asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will bring forward proposals to make the Register of Members' interests statutory.

I have no present intention of doing so.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proportion of 16-year-olds stay on at school; and what proportion enter full-time further education in the Bishop Auckland constituency.

Statistics for areas smaller than local education authorities are not compiled by my Department.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what action he intends taking to encourage the growth of adult education in line with the increasing leisure time available to most people.

My right hon. and learned Friend recognises the part that adult education can play in the personal development of adults of all ages and will consider carefully the advice he receives from the advisory council for adult and continuing education under that part of its remit which is:

"To promote the development of future policies and priorities with full regard to the concept of education as a process continuing throughout life."

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what extra resources he will allocate to encourage adult basic education.

The advisory council for adult and continuing education was asked by the former Secretary of State:

"to advise on the best way of building on the adult literacy campaign of the last three years in order to create and implement a coherent strategy for the basic education of adults, including continuing provision for adult literacy".

This report has now been received and my right hon. and learned Friend will be studying its recommendations before coming to a decision on the question of resources.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what is the gross annual remuneration of the chairman of the Land Authority for Wales; whether she holds any other offices of profit under the Crown; and, if so, what they are and what gross annual remuneration is paid in respect of each.

As chairman of the Land Authority for Wales, Baroness White is paid £717·50 per annum. I understand that she also holds appointment as a member of the British Waterways Board and of the University Grants Committee. My right hon. Friend is not responsible for the remuneration paid for these bodies.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any alterations are proposed to the immigration rules of August 1974, Cmnd. 5717, particularly regarding the right of a British patrial woman to be joined in entering the United Kingdom for settlement by her husband.

I am now considering this matter but I am not yet ready to make a statement.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what action he intends taking in the light of the European Court's judgment in 1978 that adequate and effective guarantees against abuse must be made in the area of police and Government sponsored listening-in on private telephone conversations;(2) if, in the light of the recent High Court judgment on the activities of the police and the Post Office authorities, he will introduce legislation to clarify the law on telephone tapping.

I am aware of the judgment of the Vice-Chancellor in Malone v. Commissioner of Police, which of course contains a number of references to the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Court judgment referred to. The right hon. Member for Leeds, South (Mr. Rees) had initiated a study of the implications of the Vice-Chancellor's judgment. I have directed that this study should be continued to its completion. I will inform the House of my conclusions in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what further representations have been made to his Department on behalf of Police Constable W. J. Glastonbury since the Adjournment debate initiated by the hon. Member for Birmingham, Perry Barr on 1 April 1977; if he remains satisfied with the response to these representations; if any replies to these representations are still outstanding; and if he will make a statement.

Further representations in support of Constable Glastonbury's claim for compensation in respect of the period during which he was imprisoned for offences of which his convictions were subsequently quashed by the Court of Appeal were received in September 1977 and March and April 1978. Repre- sentations about the police investigations that led to his prosecution were made in November 1978 and in April this year. A final reply to the latter representations is outstanding. I am satisfied that all these representations were, or are being, properly considered.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the report on the operation of the legal aid scheme commissioned from Bristol university.

We have no plans to do so. As is the normal practice in the case of research commissioned from an outside agency, it is up to the body concerned, in this case Bristol university, to decide whether to publish what has been produced.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish in the Official Report the figures, by reference to the electoral register which came into operation on February last, of the 20 constituencies in England with, respectively, the highest and lowest electorates, specifying the same, and the number and percentage by which each exceeds, or falls short of, as the case may be, the prescribed electoral quota of 67,071.

Provisional figures for the 1979 register, including numbers and percentages by which each constituency exceeds or falls short of the electoral quota, were published by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys in the OPCS Monitor "Electoral Statistics—UK Parliamentary Constituencies"—Reference EL 79/2—on 10 April and copies have been placed in the Library of the House.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will introduce legislation making the penalty for possessing a sawn-off shotgun imprisonment for life.

No. Anyone carrying a firearm with intent to resist arrest or with intent to injure is already liable to life imprisonment. Possession of an illegally shortened shotgun carries a maximum penalty of five years' imprisonment, and the maximum penalty for possessing a firearm with criminal intent is 14 years' imprisonment.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what effects he expects from the cancellation of the Arab Organisation of Industrialisation on contracts placed with Westland, Rolls-Royce and British Aerospace.

It is too early to estimate what effects the problems currently surrounding the AOI will have on these companies.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is his forecast of the number of school leavers who will remain unemployed in the next 12 months due to cutback in the youth opportunities programme and the special temporary employment programme.

None; the youth opportunities programme continues to provide unemployed school leavers and

					1974	1975	1976	1977	1978
Construction:
Apprentices	…	…	…	…	17	4	48	31	34
Award trainees	…	…	…	…	—	4	3	5	—
Engineering:
Apprentices	…	…	…	…	64	50	49	48	64
Award trainees	…	…	…	…	—	9	4	1	1
Road transport:
Apprentices	…	…	…	…	16	12	18	13	11
Award trainees	…	…	…	…		No training award scheme

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many youngsters in the Bishop Auckland constituency were helped by the youth opportunities programme from 1 April 1978 to 31 March.

