asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will ask the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis to ensure that all statements made by the police within his force to the mass media must be personally attributable to the officer taking the statement and that a signed copy should be made available for inspection by his Department and hon. Members.

Neither the Commissioner nor I see any case for an arrangement of this kind.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, in view of the large number of police officers convicted of bribery and corruption in connection with the ex-Commander Drury case, he is now able to give an assurance, that, following its reconstitution, the obscene publications squad of the Metropolitan Police is conducting its duties in a fully satisfactory manner.

This is a matter for the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, in whom I have every confidence.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultations he had with the Police Federation before the destruction of the registration documents held by local taxation offices in respect of vehicles which have not been re-registered for more than 12 months was authorised.

None, but I have explained in correspondence with the secretary of the Federation the reasons for the decision.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what representations were made to him by the traffic and crime committees of the Association of Chief Police Officers about the Government's proposal to destroy all non-computerised records of vehicles that have not been re-registered for 12 months;(2) why, in view of police advice that the disappearance of vehicle registration records would make it more difficult to trace vehicles used in connection with crime, he agreed to proposals by the Director General of Licensing that all non-computerised records prepared at local taxation offices should be destroyed.

This matter has been discussed with the Association of Chief Police Officers which has already accepted the disposal of some non-computerised vehicle records. The association is making further representations about the remainder which will be considered at a meeting between the association, my Department and the Department of Transport.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many reviews of registered charities have now been completed under the Charities Act 1960; and what has been the cost of the review process to date.

The Charity Commissioners inform me that no record is kept of the total number of inquiries into the affairs of registered charities. The total cost of inquiries that have been conducted under the Charities Act 1960, based on the number and grades of staff employed on this work, is approximately £200,000.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the number of Charity Commissioners now operating United Kingdom charity law; and how many years in this post each has spent.

The jurisdiction of the Charity Commissioners extends only to England and Wales. There are at present three commissioners, who have served for 6½ years, 4½ years and 3½ years.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the total staffing of the Charity Commission offices; how many are employed in each regional office now and in each of the past nine years; and what was the total cost of the Charity Commission in each of the past five years.

There are at present 350 staff employed at the Charity Commission, of whom 232 are in the London office and 118 in the Liverpool office. The number of staff employed as at 1 April in each of the past nine years was as follows:

	Total	London	Liverpool
1970	315	253	62
1971	318	219	99
1972	318	223	95
1973	356	251	105
1974	359	251	108
1975	359	238	121
1976	359	238	121
1977	348	229	119
1978	348	230	118

The approximatae cost of running the charity Commission, exclusive of the cost of accommodation, to 31 March in each of the past five years was as follows:

1974–75	£1,096,000
1975–76	£1,467,000
1976–77	£1,531,000
1977–78	£1,630,000
1978–79	£1,740,000

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to transfer Brian Roger Nordon, of Kenilworth, from prison to an appropriate special hospital or mental institution, in the light of the comments of the trial judge and three leading psychiatrists that that would be the proper course.

I have sought the assistance of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Services in finding a place for Mr. Nordon in an appropriate hospital.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the estimated cost of repairing the damage recently done to the roof of the main building at Parkhurst prison; what steps he is taking to prevent a recurrence of this incident; and whether he will make a statement.

At about 9 p.m. on 22 March five prisoners at Parkhurst prison broke into the roof space from within D hall, and from there broke through on to the roof. They remained there, causing extensive damage to skylights, slates and coping stones, until they came down voluntarily at 11.25 a.m. on 24 March. It is proivsionally estimated that the cost of repairing the roof will be in the order of £50,000. We are considering as a matter of urgency suitable measures to impede prisoners gaining access to the Parkhurst roofs in this way.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he is taking in the interests of the 389 persons serving sentences in prison department establishments who are considered by prison medical officers to be suffering from mental disorders of a nature or degree warranting their detention in hospital for medical treatment under the Mental Health Act 1959.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to a question by my hon. Friend the Member for Ormskirk (Mr. Kilroy-Silk) on 12 February.—[Vol. 962, c. 378–9.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is satisfied that electoral registration officers have sufficient powers under regulation 24 of the Representation of the People Regulations 1974 to ensure that electoral registers are compiled on a comparable basis throughout the United Kingdom; whether they are making use of these powers; and if he will make a statement.

I believe that the powers available to electoral registration officers are adequate.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many circulars his Department has issued to local authorities (a) in England and (b) in England and Wales in each year since 1974; and how many issued instructions increasing the statutory duties of local authorities.

Apart from circulars relating exclusively to police, fire and other specialised services, the number of circulars addressed to the chief executives of local authorities, in the normally accepted sense, by the Home Office during each year since 1974 is as follows:

	England	England and Wales
1975	12	44
1976	19	39
1977	20	53
1978	22	50
1979 (to date)	7	13

I regret that an answer to the second part of the question could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Newham, North-West, whether he will give the reasons why he will not answer questions as to whether or what information the police have in written or computer records of Members of Parliament.

I refer my hon. Friend to what I said in reply to questions by my hon. Friends the Members for Lewisham, West (Mr. Price), Bethnal Green and Bow (Mr. Mikardo), Paddington (Mr. Latham), and Stockport, North (Mr. Bennett) on 29 March.—[Vol. 965, c. 607.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, in view of the fact that 7 June has now been fixed as the date of the European Assembly elections, he will publish a list of the dates which apply to the principal stages of these elections as set out in the European Assembly Elections Regulations and the European Assembly Elections (Northern Ireland) Regulations 1979.

