asked the Minister for the Civil Service if he will make a statement on the negotiations with Civil Service trades unions arising from the report of the Pay Research Unit.

Joint processing of the Pay Research Unit's evidence is proceeding with the individual trade unions concerned. Substantive negotiations will begin as soon as this preliminary work has been completed.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what further discussions he has had with the trades unions about establishing a closed shop for the Civil Service; and if he will make a statement.

Since the hon. Gentleman last raised a similar question on 3 July there has been further contact with representatives of both industrial and non-industrial unions. It would, however, be inappropriate for me to make a statement before any conclusions have been reached.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service if it is the Government's intention to submit evidence on pensions transferability in the public service to the Occupational Pensions Board.

The board has invited my Department to co-ordinate and submit written evidence on behalf of all the Government Departments concerned with the policy and administration of public service pension schemes and it has particularly asked for information about the arrangements for transfers between public sector schemes. The other Departments concerned have been consulted and my Department will be responding to the board's invitation. Separate evidence has already been submitted to the board by the Government Actuary's department.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what plans he has, in the light of the Pay Research Unit's investigations, to review the inflation-proofing of Civil Service pensions.

In the light of the Pay Research Unit's evidence, the Government Actuary is reassessing the deduction which is made from Civil Service pay levels for differences in pension benefits between civil servants and those in comparable employment. This deduction will take account of current differences in levels of inflation-proofing. The Government are not at this stage considering any change in the operation of the Pensions (Increase) Act 1971.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service how many professionally qualified information officers are employed in Government Departments; what has been the increase in numbers since 1974; how many are employed in the same trade with the Central Office of Information; and what has been the increase since 1974.

This information is not readily available. There are no required formal professional qualifications for information officers in the Civil Service. However, there were 1,346 staff in post in the information officer group on 1 April 1978, an increase of 39 since 1974.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service if he is aware of the continuing delays being experienced by industry and commerce in obtaining publications from Her Majesty's Stationery Office and from the Government Bookshop; what steps are being taken to ensure a rapid improvement in the service; and if he will make a statement.

I regret the delays to which the hon. Member refers. As he knows, there was an industrial dispute at the end of 1978 which interrupted supplies for 11 weeks. Her Majesty's Stationery Office is making every effort to catch up: arrears of publishing have been cleared and service from the Government Bookshops outside London is now almost back to normal. In London the mail order service is currently facing a 50 per cent. in crease in orders, and consequently it is taking somewhat longer to restore normal service there.In the longer term, the service will be improved by the introduction of a new purpose-built distribution centre in London, the plans for which are well advanced.If the hon. Member has difficulty in obtaining any particular publication, perhaps he would let me know.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service when the next edition of the index to the statutes will be available.

The next edition of the index to the statutes, which reflects the law in force at the end of 1976, is expected to be published in May 1979.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry when he expects to meet the chairman of the National Enterprise Board.

My right hon. Friend meets the chairman frequently.

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 40 per cent. of the nominal value of the total equity in Aqualisa Products Ltd.; 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 30 per cent. of the nominal value of the total equity in Automation and Technical Services 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 48·9 per cent. of the total equity in Hydraroll 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 67·3 per cent. of the nominal value of the total equity in Inmos 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 Aqualisa Products Ltd., on 10 January 1977; in Automation and Technical Services (Holdings) Ltd., on 8 March 1978; in Hydraroll Ltd., on 19 May 1977; and in Inmos Ltd.—then called KMOS Semiconductors Ltd.—on 1 June 1978. In all these cases the number and type of shares acquired, and the cost to the Board, are set out in the reply I gave to the hon. Member on 15 November last.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry whether authorisation has been obtained under the Non-proliferation Act for the export of microcircuits from the United States to International Computers Ltd. for use in a computer for the Atomic Energy Authority.

I understand that the United States Department of Commerce has now ruled that such authorisation is not required in respect of semiconductors used in computer manufacturers.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what action has been taken on the several recommendations on measures to alleviate unemployment made by the borough of Sunderland in its submissions on employment problems in Sunderland.

