Written Answers

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Written Answers To Questions

Friday, 9 February 1979

Trade

Iran (Export Credit Guarantees)

asked the Secretary of State for Trade how much he estimates will be the cost to the Exchequer in the case of export credit guarantees as far as loss of payments by Iran are concerned; and what is the present total of these particular credits.

Figures of ECGD business for individual markets are not normally published for reasons of commercial confidence. In any case, it is much too early to make any useful estimate of the impact of the current situation in Iran.

Microelectronics Industry

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what action he is taking in the light of the latest National Economic Development Council report on the microelectronics industry.

, pursuant to his reply [Official Report 8 February 1979], gave the following information:The Government are implementing a microelectronics industry support pro-

FOOD PRICES
	…	…	…	…	…	February 1974 to November 1978	Latest 12 months (November 1977 to November 1978)
	…	…	…	…	…	Percentage increases
Belgium^*	…	…	…	…	…	41·2	-0·5
Denmark	…	…	…	…	…	66·9	8·5
France^*	…	…	…	…	…	64·6	8·1
Germany (F.D.R.)^*†	…	…	…	…	…	17·5	0·1
Ireland	…	…	…	…	…	103·0	11·6
Italy	…	…	…	…	…	124·5	11·9

							(February 1974 to October 1978)	(October 1977 to October 1978)
Luxembourg	…	…	…	…	…	…	35·2	2·7
Netherlands†	…	…	…	…	…	…	28·8	-00·4
United Kingdom	…	…	…	…	…	…	106·0	7·8
USA	…	…	…	…	…	…	38·3	11·3
Japan	…	…	…	…	…	…	43·7	3·1
Canada	…	…	…	…	…	…	58·7	14·0
^* Includes beverages.
†Includes tobacco.
Sources:
OECD "Main Economic Indicators".
National Sources.

gramme, microprocessor application project, product and process development scheme industry scheme, all of which promote increases in the capacity and international competitiveness of the United Kingdom microelectronics of the United Kingdom microelectronics industry, so helping its future contribution to the United Kingdom trade balance.

Prices And Consumer Protection

Food Prices (International Comparisons)

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection if he will list the cumulative increase in food prices since February 1974 in all member countries of the EEC, the United States of America, Canada and Japan, to the latest available common date.

The cumulative increases as requested are given below. As the overall figures conceal differing trends over time, the latest annual increases are also given. Comparisons of increases in food prices are complicated in that the inclusion of alcoholic drinks and tobacco varies between countries.

Restrictive Trade Practices Legislation (Stock Exchange)

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection whether he has received a request from the Stock Exchange for exemption from restrictive trade practices legislation; and whether he will announce his decision.

The Restrictive Trade Practices (Services) Order 1976 brought specified commercial services within the scope of the restrictive trade practices legislation. The Stock Exchange requested that the Stock Exchange should be removed from the scope of the legislation by an amendment of the 1976 services order. I have decided that it would not be appropriate to meet this request.

Jurors

asked the Attorney-General on how many occasions during the past two years police officers have been granted authority to examine the antecedent history of jurors called to be empanelled in criminal trials on indictment; in how many such cases the history of such jurors was not divulged to defence legal representatives on the occasion when such jurors were summoned to be empanelled; in how many such cases the jurors' case histories were divulged to defence representatives; in how many cases these antecedent investigations occurred before the number of peremptory jury challenges by the defence were reduced from seven

Economic Planning Region			Non-industrial (as at 1 October 1978)	Industrial (as at 1 January 1979)	Total
Northern	…	…	35,700	5,700	41,400
Yorkshire and Humberside	…	…	30,800	7,200	38,000
East Midlands	…	…	21,600	7,700	29,300
East Anglia	…	…	12,200	2,800	15,000
South-East	…	…	231,900	61,600	293,500
South-West	…	…	51,600	32,100	83,700
West Midlands	…	…	29,000	7,500	36,500
North-West	…	…	57,000	10,500	67,500
Total	…	…	469,800	135,100	604,900

Note: All figures rounded to the nearest 100.

to three; how many since this reduction; Restrictive Trade Practices and if he will make a statement.

Between 1 January 1977 and the end of 1978 jury checks were authorised in 11 cases. Of these, five were authorised in the eight months before 8 September 1977, when the reduction in the number of peremptory challenges came into force, and six in the 17 months from that date to the end of 1978.The duties of Crown counsel when, as a result of a jury check, he has received any information which may be of value to the defence, are set out in my statement of 10 October 1978, a copy of which has been laid in the Library of the House. Information received as a result of a jury check is made available in appropriate cases in confidence to defence counsel. No record is kept of such confidential communications.

Civil Service

Civil Servants

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what is the latest figure for the number of civil servants currently employed in each of the regions of England.

The numbers of civil servants in each of the economic planning regions of England, at the latest available dates, are given in the table below:

Defence

Expenditure (England, Scotland And Wales)

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of his Department's expenditure was incurred in England, Scotland and Wales, respectively, during each of the last three years for which data are available.

Firm figures are not available, since defence expenditure is not accounted for on a regional basis. However, a very broad assessment of the geographical incidence of defence expenditure, based on the Appropriation Account, is made each year. The approximate proportions spent in each of the years 1975–76 to 1977–78 have remained unchanged at, Wales 3 per cent., Scotland 7 per cent. and England 77 per cent.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give his estimate of the total identifiable expenditure of his Department in Wales in 1978–79.

This information will not be available until later this year, after the Appropriation Accounts for 1978–79 have been published. However, the figure for 1977–78, based on a very broad assessment of the incidence of defence expenditure on a regional basis, was approximately £250 million.

Employment

Trades Union Congress (Pay)

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he has yet decided if the increases paid to the staff of the Trades Union Congress are within the pay guidelines.

I would refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Chingford (Mr. Tebbit) on 11 December 1978.—[Vol. 960, c. 13].

Factory Closures (Merseyside)

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many jobs have been lost to Merseyside since the beginning of 1978 as a result of factory closures.

Information on the total number of jobs lost on Merseyside through factory closures is not available.Since 1 January 1978, however, a total of 7,734 workers have been made redundant as a result of closures of establishments employing 10 or more workers in the Merseyside special development area. This figure covers those closures which have been notified to my Department under the Employment Protection Act 1975.

Strikes (West Midlands)

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many working days were lost in strikes in the West Midlands area (a) between 1970 and February 1974 and (b) March 1974 to the latest available figures.

, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 8 February 1979], gave the following information:The latest available figures for the West Midlands for working days lost due to stoppages beginning in the following periods are:

January 1970 to February 1974–8,103,000—monthly average 162,000.
March 1974 to December 1977–5,416,000—monthly average 118,000.

Figures for 1978 are not yet analysed by area.

School-Leavers

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list, for every year since 1970 (a) the number of school-leavers unemployed, and that number expressed as a percentage of total school-leavers and (b) the numbers of black school-leavers, and that number expressed as a percentage of total black school-leavers.

The following table gives the numbers of school-leavers under 18 years of age registered as unemployed in Great Britain at each of the monthly count dates from January 1970:

			1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978
January	…	…	4,090	5,508	10,063	9,071	4,544	8,000^*	38,024	48,187	57,425
February	…	…	3,123	4,501	8,374	6,608	3,088	8,351	28,033	39,398	46,634
March	…	…	2,168	3,419	7,081	5,043	2,019	5,831	21,641	31,293	37,639
April	…	…	7,475	7,598	16,472	4,202	5,578	19,912	21,269	50,356	56,706
May	…	…	3,419	6,524	10,052	3,288	4,946	14,259	35,082	42,043	44,688
June	…	…	2,593	4,912	8,386	3,603	5,429	18,367	118,188	142,709	139,181
July	…	…	9,063	14,815	19,218	7,699	14,411	55,260	199,372	241,552	231,700
August	…	…	36,322	55,528	60,933	21,623	55,976	158,203	194,545	220,377	210,881
September	…	…	20,696	34,733	41,987	13,016	33,426	117,874	142,301	166,156	130,663
October	…	…	9,933	19,299	23,228	5,140	13,413^*	65,292	77,960	92,602	76,379
November	…	…	5,386	11,945	13,378	2,329	8,026^*	40,402	^*	68,579	52,932
December	…	…	3,821	8,605	9,745	1,793	^*	32,126	48,000^*	54,349	39,830
^* Because of industrial action by some staff in the Department of Employment group, (a) figures for October and November December 1976 have been estimated and (b) figures for December 1974 and November 1974, for January 1975 and for 1976 are not available.

I am informed by the Secretary of State for Education and Science that the numbers of school-leavers in Great Britain in each of the academic years from 1969–70 to 1976–77 were as follows:

				Thousands
1969–70	…	…	…	691·1
1970–71	…	…	…	692·3
1971–72	…	…	…	727·6
1972–73	…	…	…	460·6†
1973–74	…	…	…	766·1
1974–75	…	…	…	779·9
1975–76	…	…	…	798·5
1976–77	…	…	…	842·6
†The minimum school-leaving age was raised to 16 from 1 September 1972. As a result a much smaller number of pupils than usual were able to leave school in 1972–73.

The level of unemployed school-leavers depends on the time of year at which the count is taken and it is not possible to calculate a meaningful single percentage rate for each year.

Both sets of statistics do not distinguish school-leavers by race or ethnic origin.