The information requested is as follows:

• Publication of notice of election—Not later than Wednesday 2 May.
• Delivery of nomination papers and delivery of withdrawals of candidature—Not later than Saturday 12 May—between 10 a.m. and noon.
• Application for absent voting facilities—Not later than Friday 18 May.
• Polling—Thursday 7 June between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many maintenance cases were dealt with by the courts in each of the past three years; and what was the estimated total cost in each year.

I have been asked to reply.Figures are not yet available for 1978. The numbers of divorce cases in which orders for ancillary relief were made in 1975, 1976 ad 1977 were, respectively, 46,766; 58,545; and 64,817. Details of maintenance proceedings in magistrates' courts in the years 1964–77 are set out at page 120 of the judicial statistics for the year 1977, Cmnd. 7254. No separate estimate is made of the cost of dealing with such cases in courts.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were prosecuted in 1977 and 1978 for offences connected with offshore pirate radio stations under the Marine Offences Act; and what sentences were imposed.

During 1977, five people were prosecuted for offences under the Marine etc., Broadcasting (Offences) Act 1967. Three were convicted and fined sums ranging from £125 to £200. The case in which the other two are involved is not yet concluded. There were no prosecutions for offences under this Act in 1978.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions, successful or unsuccessful, were instituted in 1977 and 1978 for illegal radio transmissions; how many of these illegal transmissions occurred in each waveband; and how many prosecutions resulted in fines or imprisonment.

During 1977 and 1978, 112 persons were dealt with by the courts after being charged with offences under the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949 in respect of unlicensed radio transmissions. A total of 108 persons were convicted, of whom 96 were fined and three received suspended sentences of imprisonment. The illicit transmissions occurred in the following wavebands:

Broadcasting bands	36
Amateur radio bands	32
Private mobile radio band	22
Marine radio band	9
Model control/radio paging band	7
Other	2
TOTAL	108

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what monitoring arrangements are in force to detect pirate radio stations either onshore or offshore; and if he will make a statement.

Monitoring and detection of illicit radio stations onshore is carried out by the Post Office radio interference service, acting as agents of the Home Office. Arrangements for monitoring the transmissions of offshore illicit radio stations are made by the Home Office itself, but no such transmissions have been detected for some months.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he proposes to take any action in respect of pirate radio stations operating on any or all of the following frequencies: 217m/1386 khz—Radio Army 10.00 hours to 16.00 hours—221m/1369 khz—North London radio 11.00 hours to 18.00 hours—222m/1350 khz—Weekend Music radio—227m/1332 khz—Radio Jackie 09.00 hours to 17.00 hours—230m/1311 khz—Radio Celebration 11.00 hours to 15.00 hours—235m/1278 khz—Edge City 12.00 hours to 15.00 hours, and 238m/1251 khz—Radio City 12.00 hours to 16.00 hours; and if he will make a statement.

The activities of these and similar pirate radio stations constitute offences under the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949, and are investigated by the Post Office radio interference service, acting as agents of the Home Office. Prosecution proceedings have been taken against the operators of two of the stations mentioned.

asked the Lord Advocate what references to procurators fiscal or the Crown Office there have been about the activities of the sect known as the "Children of God."

No reports about the activities of the sect known as the "Children of God" have been made to the Crown Office or to procurators fiscal.

asked the Prime Minister if he will now issue a circular to all civil servants of under-secretary rank and upwards stating that their entry into industry on retirement will not be approved until a period of two years has elapsed following retirement.

I have no plans to do so. The rules on the acceptance of business appointments by senior civil servants after retirement or resignation were reviewed in 1975 and the Government will continue to watch how they are working.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what will be the outcome for textile tariffs, comparing possible levels in the United States of America with those proposed for Europe if the present proposals in the Tokyo round are implemented; and if he will make a statement.

Under the present proposals, the EEC textile tariff against imports from the United States would be reduced by about a quarter on average, and the United States textile tariff against imports from the EEC would be reduced by a little under a third on average. The precise figures are confidential at this stage.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether, in view of the fact that a letter from the hon. Member for Melton to the Minister of State, Department of the Environment dated 19 March about the import of Canadian seal skins was passed to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, which in turn has passed it to his Department, he will now accept responsibility for answering it forthwith.

The hon. Member's letter reached my office on 26 March. I will send him a reply as soon as possible.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what is the latest estimate of the figure for a top salary, as defined by the Financial Secretary to the Treasury in the debate on the Finance Bill 1976, Official Report, 11 May 1976, c. 367–9, and the latest figure for the ratio between a man on average earnings and the man on a top salary.

TAX AS A PERCENTAGE OF INCOME BEFORE TAX
Groups of incomes				1952	1964	1970–71	1974–75
Top 1 per cent.	…	…	…	49½	41	44½	47
Next 9 per cent.	…	…	…	15	16½	22½	23½
Next 40 per cent.	…	…	…	5½	8½	15	17½
Lower 50 per cent.	…	…	…	1½	3½	6	8
Bottom 20 per cent.	…	…	…	0	0	0	1

Income is defined to include taxable income from all sources, less deductions such as mortgage interest allowable for income tax, together with non-taxable social security benefits, other current grants from public authorities and some items of income in kind—e.g. luncheon vouchers. Employers' national insurance contributions and the imputed rent of owner-occupiers are not included. The information about taxable income is derived from the Inland Revenue's survey of personal incomes. The income-receiving unit used in the distributions counts married couples as one. The average rates of tax for 1952, 1964 and 1970–71 include liability to surtax as well as to income tax.For 1952 and 1964 the tax rates current in the fiscal years 1952–53 and 1964–65 respectively have been applied to the income in the calendar year. The 1952 estimates are based upon a projection from the 1949–50 survey of incomes and are less reliable than the estimates for the other years.

