asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, in the light of the entry into Great Britain of Mr. Duke of the Ku Klux Klan, he is satisfied with the effectiveness of immigration controls at ports of entry.

The relevant instructions to the Immigration Service at the time of Mr. Duke's entry were to refer to the Home Office cases of people identified at the ports as members of the Ku Klux Klan. There was nothing to identify Mr. Duke to the immigration officer as a member and he was given leave to enter the United Kingdom.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will consult chief constables regarding violence on licensed premises, with a view to its elimination; and if he will make a statement;(2) if he will give details of the number of assaults on licensed house managers over the past two years; and if he will make a statement.

Information on the number of assaults on licensed house managers is not available. I am satisfied that the powers available to the police for dealing with such offences are adequate. It is for chief constables to decide how best to deal with incidents of violence on licensed premises and on the deployment of their resources, having regard to local circumstances. I have no plans at present for consulting them about this particular subject, but if my hon. Friend has information that he wishes to bring to my attention perhaps he would do so.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultations his Department undertook before deciding to make a further increase in fees for firearms certificates, effective from 1st April.

The local authority associations, the British Shooting Sports Council and the National Farmers' Union were given advance notice on 21st February of the Government's intention to increase the fees with effect from 1st April 1978. It was explained that the increases were the minimum required to cover increased administration costs, and that there was therefore no scope for consultation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he proposes to take as a result of representations made to him by the Salop County Council about the inadequacy of the establishment of the West Mercia Police Force.

I shall take these representations into account in my consideration of the police authority's application.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish a table showing (a) the cost of energy consumed by services and buildings within his departmental responsibility, in each of the past five years, (b) the percentage change in energy consumption for each year, using 1973 as base year and (c) an estimate of the cash and percentage of energy saved as a result of conservation measures.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply being given today by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for the Environment to the similar Question about the Government estate generally, and to my reply to his Question on 2nd March—[Vol. 945, cc. 306–07]. I regret that further information relating specifically to the prison estate in the terms now requested cannot be obtained without disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement of comparison between fire precaution requirements for hotels and guest houses in Great Britain and the same in the other EEC countries.

Such a comparison is not practicable because of the complexity of requirements within individual countries.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the police establishment figures for each authority, the date they were set, and the percentage increase in indictable offences in each authority since that date.

I append a list. Many of the dates relate to minor increases and to calculate changes in indictable offences since these dates would involve disproportionate cost.

	Authorised establishment	Date of last increase
Avon and Somerset	2,851	11.8.1976
Bedfordshire	941	14.10.1976
Cambridgeshire	1,090	12.7.1976
Cheshire	1,805	9.8.1976
Cleveland	1,411	29.12.1975*
Cumbria	1,082	30.3.1977
Derbyshire	1,709	1.4.1976
Devon and Cornwall	2,673	29.12.1975*
Dorset	1,114	22.12.1977
Durham	1,349	8.3.1977
Dyfed Powys	916	29.12.1975*
Essex	2,511	20.9.1976
Gloucestershire	1,100	18.5.1976
Greater Manchester.	6,735	7.9.1976
Gwent	964	29.12.1975*
Hampshire	2,935	23.8.1976
Hertfordshire	1,483	19.1.1977
Humberside	1,939	29.12.1975*
Kent	2,703	1.2.1978
Lancashire	3,080	29.12.1975*
Leicestershire	1,705	29.12.1975*
Lincolnshire	1,182	29.12.1975*
Merseyside	4,451	1.4.1977
Norfolk	1,264	29.12.1975*
Northamptonshire	950	14.7.1976
Northumbria	3,322	29.12.1975*
North Wales	1,276	29.12.1975*
North Yorkshire	1,328	29.12.1975*
Nottinghamshire	2,144	8.8.1977
South Wales	3,069	29.12.1975*
South Yorkshire	2,752	29.12.1975*
Staffordshire	2,066	29.12.1975*
Suffolk	1,087	8.2.1978
Surrey	1,503	14.7.1976
Sussex	2,799	1.2.1978
Thames Valley	2,996	2.3.1978
Warwickshire	876	29.12.1975*
West Mercia	1,671	20.6.1977
West Midlands	6,509	1.7.1976
West Yorkshire	5,104	29.12.1975*
Wiltshire	995	8.3.1977
City of London	1,022	29.121975*
Metropolitan	26,628	28.10.1974
* Revised to give combined establishment for men and women to comply with the Sex Discrimination Act 1975.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what training is at present provided for Her Majesty's judges.

I have been asked to reply.Appointments to the High Court and circuit Benches are made only from those who have many years of experience in practice at the Bar, or, in the case of the Circuit Bench, as solicitors followed by at least three years' judicial experience as Recorders; so that, on appointment, a judge is well qualified for his office by his experience of the courts. In addition, my noble friend the Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice arrange for regular conferences to be held at which sentencing principles and related issues are considered by the Judiciary. The most recent of these was held on 10th January 1978 and was attended by 10 Lords Justices and 46 High Court judges: a five-day conference will be held in September next, at which it is expected that, among other participants, 27 circuit judges and seven High Court judges will attend.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what was the visible trade balance of the United Kingdom with the original six EEC countries in goods, other than food, feeding stuffs and oil in 1970, 1976 and 1977, respectively.

Our crude trade balance with the original six EEC countries in goods, other than food and live animals and petroleum and petroleum products was in surplus by £200 million in 1970 and in deficit by £1,168 and £1,470 million in 1976 and 1977 respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what are the comparable figures, for the last 12 months for which figures are available, for the visible trade deficit between the United Kingdom and the EEC and between the EEC and Japan.