Home Department

Company Registrations

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many companies are registered in Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark and the Isle of Man; what is the population of each of these islands; and what is the ratio of registered companies to population in the rest of the British Isles.

The information requested in respect of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney and the Isle of Man is as follows:

		Number of companies registered	Latest available population figure
Jersey	…	12,675	72,000
Guernsey	…	5,615	54,381
Alderney	…	332	2,100
Isle of Man	…	9,772	61,723

There is no registration of companies in Sark; the population of Sark in 1975 was 604.The ratio of registered companies to population in the rest of the British Islands is 1:72.

Police Negotiating Machinery (Edmund-Davies Report)

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the delay in setting up the new police negotiating machinery.

I have nothing to add to the reply I gave to a question by the hon. Member for Birmingham, Hall Green (Mr. Eyre) on 6 February. —[Vol. 962, c. 90.]

Immigrants (Gynaecological Examinations)

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has received a protest from Ealing Community Relations Council about testing Asian single women at Heathrow to ascertain virginity.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department under what rule virginity testing of immigrant women was undertaken.

The medical examination in the recent case which my hon. Friend has in mind was sought to establish whether the passenger concerned had borne children. The authority for the medical examination of any person subject to immigration control who seeks entry to the United Kingdom is contained in paragraph 2 of schedule 2 to the Immigration Act 1971. The practice to be followed by the immigration service is laid down in the immigration rules for control on entry—paragraphs 58 to 60 of the rules applying to Commonwealth citizens and paragraphs 60 to 62 of those applying to EEC and other non-Commonwealth nationals.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he proposes to take disciplinary action against those responsible for ordering virginity tests.

My inquiries into the recent case which my hon. Friend has in mind have disclosed no reason for disciplinary action. I have made it clear that the request made in this case is not to be made again.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has ordered a departmental inquiry into the facts leading to virginity tests.

I have received reports on the recent incident at Heathrow and I have taken the necessary action to prevent a recurrence.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he proposes to apologise to a woman in Southall who suffered a virginity test because she feared being returned to India.

I much regret the distress experienced by the woman in this case.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he can explain why a gynaecological examination consent test form was signed by a radiologist.

The signature was that of a witness to the passenger's signed consent to the medical examination.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if virginity tests are carried out at British posts overseas on women applying to come to Great Britain for marriage.

I have been asked to reply.Such tests are not carried out at British posts overseas on women applying to come to the United Kingdom for marriage, who in any case are not required to apply for entry certificates before travelling to the United Kingdom. However, in the past few years there have been two possible exceptions to this in the course of general medical examinations. Instructions have now been given that no such tests should be requested in any circumstances in future.

Mentally Abnormal Offenders

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list all the recommendations of the Butler committee on mentally abnormal offenders for which he is responsible; and if he will list in each case those which have been implemented and the reason for non-implementation.

I am afraid that it would not be practicable to deal with these matters in the compass of a parliamentary question and answer. I shall write to my hon. Friend.

Air Rifles And Pistols

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is satisfied with the law relating to the sale and use of air rifles and pistols.

In my view the present age limits for the purchase and possession of air weapons are too low. I have it in mind to put forward proposals to raise them when legislative opportunity offers.

Prevention Of Terrorism

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons have been detained under the provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act; how many have subsequently been charged with offences; and with which offences they have been charged.

The information requested is not readily available and I shall publish it in the Official Report as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons have been charged with offences under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act; and under which sections of the Act the charges have been brought.

Numbers of persons charged with offences under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Acts 1974 and 1976 in Great Britain are as follows:

Act and Section			Number of persons charged
1974–1(1)(b)	…	…	4
1976–1(1)(b)	…	…	3
9(1)	…	…	2
9(2)(a)	…	…	2
10(1)(a)	…	…	3
10(1)(b)	…	…	9^*
10(1)	…	…	2
10(1) and 10(2)	…	…	2
11(1)	…	…	13
			40^*
^* Eight of these persons were not detained initially under the Act.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons have been served with exclusion orders under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act; how many have been deported (a) to Northern Ireland and (b) to the Republic of Ireland; how many have appealed against exclusion orders; and how many appeals have been successful.

A total of 165 exclusion orders have been made under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Acts 1974 and 1976. Notice of the making of an exclusion order has been served on 157 people, 149 of whom have been removed, 121 to Northern Ireland and 28 to the Republic of Ireland. A total of 27 of the 157 made representations against the order. The order was revoked in eight of these cases.

Police force area				Number of detentions	Number of applications for extensions of detention
England—
Metropolitan Police	…	…	…	839	126
Avon and Somerset constabulary	…	…	…	41	3
Bedfordshire police	…	…	…	50	0
Cambridgeshire constabulary	…	…	…	0	0
Cheshire constabulary	…	…	…	8	1
City of London police	…	…	…	26	8
Cleveland constabulary	…	…	…	7	1
Cumbria constabulary	…	…	…	5	2
Derbyshire constabulary	…	…	…	2	0
Devon and Cornwall constabulary	…	…	…	32	5
Dorset police	…	…	…	16	0
Durham constabulary	…	…	…	1	0
Essex police	…	…	…	45	6
Gloucestershire constabulary	…	…	…	11	0
Greater Manchester police	…	…	…	64	3
Hampshire constabulary	…	…	…	148	67
Hertfordshire constabulary	…	…	…	0	0
Humberside constabulary	…	…	…	8	0
Kent constabulary	…	…	…	48	9
Lancashire constabulary	…	…	…	69	6
Leicestershire constabulary	…	…	…	8	0
Lincolnshire constabulary	…	…	…	2	0
Merseyside police	…	…	…	945	20
Norfolk constabulary	…	…	…	0	0
Northamptonshire police	…	…	…	23	4
Northumbria police	…	…	…	5	0
North Yorkshire police	…	…	…	1	0
Nottinghamshire constabulary	…	…	…	3	0
South Yorkshire police	…	…	…	1	0
Staffordshire police	…	…	…	0	0
Suffolk police	…	…	…	8	0
Surrey constabulary	…	…	…	83	25
Sussex police	…	…	…	35	0
Thames Valley police	…	…	…	17	5
Warwickshire constabulary	…	…	…	0	0
West Mercia constabulary	…	…	…	2	0
West Midlands police	…	…	…	113	14
West Yorkshire (Metropolitan) police	…	…	…	135	11
Wiltshire constabulary	…	…	…	3	0

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) on how many occasions he has refused an extension of five days to the police for the holding of a subject under the prevention of Terrorism Act;(2) whether he will publish in the

Official Report the number of arrests and detentions by each regional police force of persons under the terms of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act; in how many cases applications were made for detention to be extended by a further five days; and in how many cases it was refused.

A total of 3,782 persons have been detained in Great Britain under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Acts 1974 and 1976. The numbers of persons detained in each police force area in England and Wales are are follows:

Police force area						Number of detentions	Number of applications for extensions of detention
Wales—
Dyfed Powys police	…	…	…	…	…	61	0
Gwent constabulary	…	…	…	…	…	3	2
North Wales police	…	…	…	…	…	53	0
South Wales constabulary	…	…	…	…	…	63	2
						2,984	320

In addition, 798 people have been detained under the legislation in Scotland in respect of 41 of whom extensions of detention were granted.

In no case has an application for an extension of detention been refused.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, of the charges brought against suspects initially held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, if any have been dropped before the case was heard, if so, which charges; if any charges have led to an unsuccessful prosecution, if so, which charges; if any charges led to a successful prosecution; and, if so, what was the sentence imposed.

The information requested is not readily available and I shall publish it in the Official Report as soon as possible.

Metropolitan Police (Assaults)

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many days were lost by Metropolitan Police officers through injuries received through assaults on crowd control duties in 1978, or the latest period of 1978 for which information is available.

The information requested is not held separately from records of police officers absent through sickness or injured in the course of other types of duty, and could not be extracted without disproportionate cost.

Northern Ireland

Prevention Of Terrorism

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons excluded from Great Britain under the provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism (Northern Ireland) Act have been sent to Northern Ireland; and how many have subsequently been detained or charged with offences in Northern Ireland.

As at 6 February 1979, 123 persons excluded from Great Britain had been removed to Northern Ireland under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Acts 1974 and 1976, 15 of whom were detained on arrival. Of these, 14 were subsequently released after questioning and one was charged with offences committed in Northern Ireland.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons have been detained in Northern Ireland under the provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisinons) Act; how many have subsequently been charged with offences; and with which offences they have been charged.

As at 6 February 1979, 583 persons had been held in Northern Ireland under the provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Acts 1974 and 1976. A total of 288 of these persons were subsequently charged with the following offences:

Murder	104
Attempted murder	38
Conspiracy to murder	7
Explosives offences	63
Conspiracy to cause explosions	8
Firearms offences	59
Membership of a proscribed organisation	49
Burglary	1
Robbery	5
Offences against the person	6
Unlawful collection of information	6
Theft	8
Hi-jacking	8
False imprisonment	8
Malicious damage	1
Taking part in an illegal procession	1
Withholding information	5
Intimidation	1
Arson	1
Conspiracy to pervert and obstruct the course of justice	14
Kidnapping	3

Some of the 288 were charged with more than one offence.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons have been charged under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act in Northern Ireland, and under which section of the Act.

