asked the Minister of Overseas Development what representations she has received about Government financial assistance to Mozambique; and if she will make a statement.

Since February 1977 I have received 76 letters on this subject. I have nothing to add to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member on 13th February.—[Vol. 944, c. 1.]

asked the Ministry of Overseas Development what proposals will be made by the United Kingdom in the course of the renegotiation of the Lome convention, for strengthening and expanding the STABEX scheme.

We shall wish to consider any proposals from our ACP partners in this regard.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development how much her Department has spent in the last year in financial assistance to overseas students studying in the United Kingdom.

In 1977 we spent about £16·5 million on assistance to overseas students and trainees under our Government to Government and other regular programmes and £3 million in supporting private and refugee students.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development what specific studies or projects have been undertaken by the rural development unit in her Department; and what progress it has made in respect of surveys for likely projects.

The rural development department has issued guidelines on social development, employment creation, rural development management structures, area development, and population activities and has serviced studies of appropriate technology and urban poverty. Specific projects are identified and undertaken under the supervision of the geographical departments and the Development Divisions. Since June 1975, 53 major projects in the field of rural development have been initiated.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development when he next expects to meet representatives of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to discuss further British aid to Vietnam.

I have not hitherto met representatives of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to discuss British aid to Vietnam and I have no present plans to do so. Negotiations with Vietnam about aid matters are conducted through the British Embassy in Hanoi.

asked the Lord President of the Council if he will make a statement on the recent intermittent disruption of the publication of the Official Report and Order Paper.

I apologise to the House that the papers for some recent sittings have not been readily available in their normal printed form, and I fully recognise the severe difficulties for Members caused by these interruptions.The present position is that Her Majesty's Stationery Office management has informed ACAS of the position and hopes to establish a new basis for discussion. Meanwhile, parliamentary printing is liable to be seriously affected, but every effort will be made to supply essential papers to the House; I hope, despite all the difficulties, Members will find their essential needs are being met.

asked the Lord President of the Council whether, in view of the financial problems of the Commons Refreshment Department, he will reconsider the possibility of allowing to visitors during the Summer Recess the use of dining facilities in the Members' Dining Room.

I will ask the Catering Sub-Committee to have another look at this idea, but, as my hon. Friend will appreciate, there are other factors besides finance to be taken into account—for example the security aspect.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he remains satisfied that the electricity discount scheme, as it has operated this winter, has brought the necessary help to those most in need of assistance with their electricity bills.

A £5 payment was made to recipients of supplementary benefit or family income supplement in January. Under this year's scheme additional help is available to eligible consumers whose electricity bills exceed £20. They are entitled to 25 per cent. of the amount over £20 and have until 30th June to claim this by applying for a discount voucher at post offices.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether he will detail those offshore blocks licensed in the fifth round on which exploratory drilling has commenced.

Wells are being drilled in Blocks 14/18, 30/17b, and 110/9.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he is satisfied with progress being made to increase home insulation.

The progress in home insulation that has been made so far will be substantially improved by the measures for public sector housing announced on 12th December 1977. I am keeping the possibility of further measures under review.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether it is his inten- tion to exercise his veto under the Anglo-German-Dutch treaty to prevent the export to Brazil of enriched uranium from Almelo and Capenhurst: whether he will make a statement on the future of Urenco relating to the supply of enriched uranium to countries who have refused to sign the non-proliferation nuclear treaty.

There is no need for a veto. We are satisfied that the safeguards and other non-proliferation conditions which have been negotiated between the three parties and Brazil are adequate.All Urenco contracts contain safeguards clauses. The policy of the partnership is that suitable and effective safeguards and non-proliferation conditions should be applied when enrichment services are supplied. Even if a customer country is not a party to the NPT, IAEA safeguards can be and are applied.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what studies on renewable energy sources are currently being carried out by the energy technology support unit at Harwell.

The unit supports my Department in the planning and management of its research and development programmes on renewable energy sources, and carries out related assessment studies to define research and development requirements.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what progress has been made to implement the plan for coal to generate some 42 million tons of new capacity by the mid-1980s.

The National Coal Board has now approved projects which will provide about 30 million tons of new capacity.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what is the latest subsidy per ton of coal produced in the United Kingdom, and in each of the coal producing countries of the European Economic Community.

I have nothing to add to the answer that my right hon. Friend gave on 5th December 1977—[Vol. 940, c. 493.]

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what was the amount of deep-mined coal in Great Britain's coal mines for the month of February, and what was the comparable tonnage in February 1977.

Production of deep-mined coal in Great Britain was 9,424,000 tons in the four weeks ending 18th February 1978, and 9,453,000 tons in the four weeks ending 19th February 1977.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what was the amount of output of coal per man-shift in the month of February.

The average output per man-shift overall in National Coal Board deep mines in the four weeks ending 18th February 1978 was 46·02 cwt. The comparable figure for the corresponding four weeks in 1977 was 45·16 cwt.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what are the present stocks of coal distributed and undistributed, and what were the comparable figures in the last six months of 1977.

The latest figures available for coal stocks in Great Britain are for 4th March 1978. These figures, and similar information for each of the last six months of 1977, are given in the following table:

STOCKS OF COAL*: GREAT BRITAIN
Date	Distributed Stock	Thousand tons Undistributed Stock
23rd July 1977	20,444	8,966
20th August 1977	20,374	8,763
24th September 1977	20,484	8,936
22nd October 1977	21,325	8,997
19th November 1977	21,463	10,086
24th December 1977	21,362	9,675
4th March 1978	18,684	9,839
* Excluding distributed stocks held in merchants' yards, etc., mainly for the domestic market, and stocks held by the industrial sector.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what measures are now required in the longer-term prospects for the preservation of coal production capacity in the United Kingdom.

