asked the Secretary of State for Employment what representations he has received concerning the current problems in the newspaper industry, with particular reference to the possible suspension of publication by Times Newspapers Ltd.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I have met national officials of the major trade unions concerned and, on separate occasions, senior management representatives of Times Newspapers Limited, in each case at their request. Both sides have impressed on us the seriousness of the present situation.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many men and women, respectively, under the age of 25 years were registered as unemployed on the latest date for which figures are available.

At 12th October, 287,188 males and 235,472 females under 25 years of age were registered as unemployed in Great Britain.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the current level of unemployment.

At 9th November, 1,330,794 people were registered as unemployed in Great Britain. The continued fall in the number of unemployed is very welcome, although the number is still far too high. It is of the utmost importance to employment that we succeed with our attack on inflation so as to improve the competitive position of British industry.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what was the level of unemployment at the most recent count; and what was the comparable figure in the same month in 1973.

At 9th November, 1,330,794 people were registered as unemployed in Great Britain compared with 493,561 in November 1973.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment by what amount the number of registered unemployed would need to be reduced to fall to the level prevailing in March 1974.

At 9th November, the number of people registered as unemployed in Great Britain, seasonally adjusted and excluding school leavers, was 1,281,500. This was 726,600 higher than in March 1974.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what representations he has made to or received from the Health and Safety Commission regarding the transport and storage of butane and other dangerous chemicals and gases.

The Health and Safety Commission has kept my Department fully informed of the work it has agreed should be undertaken by the Health and Safety Executive to review and where necessary replace, extend or amend legislation to enhance the safety of the transport and storage of the substances mentioned. Proposals for new regulations, codes of practice and guidance notes are in the course of preparation.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what provision he is making for the completion of projects under the job creation scheme.

All projects funded under the job creation programme must terminate by 31st December 1978. Sponsors of projects which have not been completed by that date may apply for further funding under either the youth opportunities programme or the special temporary employment programme where the criteria for these programmes are satisfied.I understand that MSC officials are visting as many of the existing JCP projects as possible to discuss with sponsors any difficulties arising from the ending of the programme.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment when he intends next to meet the chairmen of wages councils.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he is satisfied with the latest level of unemployment in Birmingham; and if he will make a statement.

No. At 6 per cent. the level of unemployment in Birmingham is far too high. The special employment measures introduced by my Department have so far helped over 17,800 people in Birmingham. and will be further strengthened by the implementation of the youth opportunities programme and the special temporary employment programme, and by the extension of the small firms employment subsidy from the new year. However, a permanent improvement in Birmingham's unemployment rate depends on measures to keep down inflation, improve the competitiveness of British industry, and to bring about an increase in world trade.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will carry out a review of the laws governing industrial relations, with particular reference to picketing, the election of trade union officers and strike ballots.

Strike ballots and the election of trade union officers are matters for the trade unions concerned.As to the question of picketing, we are consulting those outside Government who have a major interest in this subject and my right hon. Friend has deposited in the Library a copy of the consultation document.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many unemployed were registered at the Wombwell and Mexborough and district employment exchange areas at the latest available date; and how many were disabled persons.

At 9th November, the numbers registered as unemployed in the Wombwell and Mexborough employment office areas were 843 and 2,045, respectively.I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that the numbers of unemployed disabled persons in these areas were 79 and 243, respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many deaths have occurred so far this year as a result of industrial accidents and industrial diseases.

The number of deaths occurring as a result of industrial accidents notified to the Health and Safety Commission during the first half of 1978 was 270. This figure is provisional and figures for the third quarter of the year are not available. The number of deaths occurring as a result of industrial disease are available only on an annual basis.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if his Department has made any study of the effects on employment in the United Kingdom if the targets set out in the final document issued by the United Nations Special Session on Disarmament were achieved.

No. But the Government are participating in a United Nations study on the relationship between disarmament and development. This will examine, amongst other things, the economic and social effects of the implementation of disarmament measures. As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister said to the United Nations special session on disarmament, one aspect of the study in which we are particularly interested is the problem of converting arms production facilities to civil purposes.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the current level of unemployment in the Southend area.

