in each of the economic planning regions under Part I of the Control of Pollution Act 1974 is as follows:

North	170
Yorkshire and Humberside	340
North-West	240
East Midlands	162
West Midlands	250
East	266
South	326
South-West	122

Not all the sites are necessarily licensed to receive toxic wastes. Registers of the licences issued, which show the range of wastes for which each site is licensed, are maintained by individual waste disposal authorities for public inspection.Figures for proceedings under the Act are available only to the end of 1976. They are:

	Proceedings	Convictions
Part I	19	14
Part II	Nil	Nil
Part III	59	55
Part IV	2	2

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment why he decided to reduce his housing grant to the Forest Heath District Council in a fashion that has meant the abandonment of a £120,000 scheme for improvements in the heating of older council houses while simultaneously raising his grant for insulating these houses by a further £40,000.

The council has received a 1978–79 housing investment programme allocation, not a grant, of £1,851,000 to cover improvements and other works relating to council housing. Within the allocation the council itself decides what priority to give to various expenditure options. But this allocation is large enough to allow it to spend £120,000 on central heating some of its older council houses if it so wishes.The £40,000 is a separate and additional allocation under our energy conservation programme to provide for basic insulation of council houses that have not yet received it.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how much of the budget on capital expenditure allocated to the Forest of Dean Council was spent on house building in 1977, 1976, and I975;(2) how much of the budget on capital expenditure allocated to Tewkesbury District Council was spent on house building in 1977, 1976, and 1975.

Cash allocations for house building were first introduced for 1977–78. Details of the amounts spent will not be available until after the end of the current financial year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many housing starts and completions for local authority housing there have been in Bolton Metropolitan District since its inauguration; and if he will publish a league table for metropolitan districts of comparable size and resources over the same period.

Housing progress figures for metropolitan districts appear in the relevant issues of Local Housing Statistics, copies of which are available in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has made to the Commission of the EEC in relation to increasing the level of assistance to Wales from the EEC Regional Fund.

Within the terms of the EEC Regional Development Fund regulation, the administration fund within the United Kingdom is a matter for Her Majesty's Government. The fund will be substantially increased in 1978 and Wales as well as the United Kingdom will benefit. I discussed EEC assistance to Wales with Signor Giolitti, the Commissioner for Regional Policy, when I met him last October.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he intends taking to clarify the responsibilities of employees of local authorities in Wales, in the light of the court decision in Ans. v. Merton.

It is for local authorities to satisfy themselves that they are complying with the requirements of the law.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many children have been involved in road accidents while skateboarding on public roads and pavements in Wales during the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

This information is not available. I am writing to the hon. Member about the matter generally.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received concerning the dangers caused by skateboarding in public places and the need to provide special facilities for skateboarding.

Three representations have been received, one from the National Playing Fields Association and two from children in South Wales. All requested that proper facilities be provided.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what is the number of second homes that exist in Wales; and, of these, how many it is estimated are owned by persons whose first home is also in Wales.

This information is not available.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) how many commercial and experimental deer farms exist in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement on the future of commercial deer farming in these two countries;(2) what research his Department is currently undertaking on commercial deer farming; and when he expects to publish the latest findings of such research.

Park and fallow deer are cropped on a commercial basis in some areas of England and Wales, but official estimates of the extent of this are not available. All research is being carried out in Scotland but includes investigations into the susceptibility of red deer to certain diseases under the auspices of the Ministry's Central Veterinary Laboratory at Weybridge, and I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him today by the Under-Secretary of State for Scotland.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what effect the decision to allow cheap potatoes to be supplied direct to processors will have on wholesale prices; and if he will indicate the total sum by which taxpayers' money will be used in continuance of the support buying programme.