The EEC visible trade deficit with Japan in the year to the third quarter 1977 was just over $5 billion.The EEC visible trade surplus with the United Kingdom in the same period was $1·7 billion.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what is the trade deficit with the EEC, at an annual rate, based on the last available three months.

Our visible trade deficit with the EEC on a balance of payments basis in the fourth quarter of 1977 was £1,764 million, at an annual rate.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will list the percentage figures for each of the years 1973–77, indicating the ratio of the United Kingdom's net usable trade deficit expressed in £ sterling, with (a) the rest of the EEC and (b) the rest of the world excluding the EEC.

Following is the information:

PROPORTION OF UNITED KINGDOM'S VISIBLE DEFICIT (BALANCE OF PAYMENTS BASIS)
Percentage
			(a)	(b)
			With EEC	With Non-EEC
1973	…	…	50	50
1974	…	…	39	61
1975	…	…	75	25
1976	…	…	59	41
1977*	…	…	104	-4
* In 1977, there was a small surplus on trade with non-EEC countries. The ratio to the total visible deficit has been quoted with a minus sign

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will make a statement regarding the balance of international trade; and whether he has had discussions with Ministers of OECD.

Present trends in international trade suggest only a modest rate of growth for the remainder of 1978. The situation remains precarious as a result of the large balance of payments surpluses both of the OPEC countries and also Japan and Germany, the corresponding deficits of other countries, particularly the United States, and the failure of the more strongly placed industrialised countries to pursue sufficiently expansionary demand management policies. These problems were discussed recently by the relevant senior official committee of the OECD, and there was general agreement that the way out of the present recession had to be found in the developed countries taking collective action to expand their economies, with the responsibility divided among individual countries according to the relative strength of their individual positions. OECD Ministers will be discussing the matter at their annual meeting in June.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will list those EEC countries with which the United Kingdom currently has a favourable trade balance and those countries with which the United Kingdom has an unfavourable trade balance; and by what percentages all balances have changed in one direction or another since 1st January 1974.

In 1977 the United Kingdom had a crude trade surplus with the Irish Republic, which increased by 266 per cent. compared with 1973, and with Belgium/Luxembourg, which declined by 3 per cent. on 1973. With the remaining EEC countries the United Kingdom had a deficit in 1977. For West Germany the deficit increased by 93 per cent. compared with 1973, for France, 75 per cent., Italy, 348 per cent. and Netherlands, 16 per cent. The deficit with Denmark fell by 89 per cent. between 1973 and 1977.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether he is satisfied with the rate of progress in the current discussions under the Tokyo Round taking place in Switzerland; and whether he will make a statement.

The main participants have now tabled their tariff offers, and intensive discussions are taking place on the issues raised by these offers and on various non-tariff issues.I expect decisions of principle to be reached on the most important issues by July of this year.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what representations he has made to American authorities objecting to the high tariff barriers faced by British wool exporters to America.

Representations on this subject have been made to the United States Administration on many occasions and I look for progress on it in the multilateral trade negotiations.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether he is satisfied with the progress being made towards the purchase by Japanese companies of products made by the British aerospace industry.

A determined effort with full diplomatic and ministerial support has been made to sell aerospace products, particularly the BAC 1–11 to Japan. I under- stand that the aircraft has been positively evaluated by the Japanese airline concerned on commercial grounds.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what are the most recent available statistics on the dollars earned by export of Scotch whisky to (a) North America, (b) EEC countries, and (c) Japan.

In the 12 months ending January 1978 exports of Scotch and Northern Irish whisky to North America, the EEC and Japan were valued at £169 million, £103 million and £41 million fob respectively.All exports earn foreign currency, but the denomination of the currency is not known.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what is the estimated effect on trade, both at home and abroad, of the Government's voluntary incomes policy black list.

I consider it extremely unlikely that blacklisting for Government contracts will have any significant effect on trade.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what talks he will be having with the Indian Government about their ban on Concorde flights over that country.

Talks were held in New Delhi last month following the Prime Minister's visit. The Indian Government have decided to refuse permission for supersonic flight over inhabited territory. We understand, however, that the Indian Government are willing to consider supersonic flight across uninhabited territory and this possibily will be pursued.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade by how much the runways would have to be extended to allow Concorde to take off and land at Manchester, Leeds/Bradford, Luton, and Gatwick Airport.

Given the same operating conditions as at Heathrow, the figures are of this order:

			Metres
Manchester	…	…	800
Leeds/Bradford	…	…	2,000
Luton	…	…	1,500
Gatwick	…	…	500

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what discussions he has now had with shipowners, shippers, and the appropriate unions about the EEC draft proposal on a Community approach to the International Code of Conduct for Shipping, with a view to assessing the advantages for British and European shipping interests; and if he will make a statement.

My Department is still in close contact with both sides of the industry about the Commission proposals on the United Nations Code of Conduct for Liner Conferences.We have not yet completed our assessment.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what action he has taken to protect the British shoe industry against low cost imports.

Arrangements dating from 1975 onward with Czechoslovakia, Romania and Poland restrain leather footwear exports to the United Kingdom. A quota at an annual rate of 5·5 million pairs was imposed on imports of non-leather footwear from Taiwan in August 1977. In addition, imports into the United Kingdom of leather footwear from Taiwan and all types of footwear from Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Republic of Korea, India, Pakistan, Brazil and the State Trading Area have been made subject to prior surveillance licensing. We are maintaining a close watch on the situation.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade how many instances of insolvent trading by companies in the Coventry area have been reported to his Department in the last four years; how many bankruptcies of firms have similarly been reported; and if he will make a statement.

As I informed my hon. Friend the Member for Blaydon (Mr. Woof) today, regional statistics of insolvencies are not compiled, in view of the considerable difficulties and the disproportionate expense which would be involved.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade how many banks or other institutions requiring certificates under the provisions of Section 123 of the Companies Act 1948 have been wound up since 1st January 1973 to date; and what are the names of those companies.

