asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will set up a public investigation into the excessive delay in the completion of the work at the City hospital and the spiralling cost of the work; whether part of the work is now out of date; and if he will make a statement.

No. The delay in the completion of the City hospital is due mainly to the late insertion of the university teaching accommodation and to other essential changes in design, and also to bad weather and stoppages of work for various reasons. These factors, together with unprecedented inflation during the building period, have led to the increased costs. I am satisfied that the completed hospital will provide up-to-date facilities for the treatment of patients.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is his latest estimate of the cost to public funds of each permanent job to be created by the De Lorean car plant.

On the assumption that 2,000 permanent jobs will be created, it is estimated that Government grants and loans will total £17,593 per job. The net cost will be reduced by the payment of royalties to the Government by the company on each car sold.

asked the secretary of State for Northern Ireland what action he proposes to take as the result of the invasion of the northern Belfast district at Crusaders football ground by supporters of the Provisional IRA.

I assume that the hon. Member refers to actions by some of those attending the football match between the Crusaders and Cliftonville teams on 14 May. I understand from the Chief Constable that the hooliganism which regrettably occurs at some football matches resulted in some minor disturbances and that the RUC dealt with the matter accordingly.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what is the cost to date of the Royal Commission on Legal Services.

Expenditure by the Civil Service Department on the two Royal Commissions on Legal Services recorded up to 30 April 1979 is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is his latest estimate of the average overall cost of a school meal; and of this total cost how much on average is spent on food.

53·5p, of which the estimated food cost is about 17p.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the extent of the support for research into retinitis pigmentosa that his Department is currently providing.

The Medical Research Council is giving grant support, totalling £135,000, to three projects at the Institute of Ophthalmology for research into retinitis pigmentosa. They are a study of abnormal retinal physiology in patients with this condition; a related project on cilia as model photoreceptors in retinitis pigmentosa; and work on genetic and clinical aspects of retinitis pigmentosa with the aim of subdividing this group of disorders into individual disease states. The council's clinical and population cytogenetics unit in Edinburgh is engaged in a search for genetic markers for the condition, at an annual cost of approximately £39,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the percentage of secondary school children who are educated in grant-aided and independent schools in England and Wales.

In January 1978, 7·5 percent of schoolchildren in England and Wales aged 12 years and over were in direct-grant and independent schools.

asked the Prime Minister when she hopes to announce her proposals for all-party talks on devolution.

We shall seek an early date for a debate on the repeal orders for both the Scotland Act and the Wales Act, now before the House. We are considering how best to proceed with talks between the parties.

asked the Prime Minister if she will now answer questions on the membership and terms of reference of Cabinet committees.

I have established four standing committees of the Cabinet: a defence and oversea policy committee and an economic strategy committee, both under my chairmanship; a home and social affairs committee under the chairmanship of my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary; and a legislation committee under the chairmanship of the Lord Chancellor. Attendance at these committees will vary according to the subject under discussion. Where appropriate, sub-committees of the standing committees will be established. Membership and terms of reference of the standing committees or their sub-committees will remain confidential.

asked the Prime Minister what administrative machinery she proposes to set up to ensure effective co-ordination between the Secretaries of State for Industry and Scotland in the discharge of the Government's industrial policy.

I see no need for new administrative machinery. My right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Industry have the duty to see that existing machinery works effectively to carry out the Government's industrial policy.

asked the Prime Minister when she expects to meet the President of the United States of America.

I look forward to meeting the President of the United States again when I visit Tokyo on 28 and 29 June for the next economic summit.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 24 May.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 24 May.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her engagements for 24 May.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her engagements for Thursday 24 May.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 24 May.

I refer my hon. Friend and the hon. Members to the reply which I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Thornaby (Mr. Wrigglesworth).

asked the prime minister if she will make an official visit to Ormskirk.

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister when she intends next to meet the TUC and the CBI.

asked the Prime Minister when she intends to meet the TUC and the CBI.

asked the Prime Minister when she intends next to meet the TUC.

asked the Prime Minister when she expects next to meet members of the general council of the TUC.

No dates have yet been fixed.

asked the Prime Minister if she will seek to pay an official visit to Australia.

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister if she proposes to make an official visit to the City of London.

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister how many consultants she proposes to appoint.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 18 May by my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Civil Service Department to a question from the right hon. Member for Ashton under-Lyne (My. Sheldon). Consultants, as distinct from special advisers, will continue is not available within the public service.

asked the Prime Minister if she has any plans to visit Rhodesia.

