asked the Minister for the Civil Service whether he will publish in the Official Report as much detailed information as may be readily available for as long a period as possible

TOP-PAID POSTS DEALT WITH BY THE REVIEW BODY ON TOP SALARIES
					Date of increase
					1st January	1st April	1st January	1st January	1st January
Post					1972	1973	1974	1975	1977
					£	£	£	£	£
Chairman, British Steel Corporation				…	27,500	27,750	28,330	28,330	28,538
Lord Chief Justice		…	…	…	18,500*	18,750*	19,330*	23,050*	23,258*
Head of the Home Civil Service				…	16,750	17,000	17,580	20,175	20,383
Permanent Secretary to the Treasury				…
Secretary to the Cabinet		…	…	…
Admiral of the Fleet		…	…	…	15,750	16,000	16,580	19,675	19,883
Field Marshal	…	…	…	…
Marshal of the Royal Air Force				…
* Date of increase: 26th July.

The tenth report of the Review Body on Top Salaries (Cmnd. 7253) recommends salaries for the four groups appropriate at 1st April 1978. The Government have announced that they accept

MINISTERS AND JUNIOR MINISTERS
Post				1st April 1972	30th July 1976	30th July 1977
				£	£	£
Prime Minister		…	…	20,000	20,000	20,000
Lord Chancellor		…	…	20,000	20,000	20,208
Cabinet Minister:
Commons		…	…	13,000	13,000	13,000
Lords	…	…	…	13,000	13,000	13,208
Minister of State:
Commons		…	…	7,500–9,500	7,500–9,500	7,500–9,500
Lords	…	…	…	7,500–9,500	7,812–9,500	8,020–9,708
Parliamentary Secretary:
Commons		…	…	5,500	5,500	5,500
Lords	…	…	…	5,500	5,812	6,020
Junior Whips:
Commons		…	…	4,000	4,000	4,000
Lords	…	…	…	4,500	4,812	5,020

An Order in Council to increase ministerial salaries by 10 per cent. has been laid before the House. The order is subject to approval by resolution of each House.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service if he will now publish a revised and up-dated version of the "Directory of Paid Public Appointments made by Ministers".

The information is as follows:The salary levels recommended, but have decided that they should be introduced by stages beginning with an increase of 10 per cent. On 1st January 1978.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Carlton (Mr. Holland) on 20th June 1978.—[Vol. 952, c. 142.]

asked the Secretary of State for Industry when he expects to publish the Government's response to the report of the Post Office Review Committee; and if he will make a statement.

The Government have today published a White Paper on the Post Office (Cmnd. 7292) in response to the report of the Post Office Review Committee which was issued last July.In reaching its conclusions the Government have given careful consideration to the comments received during the period of public consultation and to the views expressed by the major interested parties.The White Paper expresses the Government's agreement with the Review Committee that the Post Office's prime duty is to provide good service to its customers with the maximum possible efficiency in the use both of manpower and of physical and financial resources. It outlines the Government's role as being to provide a stable framework of responsibilities and objectives within which the Post Office can plan and invest.Among the objectives set out in the White Paper are specific performance aims for posts and telecommunications which have been agreed with the Post Office. On posts, the aim is that taking 1977–78 as a base real unit costs should remain constant over the five years to 1982–83 so that tariffs need not increase overall any faster than the general level of prices in the economy. On telecommunications the White Paper looks for a general reduction in the real unit cost of the services of some 5 per cent. per annum over the same five years.On the Review Committee's recommendation that the Post Office should be split into two separate public corporations the White Paper concludes that no final decision should be taken until the Government have had a chance to assess the results of the two-year experiment in industrial democracy and of the policy of greater devolution of managerial responsibility within the present statutory framework. The Review Committee's proposal for a council on Post Office and telecommunications affairs would in the Government's view blur responsibilities and delay decisions in much the same way as the policy councils recommended by the National Economic Development Office for all the nationalised industries. The White Paper acknowledges, however, that there is room for improvement in public accountability and monitoring arrangements; it therefore sets out proposals, including proposals for strengthening the Post Office Users' National Council, which are designed to achieve this.The White Paper also reaffirms the Government's support for the experiment in industrial democracy and makes clear the Government's view that the letter and telecommunications services should remain statutory monopolies in public ownership.The White Paper also includes an annex, prepared by the Post Office, which sets out its policies and proposals in the light of the Review Committee's recommendations.Copies of the White Paper are now available in the Vote Office.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry whether there are any publicly owned manufacturers of medium-speed diesel engines in the United Kingdom, apart from the co-operation agreement recently negotiated between Harland and Wolff Limited and Maschinen-fabrik Augsburg-Nuerberg.

British shipbuilders are currently manufacturing medium speed diesel engines of over 5,000 KW.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what has been the total cost of building advance factory units on the Teesside industrial estate.

Up to 31st March 1978 £2,660,000 has been spent on building advance factories—including nearly £700,000 on factories still under construction.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what was the total cost of laying out the Teesside industrial estate.

The total cost for developing this site up to 31st March 1978 has been £1,290,000—including nearly £8,000 of work in progress.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will publish in the Official Report the text of his letter of 14th July 1978 to the hon. Member for Newham, North-West dealing with the question of food prices and wrong information as published in some of the press.

Yes, The text of my letter to the hon. Member is as follows:

"Thank you for your note of 29 June asking for comments on this article from the Daily Mail'.(¹) I think I can best reply by sending you this copy of the press release(2) on which the article was based. You will see from this that the 'Daily Mail', together with some others who also implied that food prices are rising faster than the published figures for inflation generally, were guilty of a serious misunderstanding of our National Food Survey results for the first quarter of 1978.

As is our custom, the main comparisons were made with the same period a year ago so as to avoid seasonal variations. On this basis, it is perfectly true that average household spending on food was just over 10 per cent. higher than the year before. In the same period, as our press release made clear, food prices rose on average by only a little over 6 per cent.—that is, much less than the general rate of inflation. This meant that, in real terms, housewives indeed spent about 3·7 per cent. more on household food purchases than in the same period of 1977. But the explanation for this is simple. The average household bought more food.