As at 6 February 1979, 33 persons had been charged. Four persons have been charged under section 9—failure to comply with an exclusion order; four under seection 10—contributions towards acts of terrorism, and 25 under section 11—withholding information about acts of terrorism.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many persons have been excluded from Northern Ireland under the provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act; and how many have been sent to Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland;(2) how many people have been excluded from Northern Ireland under the terms of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act.

As at 6 February 1979, four persons had been removed from Northern Ireland. All were sent to the Republic of Ireland in pursuance of orders excluding them from the United Kingdom.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people from Northern Ireland have been excluded and subsequently charged with breaking an exclusion order under the provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act.

As at 6 February 1979, no residents of Northern Ireland had been charged in Northern Ireland with breaking an exclusion order either from Northern Ireland or the United Kingdom.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people from the Republic of Ireland have been excluded from Northern Ireland under the terms of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act and subsequently charged with breaking an exclusion order.

As at 6 February 1979, no person from the Republic of Ireland had been charged in Northern Ireland with breaking an order excluding them from Northern Ireland. Four such persons have been charged within Northern Ireland with breaking an order excluding them from the United Kingdom.

Wales

Nominated Bodies (Annual Reports And Expenditure)

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many nominated bodies in Wales present to him an annual report on their activities and on their use of funds; and if he will list them, and indicate for each, its approximate level of annual expenditure.

The following bodies established by statute, Royal Charter or Royal Warrant, are required to make an annual report to my right hon. and learned Friend. Expenditure figures, which are based on the latest available estimates for 1978–79, are provided only where such expenditure is carried on a Welsh Office vote.

	£
Community health councils in Wales (22)	250,000
Welsh Development Agency	45,523,000
Sports Council for Wales	2,349,397
Wales Tourist Board	3,445,000
Ancient Monuments Board for Wales	940
Land Authority for Wales	4,700,000
Cwmbran development corporation	5,000,000
Historic Buildings Council: Wales	2,500,000
Countryside Commission
Housing Corporation	25,000,000*
Eggs Authority
Home Grown Cereals Authority
Forestry Commission
Agriculture Training Board
Meat and Livestock Commission
Central Council for Agricultural and Horticultural Co-operation
Welsh Water Authority	138,800,000
Severn-Trent Water Authority
National Water Council
Development Board for Rural Wales	5,292,000
^*Welsh element

National Health Service

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what is his latest estimate of the cost of running the National Health Service in Wales in the present financial year.

The estimated gross expenditure is £403…8 million.

Houses (Age)

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what of the Welsh housing stock before 1940.

The information is not available in the precise form requested. An estimate of the age distribution of the housing stock in Wales is given in table 2.33 of the digest of Welsh statistics, vol. 24, 1978, a copy of which is in the Library.

Population And Expenditure

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what is the current estimate of the percentage of the United Kingdom population which lives in Wales; and what percentage of United Kingdom expenditure is spent in Wales on health and personal social services, education, libraries, science and arts, environmental services, housing and research institutions.

The latest available estimate of the percentage of the United Kingdom population living in Wales is 4·9 per cent. The percentages of expenditure required by the hon. Member were included in the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury to my hon. Friend the Member for Gravesend (Mr. Ovenden) on 17 January.—[Vol. 960, c. 781-94.] The Welsh figures include local authority current expenditure figures which are approximations derived from combined England and Wales totals and must, therefore, be treated with caution. Information in respect of research institutions is not available.

Expenditure (Welsh Office And Nominated Bodies)

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give an estimate of the cost in 1978–79 of the functions and services for which the Welsh Office has administrative responsibility, and of the cost of the Welsh nominated bodies during the same year.

On the latest available information, expenditure in 1978–79 on functions and services for which I am responsible to Parliament will be about £876 million. Of this, some £508 million will be spent by the nominated statutory and other bodies responsible to me for the administration of particular services.

Social Services

Cohabitation Rule

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what would be the estimated cost of abolishing the cohabitation rule if single person non-householder scale rate were paid (a) to the spouse of all heads of households now receiving the married couple rate and (b) to 50 per cent. of the currently ineligible nonworking spouses of married workers.

The combined cost of (a) and (b) would be between £1½ billion and £2 billion a year.

Drugs

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he has examined the state law of Michigan, United States of America, which allows the automatic substitution of therapeutically identical cheaper drugs for branded drugs unless the doctor writes "dispense as written"; and what consideration he has given to introducing similar legislation in the United Kingdom;(2) whether he will publish in the

Official Report, from information available to him, a list of the States in the United States of America which have enacted legislation permitting substitution by pharmacists of cheaper equivalents for prescriptions for branded drugs; and if he plans to introduce similar legislation for the United Kingdom;

(3) what proportion of the 200 branded drugs, or the number for which information is available, most commonly prescribed in the United Kingdom have available cheaper substitutes.

My Department does not maintain detailed records of other nations' domestic legislation. The whole question of whether branded drugs and non-branded alternative versions may be considered therapeutically equivalent is at present a matter of debate within the medical and pharmaceutical professions both in the United Kingdom and the United States of America. My professional advice is that alternative versions of brand name drugs are not necessarily therapeutically equivalent and therefore cannot automatically be regarded as substitutes. I am, accordingly, not satisfied on present information that legislation on the lines described by my hon. Friend would be appropriate.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if, in conjunction with the Committee on Safety of Medicines, he will publish a British equivalent of the New York State drug substitution formulary.

I have no plans to do so.

Employees (Retirement Age)

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services on what date his Department will start operating the procedure under the Social Security Pen-

			1976		1977		1978
Period ending			Number of payments	Cost(£)	Number of payments	Cost(£)	Number of payments	Cost(£)
February	…	…	246,588	5,138,704	254,584	6,043,764	261,651	7,279,388
May	…	…	264,280	5,430,696	274,874	6,547,087	288,208	8,488,256
August	…	…	235,524	5,038,615	240,731	6,021,555	259,629	7,954,283
November	…	…	367,631	8,414,555	373,536	9,901,346	389,339	12,250,641

Personal Incomes

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the net weekly income in November 1978 of a married man on supplementary benefit with two children aged six years and nine years paying a rent of £8 weekly and rates of £2 weekly; and how this compares with the net income after tax, national

TOTAL INCOME SUPPORT^*
					(a)	(b)	(c)
					On supplementary benefit	On half average earnings	On two-thirds average earnings
					£	£	£
November 1978	…	…	…	…	38·35	43·71†	46·48†
November 1973	…	…	…	…	17·75	20·39	21·07
^*Total income support is defined as gross income, including child benefit—family allowance—and family income supplement, less income tax, national insurance contributions, average work expenses and rent and rates but plus rent and rate rebates and free school meals.
†Based on the provisional figure for October 1978, the latest available.

sions Act 1975 which will result in employers being informed of employees who reached retirement age between April 1978 and April 1979.

A number of procedures which may result in an employer learning when an employee reaches pensionable age have been introduced over the past 16 months.

Supplementary Benefit (Exceptional Needs)

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the number of exceptional needs payments made and their total cost for each quarter in 1976, 1977 and 1978.

The table below shows the exceptional needs payments made each year in periods of 12 weeks ending in February, May and August, and of 16 weeks ending in November.insurance, child benefits, rent and rate rebates and family income supplement of a man on half average earnings and one on two-thirds average earnings; and what were the corresponding figures in November 1973 assuming rent and rate levels at the same real levels.

The comparison my hon. Friend seeks is as follows:—

Social Services

Nupe (Ministerial Meetings)

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the National Union of Public Employees' elected officials or representatives who have been met by him or his Ministers to discuss the current industrial dispute.

My right hon. and hon. Friends and I have met Mr. A. Fisher, Mr. R. Jones and Mr. R. Keating, national officers of NUPE. In addition, we have met a number of local representatves in the course of discussions on specific local difficulties, in deputations and on visits.

National Finance

Government Expenditure

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in the Official Report a recalculation of table 1 of Cmnd. Paper No. 7439 in terms of current prices.

Figures equivalent to lines 1-7 of table 1 for the years 1973-74 to 1977-78 are in table 5.3 of Cmnd. 7439. Figures of net overseas and market borrowing of nationalised industries—excluding short term borrowing—at out-turn prices are in the table below. I do not propose to publish projections of public expenditure at current prices.

NET OVERSEAS AND MARKET BORROWING BY NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES
£ million at outturn prices
1973–74	…	…	710
1974–75	…	…	630
1975–76	…	…	560
1976–77	…	…	1,250
1977–78	…	…	460

Scottish And Welsh Assemblies

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the latest estimate of the average additional weekly cost per head of population of the United Kingdom for operating the proposed Assemblies in Scotland and Wales.

A little less than ½p in each case.

Public Expenditure

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total identifiable public expenditure per capita by programme in the United Kingdom during each of the past five years.

Figures of total identifiable public expenditure per capita on the main spending programmes in the United Kingdom, for each of the past five years, were given in the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Gravesend (Mr. Ovenden) on 17 January 1979. —[Vol. 960, c. 781–94.]

Gross Domestic Product (Factor Cost)

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the index figure for the gross domestic product at factor cost for every quarter since 1970, based on an index of (a) 1970=100 and (b) 1975=100.

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

Wales

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a table showing the percentage of British expenditure which is spent in Wales on (a) those services which will be devolved to the proposed Assembly, and (b) those services which will not be devolved to the proposed Assembly, for the latest year for which figures are available.