One hundred and seventy-five certificates have been granted under Section 123 of the Companies Act 1967. Of these, 134 are still valid. Once a certificate has been relinquished or revoked, no separate record is maintained of the subsequent activities of former holders. It would not be possible, except at disproportionate cost, to establish which of them had been wound up since 1st January 1973.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what framework exists for internationally-agreed commitments of a general agreement with developing countries between the prices of their raw material exports and their imports and manufactures.

No such agreement has been reached, but the relationship between the prices of developing countries' commodity exports and of their imports of manufactures has been discussed in various international fora, including UNCTAD and the Conference on International Economic Co-operation.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade how many investigations into substantive anti-dumping or countervailing duties have taken place; and if he will list the products which have been investigated for anti-dumping action since 1st January 1971.

Since 1st January 1971 my Department has undertaken 105 formal investigations into allegations of dumping or subsidy, involving 50 products. These were:—

• candied peel
• wood chipboard (from nine countries)
• cauliflowers
• compound fertilisers (5)
• magnesium ingots
• glass grains
• saccharin (2)
• ladies' raincoats (2)
• steel reinforcing bars (2)
• offset litho printing presses
• hexamine
• acrylic sheet
• chromic acid
• potato granules
• twist-wrapping machines
• pig iron
• maleic anhydride (4)
• barbed wire
• cutting and wrapping machines
• high density polyethylene (3)
• files (4)
• men's leather shoes (5)
• dimethyl formamide (2)
• louvre doors
• colour TV tubes
• battered onion rings
• dowels and mouldings (2)
• plywood (2)
• dumper trucks
• insulating board (5)
• sporting shotguns
• spectrophotometers
• harvesters
• PVC coated fabrics (2)
• polyester tops
• alarm clocks (7)
• horticultural glass (6)
• ophthalmic lenses
• stereo flong
• men's sandals (2)
• men's and boys' suits (6)
• stainless steel bars and billets
• printed circuit board drills
• lanolin derivatives
• compressed air breathing apparatus
• socket sets
• hydraulic lifting equipment
• non-alloy steel sections and flats (3)
• yarn-carrying cones
• tool and high speed steel bar (2)

On 1st July 1977, responsibility for most investigations passed to the EEC Commission, which since that date has announced 59 investigations involving 16 products. Most of these result from the basic price scheme for steel imports introduced in January of this year. The products involved were:

asked the Secretary of Stats for Trade how many instances of insolvent trading by companies in the North-East development area have been reported to his Department in the last three years to date; how many bankruptcies of firms have similarly been reported; and if he will make a statement.

Regional statistics are not compiled in view of the considerable difficulties and the disproportionate expense which would be involved.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade under what circumstances the British Airports Authority is allowed to incur extra costs through the rejection of most favourable tenders, other than when such tenders are refused in the course of the enforcement of the Government's incomes policy.

This is a matter for the authority.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what has been the level, respectively, of cash and Government securities, and of current liabilities held by companies operating mainly in the United Kingdom since 1971 to the latest available date; and what has therefore been their liquidity ratio for each of these years.

The available figures, which relate to large listed and, except for 1976, unlisted companies engaged mainly in the United Kingdom

Year(a)	…	…	Number of companies(b)	Cash etc.(c) £ million	British Government Securities(d) £ million	Total current liabilities(e) £ million	Liquidity ratio(f) Per cent.
1971 final	…	…	1,851	1,833	14	17,153	10·8
1971 comparable to	…	…	1,825	1,829	14	17,093	10·8
1972 final	…	…	1,754	2,797	8	19,447	14·4
1972 comparable to	…	…	1,734	2,788	8	19,319	14·5
1973 final	…	…	1,691	3,510	18	25,354	13·9
1973 comparable to	…	…	1,665	3,476	18	24,883	14·0
1974 final	…	…	1,649	3,053	26	30,491	10·1
1974 comparable to	…	…	1,527	3,024	24	30,420	10·0
1975 final	…	…	1,513	3,987	32	32,550	12·3
1975 comparable to	…	…	821	3,069	29	23,498	13·2
1976 provisional (g)	…	…	802	4,250	97	28,371	15·3

asked the Secretary of State for Industry whether his Department is required to approve all pay increases at the Swan Hunter shipyards on the Tyne; whether he has been kept informed of the constant industrial disputes at the yards since nationalisation; and whether, having regard to the loss of orders, large scale redundancies and current complete closure of the yard he will set up an independent inquiry to bring forward proposals for ensuring a return to good industrial relations at the yard.

British Shipbuilders and the Department consult on all pay

asked the Secretary of State for Industry whether the Government accept as a basis for policy the opinion of the European Commission that a medium-term European Community strategy for shipbuilding is preferable to short-term national efforts to prolong the life of inefficient yards or to continue production of unwanted vessels.

The Government support the view that solutions to structural problems such as shipbuilding should be increasingly sought on a Community level—but they consider that national measures will be needed within such an approach, and rejects the view of their consequences contained in the last part of the Question.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry how much is expected to be applied for and received in £ sterling in grants to the United Kingdom from the EEC Regional Development Fund in 1978 and 1979 on current projections of the development of the Fund.

