asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection how many hearing-aid firms have now received authorisation under Section 49 of the Consumer Credit Act, or under the provisions governing canvassing off trade premises, to negotiate credit for the sale of hearing aids.

Individual authorisations are not given under Section 49 of the Act. Section 23(3) empowers the Director General of Fair Trading to grant licences specifically authorising the canvassing off trade premises of debtor-creditor-supplier agreements and regulated consumer hire agreements. Information as to the number of licences covering canvassing issued to hearing aid firms is not available, as the Director General's register relates only to credit or hire licence categories. If my hon. Friend has any particular firm or problem in mind, he should write to the Director General.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection whether, in the light of the difficulties likely to be caused to retail chemists by the proposed regulation to enforce the EEC cosmetics directive, he will arrange for longer transitional relief by postponing the date of implementation.

My Department is currently considering representations made by trade associations, manufacturers and retailers concerning the dates on which the proposed cosemtics products regulations should come into operation for different sections of the trade. Full account is being taken of the difficulties which, it is said, will arise if the dates I have had in mind are adopted.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection, in the case of those certificates and licences for the issue of which he has responsibility, whether the fees for issue have been increased by a greater amount or a greater percentage than that represented by a rise from £2·50 in 1973 to £13 in 1978.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection which bodies representative of consumers and the general public he is now consulting on the issue of metrication.

Among about 250 organisations that I am now consulting are the following:

• Age Concern
• Consumers' Association
• Co-operative Women's Guild
• Good Housekeeping Institute
• National Association of Women's Clubs
• National Association of Citezens Advice Bureaux
• National Consumer Council
• National Consumer Protection Council
• The National Council of Women of Great Britain
• National Federation of Consumer Groups
• National Federation of Women's Institutes
• National Union of Townswomen's Guilds
• Scottish Consumer Council
• Scottish Co-operative Women's Guild
• Automobile Association
• Royal Automobile Club
• Royal Scottish Automobile Club
• Motor Industry Consumers Council
• Scottish Women's Rural Institute
• Women's National Commission
• James Butcher Housing Association Limited (Dame Elizabeth Ackroyd)
• Welsh Consumer Council
• National Council of Social Services
• Northern Ireland Housewives' League
• Scottish Council of Women's Citizen's Association
• Soroptimists International of Great Britain and Ireland
• UK Federation of Business and Professional Women
• National Housewives Association
• British Union of Family Organisations
• Consumer Affairs Group of National Organisations
• Help the Aged
• Electrical Association for Women
• Federation of Womens Institutes of Northern Ireland
• Consumers Standards Advisory Committee of BSI

asked the Secretary of State for Trade which Commonwealth countries have made complaints about the adverse effects of EEC trading policies.

A number of Commonwealth countries have made representations about particular aspects of the EEC's trading policies. Australia and New Zealand have recently made representations about the effects of certain aspects of the common agricultural policy.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what steps he proposes to take to limit the importation into the United Kingdom of motor vehicles by the Chrysler/Mitsubishi organisation.

All vehicle exports from Japan to the United Kingdom are now subject to restraint, irrespective of source, as we announced on 7th March.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what percentage of the United Kingdom market for chipboard is supplied by imports.

About two-thirds of the United Kingdom market for wood chipboard was supplied by imports in 1977.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what proposals his Department has to extend the areas eligible for financial assistance for approved tourist projects under Section 4 of the Development of Tourism Act; and if he will make a statement.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will introduce a new designation of tourism development areas for the purposes of allocating grants under Section 4 of the Development of Tourism Act 1969.

I receive many suggestions for extending these areas but there would be considerable disadvantages in doing so until the Government can make available more money to support wider coverage. Tourism—and particularly hotels—will benefit from recent Budget measures.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if, in view of the "Amoco Cadiz" disaster, he will take steps to encourage the formation of an international task force to deal with emergencies of this nature with explosives and fire.

There are substantial difficulties and objections to dealing with such a casualty by these methods. However, we intend to study the possibilities further.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he has any plans to meet the chairman of the British Airports Authority in the near future.