The two submissions by the borough of Sunderland suggesting further measures to alleviate unemployment were the subject of discussions between Ministers and representatives of the borough. The Government's response to the recommendations was given in letters of 21 November 1977 from my right hon. Friend the Minister of State, Department of Employment and of 26 May 1978 from my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Industry to the leader of the borough council.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry how many firms used the signposting and counselling services of the Small Firms Service in 1978; and, of these, how many received a 1979 Small Firms Service calendar.

In 1978, 86,977 inquiries were addressed to the small firms centres. Information about which of the inquirers have received a 1979 calendar is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry how many Freefone telephone calls the Small Firms Service received in 1978; and what was their cost.

This information is not readily available and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry (1) whether his Department plans to issue a Small Firms Service calendar for 1980;(2) what comments he has received from members of the public, including small firms, on the 1979 Small Firms Service calendar;(3) how many members of his Department were employed on the production and distribution of the 1979 Small Firms Service calendar:(4) in which years his Department has distributed calendars similar to the 1979 Small Firms Service calendar;(5) to whom the 1979 Small Firms Service calendars have been distributed;(6) what is the purpose of the production by his Department of the 1979 Small Firms Service calendar;

The purpose of the 1979 Small Firms Service calendar is to promote the Small Firms Service. Production of 68,000 calendars for 1979 cost £7,700. The calendars have been distributed to firms which might have need to use the Small Firms Service and to organisations such as the clearing banks, chambers of commerce, trade associations and those providing professional services—for example, accountants—who may be in a position to recommend the service to small businesses seeking help with their problems.The calendar was first produced for 1974 and subsequently for each successive year. It has been well received and it is proposed that a calendar for 1980 be produced.Production and distribution of the calendar is a small part of the management and promotion of the Small Firms Service and the staff cost of this work is not separately quantified.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry how many 1979 Small Firms Service calendars were printed; arid how many of them have been distributed to date in 1979.

68,000 Small Firms Service calendars were printed; some 65,000 have been distributed. Of the balance, some are retained for promotional work in the first quarter of the year.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry (1) if he will list in the Official Report a complete summary of all recommendations from the sector working party on the pumps and valves industry; and what action has been taken on these recommendations;(2) if he will list in the

It is for each SWP to decide whether to publish the end year report containing its recommendations. Copies of all published reports will be placed in the Library of the House.Copies of the main papers on industrial strategy taken at the NEDC meeting on 7 February, amended only to remove commercially confidential information, have also been placed in the Library of the House. These papers include a copy of the memorandum by my right hon. Friends the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Industry setting out the Government's general response on the industrial strategy. All SWP recommendations will of course be considered individually.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what help he is giving to the engineering industry in the West Midlands area to overcome its present problems.

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 6 February 1979; Vol. 962, c. 106], gave the following information:The Department is providing assistance to engineering industries in the West Midlands through a wide range of schemes under the Science and Technology Act 1965 and the Industry Act 1972. Schemes under these Acts which may be relevant to different companies in the engineering industries are the selective investment scheme, for large projects; the drop forging, instrumentations and automation, and micro-electronics industry schemes; the product and proces development scheme, the micro-processor application scheme and the energy conservation scheme.The assistance offered under these Acts to engineering industries in the West Midlands up to the end of 1978 totalled £33·6 million for 257 projects worth £217 million. These figures do not include assistance given under the general powers of section 8 of the Industry Act to BL, Chysler, Alfred Herbert and Meriden with the whole or substantial proportions of their business in the West Midlands.In addition to financial assistance of this type, there are also advisory services such as the manufacturing advisory service available to medium-sized engineering companies.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what is his policy towards extending the right of the Post Office employees to take industrial action; and what legislation, if any, he proposes to introduce on this matter.

The Government remain committed to introduce legislation at the earliest suitable opportunity to clarify the right of Post Office workers to take normal industrial action.

asked the Lord President of the Council if, in the interest of more effective fire precautions, he will invite the Services Committee to report on the possibility of installing a smoke-sensitive sprinkler system in the Division Lobbies.