The European Regional Development Fund for 1978 will amount to 581 million European units of account—about £375 million at current exchange rates—of which the United Kingdom share is expected to be about £100 million at current exchange rates. Receipts are likely to be spread over several years. The size of the Fund for 1979 has not yet been finally decided.Statistics about industrial development certificates are available only for certificates granted and refused. During the four years 1974–77, 991 certificates were granted in the West Midlands region and 17 refused. I will circulate an analysis of these figures by year and by county in the Official Report.Following are the figures:

INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT CERTIFICATES: WEST MIDLANDS REGION: ALL SCHEMES
	1974		1975		1976		1977		Total 1974–77
Counties	Granted	Refused	Granted	Refused	Granted	Refused	Granted	Refused	Granted	Refused
Hereford and Worcester	24	1	27	1	26	—	19	—	96	2
Salop	9	—	15	—	21	—	21	—	66	—
Staffords.	48	4	53	3	58	—	32	—	191	7
West Mids.	109	4	163	1	140	—	134	1	546	6
Warwicks.	12	1	19	1	36	—	25	—	92	2
West Mids.
Region	202	10	277	6	281	—	231	1	991	17

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what information his Department has collected from developers, local authorities and new town corporations about industrial land and buildings available for sale or rent in the assisted areas of the North-East.

My Department's regional office in Newcastle maintains a comprehensive record of industrial land and buildings available in the North-East for both sale and rent. It is updated monthly from information collected from the English Industrial Estates Corporation, private developers, new town corporations, county councils and estate agents.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry how many inquiries his Department has received from industrial

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what was the number of industrial development certificates applied for in the West Midlands Region since January 1974 to the latest available date, the number of applications not granted together with the relevant date, and the area of the region to which they relate.

Statistics about industrial development certificates are available only for certificates granted and refused. During the four years 1974–77, 991 certificates were granted in the West Midlands region and 17 refused. An analysis of these figures by year and by county is as follows:companies in response to Her Majesty's Government's regional policy in the North-East.

During the years 1974–77 the Northern regional office of my Department dealt with 1,866 inquiries from firms considering setting up or expanding in the Northern Region, including the North-East.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what estimate his Department has of unoccupied advance Government factories in the Northern Region.

At 31st January 1978, my Department had available in the Northern Region 38 advance factories and 23 terrace units, providing a total floor area of about 67,600 square metres.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what estimate has been made of the total grants and other financial incentives offered since January 1974 to encourage industrial firms establishing themselves in the Northern Region; and if he will make a statement.

Assistance has been made available to company undertakings in the Northern Region between 1st January 1974 and 31st December 1977 under the Industry Act 1972, as follows:

Part I	£m.
Payment of regional development grant	404·3
Part II
Section 7 Offers of regional selective assistance	49·2
Section 8 Offers of selective financial assistance	26·1

Applications for assistance under Part II totalling £22·9 million were still under consideration on 31st December 1977.Assistance has also been made available under the Industry Act 1972 to the shipbuilding industry, and by the National Enterprise Board under the Industry Act 1975.Assistance will continue to be made, available from these sources to qualifying undertakings of all industries locating or expanding in the Northern Region.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry whether the National Enterprise Board has reported to him its agreement to British Leyland's plan for further finance; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend has now received the NEB's report on British Leyland's corporate plan. The Government are considering the NEB's recommendations.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he has received the final report of the feasibility study, conducted by Calderdale Council and the English Industrial Estates Corporation, into the conversion of a mill in Calderdale to smaller industrial units; if he has received full financial information associated with the scheme; how costs compare with conventional advance factory units; and if he will make a statement.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what loans have been made by the European Investment Bank to the British Steel Corporation from the beginning of January 1977 to date, giving the amounts and rates of interest and terms of repayment.

Loan approvals announced by the European Investment Bank for the British Steel Corporation from January 1977 to date are as follows:

Plant	…	Amount £ million	Interest rate Per cent.
Redcar	…	8·0	8 6/10
Ravenscraig	…	14·0	8 7/8
Distington/Fullwood	…	7·65	8 7/8
Ravenscraig	…	52·7	8 3/4
Templetton (Consett)	…	3·9	8 6/10
Port Clarence (Teesside)	…	6·9	8 1/2
Craigneuk	…	3·75	8 7/8

These loans are generally repayable on an annuity basis over 12 years from when the projects come on stream.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry (1) if he will make a statement as to what progress in relation to matters under his responsibility was made at the second Liverpool inner city partnership meeting, held on Friday 10th March; and what topics were discussed;(2) what conclusions on matters under his responsibility were reached at the second Liverpool inner city partnership meeting, held on 10th March, with regard to the establishing of the priorities which should determine the selection of projects for Liverpool's inner city programmes; and if he will make a statement.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Industry whether, in view of the imminent closure of the East Moors Steelworks by the British Steel Corporation and the resultant level of unemployment amongst steelworkers and those dependent on the steelworks, he is now prepared to designate Cardiff a special development area.

We made Cardiff a development area on 14th August 1974.There is no evidence that a further upgrading would be justified at present.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will publish a table showing (a) the cost of energy consumed by each of the nationalised industries within his departmental responsibility, in each of the past five years, (b) the percentage change in energy consumption for each year, using 1973 as base year and (c) an estimate of the cash and percentage of energy saved as a result of conservation measures.

This is a matter for those industries.

asked the Attorney-General what steps he is taking to speed up the availability of transcripts of trial proceedings so that the hearing of appeals is not unduly delayed.

My noble Friend is not aware of any general delay in the hearing of appeals due to non-availability of transcripts of trial proceedings. A special unit in his Department is responsible for liaison with court reporting firms, and for monitoring the production of transcripts. Particularly urgent cases are always given special attention.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will, in the light of his statement made on 8th March, give further details on the question of the repayment of vehicle licence duty for people who were misled by inaccuracies in the renewal form giving the actual or estimated costs to date; and what this will cost with the Press advertisements and other expenses to be incurred for repayment.