My right hon. Friend and I see the chairman of the British Airports Authority frequently but there are no plans for a meeting in the immediate future.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will give the latest annual figures for the United Kingdom's trade in visibles and invisibles in both directions with China, and the comparaable figures for Hong Kong's trade with the People's Republic.

In 1977 the United Kingdom's visible exports to and imports from the People's Republic of China amounted to US $180 million and $110 million respectively.The comparable figures for Hong Kong's exports and imports trade with the People's Republic of China was $40 million and $1,730 million. The information on invisibles is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade which countries are Great Britain's three major suppliers of each of the following minerals: platinum, chrome, manganese, gold, vanadium, fluorspar, asbestos, titanium, industrial diamonds, and uranium; and what is the approximate annual cost of these imports.

The information is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Trade, whether, in the interests of limiting further noise in the areas surrounding London Airport, he will decline to licence a helicopter service between Heathrow and Gatwick.

No. Licensing decisions are made by the Civil Aviation Authority.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what advice is currently being given to the British Overseas Trade Board regarding financial support for trade missions to South Africa.

The British Overseas Trade Board's financial support for trade missions to South Africa is in line with the policy set out in the then Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary's statement of 4th December 1974 that the usual range of export services would remain available as for markets of equal commercial standing.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if Her Majesty's Government will now review the policy of Export Credits Guarantee Department cover for transactions with South Africa.

I refer my hon. Friend to my answer earlier today to the hon. Member for Sheffield, Heeley (Mr. Hooley).

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether he is satisfied with the progress so far of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade negotiations.

Intensive discussions are now taking place on both tariffs and the various non-tariff issues, and I hope decisions of principle will be reached on the most important issues by July of this year.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what measures he is promoting within the EEC, and within any other suitable international body of which the United Kingdom is a member, to ensure that the master, officers and crew of ships flying flags of convenience are competent to fulfil their duties and are subject to appropriate surveillance as to their continuing competence.

The Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organisation, of which the United Kingdom and other Community countries are prominent members, is convening an international conference on training and certification of seafarers in London in June, at which it is hoped to agree upon an international convention setting minimum standards of competence of masters, officers and crews applicable to merchant ships of all flags.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will take steps to ensure that British Airways do not purchase 20 Boeing 737 airliners to replace their obsolescent Trident aircraft and that they purchase quieter aircraft with a high proportion of British-made components such as the A200 airbus even at the expense of a longer delay in delivery.

Aircraft noise is one of the considerations which will be taken into account in reaching a decision on British Airway's proposal for Trident replacement, which is in any case necessitated by the need to meet more stringent noise regulations.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will make a statement on the decisions reached by the meeting of senior Commonwealth Ministers in London during April 1978.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer that I gave to my hon. Friend the hon. Member for Farnworth (Mr. Roper) on 18th April.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if it is now the policy of Her Majesty's Government to make a direct financial contribution to the initial capital of the Common Fund when this is set up.

Producers and consumers in international commodity agreements must, in our view, be the prime source of finance contributed by Governments to the fund. It remains to be established, in further international work, whether any element of direct financing could be compatible with this principle.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade (1) what evidence he has that Air Canada flights from Gatwick would better suit the convenience of travellers than such flights from Heathrow:(2) how many Air Canada passengers to Heathrow he estimates continue to other destinations;(3) if it is his policy to compensate airlines which are obliged to move from Heathrow to Gatwick as their London terminal; if he has estimated how much this would amount to in the case of Air Canada; and if he will make a statement.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will take into account in negotiating Spanish membership of the EEC the need to reduce the subsidies available to Spanish manufacturers of soft tissue.

If Spanish entry into the EEC is successfully negotiated, Spain will be bound by the provisions of the Treaty of Rome regarding State aids and subsidies in the same way as other member States.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what discussions he has had with the industry, and what action is proposed to safeguard British manufacturers of soft tissue to protect the British industry in Lancashire and elsewhere; and if he will make a statement.

My department is advising the United Kingdom soft tissue industry on the presentation to the EEC Commission of an anti-dumping application against soft tissue rolls from Spain. The Commission is not yet satisfied that the level of import penetration justifies a full investigation.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what was the total imports of soft tissue paper from Spain for each quarter since 1st January 1977 to date as a proportion of the United Kingdom market.