The Division Lobbies are not a high risk fire area, and the installation of a smoke-sensitive sprinkler system, which would be costly, is not warranted.

asked the Lord President of the Council if he will bring forward legislation to link the salaries of hon. Members to the mid-point on the assistant secretaries' scale.

I would remind the hon. Member that the House agreed in July that the whole general issue of Members' pay, including the question of linkage, should be referred to the Review Body on Top Salaries. It is only sensible to await its report before discussing future proposals on pay.

asked the Lord President of the Council what are the current proposals in relation to the Broad Sanctuary car park.

I refer my hon. Friend to the second report of the Services Committee in Session 1976–77 and to the resolution passed on this subject by the Services Committee on 13 December last year.

asked the Lord President of the Council if he is satisfied with the workings of Parliament; and if he will make a statement.

As the House is aware, I hope to arrange a two-day debate, before the referendums recess, on the first report of the Procedure Committee. This covers many aspects of parliamentary practice and procedure, and I suggest that the House awaits that debate.

asked the Lord President of the Council whether he will seek to appoint a Select Committee to look into the position and privileges of trade union sponsored hon. Members.

The appointment of Select Committees is a matter for the House, but I see no need for a Select Committee on this subject.

asked the Lord President of the Council if he will move to appoint a Select Committee on Procedure to consider the rules governing the use of casting votes on Standing Committees, and the practice of casting votes to preserve Bills in their original form.

This matter would already be within the terms of reference of the existing Select Committee on Procedure.

asked the Lord President of the Council what proposals he has for the devolution of power from Westminster to elected regional authorities in England.

I would refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Blackley (Mr. Rose) on 6 November 1978.—[Vol. 957, c. 91.]

asked the Lord President of the Council if he will state, from sources available, which countries in the world have devolved systems of government; and if, as part of his responsibility for gathering support for the Government's devolution proposals, he will take steps to publicise these comparisons with the present centralised system in the United Kingdom.

The Government's proposals for devolution have been framed to meet the needs and aspirations of the Scottish and Welsh people within our own constitutional framework. There are many forms of government in other countries which can be accounted devolved, but I doubt whether specific comparisons are very useful.

asked the Lord President of the Council when he expects to be able to implement the recommendations of the Computer Sub-Committee of the Services Committee in its report No. H.C. 617-i.

I understand that the recommendations of this report are already being carried out by the several departments of the House concerned, and that the committee's main recommendation that a computer development officer should be appointed, who would serve both houses, has already been implemented.

asked the Lord President of the Council what proposals he has made for party political broadcasts allocated specifically for the European elections.

None.

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

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Attorney-General if he will refer to the Director of Public Prosecutions, with a view to prosecution for murder, the case of the baby girl starved to death at Wycombe general hospital, details of which have been sent to him by the hon. Member for Birmingham, Edgbaston.

The Director is already considering this matter.

asked the Attorney-General if he will make a statement on the present method of choosing members of juries; and if he has any plans for changing the procedure.

In accordance with the Juries Act 1974, panels of jurors are selected from the electoral register under arrangements made by my noble Friend. All parties to the proceedings are entitled to reasonable facilities to inspect the panel. A jury for a specific case is selected by ballot in open court from the panel of the persons summoned from the electoral register. Jurors so selected may be excused if they have good grounds as set out in the practice direction of the Lord Chief Justice of 12 January 1973. Jurors are then sworn after any challenges have been made and dealt with. My noble Friend the Lord Chancellor has no plans to change the arrangements.

asked the Prime Minister, how many manual workers are employed at Number 10, Downing Street: whether they are required to be members of a trade union in order to hold their jobs; to which trades unions they belong; and what industrial action they have been taking to date in 1979.

I have been asked to reply.The 13 industrial civil servants who work regularly at No. 10 are employed by the Property Services Agency. Civil Service conditions of employment do not require staff to be trade union members, although such membership is encouraged. These particular staff would be represented by TWGU, EETPU, or UCATT. There has been no industrial action this year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average length of imprisonment to which people convicted of rape were sentenced in the last year for which figures are available.