I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that information on the youth opportunities programme is available only in respect of local authority districts. The Bishop Auckland constituency is covered by the local authority districts of Teesdale and

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish the number of school leavers in the Bishop Auckland constituency obtaining apprenticeships and Government training awards year by year since 1974.

I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that information is not available about all apprentice recruitment in the Bishop Auckland area. However, the following information can be given for the construction, engineeering and road transport industries of the numbers of apprentices and award scheme trainees in those industries commencing approved courses in the Bishop Auckland area:Wear Valley. In the period 1 April 1978 to 31 March 1979 a total of 480 young people entered the programme in these two districts.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what effect the 3 per cent. cut in the pay component of the 1979–80 cash limits and the freeze on recruitment will have on the staffing of (a) the disablement resettlement service, (b) the wage inspectorate and job centre staff, and (c) the unemployment benefit office; and what effects he anticipates, respectively, as a consequence on getting more disabled people into jobs, dealing with substantial underpayment of statutory minimum wages in the law pay field and assisting the unemployed.

The effect on staffing levels of the reduction of the pay element of the cash limits for 1979–80 and of the temporary halt on recruitment is still being considered, and it has not yet been decided how the reduction in starring resources should be attributed amongst the services for which the DE and MSC are responsible. It is therefore not yet possible to say to what extent the services mentioned may be affected. It has been decided, however, that the suspension of recruitment should be lifted in respect of the unemployment benefit service so that it can deal with claims by school leavers and by adult students registering during the summer vacation.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what effect the 3 per cent. cut in the pay component of the 1979–80 cash limits and the freeeze on recruitment will have on the staffing of the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service; and what consequent delays will arise in handling its workload.

It is not yet possible to say what the effect of the 3 per cent. savings will be on planned staffing levels in ACAS, but it is unlikely to lead to any significant delays in dealing with cases.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what effect the 3 per cent. cut in the pay component of the 1979–80 cash limits and the freeze on recruitment will have on the staffing of the Health and Safety Executive; and, in particular, its committed expansion of the Factory Inspectorate, its increasing work on major hazards, local authority planning permission inquiries and the testing of equipment and appliances for safety purposes.

The effects of a 3 per cent. financial cut and the temporary freeze on recruitment are still under consideration in consultation with the Health and Safety Commission, and it is not, therefore, possible to say what the effect will be on the activities referred to by the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will list all the projects in the United Kingdom, and the amount of money involved, which received aid from the EEC social fund as from 1 January 1973 to the latest available date.

The following United Kingdom projects and programmes have received allocations from the European social fund since 1 January 1973:

Programme	Allocations from the social fund (£ million)
Schemes to promote training for unemployed workers in the assisted areas of Great Britain	148·24
Training and resettlement for unemployed workers in Northern Ireland	27·4
Training for unemployed young people in Great Britain and Northern Ireland	77·81
Resettlement of unemployed workers from or within the assisted areas of Great Britain	3·99
Rehabilitation and training of disabled people in Great Britain and Northern Ireland	28·65
Training, resettlement and rehabilitation of former agricultural workers in Great Britain and Northern Ireland	0·42
Training, resettlement and rehabilitation of workers formerly employed in the textile and clothing industries in Great Britain and Northern Ireland	9·53
Schemes to assist migrant workersand their families	11·24
Schemes for the training and retraining of workers in nationalised industries	3·3
Schemes for the training of workers from private companies	6·14
Schemes run by local authorities	0·21
Schemes for the training or retraining of workers run by certain industrial training boards	3·96

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what steps he intends to take to deal with unemployment of young people aged between 19 to 25 years.

, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 11 June 1979; Vol. 968, c. 78] gave the following answer:

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will make a statement of the renegotiations of the Lomé Convention.

An EEC-ACP ministerial conference took place in Brussels from 24 to 26 May. Considerable progress was made in a number of areas, but final agreement was not reached on a new

asked the Secretary of State for Employment in respect of how many employees, and how many firms in the Blackburn area (a) temporary employment subsidy and supplement, (b) small firms employment subsidy, (c) job release scheme allowance, (d) temporary short-time working compensation, general and for textile, clothing and footwear sectors, And (e) any other job subsidy assistance was made available in each of the years 1973 to 1978 inclusive, and as near to date in the current year as possible, and in each case, at what cost.

, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 11 June 1979; Vol. 968, c. 76], gave the following answer:I regret that information is not available in the form requested. The cumulative totals of applications approved, jobs involved and estimated costs of the special employment measures administered by my Department are given for the latest available dates in the schedule below.convention. The conference was adjourned on 26 May, but we hope that negotiations will be resumed and completed before long.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether, in support of the Government's declared policy of reducing public expenditure, he will take action to reduce the number of full and part-time members of the Commonwealth Development Corporation and its executive management board from the existing 26 persons and its costs in the way of salaries and expenses, and to reduce the number of employees in the United Kingdom, which has increased in one year from nine to 16 with salaries ranging from £10,000 per annum to £30,000 per annum.