Separate information about soft toilet tissue imports is available only from January 1978. Imports of all toilet paper from Spain in 1977 as a proportion of the United Kingdom market were as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Trade, in the case of those certificates and licences for the issue of which he has responsibility, whether the fees for issue have been increased by a greater amount or a greater percentage than that represented by a rise from £2·50 in 1973 to £13 in 1978.

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

asked the Lord President of the Council whether, in view of the overcrowding in the television rooms for the Brazil match, he will take steps to install a further television in Annie's Bar before the World Cup.

I am referring my hon. Friend's suggestion to the Chairman of the Catering Sub-Committee.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service, with reference to his answer of 23rd March 1978, Official Report, column 680, to the hon. Member for Tottenham (Mr. Atkinson), if he will list the advertising agencies that gave hospitality to civil servants, the kind of hospitality involved, the number of occasions it was given, the number and status of the civil servants involved and the purpose of the hospitality.

No central records are kept of the number of times advertising agencies make contact with Government Departments and offer hospitality, or of when such hospitality is accepted. As far as the Departments for which I have responsibility are concerned, as I told my hon. Friend the Member for Tottenham (Mr. Atkinson) on 23rd March, I am informed that officials who have contact with advertising agencies accept occasional reasonable conventional hospitality—for example, working lunches—only in strict accordance with the rules governing the acceptance of hospitality by civil servants.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, since the answer of the Minister of State on 18th March 1976, Official Report column 613, any further progress has been made in obtaining information as to the number of acquitted defendants in criminal proceedings who were awarded costs.

No. The production of statistics would be costly because figures on the award of costs would have to be related to decisions on legal aid, since an award of legal aid without a contribution order is tantamount to an award of costs.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many defendants were sent to prison in each of the last three years for non-payment of prosecution costs by (a) the Crown Court and (b) the magistrates' courts.

I am aware of only two people having been imprisoned in

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of minors undergoing borstal training in England and Wales at the 31st December 1977.

On 31st December 1977 there were 2,196 persons under the age of 18 serving sentences of borstal training in prison department establishments in England and Wales.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to assume responsibility for the passage of the Protection of Children Bill.

As the hon. Member will know, with the co-operation of the Government, the Bill has passed its remaining stages in the House of Commons.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the level of fines imposed at Bow Street Magistrates' Court for excessive speeding offences show variation when compared with similar fines imposed by magistrates' courts in general.

The latest available comparison relates to 1976 and is given in the following table. Individual courts may be dealing with different types of offence and different circumstances. There was a good deal of variation in the average fine from one court to another and the average fine at Bow Street was not exceptionally low.We shall assist in putting the Bill into a more workable form during its proceedings in another place.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average period served by persons convicted of homicide who were released from prison between 1974 and 1977.

I am arranging for the data to be analysed and the results made available as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will supply a breakdown of all recorded offences concerned with vehicle excise licences during the most recent convenient 12-month period, listing the number of prosecutions, namely, for: failing to possess a vehicle excise licence, failing to display a vehicle excise licence, making false application for a vehicle excise licence, stealing a vehicle excise licence, and other vehicle excise licence offences.

The information available on the number of fixed penalty notices issued for non-display of a valid vehicle excise licence and the numbers of prosecutions for offences relating to motor vehicle licences is to be found in Tables 4 and 8 of the publication "Offences relating to motor vehicles 1976". Figures of prosecutions for stealing a motor vehicle licence are not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate his Department has made of the total annual cost, during the last convenient 12-month period, of police investigations and of prosecutions connected with vehicle excise licensing.

I have not made any detailed estimate but will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible and give him such information as I can.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has any special plans to bring the police forces in the immigrant reception areas up to strength.

The size of immigrant communities in a force area is not a relevant factor in determining the assistance my Department gives to chief officers in connection with recruitment up to authorised establishment. This assistance benefits all forces, with some special emphasis on the forces covering the big cities, which have relatively high deficiencies in police strength.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, bearing in mind that Great Britain and France have between them four different time changes a year, he will take steps to ensure that the time changes occur at the same time.