Excluding six people who were sentenced to life imprisonment, in 1977 in England and Wales the average length of sentence passed for rape was four years. However, the average does not show the variation that occurs and I would refer my hon. Friend to Table 6 of "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales, 1977" (Cmnd. 7289) which gives the distribution of the lengths of sentences passed for rape.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the relative importance which he attaches to virginity in considering applications for immigration to the United Kingdom.

I have given instructions that immigration officers are not to ask the medical inspector to examine passengers with a view to establishing whether they have borne children or have had sexual relations. But whether a woman is married or has borne children may be relevant to her entitlement to enter this country.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the recent decision of an immigration officer to refer a woman for medical tests to establish whether she was a virgin.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the replies I gave to questions by my hon. Friends the Members for Barking (Miss Richardson) and Wolverhampton, North-East (Mrs. Short) on 5 February.—[Vol. 962, c. 1–2.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether a decision has been reached upon the application for grant-aid by the Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments.

Consultations about the application by the Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments have taken longer than expected, but my right hon. Friend hopes to be able to take a decision shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many civil servants were involved in the working party on marriage guidance and in drawing up the report entitled "Marriage Matters".

This information is contained in Appendix A to the report.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department which metropolitan districts will be having elections in May on new ward boundaries; and, of these, which will be electing the whole council and which will be electing a proportion of the council.

The information requested is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department which non-metropolitan districts will not have their new ward boundaries approved in time for use in the local elections in May.

The information requested is as follows:

• 55 Non-Metropolitan Districts
• Arun
• Beaconsfield
• Blaby
• Brighton
• Bristol
• Caradon
• Carlisle^*
• Charnwood
• Cheltenham
• East Cambridgeshire
• East Lindsey
• Exeter
• Forest of Dean
• Great Yarmouth^*
• Harrogate^*
• Harborough^*
• Hinckley and Bosworth
• Kingston upon Hull^*
• Leicester
• Lewes
• Mid Sussex
• Newbury
• North Bedfordshire
• North Devon
• North Dorset
• North West Leicestershire
• North Wiltshire^*
• Poole
• Portsmouth
• Reading
• Redditch
• Restormel
• Rother
• Ryedale
• Sedgefield^*
• Slough
• South Oxford
• Stroud
• Suffolk Coastal
• Teesdale^*
• Tewkesbury
• Torbay
• Warwick
• Waverley^*
• Waveney
• Wealden
• Wear Valley^*
• Wellingborough
• West Dorset
• West Norfolk
• West Wiltshire
• Wimbourne
• Windsor and Maidenhead
• Worthing^*
• Wycombe

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide a full account of the steps he has and is taking to transfer mentally disordered persons from prison to hospital.

The Home Office maintains close contact with the Department of Health and Social Security, and makes every effort to effect the transfer of prisoners whom prison medical officers report as being in need of treatment in hospital. My hon. Friend knows from the replies given on 8 November 1978 and 16 January 1979 to his earlier questions on this subject that it is intended to carry out research to identify with more precision the numbers and characteristics of such prisoners.—[Vol. 957, c. 181–2; Vol. 960, c. 629.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether he has any plans to establish a central development unit for marital work;(2) what plans he has to establish a marriage conciliation service.

I shall reach no conclusions on these recommendations of the working party on marriage guidance until consultation on its report has been completed.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, following his written answer, Official Report, 27 July 1977, columns 315–6, he has now finalised the proposals which must be submitted on behalf of the United Kingdom to the World Administrative Radio Conference by the spring of the current year; and whether he will outline the nature of those proposals, in particular, with reference to the safeguarding of Great Britain's voice abroad and an adequate provision of wavebands for local radio and citizen's band radio at home.