The exact amount of the extra purchases cannot be quantified because the balance of goods changed and the prices of different foods advanced by different amounts. But households spent more primarily because they bought greater quantities of beef, meat products, fish, and some processed fruit, and the same quantities of bread, all of which commodities had increased in price by at least as much as the increase in the general level of food prices over the year; also, although they bought rather less milk, cheese, apples, flour, some types of flour confectionery, tea and coffee, their expenditure on these items was greater because of increased prices. These increases in expenditure were partially (but not completely) offset by savings on butter (where consumer bought greater quantities at the lower prices brought about by the EEC subsidy) and on potatoes and other fresh vegetables where considerably more was bought at lower prices because of the improved supply situation).

Incidentally, you may care to note that the newspaper article was completely wrong in stating that the volume of purchases of beef, pork and fish fell."

(

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are the current outstanding borrowings from all sources of farmers; and if he will list them by type.

I regret that information on the agriculture industry's current outstanding borrowings from all sources is not available. However, bank advances to agriculture and forestry, which form the main component of such borrowings, totalled £1,607 million for the United Kingdom at 17th May 1978.The following table gives a broad indication of how farmers' borrowings were made up at mid-February 1977, based on farm account balance sheets collected from a subsample of farms as part of the Farm Management Survey in England and Wales:

LONG-AND MEDIUM-TERM LOANS
	per cent
Agricultural Mortgage Corporation	19¼
Building Societies	¾
Other Institutions	1
Bank Loans	6½
Loans from Relatives	9½
Other	3¾
SHORT-TERM LOANS
	per cent
Hire Purchase	1¼
Creditors	24½
Bank Overdrafts	33
Other	½
	100

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list in the Official Report the six-monthly average daily payments by the European Community in the form of monetary compensatory amounts of foodstuffs to the United Kingdom since the signing of the Treaty of Accession.

The six-monthly average daily payments from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund on the monetary compensatory amounts on imports into the United Kingdom are given below for the periods shown:

• July-December 1973—£114,065
• January-June 1974—£131,606
• July-December 1974—£189,701
• January-June 1975—£467,494
• July-December 1975—£649,084
• January-June 1976—£399,118
• July-December 1976—£1·20 million
• January-June 1977—£1·35 million
• July-December 1977—£1·32 million
• January-March 1978—£1·17 million

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he

EUROPEAN AGRICULTURAL GUIDANCE AND GUARANTEE FUND:
ACTUAL EXPENDITURE AS A PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL COMMUNITIES' BUDGET
				1968	1969	1970	1971	1972
Guarantee Section		…	…	78·1	88·9	88·4	73·0	87·4
Guidance Section	…	…	…	3·6	1·2	3·1	6·3	1·6
				1973	1974	1975	1976	1977
Guarantee Section		…	…	79·3	72·5	75·2	73·6	74·2
Guidance Section	…	…	…	3·1	2·8	2·9	3·0	1·8

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the outcome of the Budget Council in Brussels on Tuesday 18th July.

The Budget Council which I attended on 18th July established will list in the Official Report, with dates, all devaluations of the green pound since the signing of the Treaty of Accession.

The dates on which the United Kingdom green pound has been devalued, and the extent of these devaluations, are shown below:

	Devaluation
	per cent.
7th October 1974	7·35
3rd March 1975	2·17
4th August 1975	5·00
27th October 1975	5·80
1st May 1977	2·90
17th May 1978	7·50

NOTES.(1) The dates given are ones on which the devaluations shown were first applied in full in any sector.(2) The first United Kingdom green rate applied with effect from 1st February 1973 when the CAP was first applied in the United Kingdom.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list in the Official Report the percentage allocation from the Community Budget to the guarantee and guidance sections of the common agricultural policy for each of the last 10 years.

The information requested is set out in the attached table for the 10 years 1968 to 1977.the Draft General Budget of the European Communities for 1979. This followed an exchange of views with representatives of the European Assembly about budgetary priorities and consideration by the Council of the proposals presented by the various Community institutions in the Preliminary Draft General Budget.At the outset of the Council I made a statement expressing the Government's serious concern over the continuing predominance of expenditure on the common agricultural policy in the total Budget and drawing attention to the need to take steps to reduce this considerably in future years.In particular, I referred to the situation which occurs year after year, where the Budget Council is asked to approve a further increase in agricultural expenditure even though it is commonly agreed that such expenditure is already too high and forms too high a proportion of the total Budget. Moreover, even on optimistic assumptions, the Commission had estimated that this trend would continue and agricultural expenditure would still be growing in real terms in both 1980 and 1981.I referred also to the conclusion which the European Council, meeting at Bremen earlier this month, reached on the excessive predominance of agricultural expenditure and the need for the Commission to review the position and formulate proposals for achieving reductions. Commissioner Tugendhat confirmed that the Commission would present its proposals in time for the next meeting of the European Council in December.I remind my colleagues in the Budget Council that the huge cost of the CAP arises largely from the existence of surpluses, which also represent a serious misuse of Community resources, in many cases involving a transfer of resources away from the less prosperous areas of the Community to the more prosperous. In this connection I refuted the view, advanced by some member States, that expenditure on monetary compensatory amounts—MCAs—on our agricultural imports represented a benefit to the British housewive in the form of lower prices. I made quite clear that, on the contrary, these MCAs are part of the cost of supporting producers in other member States at excessively high prices, since they enable them to find in the United Kingdom a market which might otherwise not exist for their surplus output.I said that I recognised that the expenditure consequences of the 1978 price fixing had to be accepted. However, I emphasised that the prospect of CAP expenditure continuing to grow in real terms was completely unacceptable to the United Kingdom, and I was therefore voting for the agricultural appropriations in the 1979 Preliminary Draft Budget only on the assumption that action would be taken to bring about a substantial reduction in the cost of the CAP in the Budgets for 1980 and future years. Such a reduction could only be achieved if there were no increase in the prices of surplus products until the burden of those surpluses had been removed. A clear decision in this sense on prices could, as necessary, be reinforced if Finance and Budgetary Ministers were able to set a cash limit on agricultural expenditure which Agricultural Ministers would respect in taking their decisions, rather than leaving Budgetary Ministers to find whatever money is required to meet agricultural policies that build up bigger and bigger surpluses.Since the level of provision for agricultural expenditure will be reviewed later in the year in the light of the harvest, the Council approved unaltered the Commission's estimates for titles 6 and 7 of the Budget.The Council also agreed on appropriations for the Regional Development Fund of 620 million European units of account —MEUA—for payments. For the Social Fund the Council agreed appropriations of 672·5 MEUA for commitments and 470 MEUA for payments; additional appropriations of 40 MEUA for commitments and 18 MEUA for payments were entered in Chapter 100 in respect of new measures for young people. I expressed my great disappointment that my fellow Ministers were unable to accept higher provisions for these priority areas; the Council did, however, agree that if in the event it appeared that a higher level of payments would be achieved, it would be ready to consider a Supplementary Budget.Following the failure of the Energy Council to reach agreement on the Commission's proposals in the energy sector, the Council reduced the appropriations in chapter 32 to 25 MEUA for commitments and 30 MEUA for payments.On aid to non-associates, I was unable to secure the agreement of the Council to provision in excess of 60 MEUA. Pending further consideration of the Commission's proposals to include borrowing and lending in the Budget, the Council decided to retain the existing presentation.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what tax changes for 1979–80 he proposes following the increase in child benefit which has been announced.