As I indicated in my reply today to the hon. Member for Aberdare (Mr. Evans), the National Coal Board is pressing ahead with investment in new capacity under "Plan for Coal". The consultative document on energy policy (Cmnd. 7101) includes in its proposed energy strategy the creation of further new capacity in the coal industry to come into production in the late 1980s and 1990s—paragraph 14.27. The same document lists measures which can be taken to help the industry cope with short-term problems—paragraph 14.5.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what consultations he has had with his European Economic Community colleagues on developing an energy strategy which takes account of the growing importance of coal.

In meetings of the Energy Council and discussions with ministerial colleagues I have constantly emphasised the need to recognise the essential place of coal in energy policy as the Community's most important long-term indigenous energy resource and the claims it has for Community support. Also this theme is always repeated by my Department whenever the opportunity offers at the various official meetings which take place on the development of energy policy.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what was the volume of United Kingdom gas consumption during the last quarter and the proportion by which this exceeded consumption in the same quarter in 1976 and 1977.

The latest quarter for which information is available is that ending 31st December 1977. For the quarter ending 31st December gas consumption was 3,857 million therms in 1975; 4,218 million therms in 1976; and 4,256 million therms in 1977. These figures show a percentage increase of 9·35 between 1975 and 1976, and 0·90 between 1976 and 1977.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what precautions are being taken, in the light of recent United States disasters, over the storage of liquid petroleum gases at Sullom Voe in Shetland.

The Chairman of the Health and Safety Commission informs me that the lessons of recent incidents in the United States will be studied in relation to the storage of liquefied petroleum gases at Sullum Voe as soon as information on these incidents becomes available. It is not at present clear whether the circumstances of these incidents will be relevant to the storage of liquid petroleum gases at a large reception terminal relatively remote from communities of the size reported as being involved in the United States. The installation is currently being constructed, including the storage facility for liquid petroleum gases. Its design is understood

£ million
NATIONAL COAL BOARD
			1974–75	1975–76	1976–77
			Nil	Nil	Nil

£ million
BRITISH GAS CORPORATION
			1974–75	1975–76	1976–77
Compensation for accelerated investment	…	…	—	0·2	0·1
Compensation for price restraint	…	…	41·5	23·6	7·0
Total for year	…	…	41·5	23·8	7·1

£ million
ELECTRICITY INDUSTRY (ENGLAND AND WALES)
				1974–75	1975–76	1976–77
Compensation for accelerated investment	…	…	…	4·4	9·6	9·4
Compensation for price restraint	…	…	…	176·3	302·6	15·2
				180·7	312·2	24·6

No such payments have been made to the British National Oil Corporation since its establishment.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what efforts are being made on research on further development of mining technology.

The annual report of the National Coal Board's Mining Research and Development Establishment describes in some detail the efforts that the Board are making on further development of mining technology. Particular emphasis is being laid upon the automatic remote control and monitoring of mining operations, tunnelling, transport underground, and improving the working environment of the mineworker. In addition, the manufacturers of mining equipment are engaged in a substantial development effort in pursuit of the same object-

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what payments were made to each of the nationalised industries for which be is responsible for tasks undertaken by them, which were not in their commercial interests, in each of the years, 1975, 1976, and 1977, respectively.

Payments in the last three financial years were as follows:tives, and their work is well co-ordinated with that of the National Coal Board.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what studies are being made for new technologies producing gas and oil from coal to replace and supplement the oil and natural gas reserves which will become scarce in the long term, and if he will make a statement.

The National Coal Board at its Coal Research Establishment near Cheltenham is developing techniques for the liquefaction of coal to produce petrol and diesel fuels, and chemical feedstocks and for the gasification of coal in a fluidised bed to produce a low calorific value fuel gas.The British Gas Corporation at its Westfield Development Centre is developing techniques for the production of substitute natural gas from coal. This work is being sponsored by an American consortium.Proposals for the further pilot scale development of coal gasification and liquefaction techniques have been considered by the R and D Working Party of the Coal Industry Tripartite Group and publication of the draft report is expected in a matter of weeks. Details of these proposals are given in the Department of energy Press Notice 345 dated 19th October 1977 and I am sending the hon. Member a copy.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what steps he has taken to publicise the number of fatal and serious accidents in the nuclear power industry caused by radiation.

I have undertaken, in consultation with the Secretary of State for Scotland, to bring serious occurrences in the nuclear industry to the immediate notice of the House. We have also arranged for the quarterly publication by the Health and Safety Executive of information on certain occurrences at nuclear sites, including the exposure of individuals to radiation. Information on accidents has also been published from time to time in response to questions in the House; and I published last July comparative figures on fatal accidents in various fuel industries for the period 19571976. These statistics underlined the outstanding safety record of the nuclear industry.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what date he has finally selected for the first announcement officially inviting applications for North Sea oil licences in the forthcoming six round.

