asked the Secretary of State for Employment what representations he has received concerning the upper age limit and the minimum qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims; and if he will make these representations available in the Library.

I have not received any representations from official bodies on the upper age limit for unfair dismissal claims, but in the last two years I have received representations from three Members of Parliament and from Miss Nothman whose case was the subject of earlier questions from the hon. Member to which I replied on 1 February. I have received representations from a number of employers' organisations and others that the qualifying period be increased. My Department has also received suggestions from a few individuals, Members of Parliament and trade unions that it be decreased. It would not be appropriate to put these representations in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many workers were on strike on 22 January 1979; and what is the highest number of workers on strike recorded since records were first kept.

Daily figures are not compiled. The highest recorded total of workers on strike was 2·63 million during the general strike in May 1926.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment when he expects the Health and Safety Executive to publish its guidance note on isocyanates.

I am advised by the chairman of the Health and Safety Commission that the text of the guidance note entitled "Isocyanates: Toxic Hazards and Precautions" is currently being printed and it should be available early in April 1979. I will have a copy placed in the House of Commons Library when it is received.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) if he will make a statement on investigations by the Health and Safety Executive into the effects of ethylene dichloride on workers in the petroleum industry, and the extent of exposure of the public to this chemical;(2) if he will make a statement on investigations by the Health and Safety Executive into the effects of ethylene di-

NUMBERS OF CANDIDATES PASSING FRENCH, AND PASSING GERMAN, AT O- AND A-LEVEL IN THE ENGLISH AND WELSH GCE BOARDS' SUMMER AND WINTER EXAMINATIONS FROM 1968 TO 1977
						French		German
						O-level	A-level	O-level	A-level
1968	…	…	…	…	…	102,823	19,647	22,287	6,245
1969	…	…	…	…	…	100,496	19,053	22,510	5,876
1970	…	…	…	…	…	99,609	18,563	22,851	5,785
1971	…	…	…	…	…	96,415	18,731	23,065	5,953
1972	…	…	…	…	…	97,670	17,947	23,865	5,816
1973	…	…	…	…	…	96,300	17,595	24,879	5,708
1974	…	…	…	…	…	97,101	17,648	26,651	5,923
1975	…	…	…	…	…	98,866	17,641	26,803	6,392
1976	…	…	…	…	…	97,649	17,782	27,175	6,089
1977*	…	…	…	…	…	101,187	18,651	28,574	6,535
* Provisional figures.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science from international sources available to her, which countries in the EEC, and which among Sweden, the United States of America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan provide a school meals service; and whether the meals provided are free, are subsidised or are self-financing.

To the best of my knowledge, only Belgium, Eire, Japan, Sweden and the USA have what may be described as national arrangements under which school meals may be provided. In Eire and Sweden, meals are free; in Belgium all meals are subsidised, while in the other two countries some

I will reply to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) how many people passed French at O- and A-levels, respectively, in each of the last 10 years;(2) how many people passed German at O- and A-levels, respectively, in each of the last 10 years.

Following is the information:pupils have free meals on grounds of low income and the remainder have subsidised meals. In Australia, France and Italy meals may be provided in a minority of schools, but school meals are apparently not provided in Denmark, Netherlands, New Zealand or West Germany. I have no information about school meals in Canada and Luxembourg.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she has plans for funding a museum of modern art; and, if not, if she will now give active consideration to the need for such a museum.

The responsibility for making a national collection of twentieth century art lies with the Tate Gallery.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many children were eating school dinner and how many staff were employed in the school meals service in 1950, 1960, 1965, 1970 and the latest year for which the figures are available.

The available information is as follows:

MAINTAINED SCHOOLS IN ENGLAND
Year October	Pupil taking school dinners	Kitchen and canteen staff and mid-day supervisors
1950	2,508,276	n.a.
1960	3,211,134	n.a.
1965	4,111,801	n.a.
1970	4,873,956	n.a.
1978	5,096,433	266,247

Prior to 1977 the only information about staff employed in the school meals service relates to May 1968 and May 1971, as follows:

Year May	Pupils taking school dinners	Kitchen and canteen staff and mid-day supervisors
1968	4,465,037	203,020
1971	3,951,650	239,047

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she accepts the Drew committee's recommendation that a new central body to oversee museums should be established; and what action she intends to take.

My right hon. Friend is studying the recommendations of the Drew report.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many nursery school places now exist in the West Midlands; and how many she hopes will be available by 1983.

In January 1978, the latest date for which information is available, there were 5,061 full-time and part-time pupils in maintained nursery schools and 12,643 attending designated nursery classes in maintained primary schools within the West Midlands metropolitan county. Figures for future years are a matter for the local authorities concerned. However, the Government's expenditure plans provide for the proportion of 3 and 4-year-olds attending nursery or primary schools to grow nationally from 35 per cent. to around 50 per cent. between 1978 and 1983.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will list the local authorities which have taken advantage of the subsidy which the EEC is providing and are supplying free milk for the seven- to 11-year-olds in their schools.

In the current school term, 55 local education authorities and seven non-metropolitan district councils in England are providing free milk to seven- to 11-year-olds in their schools, thereby taking advantage of the subsidy of 4·8p per pint from the EEC on milk provided for schoolchildren. The details are as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will make a statement on parents' contributions towards the maintenance of students in receipt of grants; and if she will set up a committee of inquiry to examine this question.