As I stated in that debate, it is open to argument what figure one should choose as a top salary. The figure of £30,000 at that time was typical of top salaries. The gross income was 8·06 times average earnings, and net income for a married man with two children under 11 was 3·88 times average earnings. A comparable figure in 1978–79 would be about £40,000.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a table showing the average rate of tax on pretax income for the following quantile groups: top 1 per cent., next 9 per cent., next 40 per cent., lower 50 per cent., and bottom 20 per cent. in the years 1952, 1964, 1970, 1974 and 1978.

Information for 1978 is not available. The figures relating to 1952, 1964, 1970–71 and 1974–75 are given below.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the average family on the average wage last did not pay income tax; and how much the average family on the average wage pay in income tax in the current year, or the most recent year for which figures are available.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the cost in a full financial year if the maximum rate of income tax on (a) earned and (b) unearned income had been reduced to 70p, 65p, 60p, 55p and 50p in the pound.

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 8 March 1979; Vol. 963, c. 775], gave the following information:Income tax is charged on total taxable income regardless of the source, and there

are difficulties in distinguishing the proportion of tax relating to income from any one source. If it is assumed that earned income represents the bottom slice of taxable income, the estimated costs in a full year at 1978–79 income levels would be of the following order:

£ million
	Loss of Revenue
Maximum rate	Earned Income	Unearned Income
70p	50	55 to 195
65p	80	90 to 255
60p	120	125 to 310
55p	175	165 to 380
50p	250	200 to 430

The lower figures quoted for the loss of revenue on unearned income assume no reduction in the yield from the investment income surcharge. The information available does not readily produce an estimate of the amount of surcharge payable as a component of any particular marginal rate of tax. The higher figures quoted includes estimates of the investment income surcharge paid by all those affected by the reduction in the maximum rate of tax, including that paid on slices on income taxed at rates below the maximum rate.The true loss of revenue therefore lies between the lower and upper figures.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the general rules which apply to persons supplied with a company car apply to all and any person who has an untaxed car worth £12,800 per annum.

Yes.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the total sum of tax relief given to companies and businesses in respect of private cars.

The costs set against trading revenue in arriving at business profits for tax purposes include the running and other current costs of cars used wholly or partially for the purpose of the business, apportioned as necessary between business and other use. In addition, relief is due for capital expenditure on cars by business users, normally by way of annual writing-down allowance of 25 per cent. of the balance of unrelieved expenditure and subject to a maximum allowance in any year of £1,250 for any car.I regret that insufficient information is available centrally to make an estimate of the amount of these costs and reliefs.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of business cars are subject to leasing agreements under which the lease charge is fully deductible for tax purposes.

I regret that this information is not available centrally.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he proposes to take to ensure that pensioners and others who need to draw on savings in order to pay their bills and are prevented from so doing by industrial action by civil servants are not penalised.

The Government deeply regret any hardship, anxiety or inconvenience to savers resulting from delays in certain types of payments in National Savings securities because of industrial action by a few civil servants and accept that some recompense should be paid for this delay. The exact terms and arrangements are under consideration. Unfortunately, however, pending an end to the industrial action there is no longer any way of making exceptional payments of the types affected in cases of hardship. I very much hope that savers for whom delayed payments may pose serious problems will be able either to look to alternative sources of finance or to reach an accommodation with those concerned about the payment of any bills whose settlement relies on the receipt of delayed National Savings payments. I trust that requests for such assistance will receive a sympathetic hearing.

asked the Chancellor of of the Exchequer what is the taxation treatment in each of the EEC countries of the grants to farmers to change from milk to beef production.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will amend the legislation to avoid the taxation as income of EEC grants paid to farmers who change from milk to beef production.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the cost of corporation tax allowances at 1978 prices for 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977 and 1978.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the present value of luncheon vouchers was fixed for tax purposes; what has been the increase in the average cost of the items for which a luncheon voucher may be used since that time; and what representations he has