The arrangements for enabling processors to purchase potatoes contracted under the Potato Marketing Boards support buying programme will not directly affect wholesale prices. The cost of the buying programme, and thus the Exchequer's share cannot be determined until the final extent of the programme is known but the special scheme for processors should reduce the total commitment.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what evidence he has that EEC grading regulations for produce are being applied differently in member countries.

The available evidence, including that from the produce of other member States examined at the point of entry into the United Kingdom and from experience with our own exports, does not suggest any marked discrepancy in the standards applied by member States.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will publish the numbers of inspectors employed in the grading of produce and the costs involved.

No officials of the Ministry are employed to grade agricultural or horticultural produce for marketing. It is the responsibility of the industries concerned to meet grading standards where these are specified.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, in view of the fact that, contrary to assurances given, live food animals are being exported to the Continent in gale force conditions, if he will seek powers to ensure that this trade must be restricted to period when the predicted wind is less than force five.

Under existing regulations, the responsibility for judging whether the

			Aggregate		Per person engaged
			Current values	Real terms†	Current values	Real terms†
Germany	…	…	9	-16	23	-5
France	…	…	45	-9	81	-13
Italy	…	…	143	13	174	28
Netherlands		…	39	-8	51	0
Belgium*	…	…	6	-28	26	-15
Luxembourg		…	30	-11	47	5
Ireland	…	…	160	27	195	44
Denmark	…	…	77	9	137	45
United Kingdom		…	124	8	141	16
* From 1973 to 1977.
† Current values adjusted by the gross domestic product price deflator.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service (1) what plans exist for moving a small or medium-sized Civil Service unit to North Wales as part of the Government's dispersal policy;(2) what plans he has for moving a Government research establishment to Wales; and if he will make a statement.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food by what percentage farmers' net returns have risen in the United Kingdom since January 1973 compared with similar returns in each of the other Common Market countries; and if he will make a statement.

Such information as is available has been published by the Statistical Office of the European Communities. It relates to the gross value added—that is, farming net income, excluding stock appreciation, but including depreciation, wages, net rent and interest. The changes in these figures between 1972 and 1977 in aggregate and approximately per person engaged in agriculture are as follows:

There are no current plans for moving Government work to Wales other than those announced on 30th July 1974 for the dispersal of up to 7,400 posts from London to Cardiff and Newport. These posts, together with planned new work, past dispersals and new work make a grand total of 16,000 civil service posts for Wales. Whilst there are likely to be fewer opportunities in the future for dispersal in view of the size of the current programme, the claims of Wales, including North Wales, will be fully taken into account, along with the claims of other areas, should there be a need to relocate any further work for operational reasons.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service whether he will give the total numbers, their Departments, designation and salary scales of Asians and Africans and those of New Commonwealth origin who are holding appointments within the 10 most senior ranks in the Civil Service and ministerial offices.

The policy of the Civil Service is one of equal opportunity. Ethnic origin is not relevant—except in so far as the nationality rules on entry apply—and is not indicated in personnel records or statistics. The information requested by my hon. Friend is not therefore available.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will list the aircraft and weapons systems projects which have been cancelled in each year since 1975, together with the cost at the time of cancellation of each project including research and development.

The information requested is as follows:

Year of cancellation	Project	Cost at cancellation (at out-turn prices) million
1975	Hawkswing—anti-tank Guided missile	8·0
	RS80—Medium gun	4·5
	Sub-Martel—Under-water to surface guided weapon	16·0
	Infantry Company Radar	1·3
1976	Stretched Ikara	0·3
1977	P/PD Artillery Fuze	3·76
	Other projects	6·5

Nearly all of the expenditure involved in these projects has been on research and development.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether allowances paid to Service men to compensate for, or assist towards, expenses incurred may be adjusted to take account of the true costs involved and fall outside the Government's guidelines on pay.