I have nothing to add to the reply that I gave the hon. Member on 12th January.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what consultations he has had with the Commission of the European Communities on the right to allocate produce in the United Kingdom according to consumption priorities, pursuant to Article 59 of the European Coal and Steel Community Treaty; and with what result.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what consultations he has had with the Commission of the European Communities concerning proposals to take control of available crude oil in the member countries and direct it in particular to those countries which have little or no deposits of coal.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps she is taking to end the industrial action by members of the National Union of Teachers and National Association of Schoolmasters which is disrupting school curricula, following the disruption caused already this year by the oil-tanker drivers' dispute and the severe weather; and if she will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend has clearly expressed her dismay and concern about the sanctions applied by some teachers on the recommendations of those associations, subsequent to an agreement reached in the Burnham Primary and Secondary Committee on 27th February to refer the teachers' claim and the management's responding offer to arbitration.The House will wish to know that on Friday last, 17th March, the management panel of the committee informed the teachers' panel that it would be prepared to resume negotiatios on the basis of a revised offer within the pay policy guidelines at a joint Burnham Committee meeting which it was expected would be called for 4 p.m. this afternoon provided that there was a firm assurance from the teachers that the resumed negotiations would be intended to lead to an agreement.Following the issue of that invitation, my right hon. Friend made the following statement to the Press:

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations she has received from the distributive trades about the proposals made by the Business Education Council for general, national and higher national awards; and if she will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend has received one letter recently on this subject. The reply drew attention to the Business Education Council's independent responsibilities for setting the pattern of its awards for students from the distributive trades. Copies of that correspondence were sent to the council for its attention.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what has been the outcome of her direction to the Bolton local authority under Section 2 of the Education Act 1976 for the reorganisation of secondary schools on comprehensive lines in Bolton; in particular, what has been proposed for the reorganisation of schools at Haywood; and if she will make a statement.

I am pleased to report that the Bolton Education Authority and voluntary bodies responsible for schools in the area have agreed to implement a satisfactory scheme for

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many full-time students were resident in university or college halls of residence or flats in Wales in each of the last five years.

Following is the information available for accommodation provided by the University of Wales and colleges in Wales:comprehensive reorganisation in September 1979. The scheme proposed by the authority includes the establishment at Hayward of a single comprehensive school for pupils of 11 to 18 years.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will estimate the likely reduction in the number of colleges offering courses for students from the distributive trades for the session commencing September 1978.

I have no information about the number of college courses likely to be in operation next September for students from the distributive trades. While I am aware of some concern about the transitional arrangements covering the introduction of courses leading to the new awards of the Business Eduction Council, I am confident that colleges and the council will together ensure that appropriate provision is made for all those wishing to enter distribution studies courses in September.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether the following are eligible for mandatory grant awards for courses to which such grants apply: (a) dependants of European Economic Community nationals when (i) the parents have lived in the United Kingdom for the previous three years or (ii) the prospective student has lived in the United Kingdom for the previous three years, and (b) dependants of Commonwealth immigrants when (i) the parents have lived in the United Kingdom for the previous three years or (ii) the prospective student has lived in the United Kingdom for the previous three years.

A student is eligible for a mandatory award if he has been ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom for at least three years before the first year of his course, and satisfies the other conditions laid down in the awards regulations. Whether an applicant satisfies these conditions is a matter for the

(Thousands)
	Academic years:
	1973–74	1974–75	1975–76	1976–77
				(estimated)
1. Mandatory awards
(including teacher training)*	308·5	308·6	322·1	323·0
2. Discretionary awards	65·5	68·3	55·7	55·0
(of which these numbers were for courses qualifying for mandatory awards from 1975–76)	13·5	12·4	—	—
* Including 5·1 thousand awards in 1973–74 and 4·9 thousand in 1974–75 made by the Department of Education and Science for teacher training courses in universities, responsibility for which was transferred to the local authorities in 1975–76.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proportions of mandatory and discretionary grants have been financed by the Department of Education and Science and by the local education authorities, respectively, in each of the last five years.

Mandatory awards to students are paid by local education authorities, but since 1974–75 my Department has met 90 per cent. of the cost by specific grant. Expenditure by local education authorities on discretionary awards, as on mandatory awards before 1974–75, is treated as expenditure relevant for rate support grant. Rate support grant is a block grant, given in aid of local authority expenditure as a whole; it is not therefore possible to identify a specific contribution from central Government funds to the cost of discretionary awards and hence the proportion of such expenditure met by them.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will list the principal types of higher education

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many mandatory and how many discretionary grants have been awarded for higher education in the current year and for each of the preceding four years.

The following figures relate to awards current in each year and made by local education authorities in England and Wales. They cover all mandatory awards and discretionary awards—including some for non-advanced courses—where the maximum rate of grant was designed to cover the full cost of fees and maintenance. Information for 1977–78 is not yet available.courses in respect of which grants are (

Mandatory awards are available for full-time and sandwich courses leading to a first degree, Diploma of Higher Education, Higher National Diploma, or the higher diplomas of the Technician or Business Education Council; and for designated courses of initial teacher training.Local education authorities may make awards, at their discretion, to students on the above courses who do not qualify for mandatory awards and for all other courses of higher education except those postgraduate courses for which my Department, other Departments and the research councils make awards.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether she has any plans to extend the range of courses which are subject to mandatory, as distinct from discretionary, local authority grants.

My right hon. Friend keeps under review the range of courses covered by mandatory awards, but has no immediate plans for a major extension of such courses.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science, pursuant to her reply to the hon. Member for Aylesbury on 14th March, what would be her estimate of the length of time before the decline in standards in mathematics, in Buckinghamshire Schools, she expects to follow comprehensivisation, will lead to the standards in those school falling to the level in other activities tested by the Institute of Mathematics where comprehensive education is already in being.

My right hon. Friend does not expect a decline in education standards to follow comprehensive reorganisation.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when the report of the Working Group on the Management of Higher Education in the maintained sector will be published; and if she will make a statement.