The United Kingdom's proposals to the 1979 World Administrative Radio Conference are nearly complete. The general nature of the proposals was outlined in the report mentioned in my reply to the hon. Member for Derby, North (Mr. Whitehead) on 10 May 1978. More precise details will be made known when the proposals are published.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been subject to exclusion orders under the Prevention of Terrorism Act during the past 12 months for which this information is available; and how many of these were subsequently prosecuted.

During the 12 months from 1 January 1978 to 1 January 1979 I made exclusion orders against 54 people; 53 of these orders excluded the subject from Great Britain and one from the United Kingdom.Information about people removed from the United Kingdom is not available. None of those people removed to Northern Ireland were affected and charged on their return there. Where there are charges outstanding against a person in another jurisdiction he would not be made the subject of an exclusion order but would be returned under other powers.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received about future designations under the Fire Precautions Act 1971.

I have, over the past two years, received four such representations, concerning the designation of old persons' homes, nursing homes, disabled persons' homes and lodging houses and hostels for single homeless people.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the authorised establishment for the police force; what was the number of police; what was the number as a percentage of the authorised establishment level, for each police authority in England and Wales at the end of 1976, 1977 and 1978; and what was the percentage change in each case.

The information is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the recent Operation Gimcrack on the former RAF Kenley.

An exercise, code named "Gimcrack", was held on 30–31 January by the Metropolitan Police in association with Government Departments and Army personnel to practise contingency plans for dealing with an international terrorist incident. It took place on private property at the disused premises of RAF Kenley, and lasted 18 hours.The exercise was successful. It demonstrated the validity of the contingency plans, and it provided valuable experience for the participants.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he hopes to reply to the hon. Member for Cathcart's letter of 27 January regarding his constituent Mrs. Hurd.

I have been unable to trace receipt of the letter.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of offences of violence against the person; what was the total number of indictable offences; what was the detection rate in each case in each police authority in England and Wales during 1976, 1977 and 1978; and what was the percentage change in each case.

The number of offences of violence against the person and the total number of indictable offences recorded in each police force area in Eng-

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Pro- land and Wales are published annually in "Criminal Statistics", the latest volume of which relates to the year 1977 (Cmnd. 7289). The percentage increase between 1976 and 1977 in the total number of indictable offences per 100,000 population in each police force area was given in Table 2·3 of the volume for 1977. I will write to the hon. Member about the remainder of his question.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the establishment and numbers of retained firemen in each of the counties of England and Wales in each of the past five years.

The information in respect of each of the years 1973 to 1977—the latest five years for which figures are available—is given in the table in the last appendix to the annual reports of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Fire Services for England and Wales for each year, which were published as Cmnds. 5674 of 1974, 6145 of 1975, 6530 of 1976, 6859 of 1977 and 7311 of 1978.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection what have been the average prices of a half pound of English, Danish and New Zealand butter in November and December 1978 and in January 1979.

The average prices for a half pound of home produced, Danish and New Zealand butter for November and December 1978 were as follows:tection whether his Department has yet been given any indication as to when a draft directive can be expected from the European Commission following the Community-wide study on sales premiums and gifts which was presented to the Environmental and Consumer Protection Service of the Commission in 1977; and if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's position on this matter.

I am not aware that the European Commission has any present plans for a draft directive in the field of premium selling. The Consumers' Association is currently making a study of sales promotion methods and in the light of its findings, the Government will consider whether and to what exent any control of premium offers may be necessary.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions or consultations he has had with Welsh local authorities or with representative local government associations concerning the extent of unemployment in the Principality.

I and my hon. Friends have had a number of meetings in the past year with representatives of Welsh local authorities. The topics discussed were wide ranging and in many instances included the question of unemployment.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what is his estimate of the loss of output throughout Welsh industry in January as a result of the various strikes and industrial actions experienced throughout Great Britain in that month.

It is not possible to estimate the loss of industrial output for Wales alone. However, it is estimated that, as a result of the road haulage dispute, about 10 per cent. of manufacturing production in Great Britain may have been lost in January.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the effects of the local authority manual workers' strikes in Wales.