The latest year for which firm figures are available is 1976–77. The table below compares devolved and non-devolved public expenditure with identifiable public expenditure, details of which were given to my hon. Friend the Member for Gravesend (Mr. Ovenden) on 17 January 1979.—[Vol. 960, c. 781–94.] The explanations of identifiable public expenditure given with that reply also apply to the table below. It should be noted that the "Other environmental services" figures for Wales include current expenditure figures which are approximations derived from combined England and Wales totals.

			Identifiable public expenditure—Wales	Devolved expenditure—Wales	Non-devolved expenditure—Wales	Total identifiable public expenditure—United Kingdom	Devolved expenditure as percentage of United Kingdom	Non-devolved expenditure as percentage of United Kingdom
1979–77
Agriculture, fisheries, food and forestry	…	…	80	—	80	1,076	—	7·4
Trade, industry, energy and employment	…	…	179	12	167	2,282	0·5	7·3
Government lending to nationalised industries	…	…	85	—	85	−3	—	—
Roads and transport	…	…	147	145	2	2,341	6·2	0·1
Housing	…	…	211	206	5	5,011	4·1	0·1
Other environmental services	…	…	127	123	4	2,660	4·6	0·1
Law, order and protective services	…	…	74	16	58	1,902	0·8	3·0
Education and libraries, science and arts	…	…	422	374	48	8,414	4·4	0·6
Health and personal social services	…	…	361	361	—	7,351	4·9	—
Social security	…	…	638	—	638	11,460	—	5·6
Other public services	…	…	78	4	74	826	0·5	9·0
Common services	…	…	20	10	10	524	1·9	1·9
Total	…	…	2,422	1,251	1,171	43,844	2·9	2·7

Minimum Lending Rate

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the minimum lending rate or equivalent, at the latest available common date, in all member countries of the EEC, the United States of America, Canada and Japan.

The information is as follows:

Official discount rates—as at 6 February
Per cent
Belgium	…	6·00
Luxembourg	…
Denmark	…	8·00
Eire	…	11·85
France	…	9·50
Federal Republic of Germany	…	3·00
The Netherlands	…	6·50
Italy	…	10·50
United Kingdom	…	14·00^*
United States of America	…	9·50
Canada	…	11·25
Japan	…	3·50
^*As at 8 February.

Source: Bank of England.

Take-Home Pay

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what a single man with total earnings of (a) £2,000, (b) £2,500 and (c) £3,000 in April 1975 would now have to earn in order to have maintained the real value of his take-home pay.

On the assumption that the stated levels of earnings were received in the tax year 1975–76, the earnings required in 1978–79 would be £3,092, £3,870 and £4,648 respectively.The increase in prices used in the calculations is that shown by the general index of retail prices—all items—between April 1975 and December 1978, the latest available.The national insurance contributions used in the calculations are those for an employee not contracted out of the graduated or earnings-related pension schemes.

Overseas Debt

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the total overseas debt of Her Majesty's Government and United Kingdom public sector bodies, both foreign currency borrowing and £ sterling debt, at the end of 1978, and give its per capita value.

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

Vat Inspectors (Herts)

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many control visits were made by VAT inspectors in each of the past two years in (a) Hertfordshire and (b) the Dacorum district council area; how much under-declared tax was detected in each case; and what was the value of any over-declarations;(2) how many VAT inspectors are employed (

a) full-time and ( b) part-time on control visits on a regular basis in Hertfordshire and the Dacorum district council area.

I regret that precise information in the form requested is not available.However, there are about 18,500 persons registered for VAT in Hertfordshire and of these about 2,800 are in the Dacorum district council area. There has been no significant variation in the numbers in the past two years. On the assumption that these persons are typical of VAT registered persons, it is estimated that about 6,000 control visits would be paid annually to traders in Hertfordshire, of which some 900 would be in the Dacorum district council area.On the same basis, it is estimated that in Hertfordshire about £800,000 under-declared tax would have been detected in 1977 and £950,000 in 1978, of which about £120,000 and £14,000, respectively, could be attributed to the Dacorum district council area. The comparable figures for over-declarations are estimated to be £114,000, £120,000, £17,000 and £18,000. The equivalent of about 40 officers of Customs and Excise would have been engaged in making VAT control visits in Hertfordshire. Of these, about six would normally be employed at any one time on visits in the Dacorum district council area. All would be employed full-time.

Industrial And Manufacturing Production (Index Figures)

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the index figures for (a) total industrial production, (b) manufacturing production and (c) implied level of industrial output in every quarter since 1970 (Q1),

INDEX OF INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION (Seasonally adjusted)
Based on 1975=100
					All industries	Manufacturing industries	Implied level of output all industries
1970—
1st quarter	…	…	…	…	99·1	97·3	99·2
2nd quarter	…	…	…	…	99·6	97·9	100·1
3rd quarter	…	…	…	…	100·0	98·0	100·4
4th quarter	…	…	…	…	100·2	98·8	100·6
1971—
1st quarter	…	…	…	…	99·3	97·3	99·7
2nd quarter	…	…	…	…	100·4	98·1	100·1
3rd quarter	…	…	…	…	99·8	97·3	99·6
4th quarter	…	…	…	…	99·9	97·1	99·8
1972—
1st quarter	…	…	…	…	96·4	95·1	96·1
2nd quarter	…	…	…	…	102·6	99·7	102·5
3rd quarter	…	…	…	…	103·1	100·7	102·8
4th quarter	…	…	…	…	106·0	104·6	105·8
1973—
1st quarter	…	…	…	…	109·2	106·9	110·2
2nd quarter	…	…	…	…	109·7	108·1	110·1
3rd quarter	…	…	…	…	110·1	109·2	110·6
4th quarter	…	…	…	…	109·0	109·2	109·3
1974—
1st quarter	…	…	…	…	102·6	104·4	102·0
2nd quarter	…	…	…	…	107·6	109·0	108·7
3rd quarter	…	…	…	…	106·9	108·1	108·2
4th quarter	…	…	…	…	103·4	104·7	103·9
1975—
1st quarter	…	…	…	…	102·5	103·8	102·8
2nd quarter	…	…	…	…	99·6	99·2	99·5
3rd quarter	…	…	…	…	98·4	98·2	98·2
4th quarter	…	…	…	…	99·5	98·8	99·5
1976—
1st quarter	…	…	…	…	100·1	99·1	100·9
2nd quarter	…	…	…	…	101·8	101·7	101·9
3rd quarter	…	…	…	…	101·7	101·8	102·0
4th quarter	…	…	…	…	104·5	103·2	105·4
1977—
1st quarter	…	…	…	…	105·5	103·9	106·4
2nd quarter	…	…	…	…	105·6	102·5	106·3
3rd quarter	…	…	…	…	106·2	103·1	106·7
4th quarter	…	…	…	…	105·8	102·0	106·6
1978—
1st quarter	…	…	…	…	107·1	102·4	107·3
2nd quarter	…	…	…	…	111·1	105·0	111·9
3rd quarter	…	…	…	…	111·6	105·3	112·2

based on index of 1970=100, and an index of 1975=100.

Estimates of the index numbers of production and the implied level of total industrial output are now based on 1975 and the index numbers based on 1970, the previous base year, are no longer maintained. The quarterly information requested, based on an index of 1975=100, is shown below:

Exchange Control Regulations (Overseas Properties)

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the present requirements of the Government as regards exchange control regulations for United Kingdom residents wishing to purchase properties abroad, particularly holiday homes in Spain; if the present policy would be affected by membership of the European monetary system; and if any change of policy is contemplated.

United Kingdom residents require exchange control permission to purchase private property outside the Scheduled Territories—currently the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Gibraltar. Permission is given only for the purchase of one home per family. This must be financed with investment currency, at a premium over the rate in the official foreign exchange market, unless bought for sterling from another resident of the United Kingdom who had paid the premium when purchasing the property. Exchange control rules are kept under constant review, but the Government do not at present intend to make any change in these arrangements. Membership of the proposed European monetary system would not in itself affect this policy; the United Kingdom has been authorised by the Commission of the European Communities to maintain certain restrictions, including our rules on property purchases within the Community. Spain is not, of course, yet a member State of the Community.

European Regional Development Fund (British Quota)

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what will be the increase in the British quota for grants from the European regional development fund if the European Parliament's EEC budget for 1979 is followed instead of that preferred by the Council of Ministers.

For the quota section of the European regional development fund the United Kingdom quota is some 27 per cent. of commitment appropriations and, on the assumption in the question, the United Kingdom would receive an additional 103 million European units of account—MEUA—(about £69 million) in commitment appropria- tions out of the increase in the quota section of 380 MEUA proposed by the European Assembly in the 1979 Community Budget.The United Kingdom would also be eligible for additional receipts from the provision of 100 MEUA for the non-quota section, but it is not possible to estimate the size of these receipts because, unlike the quota section, no fixed shares are laid down for the non-quota section.

Government Expenditure (Wales)

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give his estimate of the total identifiable expenditure of the Government in Wales in 1978–79.

I regret that the information requested is not yet available. Estimates of identifiable public expenditure are compiled in an annual exercise in the late summer. Figures for 1977–78 were published in the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Gravesend (Mr. Ovenden) on 17 January 1979.—[Vol. 960, c. 781–94.]