The awards system is intended to enable students to undertake higher education without hardship to themselves or their families. The reduction of the individual student's grant to take account of what his parents could reasonably be expected to contribute has formed part of the arrangements for many years. It is estimated that it would cost an extra £120 million to pay full grants to all award holders, and I cannot foresee that this amount of money will be available for this purpose in the near future.My Department and the Scottish Education Department are, however, conducting a full review of the student support system, including the assessment of parental contributions. My right hon. Friend sees no necessity for a committee of inquiry.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what action she intends to take in the light of the educational and research recommendations made by the Council for Applied Research and Development in its report "Industrial Innovation".

My right hon. Friends and I are considering the report and expect shortly to give our response.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how the allocation to Kent county council to cover financial assistance towards village halls and other community projects in 1979–80 compares with the bid by that authority; and what are the comparable figures for 1978–79.

The bids received from Kent for 1978–79 and 1979–80 and the allocations offered axe as follows:

	Bid	Allocation
	£	£
1978–79	77,425	55,400
1979–80	335,343	149,900

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what progress has been made in the review of the arrangements for scientific research and development introduced in Cmnd. 5046.

My noble Friend the Lord Privy Seal has presented a White Paper on this subject to Parliament today (Cmnd. 7499).

asked the Minister of Overseas Development which of the foreign Governments in receipt of United Kingdom overseas aid are known to follow policies which involve racial or religious discrimination, or both.

My chief concern is to avoid directly helping regimes which commit gross and persistent violations of human rights. Racial or religious discrimination is obviously one of the factors I consider. But the criteria must to some extent be subjective, and I do not think it would be useful to try to assess foreign Governments in the way the question implies.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy (1) how deliveries of heating oil to consumers in the United Kingdom since 1 January to 17 February compare with the same period in 1978;(2) what was the total tonnage of heating oil used in the United Kingdom in 1978; how much heating oil is at present in storage tanks in the United Kingdom belonging to (

I regret that complete details by end use of products used for heating are not available. Deliveries in 1978 of the following products, only a proportion of which would be used for heating purposes, were as follows:

	(Thousand tonnes) 1978 provisional figures
Burning Oil	2,650
Gas/diesel (other than Derv)	13,562
Fuel oil	28,117

Information is collected only on a calendar month basis and complete details for January 1979 are not yet available. However, a provisional estimate of deliveries in January 1979 indicates a similar pattern to that in January 1978.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what percentage of the United Kingdom's heating oil needs were met by imports from Iran during 1977 and 1978.

Imports from Iran in 1977 and 1978, expressed as a percentage of total United Kingdom demand, were 15·3 per cent. and 12·6 per cent. respectively. Crude oil is a relatively homogenous raw material which is subsequently blended and processed into many products. It is not, therefore, possible to identify the use made of particular imports.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy for what purpose an official visit from representatives of the People's Republic of China was arranged at his offices on Friday 23 February; why this appointment was cancelled; and whether he will make a statement.

There were no official visits arranged for representatives of the People's Republic of China on Friday 23 February 1979. Two Japanese visitors from a private organisation had arranged to visit the Department to discuss matters of technical detail but were intercepted by strike pickets and persuaded not to enter the building.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will publish an up-to-date table of earnings for non-domiciled able seamen employed on British ships in terms of monthly basic pay showing country and amount of pay.

My Department does not normally keep records of wages paid to seamen on United Kingdom ships. The following table, which gives the required information as at October 1977,

EARNINGS OF UNITED KINGDOM AND NON-DOMICILED SEAFARERS (ABLE SEAMEN) EMPLOYED BY BRITISH SHIPPING COMPANIES
Country or origin		Rate of exchange to£1	Monthly basic pay	Monthly average earnings	Basic hours per week
India	…	15·13 Rupees	735·9 Rupees: £48·64	1,089 Rupees: £71·98	44
Pakistan	…	16·95 Rupees	985 Rupees: £58·11	1,452·2 Rupees: £85·68	44
Bangladesh	…	26·5 Takaas	1,267 Takaas: £47·81	1,626 Takaas: £61·36	44
Nigeria	…	1·15 Niaras	113·4 Niaras: £98·61	211·8 Niaras: £184·17	42
Sierra Leone	…	2·0 Leones	114·9 Leones: £57·45	230·4 Leones: £115·20	40
Hong Kong *	…	8·11$ (HK)	1,532$: £188·90 to 1,611$: £198·64	2,312$: £285·08 to 3,066$: £378·05	40
Singapore	…	4·27$ Singapore	432$: £101·17	953·4$ £223·29	40
Philippines†	…	12·87 Pesos	1,611 Pesos: £125·17		48
Papua & New Guinea	…	l·38Kinas	187·5 Kinas: £135·87	268·7 Kinas: £194·71	42
Gilbert Is.	…	1·58 Australian dollars	185·44$ (Aust.): £117·37	About £250
Seychelles	…	13·31 Seychelle Rupees	No longer employed but were based upon Hong Kong wages.		40
United Kingdom‡	…		£187·31	£373·95	40
* The rates indicated are believed to be the highest and lowest paid to Leading Seamen. Some companies consider the Sailor to equate most closely to the United Kingdom AB and, accordingly their rates vary between the following:—

Monthly basic pay	Monthly average earnings
1,142$: £140·81 to 1,251$: £154·25	2,053$: £253·14 to 2,390$: £294·70
† Philippines paid 217·8$ (US)—sterling and local equivalents worked from this figure (at 1·74$ to £ sterling).
‡ This figure is made up as follows (at weekly rates): Basic rate—£34·00; average efficient service pay—£4·11½ AB certificate pay—£1·00; Stage II 5 per cent. earnings supplement—£4·11; making a total of £43·22½ a week or £187·31 a month.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what is the current annual remuneration of a non-executive member of the board of British Airways; what expenses are currently claimable by such a member in the exercise of his functions; and at what rate.