I appreciate the difficulties caused by these time changes, but the period of summer time in France this year is six weeks shorter than in the United Kingdom and I would not wish to propose that we adopt the French dates.The European Economic Community is considering a proposal that all member States should apply summer time for a common period running from about the beginning of April to mid-October. This would shorten our present period of summer time by four weeks and Parliament would need to be consulted before any change could be made.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were in prison on the most recent convenient date for non-payment of maintenance; and what was the average length of their sentence.

On 30th June 1977 a total of 248 people were in prison for non-payment of maintenance or affiliation arrears. Of these 215 were committed for arrears under a matrimonial order, and 33 for arrears in child maintenance.The average term of committal is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost, but, in 1976, 16 per cent. of maintenance defaulters were committed to prison for up to a month and 84 per cent. for over that period.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons were committed to prison in 1977 for non-payment of maintenance; how many of these were actually received into prison; and how many of those received into prison were subsequently released before the end of the period for which they were committed, having paid the amount due.

It is not known centrally how many people are committed to prison for non-payment of maintenance. However, an informal survey of six magistrates' courts conducted by the Home Office in 1974, showed that in 1973, in nearly 90 per cent. of the cases where a court issued a committal warrant but suspended it on conditions, the defaulter was not received into prison.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made in negotiations between the employers and the Fire Brigades Union in achieving within the existing two-shift system a reduction in working hours to 42 hours per week on the basis recommended in the Home Office feasibility study and as outlined in the agreement reached at the conclusion of the firemen's

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will establish a joint consultative committee on the control of firearms to enable users, the police and other interested parties regularly to consult together on matters relating to the safe custody of firearms in the home and the denying to criminals of access to illicitly obtained weapons.

I do not think that such a committee is necessary. We shall continue to consult the shooting associations ad hoc on matters of concern to them.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list in the Official Report separately the levels of the fees now charged to issue, to renew

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which my hon. Friend, the Under-Secretary of State gave to a Question by my hon. Friend the Member for Aberdeen, North (Mr. Hughes) on 6th April—[Vol. 947, c. 164.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if, in view of the fact that a firearm certificate renewal in 1973 cost £2·50 and now cost £13, he will list any other certificates or licences for which he has responsibility which have increased in a similar manner over a similar period.

Fees payable for the following certificates and licences have been subject to increases over the period shown below:and to replace a shot-gun certificate and the levels of the fees charged at each alteration since shot-gun certificates were introduced, with the relevant dates thereof given;(2) if he will list in the

Following is the information:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will consider extending the life of a firearm and a shot-gun certificate from three years to five years or six years in order to save police manpower on repetitive work such as has been done with the driving licence.

No. I am not persuaded that the validity of these certificates could be extended without reducing the effectiveness of the firearms controls.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence why the mileage allowance for the Armed Forces using their own cars on duty is 4·1p per mile, less a personal contribution, as compared with 13·4p per mile allowed to the Civil Service and honourable Members.

Members of the Armed Forces using their own cars for official journeys are paid 13·4p per mile when the vehicles have an engine capacity over 1750 cc. This is the same rate as that paid to civil servants.The rate of 4·1p per mile is paid, subject to certain conditions, when members of the Armed Forces travel from home to place of work. This allowance is not normally available to civil servants.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what was the job of the three civil servants in his Department prior to their transfer in 1975 to firms in engineering, electronics, electrical and aircraft; what are the names of the firms involved; and if his civil servants have official contacts in the Ministry.

I assume that this Question refers to table 2 in the Written Answer by the Minister for the Civil Service on 23rd March 1978, which related to applications by senior civil servants for assent to take up outside business appointments.Arising from these applications, approval was given for the then Chief Executive, Procurement Executive to take up appointments with Short Brothers and Harland Ltd, Ian Mackintosh International and Mackintosh Consultants Company. Short Brothers and Harland Ltd has official contact with the Ministry of Defence.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his reply—Official Report, 17th April—if he will publish in the Official Report details of those benefits for which low-paid Service families would qualify in the United Kingdom but for which Service men and their dependants serving with British Forces Germany do not qualify; and what is the reason for this, bearing in mind that they remain fully liable for earnings-related national insurance contributions.

I will publish a comprehensive reply to the hon. Member's Question as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what was the total amount spent by his Department within the United Kingdom in the past financial year; and what proportion of this was spent in Scotland and Northern Ireland, respectively.