As regards schools, the effects have so far been confined mainly to Gwent, South and Mid Glamorgan, Dyfed and Powys, but other counties may be affected this week. Waste disposal and collection services are now adversely affected by industrial action in one form or another in 25 Welsh districts. Following the return to work by Newport gravediggers last Monday there have been no serious burial or cremation problems. Road gritting and salt spreading have been interrupted in some parts of Wales, because of an overtime ban.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will give further guidance to Welsh local authorities in the interpretation of the "intentionally homeless" section of the Housing (Homeless Persons) Act.

The Welsh Office and the Department of the Environment have recently invited local authority associations and voluntary bodies to comment on the operation of the legislation and we shall consider whether any change in the code of guidance is needed in the light of their views.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many reports were drawn up by the Welsh Council, since 1970; and how many of these were debated by hon. Members of Parliament (a) on the Floor of the House and (b) in the Welsh Grand Committee.

38 reports have been published. None has been the subject of a formal debate, but hon. Members have drawn attention to the views expressed on many occasions.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales on how many occasions during 1978 he met the chairman and members of the Wales Tourist Board to discuss with them their strategy and performance.

During 1978 I met the chairman once and my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State met him twice.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many of the additional Civil Service posts which will be available in Wales as a result of establishing the Welsh Assembly, he estimates will be transferred into Wales from existing Civil Service jobs; and how many will be recruited locally.

It is impossible at present to be precise, but more than half the additional posts are likely to be at levels at which local recruitment will be the main source of supply.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what is the total number of manual, manual skilled and non-manual unskilled workers employed by Welsh local authorities and area health authorities.

In September 1978, the latest date for which information is available from the Joint Manpower Watch Survey, it is provisionally estimated that the total number of full-time and part-time manual workers, excluding those engaged under the job creation programme, employed by Welsh local authorities was 72,000. Non-manual employees totalled 81,104. Separate numbers of skilled and unskilled workers are not available.The number of full-time and part-time manual workers employed by area health authorities in September 1978, in Wales, totalled 17,679. The number of non-

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish in the Official Report a list of Welsh local authorities showing in each case the current total of their borrowing.

The latest published information on total loan debt of individual authorities in Wales is contained in the "Return of Outstanding Debt (England and Wales) as at 31st March 1978" published in November 1978 by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy. A copy has been placed in the Library of the House.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will provide an analysis of the table on page 134 of Cmnd. 7439, by planned expenditure in England, Scotland, Wales and the United Kingdom, respectively.

It is not possible to give advance figures for the distribution between England, Scotland and Wales of the expenditure for the United Kingdom shown on page 134 of Cmnd. 7439. The figures for 1977–78, the latest year for which they are available, are as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many references were made to her by local education authorities during 1978 under section 37(3) of the Education Act 1944; and with what results.

Between 1 January and 31 December 1978 my right hon. Friend received applications from local education authorities under section 37(3) of the Education Act 1944 for determinations of the school to be named in school attendance orders in respect of 64 children. Nine of the cases were resolved locally or withdrawn before a determination had been made and four are still being considered. Of the remainder, the school determined by my right hon. Friend was that selected by the parent in 37 of the cases and that proposed by the authority in 13 cases.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether she will issue a circular to local education authorities advising them on whom the duty to provide 380 sessions of schooling each year rests, and on any remedies that may be taken if that schooling is not provided.

No. Local education authorities are well aware of the provisions of the schools regulations 1959. It is for local authorities to decide what action they should take if schools cannot provide 380 sessions as a result of some unavoidable cause. During her speech in last Tuesday's debate my right hon. Friend gave examples of what some authorities were doing to continue the education of some of the children in their areas following disruption of schools by public service workers.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what changes have taken place in the rules governing school transport since February 1974; what changes are contemplated between now and September 1979; and if she will make a statement.

No changes in the statutory arrangements have been made since 1948, and none is likely to be made in the immediate future.As the law now stands there are no statutory restrictions on the power of a local education authority to provide or assist with the cost of home to school transport, but the duty to provide free transport extends only to children who attend the nearest suitable school and who live further from it than the statutory walking distances. It has not so far been possible to agree alternative arrangements with the interested parties, but other schemes are currently being examined.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he proposes to take to assist local authorities with any nationally agreed wage claims over 5 per cent.