My right hon. Friend in his Budget Statement announced the Government's decision to increase child benefit to £4 a week for all children in April 1979, and, as a first instalment of this to increase the benefit by 70p to £3 this November. These increases allow the phasing in of the child benefit scheme to be completed by withdrawing child tax allowances in respect of all children—other than certain students and children living overseas to whom special provisions apply—with effect from 1979–80. The combined November and April benefit increases will exceed the losses from the proposed withdrawal of the tax allowances so that for the great majority of families there will be a net increase in family income.In order to ensure that widows and others in receipt of taxable social security benefits who receive child dependency additions are not worse off as a result of the withdrawal of the tax allowances, it is proposed to exempt the child dependency additions from tax with effect from 1979–80. This exemption extends the arrangements for part-exemption of those dependency additions in 1977–78 and 1978–79. For those beneficiaries who are liable to tax this exemption will more than set off the loss of the tax allowances. No tax adjustment is to be made for war widows whose dependency allowances are not taxable, but appropriate adjustments will be made to the amount of their dependency allowances.Consequential changes will also be needed to the additional personal allowance which can at present be claimed by single parents only if they have a child living with them for whom they are entitled to child tax allowance. It is pro- posed with effect from 1979–80 to replace the link with the child tax allowance by a requirement that the child should meet the present conditions for the child tax allowance, except that the claimant will not have to prove custody of a child who is not his or her own child.Single persons who maintain relatives to look after younger brothers or sisters are now ordinarily able to claim the additional personal allowance, and the removal of the custody requirement should ensure that practically all can do so. The alternative "child minder" allowance available to this group—currently worth only £100, compared with £550 additional personal allowance—will generally cease to have effect.It is proposed to introduce legislation in next year's Finance Bill to give effect to these changes. The Inland Revenue will take them into account in the preparation this winter of the PAYE codes which will take effect from 6th April 1979.The Inland Revenue is today issuing a press release with further details.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will update the table given in the Written Answer to the hon. Member for Chingford (Mr. Tebbit), Official Report, 3rd March, column 429–30, incorporating the price index figure for June 1978 when it becomes available.

I refer the hon. Member to my recent answer to him, in which the figures from June 1970 onwards were given in terms of May 1978 prices.To convert from May 1978 prices to June 1978 prices, the figures need to be multiplied by 1·0077, but the relativities between the figures will remain unchanged.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will estimate, for the current year or a recent year, the yield of a wealth tax (a) levied at the rates for tax B in Command Paper No. 5704, beginning at 1 per cent. on wealth of £100,000 to £300,000 and rising to 5 per cent. on wealth over £5 million, (b) levied at the rate of 5 per cent. on personal wealth in excess of £60,000, and (c) at 1 per cent. on wealth of £100,000 and above.

The yield of a wealth tax will depend on reliefs and other structural features as well as on the tax rates. It is broadly estimated however that on the basis of the distribution of wealth in the United Kingdom in 1975 the yield from the rates mentioned in a. b and c would be £200 million, £1050 million, and £135 million respectively. There would in addition be a further yield, not readily quantifiable under basis b, from certain kinds of trusts; this has been estimated to be between £70 million and £160 million under basis a, and between £35 million and £80 million under basis c. On the basis of asset values at the present time the yield would be likely to be significantly higher, but reliable estimates are not yet available.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will list and take steps to publicise the Inland Revenue free phone numbers that are available for those living in Hounslow, Brentford, Isle-worth and Chiswick who wish to raise queries about their income tax.

A free-phone service is provided for the use of employers dealt with by the following tax districts:

• London Provincial 1-XI
• Crewe 2 (London)
• Exeter 4 (London)
• Plymouth 2 (London)
• Sheffield 6 (London)
• Sheffield 7 (London)
• Stoke 4 (London)

The service is intended solely for the use of such employers and it would not be appropriate to publish the relevant telephone numbers; each employer concerned was notified of his "free-phone" code number at the time of transfer of his PAYE work out of London.The service has not been extended since 1969 on account of cost. Instead, as was explained to hon. Members in the debate on PAYE inquiry facilities on 15th July 1971—[Vol. 821, c. 888],—the Inland Revenue has provided a network of inquiry offices to which employers, employees and their agents can address their inquiries.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many forms were sent to the public by (a) the Inland Revenue and (b) Her Majesty's Customs and Excise service; and how many pages in total were contained in these forms, both in February 1974 and at the latest available date.

The Revenue departments issue forms to the public where it is necessary for the proper administration of the taxes or when individuals so request. No detailed records are however kept of the total numbers of forms issued.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the policy of the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Customs and Excise as regards the costs of value added tax appeals when the taxpayer has been unsuccessful.