The report of this working group is being published today. I am grateful to the chairman and to all the members of the working group for the urgency and skill with which they have carried out their task.The working group was set up just one year ago to consider measures to improve the system of management and control of higher education in the maintained sector in England and Wales and its better co-ordination with higher education in the universities. Its membership included representatives of local education authorities and of bodies representing college managements and staffs. The broad effect of its recommendations which are thorough and wide-ranging, is to provide for the establishment of a national body, composed of members representing local education authorities, college managements and staffs, and the wider public interest, to exercise overall control over higher education in establishments administered by local education authorities; for the determination by the Secretary of State, in negotiation with the local authority associations, of the total amount of resources to be devoted year by year to this purpose; and for the distribution of these resources on the advice of the national body. The working group also carefully considered important matters concerning local administration, regional machinery, and the better co-ordination of the maintained sector with university higher education.The Government believe that these proposals, taken in their entirety, mark a real advance towards a solution of the problem of forward planning and financial control of higher education in the maintained sector. I agree broadly with the report's conclusions and hope that they will point the way towards possible future action to modify the present arrangements. Before taking any steps in the matter, however, I intend, as I promised when the group was established, to consult all the various interests involved.I am accordingly arranging for copies of the report to be widely distributed, and I look forward to receiving the views of all concerned as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he is satisfied that EMI has fulfilled the undertakings to retain the name of British Lion in some significant form and to enlarge EMI's support and financial involvement in British film production and distribution which were given to the National Film Finance Corporation when EMI purchased the National Film Finance Corporation's special preference share in British Lion Films Limited.

I understand that half the films that EMI is releasing over the next few months will go out as British Lion and it is its policy that this pattern should be maintained. Half of the films to be released over the next few months will be wholly or partly made in this country.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade why he believes it to be in the interest of passengers to require transatlantic operators of scheduled services to charge more than the fares acceptable to the United States Government; and, in particular, why he objected to the lower fares proposed by Braniff Airlines.

, pursuant to the reply [Official Report, 10th March 1978; Vol. 945, c. 829–30], gave the following information:Negotiations held in Washington between civil aviation delegations of the United Kingdom and the United States were concluded on 17th March. They resulted in an agreement on the introduction of new experimental low fares on a number of United States and United Kingdom routes in addition to London/New York under conditions acceptable to both countries. A new charter deal, which completes the Bermuda 2 Agreement, was also negotiated.The new fares agreement contains provisions vital to the United Kingdom, namely, that the conditions of competition as between United Kingdom and United States airlines shall be equal. In particular, the so-called "add-ons" for points behind and beyond the gateways involved will be the same for each side. This was one of the outstanding issues between us and the American airline Braniff, which included in its original fare proposal trivial "add-ons" from points behind Dallas which would not have been available to British Caledonian Airways on its service from Houston. This has now been rectified. In addition, capacity restrictions will be filed and approved for a number of the routes. The results of this new low fare experiment will be reviewed in the autumn. Our European partners and Canada will be included in the review, and as well as bilateral United Kingdom and United States consultations, a multilateral meeting is envisaged in Ottawa for late November.The new charter deal offers travellers and airlines much wider opportunities. Indeed, the agreement could have been still more liberal by allowing scheduled services to carry some passengers on charter terms in return for a percentage of what is called "fill-up" on charter services. Unfortunately, there were last-minute objections from the United States charter carriers, who obviously felt that they could not stand the competition in- volved. Our charter carriers, however, were ready. The new provisions last at least two years and give much-needed stability to the market.The new fares arrangements and the charter provisions, taken together, will increase travel between our two countries. Total traffic last year was roughly 4 million passengers, both scheduled and charter. We estimate that this will rise to over 4½ million this year, and the importance of London as the premier European gateway from the United States has been maintained.I echo the words of President Carter that the new arrangements demonstrate that we can work out difficulties with our most important aviation partner to the mutual benefit of airlines and consumers.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what was the total of manufactured and semi-finished products imported by the United Kingdom from the German Democratic Republic, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, Italy, Czechoslovakia and Poland in the years 1976 and 1977, respectively, stated as a percentage of gross domestic product.

Imports, valued cif, covered by SITC(R) Sections 5 to 8 and expressed as percentages of the United Kingdom gross domestic product at factor cost are:

	1976	1977
Federal Republic of Germany	2·25	2·62
France	1·36	1·56
Italy	0·76	0·97
Poland	0·07	0·08
German Democratic Republic	0·05	0·07
Czechoslovakia	0·05	0·06

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will make a statement about the future development and use of Prestwick Airport.

The White Paper on airports policy stated that the future roles of Prestwick and other airports in Scotland should be a matter for the proposed Scottish Assembly. In the meantime, the Government have confirmed the existing policies for the allocation of air traffic among the Scottish airports and that Prestwick will continue to be the principal airport for trans-Atlantic traffic. Existing facilities at Prestwick are generally adequate to meet the forecast demand and the British Airports Authority has no plans for major developments at the airport.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what has been the total export from the United Kingdom of capital for direct financial investment for manufacturing industry and for other purposes to each of the EEC countries in 1975, 1976 and 1977, respectively; and what has been the total inward direct financial investment into the United Kingdom for manufacturing industry and any other purposes from each of the EEC countries over the same period.

The information available relates to net direct investment by the United Kingdom, excluding oil, and net direct investment in the United Kingdom, excluding oil and insurance, for 1975 and is published in tables 3.3 and 4.3 respectively of Business Monitor, M4, Overseas Transactions 1975, a copy of which is in the Library. Individual country figures for 1976 and 1977 are not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what was the value of imports into the United Kingdom from member countries of the EEC of oil and petroleum products during 1976 and 1977, respectively; and what proportion these imports formed of Great Britain's total trade deficit with these countries in each of those years.