I have no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister if she will place in the Library a copy of the speech she made in Perth on Saturday 12 May.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for West Lothian (Mr. Dalyell) on 22 May.—[Vol. 967, c. 58.]

asked the Prime Minister whether, pursuant to her reply of 21 May to the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, East, she will publish the guidance she has received from the Central Policy Review Staff on the advanced gas-cooled reactor turbine generator orders.

I have received no guidance.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will list by local authority the number of local authority dwellings built pre-1919, 1919 to 1939, 1959 to 1964, 1964 to 1970, 1970 to 1974, and 1974 to 1979.

The information is not available in the form requested. The following table gives the number of local authority dwellings built in Wales before 1940, 1945–1966, 1967–1970, 1971–1974 and 1975–1978. The figures for the periods before 1966 are derived in part from estimates

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he is satisfied with the state of the fishing industry in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

The Government are well aware of the considerable uncertainty now felt by the fishing industry in the United Kingdom. In negotiations with our EEC partners, our aim will be to secure agreements which will enable the industry in Wales as elsewhere to face the future with confidence.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he has any further plans to give extra financial aid to the Development Board for Rural Wales; and if he will make a statement.

I have no such plans at present.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has in mind to help Welsh nursery schools; and if he will make a statement.

It is for local education authorities to consider, in relation to the resources at their disposal, what provision can be made for nursery education in their areas and, within the total, what Welsh language provision is appropriate.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement about the Government's policy on the export of North Sea oil.

The Government continue to expect that oil companies exporting North Sea crude will do so in the markets of our partners in the International Energy Agency and in the European Community. This expectation in no way cuts across the maintenance, to the extent possible, of any existing patterns of trade outside those regions.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what estimate he has made of the production of oil from the North Sea in 1979 and in each of the following 10 years; and what estimate he has made of oil consumption in 1979 and in each of the following 10 years.

Estimates of production of oil from the United Kingdom continental shelf are published annually in the report of the development of the oil and gas resources of the United Kingdom. They cover production for the year of the 1979 report, which I hope to lay before Parliament in July.A forecast for 1979 oil consumption of 96 million tones, which includes non-energy uses and marine bunkers, was published in my Department's

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement on the future of the British National Oil Corporation.

I am at present undertaking a complete review of the British National Oil Corporation's activities. I cannot anticipate the outcome of this review, but it is my aim to complete it as quickly as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what was the average cost of electricity per domestic household in the most recent annual period for which figures are available; and what were the comparable figures in each of the previous 10 years.

The figures below refer to the average expenditure on electricity—including any hire and maintenance of electrical appliances—per domestic household. Expenditure expressed in average 1967 money values is also shown and is obtained by using the general index of retail prices as a deflator.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what was the average cost per unit of electricity produced with nuclear energy, oil and coal, respectively, in the most recent annual period for which figures are available; and what estimate he has made of how these costs will compare in five and 10 years' time, respectively.

Generation costs in p/kwh in 1977–78 at CEGB stations commissioned in the previous 12 years were as follows: Magnox nuclear, 0·76; coal-fired, 1·23; oil-fired, 1·42. Because of limited experience of AGR nuclear stations, their costs have not been included. The quoted figures include: capital charges, based on historic cost depreciation; fuel, including nuclear re-processing; and other operating costs, including provision for decommissioning.It is not possible to quote forecast figures for five and 10 years ahead on a basis comparable to that of the foregoing actual figures, partly because of the uncertainty in movements in real costs of the various fuels and other elements of total cost, and partly because of the effect of any assumed rate of inflation on the balance between historic capital and other costs.Electricity generation in Scotland and Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy how many authorisations he has granted under section 40 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1971; and to which bodies.

Up to 18 May, I had granted 104 such authorisations to various area electricity boards in connection with overhead electricity lines.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will review the procedure used for resolving a case where the Department of the Environment approves a local plan which indicates an alternative use for statutory undertakers' land declared operational by him.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether the Government propose that import restrictions should be imposed on coking coal imported by the British Steel Corporation into the United Kingdom from Australia.

I have been asked to reply.We are reviewing the previous Government's decision against the need for both the British Steel Corporation and the National Coal Board to operate commercially and efficiently.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will publish a table, using January 1973 as 100, showing for each month since January 1973 crude oil prices in £ sterling and the retail price index.

The following table provides the data requested. Changes in the index of crude oil import prices, cif, arise from changes in freight and insurance costs, and variations in crude quantities, as well as changes in fob crude prices.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what impact a 10 per cent. increase in the price of crude oil would have on the retail price index.