			1978	1979
			£	£
The Queen's Civil List	…	…	1,960,200	2,134,200
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother	…	…	175,000	200,000
HRH The Duke of Edinburgh	…	…	93,500	98,000
HRH The Princess Anne, Mrs. Mark Phillips	…	…	60,000	63,000
HRH The Prince Andrew	…	…	17,262	20,000
HRH The Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon	…	…	59,000	64,000
HRH Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester	…	…	30,000	30,000
HRH The Duke of Gloucester	…	…	39,000	57,000
HRH The Duke of Kent	…	…	60,000	75,000
HRH Princess Alexandra, Mrs. Angus Ogilvy	…	…	60,000	72,000
HRH Princess Alice, Countees of Athlone	…	…	6,500	8,000
Total	…	…	2,560,462	2,821,200
Refunded by HM The Queen	…	…	165,500	212,000
			2,394,962	2,609,200
Notes:
1. These figures combine the sums payable directly from the Consolidated Fund with the supplements provided by the Royal Trustees from the grant made to them in the Vote for economic and financial administration: Treasury—Class XIII, 4. With the exception of the allowance to HRH The Prince Andrew, all the increases are directly linked to increased expenses incurred in carrying out the Royal duties.
2. The figures for 1979 assume increases in salaries and wages in the current pay round of 5 per cent., with a minimum of £3·50 per week; they also include payment of the increase in London weighting which has been awarded with effect from 1 April 1978. The provisions are consistent with those for cash limits on central Government expenditure, which were announced by the Chief Secretary on 23 February 1979.
3. A sum of £20,000 a year is payable from the Consolidated Fund in respect of HRH The Prince Andrew from 19 February 1978 when he attained the age of 18. Her Majesty has made an order under section 4 of the Civil List Act 1952 limiting the amounts to be paid to him to £518 in 1978 and £1,000 in 1979; the balance will be accumulated by the Royal Trustees.
4. Her Majesty paid £165,500 into the Consolidated Fund in 1978 in respect of the payments made to the last four members of the Royal Family, whose expenses are met under section 3 of the Civil List Act 1972; a payment of £212,000 will be made similarly in 1979

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the increase in public expenditure at the lastest available date, expressed as a percentage in real terms over the comparable figure five years earlier.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the amounts payable to the Royal Family under the Civil List Acts in the calendar years 1978 and 1979.

The information is as follows:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the increase in the United Kingdom's gross national product at January of the current year, expressed as a percentage increase in real terms over January 1974.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the cost to public funds expressed as a cost per head of the population of membership of the European Economic Community (a) for the years 1973–74 to date, (b) for the years 1973–74 to date at constant 1973–74 prices; and what were the comparable estimates at the time of the United Kingdom's original entry for the same years and the comparable estimates

£ per head
			1973–74	1974–75	1975–76	1976–77	1977–78
At the present time—
current prices	…	…	1·71	-0·61	0·29	4·36	10·13
1973–74 prices	…	…	1·71	-0·49	0·19	2·40	4·98
At the time of original entry—
current prices	…	…	1·37	2·67	4·60	7·48	*
1973–74 prices	…	…	1·37	2·11	3·07	4·13	*
At the time of the referendum—
current prices	…	…	1·71	0·66	2·91	4·86	6·96
1973–74 prices	…	…	1·71	0·52	1·94	2·68	3·43
* Figures not available.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will estimate the manpower savings which would be made in (a) the Bank of England, (b) the Treasury and (c) any other Government Department if the United Kingdom's exchange controls were abolished.

, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 29 March 1979], gave the following information:A total of 24 staff is employed full time on exchange control in the Treasury; one in the Treasury Solicitor's Office; and 798 in the Bank of England. A small minority of these staff has duties which would need to be carried out if exchange control were abolished. Officers of HM Customs and Excise carry out some exchange control work alongside their

, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 23 March 1979; Vol. 964, c. 771], gave the following information:The precise information requested by the hon. Member is not available. However, the estimated costs per head of population of the United Kingdom's net contributions to the Communities' budget are shown in the following table, as at the present time, at the time of original entry and at the time of the referendum. These estimates have been derived by converting to current and 1973–74 prices the public expenditure figures published in Cmnd. nos. 5178, 5879 and 7439. The figures take no account of changes in the presentation of budgetary flows between estimate and outturn or the costs and benefits of Community membership not reflected in payments passing through the Communities' budget.other duties, but staff savings would be marginal. The Government do not intend to abolish exchange control.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, further to the Prime Minister's statement about figures for inflation on a quarterly basis, when next he proposes to issue such figures.

, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 29 March 1979], gave the following information:I assume the hon. Member is referring to the annualised three monthly rate of increase in the retail price index. This figure is not published as such but can be derived from the price index figures which are published monthly. The retail price index for March will be published on 12 April.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service whether customers wishing to purchase the catalogue of the Central Film Library may pay for it by transfer or in payment to the National Giro account held by the Central Office of Information.

Yes. Customers may pay by National Giro transfer or payment to the Central Office of Information National Giro account.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if, pursuant to his answer of 11 July 1978, Official Report, column 499, he will give the latest available figures for the British contribution to the provision of goods and services for the exploitation of North Sea oil and gasfields.

Final figures for the year 1978 have not yet been established: as soon as the information is available it will be announced to the House. Provisional indications are that the total value of orders for the United Kingdom continental shelf placed in 1978 was more than £1½ billion and the United Kingdom share is expected to be rather better than the 62 per cent, secured in 1977.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement about the recent meeting of the EEC Energy Council.

The European Community's Council of Ministers (Energy) met on 27 March. There was an extensive discussion of the Community's approach to energy policy and on the oil situation. The Council endorsed proposals by the French Presidency for a new approach which recognises that the main contribution to the achievement of common objectives in the energy sector must come from the national programmes of member States but that there may be areas where those programmes can advan- tageously be brought more into line with each other or where Community action would be useful to fill gaps between them. This is the approach which the Government have long been urging.The Council instructed an existing working group of officials to undertake an urgent study of the policy implications of the current world oil situation and agreed to meet again at an early date to consider the results of this work. The Commission was asked to prepare proposals for improving the Community's information on oil prices. I stressed that while statistical exercises were useful, the main need was for action to check speculation in oil prices. I had sought assurances from the chairmen of all the main oil companies operating in the United Kingdom that they would not divert supplies from the United Kingdom to the spot market.The Council agreed that it was for member States to decide the detailed measures needed to achieve the objective of reducing Community oil consumption in 1979 to 500 million tonnes. The Commission will, however, report what is being done and the next meeting of the Council will consider whether this is adequate.Further work was commissioned on the development of a Community policy for coal. Directives on energy labelling and schemes for Community finance totalling 150 million units of account over four to five years on demonstration projects in energy saving and alternative energies were approved. First selections of projects under these schemes were also approved. The Commission undertook in the next selection of projects to consider favourably a major British Gas Corporation project for a composite coal gasifier.There was no agreement on a proposal for Community support for hydrocarbon exploration off Greenland and for the arrangements for oil export licensing in an emergency because of the reservations of other member States.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what is the policy of the Government about the use of oil resources for the generation of other energy forms.