Following is the information:

		Value (£ million cif)	Percentage of total crude trade deficit
1976	…	951	43
1977	…	1,021	51

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what was the value of the total imports of stocks of beef, veal, mutton, Iamb, pork, bacon and ham, into the United Kingdom from countries of the EEC for 1977.

Following is the available information:

	£ thousand cif
Beef and veal	191,519
Mutton	44
Lamb	951
Pork	8,896
Bacon and ham, etc.*	259,390
* Bacon and ham include other dried, salted or smoked pig meat.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what quantities of bone-in and bone out meat have been exported to and imported from other countries of the EEC in 1977.

Following is the information:

Thousand tonnes
	Exports	Imports
Bone-in	139·1	418·8
Boneless or boned*	4·7	76·4
* Trade in boneless or boned meat comprises mainly beef but includes a small amount of pork.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what percentage of the United Kingdom imports from countries of the EEC was attributable to food imports in 1976 and 1977; and how these compare with imports from non-EEC countries over the same period.

Following are the percentages:

		1976	1977
EEC countries	…	17·5	16·2
Non-EEC countries	…	12·7	13·9

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what was the value of United Kingdom imports and exports to and from the rest of the member countries of the EEC compared with non-EEC countries on the balance of payments basis for 1976 and 1977, respectively.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will now consider a ban on all imports of seal skins and sealskin products to the United Kingdom.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if, in view of the recent recovery of dangerous flotsam and jetsam in the North Sea, he is satisfied with the arrangements for giving warning of such hazards and with the penalties for failure to do so; and if he will make a statement.

Arrangements exist for the notification to my Department of losses from offshore structures with penalties for failure to do so and Her Majesty's Coastguard ensures that mariners are informed of hazards reported to them. The United Kingdom Government have no power, however, to impose penalties on seafarers who fail to report such hazards. I am considering, in consultation with other Departments and interests concerned, whether these arrangements need to be improved.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if, in view of the hazards to shipping and fishing limits now present in the North Sea due to oil operations, he will initiate an insurance scheme for the compensation for fishermen against damage.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what was the level of butter, cheese, and lamb imports from New Zealand in the years, 1976 and 1977, respectively.

Following is the information:

	Metric tonnes
	1976	1977
Butter	122,626	129,016
Cheese (including curd)	30,562	13,193
Lamb	200,396	207,821

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what is the Government's policy over the proposed segregated system for oil and ballast storage aboard tankers.

The Government welcome the outcome of the recent conference on tanker safety and pollution prevention. One of the issues agreed at that Conference was to extend a requirement for segregated ballast in new tankers to a lower tonnage range, whilst existing tankers would be permitted to adopt the alternative of crude oil washing.In addition, the Government will continue to ensure present stringent requirements regarding the discharge of ballast from tankers are adhered to.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is his policy regarding employers who give contracts of employment for only one year at a time, and whose contracts seek to exclude the employee from rights which are dependent on having more than one year's employment.

The conditions relating to a contract of employment, including its term, are a matter for the parties alone to decide and not a matter for Government intervention. Provided that there is no break in service, a number of fixed-term contracts will be aggregated for the purposes of the employment right; legislation.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the cumulative percentage increase in unemployment between March 1974 and the latest available date in the United Kingdom, United States of America, France, Japan, Italy and West Germany.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many registered disabled persons are currently looking for employment in the areas administered by the offices at Huddersfield and Oldham.

I am advised by the Manpower Services Commission that information which relates to 9th February 1978 is as follows:

NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED AND REGISTERED DISABLED PEOPLE
Huddersfield	…x2026;	…x2026;	231
Oldham	…x2026;	…x2026;	254

asked the Secretary of State for Employment on behalf of how many registered disabled people in the parliamentary constituency of Colne Valley the £30 job-introduction allowance has been paid since it was introduced.

I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that, by the end of February, three disabled people had been helped by the job introduction scheme in the parliamentary constituency of Colne Valley. The scheme is open to all disabled people, whether registered or not, who have been unemployed for six months.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many payments have been made in the parliamentary constituency of Colne Valley under the Manpower Services Commission's scheme of capital grants to employers of disabled people.

I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that to date no applications have been received under the scheme and, therefore, no such payments have yet been made to employers in the parliamentary constituency of Colne Valley.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many letters received by his Department from Members of Parliament prior to 15th February 1978 have yet to receive a full reply.

There are at present 63 letters received by my Department from Members of Parliament prior to 15th February 1978 yet to receive a full reply. Thirty-six of these have been sent to the Manpower Services Commission for advice on a reply and three to the Health and Safety Commission; 24 of the letters are within my Department. In most cases, interim replies have been sent while detailed inquiries are proceeding. I am examining the reasons why these replies have been delayed longer than most and the scope for eliminating such delays.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish in the Official Report the figures for the number of registered unemployed and for the number of notified vacancies for Eastleigh, Hampshire, for the month of February for each year since 1970.

Following is the information:

EASTLEIGH EMPLOYMENT OFFICE AREA
		Notified vacancies remaining unfilled
	Numbers unemployed	At Employment Offices	At Carriers Offices
February 1970	375	102	74
February 1971	373	113	113
February 1972	460	78	81
February 1973	308	247	145
February 1974	242	300	188
February 1975	361	..*	..*
February 1976	767	60	36
February 1977	763	54	49
February 1978	800	62	47
*Because of industrial action by some staff in the Department of Employment Group, no figures are available for the number of unfilled vacancies at February 1975.