In general, Customs and Excise do not seek costs when a taxpayer has been unsuccessful before a VAT tribunal. However, they have in the past felt justified in applying for costs in a few exceptional cases which have either involved hearings of a substantial nature or have involved misuse of the tribunal procedure resulting in public money being expended to little useful purpose. This policy is currently under review in the light of five years' experience, although it is not envisaged that there will be any major changes. I hope to make an announcement later in the year.As regards subsequent appeals to the High Court, Customs and Excise would normally seek costs when they are successful in accordance with the normal rule that costs follow the event. They are, of course, always prepared to consider representations of exceptional hardship or other special circumstances on their merits.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether it is the policy of the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Customs and Excise to assess a registered person to value added tax contrary to advice previously given by them.

When it is established that an officer of Customs and Excise, with the full facts before him, has given a clear and unequivocal ruling on VAT in writing; or it is established that an officer knowing the full facts has misled a trader to his detriment, the Commissioners of Customs and Excise would only raise an assessment based on the correct ruling from the date the error was brought to the attention of the registered person concerned.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will alter the value added tax collection period to coincide with firms' annual accounting periods.

As I announced during the Budget debate on 12th April, while this has been allowed in the past, except where the financial year of a business sends on or near 31st December or 31st March, in future all businesses with turnover up to £50,000 will be allowed to opt to change their VAT periods to align them with their own financial years. To go further than this at this stage would add seriously to Customs and Excise administrative costs, but we will keep this matter under review in the light of practical experience.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish a table showing the average per capita personal income before and after tax for each metropolitan and non-metroplitan county in England and Wales, and for Greater London, and for each smaller local government area for which information is available.

I shall let my hon. Friend have a reply as soon as possible.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the percentage of weekly earnings paid by the average wage earner, with a wife and two children aged 10 years or under, in income tax and national insurance contributions, in June 1978, and in the same month in each of the previous 14 years.

The latest available estimate of average earnings is that for April 1978. On the assumption that the man earned the average manual wage in April of each of the last fifteen years the figures are as follows:

PERCENTAGE OF EARNINGS PAID IN INCOME TAX
AND NATIONAL INSURANCE CONTRIBUTIONS
	per cent.
April 1964	9·6
April 1965	11·0
April 1966	11·9
April 1967	12·3
April 1968	16·0
April 1969	17·6
April 1970	19·7
April 1971	18·2
April 1972	17·2
April 1973	19·8
April 1974	20·8
April 1975	24·7
April 1976	24·7
April 1977	23·1
April 1978	24·7

For years up to and including 1969 average manual earnings are the Department of Employment's estimates of the average weekly earnings in April of each year of full-time adult male manual workers. For the years from 1970 to 1977 the figures are based on the New Earnings Survey estimates of the average weekly earnings of similar workers, and for 1978 the April 1977 New Earnings Survey figure has been updated to April 1978 by the monthly index of average earnings."Earnings" does not include family allowance or child benefit. The percentages therefore reflect the increase in tax resulting from the phasing out of child tax allowances, but note the increase in income through the phasing in of child benefit.For years before 1975, and for 1978, it has been assumed that the employee was not contracted out of the graduated pension scheme.Tax has been calculated at the rates and allowances for the fiscal year starting in April, on earnings of 52 times the weekly figure in April.The tax rates and allowances used for April 1978 are those contained in the Finance Bill, as finally approved by the House.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish an index, using as a base 1970 = 100, of survey prices for each year from 1970 to 1978; and if he will indicate what value he provisionally assigns to the estimated out-turn prices for 1978–79 on the same index.

The table below shows the average of survey prices for expenditure programmes used in public expenditure White Papers from Cmnd 4829 onwards. It is expressed in the form of an index based on 1970–71 = 100, as information on a calendar year basis is not available.

Cmnd 4829	105
Cmnd 5178	115
Cmnd 5519	125
Cmnd 5879	145
Cmnd 6393	185
Cmnd 6721	220
Cmnd 7049	250

The average of survey prices currently in use in the 1978 survey is about 270 in terms of this index. 1978–79 outturn prices are likely to be a little higher than this.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish his latest estimates of the outturn of public spending in 1977–78 on the bases used in tables 9 to 13 of the public expenditure White Paper, Command Paper No. 7049-I; and if he will give his latest estimates for 1978–79 on the same basis.

Estimates will be published in the next public expenditure White Paper in due course.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish estimates of the value of the stock appreciation relief provisions for each year that they have been in operation; and if he will provide details both in total, for major industries, if such information is available, and for the principal subdivisions of the private sector, such as incorporated enter- prises and the self-employed; and if he will provide such estimates both in current prices and in constant prices of the most recent period which is convenient.

I shall let the hon. Member have a reply as soon as possible.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what exchange control regulations govern the payment of transfer fees by association football clubs in the United Kingdom to clubs in Argentina; what application has been made under these regulations by Tottenham Hotspur Football Club; and when it is likely to be approved.

Payments overseas for the transfer of footballers to clubs in this country are considered for exchange control purposes to be payments for services and can therefore be met with foreign currency obtained at the current rate in the official foreign exchange market. In the case of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club the exchange control formalities have been completed.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has concluded his reconsideration of the need for a yellow flag system of vessel control; and if he is planning to reintroduce such a system before the August holiday season starts.

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 20th July 1978], gave the following answer:No. Consultations between Her Majesty's Customs and the many interested parties are still proceeding and it will be some time before a decision can be reached about the practicability of adopting such a system.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is now the annual deficit in invisibles with the EEC.

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 20th July 1978], gave the following answer:Figures for 1977 will be given in detail in "United Kingdom Balance of Payments 1967–77"—Pink Book—to be published at the beginning of September. Present indications are that the United Kingdom had a deficit on invisibles—including Government transfer payments—with other member countries and the institutions of the EEC of around £300 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of the United Kingdom defence budget was spent on defence establishments, companies or factories in Scotland in each year since 1970.