To date we have repaid £10 to each of the three complainants to the Parliamentary Commissioner in order to comply with his recommendation. The cost of Press advertisement is £44,200. I cannot say what the costs of claims and making repayments will be until the claims have been made.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will set out in the Official Report the capacity criteria used for road designs, showing the upper and lower capacity figures for dual carriageways, trunk roads, and dual two and dual three lane motorways.

Expressed in terms of 16-hour average daily flow for the month in which the heaviset traffic occurs, the upper and lower design flow figures lie within the range:

	Min	Max
Dual 2-lane all-purpose road	17,000–45,000
Dual 3-lane all-purpose road	35,000–60,000
Dual 2-lane motorway	35,000–56,000
Dual 3-lane motorway	45,000–85,000

Capacities at or near the top of these bands will only be achievable if the traffic flow is fairly uniform throughout the day and if the proportion of heavy vehicles is not unusually high.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish a table showing (a) the cost of energy consumed by services and buildings within his departmental responsibility, in each of the past five years, (b) the percentage change in energy consumption for each year, using 1973 as base year and (c) an estimate of the cash and percentage of energy saved as a result of conservation measures.

The energy requirements of all my Department's services and buildings, in common with those of most other Departments, are a matter for the Property Services Agency of the Department of the Environment. I therefore refer the hon. Member to the reply to the question which he has put to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment.

asked the Secretary of Transport if he will list the expenditure on trunk road construction and maintenance, respectively, expressed in terms of expenditure per head of population for each county from 1975 to 1977, inclusive.

	Construction*			Maintenance†
County	1974–75	1975–76	1976–77	1974–75	1975–76	1976–77
Avon	2·64	3·69	3·95	0·46	0·67	0·69
Bedfordshire	0·86	1·16	1·43	1·22	1·87	2·52
Berkshire	4·70	2·40	2·75	0·72	0·97	1·14
Buckinghamshire	1·92	3·91	3·35	0·87	0·99	1·04
Cambridgeshire	19·84	12·16	17·40	1·18	1·39	1·59
Cheshire	9·01	10·50	9·05	2·40	3·17	4·34
Cleveland	10·75	11·30	5·75	0·15	0·36	0·75
Cornwall	21·75	34·47	26·60	1·44	2·21	1·57
Cumbria	10·92	35·70	34·80	1·45	2·95	3·24
Derbyshire	6·23	3·52	11·96	1·16	1·47	1·38
Devon	17·27	22·50	17·53	0·35	0·84	0·90
Dorset	0·26	0·45	0·72	0·27	0·32	0·42
Durham	0·80	1·64	0·36	0·54	1·12	1·13
East Sussex	0·85	3·63	6·31	0·19	0·16	0·32
Essex	9·45	9·79	9·04	0·30	0·34	0·38
Gloucestershire	5·05	1·11	3·00	1·69	1·27	1·15
Greater London	2·60	3·12	2·98	0·18	0·25	0·37
Greater Manchester	3·63	5·52	8·58	0·12	0·40	0·60
Hampshire	11·32	9·13	6·40	0·43	0·46	0·70
Hereford/Worcester	2·12	1·94	1·25	1·18	2·05	1·92
Hertfordshire	11·61	8·65	5·61	0·84	3·58	2·17
Humberside	11·98	21·30	15·02	0·36	1·30	1·46
Isle of Wight	—	—	—	—	—	—
Kent	5·95	12·47	12·53	0·86	1·02	1·17
Lancashire	5·41	2·30	1·78	1·15	1·36	1·67
Leicestershire	0·69	7·82	8·25	1·15	2·27	1·96
Lincolnshire	1·45	1·55	3·74	0·39	2·58	2·50
Merseyside	6·18	4·44	2·87	0·10	0·54	0·62
Norfolk	3·93	3·06	4·16	0·63	0·63	0·75
Northamptonshire	0·76	1·38	2·28	1·37	1·60	2·15
Northumberland	6·13	20·35	22·29	4·02	2·35	1·88
North Yorkshire	12·69	13·15	7·26	0·52	1·82	3·53
Nottinghamshire	0·33	0·51	0·63	0·45	0·55	0·68
Oxfordshire	1·99	9·68	20·84	1·21	1·50	1·70
Salop	12·35	10·36	5·71	2·66	2·95	2·44
Somerset	13·60	47·56	39·68	1·97	1·42	1·63
South Yorkshire	1·49	1·40	5·11	0·49	1·38	1·11
Staffordshire	2·96	3·50	2·13	1·33	1·18	4·71
Suffolk	3·74	7·52	10·29	0·53	0·97	1·69
Surrey	12·84	26·85	22·10	0·36	0·49	0·38
Tyne and Wear	2·41	2·42	0·14	0·05	0·19	0·12
Warwickshire	5·55	15·94	25·64	2·46	3·68	2·27
West Midland	2·14	5·49	3·51	0·10	0·22	0·49
West Sussex	0·54	1·01	1·45	0·44	0·49	0·77
West Yorkshire	1·45	0·60	0·70	0·44	1·10	1·08
Wiltshire	7·94	11·21	8·09	0·46	1·17	1·28
* Includes improvements.
† Includes cleansing, gritting and snow clearing.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport, as a result of measures at the end of 1976 to reduce public expenditure, what reductions there have been in his Department's budget for 1978–79 at 1978 survey prices; and what percentage of the total budget this figure represents.

The December 1976 measures were partly offset by later increases. The net effect was a reduction of about £5 million at 1976 survey prices,

Following is the expenditure in £/head for financial years 1974–75, 1975–76 and 1976–77:or about 0·2 per cent., in my Department's public expenditure plans for 1978–79. Figures at 1978 survey prices are not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether, in the light of the deep concern felt by the users and various authorities, including the London Borough of Newham, at the application made to him by the Kent and Essex County Councils for a further increase in the Dartford Tunnel tolls and in view of supporting the Government's anti-inflation policy, he will decline giving his permission until meeting the various objectors and their Members of Parliament to discuss this question.