No. The number of members of the corporation is in accordance with the requirements of section 1 of the Commonwealth Development Corporation Act 1978, and serves to provide a necessary range of experience. The organisation of the executive management board, and the remuneration of the staff of the corporation, are for the corporation to determine in the light of the statutory duties laid upon it, which include the requirement that the corporation should pay its way, taking one year with another.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will make a statement on the provisions made so far to provide the new Ugandan regime with aid from the United Kingdom; and what further plans are envisaged.

I refer the hon. Member to the oral reply given today to the hon. Member for Walsall, North (Mr. Winnick) and to my hon. Friend the Member for Woolwich West (Mr. Bottomley).

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether he will propose an exchange of ambassadors with Argentina and Chile.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he plans to review United Kingdom diplomatic representation in Argentina and Chile

Argentina and Chile are separate cases, but we are now actively considering the level of our relations with both countries. We shall, of course, inform the House of any decision.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether he will seek to pay an official visit to Iran.

My right hon. Friend has at present no plans to do so.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will make a statement on recent developments in Iran, in so far as British interests are affected.

I have nothing to add to the statement made by my right hon. Friend on 18 May.—[Vol. 967, c. 567.]

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he is satisfied with the United Kingdom's role in the United Nations peacekeeping force in Cyprus.

Yes.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will make a statement on British relations with Mauritius.

We enjoy close and friendly relations with Mauritius, a fellow Commonwealth member.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will now send a permanent representative to Salisbury, Rhodesia.

The Government have sent a senior Foreign and Commonwealth Office official based in London to Salisbury, to keep in the closest touch with Bishop Muzorewa and his Administration.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether he is satisfied that the recent one-man one-vote elections in Rhodesia satisfy the sixth principle of acceptability.

I believe that my hon. Friend is referring to the fifth principle. The constitution has not been submitted directly to the electorate as a whole but Lord Boyd concluded that the elections were fairly conducted and as free as possible in the circumstances. Our objective now is to bring Rhodesia back to legality with the widest possible international recognition.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether he will make a statement on Rhodesia.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Mr. Jessel).

asked the Lord Privy Seal when the Government intend to recognise the new multi-racial Government in Salisbury and to end economic sanctions.

The Government have made it clear that our objective is to return Rhodesia to legality with the widest possible international recognition. We shall be considering how best to achieve this objective in the light of the consultations which my right hon. and noble Friend Lord Harlech, is undertaking.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what representations the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs has received from the Commonwealth High Commissioner about the situation in Rhodesia.

My right hon. and noble Friend received a delegation of Commonwealth High Commissioners in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 23 May for an exchange of views on Rhodesia.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether he will make a statement on the recent visits of British diplomatic emissaries to Rhodesia and neighbouring countries.

The deputy to the permanent under-secretary at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Sir Antony Duff, visited Salisbury in mid-May for consultations with Bishop Muzorewa; my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State, visited Southern Africa for talks on Namibia at the end of May; Mr Derek Day, assistant under-secretary at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office arrived in Salisbury on 1 June to continue contacts with the new Administration in Rhodesia; and my right hon. and noble Friend Lord Harlech is embarking, as the Government's special emissary, on a tour of African States most closely involved in the Rhodesia problem.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will consider setting up an inquiry into the breaking of oil sanctions to Rhodesia consequent on the Bingham report.

The Government are considering the matter and a statement will be made as soon as possible.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what liability for redundancy payments would arise if the present Secretary-General of the Commonwealth was made redundant; what the amount of any such payments would be; and what proportion of them would fall on the United Kingdom Exchequer.

The Commonwealth Secretary-General is appointed by Commonwealth Heads of Government collectively, and his terms of service are a matter for all Commonwealth Governments.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether he intends to recognise the administration set up by South Africa in Nambia.

No.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if there will be any change in Her Majesty's Government's policy regarding social progress in Hong Kong.

The Government will continue to give full support to the Hong Kong Government in the achievement of their plans for social development in the territory.

asked the Lord Privy Seal under what circumstances Her Majesty's Government will initiate peaceful international action to bring about the freedom of those nation States in Europe currently held within the Russian empire.

The Government will continue to develop relations with individual nations on the basis of respect for their independence and their right to conduct their affairs free from outside interference.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what will be the terms of reference of the inquiry into the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority appeal against Kyle and Carrick district council's refusal to allow investigations at Mullwharcher; and where and when the public inquiry will take place.