This information will not be available until later this year, after the Appropriation Accounts for 1977–78 have been published.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many Royal Navy officers of the ranks of lieutenant-commander and commander, respectively, have left the Service in each year between 1970 and 1977; and how many he expects to leave in 1978 and 1979, respectively;(2) how many Army officers of the ranks of major and of lieutenant-colonel, respectively, have left the Service in each year between 1970 and 1977; and how many he expects to leave in 1978 and 1979, respectively;(3) how many Royal Air Force officers of the ranks of squadron leader and wing commander, respectively, have left the Service in each year between 1970 and 1977; and how many he expects to leave in 1978 and 1979, respectively.

The figures are as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he is satisfied with the equipment available to the Ulster Defence Regiment; and if he will make a statement.

Yes. Members of the Ulster Defence Regiment are equipped for their role to the same high standard as members of the Regular Army performing the same role.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is now the demarcation of responsibilities between Royal Navy and Army duties in Northern Ireland; and how these rseponsibilities differ from those prevailing in 1968, 1972 and 1975.

All three Services of the Armed Forces assist the Civil Power in Northern Ireland in maintaining law and order, but the main responsibility for providing assistance rests with the Army. Royal Navy operations are mainly confined to coastal and lough patrols to deter the smuggling of arms and to providing some of the personnel and logistic support for the Security Forces. There has been no significant change in the demarcation of responsibilities between Royal Navy and Army since the Armed Forces were called in to assist the civil powers.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether Ministers in his Department make it their personal concern to ensure that hon. Members invited to social functions at defence establishments have a sustained interest in defence and have demonstrated such; or whether this applies only in the case of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence for the Royal Navy.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what would be the cost to the Exchequer of extending the pension rights of deceased Service men to those widows who are presently denied these transfer rights.

I take it that my hon. Friend is referring to the widows of Service men who were discharged or had died before September 1950. We have no records of widows without entitlement to an Armed Forces family pension, and we therefore know neither their number nor the ranks held by their late husbands and the lengths of service they completed. Consequently, we cannot tell how many of them would be entitled to a pension if the present rules and rates were retrospectively applied. The cost cannot therefore be calculated.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether British installations on Pitcairn Island have been used to monitor the effect of the recent neutron bomb test at Muroroa; and what results they have obtained.

There are no British installations on Pitcairn Island for monitoring the French underground nuclear test programme at Muroroa.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence, how many British Service personel are at present on Pitcairn Island.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what treaty arrangements or agreements, if any, exist between his Department and the United States authorities over the provision of air bases in the United Kingdom for the use of the United States Air Force.

The United States Air Force is here with the full consent of Her Majesty's Government, in consequence of the joint determination of our two countries to maintain the strength and deterrent value of the North Atlantic Alliance, under the general provisions of the North Atlantic Treaty and the agreement regarding the status of forces of parties to the North Atlantic Treaty. Both were published as Command Papers and are therefore held in the Library of the House.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proposals he has to restrict imports of New Zealand lamb; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend has no such proposals. I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Handsworth (Mr. Lee) on 7th April 1978.—[Vol. No. 947, c. 271.]

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will tabulate in the Official Report for each year since 1973 the quantities and qualities of wheat disposed of by the European Economic Community to world markets at a cost to the European Economic Community and for each year to show the units of account spent in such sales with the approximate sterling equivalent and the then exchange rate.

I regret that the information requested is not available.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) whether he will publish in the Official Report, or place in the Library, the text of evidence submitted by Taurus Exports Ltd. to the departmental inquiry into the export trade in live animals for slaughter or further fattening;(2) whether he will publish in the

Before complying with these requests, we must obtain the permission of those who provided the evidence. We are doing so and propose to place in the Library the documents they submitted.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will publish in the Official Report or place in the Library, a full text of the evidence submitted by the National Union of Agricultural and Allied Workers to the departmental inquiry into the export trade in live animals for slaughter or further fattening which justifies the statement in paragraph 96 of the report of the inquiry published by his Department on 23rd March that the union has no strong views on the matter.