The current annual remuneration of non-executive members of the board—all of whom are part-time appointments—is either £1,650 or £1,100 per annum. Non-executive members are entitled to claim any expenses properly incurred in respect of their duties.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what consultations he has had with other countries concerning wage rates and conditions of service for seafarers; and what is his attitude to the International Transport-workers' Federation monitoring and ensuring that national rates and conditions are adhered to.

I have had no such consultations; nor have I had occasion to adopt any special attitude towards ITF in its monitoring of national rates and conditions.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what are the current EEC attitudes towards wage rates and conditions of service of seafarers: and if he is putting pressure on other member States to influence shipowners, the International Transport-workers' Federation and its affiliates.

Apart from consultations on the implementation of the report of the Working Group on the Employment of Non-Domiciled Seafarers which was published in February 1978, the EEC has not so far discussed wage rates and conditions of service of seafarers. However, France has recently tabled draft proposals broadly in this area and these will be discussed in due course with other member States in the Community. In the circumstances the situation envisaged in the latter part of the question has not arisen.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what steps he is taking to ensure the location of the future European trade mark office in the United Kingdom.

A decision on the location of the Trade Mark Office is not expected before 1980, but I intend during the next few months to make a further approach to the Commission and our Community partners in support of the Government's desire to locate the Trade Mark Office in London.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether he will make a statement with regard to the EEC directive on the conditions for the admission of securities to official stock exchange listing.

The directive was adopted on Monday 5 March. Two years are allowed for implementation. In the United Kingdom relatively little change will be required to the rules and practice of the Stock Exchange, as these are to a large extent already in line with the provisions of the directive.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry (1) what is the cost to public funds in a full year of the small firms service;(2) how many members of his Department are employed in the small firms service; and what the change in numbers employed there has been since its inception.

The central management of the small firms service employs 11 staff of the Department at headquarters and 45 staff in the small firms centres. At the inception of a nationwide service there were 10 staff employed at headquarters and 33 staff employed in the centres. The estimated total cost of the small firms service in the financial year 1979–80, is approximately £890,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what action he intends to take in the light of the Council for Applied Research and Development's report "Industrial Innovation".

The Government are considering the ACARD report carefully and the Government's views will be made known shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will publish the profit and loss figures for each of the component parts of British Shipbuilders for the first nine months of nationalisation; and whether he is satisfied with these results.

Details of the profit and loss figures for British Shipbuilders' subsidiaries have been made public by placing them in Companies House and copies of the individual accounts are being placed in the Library of the House. A substantial part of their losses was on contracts taken before nationalisation.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will detail all the accounting adjustments made by companies comprising British Shipbuilders in 1977–78 for additional depreciation charges.

The accounts of British Shipbuilders and their subsidiaries for 1977–78 were drawn up under the historic cost accounting convention. The rates of depreciation are those calculated to write off the cost of fixed assets net of grants over their estimated useful lives using the straight line method, and are shown in the accounts.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what provision has been made by British Shipbuilders for current and future losses which are offset against trading profits for the 1977–78 figures.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to British Shipbuilders' annual report and accounts which is available in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what loans have been granted by British Shipbuilders to their component companies in 1977–78 on what terms; and how much interest has so far been paid.

In their accounts to 31 March 1978 British Shipbuilders showed loans to subsidiaries of £50·8 million. Details of these loans are given in the individual subsidiaries' accounts.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry whether questionnaires completed for the Business Statistics Office are checked against value-added tax returns.

The Business Statistics Office does not have access to value added tax returns. Under section 55 of the 1973 Finance Act, it receives limited information derived from the administration of value added tax to compile registers for statistical inquiries. This information—essentially name and address, legal status, trade classification and turnover—has enabled the Business Statistics Office to extend the use of sampling and to reduce substantially the form-filling burden on small firms. No figures of turnover are passed to Her Majesty's Cus- toms toms and Excise for use in the administration of value added tax.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he is satisfied that the present regulations protecting wild birds in the United Kingdom are adequate; and what proposals have been made by member countries of the European Economic Community to harmonise these regulations.

In the main, yes. The European Economic Community recently adopted a directive on bird conservation which requires Community members to introduce within two years legislation on bird protection and conservation to a standard in most respects the same as our present Protection of Birds Acts. There are one or two new controls needed in this country as a result, notably in reducing the number of birds which may be sold having been shot, and the Government intend to introduce an amending Bill in the next Session. As it is 25 years since the present Act was passed it seems sensible to review all aspects of its working and this review is taking place. The hon. Member may be reassured to know that the directive does not in any way weaken present controls and allows a member State to go beyond its provisions for conservation reasons.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will bring forward legislation to regulate the emptying of cesspits and septic tanks.