The vacancy statistics relate only to vacancies notified to employment offices and careers offices and are not a measure of total vacancies. Because of possible duplication, the two series should not be added together.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what proposals he has to implement the 1974 Boyle Committee recommendations on the salaries of the directors of nationalised industries.

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Walsall, South (Mr. George) on 15th December 1977.—[Vol. 941, cc. 305–67].

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in view of concern felt by the police and detectives that the statistics on drugs are not giving a true description of the present situation on drug trafficking, whether he will meet the police and discuss their concerns and publish the results of such discussions.

Arrangements for regular consultations already exist by which the police may bring to my attention their views on subjects of this sort and I am always glad to take their views into account. They have not approached me recently in respect of the statistics of offences relating to drug trafficking.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the practical considerations involved in delaying the implementation of Section 49 of the Criminal Justice Act 1972; and whom he is consulting.

Offenders to be given community service orders need to be carefully selected and there may be problems in applying to fined defaulters the existing arrangements for selection. Practical problems also arise over the ability of fine defaulters at any time to end their orders by paying off their outstanding fine or to reduce the hours for which they are required to work by paying off part of the sum due. In the first place I am consulting the probation service representative bodies; when I have their comments I shall consult those concerned with sentencing.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will indicate the number of immigrants admitted to permanent residence in the United Kingdom at each port of entry, on 17th February, 28th February and 2nd March this year; and what were the corresponding figures for each of the previous seven years.

This information is not available because statistics on the control of immigration are not collated centrally on a daily basis.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many immigrants by the name of Singh have been admitted to permanent residence into the United Kingdom for each of the last seven years.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to a Question by my hon. Friend the Member for Newham, North-West (Mr. Lewis) on 14th March 1978.—[Vol. 946, c. 116.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what have been the reasons given for leaving the service by officers who have left the service of the West Mercia Police Authority during the last 12 months.

I am informed by the chief constable that the reasons given in respect of the 191 officers who left the West Mercia Constabulary in the last 12 months were:

Reason	Number of officers
Retirement on pension	49
Requirement to resign on medical grounds	11
Resignations:
Poor pay and to take jobs with better prospects and pay	58
Domestic reasons or pregnancy in the case of females	8
Dislike of shift work	9
Lost interest in job	2
Considered themselves, or were considered, unsuitable	35
Following internal inquiries	6
No specific reason	1
Dismissal	3
Transferred to other forces	9

In addition, one officer died in service during this period.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the Government's latest proposals for amending the rules of nationality in regard to the children from overseas of wives who are British citizens, married to husbands who are foreign citizens.

The Government, in their Green Paper "British Nationality Law—Discussion of possible changes" (Cmnd. 6795), envisage that any fresh legislation would enable wives who are born in the United Kingdom to transmit citizenship to their children born abroad in the same way as husbands transmit their citizenship under the existing law.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners there currently are in British prisons who could be deported; and what is the Government's policy regarding such prisoners; and what the annual saving would be if a policy were adopted of deporting all prisoners who could be made the subject of a deportation order by the Home Secretary under existing provisions of the Immigration Act 1971, or had already been ordered deportation by the trial judge, on the date that they would otherwise normally be first considered for parole.

It is not possible to say precisely how many people liable to deportation are held in prison but on 15th March there were, in addition to 71 persons against whom deportation orders had been made, 61 persons who were the subject of a recommendation by a court and a further 20 who were being held under detention orders made under paragraph 2(2) of Schedule 3 to the Immigration Act 1971 pending the making of deportation orders.Each case is considered on its merits as near as practicable to a prisoner's earliest expected date of release. Because the major part of prison expenditure arises from fixed costs, it is not possible to isolate the costs of particular categories of detainee or to attribute significant savings to the withdrawal of individuals.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if any changes in the management of Royal parks and ancient monuments in Scotland are planned; and if he will make a statement.

With my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment I have been reviewing the management of Royal Parks and ancient monuments in Scotland. Under the Transfer of Functions (Scottish Royal Parks and Ancient Monuments) Order 1969 ministerial functions in relation to Royal parks and ancient monuments in Scotland were transferred to the Secretary of State for Scotland. The Property Services Agency Service in Scotland has, however, been providing the works services and custodial and other staff on my behalf.My right hon. Friend and I now agree that it would simplify administration if from 1st April overall responsibility in relation to Royal parks and ancient monuments were undertaken by the Scottish Development Department. This change in responsibilities will take place on 1st April and the appropriate adjustments have been made in the submitted financial estimates for 1978–79. The staff assocations are being consulted about the timing and arrangements for the transfer of staff from the Department of the Environment to the Scottish Development Department.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish in the Official Report the table in his answer to the hon. Member for Edinburgh, Central on Wednesday 5th April 1977 on local authority lending updated to the most recent available date.

Since local authority lending allocations have been maintained at a high level and more prospective purchasers are seeking building society mortgages direct, we have, since April 1977, no longer required individual authorities to supply statistical information about the operation of the support lending scheme. I gave my hon. Friend the figures for Scotland as a whole in my Written Answers on 6th April 1977 and 28th February 1978.—[Vol. 929, c. 565–6; Vol. 945, c. 140–1.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will expedite consideration of approval for the sale by the Inner London Education Authority of Frank Barnes School Building, Central Street, Islington, to St. Luke's Parochial Trust.

The Greater London Council has now provided further information required in connection with its application to sell Frank Barnes School to St. Luke's Parochial Charities; a decision will be made very shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what were the numbers of homes in England and each of the districts in Cheshire in each of the last five years which were (a) unfit, (b) fit but lacking exclusive use of amenities and (c) fit and with amenities but requiring repairs costing over £1,000.