No. A public inquiry is to be held and I shall have to consider the application in the light of the inspector's report.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will now introduce legislation, bearing in mind the experience of the Yorkshire Electricity Board in the Hallam Division of Sheffield, to enable weights and measures departments and independent assessors to check the accuracy of meters installed and supplied by the Central Electricity Generating Board.

The Electricity Supply Acts require electricity boards to use meters certified by electricity meter examiners of the Department of Energy and to keep meters in proper order for correctly registering the supply.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether he is prepared to permit the unrestricted export of natural gas liquids and liquid petroleum gases.

There is no legal impediment to the export of natural gas liquids from the United Kingdom.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy, in the event of market conditions being such that the United Kingdom petrochemical industry may not be ready to use substantial supplies of local natural gas liquids, what use he recommends should be made of the heavier gases.

Where the United Kingdom petrochemical industry is not able to make use of supplies of associated natural gas liquids brought ashore from the United Kingdom sector of the North Sea the Government always seek to ensure that these are disposed of on terms that bring the best return to this country.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will give a list of the fields in the British sector of the North Sea which could produce substantial quantities of natural gas liquids; and at what price he recommends that they should be made available to the petrochemical industry in the United Kingdom.

Gas-Gathering Pipelines (North Sea) Ltd. has been asked to determine as accurately as is practicable the potential yield of natural gas liquids in the United Kingdom sector of the North Sea. The final report of the company is to be submitted to the Government within the next month. The Government do not interfere in price negotiations between suppliers and users.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy when he intends to introduce legislation to enable payments to be made to the Central Electricity Generating Board in respect of the proposed coal-fired Drax B power station.

My right hon. Friend is considering this.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will publish a table showing (a) the cost of energy consumed by each of the nationalised industries within his departmental responsibility, in each of the past five years, (b) the percentage change in energy consumption for each year, using 1973 as base year and (c) an estimate of the cash and percentage of energy saved as a result of conservation measures.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection what action he intends to take in regard to the report of the Monopolies Commission that solicitors be allowed to advertise.

I have received a report from the Director General of Fair Trading on the discussions that he has been holding with the profession at my right hon. Friend's request and I have asked the President of the Law Society to meet me to discuss one or two outstanding points. I hope to hold that meeting soon and I shall inform the House of the outcome.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection if he has any figures on the level of prices in the constituency of Brigg and Scunthorpe as compared with the national average.

I have no figures on the level of prices in the constituency of Brigg and Scunthorpe as compared with the national average.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection whether his Department intends to extend the local price survey scheme beyond 31st March 1978; and if he will make a statement.

Following the proved and increasingly recognised success of the local price survey, we have decided to continue financing surveys for a further 12 months from 1st April 1978. Because of the importance of ensuring that com-

£000
Region					Block 1	Block 2	Block 3
Northern	…	…	…	…	187,537	35,220	22,841
Yorkshire and Humberside	…	…	…	…	263,056	43,401	22,284
North-West	…	…	…	…	309,643	87,550	52,238
East Midlands	…	…	…	…	154,925	36,415	11,558
West Midlands	…	…	…	…	277,204	52,429	27,689
Eastern	…	…	…	…	202,900	53,047	25,336
South-East	…	…	…	…	228,014	53,612	58,596
Greater London	…	…	…	…	851,143	126,178	150,389
South-West	…	…	…	…	135,582	42,498	21,073
					2,610,004	530,350	392,004

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many contracts have now been placed by

asked the Secretary of State [or the Environment what are the regional totals of housing investment programme bids for 1978–79 for each of the three spending blocks at provisional outturn prices.

Following is the information at 1978–79 provisional outturn prices:his Department containing the new counter-inflation conditions.

Nine works and 23 supplies contracts.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will publish in the Official Report, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Brigg and Scunthorpe (Mr. Ellis), Official Report, 12th May 1977, columns 579–80, the provisional figures for staff and administration costs relating to land acquisitions and to the initial setting up of the local authority arrangements for operating the community land scheme in England in 1976–77.

The latest provisional figure is £3·5 million.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many local authorities have constructed or are in the process of constructing sites where skateboarding can be practised in safety by children; how many have not constructed such sites; and if he will list them.

Records are not kept centrally which could provide this information. I welcome efforts being made by many local authorities to provide facilities for this sport to be practised in safety.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what conclusions were reached at the second Liverpool inner city partnership meeting, held on 10th March, with regard to the establishing of the priorities which should determine the selection of projects for Liverpool's inner city programmes; and if he will make a statement;(2) if he will make a statement as to what progress was made at the second Liverpool inner city partnership meeting, held on Friday 10th March; and what topics were discussed.

I chaired the second meeting of the Liverpool Partnership Committee on Friday 10th March.The Committee discussed key issues and priorities. It agreed that to improve the quality of life for those who live and work in the inner city, so as to minimise the outflow of population, must be the overall objective. Measures to improve employment prospects would make the most impact. Other priorities in the physical and social fields were also discussed. Specific proposals will be developed for the committee to consider at its next meetings.The Committee also agreed on arrangements for consulting voluntary organisations as the work proceeds, including the establishment of a central information point on the partnership and the production of a newssheet.The Committee took note of a proposed submission by the City and County concerning the urban programme for 1978–79. They noted representations by the City and County Councils about the Inner Urban Areas Bill and the proposed new magistrates court building in Liverpool.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment, as a result of measures at the end of 1976 to reduce public expenditure, what reductions there have been in the budget of his Department for 1978–79 at 1978 survey prices; and what percentage of the total budget this figure represents.