The reporter holding the public inquiry will be required in terms of his statutory duty to report on the application refused, namely the drilling of boreholes for the purposes of studying the properties and structure of rocks and the movement of water within them; and the temporary siting of up to six small portable buildings or caravans. The inquiry will be held in the nearest convenient place to the subject of the application and a date has not yet been fixed.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland which of the 20 sites proposed by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority for nuclear dumping investigations are in Scotland; what action has been taken to date on each of the sites proposed; and why procedures relating to the Mullwharcher site are at a more advanced stage than others.

The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority—UKAEA—has submitted planning applications at Mullwharcher and Altnabreac in connection with the geological research programme. Planning permission was granted at Altnabreac and research drilling has been carried out there. Kyle and Carrick district council refused a similar application in respect of Mullwharcher, and an appeal has been lodged by UKAEA. The possibility of investigations at some other sites has been discussed openly with local interests and appropriately publicised, but it is not yet possible to say which if any of these may be selected for further study.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what were the amounts paid or projected to be paid from the Exchequer under section 12 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1974 and from local authority rate funds, respectively, in each year from 1973–74 to 1978–79, in 1978 survey prices, in respect of the loan charges assumed to have been incurred by local authorities in respect of house renovation grants paid to private owners;(2) where in table 2.7 of Cmnd. 7439 are included the amounts paid and projected to be paid from the Exchequer under section 12 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1974 and from local authority rate funds, respectively, in respect of the loan charges assumed to have been incurred by local authorities in respect of house renovation grants paid to private owners.

Exchequer contributions towards the expense incurred by Scottish local authorities in making improvement and repair grants to private owners are never less than 75 per cent. of that expense. The share of the expense which is borne by the authorities attracts further assistance, which cannot be readily quantified, through rate support grant. The totals of Exchequer contribution in recent years have been:

	£million 1978 survey prices
1973–74	4·13
1974–75	8·13
1975–76	16·29
1976–77	12·36
1977–78	12·27
1978–79 (provisional)	11·58

The figures for improvement grants in table 2.7 of Cmnd. 7439 relate to future resources for local authorities and are not comparable with those given above.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if the freeze on recruitment of civil servants will affect staffing levels on work associated with help for severely disabled people; if he will give details of any steps he has taken or is taking to ensure that no such work is diminished or delayed by the freeze; and if he will make a statement.

,pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 11 June 1979; Vol. 968, c. 47–8], gave the following answer:The present freeze on Civil Service recruitment will not affect staffing levels on work associated with help for severely disabled people.In considering what exemptions may be made from the ban on recruitment I have been particularly conscious of the need to protect the most vulnerable members of society.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service whether he will take whatever action may prove necessary to ensure that all civil servants receive increases on the same percentage as those now to be paid to the top civil servants.

The pay of the Higher Civil Service is determined by the Government on the recommendations of the

							Percentage increase in pay since 1974	Percentage increase applied to Members' 1974 rate of pay
								£
Senior registrar (NHS)			…	…	…	…	80·7	8,131
Circuit judge		…	…	…	…	…	74·1	7,834
Principal grade in the Civil Service					…	…	66·9	7,510
General dental practitioner (NHS)					…	…	96·9	8,860
Major	…	…	…	…	…	…	110·4	9,468
Chief superintendent of police				…	…	…	107·0	9,315

asked the Minister for the Civil Service whether he will publish in the Official Report a detailed list giving the actual or percentage increases in salaries for the longest and most convenient stated period of time of judges, top civil servants, top military personnel, police, doctors, dentists and hon. Members, including the latest awards as made in June 1979.

The information is given in the following table, in which each

asked the Minister for the Civil Service to what extent hon. Members' salaries would have to rise to give to them the same actual or percentage increases as paid and awarded since October 1974, including the June 1979 award, to doctors, judges, top civil servants, dentists, military personnel and the police.

The information is given in the following table, in which each of the groups mentioned is represented by a grade whose salary most nearly corresponds to that of a Member of Parliament:of the groups mentioned is represented by a grade whose salary most nearly corresponds to that of a Member of Parliament:

	Percentage increase in salary since 1972
Circuit judge	84·8
Principal grade in the Civil Service	106·6
Major	149·9
Chief superintendent of police	198·9
Senior registrar (NS)	110·1
General dental practitioner (NHS)	120·4
Member of Parliament	53·3

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether the preliminary study of the establishment in London of an international commodity centre has been completed; and whether he will make a statement.

We have made clear that we would like to see a world commodities centre in London. I shall be discussing this proposal shortly with representatives of the International Commodity Organisations and with other interests concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what is the timetable for renegotiating the quotas for duty free imports of paper products from Scandinavia; and if it will be his policy to give priority to United Kingdom producers.

Consultations on the 1980 levels of United Kingdom duty free quotas for imports of paper and board products established under the EEC free trade agreements with each of the EFTA countries will take place later this year.