At 9th November, 3,980 people were registered as unemployed in the Southend employment office area.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will take steps to abolish in the special temporary employment programme the condition which requires six months' previous unemployment.

There is no requirement under the special temporary employment programme that participants should have been unemployed for six months. However, the programme is specifically intended to help the long term unemployed and for that reason preference in recruiting to schemes is given to men and women aged 19 to 24 who have been unemployed for six months or more and those aged 25 or over who have been unemployed for 12 months or more.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what new proposals he has for the alleviation of unemployment.

I refer the hon. Member to my reply given earlier today to similar Questions by my hon. Friend the Member for Bolsover (Mr. Skinner) and the hon. Member for Conway (Mr. Roberts).

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he has any further proposals to relieve unemployment.

I have nothing further to add to the reply I gave earlier to similar Questions from my hon. Friend the Member for Bolsover (Mr. Skinner) and the hon. Member for Conway (Mr. Roberts).

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what progress he has made in moving towards the 35-hour week throughout British industry.

In April 1978, the latest date for which comprehensive figures are available, average weekly normal basic hours for full-time men aged 21 and over were 38·8 and for full-time women aged 18 and over 37·0. The Government have stated in Cmnd. 7293 that they can accept a reduction in hours as part of a normal pay settlement on condition that it is demonstrated that the settlement as a whole does not lead to any increase in unit costs above what would have resulted from a straight guideline settlement on pay.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many distant-water fishermen are currently registered as unemployed; and how this figure compares with each of the last three years.

I regret that this information is not available. The statistics do not distinguish distant-water fishermen from other fishermen.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many employees are covered by pay settlements which have been concluded within the Government's current guidelines on pay.

As I have previously made clear, my Department maintains comprehensive monitoring only of major settlements, which cover about half the total labour force. In the current pay round major settlements have so far been reached within the Government's guidelines for almost 350,000 employees.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many persons are currently employed on Merseyside as a result of the experimental adult employment subsidy.

The number of employees on Merseyside for whom applications for the adult employment subsidy have been approved from the start of the experiment on 7th August 1978 up to 9th November is 312.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the total cost of temporary employment schemes since 1975; and how many temporary jobs have been created by such schemes.

The special employment measures provide a range of opportunities for people who would otherwise be unemployed, including training and work experience as well as temporary jobs. Those measures which have created temporary jobs are community industry, the job creation programme and the special temporary employment programme. From April 1975 to September 1978 the estimated gross expenditure on these programmes was £ l78·9 million and the number of people provided with temporary jobs an estimated 225,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a progress report on the youth opportunities scheme.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a progress report on the youth opportunity programme.

I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that from 1st April 1978 to the end of October approximately 71,400 places were created under the youth opportunities programme. Some 62,000 young people had joined the programme by the end of October, and an analysis shows that in the first six months of the programme's operation 74 per cent. of those joining the programme were school leavers. In addition to the places available under the youth opportunities programme there are currently 5,500 places available under community industry.A review of the youth opportunities programme is currently under way and is expected to have been completed by the end of the year. I will make a statement about this review in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment when he intends to publish his proposals for a press charter.

I cannot yet say when a draft press charter will be published.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will take steps to make free postal facilities available to enable trade unions involved in a dispute to poll the workers concerned upon whether to accept or reject a proposed settlement without recourse to a mass meeting.

As we have said repeatedly, we would be prepared to consider the question of financial assistance towards the cost of ballots if the trade union movement were to come forward asking for Government help.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what study he has made of the proposals for protection for home workers drafted by the National Conference of Homeworker Action Groups, a copy of which has been supplied to him; and if he will take steps to implement these proposals.

Officials will shortly be having discussions with the CBI and TUC about the employment status of home workers before any decision is taken on legislation. I am arranging for the other proposals to be considered by my advisory committee on home working.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what estimate he has made of the proportion of the work force which is likely to be employed in manufacturing by 2010.

I have made no such estimate. The methodology of forecasting national manpower requirements so far ahead is not well developed and any figure would be conjectural.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he is satisfied with the operation of the present closed shop legislation as it affects the freedom of the individual; and if he will make a statement.