Following are the available estimates:

PHYSICAL CONDITION OF DWELLINGS: ENGLAND: 1971 AND 1976
		Thousands
	1971	1976
Unfit	1,147	794
Fit but lacking one or more of the basic amenities	1,748	921
Fit, with all amenities, but requiring repairs costing over £1,000 at 1976 prices	485	1,140

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to announce his decision on the appeal by Fairoaks Airport Limited against the refusal of Surrey County Council to grant permission to construct an all-weather runway at Fairoaks Airport, in view of the fact that it is now four years since such permission was first sought and 13 months since the completion of the public inquiry on the appeal.

Within two months.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many properties the Government own on the original site of the British Library south of Great Russell Street in Bloomsbury;(2) if he will give the addresses of the property the Government own on the original site of the British Library south of Great Russell Street in Bloomsbury;

104 Properties are held on the site. I will send a list of addresses to the hon. Member.The properties will be disposed of in accordance with the normal procedure which involves first offering the properties to Government Departments and local authorities concerned: this is now being done.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will introduce legislation to seek to prohibit profiteering by ticket and other agencies from sales of tickets to sports matches; and if he will make a statement.

This is a problem which extends beyond sport but in the past it has proved difficult to produce proposals which discriminate between legitimate ticket agencies and the undesirable activities of those who exploit genuine supporters. Sports bodies are continually trying to prevent the unauthorised resale of tickets intended for genuine club members and supporters and will certainly investigate any evidence which my hon. Friend can provide.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) on what population he bases his allocation to the Cornwall Area Health Authority; and what changes in population he assumes to have taken place since the last census;(2) what account he takes of the fact that the people retiring to Cornwall without family support have a significant effect on the demand for hospital accommodation; and if his Department has any figures which quantify this

My Department allocates financial resources to regional health authorities. Allocations are calculated on the basis of the recommendations of the Resource Allocation Working Party Report published in September 1976, using the most recent population statistics which are revised annually. These are weighted for age and sex and other factors Regional health authorities are expected to adopt similar principles in allocating resources to area health authorities, at the same time having regard to special local circumstances. There are no statistics showing the extent of family support for retired persons.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether it is the practice of his Department to maintain national insurance records throughout the working life of every insured individual; and, if not, under what circumstances such records can be destroyed;(2) in view of the Under Secretary of State's letter of 2nd February 1978 (Ref: PO(PS-HSS)1326 /28), in which a constituent of the hon. Member for Norfolk, North had achieved only 25 qualifying years out of a possible 30 years, giving him a 93 per cent. pension, whether records for the entire working life are retained for all people who have been employed; and what would be the position, so far as retirement pension is concerned, of a person whose files have been lost or destroyed.

It is my Department's practice to maintain throughout each insured individual's lifetime the national insurance records of contributions paid and of benefits claimed by him. Documents of ephemural value relating to claims for benefit or payment of contributions are however generally destroyed at a safe interval after action has been completed and their purpose served in accordance with retention periods agreed with the Public Records Office. Every effort would be made to establish an insured person's record in the event of the loss or destruction of files containing information which was necessary in the determination of entitlement to retirement pension.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when the hon. Member for Sheffield, Heeley may expect a reply to his letter of 24th January concerning the use of insurance records.

I very much regret the delay in answering my hon. Friend's letter. He will be receiving a reply to it as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what are the latest figures for stillbirths, infant mortality, neonatal mortality and perinatal mortality per 1,000 live and stillbirths in the North-West Region and England and Wales as a whole, respectively.

Mortality rates for 1976 are as follows:

	North-Western Regional Health Authority	England and Wales
Stillbirths, per 1,000 total births	9·8	9·7
Infant, deaths under one year of age per 1,000 live births	15·7	14·2
Neo-natal, deaths under four weeks of age per 1,000 live births	10·6	9·7
Peri-natal, stillbirths and deaths under one week of age per 1,000 total births	18·7	17·7

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether the quality of life indicators in respect of death rate, infant mortality and ratio of persons to doctors showing the North-West to be the worst region in England and Wales in 1974 have undergone any significant change in the latest available figures.

Between 1974 and 1976—the last year for which figures are available—there were some improvements in the standardised mortality ratios—SMRs—and the infant mortality rate in the area covered by the North-Western Regional Health Authority. The relevant figures were:

	North-western Regional Health Authority
	1974	1976
Death rate:
SMR:
Males	111	111
Females	112	109
Infant mortality rate:
Deaths under one year per thousand live births	19·7	15·7

The ratio of persons to doctors in the North-Western Regional Health Authority was not the worst m England and Wales for the North-Western Regional Health in 1974—neither was it in 1976. Figures

						1974	1976
Hospital doctors per 100,000 population	…	…	…	…	…	53·0	59·9
Community doctors per 100,000 population	…	…	…	…	…	5·5	6·0
General medical practitioner list size	…	…	…	…	…	2,466	2,433

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what are the latest figures of percentage distribution of deaths caused by diseases of the respiratory system in the North-West and England and Wales as a whole, respectively.

Deaths in 1976 from diseases of the respiratory system expressed as percentages of all deaths in the area were as follows:

	North-Western Regional Health Authority Per cent.	England and Wales Per cent.
Influenza (ICD 470–474)	0·9	1·1
Pneumonia (ICD 480–486)	8·0	9·3
Bronchitis and emphysema (ICD 490–492)	4·7	4·1
Asthma (ICD 493)	0·2	0·2
Other diseases of respiratory system (ICD 460–466, 500–519)	1·3	1·1
Diseases of the respiratory system (ICD 460–519)	15·1	15·9
All causes	100·0	100·0

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what percentage of acute medical beds were occupied in Cornwall during August 1977 by people whose home address was not within the Duchy.