			Assistance offered	Number of ships	Gross tonnage	Number of man years of work in the shipyards
			£ million		'000
Year ended:
31 March 1977	…	…	5·0	1	128	3,750
31 March 1978	…	…	50·8	55	400	21,250
31 March 1979	…	…	15·0	8	49	2,991
Total	…	…	70·8	64	577	27,991

All these orders were placed in yards located in the assisted areas. In addition to the work for the shipyards these ships provided substantial orders for a wider range of firms supplying materials, components and subcontractors. It is not possible to assess the effect on the balance of payments without disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will state the level of United Kingdom manufacturing investment,

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what plans he has to encourage investment and industrial expansion on Merseyside.

My right hon. Friend is studying the arrangements in operation to help areas such as Merseyside.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what has been the estimated effect of the shipbuilding intervention fund for each year since it was introduced, in terms of jobs, balance of payments, output, and in other measurable economic respects, differentiating where possible between the development areas and the rest of the United Kingdom.

Orders for 64 ships have been secured with assistance from the fund, details are as follows:in gross and net terms respectively, for each year since 1960; what was the ratio in each of these years to the gross national product at current prices; and what is the comparable data for France, West Germany, the United States of America, Japan and Sweden.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Energy how many jobs are estimated to have been assisted under the offshore supplies interest relief grants scheme during each year since it was introduced.

This scheme is related not to jobs but to the value of work carried out in the United Kingdom under qualifying contracts. It is not possible to estimate the number of jobs that may have been indirectly assisted by the scheme.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what plans he has for switching power stations from burning oil to coal; and if he will make a statement.

The CEGB is already planning to make the maximum use of coal and to reduce oil burn in response to the current oil shortage.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he intends cutting back on his £155 million research and development programme this year, and, if so, what is his estimate of the number of people who will be unemployed as a result.

, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 11 June 1979; Vol. 968, c. 42], gave the following answer:As my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced yesterday, the programmes for which I am responsible are to be reduced by £323 million this year. Within that total reduction, I have reduced the provision for non-nuclear research and development by £2 million. I do not foresee any unemployment arising from this decision.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what attempt is to be made to reduce the British contribution to the EEC budget.

In conversation with our Community colleagues, at the Council of Ministers and elsewhere, Ministers have stressed that the United Kingdom's present and prospective net contribution to the EEC budget is inequitable and un- sustainable. At the last Finance Council my right hon. Friend emphasised that it was in the Community's best interest, as well as the United Kingdom's, that the next European Council should address itself to this manifest injustice as a matter of urgency and take the decisions necessary to remedy it.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proposals have been made by the EEC Commission to charge part of the cost of the common agricultural policy to the EEC development budget.

The Commission's press release on the 1980 Community budget indicates that food aid restitutions and ACP sugar have been included in title 9 in the 1980 budget—co-operation with developing countries and non-member States—instead of in titles 6 and 7—European agricultural guidance and guarantee fund—guarantee section—as in the 1979 budget. Further details of the Commission's proposals are likely to be included in the volumes of the preliminary draft budget, which have not yet been received.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is estimated to be the cost per year if short-term benefits were taxed; and how many extra civil servants would be required to administer such additional taxation.

I refer the hon. Member to my answer to the hon. Member for Birkenhead (Mr. Field) on 11 June 1979—[Vol. 968, c. 143–4.]

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much (a)income tax on earned income at the standard rate, (b) income tax on earned income at the higher rates, (c) income tax on unearned income, (d)indirect tax and (e) corporation tax, remained uncollected for each year since 1974; and how much of each year's uncollected tax was ultimately recovered.

The information is not available in precisely the form requested: it is not practicable for the Inland Revenue to analyse the income tax uncollected into tax on earned and unearned income or to differentiate between tax at the basic and higher rates.However, I refer the hon. Member to the information about collection of the assessed taxes in paragraphs 49–52 and

(£ million)
								Income tax	Corporation tax
1. Gross charge raised in year to 31 October 1974						…	…	2,176·5	2,724·3
2. Less adjustments to charge in same year*						…	…	287·9	373·9
3. Net charge at end of year			…	…	…	…	…	1,888·6	2,360·4
4. Less amount paid in same year				…	…	…	…	1,540·0	1,913·6
5. Charge outstanding at end of year					…	…	…	348·6	446·8
(as percentage of net charge at end of year—line 3)								(18·5)	(18·9)
6. Less adjustments to charge in following year of account*								112·0	168·0
7. Less amount paid in following year of account						…	…	137·2	177·9
8. Charge outstanding at end of following year of account								99·4	100·9
(as percentage of net charge at end of the following year)†	…	…	…	…	…	…	…	(5·6)	(4·6)
of which:
9. Not then collectable		…	…	…	…	…	…	53·0	68·9
(as percentage of net charge at the end of the following year)†		…	…	…	…	…	…	(3·0)	(3·1)
10. Then collectable		…	…	…	…	…	…	46·4	32·0
(as percentage of net charge at end of the following year)†	…	…	…	…	…	…	…	(2·6)	(1·5)
* Adjustments include increases on appeal, discharges and remissions.
† Net charge at end of the following year is the gross charge (line 1) less adjustments to date (line 2 and 6).