The National Union of Agricultural and Allied Workers does not appear in annex A of the report, where those who submitted evidence are listed. The statement in paragraph 96, that the union had no strong views, was obtained from it orally in response to a written invitation to give evidence.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in the case of those certificates and licences for the issue of which he has responsibility, whether the fees for issue have been increased by a greater amount or a greater percentage than that represented by a rise from £2·50 in 1973 to £13 in 1978.

In view of the large number of different types of licence and certificate I regret that the cost of providing the information as required would be disproportionately high.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, further to his reply to the hon. Member for Ormskirk, Official Report, 15th March 1978, and to the Note which he placed in the Library, if he will publish tables similar to Tables 2 and 4 in that Note, but showing the total net weekly gains since April 1977, at current and at constant prices, and after housing benefits have been adjusted, for (a) two parent families and (b) one parent families, as a result of the switch to child benefits and the phased withdrawal of child tax allowances.

I will publish such tables in the Official Report as soon as they can be compiled.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, further to his replies to the Question tabled by the hon. Member for Norfolk, North, on 8th December 1977, 3rd April 1978, columns 32–4, and columns 36–40, why it has taken four months to produce these figures; and whether this is the longest period of delay for such an answer.

I regret the delay, which was due to pressure of work at a time when the staff with experience in these complex matters was depleted. I am also sorry that, for the same reasons, there has been a rather longer delay in providing a substantive reply to the Question tabled by the hon. Member on 29th November; I am, however, replying to that today. I am writing to the hon. Member to explain the situation more fully.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what were his Department's forecasts of the relative movements of prices and earnings, respectively, for the 12 month period up to November 1977; what were the actual relative movements of prices and earnings, respectively, during the 12 months up to November 1977; and what is his Department's estimate of the relative movements of prices and earnings for the 12 months up to November 1978.

In the Financial Statement and Budget Report for 1977–78, which my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer laid before the House in March 1977, the Government's forecast of the movement in the retail price index from the fourth quarter of 1976 to the fourth quarter of 1977 was given as 13 per cent. The actual movement in the retail price index over this period was 13 per cent. The Financial Statement and Budget Report for 1978–79 forecasts a movement in prices between the fourth quarter of 1977 and the fourth quarter of 1978 of 7 per cent.It is not the practice of the Government to publish forecasts of earnings. However, as my right hon. Friend said following his statement on 12th April on the uprating of social security benefits, we are confident that a pensions increase of 11·4 per cent. will cover the rise in earnings from November 1977 to November 1978.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether his Department is under any obligation to, and will, refund unnecessary extra national insurance contributions paid by employees whose employers submitted late applications to contract out once the Occupational Pensions Board has issued a contracting-out certificate backdated to 6th April 1978; and whether he anticipates that any employees will not eventually receive a full refund of such excess and unnecessary payments.

Where an employer's application to contract out from 6th April 1978 was not submitted by 23rd March 1978 and in consequence higher—non-contracted-out—rate contributions have to be paid pending the issue of the contracting-out certificate, the refunds which become due to employees where a certificate is made effective from 6th April 1978 will be paid by their employer. It is normal practice for employers to refund overpaid contributions to their employees during the currency of the tax year, but where, exceptionally, they are unable to do so my Department will make the necessary refund upon application within the statutory time limit of six years. I do not anticipate that any employees will not eventually receive a full refund of such over-deductions.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he expects to take part in the next debate at the Council of Ministers level with regard to the directive on the principle of equality of treatment for men and women in social security; and what will be the attitude of Her Majesty's Government.

The agenda for Council meetings is determined by the EEC Presidency in the light of current business generally. No date has yet been fixed for discussion of this particular draft directive.The Government's views on the propposals were explained in the debate on European Commission document R/48/77 on 13th December 1977—[Vol. 941, c. 423–454]—and in the debate on the Fourth Report of the Lords Select Committee on the European Communities on 24th January 1978 in another place—[

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the pension position of those working in sheltered workshops where those engaged in the work supervision are members of contracted-out pension schemes.

No special contracting-out provisions apply to employees in sheltered workshops. If a contracting-out certificate covers only those workshop employees who are engaged in work supervision, the other employments would not be contracted out but would participate fully in the State scheme and, to the extent of their earnings above the lower earnings limit, build up rights to additional pension under the State scheme.