As my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Defence stated on 7th February—[Vol. 943, c. 517]—in answer to an earlier Question from the hon. Member, the rates of allowances which are paid to Service men to compensate or assist towards expenses incurred are reviewed from time to time to ensure they meet their objective. The rates of such compensatory allowances are fixed generally on the basis of the average of costs likely to be incurred. Thus actual costs arising in particular circumstances may differ from the rate of allowance applicable at any one time.Increases which do no more than reflect higher costs may be applied outside the Government's guidelines on pay.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Armed Forces Pay Review Body has authority to examine allowances paid to Service men and to make such recommendations as it thinks fit.

The Review Body on Armed Forces Pay was appointed to advise the Prime Minister on the pay and allowances of the Services: and as an independent body it is free to make such recommendations on allowances as it considers appropriate.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what would be the net cost of providing educational maintenance allowances for all who continue in full-time education after the age of 16 years, at a comparable level to the income obtained by those over the age of 16 years who are not at places of education

Precise figures are not available. However, it is estimated that to offer non-means-tested awards to all 16- to 19-year-olds in full-time education would involve net additional costs of the order of £500 million to £1,000 million a year, if paid at rates corresponding to supplementary benefit or Manpower Services Commission allowances, and substantially more if paid at rates matching 16 to 19 earnings.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations she has received about the need to set limits to the numbers of children at individual schools; and what reply she has given.

As the school population falls because of the falling birth rate, local education authorities need to be able to plan the operating capacities of their individual schools to make the most effective use of their resources in the interest of all their pupils. My right hon. Friend has published proposals to legislate on this matter and on school admissions more generally, and has received representations from a wide range of bodies on her proposals. There has been a general welcome for the concept of the planned operating capacity, and my right hon. Friend was glad to note that the leader of the Inner London Education Authority recently expressed his support for her proposals.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether she is satisfied with the present financial resources devoted to long-term cancer research in Great Britain; and whether she will make a statement.

Quite apart from work financed by other bodies for which I am not responsible, the Medical Research Council is spending £9·4 million a year on projects lasting more than three years. I am satisfied that this, together with support provided by other bodies, is adequate to enable any worthwhile possibility to be pursued.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what consultative and liaison arrangements exist between her Department and the Imperial Cancer Research Fund and the Cancer Research Campaign; and whether she is satisfied with the present situation.

Since the Medical Research Council is responsible for the funding of cancer research it, and not my Department, is the appropriate body to have contacts with the Imperial Cancer Research Fund and the Cancer Research Campaign. It does so through the Co-ordinating Committee on Cancer Research. In addition, there is a great deal of common membership on the various councils and advisory boards of all three bodies. I am satisfied with these arrangements.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proportion of public funds allocated to cancer or cancer-related research is devoted to grants of less than three years' duration.

About 2 per cent. of the Medical Research Council's expenditure in this field. Expenditure by the health departments in direct support of research in this field cannot be analysed in this way.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science, pursuant to her reply of 16th January 1978, if she will set up a working party to consider the feasibility of employing deaf teachers in deaf schools, and of training profoundly deaf people specifically to teach in deaf schools; if she will ascertain the number of countries in which this is the practice; and if she will have discussions with the corresponding departments in such countries about the practice.

Before considering these possibilities, I would prefer to study the report of the Warnock Committee expected later this year. This report is likely to deal with the admission of handicapped people to teacher training and their subsequent employment as teachers. In the meantime, I will investigate the possibility of collecting some international data and write to my hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science, pursuant to her reply of 16th January, if she will indicate the approximate degree of hearing loss of the most deaf of those 18 candidates applying for teaching training who were referred to the medical advisers to the Department and were accepted as suitable, and the approximate degree of hearing loss of the two who were rejected.