Proposals for changes in the responsibility for the provision of sewage disposal services for properties without main drainage were set out in the White Paper "The Water Industry In England and Wales: the Next Steps"—Cmnd. 6876. Legislation on this question will be introduced as soon as practicable.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received regarding the publication of the review of the Rent Acts.

Seven of those who responded to the consultation paper have since written to inquire about the outcome of the review. The matter is also raised from time to time in general correspondence about the Rent Acts. Six hon. Members have tabled questions on the subject since the beginning of 1978.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how much money is contributed annually by rate payers of other London boroughs under the rate equalisation scheme to the London borough of Southwark.

There are three rate equalisation schemes which form part of the rate support grant arrangements for London. Under these schemes, Southwark will benefit in 1979–80 by £2,775,000, which is the balance between receipts of £3,102,000 from the central London boroughs and a contribution of £347,000 to the outer London boroughs.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set up an inquiry committee to look into the current disparities between inner and outer London boroughs and to seek a much fairer distribution of rate support grant and supplementary grants throughout London.

Arrangements already exist for considering issues affecting the distribution of rate support grant within London through the London working party, which includes officials of my Department and of the London Boroughs Association and the GLC. Transport supplementary grant is paid to the GLC and it is for that body to decide how to apply the grant.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he last met the chairman of the Building Societies Association.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on Wednesday 31 January 1979. [Vol. 961, c. 435.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to introduce legislation to amend the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972, so far as they affect the remuneration of members of local authorities.

Legislation on councillors' remuneration will be introduced only after full consultations with the local authority associations and other interested bodies.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what effect the proposed inner ring road will have on the Government's inner area policy in Liver pool.

The highway strategy of the Liverpool partnership programme, which included construction of an inner ring road, seeks to help industry and commerce, improve the environment and reduce accidents.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has any immediate plans to meet the chair man of the British Waterways Board.

No. I am ready to meet Sir Frank Price whenever it would be helpful to do so.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will make a statement on the progress of the private house building programme.

In 1978 there were 157,000 starts and 148,700 completions in the private housebuilding sector. These figures are respectively 16 per cent. and 6 per cent. higher than in 1977.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to meet trade union leaders concerning local government matters.

I have frequent meetings with trade union leaders concerning a variety of local government matters. In addition, I have at least two meetings at important points of the rate support grant year with the TUC local government committee.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he is taking to improve safety provision and facilities generally at football grounds; and if he will make a statement.

I am pleased to inform my hon. Friend that under the Safety of Sports Grounds Act 1975, the administration of which is the responsibility of my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for the Home Department and for Scotland, safety certificates have been issued by local authorities in respect of 27 football grounds in England and Wales and 12 in Scotland. Advice to local authorities and football clubs on crowd safety is given in an HMSO publication entitled "Guide to Safety of Sports Grounds", a copy of which is in the Library. Included in this advice is

£ million
						Planned expenditure (1)	Planned expenditure plus announced changes (2)	Estimated outturn (3)	Column (3) less column (2)
1977–78	…	…	…	…	…	14,589	14,702	14,344	−354
1978–79	…	…	…	…	…	14,689	14,823	14,654	−169

More recent evidence on spending during 1978–79 suggests that the outturn may be £100 million to £150 million below the level shown in column (3).

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what further measures he proposes to ensure that Telford New Town achieves its population growth targets.

Telford's population growth is intended to be employment-led. In the light of the decline of some traditional industries and the current employment position in Telford, and following representations by my hon. Friend and the development corporation, the Govern-

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the total sum underspent by local authorities in 1977–78; and what is the best estimate he can form of probable under or over spending in 1978–79.

The following table compares the original public expenditure plans for current and capital expenditure by local authorities in England and Wales and the estimates of outturn incorporated in the latest public expenditure White Paper—Cmnd. 7439.ment have extended Telford's catchment area for industry to cover firms in nearly the whole of the West Midands region. We hope that this will help to provide the necessary jobs, but we shall continue to watch the position.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement about an unidentified continuous noise recorded in several parts of the country, including Bristol, having a frequency of 40 Hz.

There is no evidence of a particular low frequency noise which is present throughout the country. There is evidence that in some cases where complaints about noise have been made, a low frequency tone is present. I am awaiting with interest the results of the research at Chelsea College, London, into case histories of complaints about low frequency noise.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the Government's policy over the terms and conditions of employment for local authority manual workers.

I refer the hon. Member to my reply earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Keighley (Mr. Cryer).

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment in what ways his proposals for change in local government organisation have been modified as a result of his consultations on the White Paper on organic change.

The consultations are still in progress. Interested parties have been invited to contribute their views by 31 March on certain issues raised in the White Paper. The Government will then formulate their final proposals, taking account of the comments they have received.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he is satisfied that Ordnance Survey maps of the countryside are sufficiently accurate in their portrayal of bridleways and foot paths and the distinction between the two.

I am not aware of any general dissatisfaction about these matters in relation to the latest series of Ordnance Survey maps but we shall be happy to consider any representations which the hon. Member may make to us.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what independent studies he is currently considering regarding the further expansion of Gatwick airport.