Living Standards

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the real increases in post-tax living standards to 31 March 1979, both in total and for each year since 31 March 1974, taking into account all the Budget changes and any changes in national insurance contributions, assuming for 1978-79 an increase in pre-tax earnings for each person of 10 per cent. and an inflation rate of 8 per cent. to 31 March 1979, and for previous years, assuming the same increase in earnings for each group, as the average increase in earnings that year, for (a) a singe person, (b) a married person, (c) a married couple with one child, (d) a married couple with two children, (e) a married couple with three children and (f) a married couple with four children earning in March 1974£2,000, £3,000, £3,500, £4,000, £5,000, £6,000, £8,000, £10,000, £14,000, £18,000, £20,000 and £25,000, respectively.

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 22 January 1978; Vol. 961, c. 24–5], gave the following reply:The figures are as follows:

CHANGES IN REAL NET INCOME AT MARCH 1974 PRICES—INCREASES, EXPECT WHERE INDICATED

Single Person

Earnings level in March 1974

March 1975

March 1976

March 1977

March 1978

March 1979

March 1974 to March 1979

Earnings levels in March 1979

£2,000

…

−69

−30

−50

−35

4,100

£3,000

…

−96

−38

−98

−86

6,200

£3,500

…

−112

−45

−111

107

−97

7,200

£4,000

…

−127

−86

−126

140

−106

8,200

£5,000

…

−213

−170

−155

191

171

−175

10,300

£6,000

…

−329

−258

−194

233

231

−317

12,300

£8,000

…

−528

−401

−276

294

292

−620

16,500

£10,000

…

−680

−546

−352

290

336

−952

20,600

£14,000

…

−993

−756

−538

259

385

−1,643

28,800

£18,000

…

−1,290

−1,054

−557

273

398

−2,230

37,000

£20,000

…

−1,550

−1,051

−567

280

404

−2,483

41,200

£25,000

…

−1,980

−1,044

−591

298

420

−2,897

51,400

Married couple

Earnings level in March 1974

March 1975

March 1976

March 1977

March 1978

March 1979

March 1974 to March 1979

Earnings level in March 1979

£2,000

…

−58

−28

−45

4,100

£3,000

…

−85

−37

−93

112

−50

6,200

£3,500

…

−100

−44

−103

124

−61

7,200

£4,000

…

−115

−67

−118

157

−70

8,200

£5,000

…

−182

−160

−144

218

154

−113

10,300

£6,000

…

−306

−241

−184

268

218

−244

12,300

£8,000

…

−503

−392

−257

329

291

−532

16,500

£10,000

…

−654

−537

−333

342

336

−846

20,600

£14,000

…

−965

−756

−514

316

384

−1,534

28,800

£18,000

…

−1,251

−1,060

−546

330

397

−2,130

37,000

£20,000

…

−1,511

−1,057

−555

337

404

−2,383

41,200

£25,000

…

−1,951

−1,050

−580

355

419

−2,806

51,400

Married couple with one child under 11

Earnings level in March 1974

March 1975

March 1976

March 1977

March 1978

March 1979

March 1974 to March 1979

Earnings levels in March 1979

£2,000

…

−52

−36

−41

+23

4,100

£3,000

…

−80

−45

−89

114

−28

6,200

£3,500

…

−95

−52

−99

126

−39

7,200

£4,000

…

−110

−67

−110

147

−47

8,200

£5,000

…

−159

−161

−138

205

165

−87

10,300

£6,000

…

−291

−246

−169

249

224

−233

12,300

£8,000

…

−488

−401

−241

303

293

−534

16,500

£10,000

…

−639

−548

−316

317

333

−853

20,600

£14,000

…

−951

−778

−491

285

377

−1,557

28,800

£18,000

…

−1,227

−1,089

−536

300

390

−2,163

37,000

£20,000

…

−1,487

−1,086

−546

307

396

−2,416

41,200

£25,000

…

−1,936

−1,079

−570

324

412

−2,849

51,400

Married couple with two children under 11

Earnings level in March 1974

March 1975

March 1976

March 1977

March 1978

March 1979

March 1974 to March 1979

Earnings level in March 1979

£2,000

…

−50

−34

−40

+31

4,100

£3,000

…

−77

−42

−89

107

−20

6,200

£3,500

…

−93

−49

−98

118

−31

7,200

£4,000

…

−107

−61

−108

135

102

−39

8,200

£5,000

…

−150

−154

−133

193

169

−76

10,300

£6,000

…

−274

−246

−158

235

223

−219

12,300

£8,000

…

−464

−410

−232

288

291

−527

16,500

£10,000

…

−624

−588

−299

295

326

−860

20,600

£14,000

…

−936

−800

−468

257

367

−1,580

28,800

£18,000

…

−1,202

−1,118

−526

271

380

−2,195

37,000

£20,000

…

−1,463

−1,115

−536

279

386

−2,449

41,200

£25,000

…

−1,922

−1,107

−560

296

402

−2,891

51,400

Married couple with three children 2 under 11 and 1 aged between 11 and 16

Earnings level in March 1974

March 1975

March 1976

March 1977

March 1978

March 1979

March 1974 to March 1979

Earnings levels in March 1979

£2,000

…

−49

−36

−40

+30

4,100

£3,000

…

−77

−44

−89

−21

6,200

£3,500

…

−92

−51

−98

110

100

−32

7,200

£4,000

…

−107

−59

−107

122

111

−40

8,200

£5,000

…

−143

−149

−129

179

170

−72

10,300

£6,000

…

−258

−243

−164

226

221

−209

12,300

£8,000

…

−439

−419

−227

274

288

−523

16,500

£10,000

…

−610

−570

−291

280

319

−873

20,600

£14,000

…

−923

−825

−446

228

356

−1,611

28,800

£18,000

…

−1,179

−1,151

−520

242

369

−2,238

37,000

£20,000

…

−1,439

−1,148

−529

249

375

−2,492

41,200

£25,000

…

−1,910

−1,140

−554

267

391

−2,946

51,400

Married couple with four children 2 under 11 and 2 aged between 11 and 16

Earnings level in March 1974

March 1975

March 1976

March 1977

March 1978

March 1979

March 1974 to March 1979

Earnings level in March 1979

£2,000

…

−49

−38

−41

+30

4,100

£3,000

…

−76

−46

−89

100

−21

6,200

£3,500

…

−91

−53

−98

102

109

−32

7,200

£4,000

…

−106

−61

−108

113

120

−41

8,200

£5,000

…

−136

−147

−123

166

172

−68

10,300

£6,000

…

−243

−239

−150

216

218

−198

12,300

£8,000

…

−423

−426

−217

260

284

−521

16,500

£10,000

…

−597

−582

−285

267

311

−885

20,600

£14,000

…

−910

−850

−425

198

345

−1,642

28,800

£18,000

…

−1,163

−1,175

−513

212

358

−2,281

37,000

£20,000

…

−1,415

−1,181

−523

220

364

−2,534

41,200

£25,000

…

−1,897

−1,173

−547

237

380

−3,000

51,400

All these earnings levels except the first relates to above average earnings.

It has been assumed that the earnings levels stated relate to the year 1973–74 and are payable up to March 1974. These earnings have been increased in line with changes in the average earnings between the year 1973–74 and the year 1974–75 to give the levels in 1974–75—up to March 1975. The same procedure has been used each year to 1977–78. The average earnings figures used are the averages of the new earnings survey estimates for April at the start and finish of each tax year. The figures for the year 1977–78 have been increased by 10 per cent. to give the 1978–79 earnings level—up to March 1979.

The price index used is the general index of retail prices—all items—for March in each year, assuming, as stated, an increase of 8 per cent. between March 1978 and March 1979.

It has been assumed that family allowance would be given where it is beneficial to do so.

Net income is gross earnings less income tax and National Insurance contributions plus family allowance or child benefit.

Balance Of Payments (North Sea Oil And Gas)

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give

£ million
Year	Royalties	Petroleum revenue tax	Corporation tax^*	Total
1970–71	3	Nil	2	5
1971–72	6	Nil	4	10
1972–73	11	Nil	4	15
1973–74	12	Nil	3	15
1974–75	15	Nil	5	20
1975–76	20	Nil	5	25
1976–77	75	Nil	10	85
1977–78	230	Nil	10	240
1978–79—up to December
1978	145	183	N.A.	N.A.
^* The estimated proportion attributed to North Sea oil and gas.

European Community

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list in the Official Report those Member states of the European Community in which (a) there are local or central Government taxes equivalent to the United Kingdom's local rates, or (b) such local or central Government taxes that are

( a) the total balance of payments, current account, surplus or deficit from July 1970 to February 1974, inclusive, and March 1974 to December 1978, inclusive, and ( b) the contribution of North Sea oil and gas exploitation to the balance of payments for the same periods

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give (a) the current account balance of payments for every quarter since 1970 and (b) the contribution to the current account balance of payments of North Sea oil and gas exploitation in every quarter since 1970 if the information is available, or in every year since 1970.

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

North Sea Oil And Gas Exploitation (Revenues)

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list, for every year since 1970, total Government revenues accruing from North Sea oil and gas exploitation, broken down into individual categories.

Following are the figures; receipts of:allowable as debuction againts income for the purposes of income tax

, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 7 February 1979], gave the following reply:According to the information available to us the answer is as follows:

(a) Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands;

(b) Denmark and Luxembourg.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will express the payments made by the United Kingdom in 1978 for the overall financing of the European Community's budget as a percentage of the sum which would have been paid if financing had been on the basis of gross national product; and if he will give his estimate of the comparable figure for 1979.

, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 7 February 1979], gave tile following reply:The United Kingdom's gross contributions to the 1978 Community budget, after allowing for our refunds under article 131 of the Treaty of Accession, amounted to 1,844 MEUA. This represents 97·8 per cent. of the amount which the United Kingdom would have paid if

Billion EUA
		EEC	United Kingdom	Germany	France	Italy
1977	…	1,384·3	213·8	452·6	333·6	171·8
1978	…	1,526·6	239·5	500·6	368·6	185·3
1979	…	1,683·8	263·1	549·6	415·6	207·6

Billion EUA
		Netherlands	Belgium	Luxembourg	Ireland	Denmark
1977	…	93·3	68·3	2·4	8·2	40·3
1978	…	101·7	74·6	2·7	9·5	43·2
1979	…	110·7	81·1	2·9	10·8	46·9

Figures for 1977 are taken from the November 1978, No. 1 edition of

European Economy, statistical annex table 2. The figures for 1978 for countries other than the United Kingdom are derived by taking OECD estimates of nominal GNP in domestic currency which are converted to EUAs using 1978 exchange rates. The forecasts for 1979 again use OECD forecasts for nominal GNP in domestic currency, and these are converted to EUAs using the December 1978 exchange rates. This procedure is consistent with the OECD assumption of constant exchange rates throughout the forecast period. In the case of the United Kingdom the Industry Act forecast published in November has been used. The EUA exchange rates are taken from European Economy, supplement A, No. 1, January 1979.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will recalculate table 5.13—central Government accounts contributions had been based on its estimated share of Community gross national product in 1978. The comparable figure for 1979, estimated at a little over 110 per cent., reflects the phasing-out of the transitional arrangements which have applied to the budgetary contributions of the new member States.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a table giving estimates of gross national product for both the United Kingdom and the EEC in 1978 and forecasts of the comparable figures for 1979, in terms of European units of account in each case.

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 7 February 1979], gave the following information:The information is as followsand PSBR—of Command Paper 7439 on (a) the assumptions used in illustrative case A in Command Paper No. 7439 and (b) the assumptions used in illustrative case

B in Command Paper No. 7439;

(2) if he will publish in the Official Report a recalculation of table 7 of Command Paper No. 7439 in terms of current prices under (a) case A illustrative assumptions, (b) case B illustrative assumptions, (c) case C illustrative assumptions, (d) an assumption of a 15 per cent. increase in average earnings and (e) an assumption of a 20 per cent. increase in average earnings;

(3) if he will publish in the Official Report a recalculation of table 7 of Command Paper No. 7439 "The Government's Expenditure Plans 1979–80 to 1982–83" on the assumptions used for illustrative case A and illustrative case C in this publication.

, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 6 February 1979; Vol. 962, c. 147–9], gave the following information:The Government had recently provided a considerable amount of quantitative material on economic prospects in the short and medium term. The Industry Act forecast covered the short term and the section on the economic context in the public expenditure White Paper covered the medium term. In his speech to the House of Commons on 25 January my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer gave very rough calculations of the implications for public expenditure and the PSBR in 1979–80 if, as we hope will not be the case, average earnings rose by 15 per cent. It would not now be helpful to elaborate further the quantitative projections already given.Some of the figures that the hon. Member requests, however, are available. The calculations in table 7 of the White Paper which assume case

B, are consistent with the last Industry Act forecast for 1979–80. The forecast for the PSBR of £7·2 billion at 1977–78 prices, which appeared in table 7 of the White Paper, implies, on these assumptions, £8·5 billion at current prices, as in the Industry Act forecast. The calculations in table 5.13 in the public expenditure White Paper which the hon. Member wants calculated on the assumptions in case B were actually calculated on that basis.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish a table showing public expenditure as defined in Command Paper No. 7439 as a percentage of (a) gross domestic product at factor cost, (b) gross domestic product at market prices, and (c) gross national product, from the earliest available year to 1978, giving estimated figures if final figures are not yet available.

, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 6 February 1979; Vol. 962, c. 147–9], gave the following reply:Figures of public expenditure as defined in Cmnd. 7439 as a percentage of gross domestic product at market prices are shown in table 3 of Cmnd. 7439 for the years 1972–73 to 1978–79. Estimates as a percentage of gross domestic product at factor cost and gross national product are shown in the table below.

PUBLIC EXPENDITURE AS DEFINED IN CMND. 7439
		Public expenditure as a percentage of:
		Gross domestic product at factor cost	Gross national product at market prices
1972–73	…	44½	38½
1973–74	…	46	40
1974–75	…	51	45
1975–76	…	51½	46
1976–77	…	49½	43½
1977–78	…	46½	40½
1978–79^*	…	48	42
^* Estimated.

Scotland

Prevention Of Terrorism

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will publish in the Official Report the number of arrests and detentions by each regional police force of persons under the terms of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act; in how many cases applications were made for detention to be extended by a further five days; and in how many cases it was refused.

Between 29 November 1974 and 6 February 1979 the number of persons arrested and detained in each region under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Acts 1974 and 1976 were:

Strathclyde	…	116
Tayside	…	2
Lothian and Borders	…	10
Dumfries and Galloway	…	659
Grampian	…	4
Northern	…	1
Fife	…	4
Central	…	2

During that period 41 applications were made for detention to be extended for a further five days and none of these applications was refused.

Energy

Oil (Cost)

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what is the average cost per barrel of oil produced from fields which came on stream in 1975, 1976 and 1978 and from those likely to come on stream in 1979 and 1980.

My report to Parliament in 1978—the Brown Book—gave the cost of production of oil from existing commercial fields as $3–9 a barrel in 1976 prices, with some 95 per cent. of the oil produceable at $7 a barrel or less. Work is in hand to provide updated information on costs of production in the 1979 Brown Book, including the estimates of average costs requested.

Press Advertising

asked the Secretary of State for Energy which Minister within his Department is responsible for press advertising.

I accept responsibility for all press advertisements issued by my Department.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether it is the policy of his Department to place press advertisements on the basis of cost effectiveness or on the basis of other criteria; and, if the latter is the case, if he will specify such criteria.

My Department places public service advertisements on whatever basis is most appropriate, and information about the discount scheme had to go to the widest possible audience.

"Morning Star" (Departmental Advertising)

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will state the cost to his Department of the press advertisement which appeared in the Morning Star newspaper on Monday 22 January.

The cost of this advertise. ment was £160.

Electricity Bills (Discounts)

asked the Secretary of State for Energy why the criteria for eligibility for discounts by electricity boards on electricity bills preclude persons living in residential caravan parks and others who pay the site owners or landlord for their supplies; and if he will again endeavour to introduce amended rules to cover needy people who do not receive electricity bills direct from their board.

I regret that despite repeated and careful examination of this problem no way has been found of including this minority of consumers in the scheme. Electricity charges eligible for the discount must be verified. For most consumers this is done by production of an electricity board bill. No practical and sufficiently secure alternative can be devised for tenants paying landlords for their electricity because the methods of billing and charging them vary so widely. Those tenants receiving supplementary benefit or family income supplement have, however, benefited from the £5 payment introduced into the scheme to provide some help for people in this situation.

Fluidised Bed Combustion

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether he envisages fluidised bed combustion will make a contribution to commercial electricity production in the United Kingdom or whether it is likely to be confined to other industrial uses.

Fluidised bed combustion is one of a number of advanced coal based power generation systems under study by the CEGB in association with the NCB. The results from the £17 million IEA pressurised fluidised bed combustion facility now under construction at Grimethorpe, Yorkshire will be taken into account in these studies.

Oil Spill Contingency Plans

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what steps he is taking to allow public access to offshore operators' oil spill contingency plans.

Offshore operators have accepted my request that these plans should be made available, subject to the omission of their personnel's private addresses and telephone numbers for use in any oil spill emergency. Members of the public and organisations concerned wishing to see a particular plan should contact the petroleum engineering division of my Department and, by prior notice, the plan can be made available for inspection in the Aberdeen, Glasgow or London offices of that division.

Offshore Supplies (Interest Relief Grants)

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what are (a) the number of offers made, (b) the total number accepted, (c) the value of such offers and (d) the total payments made up to 31 January under the offshore supplies interest relief grant scheme.

The Department of Energy does not make prior offers of assistance under the offshore supplies interest relief grant scheme. Grants are paid to companies, developing oil and gas resources on the United Kingdom sector of the continental shelf, which raise credit to finance contracts of not less than £100,000 for fixed offshore installations, equipment, goods or services. The amount of grant depends on a number of factors including the phasing of payments to contractors and the matching of borrowing by the companies to such payments.The information requested is as follows:

Number of contracts registered under the scheme	935
£ Million
Total value of commitment to pay grant—up to 31 December 1978	128
Total value of payments of grant made—up to 31 January 1979	27

Minister Of State (Visit To Mexico)

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement on the recent visit of the Minister of State to Mexico; which Departments of Government and other organisations he met; whether he issued any subsequent statements indicating potential trade for British companies; and if he is satisfied with progress so far.

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

Education And Science

Minorities Arts Advisory Service

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps she is taking to ensure that the work of the Minorities Arts Advisory Service can be sustained and, if possible, further developed.

The Minorities Arts Aavisory Service is supported partly by grants from the Arts Council, which is granted-aided by my Department. I understand that MAAS has applied for an increased grant for the coming year. It is for the Arts Council to decide how far it can go towards meeting this request.