Detailed estimates are not available, since defence expenditure is not accounted for on a regional basis. We do, however, make a broad assessment annu-

Property						Acreage	Number of Houses	Date of Completion of Sale
Land at Waltham Abbey		…	…	…	…	0·59	Nil	24th March 1975
I Love Lane, Ongar	…	…	…	…	…	0·30	1	28th June 1976
Former Officers Mess and Grounds, North Weald						12·11	Nil	25th March 1977
Leader Lodge, North Weald			…	…	…	0·50	1	6th January 1978
5 married quarters in Beamish Close, North Weald						0·50	5	30th March 1978
33 married quarters in Pike Way, North Weald					…	13·50	33	31st March 1978

The 33 houses in Pike Way, North Weald were sold to the council by the Home Office to which they had previously been transferred.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether his Department has received an application from Tottenham Hotspur Football Club for work permits in respect of Osvaldo Ardiles and Ricardo Villa; what inquiries are to be undertaken; and when a decision is likely to be made.

My Department has received applications for work permits from Tottenham Hotspur Football Club in respect of Osvaldo Ardiles and Ricardo Villa. In accordance with normal practice the views of the Football Association, Football League and the Professional Footballers Association have been sought. In the light of their replies a decision will be taken as soon as possible as to whether ally of the initial incidence of expenditure, which shows that since 1970–71 some 6 per cent. to 7 per cent. of total United Kingdom defence expenditure was spent each year in Scotland. This takes no account of contracts let to firms in one area being subcontracted to other areas. Information on such movement between areas is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list all the properties previously owned by his Department which have been sold or transferred to the Epping Forest district council, together with the dates, indicating clearly where appropriate the number of housing units involved.

The list is as follows:the applications satisfy the criteria of the work permit scheme.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he has yet decided that there should be a mandatory training requirement for careers officers.

The Government have decided in principle in favour of such a requirement and are consulting interested bodies about how best to give effect to it.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department by what percentage rape offences reported to the police in England and Wales increased or decreased in 1977 compared with 1976.

There was a 7 per cent. decrease in the number of offences of rape recorded by the police in England and Wales in 1977 compared with 1976.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will give, for the longest and most convenient period of time, the number of persons who were recommended for deportation where such deportation has net taken place and the reasons for

RECOMMENDATIONS BY COURTS FOR DEPORTATION UNDER SECTION 3(6) OF THE IMMIGRATION ACT 1971
	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977
Recommendations set aside on appeal	12	32	37	18	28
Number allowed to leave under supervision	52	89	132	95	91
Number who left voluntarily before recommendation was considered	30	91	90	70	81
Cases in which it was decided not to act on recommendation	51	94	146	120	181
Deportation orders made but not yet enforced	12	10	13	46	76

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department by what percentage the combined offences of murder, manslaughter and infanticide reported to the police increased or decreased in England and Wales in 1977 compared with 1976.

There was a 15 per cent. decrease in the number of offences of homicide—murder, manslaughter and infanticide—recorded by the police in England and Wales in 1977 compared with 1976.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will indicate, for each of the past 12 months, the number of suspects held in police custody for more than 48 hours before being brought before the courts, and the length of time for which such suspects have been held before being released or remanded on bail or in custody.

I regret that this information is not readily available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what further consideration he has given to a possible experiment in the tape recording of police interrogations in the light of advice which he has received from the Royal Commission on Criminal Procedure.

I regret that all the information requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.The available information for the last five years is as follows:

The House will be aware from my reply to a Question by my hon. Friend the Member for Stockport, North (Mr. Bennett) on 11th April —[Vol. 947, c. 344]—that my Department submitted a memorandum to the Roy al Commission on a possible experiment in the tape-recording of police interrogations: a copy was placed in the Library. The chairman of the Royal Commission, Sir Cyril Philips, has now informed me that the Commission regards as central to its terms of reference the way in which police interviews and interrogations are controlled, and that there are a number of critical questions on which it needs to obtain further information more quickly than would be possible from an experiment of the kind envisaged in the report of the Home Office Committee (Cmnd. 6630). Subject to further consideration and consultation, the Commission therefore proposes to undertake a modified study using overseas experience and the techniques of operational research combined with some experimental use of tape-recording. Its focus will be on the practical and cost implications of tape-recording and it will be designed to produce some results by the end of next year. I have told the chairman of the Commission that I support its proposal. In the meantime, I have no plans for a separate experiment.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people being suspected of an arrestable offence under section 4 of the Vagrancy Act 1824, were arrested in each division within the Metropolitan Police area in 1976, 1977 and the first six months of 1978; and if these figures can be broken down by ethnic appearance.

PERSONS ARRESTED FOR BEING SUSPECTED OF FREQUENTING A PUBLIC PLACE WITH INTENT TO COMMIT AN
ARRESTABLE OFFENCE: BY DIVISION AND ETHNIC APPEARANCE
METROPOLITAN POLICE DISTRICT 1977
Number of Persons
Ethnic appearance
Division			White Skinned European	Dark Skinned European	Black Skinned (including West Indian/African)	Indian/Pakistani	Chinese/Japanese	Arabian/Egyptian	Not known	Total
A	…	…	100	6	42	9	1	4	0	162
B	…	…	72	3	74	3	0	9	2	163
C	…	…	195	14	198	8	0	2	0	417
D	…	…	120	4	193	4	0	5	0	326
E	…	…	37	1	13	0	0	1	0	52
F	…	…	56	0	19	2	0	0	0	77
G	…	…	29	3	49	0	0	0	0	81
H	…	…	35	0	12	4	0	0	0	51
I	…	…	11	0	0	0	0	0	0	11
J	…	…	37	2	28	0	2	1	0	70
K	…	…	38	0	10	6	0	0	0	54
L	…	…	58	5	178	2	1	0	0	244
M	…	…	46	1	35	0	0	0	0	82
N	…	…	42	3	6	1	0	0	0	52
P	…	…	34	1	40	0	0	3	0	78
Q	…	…	88	0	28	0	0	1	0	117
R	…	…	20	1	8	2	0	0	0	31
S	…	…	14	0	2	1	0	1	0	18
T	…	…	28	0	1	1	1	0	0	31
V	…	…	19	0	0	0	0	0	0	19
W	…	…	30	2	51	0	0	0	0	83
X	…	…	17	0	4	2	0	0	0	23
Y	…	…	24	2	23	0	0	0	0	49
Z	…	…	47	0	28	0	0	0	0	75
TA		…	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
MPD Total			1,197	48	1,042	45	5	27	2	2,366