Estimating the effect of a crude oil price increase on the retail price index is both difficult and uncertain. However, it is likely that the combined impact of both the direct and indirect effects of a 10 per cent. increase in the price of crude oil—expressed in sterling—might eventually be to raise retail prices by about half of one per cent., which on the basis of April 1979 provisional value of 214.2 for the general index of retail prices "All Items"—base January 1974—would imply an increase of approximately one point.

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

The second EEC Council of Energy Ministers under French presidency met in Brussels on 17 May 1979. The main items we discussed were the serious oil supply situation in the Community and its economic consequences; the measures adopted and planned by member States to reduce their oil consumption by 5 per cent. in 1979; and improved arrangements for monitoring the oil market.Member States reaffirmed their determination to take the measures necessary to reduce their oil consumption substantially. The Council examined a report by the Commission on the measures being implemented and worked out by member States with the aim of reducing Community consumption of oil and petroleum products in 1979 to 500 million tonnes, and considered that measures already adopted, along with those under urgent consideration, should enable this target to be met. It also stressed the vital importance of additional voluntary efforts and looked for similar action from other industrialised countries.The Council examined and approved measures proposed by the Commission which are intended to improve the information available on the quantities of oil and petroleum products imported into the Community, and on their prices. It also took note of the Commission's arrangements for the resumption from 1 June of the monitoring of the spot markets, especially that of Rotterdam, and noted that the trend of consumer prices in member States had in general followed closely that of official crude prices and not the trend of spot quotations.The Council agreed the detailed implementation of Community arrangements for licensing exports of oil and petroleum products from one member State to another in an emergency.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement of the Paris meeting of the International Energy Agency.

, pursuantto his reply [Official Report, 23 May 1979;Vol. 967, c. 141], gave the following answer:The governing board of the International Energy Agency met at ministerial level under my chairmanship in Paris on 21 and 22 May.Discussion concentrated on the grave outlook for oil supplies and prices. Ministers confirmed the decision by the IEA countries to reduce their demand for oil on world markets by about 2 million barrels per day or 5 per cent. and decided that: (

asked the Attorney-General if he will make a statement concerning the Government's expenditure on law centres.

Expenditure on law centres in this financial year is likely to remain at broadly its present level. Thereafter, it will be subject to review in the light of the recommendations of the Royal Commission on Legal Services, whose report is expected later this year.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer under what statutory authority or otherwise for what purpose the "Notice requiring a return for Rating" refers to night storage heaters.

The authority is section 82(1), General Rate Act 1967. The information is asked for in order to determine whether a central heating installation is of a type to affect the valuation of the property for rating purposes.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are his estimates of the additional revenue accruing to Her Majesty's Customs and Excise of merging the 8 per cent. and the 12½ per cent. rates of value added tax into a single rate of 10 per cent., 11 per cent. and 12 per cent., respectively, in 1979–80 and in a full year.

About £800 million, £1,300 million and £1,700 million, respectively, in a full year based on 1978–79 prices and expenditures. For a Budget on 12 June, net receipts in the financial year would be about half the full-year yield. It would be contrary to practice to give 1979–80 estimates before the Budget.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the annual value added tax revenue derived from launderettes.

The tax charged by businesses registered as launderettes in the financial year 1977–78 is published in table 52 on page 113 of the report of the commissioners of Her Majesty's Customs and Excise for the year ended 31 March 1978. There is a copy in the Library of the House.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue was raised through VAT for the latest 12 months available.

Net receipts of VAT in the financial year 1978–79 were £4,900 million—provisional.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much VAT revenue was raised from theatres, concert halls and cinemas for the latest 12 months available.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much VAT revenue was raised on records and prerecorded cassettes for the latest 12 months available.

I am afraid that this information is not available because persons registered for VAT are not required to make returns of the tax charged on particular goods and services.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are his estimates of the cost to the revenue in 1979–80 and in a full year of making the mobility allowance tax-free.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are his estimates of the cost to the Revenue in 1979–80 and in a full year of raising the tax-free luncheon vouchers from 15 pence per day to 30 pence, 60 pence, 90 pence and £1 per day, respectively.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are his estimates of the cost to the Revenue in 1979–80 and in a full year of raising the exemption limit on stamp duty for house purchases from £15,000 to £20,000, £25,000. £30,000. £35,000 and £40,000, respectively.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are his estimates of the cost to the Revenue in 1979–80 and in a full year of raising the mortgage relief limit from £25,000 to £30,000, £35,000 and £40,000, respectively.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are his estimates of the cost to the Revenue in 1979–80 and in a full year of raising the personal allowance for income tax from £1,075 to £1,340 for single persons and from £1,675 to £1,745 for married persons.