The amounts of value added tax outstanding were:

	Amount outstanding 6 months after end of year	Amount recovered or written off by 31 December 1978
Year ending 31 March
1976	76·4	65·3
1977	56·5	40·3
1978	42·0	11·3

Figures are not available for the financial years 1973–74 and 1974–75.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer to what extent the national wage and salary bill, costs of goods and services, exports and the cost of living will rise if all salaries and wages were to rise by the same average wage and salary increase as to be paid to top civil servants, judges, doctors, dentists, senior military personnel and the police.

The pay increases recently awarded to top civil servants, judges and senior military personnel in respect of the

asked the Chancellor of he Exchequer what have been the surpluses or losses of each of the nationalised industries in each of the past three years.

The following table gives the surpluses and losses of each of the nationalised industries, for the past three years for which their accounts have been published.

NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES
Revenue Account Surpluses (Deficits)*
£ million
							1975–76	1976–77		1977–78
National Coal Board			…	…	…	…	5·3	27·2		20·4
Electricity Council and Boards				…	…	…	8·5	206·5		132·8
North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Bord						…	0·1	5·9		1·8
South of Scotland Electricity Board					…	…	2·7	22·3		5·6
British Gas Corporation			…	…	…	…	25·1	31·5		103·9
British Steel Corporation				…	…	…	(254·9)	(95·0)		(443·4)
Post Office	…	…	…	…	…	…	147·8	290·6		367·3
British Airways Board			…	…	…	…	(16·3)	35·1		32·5
British Airports Authority				…	…	…	5·2	1·9		5·4
British Shipbuilders			…	…	…	…	—	—		(93·4)
							1975	1976	1977	1978
British Railways Board			…	…	…	…	—	5·3	27·0	6·4
British Transport Docks Board				…	…	…	—	6·2	7·3	7·0
British Waterways Board				…	…	…	(8·0)	(9·9)	(11·9)	†
National Freight Corporation				…	…	…	—	(15·3)	(9·5)	0·3
National Bus Company			…	…	…	…	—	5·8	9·6	17·7
Scottish Transport Group				…	…	…	—	(0·9)	1·0	0·7
British National Oil Corporation					…	…	—	(1·3)	(1·9)	(3·0)
British Aerospace		…	…	…	…	…	—	—	29·4	28·5
* After depreciation, interest and grants for specific purposes and, where applicable, extraordinary items, minority interests and taxation. Before, where applicable, compensation for price restraint, other special grants to meet deficits on revenue account and dividend on public dividend capital.
† Annual report and accounts not yet available.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress he has made in reforming the common agricultural policy.

I shall be pursuing reforms of the CAP in forthcoming negotiations, including those on the level of farm prices for 1979–80.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he proposes to take in respect of the increased milk levy proposed by the EEC.

When the Council of Ministers meets next week, my right hon. Friend proposes to make it clear that the Government stand by the commitment in their election manifesto to resist discriminatory proposals such as those which the Commission has put forward on the co-responsibility levy.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will meet the chairman of the council for postgraduate medical education to discuss means of meeting the public demand for homoeopathic medical treatment and the provision of postgraduate courses in homoeopathy for those general medical practitioners who are anxious to attend such courses.

I hope to meet the chairman of the council for postgraduate medical education before long to discuss the work of the council generally. I shall take the opportunity to raise with him the question of training in homoeopathy.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement about the long-term future of the Royal London Homoeopathic hospital in relation to its role as a national teaching hospital in homoeopathic medicine.

The Government stand by the pledges given by previous Administrations that, while there are patients wishing to receive homoeopathic treatment and doctors willing to provide it, my right hon. Friend will continue to ensure that facilities are made available. I am aware that the previous Government also gave undertakings specifically about the future of the Royal London Homoeopathic hospital. I have no intention of withdrawing those undertakings. They were that there was no question of the hospital being required to leave its present site against the wishes of the staff and others closely interested in its future; and that, while retention of the present number of beds used for non-homoeopathic treatments could not be guaranteed, there must be sufficient safeguards in any proposals for change to ensure that the homoeopathic element remains viable.The hospital's role in homoeopathic training is a matter for the University of London and the council for postgraduate medical education in the first instance.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the justification for the regulation which prevents patients from complaining about their general practitioner after eight weeks; and if he will seek to amend them so that a complaint can be lodged up to six months.

This time limit is laid down in regulations made in 1974. The general justification for time limits is that it becomes more difficult for the facts of a complaint to be established with the lapse of time; and that this can bear hardly on a practitioner who, until the complaint is lodged, may or may not—according to the nature of the case—have any particular reason to record or memorise the events. The regulations do, however, provide for late complaints to be admitted for investigation if certain conditions are satisfied. A proposal to extend the time limit was included with other proposals for changing the complaints procedure which my right hon. Friend's predecessor put to the professional bodies concerned last year, and I am currently studying the comments they have made in discussion with officers of the Department.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many of the extra 400 kidney machines promised in the Budget Statement of 11 April 1978 were in service with each regional health authority at 31 March 1979; and if he will make a statement giving the reasons for any shortfall in provision showing the amount of underspend.