None. A public inquiry will be held into the British Airports Authority's application for permission to develop a second terminal at Gatwick airport. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and I will issue a statement of the matters that appear to us to be relevant. It will then be for the parties concerned to produce evidence on these, and any other matters which are shown to be relevant, for examination at the inquiry.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his policy regarding the holding of public inquiries into any planning proposals for substantial extensions of facilities relating to production, enrichment or processing of nuclear fuels and fissile materials.

Where such projects require planning permission it will normally be desirable, if they involve signficant new technology, for there to be a public inquiry.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when the hon. Member for Chertsey and Walton may expect an answer to his letter of 4 January concerning aerosol sprays.

I have written to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the grant allocation for urban renewal in the inner urban areas of the West Midlands since 1974.

Since 1974 about £26 million has been approved for expenditure on new projects under the urban programme in the West Midlands.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many official British delegations have visited the Cologne sports institute since June 1978; what has been the cost to his Department; and what future visits are planned.

I am not aware of any visits to the Cologne sports institute by official British delegations since I paid my brief visit there in August 1978, the cost of which was minimal as I was already in Germany for other reasons.However, I understand that my suggestion for an interchange of ideas and information with experts at the institute will soon be followed up by a visit from a small team of physiologists, physical education specialists and sports administrators.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he plans to discuss the proposals contained in circular 16/78 with those organisations responsible for the selection and preparation of national sports teams.

I believe that the successful implementation of the suggestions contained in this circular rests mainly with those concerned at local level, but I shall take an early opportunity to ask regional sports councils to review progress and to inform me of developments.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the members, together with their qualifications, of the British delegation to the Council of Europe's Committee for the Development of Sport; and if it is his intention to increase the number of the delegation.

The United Kingdom delegation to the annual meetings of the Council of Europe's Committee for the Development of Sport comprises: the director of the Sports Council and the chief executive director of each of the sports councils for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; the general secretary of the Central Council of Physical Recreation; Sir Walter Winterbottom—my personal representative—and an official from my Department. I have no proposals to increase the number of delegates.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what discussions with the governing bodies of sport of sport and school sports associations before the publication of circular 16/78.

No direct discussions with the governing bodies of sport took place before this circular was published. The circular reports a series of suggestions put by a small specialist group to my working party on centres of excellence. On this working party the Central Council of Physical Recreation represents the governing bodies of sport and other associations, and the Sports Council is also represented. Members of the working party should be aware of this circular's proposals and of the considerations leading to its conclusions.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the number of council houses sold in the county of Derbyshire in each of the years since 1972, indicating what percentage this was of the county's total housing stock.

The following table shows the number of council house sales reported by local housing authorities in the county of Derbyshire in each year between 1972 and 1978, and the percentages of those authorities' total housing stock which the sales represented. The figures exclude dwellings built expressly for sale or for equity sharing, and those for 1978 are provisional.

	Number of sales	Sales as a percentage of housing stock
1972	548	0·67
1973	556	0·66
1974	31	0·04
1975	10	0·01
1976	26	0·03
1977	297	0·32
1978	523	0·56

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if, further to the answer given to the hon. Member for Bristol, North-East about Clorius heat measurement meters on 23 January, he will now make an additional statement on the testing of these meters for accuracy.

I am not able at this stage to add to the reply I gave the hon Member on 23 January 1979. I have had a number of representations about the operation of Clorius meters and the Building Research Establishment has instituted a monitoring exercise on the performance of the metetrs in occupied dwellings. I shall write to the hon. Member when I am able to supply information on the tests now being carried out.—[Vol. 961; c. 99].

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish in the Official Report the letter which the Minister of State sent to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Perry Barr, dated 6 February 1979, following the debate on the Consolidated Fund Bill, Official Report, 12 December 1978.

Yes. The text of the letter is as follows:

I promised to write about the points you raised in the lead debate on 12 December which there was not time to cover in my reply.

I think there are five main headings: the Gravelly Hill study; the total amounts of lead in vehicle emissions; the Warren Spring multi-element survey; privately financed Harwell research; and the Harwell study of lead from motor vehicles.

Your points about the Membership of the Lawther Working Party and about the report to DHSS on recent evidence on lead and child health by doctors at Great Ormond Street are for the Secretary of State for Health and Social Services, and I have drawn his attention to them.

You have criticised the survey techniques used in the Gravelly Hill study. It is true that the response was much better in Sutton Coldfield than in the more central areas. The report is entirely frank about this and about the reservations there must be about the results obtained for the inner city children. One of the central conclusions of the report, set out in paragraph 107 is that "a problem [of relatively high blood lead levels amongst pre-school children in the inner zone] exists; its scale will not be known until we have more data". As you know the Working Party which is following up the report is setting in hand further surveys.

The reason the response in the inner areas was poor was that it is difficult to get the people who live there to take their children in surveys of this kind to a hospital—any hospital—to give a blood sample. The report details the considerable efforts that the team made to publicise the survey, to offer transport and visit people to persuade them to take part. Good Hope hospital was used because it was the one made available by the health authority. In retrospect, it would have been better, and again the report says this, if one of the more central hospitals had been used; but it is a matter of opinion whether it would have made all that much difference. In the further surveys it is planned to take samples in people's homes, although this procedure does create problems of possible contamination of blood samples which the earlier survey wanted to avoid by taking them in the hospital.