I will let my lion. Friend have a reply as soon as possible.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are his estimates of the cost to the Revenue in 1979–80 and in a full year of merging the personal allowances for single and married persons into a single rate for all persons of £1,075, £1,200, £1,250, £1,300, £1,350 and £1,400, respectively.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will order a further inquiry into the role of the Building Societies Association in the Grays Building Society fraud.

No. The role of the BSA is reviewed in Chapter XVI of the inspector's report on the Grays—Cmnd. 7557—and I do not believe a further inquiry is needed.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he proposes to take to tighten up controls on building societies following the publication of the report of the Chief Registrar of Friendly Societies on Grays Building Society.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the net contribution made by Great Britain to the EEC during 1978; what proportion of United Kingdom gross domestic product this represented; and if it remains his policy to take steps to reduce it.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the sum now allowed to National Health Service nurses for relief of income tax in respect of shoes, stockings and tights when the relief was first accorded; what amount is now needed to bring this relief up to 1979 values; and if he will make a statement.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish the actual or estimated increases proposed in Government expenditure since 3 May, together with reductions; and what are the anticipated net results of these expenditures.

Two changes in public expenditure have been announced. The Armed Forces' pay award is estimated to increase expenditure by £269 million in 1979–80 and the police pay award by £50 million. This expenditure is intended to strengthen the manpower of the Services concerned.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, given the limited period of circulation of the £1 Bank of England note, he will consider the early introduction of a £1 denomination coin, which can be expected to have a life of at least 50 years.

This is an issue which no doubt my right hon. Friend will be considering in due course.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will now implement the recommendations made in the report "Decimal Currency in the United Kingdom", Cmnd. 3164, 1966, paragraph 20, and remove the adjective "new" from the reverse design of the decimal coins; and if he will also consider adopting a new range of designs for the reverse of currency coins.

I plan to introduce the necessary legislation for the removal of the word "new" from the coinage as soon as possible. In the meantime, the design of the coinage will be kept under review.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the last guidance was issued to Government purchasing officers relating to priority suppliers and sheltered workshops; if he will publish that guidance; and what changes in procedures it entails.

A thorough review of the relationship between Government Departments and priority suppliers has been carried out recently in the light of a report by the National Advisory Council on the Employment of Disabled

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will be holding consultations with organisations representing widows and retirement pensioners prior to making his Budget statement.

I have no immediate plan to consult with widows and pensioners' organizations. I have received

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will examine the possibility of providing a larger duty differential between pipe tobaccos and tobaccos used in other forms of smoking, in the light of the effect that increased duty has had on the pipe tobacco industry, and the smaller health risks posed by pipe tobacco compared with cigarettes.

I cannot anticipate my right hon. Friend's Budget Statement.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much tax relief on stock appreciation has been worth to industry each year since 1974, both at current prices and at March 1979 prices.

The estimated net reductions in tax payments for each financial year are approximately as follows:from them various suggestions for the coming Budget and I am considering these carefully.

asked the chancellor of the Exchequer when he intends to commence a thorough review of the enforcement procedurers of customs and Excise and the Inland Revenue; and what form such a review will take.

It is too soon to announce our intentions in detail. This is one of a number of matters which we have said we shall look at.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much corporation tax was paid in total in each of the past three years by the 50 companies with the largest turnover.

I regret that information is not available in the form requested. The available analyses by size of company are based on the amount of profits charged, after allowances and various reliefs, to corporation tax, and

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, assuming an increase in the personal income for allowances for the fiscal year 1979–80 in accordance with section 22 of the Finance Act 1977, what would be the extra weekly benefit in take-home pay to a person with weekly gross income from employment of (a) £60, (b) £100, (c) £200, (d) £300, (e) £400 and (f) £500, respectively.

, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 21 May 1979; Vol. 967, c. 41–2.], gave the following information:The increases in personal allowances required by section 22 of the Finance Act 1977 were enacted in the Finance Act

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will present in tabular form each of the main sources of Government revenue and the revenue raised from each in 1945, 1950, 1955, 1965 and each subsequent year since 1970; and if he will list the value of each of these sources of revenue as a percentage of total Government revenue.