I will answer this question shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the estimate of the reduction in the number of new mortgages available during the next 12 months if the Building Societies Association conforms to the Government request to reduce its lending from £700 million a month to £600 million a month assuming the average wage stays the same.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend on Friday 10th March to my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds, West (Mr. Dean).—[Vol. 945, c. 814–16.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimate he has of the total cost to local authorities of: (a) the administration of rent rebates, (b) the administration of rent allowances and (c) the administration of rate rebates in the current financial year.

The estimated figures for England are (a) £7·5 million; (b) £4 million. I regret that the figure for (c) is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table showing (a) the cost of energy consumed by the Property Services Agency in each of the past five years, (b) the percentage change in energy consumption for each year, using 1973 as base year and (c) an estimate of the cash and percentage of energy saved as a result of conservation measures.

I will answer this Question shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the average level of costs incurred by appellants in appeals to the Lands Tribunal in the last five financial years.

I have been asked to reply. I regret that the information is not available as, in the great majority of appeals, the amount of the costs payable is agreed between the parties without reference to the Lands Tribunal.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer on 9th March to the hon. Member for Chingford, confirming the existence of a black list of firms banned from tendering to Government on the grounds of breaches of phases 1 and 2 of the Government's incomes policy, why that list was not circulated to local authorities under the provisions of paragraph 15 of circular 123/73 and paragraph 2 of circular 103/76.

The first firm in breach of the pay policy was notified to the Department in October 1976, but as the firm agreed shortly afterwards to correct the breach it was unnecessary to notify local authorities.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development what contribution Her Majesty's Government are making to multilateral balance of payments facilities for Portugal.

An agreement was signed in Lisbon last Friday under which we are providing a loan of $20 million to Portugal which will be paid over in two instalments of $10 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make a statement on the outcome of the Belgrade conference on security and co-operation in Europe follow-up meeting.

The course of the Belgrade meeting, the British contribution to it, and the Government's view of its outcome are described in detail in a White Paper which was published on 10th March. This includes as annexes the full text of the concluding document, of the speeches made by my right hon. and noble Friend during the opening and closing phases of the meeting, and of the various proposals put forward by the United Kingdom during the meeting.In the statement that I made on 7th December 1977, in reply to a Question from the hon. Member for Aberdeen, South (Mr. Sproat), on the progress being made at Belgrade, I emphased the Government's desire that the meeting should end constructively, with all the participants subscribing to a balanced and substantial concluding document. The meeting proceeded throughout by consensus and in the event this proved impossible. Western countries were prepared to negotiate on the basis of a draft document put forward by the neutrals and non-aligned group of countries, but the Russians and their allies refused to do so, and showed no disposition to make any concessions of substance in the key areas of human rights and human contacts which have always been central to Western interest in the CSCE follow-up process. Faced with this unbalanced Soviet approach, the United Kingdom and its partners and allies were left with no option but to agree to a short and mainly factual concluding document. I should like to put on record the Government's deep regret that despite the best endeavours of our own and other Western delegations, and neutral and non-aligned countries, an opportunity to further the development of the detente has thus been missed.However, the results of Belgrade should not be dismissed as without value. Preparations for it concentrated the minds of all concerned on the need to honour their commitments, which led to some progress being made both in the run-up to the Belgrade meeting and during it. The successful completion of the review of implementation has firmly established the right of all the participating States to criticise quite frankly the record of other CSCE States in implementing the Final Act. And the discussion of proposals for improving implementation has focused attention on the areas where improvement is most needed. The ideas put forward at Belgrade remain for future discussion.The concluding document itself, moreover, is by no means worthless. It contains both a reaffirmation by the participating States of the validity and importance of the Final Act, including, the human rights provisions, and a commitment on their part to meet again at Madrid in 1980. It also contains agreements to convene three meetings of experts: at Montreux in October 1978 to discuss the peaceful settlement of disputes; at Bonn in June 1978 where a "Scientific Forum" will be held; and at La Valletta in February 1979 to discuss various economic, scientific and cultural questions affecting the Mediterranean.The CSCE process thus remains very much alive. In the run-up to the Madrid meeting the Government will continue to implement their obligations fully and completely. They will expect others to do the same. And as in the past, as at Belgrade itself, they will not hesitate to speak out in those cases where the provisions of the Final Act are inadequately implemented or ignored by others.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the total of Government spending by the Hong Kong Government for the forthcoming year; and what proportion of this figure will be raised from additional taxes, increased borrowing or by calling upon Hong Kong's reserves.

Total estimated expenditure by the Hong Kong Government for the financial year 1978–79 is HK$10,266 million—approximately £1,208 million—an increase of 26 per cent. on 1977. None of the revenue will be raised through additional taxes, borrowing or by drawing on reserves.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the average period elapsing between application for and grant of entry certificates in respect of citizens of each of the following countries: Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Pakistan, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, South Yemen, Spain and the United Arab Emirates.

Visas are not required by citizens or Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Portugal, Spain or, with effect from 10th April, citizens of the United Arab Emirates. The time taken to issue entry certificates to citizens of Bangladesh and India, for whom they are optional except for those seeking settlement, and visas to the other nationalities listed varies according to the circumstances of each application. The main problem arises in respect of settlement applications in the Indian Sub-continent where the waiting times for the main settlement queues in Delhi, Bombay, Dacca, Islamabad and Karachi are five, 14½, 21, 17¼ and 18 months respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will take steps to establish a general fund for refugees.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer my hon. Friend gave in reply to a Question from my hon. Friend the Member for Salford, East (Mr. Allaun) on 22nd February.—[Vol. 944, cc. 720.]

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he is yet able to say if he has any plans to visit Argentina.