I am satisfied with the current legislation as it relates to the closed shop. The hon. Member is, I am sure, well aware by now of the Government's position on the closed shop.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the most recent research that his Department has undertaken and completed into industrial disputes.

A major research study based on my Department's records of industrial stoppages has recently been completed, and a summary of the results will be published shortly in the November issue of the Department of Employment Gazette.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will now institute a more accurate system for monitoring the number of strikes, go-slows, employee workings to rule and other forms of industrial action, official and unofficial.

I refer the hon. Member to my reply on 21st November 1978 to a Question by the hon. Member for Christchurch and Lymington (Mr. Adley).— [Official Report, Vol. 958, c. 549.]

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will take steps to extend the provisions of the unfair dismissals tribunals to cover fines imposed by employers especially to football club employees and members of the Armed Forces.

I consider disciplinary matters short of dismissal should continue to be settled between employer and employee, either through individual negotiation or collective bargaining.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what estimate he has made of the extent to which employers have been deterred from taking on additional labour by the Employment Protection Act.

The report by the Policy Studies Institute,"The Impact of Employment Protection Laws ", published in June, found that there was very little sign that employment protection legislation was discouraging employers from taking on new people.A survey of firms employing fewer than 50 people was undertaken for the Department by Opinion Research Centre earlier this year. Only 2 per cent. of respondents initially listed employment legislation as the main difficulty in running their business. When asked specifically about the effects of employment legislation, 7 per cent. indicated some reluctance to take on more staff. Later, when asked directly if they would have employed more people but for the legislation, 24 per cent. replied that they would. However, 40 per cent. Of these had earlier indicated that no provisions of employment legislation were affecting their business and 79 per cent. had not found any particular piece of employment legislation troublesome when given a specific list.I believe therefore that, although some employers use the Act as an excuse, it is not a significant reason for their failure to take on additional labour.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the percentage increases in employment and unemployment in EEC countries between 1974 and the latest available date.

Information to the latest available dates is given in the following table:

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he is satisfied with the level of training opportunities for school leavers.

No. The Government and the Manpower Services Commission are currently taking a number of initiatives to improve the number and quality of training opportunities available to school leavers. In the 1978–79 training year, for example, the Manpower Services Commission is making available £ 41 million in grants to industry to maintain the level of recruitment to long-term training occupations such as apprenticeships. The commission is also currently developing the youth opportunities programme to provide training and work experience for unemployed 16 to 18 year olds, and the Government have asked the commission to do its best to ensure that no Easter or summer school leaver still unemployed the following Easter should be without the offer of a suitable opportunity under the programme. In addition, the vocational preparation needs of all young people in employment in the 16 to 18 age group are currently being studied by officials of Government Departments and the Manpower Services Commission.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what steps he proposes taking further to encourage men over 60 years of age to retire in order to make their jobs available for young school leavers.

We are currently advertising the job release scheme which offers tax-free allowances to men of 64 who leave work early and release jobs for unemployed persons.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the proportion of long-term unemployed persons who are suffering from mental or physical disability.

I am advised by the Manpower Services Commission that information is not available in the form requested. However, on 6th July 1978, the latest date for which information is available, 38,398 or 12 per cent, of all people unemployed for over 12 months were registered as disabled.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what are his estimates of the number of men aged 60 to 64 years employed at present and likely to be employed in one, two and three years' time; and what proportion they form of the total work force.

From the latest available information it is estimated that in 1978 over 800,000 employees in employment in Great Britain were men aged 60 to 64. This is a little over 6 per cent. of all male employees in employment.It is not possible to predict exactly how many men aged 60 to 64 will be employed in the future, but current indications are that the number will be similar to the present level.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many persons have accepted early retirement under the job release scheme.

Up to 7th November 1978, 38,582 applications for job release had been accepted.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he is satisfied with the achievements of the wages inspectorate.

In general, yes. However, changes in working methods are taking place which will enable wages inspectors to make contact with employers more frequently than in the past. From the beginning of next year the inspectorate will move to a six-year cycle of contact with employers; and I am setting as my objective the achievement of a four-year cycle by 1981.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the amount of financial support to be given by the Manpower Services Commission to Kilburn Skills; if the district manpower committee concerned will be able to assist with the provision of materials for the projects now in train; and if he will make a statement.