Each case referred to the Department's medical advisers is considered in the light of the particular individual circumstances and the available specialist medical and professional advice. Account is taken not only of the nature and degree of a candidate's hearing impairment, but also of his ability to lip read and the quality of his speech. The two applicants who were considered unsuitable for training had both a profound hearing loss and severe speech difficulties and were therefore thought unlikely to be able to function satisfactorily in normal teaching situations.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science, pursuant to her reply of 16th January, if she will seek information from local education authorities and the Royal National Institute for the Deaf about the number of deaf British students who have attended courses at Gallaudet College, United States of America, and other United States colleges; if she will establish in each case whether comparable courses and deaf support services are available in the United Kingdom; and if she will ascertain whether the British student later made use of his United States qualification in the United Kingdom.

The number of deaf British students at Gallaudet College is not known, since my Department does not collect such information from colleges abroad, nor does the Royal National Institute for the Deaf. Local education authorities would be likely to know only of those students whom they had assisted. There is no institution equivalent to Gallaudet College in the United Kingdom.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will establish national scholarships, paid for by her Department, to deaf students who gain admission to United States universities for courses if the comparable ones in this country do not have support services for deaf students.

No. The power already exists for local education authorities to make awards to students attending university courses outside the United Kingdom.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science, pursuant to her reply of 16th January, how much money is being allocated to the centre for support services for the deaf in higher education at the College of St. Hild and St. Bede, University of Durham, as a result of her decision to take account of this centre.

There is no separate allocation but the grant to this college for the current academic year allows for the training of two academic staff to provide these support services.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when she expects the Durham University centre for support services for the deaf to be established; and if she will give some estimate of the number of students it is likely to be helping in each of the next three academic years.

I understand the centre expects to start by supporting about five students in October 1978 and a similar number of admissions in the following two years

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science, pursuant to her reply of 16th January, if she will list in the Offical Report the names of colleges which arrange special full-time courses for the hearing impaired which have recently been publicised by the National Bureau of Handicapped Students; and if she will also publish in the Official Report the names of the large number of colleges which in her parliamentary reply she said are known to offer special part-time courses or support for the hearing impaired.

The following institutions were recently publicised by the National Bureau for Handicapped Students as arranging special full-time courses for the hearing impaired. The information is attributed by the Bureau to the Royal National Institute for the Deaf:

• Birmingham: Bournville College of Further Education.
• London: Brixton College for Further Education City Literary Institute.
• Manchester: Vocational Training Department of the Royal Schools for the Deaf.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science pursuant to her reply of 16th January, if she will list the foreign schools in the Commonwealth and the United States of America which British exchange teachers of the deaf have visited; and in what ways, and by what means, the Central Bureau for Educational Visits and Exchanges is exploring means of increasing the number of exchanges for teachers of handicapped children.

Records are no longer available of the names of all the overseas schools visited by the 11 British teachers referred to in my reply of 16th January. The countries visited by seven of the teachers were as follows:

• Elmfield, Bristol—New Zealand.
• Stannington, Northumberland—Canada.
• Beechwood, Aberdeen—Australia.
• Frank Barnes, London—Canada.
• Royal Residential Schools for the Deaf—New Zealand.
• Pendower, Newcastle—New Zealand.
• Hawkswood School for the Deaf, Waltham Forest—Canada.

The institutions visited by the remaining four are as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what would be the total cost of making free school milk available to all junior school children in State schools; what subsidy would be available from the EEC to defray this cost; and if she will make a statement.

About £20 million a year for England and Wales at current prices. This would qualify for an EEC subsidy of about £4·7 million at the current rate of approximately 3p per pint.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the number of: (a) higher national diplomas and (b) higher national certificates in engineering draughtsmanships awarded in England in each of the last five years.

Higher National Diplomas and Higher National Certificates are awarded in a number of branches of engineering but there is no single award in engineering draughtsmanship. Some draughtsmanship studies are included in the syllabuses of engineering courses which lead to national certificates or diplomas; the emphasis and duration of such studies depend on the nature of the overall discipline and on the wishes of the student.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list the differences in the statutory obligations of the nationalised gas and electricity industries which relate to the provision of supplies to households; and what would be the cost to British Gas if it were obliged to include as many households within its supply area, as is the Central Electricity Generating Board.