Turning to the total amount of atmospheric lead from vehicle emissions, the reduction in the permitted lead level to 0·40 m/1 in January 1981 will keep the amount used in petrol below the 1971 level of 10,000 tonnes per year—at least until 1985, on the basis of current forecasts of growth in traffic. This is in line with the Government's present policy of containing total lead emissions. As I said in the House, the Government has in hand a detailed study of the options for further reduction, including going down to the German level, or taking lead out altogether.

The Warren Spring "multi-element" survey was designed to measure general background levels at a variety of urban sites, rather than specifically kerbside exposure. People do, of course, frequently live and work in buildings at the heights you quoted. One of the problems with siting monitors lower down is that they are very frequently vandalised. However, Warren Spring are carrying out a separate study of kerbside concentrations. The results will be available in due course, in the usual way, and I will see that you receive a copy.

The UK industrial midlands report you referred to was a laboratory draft report on a study of the concentrations of metals in the atmosphere at several Midlands factory sites. I have asked Warren Spring to issue the report, and it should be available shortly.

You also asked about the Harwell studies commissioned by industry and referred to in a Parliamentary Reply on 30 November 1978. Whether such studies are published is a matter for the companies concerned, to whom the reports belong, and for Harwell. However, I gather that one of the studies will be available from Harwell in a week or so: this is the study I referred to in my reply on 24 January to your question and is of lead pollution in West London. (The sponsors, Associated Octel have already sent copies to the local authority and to those involved in the current legal action against them and the oil companies.) I understand that the other study you asked about has been submitted to "Nature" for publication.

I am glad that you now accept that it was always the intention that the Harwell report on lead from motor vehicles should be published. I would only add that there was no reason for academic colleagues to conclude that the work was secret: I understand that Dr. Chamberlain told them that he would prefer that the findings should not be discussed, except with those whose work was quoted in the report, until it was published and freely available.

The point you referred to about the assumptions in the report on lead intake from food, on the rate of gastro-intestinal absorption, and on average air intake have been taken up by Dr. Chamberlain in his reply to Dr. Bryce-Smith in the "New Scientist" of 21 December. The correspondence is continuing. The report is among the evidence being assessed by Professor Lawther's working party.

I hope I have covered in this letter and in my reply to the debate the points you have raised. Let me know if there are any others.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what lengths of the canal system in the West Midlands will be closed to navigation during the summer.

The following sections will remain closed: Tardebigge and Kings Norton (Wast Hill) Tunnels on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal, Netherton Tunnel on the Birmingham Canal Navigations and Braunston Tunnel on the Grand Union Canal.In addition, the following sections are likely to remain closed for at least part of the summer: Tyrley Cutting on the Shropshire Union Canal, Evitts Valley Embankment at Solihull on the Grand Union Canal and the terminal length of the Coventry Arm on the Coventry Canal.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received calling for the repeal of the Community Land Act.

Mainly from Tory Members. There are also those who share my view that this is a valuable measure which is making a useful contribution to the supply of development land.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will announce the grant to the Sports Council for 1979–80 and give the percentage increase over the 1978–79 base figure.

I have told the Sports Council that subject to Parliamentary approval its grant in aid in 1979–80 will be £15·4 million, an increase over the previous year of 26 per cent.

asked the Prime Minister if he will make a statement outlining the co-ordination for policy with respect to the lead content of petrol referred to in his answer, Official Report, 13 November 1978, column 126.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trans- port is responsible for regulating the lead content of petrol. In carrying out this function he acts in close consultation with other Ministers concerned, in particular with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment, who has the general responsibility for co-ordinating action on all aspects of lead and other pollution, and with my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Social Services and for Energy.

asked the Prime Minister if he is satisfied with arrangements for the security of documents and vetting of personnel at the Treasury and the Department of Industry.

Yes.

asked the Prime Minister if he or any Minister authorised the publication of the Wass memorandum concerning Government aid to industry; and if he will make a statement.

No. An inquiry has already been set up into the circumstances in which this document was made available for publication.

asked the Prime Minister if he will set up an inquiry into the publication in the press of the Wass memorandum concerning Government aid to industry; and if he will instruct those conducting the inquiry to invite the editor of The Guardian and The Guardian journalist, Jane McLoughlin, to give evidence.

An inquiry has been set up under the direction of an independent investigator who will be free to pursue his inquiries wherever he thinks it useful.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will summarise the loan facilities available to farmers from Government sources for the purpose of purchasing machinery and improving buildings.

The Government support the Agricultural Mortgage Corporation and the Scottish Agricultural Securities Corporation which makes loans for agricultural purposes in Great Britain, including the purchase of machinery and the improvement of buildings, and the Agricultural Credit Corporation which gurantees bank loans to farmers, growers and agricultural cooperatives in the United Kingdom for machinery, equipment and working capital. Certain Government loan facilities for the purposes named are available in Scotland and Northern Ireland. In addition, interest incurred on borrowing for business purposes is allowable for income tax relief.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is satisfied that there are no Government-induced impediments to farmers preventing access to loan capital; and if he will make a statement.