Authorities found it possible in 1978–79 to spend about half of the additional resources for the expansion of renal services arising from the 1978 Budget; resources equivalent to the remainder have been set aside in this financial year for authorities to continue with the plans for at least 418 additional patients to be treated by dialysis. It is not yet possible to state how many of these patients had started treatment by 31 March 1979.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if, in view of the increasing numbers of persons found guilty of social security fraud in the West Midlands due to them operating as part-time private car hire drivers, he will issue instructions that public authorities for which he is responsible shall use only licensed taxi operators.

No. Such instructions would be offensive to the great majority of car-hire firms who run their businesses honestly, while failing to deal with social security fraud within firms who do not happen to provide services for public authorities within my field. If the hon. Member will give me details of any fraudulent claimants of whom he is aware, I shall see that they are vigorously investigated and if possible prosecuted, as other such cases have been.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will take the necessary action to ensure that all the employees in the medical and health services receive the same percentage increase in their wages and salaries as now agreed to be paid to the chairmen of nationalised industries, doctors, dentists, and others.

Remuneration of virtually all NHS staff other than doctors and dentists is a matter for the Whitley councils, who take into account many factors including relevant analogous pay awards.

asked the Secretary of State for the Social Services whether he has received the communication from the hon. Member for Newham, North-West dated 6 June 1979 giving details of how Government expenditure can be cut without damaging the social services; and what action he has taken, or is proposing to take.

I have received the communication from the hon. Member for Newham, North-West. I am making inquiries and shall write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is satisfied that there will continue to be an adequate supply of petrol for the ambulance services; and if he will make a statement.

The majority of health authorities obtain petrol for their ambulances through either a central contract for bulk supplies, arranged and serviced by the Department of Environment—Property Services Agency—or through contracts placed with local garagesSupplies under these arrangements have been subject to cut-backs similar to those suffered by other users. In the main any supply difficulties have been overcome through the co-operation of the Department of Environment—Property Services Agency—and the supplier.I am satisfied that the present arrangements should avoid any disruption to emergency calls on the ambulance service but the position is being kept under review.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will draw the attention of the committee on restrictions against disabled people to the report sent to him by the right hon. Member for Manchester, Wythenshawe, about the restriction placed on the admission of mentally handicapped children to the Pontin's holiday camp at Blackpool; what action he is taking about this restriction following the ministerial action taken in the previous case concerning a Butlin's holiday camp; and if he will make a statement.

As the right hon. Gentleman will be aware, in the first instance the committee will be concentrating its attention on discrimination in relation to physically disabled people—but I shall bring this press report to its notice. I have arranged for my Department to make further inquiries about this matter and I shall write to the right hon. Gentleman when these are complete.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the number of civil servants engaged on work in connection with prepayment certificates for prescriptions in 1978.

Prepayment certificates are issued by the staff of family practitioner committees who are not civil servants. About five civil servants in my Department have responsibilities in relation to these certificates, but the work forms only a very small part of their duties.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when and by what means he proposes to publish the results of the meetings his Department has had with representatives of wholesalers, general practice pharmacists and manufacturers which investigated the current discount war and possible effects of the loss of resale price maintainance on prescription medicines.

No publication is likely; these meetings were purely exploratory.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he intends to bring forward proposals to amend the rules regarding occupational deafness so as to include more workers within their scope.

Yes. Draft regulations have been referred recently to the industrial injuries advisory council for consideration and advice in accordance with section 141(2) of the Social Security Act 1975, following which they will be laid before Parliament. The regulations give effect to the recommendations contained in the council's 1978 report on occupational deafness—Cmnd. 7266. In particular, the regulations extend the coverage of the occupational deafness scheme to include workers who supervise or assist in the use of pneumatic percussive tools and who use them on metal or for drilling rock or coal; those who work in textile weaving sheds or on texturing machines; workers engaged in certain aspects of nail manufacture; and those who use plasma guns for the deposition of metal.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services wheh expects the inquiry by the Director of Public Prosecutions ino allegations of maltreatment of patients at Rampton hospital to be completed.

I have been asked to reply.The police are carrying out their inquiries at the request of the Director of Public Prosecutions as expeditiously as possible but are not expected to complete them in the near future.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, what is his estimate of the numbers of patients who would need to be reimbursed through social security offices if prescription charges were raised to 50p per item of prescription.

, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 24 May 1979; Vol. 967, c. 209], gave the following answer:Separate details are not kept of the number of patients who are reimbursed previously paid prescription charges through social security offices but the following estimates may be of interest.If the prescription charge was increased to 50p and the tolerance margin remained at 30p about 180,000 additional non-pensioner "heads of household" might become eligible for low-income exemption. If the tolerance margin was increased to 75p in parallel with an increase to 50p in the charge itself some 266,000 additional non-pensioner "heads of household" might become eligible. At present only a very small percentage of those eligible claim exemption.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether any impending constraint on spending by water authorities will in any way affect the pace of the North-West water authority's progress in remedying underground dereliction in Manchester; and if he will make a statement.