These obligations are set out in detail in Section 2 of and Schedule 4 to the Gas Act 1972, Section 1(2) of the Electricity Act 1947 and Section 27(1) of the Electric Lighting (Clauses) Act 1899.The main provisions are that the gas industry has the duty to satisfy so far as it is economical to do so all reasonable demands for gas in Great Britain; the electricity industry has the duty, through its electricity boards, to carry out an efficient and economical distribution of supplies to persons in their area who require them; and that when requested, both industries are required to supply the owner/occupier of premises situated within a specified distance—25 yds. for gas, 50 yds. for electricity—of an existing distribution main currently in use. The cost for which the hon. Member asks is not known.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy how many households are outside the national grid electricity supply area.

The great majority of premises of all types in England and Wales are connected to the distribution networks of the area electricity boards. Premises for which an electricity supply is not available are estimated to number between 2,000 and 3,000 only and are overwhelmingly situated in extremely remote areas.Electricity supply in Scotland is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what proportion of the costs of new connections of gas and electricity to households is met by British Gas and the Central Electricity Generating Board, respectively, and what proportion is met by the customer.

This is a complex subject, on which I am therefore asking the Chairmen of the British Gas Corporation and the Electricity Council to write to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will take steps to assist those who have suffered financial loss as a result of the gas explosion in Brentford in December 1976.

My right hon. Friend will reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy when he proposes to introduce the proposed legislation for the reorganisation of the electricity industry.

My right hon. Friend is considering when to introduce legislation.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will take steps to allow relief from capital transfer tax on let farms similar to that allowed for owner-occupiers; and what would be the cost of such a policy in the United Kingdom and Scotland.

The introduction of a relief from capital transfer tax for the owners of let agricultural land was one of the recommendations of the Agriculture EDC. These recommendations are being considered.The estimated annual cost of extending the relief in the way suggested would be £2·5 million for Scotland and £20 million for the whole of the United Kingdom. In the absence of detailed statistics on let farms held by discretionary trusts these estimates do not reflect the cost of extending the relief to such trusts. This might be substantial in the long term.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will estimate, in terms of 1970 constant prices, what percentage of income was paid in income tax and employee's national insurance contributions, respectively, and in total, by a single man and by a married man with two children under 11 years of age, each having average earnings in the relevant year in each year since 1945.

The percentages are the same in constant prices as in current prices. The figures for 1976–77 and for earlier years are therefore as given in the reply to the hon. Member on 24th November 1977.—[Vol. 939, col. 847–8.]

		Single man			Married man with 2 children under 11
		Percentage of income taken in			Percentage of income taken in
		Tax Per cent.	NIC Per cent.	Tax plus NIC Per cent.	Tax Per cent.	NIC Per cent.	Tax plus NIC Per cent.
1977–78	…	25·7	5·8	31·5	17·4	5·6	23·0

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer on which services rendered for overseas companies an 8 per cent. VAT rate is levied; what is his estimate of the likely effect of this raising of costs; and what is the estimated revenue produced in a full year.

Under the EEC Sixth Directive on VAT, which was implemented in the United Kingdom on 1st January 1978, various services relating to land and goods situated overseas, to goods for export, and other services supplied to persons outside the United Kingdom, or in some cases only outside the EEC, are zero-rated. This covers the bulk of services which can be regarded as exported from this country, but it is not possible to estimate the revenue produced by those services which are not covered by the zero-rating authorised by the Sixth Directive.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish in the Official Report the amount of VAT collected in the year 1976–77 from companies in the following categories, and the cost of collection per individual category: companies with an annual turnover between £7,501 and £10,000; £10,001 and £15,000; £15,001 and £20,000; and £20,001 and £25,000, respectively.