I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that a grant of £ 33,082 was made to Kilburn Skills under the job creation programme to renovate premises for use as a training workshop for unemployed young people. The workshop is now in operation and is being funded under the MSC's youth opportunities programme (YOP). A maximum figure of £ 15,508 has been allocated by MSC for the setting up costs of the workshop. The operating loss will be reimbursed by the MSC subject to a maximum of £ 2,465 per occupied trainee place for a year in accordance with the funding arrangements for YOP training workshops.It is not the role of district manpower committees to provide assistance for training workshops but the organisations represented by members may offer financial or other support if they wish.The workshop will provide basic training and work experience in general building work, joinery, clerical and electrical work and catering. It will provide 48 places for young people and 12 for adult employees.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what representations he has received regarding the departmental franking of envelopes containing unemployment benefit.

No representations have been received on this subject. Two types of prepayment of postage are used for envelopes containing unemployment benefit girocheques, the printed postage impression (PPI) by the Department of Health and Social Security for those despatched from their computer centres and the official paid facility by the Department of Employment for girocheques issued from unemployment benefit offices. Both are also used for other types of communication.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he is satisfied with the system of ex gratia payments currently made by the Manpower Services Commission for industrial injury claims by recruits to the work experience scheme.

I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that under its youth opportunities programme it has agreed to make payments to young persons suffering injury on work experience schemes equivalent to the sums they would be entitled to receive under the industrial injuries scheme. I have no reason to believe that the system is operating unfairly.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for 28th November.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for 28th November.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for 28th November.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for 28th November.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will list his engagements for Tuesday 28th November.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his engagements for 28th November.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his engagements for Tuesday 28th November.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will list his engagements for 28th November.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 28th November.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will list his official engagements for 28th November.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his engagements for Tuesday 28th November.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 28th November.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his public engagements for Tuesday 28th November.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for 28th November.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 28th November.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for 28th November.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his public engagements for 28th November.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for 28th November.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his public engagements for 28th November.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 28th November.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for 28th November.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 28th November.

I refer the hon. Members and my hon. Friends to the reply which I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Exeter (Mr. Hannam).

asked the Prime Minister what proposals he intends to bring forward, at the EEC Summit on 4th and 5th December, regarding the successful operation of the European monetary system.

The European Council will be discussing the proposed European monetary system on the basis of long and complex studies which have been carried out since the summer on both the exchange rate arrangements and the concurrent studies. The United Kingdom has put forward a number of proposals in the course of these discussions, and if it appears desirable we shall be ready to make further proposals in the course of the European Council.

asked the Prime Minister when he next plans to meet the Trades Union Congress.

asked the Prime Minister when he next plans to meet the Trades Union Congress.

asked the Prime Minister when he expects next to meet the Trades Union Congress.

asked the Prime Minister when he next plans to meet the Trades Union Congress.

asked the Prime Minister when he expects next to meet the leaders of the Trades Union Congress.

asked the Prime Minister when he will meet next the leaders of the Trades Union Congress.

asked the Prime Minister when he next plans to meet the Trades Union Congress.

asked the Prime Minister when he expects next to meet the Trades Union Congress.

I refer my hon. Friends and the hon. Members to the reply which I gave earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Coventry, North-West (Mr. Robinson).

asked the Prime Minister when he expects next to meet the Trades Union Congress and the Confederation of British Industry.

asked the Prime Minister when he next plans to met the Trades Union Congress and the Confederation of British Industry.

I refer my hon. Friends to the reply which I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Southampton, Test (Mr. Gould) on Thursday 9th November.

asked the Prime Minister when he plans next to meet the Confederation of British industry.

asked the Prime Minister when he plans next to meet the Confederation of British Industry.

I refer my hon. Friends to the reply which I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, East (Mr. Thomas) on Tuesday 14th November.

asked the Prime Minister if he will place in the Library a copy of his public address to the Lord Mayor's Banquet on international affairs at Guildhall, London, on 13th November.

asked the Prime Minister if he will place in the Library a copy of his Guildhall speech on the EEC on 13th November.

I did so on 14th November.

asked the Prime Minister if he will pay an official visit to Deiniolen.