As the March 1978 White Paper on"The Challenge of North Sea Oil "—Cmnd. 7143—makes clear, the Government intend to channel a significant proportion of our oil resources into investment in energy. Better use of energy, and alternative sources to replace the oil when it begins to run out, will be essential. They can be secured by boosting energy investment, including research into renewable sources, and by conserving existing energy supplies.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what proportion of the total oil used annually in the United Kingdom is consumed by private motor vehicles.

Motor spirit delivered in 1977 for use in cars and motor cycles amounted to about 18 per cent. of total United Kingdom inland deliveries of all petroleum products. Separate figures for private motor vehicles are not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what help he is giving into nuclear magnetic resonance technology; and what action he is taking to ensure British companies exploit this research commercially worldwide.

Research into nuclear magnetic resonance technology is being supported at several universities in the United Kingdom from public funds and support is being given, through various Government agencies, to industrial companies which are exploiting the technology.The technology is being exploited commercially to make instruments for analysing the structure of complex chemicals, and it shows promise as a method of clinical diagnosis since, using it, it is possible to obtain images of the internal organs of the human body. None of the research is being supported from Department of Industry funds, but the Department is closely in touch with the situation and aid is available for projects which have commercial promise.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will list the contracts placed with China during his recent visit.

During my right hon. Friend's visit to China he signed an economic co-operation agreement covering trade of $14 billion. Within this framework detailed negotiations are now proceeding on a number of contracts.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what action he proposes to take to implement the 15 proposals on the financing of small firms as set out in Cmnd. 7503.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy for Lancaster to the hon. Member for Somerset, North (Mr. Dean) on 23 March 1979.—[Vol. 964, c. 797.]

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will make a statement on the grants to be given to regional promotional organisations in England in the forthcoming financial year.

I propose to make substantial increases to the English regional promotional organisations for the year 1979–80. The amounts are still to be finally agreed but will be within the following maxima:

	£
North of England Development Council	365,000
North West Industrial Development Association	265,000
Yorkshire & Humberside Development Association	68,000
Devon and Cornwall Development Bureau	45,000

The maxima quoted will be available provided that agreement is reached with the Department in each case on a number of matters now under discussion with the regional organisations concerned.I shall be seeking the agreement of the development organisations to the following objectives. In the case of the Northern region, where I have taken fully into account the recommendations of the Labour Party's document "Let's pull together for a better North", we want increased promotional effort designed to attract additional industry to areas hard hit by steel closures and the contraction in shipbuilding.In the case of the North-West, the whole of the addition to the grant above the figure for 1978–79 is to be devoted to a special campaign intended to attract new industry to the Merseyside special development area. For Yorkshire and Humberside, special attention in an increased promotional campaign is to be given to Hull and Grimsby. In the case of Devon and Cornwall, an additional promotional effort will be mounted, including special attention to the Falmouth special development area.I wish also to secure in each case a much closer working arrangement than hitherto between the regional promotional organisations and the Department of Industry, both centrally and with the Department's regional offices. One possibility I am exploring with them is the

				1974–75	1975–76	1976–77	1977–78	1978–79
Wales—
Approvals	…	…	…	16	8	12	4	12
Refusals	…	…	…	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil
Yorkshire and Humberside—
Approvals	…	…	…	157	122	149	139	112
Refusals	…	…	…	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil
East Midlands—
Approvals	…	…	…	128	109	166	170	124
Refusals	…	…	…	5	Nil	1	Nil	Nil
South-East—
Approvals	…	…	…	359	276	307	407	382
Refusals	…	…	…	32	8	5	8	5
South-West—
Approvals	…	…	…	93	61	60	89	82
Refusals	…	…	…	1	3	1	Nil	Nil
West Midlands—
Approvals	…	…	…	114	159	169	177	133
Refusals	…	…	…	10	4	Nil	Nil	Nil
North-West—
Approvals	…	…	…	160	126	145	148	166
Refusals	…	…	…	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil
Note: IDCs are not required in development areas or special development areas. These include the whole of the Northern region, most of Wales and parts of the South-West, North-West and Yorkshire and Humberside regions.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what was the increase in productivity in the United Kingdom at January of the current year, expressed as a percentage in real terms over January 1974.

Information is available, as output per head, on a quarterly basis only, the most recent period' being the third quarter of 1978. This temporary attachment to the Department of personnel from the organisations concerned.The grants will continue to be limited by the ability of the organisations concerned to raise £1 locally for each £2 provided as grant-in-aid by my Department.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry how many applications he has received for industrial development certificates in each economic planning region in England and Wales for each year since 1974–75; and how many in each case were granted.