Yes. It remains the Government's policy, recently re-stated in the White Paper "Farming and the Nation"—Cmnd. 7458—that farmers, together with other industrial borrowers and exporters, will retain priority in bank lending, and that Government loan facilities for the industry and support for outside sources of loan capital will be maintained.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will estimate the effect of high interest rates in 1979 on the investment plans of the farming community.

No. It would be very difficult to provide any useful estimate. Apart from the uncertainty of how interest rates will move in 1979, this is only one of several factors which influence the investment plans of farmers.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) on what date he sent a report on a survey of horse sales carried out by the State veterinary service to local authorities; and whether he will make this available, on application, to members of the public;(2) whether he will place in the Library a copy of the report of the State veterinary service on facilities at premises where horses are sold, and the practices which take place; and whether he is yet able to announce his decision on the report.

The report has not yet been sent to local authorities. Some individual local authorities were, however, informed of shortcomings that were noted in the course of the survey at horse sales within their areas.A copy of the report will be placed in the Library of the House within the next few days at the same time as it is put before my right hon. Friends the Minister, and the Secretary of State for Scotland, and my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Wales. A further statement will be made when they have considered the results of the survey.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will announce the annual price review increases for lamb, wool and potatoes; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend expects to make an announcement shortly on the sheep and wool guarantees. On potatoes, I have nothing to add to the reply given by my right hon. Friend on 15 February to my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham, North (Mr. Whitlock).—[Vol. 962, c. 609.]

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the outcome of the Council of Ministers (Agriculture) meeting in Brussels on 5–6 March.

I refer my hon. Friend to the statement I made earlier today.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what recent contacts he has had with the Ford Motor Company in the United Kingdom to discuss motor vehicle purchases by Her Majesty's Government in respect of cars produced by Ford; and if he will explain latest official Government policy in connection with such ordering and purchases.

My right hon. Friend has had no contact with the Ford Motor Company to discuss vehicles purchases. It continues to be Government policy to buy the most cost-effective vehicles that meet the required specification.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why correspondence lodged by the hon. Member for Falmouth and Camborne on 12 December 1978, at the request of Mr R. Hempsall of Illogan, is still unanswered; and if he will explain the reasons for the delay.

A reply was sent on 28 February.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the present whereabouts of Mr. Bouaziz Nasri, following the reply of the Under-Secretary of State to the Adjournment debate on 26 April 1978.

Mr. Bouaziz embarked from the United Kingdom on 5 September 1978. I have no knowledge of his present whereabouts.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will publish in the Official Report as much detailed information as may be available for the longest and most convenient stated period of time where charges and allegations have been made against metropolitan police where criminal and disciplinary charges have been preferred and the time that was taken in each instance to commence and complete these cases.

The report of the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis for 1977, page 19, gives information about the action taken on complaints and discipline cases during that year. I regret that information about the time taken in each completed case is not readily available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions and for what purpose the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was allowed to enter and stay in Great Britain whilst other persons from the Asian subcontinent with the same or similar rights and qualifications were barred from entry; and whether he will make a statement.

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi has been allowed to enter the United Kingdom from time to time in accordance with the immigration rules. I am not aware that others in the same circumstances have been refused entry.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the cost to the Exchequer of giving to retirement pensioners tax relief on the first £300 unearned income.

The cost of exempting from income tax the first £300 of investment income for retirement pensioners, including all those receiving national insurance or occupational pensions and all widowed pensioners, would be about £280 million in 1978–79.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will give the actual or estimated revenue received per day, or on a Friday, at the British sea and airports of entry from imported taxable and duty-chargeable items; and what sums were received on Friday 23 February.

Because of industrial action the information requested is not at present available. I will write to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why VAT is chargeable on the repair and restoration of buildings, but not on new building; and whether he will give consideration to relieving from VAT work of preservation, especially of old and historic buildings.

VAT is charged at the standard rate of 8 per cent. on repair and maintenance work partly for revenue reasons and partly because of the difficulties of distinguishing essential repairs from the more discretionary type of expenditure on redecoration and other routine renewals. Relief across the board in this area could cost up to £125 million in a full year. I have noted my hon. Friend's suggestion for relieving historic building repairs, but she will be aware of the considerable assistance which is already given in the for mof historic building grants.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will estimate the amount of value added tax paid by the average family on (a) half average earnings, (b) average earnings and (c) twice average earnings.

, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 5 March 1979; Vol. 963, c. 563], gave the following information:Analyses of the incidence of indirect taxes and social benefits are made annually and published in "Economic Trends" of which copies are available in the Library. The analysis for 1979 was published in January 1979. It is estimated that the amount of VAT paid in 1977 by an average household with earnings and additional benefits of about £2,340, £4,680 and £9,360 per year was about £65, £130 and £230 respectively.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many schedule D and schedule E taxpayers, as a proportion of the total number in each category, have been subjected to in-depth investigations by the Inland Revenue in the last year for which figures are available.

During the year 1978 approximately 50,000 investigations into the accounts of schedule D taxpayers were completed—about 2·7 per cent. of the total.Approximately 130,000 other tax investigations were made. Most of those concerned schedule E taxpayers—about 0·5 per cent. of the total.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action he intends to take in the light of the fiscal and tax recommendations made by the Council for Applied Research and Development in its report "Industrial Innovation".