Such information as is available about the net tax paid by companies in bands of taxable turnover is published in table 49 on page 107 of the report of the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Customs and Excise for the year ended 31st March 1977. There is a copy in the Library of the House.I regret that the information asked for about the cost of collection for different categories of companies is not available but the total cost of administering VAT

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the revenue lost to the Exchequer if the mobility allowance ceased to be taxable showing separately the figure assuming no increase in uptake, and the figure assuming that one quarter of existing tricycle users switched to mobility allowance.

On the basis that 100,000 beneficiaries will be in receipt of mobility allowance by the end of 1979, the full year loss of revenue if the allowance of £10 per week ceased to be taxable would be about £12 million.It is expected that slightly less than half of the approximately 55,000 National Health Service vehicle scheme beneficiaries will switch to mobility allowance, and the further loss of revenue if their allowances were untaxed would be about £3 million.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on the basis of the information given by the Government Actuary in Command Paper No. 7091, what would be the estimated cost in a full year of making the mobility allowance tax-free to all the 100,000 beneficiaries expected to be receiving the allowance by the end of March 1979.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given today to the right hon. Member for Wanstead and Woodford (Mr. Jenkin).

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has communicated to the Council of Ministers of the EEC the views of his Department on the question of the future taxation of members of the European Parliament directly elected from the United Kingdom; and whether he anticipates that such members will be liable for United Kingdom taxation as if they hold a United Kingdom employment, part of the duties of which are carried on abroad or whether he anticipates that they will be exempt from United Kingdom taxation.

Members of the European Assembly are not at present given any special tax treatment and, so far as I am aware, no proposals to exempt directly elected Members have been put to the Council of Ministers. It is too soon to say what extent their emoluments would be subject to United Kingdom taxation under the existing law since the arrangements for remunerating them have yet to be made.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the proportion

PUBLIC SECTOR EXPENDITURE*EXPRESSED AS A PERCENTAGE OF GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT AT MARKET PRICE
		Cmnd. 7049 basis†			National accounts definitions
		Total public expenditure		Goods and services: general government	General government≑	Public corporations¶
		General government‡	Certain public corporations§
1972	…	38·4	0·3	22·8	41·6	4·5
1973	…	38·8	0·4	23·4	42·2	4·8
1974	…	43·6	0·9	25·5	47·7	6·0
1975	…	45·4	1·0	27·0	49·6	6·8
1976	…	43·8	1·0	26·1	47·7	6·9
* Excluding expenditure charged to the operating accounts of trading bodies.
† Comparable with the financial year figures published in Table 7 of Cmnd. 7049-I but using national accounts data as in Table 2.4 of Financial Statistics.
‡ Includes government grants and loans to nationalised industries and some other public corporations.
§ The capital expenditure of the remaining corporations, as listed in the notes to Table 2.4 of Financial Statistics.
≑ Includes government grants and loans to all public corporations.
¶ Nationalised industries and all other public corporations.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) to what extent he will require companies to ensure that overseas sub-contractors comply with the Government's incomes policy as a contractual condition when supplying to Government;(2) to what extent he intends to require overseas suppliers of goods or services to Government to comply with the counter-inflation condition clauses in future Government purchasing contracts.

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on

The information readily available relates to general government—central and local combined—and public corporations; this is given in the table below. Figures in the first three columns relate to public expenditure as defined in the White Paper, "The Government's Expenditure Plans 1978–79 to 1981–82" (Cmnd. 7049). Figures in the last two columns relate to total current and capital expenditure on a national accounts basis. General government expenditure excludes transfer payments between central and local government. The direct demands on resources by general government are reflected in the figures given for expenditure on goods and services only.20th February to the hon. Member for Melton (Mr. Latham).—[Official

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if foreign tenders for Her Majesty's Government contracts will be accepted even though these foreign firms cannot comply with the requirements of the new clauses added to the standard terms and conditions concerning pay control; and if foreign sub-contractors whose products or services are incorporated in tenders by British firms will also be exempt.