The following table shows the number of schemes of 15,000 sq. ft. and over for which applications for industrial development certificates were decided during the financial years 1974–75 to 1977–78.and information for earlier periods can be obtained from the "Monthly Digest of Statistics ",

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection, in the light of the current glut of cocoa and the dramatic drop in its world price, if he will refer the retail price of chocolate and other products containing cocoa to the Price Commission for examination.

As, like other commodities, cocoa is traded in futures, the present fall in world prices cannot be reflected at the retail level for some months. My right hon. Friend has no present plans to direct the Price Commission to examine cocoa products.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection if he

ESTIMATED EXPENDITURE FOR 12 MONTHS ENDING 31 MARCH 1979
			Total £	Total on administration, accommodation and general services £
Advisory committee on the safety of household electrical equipment	…	…	13*	13*
British Hallmarking Council	…	…	12,400	12,400
			No costs fall on public funds
Central Transport Consultative Committee	…	…	289,000*	289,000*
Eleven area transport users' consultative committees	…	…
Consumer protection advisory committee	…	…	Nil	Nil
Domestic coal consumers'council	…	…	68,000*	68,000*
Electricity consumers'council	…	…	716,000*	716,000*
Twelve area electricity consultative councils	…	…
Hearing Aid Council	…	…	15,000	14,000
			No costs fall on public funds
Metrication Board	…	…	932,000	511,000
Monopolies and Mergers Commission	…	…	792,000	792,000
National Consumer Council	…	…	664,000*	664,000*
Scottish Consumer Council	…	…
Welsh Consumer Council	…	…
National gas consumers'council	…	…	791,000*	791,000*
Twelve regional gas consumers'councils	…	…
Office of Fair Trading	…	…	1,977,000	1,914,000
			Offset by receipts of £1,369,000
Post Office users'national council	…	…	193,000*	193,000*
Post Office users' council for Northern Ireland	…	…
Post Office users'council for Scotland	…	…
Post Office users'council for Wales	…	…
Price Commission	…	…	7,293,000	7,293,000
* Information not available on cost of assistance provided by civil servants.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection whether, without incurring disproportionate costs, he will give for the longest and most convenient period of time the total number of persons in those quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations for which he is responsible who have claimed expenses and subsistence and travel allowances, and the total of all such allowances claimed.

I regret that the information would not be readily available.

There is no official definition of the term "quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisation". The information tabled below relates to relevant public bodies to which I am responsible for making appointments.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection when he expects to introduce a voluntary national tyre gauge testing scheme, following the establishment in May 1977 of the departmental working party.

, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 19 March 1979; Vol. 964, c. 414], gave the following further answer:

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection, in the light of the continuing high price of potatoes in restaurants despite the drop of the wholesale and retail prices of such vegetables, if he will refer the cost of restaurant meals to the Price Commission for examination.

My right hon. Friend has at present no plans to direct the Price Commission lo examine the cost of restaurant meals.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection if he will compare the cost of living with the average wage in 1973 and 1979.

Between January 1973 and January 1979, the latest month for which comparable information is available, the general index of retail prices rose by 129·6 per cent, while the index of average earnings—older series—increased by 140·7 per cent, on a seasonally adjusted basis.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection if he will refer to the Price Commission for investigation any proposal he receives from the manufacturers of polyurethane foam for increasing the price of foam.

The selection of investigations into price increases or prices charged by individual companies is a matter for the Price Commission under the terms of the Price Commission Act 1977.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he intends to take to mitigate the effect of 14 per cent, minimum lending rate on small businesses and farms; and if he will make a statement.

The movements of the minimum lending rate up and down are only one factor in business costs. While no general relief for small businesses in Northern Ireland in respect of one such movement can be contemplated, investment projects may qualify for interest relief grants or loans at concession interest rates under schemes administered by the Department of Commerce.The cost of credit which the agriculture industry has to pay is one of the factors taken into account each year in the farm price review.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland why, since the technical feasibility was considered satisfactory by consultants Booz, Allen and Hamilton and A. T. Kearney, it was necessary for the De Lorean Research Partnership Ltd. to enter into a contract with Lotus Cars Ltd. for the development of the DMC 12 car.

The development of the DMC 12 car involves four main categories of activity, some of which are concurrent. These are initial design and marketing analysis, experimental engineering design and market development, production engineering design—the three of which taken together could be described as basic research and development—and manufacture. The consultants' reports were based on the results of work in the first two categories, while the work to be performed by Lotus is related to the third.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if the De Lorean Research Partnership Ltd. has covenanted to supply either or both the Department of Commerce or the Northern Ireland Development Agency with copies of all detailed business plans and reports submitted to the board of directors.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will give the main terms of the agreement between the De Lorean Motor Car Co. Ltd. and the De Lorean Research Partnership Ltd. under which a licence is being granted for De Lorean Motor Car Co. Ltd. to produce the DMC 12 car.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the private investment to date in the De Lorean Motor Co. Ltd., as distinct and separate from the De Lorean Research Partnership Ltd.