The information requested is given in the table below:1979, although they have not yet taken effect. They result in increases in take-home pay as follows:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will present the distributional effects on (a) a single person, (b) a married couple, (c) a married couple with one child, (d) a married couple with two children earning two-thirds average earnings, average earnings, twice average earnings, five times average earnings and 10 times average earnings, of financing a reduction in the higher rates of tax to 60 per cent. by (i) increasing VAT, (ii) extending VAT to zero-rated items, (iii) extending VAT to exempted items and (iv) increasing other forms of indirect taxation;(2) if he will present the distributional effects on (

There are so many permutations that Customs advise that these questions could only be answered at the cost of disproportionate time and effort.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry (1) if he will make a statement on the future of British Shipbuilders;(2) if he will make a statement on the outlook for the shipbuilding industry with particular reference to the securing of orders.

A statement on shipbuilding will be made when the Government have completed their review of the industry.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will make public the corporate plan produced by British Shipbuilders on the future of the industry.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Surrey, North-West (Mr. Grylls) on 18 May.—[Vol. 967, c. 9.]

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what was the total tonnage of orders won by the British shipbuilding industry in the most recent annual period for which figures are available; what were the comparable figures in each of the previous 10 annual periods; and what is the current annual building capacity of the British shipbuilding industry.

The information on orders is incorporated in the table below. My Department is unable to provide information on current building capacity: this is a matter for British Shipbuilders.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what was the loss sustained by British Shipbuilders in the most recent annual period for which figures are available; and if he will express this as an annual sum per man employed by the organisation.

British Shipbuilders is currently preparing its accounts for the 12 months to 31 March 1979. In its first nine months to 31 March 1978, British Shipbuilders showed a trading loss before tax and after interest of £108 million. In that period, the average number employed was 86,600. The loss was thus equivalent to £1,250 per person employed.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will provide interest-free and dividend-free finance for British Shipbuilders.

The future financing of British Shipbuilders is now under review.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he intends to proceed with the intervention fund to British Shipbuilders to win shipbuilding orders; and, if so, how much finance he intends to allocate.

The Commission has been asked to renew its approval of the intervention fund, which expired on 15 March 1979, for a further period to enable the Government to complete their review of the industry. I should stress, however, that this does not commit my right hon. Friend to using the fund; each case will need to be looked at strictly on its merits.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will publish in the OfficialReport the number of people employed by British Shipbuilders in each of its yards in Scotland at the lastest convenient date.

This is a matter for British Shipbuilders.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry (1) if he will list the amount of State-aided assistance afforded to the Massey Ferguson company over the past 30 years;(2) if he will list the amount of State-aided assistance afforded to the Massey Ferguson company over the past five years.

Subsidiaries of the Massey Ferguson group in this country have received no Government financial assistance since 1974 under sections 7 and 8 of the Industry Act 1972 or under the Science and Technology Act 1965. Regional development grants paid to these subsidiaries since 1 October 1974 totalled £701,000, of which £594,000 was in respect of their Kilmarnock factory and the remainder in respect of their Manchester and Knowsley factories. Information on financial assistance to this company over the past 30 years could not be obtained without disproportionate expense.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will make a statement of his intentions in respect of the Shipbuilding (Redundancy Payments) Act in the light of recent announcements by British Shipbuilders concerning River Thames Shiprepairers Ltd.

My right hon. Friend is well aware of the need for an urgent decision on this matter and hopes to be able to make an announcement very shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what figures are available for the Government money made available to industry for the application of microprocessors; and if he will list in the Official Report firms receiving this form of financial assistance.

Under the microprocessor application project, my Department has so far committed some £9 million to assist industry with specific projects for the application of microprocessors in end-products or manufacturing processes. Considerations of commercial confidentiality related to the development element in most projects preclude publication in the Official Report of the names of firms receiving such assistance.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry whether he intends to reduce the regional capital grants to small businesses in Newton Aycliffe.

It would be premature to make any detailed comment on the future of regional industrial policy, of which regional development grants are part. My right hon. Friend is studying the assistance available to industry generally and in the regions and will make known his conclusions in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he intends to make the payment of the section 7 grant to British Oxygen Co. Ltd., Transshield, Kirkby.

The company has withdrawn its application for assistance in respect of its project at Kirkby.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry when he intends to offer parts of the shipbuilding and aerospace industries for sale; and what criteria will be used in deciding what parts of the industries are on offer and in formulating the asking price.

No decisions have yet been taken. Government policy will not be determined until the facts about these two industries have been fully assessed.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what public funds will now be available for investment in microtechnology.