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister if he will appoint a Royal Commission to investigate the operation of the building societies and related questions affecting home loan finance.

There are at present no plans to recommend the appointment of a Royal Commission to consider these subjects.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will seek to pay an official visit to Luanda.

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister if he will seek to pay an official visit to Vienna.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave him on 16th November.

asked the Prime Minister if he will pay an official visit to Hammersmith.

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister if he will pay an official visit to Eye.

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister what subjects he intends to raise when he next meets the Heads of EEC Governments.

expect that the European Council on 4th and 5th December will continue its previous discussion of major world economic problems, and that it will also consider the proposals for a European monetary system, the concurrent studies of ways to strengthen the economies of the less prosperous member States and the need to diminish the financial burdens imposed by the common agricultural policy.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport in which London underground lines, over what lengths of tunnel in them, at which stations and in what proportion of train cabs, silica has been found to be at or to exceed the threshold limit value.

Sample of airborne dust concentrations have been taken at 11 stations and also in trains running on the Central, Northern, Baker-loo and Victoria lines. Separate sampling was not carried out in the tunnels between stations. In some cases, namely at Highgate, Kennington, Tooting Broadway, Leicester Square, Bank, Victoria and Baker Street Stations, quartz concentrations were in excess of the threshold limit value for quartz-0·1 mg/m^3. However, the quartz contained in the samples is of a type which may prove to be not biologically active and samples are presently being evaluated at the pneumoconiosis unit of the Medical Research Council. In trains, levels at or above the threshold limit value were found in guards' cabs on the Northern line and in guard's and motormen's cabs on the Bakerloo line.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what action he is taking or intends to take to ensure that London Underground staff and passengers are not exposed to medically dangerous levels of silica.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what action is being taken following the recent report that parts of the London Transport Underground system contain three times the recommended level of silica.

It is unlikely that present levels pose any risk to health. Nevertheless, London Transport is taking action to reduce the amount of respirable silica in the Underground. As quartz in train brake-blocks is the principal source, a low-quartz brakeblock is now being fitted to trains and quartz-free block is undergoing trials. New designs of rolling stocks, such as that on the Victoria line, incorporate a proportion of rheostatic braking which reduces the use of brake-blocks. At the same time, tests are being made by the pneumoconiosis unit of the Medical Research Council to establish whether the particular form of quartz dust found in the underground is biologically active or not.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many alcoholics are currently serving prison sentences; of these, how many were sentenced to imprisonment for crimes of violence; and how many were first-time offenders.

It is not possible to define"alcoholics"with sufficient precision to enable such records to be kept.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police stations have been closed in the county of Avon area over the past 15 years.

The chief constable informs me that, as far as it is possible to tell from records kept by the Avon and Somerset constabulary and those inherited from the four forces which previously policed the area which is now the county of Avon, 43 police stations have been closed in this area in the past 15 years.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement setting out the circumstances in which acquitted defendants can be expected to pay all or part of the costs of their trials; and if he will review the present state of the law with a view to introducing legislation to restrict further the circumstances under which orders for payment of costs may be made.

An acquitted defendant cannot be ordered to pay the prosecution costs. Unless he was legally aided, he will have paid the costs of his own defence, but the court has a discretion to order the prosecution to reimburse him. If the offence of which the defendant was acquitted is indictable, the court may, alternatively, order the costs of an acquitted defendant to be paid from central Government funds. The manner in which the courts exercise the latter discretion is governed by a practice direction made by the Lord Chief Justice in 1973, the general effect of which is that the discretion should be exercised in favour of the defendant unless he has brought suspicion on himself and misled the prosecution into thinking that the case against him is stronger than it really is, or there is ample evidence to support a verdict of guilty but the defendant is entitled to an acquittal on account of some procedural irregularity. We have no present proposals for legislation on this matter.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many criminal trials held during the 12 months ending in the acquittal of the accused all, or part, of costs were ordered to be paid to such accused persons; in how many cases no orders were made in respect of such costs; and in how many cases such persons were ordered to pay part of the costs of the trial, notwithstanding the fact of acquittal.