The rate support grant settlement will be updated in the usual way next November to take account of pay and price increases in the previous 12 months. The additional grant that may be paid by way of Increase Order is of course subject to cash limits. These will be increased to take account of a nationally agreed settlement for the lower paid.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what were the allocations in 1978 and 1979 to (a) West Lancashire district council and (b) the Knowsley council for the purpose of insulating council dwellings.

The allocations were as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will publish in the Official Report the figures for 1976–77 and 1977–78 of combined housing revenue accounts as shown in table VIII 30 of Technical Volume 3 of the Green Paper "Housing Policy", including the total expenditure and the expenditure per unit of accommodation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what statutory provisions prevent an English water authority conducting its own wage negotiations in respect of its employees.

The conduct of pay negotiations in the water industry in England and Wales is governed by agreements made under the auspices of the National Water Council in accordance with the provisions of section 26(2) of the Water Act 1973. Section 26(3) imposes a duty on water authorities to comply with these agreements.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many small firms were assisted by the Committee of Support for Industry in Rural Areas in 1978, 1977 and 1976.

the information requested is as follows:

9,931 in 1977; 8,935 in 1976.Information in respect of 1978 is not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will state how many persons work for the Committee of Support for Industry in Rural Areas in each of the economic regions.

The information is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many small firms were assisted by the Committee of Support for Industry in Rural Areas in 1978, 1977 and 1976 in (a) the South West Region and (b) Gloucestershire.

The information available is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the level of Government grant to the Committee of Support for Industry in Rural Areas in 1978, 1977 and 1976.

The information, which is available for financial years only, is as follows:

asked the Secretary for the Environment how many applications he has received from local authorities for approval of their shares house purchase schemes in respect of existing tenancies; how many schemes he has approved; what is his policy towards such schemes; and if he will make a statement.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment on what date he received the inspector's report of the public inquiry into planning consent for the re-development of Liverpool Street Station and when he proposes to announce his decision.

I received the inspector's report in October 1977 and hope to announce my decision shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list in the Official Report (a) the number of rateable residences, (b) the proportion of total personal income absorbed by local authority rates and (c) the proportion of gross national product spent by local government authorities, for each of the following years 1958, 1963, 1968, 1972, 1973, 1977 and 1978.

The available information in respect of England and Wales is as follows:

My right hon. Friend's approval is not required for what are commonly known as equity-sharing schemes, although his determination is needed to enable subsidy to be paid on the "rented half" and his consent is necessary for the disposal of the dwellings. Existing general consents mean that applications for specific consent are rarely required. None has been received in respect of disposals under equity-sharing schemes for existing council houses. It is our general policy to encourage schemes for equity-sharing.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment at what level his Department estimates the present take-up of rate rebates; whether each local authority produces such estimates; and whether, according to the information available to him, there is any significant variation between regions in the take-up rate.

As I announced on 5 December in an answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Swindon (Mr. Stoddart), 2·7 million people in England and Wales received rate rebates during the year ended 31 March 1978.—[Vol. 959, c. 644–5.] We estimate from the family expenditure survey data that 3·85 million people in the two countries were eligible for rebates, which implies a national take-up rate of about 70 per cent.Lists of the numbers receiving rebates in 1977–78 in each rating authority were placed in the Library on 5 December. But the sample on which the family expenditure survey is based is not large enough to provide a reliable breakdown of the take-up rate by rating authority or by region. I am not aware that any local authority has produced its own estimate of take-up.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the present position in respect of the performance of surgical operations at Bartholomew hospital, Goole; and whether he will make a statement.

I understand that operations continue to be carried out at the normal rate.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is satisfied that the present distribution of consultant and registrar posts in the Mersey regional health authority is equitable and meets the growing needs of the people of Cheshire.