My right hon. Friend has at present no plans to do so.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information is available to him of the amount paid as income from United Kingdom sources to persons residing outside the United Kingdom, and of the trade or profession of those to whom the money is remitted.

Payments to locally engaged staff in United Kingdom military and diplomatic establishments abroad amounted to £245 million in 1977. Statistics of the trade or profession of the recipients are not available. Other pay-

			Budget			Tax Schedules
United States of America	…	…	Mid-January/early February	…	…	See Note.
Germany	…	…	Late September/October	…	…	See Note.
France	…	…	Early September	…	…	With Budget.
Italy	…	…	Usually February	…	…	See Note.
Japan	…	…	January	…	…	Usually with Budget.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will indicate the principal published sources on which his assertions about German monetary policy in his recent lecture to the Labour ments to non-residents are included in the balance of payments accounts but it is generally not possible to distinguish payments to individuals from payments to organisations. However, it is estimated that payments to foreign seamen working on British-owned ships amounted to over £20 million in 1977.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the total net cost of raising all tax thresholds to supplementary benefit levels and introducing tax rates starting at 15 per cent. on the first £500 of taxable income and increasing by 5 per cent. on each extra £500 thereafter with a maximum of 50 per cent. taxation, and replacing all existing child benefits and allowances by a single scale of age related child benefits equal in value to child supplementary benefit rates and payable for all dependent children.

About £6,000 million at 1977–78 income levels, if the supplementary benefit level is assumed to include an average addition for rent and rates.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information is available to him of the approximate day of the year when each of the following countries publish their tax schedules and budgets (a) the United States, (b) Germany, (c) France, (d) Italy and (e) Japan.

The information requested is as follows:Economic Finance and Taxation Association are based; and what information he has on estimates of the German money supply targets for each period since they have been introduced and of the recorded growth of the money supply over the same periods.

Detailed figures for the growth of the monetary aggregates in the German Federal republic are published in the statistical supplements to the monthly reports of the Deutsche Bundesbank. Targets for the growth of central bank money have been in operation since 1975. The following table shows how actual growth has compared with the target in each year since then:

		Volume of central bank money (annual average of daily figures) (DM billion)	Percentage Growth rate	Target Growth rate Per cent.
1975	…	105·7	10·0*	8·0*
1976	…	115·4	9·2†	8·0†
1977	…	125·8	90†	8·0†
* In 1975 the target related to the growth of central bank money from end-December 1974 to end-December 1975, seasonally adjusted.
† The 1976 and 1977 targets related to the level of central bank money averaged over the year in question compared with the corresponding figure for the previous year.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assumptions on competitiveness are fed into the Treasury model of the economy.

The Treasury model currently employs both relative labour costs and relative prices as indicators of United Kingdom competitiveness. Forecasts of the economy, making use of the Treasury model, take account of these and other dimensions of competitiveness. Assumptions about the levels of competitiveness can be fed into the Treasury model; alternatively competitiveness can be predicted using forecasts of costs and prices. Which of these options is taken depends on circumstances: for example, the Industry Act forecast published in October of last year assumed a constant effective exchange rate, and previous Industry Act forecasts assumed a constant level of competitiveness.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the loss of revenue if tax rates were altered to start at 15 per cent. on the first £500 of taxable income, and to increase by 5 per cent. on each extra £1,000 of taxable income thereafter, with a maximum of (a) 50 per cent. and (b) 60 per cent.

About £5,500 million for (a) and about £5,200 million for (b), at 1977–78 income levels.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will arrange to publish from information available to him in the Official Report the average increase—or decrease—in company profits for the latest year available in comparison with the previous year.

The estimated increases in the gross trading profits of industrial and commercial companies between the years ended 30th September 1976 and 30th September 1977 are as follows:

	Before deducting stock appreciation Per cent.	After deducting stock appreciation Per cent.
All companies	25·0	40·0
—excluding North Sea Oil and Gas	15·0	25·0

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in view of the multi-racial society, he will arrange for all information on taxation and matters issued in written form by his Department to be published in the languages of the major ethnic groups, such as Hindi, Bengali, Urdu, Gujarati and Punjabi.

As I told by hon. Friend on 28th February—[Vol. 945, c. 181]—the Inland Revenue already supplies an explanatory leaflet in these five languages. There would be little advantage in extending this arrangement to all forms issued by the Inland Revenue and the Customs and Excise.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer by how much would the figure of £3,000 referred to in the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1975, Section 32, have to be increased if it were revalued in line with the retail price index.

By £1,400. This answer is based on the movement in the General Index of Retail Prices between April 1975 and January 1978, the latest date for which information is available.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish

£ million
	1975	1976	1977*
Public sector balances†
Current account balance	+2,161	+2,813	+ 3,045
Capital account balance (excludes financial transactions)	-10,019	-11,142	-7,601
Public sector financial deficit	-7,858	-8,329	-4,556
Financial transactions	-2,662	-1,081	+755
Public sector borrowing requirement	10,520	9,410	3,801
Public sector gross domestic capital formation (included in capital account)	9,932	10,972	7,439
* First nine months only.
† Surplus positive, deficit negative.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much money in £ sterling was received by the United Kingdom by way of loans and grants from the following EEC sources in the periods (a) 1977 and (b) since 1st January 1973 to

£ million
	1977		1st January 1973 to 31st December 1977
	Loans	Grants	Loans	Grants
European Investment Bank	320·7	—	879·0	—
European Coal and Steel Community	181·4	9·0	647·0	24·1
Social Fund	—	47·8	—	94·4
Regional Development Fund	—	60·0	—	88·9
European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund:
Guarantee Section	—	148·2	—	860·5
Guidance Section	—	23·3	—	35·1