Information in the precise form requested is not available. Of the total admission to acute hospitals managed by the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Area Health Authority during August 1977, 15·76 per cent. were recorded as having a home address outside the county.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will set out the number of general practitioners and the average number of patients per general practitioner in each of the area health authorities in Yorkshire.

The table gives the number of doctors providing the full range of general medical services and their average list size at 1st October 1976.

Area		Number of general practitioners	Average list size
Humberside	…	366	2,400
North Yorkshire	…	313	2,095
Bradford	…	196	2,472
Calderdale	…	76	2,606
Kirklees	…	148	2,514
Leeds	…	328	2,330
Wakefield	…	133	2,429
Yorkshire Region	…	1,560	2,357

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the current number of National Health Service dentists practising in the areas served by (a) the Yorkshire Regional Health Authority and (b) the Kirklees Area Health Authority; and what is the most recent ratio of patients to dentists in (i) the Yorkshire Regional Health Authority, (ii) the Kirklees Area Health Authority and (iii) Great Britain.

The information is as follows:

Health Authority	Dentists*	Population per Dentist
Yorkshire Regional	777	4,794
Kirklees Area	69	5,399
Great Britain	(13,564)	4,084
* Practising in the general dental services at 30th September 1977.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the average bed occupancy rate for Trelisk Hospital, Truro, for the last six months, and what was the national average figure for similar establishments in other parts of the country.

Information in the precise form requested is not available. The average bed occupancy rates in the main specialities at the Royal Cornwail Hospital, (Treliske), for the six months ended 31st December 1977 are compared below with the average bed occupancy rate in the same specialities for all hospitals in England in 1976, the latest year for which figures are available:

Specialty		RCH (Treliske) 1977* Per cent.	England 1976 Per cent
General Medicine	…	99·63	84·60
General Surgery	…	92·03	77·13
Obstetrics	…	72·17	67·20
Special Care Baby Unit	…	55·00	56·80
Average for Hospital	…	79·13	—
* Six months ended 31st December.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the average length of stay in acute medical beds at Treliske Hospital, Truro; and what is the national average for similar establishments.

The average duration of stay of patients during 1976, the latest year for which figures are available, is shown below in respect of the two main acute specialities provided at the Royal Cornwall Hospital (Treliske):

Specialty		Royal Cornwall Hospital (Treliske) Days	England Days
General Medicine	…	8·5	12·2
General Surgery	…	6·8	8·6

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the size of Cornwall's hospital waiting list during September for each of the last eight years.

The information below refers to those hospitals now managed by the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Area Health Authority:

Year				Waiting List (At 30th Sept)
1970	…	…	…	3,836
1971	…	…	…	3,676
1972	…	…	…	3,725
1973	…	…	…	4,653
1974	…	…	…	4,169
1975	…	…	…	3,807
1976	…	…	…	4,063
1977	…	…	…	4,096

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services why the number of administrative and clerical stall employed by the National Health Service has increased from 77,108 in 1973 to 98,507 in 1976; and what is his estimate for 1978.

Most of the increase in administrative and clerical staff since 1973 stems from the reorganisation of the National Health Service in 1974, which sought to improve the management of health services, and to unify the three parts of the Service—hospital, family and community.More effective management has entailed some growth in the staff employed on computing, management services, resource planning and personnel. Unification of the Service required the transfer of community health services from local authorities and the setting up of community health councils, all serviced by administrative and clerical staff.Some part of the increase reflects the long-standing policy of transferring as much work as possible from professional officers to administrative and clerical staff. For example, in the hospital environment, the introduction of ward clerks and appointments and records clerks has relieved nursing staff for more appropriate work.Provisional figures for 1977 indicate that the number of staff will be around 98,700. No estimates are available for 1978, but because of measures taken by health authorities it is unlikely that there will be any significant increase over the 1977 figures.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his estimate of the number of commercial travellers now employed by drug companies for the purpose of influencing medical practitioners to prescribe their products; and if information of this kind is part of the voluntary price regulation scheme.

The number of representatives employed by pharmaceutical companies varies from company to company. The total number employed is not known, but expenditure on representatives forms part of sales promotion expenditure which is identified in annual financial returns and is subject to control under the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme. As my right hon. Friend announced in July 1976 the amount of sales promotion expenditure accepted under the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme is being reduced annually until by 1979 it is brought down to 10 per cent. of the value of the industry's sales.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the number of persons, both adult and children, awaiting orthodontic treatment; and what is the number of orthodontists in the Macclesfield district of the Cheshire Area Health Authority.

I would refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for the City of Chester (Mr. Morrison) on 13th March concerning the location of orthodontists in Cheshire.—[Vol. 946, c. 58–9.] At the present time there is a waiting list of 39 for the consultant orthodontist at the Macclesfield hospital and a waiting list of 40 non-urgent cases at community dental service clinics in the district; urgent cases are seen in the community dental service as they present themselves.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many National Health Service dentists are practising in the Macclesfield district of the Cheshire Area Health Authority; and what is the average number of patients per dentist.

There are currently 67 dentists practising in the general dental services in the Macclesfield health district. Records of the number of different patients treated by dentists are not maintained and dentist-population ratios are not available for areas smaller than those of area health authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what proportion of newly-qualified nurses remain in the United Kingdom when their training has been completed.

I regret the information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Set vices in how many instances hospital personnel are travelling overseas or across the Irish Channel to recruit new student nurses.