PERSONS ARRESTED FOR BEING SUSPECTED OF FREQUENTING A PUBLIC PLACE WITH INTENT TO COMMIT AN ARRESTABLE OFFENCE: BY DIVISION AND ETHNIC APPEARANCE
METROPOLITAN POLICE DISTRICT:FIRST QUARTER 1978
Number of Persons
Ethnic appearance
Division			White Skinned European	Dark Skinned European	Black Skinned (including West Indian/African)	Indian/Pakistani	Chinese/Japanese	Arabian/Egyptian	Not known	Total
A	…	…	18	3	8	0	0	0	0	29
B	…	…	22	3	28	1	0	1	0	55
C	…	…	48	2	38	0	0	1	0	89
D	…	…	23	1	32	1	0	0	0	57
E	…	…	21	2	10	0	0	0	0	33
F	…	…	6	0	2	0	0	0	0	8
G	…	…	4	0	7	0	0	0	0	11
H	…	…	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
I	…	…	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
J	…	…	13	0	1	0	0	0	0	14
K	…	…	19	0	3	3	0	0	0	25
L	…	…	15	3	34	0	0	0	0	52
M	…	…	10	0	16	0	0	0	0	26
N	…	…	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	5
P	…	…	11	0	8	0	0	0	0	19
Q	…	…	21	0	8	1	0	0	0	30
R	…	…	14	1	3	0	0	0	0	18
S	…	…	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	2

Such information as is readily available in the form requested is given in the following tables:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many reports on research carried out by the Home Office Research Unit have been published since 1975; and to what effect.

The results of the substantial programme of social research carried out by my Department's research unit are published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office in the Home Office research studies series, in the unit's own Research Bulletin, and in various journals. The research studies series now contains 45 titles, of which 20 have been issued since the beginning of 1975; five issues of the Research Bulletin—which is distributed to courts, local authorities and universities as well as to the police, prison and probation services—have been produced in the last three and a half years, and about 40 articles have been published in journals over the same period. This body of research has influenced policy, both directly through the findings of individual projects and more generally through the cumulative results of projects with a common theme, the findings are also of use to practitioners in the various services, are valued by research workers at home and abroad, and are of general public interest.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the incidence of violent crime in Suffolk in the last five years; and what statistical information he has concerning violence against the police in that county.

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 17th July 1978; Vol. 954, c. 11], gave the following answer:

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many press officers are currently on the establishment of the Northern Ireland Government Departments and in the Northern Ireland Office; and how many were employed by the former Stormont Government and by the former Northern Ireland Executive, respectively.

There are at present 24 posts in the information services jointly serving Northern Ireland Departments and the Northern Ireland Office in Belfast and London.In March 1972 the Information Service under the former Stormont Government comprised 14 staff Northern Ireland information matters in London were dealt with as appropriate by the Home Office or the Ulster Office at that time. In March 1974 those serving the Northern Ireland Executive totalled 17.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development whether she will make a statement on the progress being made in moving her Department to Scotland.

Preparations for the move of part of my headquarters to East Kilbride are on schedule and the precise location for the Directorate of Overseas Surveys, which will also be moving to the Glasgow area, is under consideration.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development if she will provide a broad summary of firm bilateral aid commitments entered into before 1st January and not yet completed, showing the country concerned and the period of the outstanding commitment in each case.

The number of commitments is substantial. I am assembling the information and will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection having regard to the number of accidents involving lawn mowers and hedge trimmers revealed during the first 12 months' operation of the home accident surveillance system set up by his Department in January 1977 by the 20 participating hospitals, what is the likely number of such accidents during the year 1977 in the United Kingdom as a whole.

I regret that it is not yet possible to estimate with any acceptable degree of accuracy from data provided by the Home Accident Surveillance System the total number of acci- dents in the United Kingdom involving individual products.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection whether he will advise users of lawn mowers and hedge trimmers of the precautions they should take and of the dangers involved therein.

The instructions which accompany lawn mowers and hedge trimmers, when purchased, usually include advice on safe usage; moreover mains-operated appliances of this kind are required by the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1975 to be marked with or accompanied by information of which the user needs to be aware for their safe operation. However, as I stated in reply to my hon. Friend's Question on 10th July, the need for publicity on this subject will be kept in mind.—[Vol. 953, c. 369.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will list the areas of the United Kingdom in which (a) fluoride is added to drinking water in which the natural fluoride content is non-existent or negligible, and (b) fluoride is naturally present to a substantial extent and is topped up to one part per million by the addition of fluoride.

Fluoride is present naturally to some degree in virtually all water sources. A list of areas where the fluoride level is raised artificially to 1 part per million was given in answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Brent, South (Mr. Pavitt) on 6th February.—[Vol. 943, c. 404–6.] In all those cases the average natural fluoride content is below 0·6 part per million.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he recommends the use of hydrofluoric acid as a means of fluoridation.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he has taken since the violent disturbances in the East End of London caused by fascist hooligans against ethnic groups to remove the environmental adversities which have aggravated these problems; and with what success.

My hon. Friend will already know of the measures taken to assist docklands and the dockland boroughs through the Government's inner city policy launched just over a year ago. These measures are directed both at improving the physical environment and to providing additional employment, and will we believe help to alleviate some of

PUBLIC SECTOR HOUSING STARTS, RENOVATION WORK APPROVED AND
PUBLIC EXPENDITURE ON HOUSING: ENGLAND: 1968–1977
Calendar year	Dwellings started: public sector (thousands)	Renovation work approved for subsidy or grant: public and private sectors (thousands)	Financial year	Public expenditure on housing: at outturn prices (£ million)
1968	152	107	1968–69	828
1969	138	101	1969–70	843
1970	120	146	1970–71	988
1971	109	186	1971–72	932
1972	100	291	1972–73	1,227
1973	93	329	1973–74	2,108
1974	117	216	1974–75	3,592
1975	145	118	1975–76	3,640
1976	149	119	1976–77	4,015
1977	117	119	1977–78	4,118*
* Expenditure in 1977–78 is at 1978 Survey Prices.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what targets have been set and what moneys allocated for future derelict land reclamation in the London borough of Lambeth and metropolitan county of West Midlands, respectively.