The public spending cuts for the current year announced yesterday will certainly impose constraints upon the capital programme of the water authorities. However, the detailed management of the reductions is for each authority to decide in accordance with its regional policies and priorities, and I am unable to comment on the effect on particular aspects of the North-West water authority's programme.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what changes he intends to make in the number of people employed by the Building Research Establishment.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on Monday11 June.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to bring forward his proposals for changes in local government superannuation rules; and if he will make a statement.

The local government superannuation scheme is embodied in the Local Government Superannuation Regulations 1974–SI 1974 No. 520. Changes to the scheme are a matter for agreement in the first instance between employers and unions in local government, and only when proposed changes have been agreed can the necessary amendments be made. Agreed changes are effected by means of statutory instruments. The Government are considering whether it would be appropriate to convert the existing statutory scheme to a different form.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment which of the 20 sites proposed by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority for nuclear dumping investigations are in England; and what action has been taken to date on each of the sites proposed.

The UKAEA has appealed to my right hon. Friend against the decisions of the Northumberland county council refusing planning permission to drill test boreholes in the Chillingham and Usway Forests for geological research purposes. The carrying out of resesarch into the geological characteristics of other areas of the country is being considered, but it is too early to indicate exactly which areas are under considaration.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the policy of the Government with regard to disposal of public sector land which is surplus to requirements.

It is of the greatest importance that suitable land should be made available for housing, industrial and other necessary developments. The Government believe that all land which is currently held by public authorities surplus to requirements should be offered for sale as soon as practicable. The Government are asking for public authorities to act on this premise. In order to make the process simpler and quicker, they are now bringing to an end the redundant lands procedure, so that public authorities will be free to sell land on the open market immediately it becomes surplus, instead of first offering it for sale to other public sector bodies. In the light of this I have given instructions that the large Crown-owned site on the south bank of the Thames near Vauxhall bridge, which had been acquired for Civil Service offices, and for which there is no longer any requirement, will be offered for sale.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will make a statement on his policy towards hypermarkets, bearing in mind that out-of-town locations require energy-consuming private transport to be used.

I have been asked to reply. Government policy is that hypermarkets and other large stores should, wherever possible, be located within the urban area. Advice to this effect is contained in development control policy note 13. I am sending the hon. Member a copy.

asked the Minister of Transport if he plans to allow fresh claims for compensation under the Land Compensation Act from those living near to the M6 motorway.

Ministers are now actively considering the first report from the Select Committee on the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration—Session 1978–79—about late claims under part I of the Land Compensation Act 1973. Until a decision on the committee's recommendation has been reached I cannot say whether particular fresh claims from those living alongside M6 will be admitted. I shall write to the hon. Member about this as soon as possible.

asked the Minister of Transport what proposals he has to reduce form-filling and bureaucracy as it is experienced by motorists when taxing their vehicles.

I refer the right hon. Member to the reply I gave him yesterday.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will initiate a new study concerned with the reopening of previously disused railway lines; and if he will make a statement.

Not at present.

asked the Minister of Transport what is the average waiting period for a driving test in (a) Blackburn, (b) the North West and (c) Great Britain generally.

Waiting periods at 1 June were:

Blackburn	29 weeks
North-Western traffic area	27½ weeks
Great Britain-excluding metropolitan traffic area	26 weeks

asked the Minister of Transport how many driving test examiners were employed in the Blackburn driving test centre in 1977, 1978 and May 1979; and what was the ratio of tests per examiner in (a) Blackburn, (b) the North-West and (c) Great Britain generally.

						1976	1977	1978
North-Western traffic area			…	…	…	1,426	1,369	1,409
Great Britain	…	…	…	…	…	1,475	1,457	1,449

Similar information for the Blackburn centre is not readily available.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will confirm that the completion of the M25 continues to be accorded the highest priority among road projects.

Yes.

						Estimated commencement date	Estimated completion date
A13 to Mar Dyke		…	…	…	…	Under construction	Mid-1981
Mar Dyke to North Ockendon			…	…	…	August 1979	Early 1982
North Ockendon to A12		…	…	…	…	Late 1979	Mid-1982
A12 to M11	…	…	…	…	…	Early to mid-1980	Early to mid-1982

asked the Minister of Transport what action he proposes to take to ensure an adequate supply of fuel oils to public transport operators to enable them to serve the needs of the travelling public without any cut-back in existing scheduled services.

The Government consider that public transport operators should have a fair share of oil supplies but, as my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy said on 11 June, the Government look to all users to reduce their consumption to match the reduction in oil supplies wherever possible.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will authorise the British Railways Board to embark upon an immediate programme of further rail electrification projects as a contribution to easing the long-term effects of the energy crisis.