The information requested is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department which of the recommendations of the Mountbatten report on prison security: 1966, Command Paper No. 3175, have subsequently been implemented.

Fifty-two recommendations of the report of the inquiry into prison escapes and security are summarised in appendix C to Command Paper 3175. Recommendations 1, 4, 5, 11–13, 15–25, 27, 30–35, 37, 38, 41, 44, 45 and 48–52 have been implemented; recommendation 47 takes the form of a conclusion, which has been accepted; recommendations 14, 26 and 46 relate to arrangements modified by developments which the report could not anticipate, and have been implemented in intention; recommendations 28, 36, 39 and 40 have been implemented in part; and recommendations 2, 3, 6–10, 29, 42 and 43 have not been implemented, all but the last because they relate to the proposal that there should be a single, maximum security prison, which was rejected.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans there are to extend day centres for offenders for whom prison is not necessary, and to provide the probation and after-care service with sufficient resources for the purpose.

Day centres as distinct from day training centres provide supportive facilities for ex-offenders and people on probation but are not intended as alternatives to custody. Within the limited resources available, encouragement is being given to the probation service and voluntary organisations to provide more such centres. The hon. Member may, however, be referring to the four experimental day training centres established under the Powers of the Criminal Courts Act 1973, attendance at which may be a requirement of a probation order. Their future is being kept under consideration but because of their relatively high running costs there are at present no plans to extend the experiment.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation to amend the law governing the reporting of committal proceedings in magistrates' courts so that in cases where there is more than one defendant before the court restrictions upon reporting can be lifted only if all the defendants so request it instead of only one as at present.

This point was extensively debated during the passage of the Criminal Justice Act 1967 but I am, of course, ready to hear further views on it.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the court furthest away from Holloway that has remanded a schoolgirl under 16 years of age to that prison in the last year.

During the year ending 30th September 1978, the Crown court at Leicester was the court furthest away from Holloway that remanded a girl under 16 years of age to that prison to await either trial or sentence.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to phase out the power to remand schoolgirls of 15 and 16 years of age.

The draft Children and Young Persons Act 1969 (Transitional Modifications of Part I) Order 1978, which is at present laid before the House, prohibits the remand to prison department establishments under a certificate of unruliness of all girls aged under 17 years of age. If made, the order will come into operation on 1st March 1979. Courts will, of course, retain the power to remand girls of 15 and 16 to local authority care and to remand to prison department custody those committed to the Crown court for sentence with a view to borstal training.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if any 14 to 16-year-old schoolboys and girls are currently being held on remand in police cells; and, if so, where and under what conditions.

On 22nd November, no one in this age group who had been committed to custody was being held in a police cell.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if any 14 to 16-year-old schoolboys on remand in prison department establishments share a cell with older prisoners; and, if so, of what age.

Boys of 14 to 16 may be located in single cells, or they may share cells with others of the same age; more rarely, they may share cells with young men under 21.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the 15 and 16-year-old schoolgirls on remand in prison department establishments share a cell with older prisoners; and, if so, of what age.

Girls of 15 and 16 may be located singly, or they may share a cell with other girls or with adult women if their circumstances suggest that this may be helpful to them.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what were the offences with which those schoolchildren remanded in local prisons at the latest convenient date were charged.

On 30th September 1978, there were five boys and three girls aged 14 to 16 awaiting trial in local prisons in England and Wales. Four of the boys were charged with murder, and one with assault occasioning bodily harm; one of the girls was charged with assault occasioning bodily harm, one with arson and one with both theft and assault.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many 14 to 16-year-old (a) boys and (b) girls were remanded to (i) prison and (ii) remand centres in the last year for which figures are available; and how many of these were eventually found not guilty or given a non-custodial sentence.

Of the 14 to 16-yearolds first received into prison department establishments in England and Wales in 1977 before sentence, 100 males and 102 females were initially received into local prisons and 3,741 males and 129 females into remand centres. The latest available information on the disposals of these juveniles is contained in Table 2.1 of"Prison Statistics, England and Wales 1977 ", Cmnd. 7286.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many 14 to 16-year-old (a) boys and (b) girls were in prison department establishments on the latest convenient date; if he will indicate how many had been on remand up to four weeks, four to six weeks, six to