The latest consolidated financial statement for De Lorean Motor Company and its subsidiaries prepared at 31 August 1978, showed that the proceeds from sales of common stock and the capital contribution of the partners amounted, at that date, to $9,413,500. This figure excludes the value, estimated at $6·9 million, of research and development work, undertaken with private funds, which was carried out by the John Z De Lorean Corporation and the De Lorean Sports Car Partnership and the investment in the De Lorean Research Limited Partnership.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland who are the members of the De Lorean Research Partnership Ltd.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will place copies of the articles in the United States motor magazines Road and Truck, Car and Driver and Motor Trend, relating to the De Lorean sports car and which were used to assist in assessing its feasibility, in the Library.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many applications have been lodged with the district and city councils, to request the enforcement of repairs to bring properties up to the repair standard outlined in the Rent Order 1978.

, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 28 March 1979; Vol. 965, c. 241], gave the following answer:By 28 February 1979, 484 applications for certificates of disrepair had been lodged with district councils.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many certificates for the restriction of rent have been issued by district and city councils in accordance with the relevant provision of the Rent Order 1978.

, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 28 March 1979; Vol. 965, c. 241], gave the following answer:By 28 February 1979, 652 restricted rent certificates had been issued by district councils under the Rent (Northern Ireland) Order 1978.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he is to appoint the new director-general of the Housing Executive.

, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 27 March 1979; Vol. 965, c. 164], gave the following answer:I hope to make an announcement shortly about the appointment of the full time vice-chairman who will take up duty when the present director-general retires on 30 June 1979.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he expects to make the appointments to the Belfast Harbour Board.

, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 27 March 1979; Vol. 965, c. 164], gave the following answer:I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 29 March. I cannot at mis stage put a firm date on the appointments, but I would like consultations to be completed as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the number of families who were in full-time work and earning less than supplementary benefit level for each year since 1970.

I refer the hon. Member to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Perry Barr (Mr. Rooker) on 30 November 1978.—[Vol. 959, c. 305–6.]

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many physiotherapists are employed dealing with the needs of handicapped children in long-stay hospitals in England and Wales.

At 30 September 1977, the latest date for which comprehensive figures for England and Wales are available, the number of physiotherapists employed—whole-time equivalents—in the NHS was 6,057. I regret that no further breakdown is available relating to those employed specifically in the area mentioned.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many speech therapists are employed specifically dealing with the needs of handicapped children in long-stay hospitals in England and Wales.

At 30 September 1977, the latest date for which comprehensive figures for England and Wales are available, the number of speech therapists employed—whole-time equivalents—in the NHS was 1,279. I regret that no further breakdown is available relating to those specifically employed in the area mentioned.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is satisfied that the training courses for doctors and nurses give adequate attention to the training in rehabilitation of handicapped persons.

The medical school curriculum is a matter for the individual universities, subject to the requirements of the General Medical Council. Postgraduate medical training is primarily a matter for the professional educational bodies concerned As far as nurses are concerned, rehabilitation is covered in the syllabuses of training of the General Nursing Council. Rehabilitation also plays an important part in certain post-basic specialist courses laid down by the Joint Board of Clinical Nursing Studies, such as"Nursing Care of the Physically Disabled ".Over the past few years, my Department has done much to help stimulate the development of postgraduate training in rehabilitation by designating 21 demonstration centres in medical rehabilitation. As part of their functions these centres provide postgraduate courses in all aspects, for example, rehabilitation for general practitioners, hospital doctors, nurses and others professionally involved with the care of the disabled.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services why the Royal Free hospital is sending patients for diagnosis in cases of suspected carcinoma to the facilities run by a private practice insurance organisation; how many patients have been diagnosed; what charges are paid by the hospital; and if he will make a statement.

The Royal Free Hospital does not at present have a head scanner, although one is being acquired. Meanwhile, in order to provide a speedier, more efficient and less painful diagnostic procedure, 125 patients with suspected brain tumours and carcinoma have been treated by the British United Provident Association's scanner at a cost of £12,680.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the value of a State retirement pension for January 1975 and for January 1979, respectively, the percentage change in this period, and the percentage change in the cost of living and food index over the same period.

The single person's retirement pension was £10 in January 1975 and £19·50 in January 1979. The married couple's pension was £16 and £31·20 respectively. These represented increases of 95 per cent. Over the same period the general index of retail prices—all items—rose by 72·8 per cent. The increase in that index for food only was 83·9 per cent.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what latest estimate he has made of the percentage of child benefits that will go to persons earning above the national average wage between April 1979 and April 1980.

The reply that I gave to the hon. Member on 15 May 1978 was based on the latest information then available—[Vol. 950, c. 53–5.] I regret that I am unable to provide a further estimate because the calculations cannot be obtained without disproportionate expense, but I have no reason to think that more recent information would provide significantly different percentages.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what help he is giving research into nuclear magnetic resonance technology for medical diagnosis; and what action he intends to take to assist the commercial exploitation of this research commercially worldwide.

I am aware of the considerable medical interest in the possible uses of this technique in clinical diagnosis, and my Department and the National Research Development Corporation are working closely together to give help to the development of the technology. It is too early to consider how best to take this forward commercially.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many beds are available in each area of the Mersey regional health authority for geriatric care; and if he is satisfied with the level of provision.

The figures are as follows:

Area	Available Beds
Cheshire	1,228
Liverpool	732
St. Helens and Knowsley	200
Sefton	572
Wirral	417
Mersey Region	3,149

The figures given are average daily available beds in 1977 in departments of geriatric medicine and represent a regional level of provision of 9·43 beds per 1,000 population aged 65 and over compared with the departmental guidelines of 10 beds. Some of the beds are badly located in relation to the communities they serve, and health authorities have been asked to give priority to the provision of acute geriatric facilities in district general hospitals.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many beds are available in each area of the North-West regional health authority for geriatric care; and if he is satisfied with the level of provision.