The recommendations in the report are being carefully considered.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action he plans to take to promote the idea of the European Export Board to be established in the Economic Community companies during and insurance cover for European Economic Community companies during contracts in third countries; and if he will press for this board to be set up in London.

I understand that the Commission has recently been pressing on with the further studies on its proposals to set up a European export bank which was requested by the European Parliament in May 1977. The Commission hopes to report shortly. It would be premature to prejudge the outcome of these further studies which we have always argued were necessary before the proposals could be properly evaluated.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with regard to the provisions of the Finance Act 1975, schedule 5, paragraph 14, relating to special rates of capital transfer tax, applicable to certain trusts if varied before 31 March 1979, if the Government are prepared to extend the time limit on account of the inability of certain trusts to proceed for variation in March, due to industrial action by the clerks of council.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what contribution was made by invisible earnings in general, and tourism in particular, to the United Kingdom balance of payments for 1978; and what are his respective forecasts for these earnings in 1979.

, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 5 March 1979; Vol. 963, c. 561], gave the following information:In 1978, credits on all "invisible" balance of payments transactions were £17,720 million including expenditure in the United Kingdom by visitors from overseas which is estimated to have been £2,302 million; figures for tourism separately from those for travel for other purposes are not available. Total current account credits were £53,152 million. Debits on "invisible" transactions were £16,291 million including expenditure by United Kingdom residents on visits to other countries which is estimated to have been £1,445 million. Total current account debits were £52,898 million. The balances on these items were: invisibles £+1,429 million, travel £ +857 million, current account £+254 million.It is not customary to publish details of forecasts of the balance of payments.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will take steps to increase the Scottish special islands agricultural grant to keep pace with inflation and put it back on fertilisers.

My right hon. Friend has no plans at present to make any changes in the rate of grant or the method of distribution.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is yet in a position to announce the results of the Scottish Education Department survey on organisation and staffing of primary schools, as outlined in the Houghton report (1974), which was to provide a basis for a review of the promoted post structure in primary schools, particularly in view of his letter of April 1978 to the Educational Institute of Scotland in which he indicated that the analysis of data was to be completed in the near future.

The analysis of the data derived from the survey has been completed and arrangements are being made for a report to be issued later this month.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland, in view of the industrial action by the clerks of court, if summonses for action are being signatured in the Court of Session; and if writs for civil actions in the sheriff courts are being issued and started.

The Deputy Keeper of the Signet has made arrangements for summonses to be signeted in the Court of Session where the business involved is considered to be of an urgent nature. In most sheriff courts writs for civil actions are not being issued but in others applications are being handled as required.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection if he will now publish the firework injury statistics for 1978; and if he will make a statement.

Statistics are now available relating to persons who received treatment in hospitals in England, Scotland and Wales for injuries caused by fireworks during the period 14 October to 11 November 1978 and I will, with permission, circulate them in the Official Report, together with the figures for comparable periods in the five preceding years.They show that there was an overall increase of 30 per cent. in firework injuries treated by hospitals in 1978 compared with the previous year. The largest increase was attributable to incidents in the street (36 per cent.). The increases for family firework parties and for public or semi-public parties were 32 per cent. and 21 per cent. respectively.

FIREWORK INJURIES IN ENGLAND AND WALES (4-WEEK PERIOD IN OCTOBER-NOVEMBER)
		1978	1977	1976	1975	1974	1973
Total		912	709	663	728	883	1,186
Place of accident
1.	Family or private party	345	272	273	215	267	385
2.	Public or semi-public party	164	138	161	144	137	153
3.	Casual incident in street etc.	336	248	154	203	272	422
4.	Other place	49	38	51	65	89	119
5.	Unspecified place		13	24	101	118	107
6.	Indoors (a)	18	—	—	—	—	—
Type of firework
1.	Banger	210	174	153	196	228	356
2.	Rocket	111	82	85	83	70	118
3.	Roman candle, coloured fire etc. (b)	153	111	89	117	151	280
4.	Home-made or extracted powder	39	18	17	24	29	38
5.	Other proprietary fireworks	103	90	119	107	154	137
	of which:
	5.1 Jumping cracker (c)	—	—	—	26	42	58
	5.2 Other flyabout (d)	—	14	14	25	52	W
	5.3 Sparklers	70	65	W	W	W	W
6.	Unspecified type	226	234	200	201	251	257
Severity of injury
1.	Fatal injury	—	1	—	—	—	—
2.	Detained more than one night	62	65	47	43	70	80
3.	Sufficient to cause absence from work or equivalent	117	88	112	93	121	178
4.	Minor injury	694	523	473	572	654	892
5.	Unspecified injury	39	32	31	20	38	36
Age group of injured persons
	Over 21	161	141	126	114	131	195
	16–20	68	38	47	50	58	74
	13–16	216	185	143	152	184	248
	Under 13	467	345	347	412	510	669
	Eye injuries	350	268	300	313	372	448
Notes:
(a) Included in other place prior to 1978.
(b) Previously listed as "display fireworks".
(c) Jumping crackers were not sold from 1976.
(d) Included in other proprietary fireworks from 1978.
(e) Included in other proprietary fireworks prior to 1978.
W Not separately available.