Environment

Refuse Collection Services (Wandsworth)

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he is satisfied with present provision of refuse collection services in the London borough of Wandsworth.

I understand that the refuse collection service in Wandsworth has been suspended. The council has advised the public of 19 sites in the borough where they may dump their refuse.

Kent Draft Revised Map

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he has taken in response to the recommendations of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration in his report on the complaint by the Kent Rights of Way Council against his Department's delay in dealing with public inquiries into the Kent draft revised map.

The severe staff restraints referred to in the recommendations of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration remain, but we are considering whether some staff can be made available to deal with this work. The Kent review is only one of a number affected. We expect shortly to send to interested bodies a consultation document dealing with the problems and setting out the Department's proposals for overcoming them.

Houses (Age)

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what proportion of houses in England was built before 1940.

Information is not available in the precise form requested. However, it is estimated that about 54 per cent. of the dwellings in England were built before 1945.

Housing Associations

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish in the Official Report a table indicating total surplus/deficit as a percentage of total revenue of the inter-association comparison for rehabilitation associations carried out by the Housing Corporation in February 1977, in respect of London housing associations.

Following is the information:

Associations making surplus
		per cent.
Auriol	…	6·9
South London Family Housing	…	2·6
Wandle	…	2·0

Associations incurring a deficit
		per cent
Circle 33	…	4·7
Family Housing	…	5·7
Hyde and Southbank	…	10·2
London and Quadrant	…	15·6
Paddington Churches	…	18·1
Notting Hill	…	19·4
New Islington and Hackney	…	29·7
Kensington Housing Trust	…	46·6

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish in the Official Report the names of those London housing associations which have made a financial loss during the past two years, and those which show a surplus on their accounts.

The only relevant information available is attached, and is of associations with registered offices in London which have received payments of deficit grant under sections 31 to 33 of the Housing Act 1974 during the past two years.Abbeyfield (Ickenham) Society.Aged Pilgrims' Friendly Society.Acton HA.Aston Charities Trust.Baptist Mens Movement HA.Battersea Churches HT.BCAR Homes.Bethnal Green & East London HA.Blighty Trust.Bnai Brith HS.British Airways Staff HS.Broadcasting Employees HA.Capital HA.Carr-Gomm Society Ltd.Central British Fund for Jewish Relief and Rehabilitation.Central London Housing Trust for the Aged.Central and Provincial HT.Chalice HA.Chingford Almshouses Charity.Christian Action Enfield HA.

Christian Enterprise HA.

Church Army Housing.

Circle 33 HT.

Commonwealth Students' Children Society HA.

Community HA.

Croydon Unitarian HA.

Ealing Family HA.

Eagle HT.

East of London HA.

Ecco HA.

Family HA.

Family HA (North West London).

Family HA (Sevenoaks).

Forest Churches HT.

Girls Friendly Society.

Goldsmith HT.

Habinteg HA.

Hampstead Family Homes.

Hampstead Homesteads.

Hampstead Old Peoples HT.

Harding HA.

Harlington Rectory HA.

Harrison Homes.

Harrow Churches HA.

Holloway Tenant Co-operative HA.

Holy Trinity (Paddington) HA.

Home for Aged Jews.

Homes for Elderly Vegetarians.

Hotel & Catering Benevolent Association.

Humanist HA.

Hyde & Southbank HA.

Isle of Dogs HS.

Islington & Shoreditch HA.

J B G H S.

Jerome Housing Fellowship.

John Groom's HA.

Kensington HT.

Kingston upon Thames Churches HA.

Latimer HS.

Lewisham Darby & Joan (Flatlets).

London & Quadrant HT.

Look Ahead (Beacon Hostels) HA.

Lordship Manor HA.

Louisa Job Memorial HA.

Mary Curzon Charity for Women Workers.

Metropolitan HT.

Mount Green HA.

New Islington & Hackney HA.

Newlon HT.

Nina West Homes.

Northall HA.

Notting Hill HT.

Omnium HA.

Orchard HS.

Orchard (Weybridge) HA.

Over Forties Association for Women Workers.

Paddington Churches HA.

Paddington Houses.

PBF HA.

Penge Churches HA.

Peter Bedford HA.

Presbyterian Housing

Presentation HA.

Prospect HA.

Richmond-upon-Thames Churches HT.

Royston (Fulham) HA.

SCD.

Second WRVS HS.

Servite Houses.

Shaftesbury Society HA.

Social Aid HA.

Soho HA.

Solon HA.

Southgate Churches HA.

SPAC.

Speedwell HS.

St. Marylebone HA.

St. Mungo Community HA.

St. Pancras HA.

St. Vincent Family HA.

Stonham HA.

Teachers' Benevolent Fund HA.

Tennant HT.

Thames Ditton Homes.

Third Counterbuild HA.

Toynbee HA.

Trinity HA.

Unicorn HA (1970).

United HA Trust.

Utopian (Nexus) HA.

Women's Pioneer Housing.

Wood Green HA.

WRVS HA.

WRVS HA (1962).

WPHT HA.

YWCA of Great Britain.

Zebra House.

Zebra Trust.

Zenith HA.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what investigations he has instructed the Housing Corporation to carry out into the losses incurred by London housing associations and if he will make a statement.

The Housing Corporation has a statutory duty to supervise and control the affairs of registered housing associations and to consider whether formal investigations are required. The Corporation now carries out regular spot audits of all housing associations in receipt of public funds. Any financial irregularity revealed is followed up.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what action has been taken by the Housing Corporation following the general report on inter-association comparisons for rehabilitation associations, and, in particular, with regard to the disparity in performances between housing associations; and how this has affected the Corporation's allocation of funds to those associations.

While the inter-association comparison has provided some valuable information of a general character, it does not necessarily imply that one association was more or less efficient than another.The apparent disparity in performance results from a combination of factors, some of which are completely outside the control of the associations concerned.

In themselves, therefore, the results of the comparisons have not affected the Housing Corporation's allocation of funds to the associations concerned, although allocations are reviewed regularly in the light of each association's past performance.

Auriol Housing Foundation

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment why the investigation under section 19 of the Housing Act 1974 into the affairs of the Auriol Housing Foundation has been proceeding for nearly one year; when he expects the investigation to be completed; and if he will make a statement.

The Housing Corporation expects to conclude its investigation by April 1979. The length of the inquiry reflects its complexity and the need to allow adequate time for the committee of the foundation and other persons concerned to provide information, and to be given an opportunity to comment upon findings at the various stages of the investigation.

Departmental Offices

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the total capital cost during 1977–78 for building or acquiring new premises for local offices of his Department.

The total cost of providing new premises for Department of Employment, unemployment benefit offices, and for local offices of the Manpower Services Commission during 1977–78 was some £7·4 million.

Welsh Grand Committee (Sittings)

asked the Lord President of the Council for how many hours each year the Welsh Grand Committee deliberated in 1975, 1976, 1977 and 1978, respectively.

The information is as follows:

Year			Time in Committee
1975	…	…	7 hours 44 minutes
1976	…	…	18 hours 18 minutes
1977	…	…	11 hours 13 minutes
1978	…	…	13 hours 30 minutes

Agriculture, Fisheries And Food

Forestry Commission

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what was the revenue and profit of each camp site under Forestry Commission control in 1978, 1977 and 1976;(2) what was the occupancy rate of the Forestry Commission holiday cabins throughout the period April to October in 1978, 1977 and 1976.

FINANCIAL YEAR TO 31 MARCH
(£000s)
			1976–77		1977–78
Operational Campsites by Conservancy Area			Revenue	Surplus(+)/Deficit(-)	Revenue	Surplus(+)/Deficit(-)
North-East England
Bedburn	…	…	—	—	1·7	+0·3
Swarland	…	…	—	—	1·5	0·9
Stonehaugh	…	…	1·1	+0·5	1·6	+1·1
East England
Thorpe	…	…	8·7	+0·2	10·2	-1·6
Tangham	…	…	0·4	-5·6	3·9	-3·2
South-East England
A class sites^*	…	…	163·3	+63·4	188·7	+58·5
B class sites	…	…	108·7	+3·2	145·1	+17·6
South-West England
Christchurch	…	…	52·6	-1·2	68·1	+16·2
Woodlands	…	…	2·5	+1·4	3·1	-1·7
Worcester Lodge	…	…	2·7	+0·5	3·8	+2·8
Youth sites	…	…	6·3	+1·5	6·0	+3·3
North-West England
Minor sites	…	…	—	—	5·3	-5·6
North Scotland
Glenmore	…	…	49·9	+17·9	59·3	+10·2
Balmacara	…	…	—	—	0·3	-3·8
Minor sites	…	…	—	—	14·3	+7·0
East Scotland
Kilvrecht	…	…	3·9	-0·8	4·4	-3·6
South Scotland
Caldons	…	…	20·7	+3·0	31·0	+8·6
Talnotry	…	…	5·0	+0·2	7·4	+3·6
West Scotland
Ardgartan	…	…	27·7	+9·9	36·2	+16·0
Cashel	…	…	14·8	+0·7	18·3	+1·6
Cobleland	…	…	11·5	+3·1	12·4	+1·4
Glencoe	…	…	17·8	+5·6	20·2	+4·0
North Wales
Beddgelert	…	…	36·5	+17·1	42·9	+21·2
Sub-total	…	…	534·1	+120·6	685·7	+153·0

Non-operational campsites					Development Cost
North-East England
Leaplish	…	…	—	—	—	-19·3
Spiers House	…	…	—	—	—	-0·2
Kidder	…	…	—	—	—	-3·0
South Wales
Site development	…	…	—	—	—	-4·4
Grand Totals	…	…	534·1	+120·6	685·7	+126·1
^* A class sites have full facilities; B class sites have minimum facilities.