The figures are as follows:

Area	Available Beds
Lancashire	1,574
Bolton	354
Bury	186
Manchester	808
Oldham	258
Rochdale	235
Salford	290
Stockport	321
Thameside	271
Trafford	176
Wigan	433
North-Western region	4,906

The figures given are average daily available beds in 1977 in departments of geriatric medicine and represent a regional level of provision of 8·09 beds per 1,000 population aged 65 and over compared with the departmental guidelines of 10 beds. Some of the beds are badly located in relation to the community they serve, and health authorities have been asked to give priority to the provision of acute geriatric facilities in district general hospitals.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list those community health councils in the West Midlands region which had not received on 20 March the comments of the relevant area health authority upon their annual reports published in 1978, giving the date of publication of each report.

By 20 March, two community health councils in the West Midlands region had not received the comments of the relevant area health authority on their annual reports for 1977–78. The Mid-Staffordshire community health council's report was received on 1 December 1978; a joint meeting of the community health council and Staffordshire area health authority to discuss it was held on 27 March 1979. The Central Birmingham community health council's report was received on 18 September 1978; the comments of the Birmingham area health Authority (teaching) are awaited. Annual reports for 1977–78 have not yet been received from Kidderminster, North Birmingham, East Birmingham and South Birmingham community health councils.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he intends to introduce the new regulations under section 2 of the Social Security Act 1979 on payment of attendance allowance for kidney failure patients being treated by dialysis.

We have today laid the necessary regulations before the House. They will come into effect on Monday 2 April 1979 and provide that kidney failure patients who dialyse regularly at least twice a week at home will be regarded as satisfying the attendance requirements for the lower rate of the allowance. The regulations also provide that people who dialyse as out-patients at NHS hospitals will not have their attendance needs during that dialysis taken into account. They will still be able to qualify for the allowance, however, if they have sufficient attendance needs when at home.In addition, the regulations help a number of people who claim the allowance again having previously lost it because of temporary improvement. If they last received the allowance within the previous two years, and are now likely to need attendance for at least six months, they will be able to receive the allowance immediately without serving a further six months' qualifying period.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many circulars his Department has issued to local authorities (a) in England and (b) in England and Wales, in each year since 1974; and how many issued instructions increasing the statutory duties of local authorities.

The number of circulars issued to local authorities in England and Wales in each year 1974 to 1979 is as follows:

	England	Wales
1974	37	37
1975	21	21
1976	29	35*
1977	28	45*
1978	25	17
1979 (to March)	4	3
* Certain information given to English authorities by letter was issued to Welsh authorities by circular.

Of these, six circulars notified authorities of increased statutory duties:

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list in the Official Report (a) the numbers of families with one, two, three, four or more children, respectively, with income below, at and above 140 per cent, of their supplementary benefit level, (b) how many of the families were in or out of work, and what were (c) the total numbers of families with one, two, three or four or more children in Great Britain at the latest date for which figures ate available.

, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 15 March 1979; Vol. 964, c. 283], gave the following information:

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what was the total increase in social security costs in real terms at January of the current year, expressed as a percentage increase over January 1974;(2) what was the total increase in pension costs at January of the current year expressed as a percentage increase in real terms over January 1974.

I regret that figures are not available on the basis requested, but, as stated in Cmnd. 7439,"The Government's Expenditure Plans 1979–80 to 1982–83", table 2.12, pages 148–149, at constant 1978 survey prices, expenditure rose between 1973–74 and 1978–79 by just over 30 per cent, on retirement pensions and by almost 33 per cent, on the whole of the social security programme.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services upon what criteria he bases his decisions to approve or disapprove National Health Service reorganisation proposals involving the merging of districts into a single district area.

The criteria are set out in paragraph 9 of circular HC(77)10, a copy of which is in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what account he took of local opinion opposed to the proposal to merge the two health districts in Somerset into a single district area.

I gave careful consideration to the proposals of the Somerset area health authority submitted to me by the South-Western regional health authority and to the views of those who opposed them before deciding, on balance, to give my approval.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will now withhold giving any further approvals to the merging of health districts into single district areas until he receives the report of the Royal Commission, at least in those cases where he has evidence of substantial reasoned opposition to such mergers.

In January I asked health authorities which had not so far considered proposals for structural change not to do so until the report of the Royal Commission was available. A few authorities were already considering such proposals, and they may proceed to consultation and formal submission to the Department. I do not, however, expect to take decisions on any such proposals until the Royal Commission has reported.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he intends to make use of the powers in sections 144 and 145 of the Social Security Act 1975 to examine the private files of private pension funds.

If the usual channels of correspondence are ineffective it may be necessary for the Department's inspectors to consult the contribution and membership records of a contracted-out pension scheme for two purposes—first, to confirm whether or not a particular employee is in contracted-out employment by virtue of his membership of the scheme; secondly, if a scheme ceases to contract out, to establish its liabilities for State scheme premiums.If a private pension scheme is itself an employer, it is subject to normal inspection for national insurance purposes as are all other employers and self-employed persons.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will publish in the Official Report in tabular form details of the various dental research projects which are currently being supported from public funds, together with the name of the research establishment at which such research is being conducted, the amount of money being allocated annually to each project and the name of the researchers in charge of each project.