The distribution of medical posts within the region is a matter for the Mersey regional health authority. The authority has told me that it is aware of a certain degree of imbalance and it has begun a review of establishments to correct this by redeployment within the region. Cheshire area health authority has already been allocated two extra registrar posts in obstetrics and gynaecology.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many payments of the death grant have been made in each of the past four years by region; and what proportion of each of these have been paid to families of persons who were in receipt of supplementary benefit allowance.

I regret that records of the payments of death grant are not kept on a regional basis. The total number of death grants paid in Great Britain during this period was as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will make a national appeal for volunteers to come forward to help run the hospitals;(2) if he will ask hospital authorities to accept volunteers to help in keeping their hospitals running.

There is a long and valued tradition of voluntary help in hospitals. Some volunteers are members of organisations, while others offer their services direct to health authorities' voluntary service co-ordinators. Leaders of interested national voluntary organisations have indicated that they would not want action taken in the short term which might be prejudicial to the long term interests of the voluntary movement.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will take action to ensure that lightning strikes undertaken by hospital workers without warning can be avoided.

I deprecate any form of industrial action which endangers the welfare of patients and have discussed this issue with representatives of the National Health Service unions involved in the current dispute. They have given assurances that action will not endanger emergency services. Reports show that, in general, these services are being safeguarded. I have also discussed with the unions and representatives of the main professions the possibility of some form of standing code of practice to govern industrial action in the National Health Service; but it has not so far been possible to achieve agreement on detailed national procedures or guidelines which would be generally suitable in local circumstances.I am proposing, however, to continue discussions with the unions in the hope of reaching eventual agreement to contain industrial action in the National Health Service.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list those provisions of the Children Act 1975 that have not yet been implemented, and indicate in each case the reason for non-implementation and when each is expected to be implemented.

The provisions which have not yet been implemented, other than those which extend to Scotland only, are sections 1 and 2, 4 to 7, 9, 14 to 16, 18 to 20, 21(3), 22(1) to (3), 23, 25, 28—other than paragraph (c)(ii)—32 to 46, 58—part—60 to 63, 64—part—95 to 97, 102 and parts of schedules 3 and 4. The Government have made it clear that the Act will have to be implemented gradually as additional resources become available. I hope that we shall be able to introduce custodianship orders—sections 33 to 46—within the next year. My Department and the local authority associations have agreed to re-examine the costing of the remaining provisions of the Act and, when this has been done, we shall hope to discuss a timetable.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the total number of patients waiting for (a) investigatory operations and (b) open heart surgery in each of the 14 health regions at the latest available date.

The latest available information is that given in my reply to my hon. Friend on 31 July 1978. I obtained this information in a special inquiry, as I explained in my letter to him of 1 August 1978.—[Vol. 955, c. 138–9.]

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will analyse the data given in the table on pages 150 and 151 of "The Government's Expenditure Plans 1979–80 to 1982–83", Command Paper No. 7439, to show the estimated average numbers receiving the main benefits at any one time in England, Scotland and Wales, respectively.

It is regretted that this information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will state departmental policy towards the provision of day nursery facilities.

The Government are committed to the development of day care services for under-fives including day nurseries, and consider that priority in the allocation of places should be given to children with a special social or health need for day care. Responsibility for the provision of day nursery places rests with local authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if it is his policy to encourage National Health Service employees to continue in their employment through the provision of day nursery facilities in National Health Service hospitals.

My Department has advised health authorities that it is open to them to provide nursery facilities if this is justified in order to secure staff who would not otherwise take up hospital employment.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement on departmental policy towards the retention of day nursery facilities at Airedale hospital, Eastburn.

Provision of such facilities is a matter for the health authority concerned, within the context of the general guidance given by my Department.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his estimate of premature death linked with unemployment on Merseyside during the past five years; and what research his Department has carried out into this matter.

My Department has not commissioned research into the possible links between unemployment and premature death. A study now being undertaken on the problems faced by the unemployed should, however, provide some information on their use of health services. My Department is also evaluating research which has been done elsewhere in order to establish whether it could usefully commission further work in this subject area.