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 29 January 1979; Vol.961, c. 330–1], gave the following information:In 1976 the occupancy rate of Forestry Commission holiday cabins in the period April to October was 99 per cent.Financial details of Forestry Commission camp sites for the financial years 1976–77 and 1977–78 are given in the table below. Figures are not yet available for 1978–79. Details of individual camp sites in south-east England conservancy are not available but a total by class of site has been given.

Marginal Lands

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is satisfied with the position of marginal lands; and if he will make a statement.

The matter is under active consideration.

Industry

Merseyside And Kirkby

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what further measures he proposes to take to stimulate industrial investment on Merseyside and in Kirkby.

We shall maintain our efforts to develop industry on Merseyside, including Kirkby, where regional incentives at the highest levels within Great Britain have been available since we made Merseyside a special development area. These incentives have secured the location in Merseyside of the high technology microelectronics project by GEC Fairchild Ltd. which is expected to create 1.100 jobs.

National Enterprise Board (Acquisitions)

asked the Secretary of State for Industry (1) on what date he gave his consent under section 10 of the Industry Act 1975 for the National Enterprise Board to acquire 100 per cent. of the nominal value of the total equity in Insac Data Systems; what is the number of type of shares acquired; and what was the cost to the Board;(2) on what date he gave his consent under section 10 of the Industry Act 1975 for the National Enterprise Board to acquire 33·3 per cent. of the nominal value of the total equity in J. & P. Engineering Ltd.; what is the number of type of shares acquired; and what was the cost to the Board;(3) on what date he gave his consent under section 10 of the Industry Act 1975 for the National Enterprise Board to acquire 100 per cent. of the nominal value of the total equity in Keland Electrics Ltd.; what is the number of type of shares acquired; and what was the cost to the Board;

(4) on what date he gave his consent under section 10 of the Industry Act 1975 for the National Enterprise Board to acquire 33·3 per cent. of the nominal value of the total equity in Mayflower Packaging Ltd.; what is the number of type of shares acquired; and what was the cost to the Board;

(5) on what date he gave his consent under section 10 of the Industry Act 1975 for the National Enterprise Board to acquire 100 per cent. of the nominal value of the total equity in Hurd Brown Ltd.; what is the number of type of shares acquired; and what was the cost to the Board;

(6) on what date he gave his consent under section 10 of the Industry Act 1975 for the National Enterprise Board to acquire 63·1 per cent. of the nominal value of the total equity in Data Recording Co. Ltd.; what is the number of type of shares acquired; and what was the cost to the Board;

(7) on what date he gave his consent under section 10 of the Industry Act 1975 for the National Enterprise Board to acquire 42·9 per cent. of the nominal value of the total equity in Energy Equipment Co. Ltd.; what is the number of type of shares acquired; and what was the cost to the Board;

(8) on what date he gave his consent under section 10 of the Industry Act 1975 for the National Enterprise Board to acquire 70·6 per cent. of the nominal share value of the total equity in Mullard Engineering Co. Ltd.; what is the number of type of shares acquired; and what was the cost to the Board.

My right hon. Friend gave his statutory consent to the Board acquiring 30 per cent. or more of the voting shares in Insac Data Systems Ltd.—then called UK Systems Ltd. —on 23 December, 1976; in J & P Engineering Ltd., on 14 March, 1978; in Keland Electrics Ltd.—then called Blintone Ltd.—on 26 January, 1977; in Mayflower Packaging Ltd., on 11 November, 1977; in Data Recording Instrument Co. Ltd., on 27 May, 1976; in Energy Equipment Ltd., on 17 April, 1978; and in Mollart Engineering Ltd., on 8 February, 1977. I take it that the hon. Member has this company in mind in referring to Mullard Engineering Ltd. The Board's shareholding in Hird-Brown Ltd.—as I informed the hon. Member on 24 January last—is not equity, and my right hon. Friend's statutory consent was not required for its acquisition. In all these cases the number and type of shares and the cost to the Board, are set out in my replies of 24 January and 15 November last to the hon. Member.

Industry Schemes

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what are (a) the number of offers made, (b) the total number accepted, (c) the value of such offers and (d) the total payments made up to 31 January under the instrumentation and automation industry scheme.

The position at 31 January was as follows:

(a) 833

(b) 673

£ million,

The information sought is as follows

(a) 90

(b) 83

(d) £6·3 million

The figures on 31 January were

(a) 169

(b) 155

£1,785,326

The position at 31 January was as follows:

(a) 62

(b) 54

(d) £1·1 million

The position at 31 January is as follows:

(a) 45

(b) 40

(d) £0·634 million

The information sought is as follows:

(a) 13

(b) 13

(d) nil

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what are (a) the number of offers made, (b) the total number accepted,(c) the value of such offers and (d) the total payments made up to 31 January under the assistance to manufacturers of printing machinery scheme.

The position at 31 January was as follows:

(a) 57

(b) 52

(d) £1·7 million

The position at 31 January was as follows:

(a) 50

(b) 45

(d) £1·1 million

The position at 31 January was as follows:

(a) 70

(b) 68

(d) £2·177 million

The position at 31 January was as follows:

(a) 86—relating to 84 projects

(b) 79

(d) £0·8 million

National Enterprise Board (Corporate Plans)

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what account has been taken of the National Enterprise Board's corporate plans in establishing the ceiling on the amount of Government funds, whether by way of advances from the National Loans Fund or public dividend capital, which the Board has received in each of the last three years.

It was stated in the White Paper "Public Expenditure to 1979-80" Cmnd. 6393, that the provision for the Board was arbitrary and subject to review. This reflected the inherent uncertainties of industrial investment. Close regard has since been had to the public expenditure implications of the Board's corporate plans, but because the uncertainties are inherent, the provision on the Board has not had a ceiling.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry how many corporate plans have been prepared and revised by the National Enterprise Board as part of the annual planning cycle with his Department; on what dates such plans and revisions were submitted to his Department; and if he will list the principal topics covered therein.

The Board has prepared two corporate plans covering its activities other than BL and Rolls-Royce—which are dealt with separately. These plans, for 1977–81 and for 1978–82, were submitted to my Department on 30 November 1977 and on 13 November 1978 respectively. My right hon. Friend made a statement about the 1977-81 plan on 1 August 1978,—[Vol. 955 c. 185–6]. I have nothing to add to that. The 1978-82 plan is under detailed discussion between the Board and my Department. The principal topics covered by the plan are the progress made by the Board; the financial implications of the plan; current policy issues; a corporate action programme; and sectoral strategies.

British Leyland Plant (Sale)

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what he estimates will be the effect on the British car industry of the proposed sale of the British Leyland plant at Seneffe in Belgium.

I am not aware that any such decision has been made by British Leyland.

Volume 962: debated on Friday 9 February 1979

Written Answers To Questions

Trade

Iran (Export Credit Guarantees)

Microelectronics Industry

Prices And Consumer Protection

Food Prices (International Comparisons)

Restrictive Trade Practices Legislation (Stock Exchange)

Jurors

Civil Service

Civil Servants

Defence

Expenditure (England, Scotland And Wales)

Employment

Trades Union Congress (Pay)

Factory Closures (Merseyside)

Strikes (West Midlands)

School-Leavers

Home Department

Company Registrations

Police Negotiating Machinery (Edmund-Davies Report)

Immigrants (Gynaecological Examinations)

Mentally Abnormal Offenders

Air Rifles And Pistols

Prevention Of Terrorism

Metropolitan Police (Assaults)

Northern Ireland

Prevention Of Terrorism

Wales

Nominated Bodies (Annual Reports And Expenditure)

National Health Service

Houses (Age)

Population And Expenditure

Expenditure (Welsh Office And Nominated Bodies)

Social Services

Cohabitation Rule

Drugs

Employees (Retirement Age)

Personal Incomes

Supplementary Benefit (Exceptional Needs)

Social Services

Nupe (Ministerial Meetings)

National Finance

Government Expenditure

Scottish And Welsh Assemblies

Public Expenditure

Gross Domestic Product (Factor Cost)

Wales

Minimum Lending Rate

Take-Home Pay

Overseas Debt

Vat Inspectors (Herts)

Industrial And Manufacturing Production (Index Figures)

Exchange Control Regulations (Overseas Properties)

European Regional Development Fund (British Quota)

Government Expenditure (Wales)

Living Standards

Balance Of Payments (North Sea Oil And Gas)

European Community

North Sea Oil And Gas Exploitation (Revenues)

Scotland

Prevention Of Terrorism

Energy

Oil (Cost)

Press Advertising

"Morning Star" (Departmental Advertising)

Electricity Bills (Discounts)

Fluidised Bed Combustion

Oil Spill Contingency Plans

Offshore Supplies (Interest Relief Grants)

Minister Of State (Visit To Mexico)

Education And Science

Minorities Arts Advisory Service

Environment

Refuse Collection Services (Wandsworth)

Kent Draft Revised Map

Houses (Age)

Housing Associations

Auriol Housing Foundation