Local authorities in England determine their own targets for the reclamation of derelict land in the light of local priorities. For the current financial year the Department has allocated £2·56 million to local authorities in the metropolitan county of West Midlands as key sector finance for the reclamation of derelict land. No such allocation has been made to the London borough of Lambeth but the local authorities concerned have access to key sector funds specifically allocated for this work in London and the south-east of England. Allocations have yet to be made for future years.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what acreage of the problems which have aggravated the tensions in the area.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list, for each year since 1968 (a) the number of housing starts, (b) the number of home improvements grants, and (c) the total housing budget administered by his Department.

Following is the available information:derelict land has been reclaimed since 1966, and at what cost, in the London borough of Lambeth, and metropolitan county of West Midlands, respectively.

Returns made by the local authorities to hand show that between 1st January 1972 and 31st March 1976 no derelict land was reclaimed in the London borough of Lambeth and 1,333 acres were reclaimed in the metropolitan county of West Midlands. Later figures are not yet available. I will write to the hon. Member about the earlier figures as soon as I can. The returns do not indicate the cost of reclamation work.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment in the light of the rising costs of planning inquiries, what action he intends to take; and if he will make a statement.

We are anxious to keep costs to the minimum consistent with proper examination of the issues involved. We have no reason to think that costs of planning inquiries generally are rising disproportionately.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he is satisfied with the adequacy of the powers in sections 101 and 115 of the Town and Country Planning Act, 1971, to secure the repair of neglected listed buildings; and, if not, what steps he intends taking to improve the situation.

I am satisfied that the powers are adequate: but there are signs that they could be used more widely by local authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what were the average increases in unfurnished private rents re-registered in 1977 in London as a whole, in Kensington and Chelsea, in the City of Westminster and in Camden.

The mean increase on re-registration by rent officers in 1977 of rents for unfurnished tenancies previously registered not more than four years before—excluding housing association tenancies and cases where a change of circumstances had occurred—was 39 per cent, in Greater London, 40 per cent, in Kensington and Chelsea, 43 per cent, in Westminster and 39 per cent, in Camden.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the approximate value of indemnities given to the learned societies for total loss of objects loaned to his Department in connection with the temporary exhibition being held in the Fine Rooms at Somerset House from 20th July to 20th August 1978.

The total value of indemnities given is approximately £766,000.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment, in the light of the industrial unrest affecting Whitehall's official chauffeurs over their wage scales, what action he has taken or intends taking to resolve this dispute.

I have been asked to reply.The trade union side of the Joint Coordinating Committee for Government Industrial Establishments has rejected a pay offer amounting to 10 per cent. The official side made it clear that although the 1978 settlement had to be contained within 10 per cent., discussion could take place on the content of the offer. However the trade union side was not prepared to discuss the matter other than to reiterate the original pay claim.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether any progress has been made with measures to reduce the possibility of damage being caused to persons and property in Adelaide Terrace. Brentford, by objects falling from vehicles using the elevated section of the M4.

Yes. The parapets on the elevated section of the M4 are to be improved and a solid splash barrier provided. Contracts are being prepared and work should start later this year taking about two years to complete.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will publish the latest actual traffic flows and any available forecast traffic flows for 1980 in vehicles two-way per hour, peak, and per 16-hour day at: (a) the A4 west of the Hogarth Roundabout, (b) the A316 Burlington Lane, (c) the A3I6 Hartington Road to South Circular Road, (d) the A305 and (e) the North Circular Road north of Chiswick roundabout.

The traffic flows requested are set out below. Some 16-hour flow figures have been based on counts of shorter duration.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will publish the latest available three-month, six-month and 12-month accident figures for the A4 between the Hogarth Roundabout and the junction with Lionel Road, Brentford, giving separate figures for those involving: (a) personal injury and (b) heavy goods vehicles.

The central accident records for all roads in London are kept by the Greater London Council. The information requested is not immediately available and I shall write to the hon. Member shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport from recent surveys, and the most up to date information available to him, how many heavy freight vehicles, giving tonnage of freight carried, passed from east to west, and returned, respectively, on each of the major roads across the Pennines north of Derby and south of Leeds, indicating any change between the latest year for which figures are available, and five or 10 years previously.

I regret that the information is not available and that it could not be obtained without disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he is now willing to approve a pedestrian crossing on the A1 in Castlegate, Berwick-upon-Tweed.

No, I have no plans to do so but I have asked for a full report on whether there has been any change in circumstances since this matter was last considered and will write to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether any new regulations for the transport of liquefied propylene will apply equally to Scot land as in England; and when the new regulations will come into force.

Regulations to control the transport of liquefied propylene as well as other dangerous goods are being prepared by the Health and Safety Executive. I understand that it is hoped to publish a consultation document later this year. When the regulations are made, they will apply to Scotland as in England.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether a timetable has now been agreed for the negotiations leading up to the independence of the Gilbert Islands; whether a date has been fixed for the customary constitutional conference; and whether the Banabans will be invited to participate in that conference.

No timetable for negotiations or date for a constitutional conference, at which a date for the Gilbert Islands' independence will be determined, has yet been fixed. As my right hon. Friend declared in his statement of 27th May 1977 Banaban representatives will be asked to the conference.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will give an assurance that Christmas Island will remain an integral part of the Gilbert Islands after their independence.

Until independence Christmas Island will remain an integral part of the Gilbert Islands; after independence the matter would be one for the people and Government of the Gilbert Islands.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what has been the total expenditure from the date of acquisition by Her Majesty's Government on the refit of the merchant ship "St. Helena".

The cost of converting the vessel, which will shortly be renamed the RMV "St. Helena", as at 14th July was £1,156,844. The estimated total cost of conversion is £1,200,000, of which the owners of the vessel, the United International Bank, are paying £850,000 and the Government of St. Helena £350,000. British aid to St. Helena is being increased to cover the latter payment.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what has been the cost of purchase of the merchant ship "St. Helena" by Her Majesty's Government.

The "Northland Prince", shortly to be renamed the RMV "St. Helena", was purchased by the United International Bank at a cost of approximately £800,000. It is being leased to the Government of St. Helena.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what expenditure has been incurred by Her Majesty's Government on moving the "St. Helena" from Vancouver to Southampton.

The net cost to the St. Helena Government of sailing the vessel, shortly to be renamed RMV "St. Helena", from Vancouver, where she was laid up, to Southampton was £68,024. This figure is subject to final audit. British budgetary aid to St. Helena was increased by this amount.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what expenditure has been incurred by Her Majesty's Government on the proving voyage of the "St. Helena" to and from Capetown via St. Helena.

The net cost to the St. Helena Government of the proving voyage of the vessel shortly to be renamed RMV "St. Helena" was £77,496. This figure is subject to final audit. British budgetary aid to St. Helena was increased by this amount.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many new crofts have been created (a) in Argyll and (b) in Scotland since 1945; and how many crofts have been amalgamated in Argyll and in Scotland over the same period.

The number of new crofts which have been created since 1945 in (a) Argyll is 24 and (b) in Scotland—the seven crofting counties—461.No reliable statistics are available of the number of landholders' units amalgamated during the period from 1945 to the passing of the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1955. Since then 215 crofts in Argyll have been removed from the Register of Crofts on account of amalgamations, the Scottish total being 1,878.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many tenant farms (a) in Argyll and (b) in Scotland have been repossessed by the owners on the tenancies becoming vacant since 1945.

I have no records which show this information.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many landholdings and estates (a) in Argyll and (b) in Scotland were taken over by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries during the last war because of bad husbandry; and how many of them have subsequently been returned to their former occupant.

During the last war powers to take possession of land or terminate the tenancy of land were delegated to local agricultural executive committees. I understand that in Scotland, by 1944, possession had been taken of some 79 arable and mixed farms—20,000 acres—five sheep farms—49,000 acres—and eight deer forests—170,000 acres—but I have no details about these properties or information about their disposal; nor does the information available to me indicate how many were in Argyll.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list incoming firms which have developed in Dundee and Tayside in the last year, classified by place of origin; how many jobs they have created; how they compare in contribution towards employment with locally based firms; and what are the comparative figures for the preceding two years.

The following companies—with origin—are known by my Department to have established units in Dundee and Tayside in the three years 1975 to 1977.

Name and origin	Located Year
Root Harvesters Peterborough	Perth 1977
Nasbrit USA	Dundee 1976
Kestrel Marine (new company	Dundee 1975

There are no figures available on the number these companies currently employ, but they are eventually expected to provide between 200 and 250 jobs. In addition two overseas companies already based in Dundee, Levi Strauss International and Timex, have announced expansion plans that should lead to around 250 additional jobs. I regret that the further information requested could not be provided except at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will list, from the international sources available to him, those countries, States and provinces in Europe and North America which impose restrictions on the sale of land to companies and financial institutions;

				Erskine Bridge		Forth Bridge	Tay Bridge
				Revenue	Costs of collection	Revenue	Revenue
				£	£	£	£
1972–73	…	…	…	312,273	163,285	1,360,819	594,672
1973–74	…	…	…	359,570	180,332	1,474,520	643,689
1974–75	…	…	…	380,557	234,310	1,413,560	656,637
1975–76	…	…	…	417,495	299,856	1,356,874*	600,484*
1976–77	…	…	…	471,743	300,078	1,587,248	695,513
* 45 week period 16th May 1975 to 31st March 1976.

Comprehensive information cannot readily be reduced to tabular form. Much revelant information is however available in the report commissioned by the Highlands and Islands Development Board, reproduced as an appendix to its recently published consultative document on proposals for changes in the Highland and Islands Development (Scotland) Act 1965 to allow more effective powers over rural land use.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what has been the total cost of land in Scotland so far purchased under the terms of the Community Land Act.

The provisional cost of land acquired up to 31st March 1978 is £1,052,889.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how much revenue was raised from toll charges on the Forth, Tay and Erskine road bridges during each of the last five years; and what was the cost of collecting these tolls.

The accounts for the Forth and Tay Bridges do not show collection costs separately from maintenance. The available information requested is:

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether, following the rejection, by the anglers' consultative committee, of the protection order applications for the Tweed catchment area, under the terms of the Freshwater and Salmon Fisheries (Scotland) Act, he will make a statement about how many modified proposals and how many additional proposals have been submitted; and what arrangements are being made for members of the public to inspect such proposals, under the terms of the said Act.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave on 18th April to my hon. Friend the Member for Berwick and East Lothian (Mr. Mackintosh). The consultations referred to in that reply are at present being undertaken by my Department with the riparian owners and angling clubs on the rivers Tweed and Eye. No new proposals have as yet been submitted but when such proposals are

UNITED KINGDOM SHARE OF OECD EXPORTS
				Percentages			Percentage changes
				1970	1975	1977	1970 to 1977	1975 to 1977
To non-oil exporting developing countries	…	…	…	9·3	7·2	7·0	-25	-3
of which:
in America		…	…	7·4	5·4	5·5	-26	2
in Asia	…	…	…	9·1	6·9	6·7	-26	-3
in Africa		…	…	12·2	8·8	8·2	-33	-7
in other Middle East			…	15·5	13·1	10·9	-30	-17

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will make a statement on the new regulations on origin rules for textiles and clothing introduced by the EEC Commission.

An important feature of the Community's revised arrangements under the MFA was the introduction of more precise rules of origin for textiles and clothing—Commission regulation (EEC) No. 749/78—together with measures requiring documentary proof of origin to be produced at the time of importation in respect of commercial imports of these goods from non-EEC coun- received they will be advertised under the procedures laid down in the Act and will also be referred to the consultative committee.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will set out in tabular form the change in the United Kingdom's share of total exports of goods of major industrial countries to non-oil exporting developing countries, both in value terms at constant prices and in percentage terms as a share of major industrial countries' exports of all goods, comparing 1970 and 1975 with the latest full year for which figures are available; and if he will break down the figure for total non-oil exporting developing countries as between American, Asian, African and other Middle East countries.