asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what study he has made of the case of ex-police sergeant William Jamieson of Bo'ness; and whether he will consider making a recommendation to the Queen for operation of the Royal Prerogative.

My right hon. Friend is now looking into the case of ex-police sergeant Jamieson. This case has not previously been raised with him in relation to the possible exercise of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy. My right hon. Friend will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

Does that mean that the issue is being kept open?

That is correct. The issue is being kept open. We shall try to come to a speedy decision, as is appropriate.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the funding of the Scottish Development Agency; and what effect the reduction in its budget will have on the agency's activities and terms of reference.

As I told the hon. Member for Glasgow, Maryhill (Mr. Craigen) on 19 June, it is intended to achieve a reduction in the agency's published Supply Estimates for 1979–80 of about £20 million. This will still leave the agency with about 25 per cent. more available to it than it spent last year.

Does the Under-Secretary of State accept that that is almost certainly a cut in real terms, given the high rate of inflation that we can expect from the Conservative Government? Will he accept that it is the worst type of ideological prejudice to restrict the operation of the Scottish Development Agency at a time when we can expect cataclysmic unemployment as a result of the Government's policies? Will the Minister please undertake to guarantee that there will be no cut in the type of investment that the agency can make or in the range of its interests, even if he is being mean about the money?

There is no question of the Government being mean about money for the SDA. It was seriously over-funded. The provisions that are being made for the future of the SDA will be in no way restrictive. They will help to make it more efficient and effective in its future operations.

If the Minister feels that the SDA is over-funded, why did he not transfer that over-funding to help Scottish shipyards or, indeed, to maintain its interest scheme for the construction of oil rigs in order to maintain employment in Scotland? Is the hon. Gentleman really satisfied with the co-ordination of economic policy as it affects Scotland? How are his policies likely to create employment in Scotland?

The most important need of the Scottish shipbuilding industry is orders for ships. It is not a matter of funding the SDA or anything else.

Does my hon. Friend agree that, useful though the SDA is, like its predecessor, the most important role that the Government can play in creating new jobs in Scotland is to encourage incentives amongst individual men and women? Will he reaffirm the commitment to give all the help that he can to small businesses?

Yes. We are committed fully to giving help to small businesses. In that respect we believe that the SDA has a useful role to play.

Since all the SDA's activities—whether industrial development, factory building or clearing derelection—are connected with the provision of jobs, is it not inevitable that a cut of £ 20 million in the planned budget for next year will result in the loss of thousands of jobs in Scotland?

That is a gross exaggeration. I am surprised that the right hon. Gentleman should make it. He must know better than anybody the extent to which his Government over-funded the SDA's operations. The SDA will still have 25 per cent. more funds available to it this year than it had last year, despite the cuts.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the level of hill livestock compensatory allowances for 1980.

My right hon. Friends and I will review the level of hill livestock compensatory allowances for 1980 towards the end of the year when we know the outcome of the autumn store stock sales and have up-to-date information on changes in production costs.

Does my right hon. Friend agree that it is vital that primary producers of calves in the hill areas have their confidence restored so that we may be in a stronger position when the predicted shortage of beef occurs?

I agree very much with my hon. Friend, and we shall take these matters very carefully into account in the review we will be making this autumn.

Is the Secretary of State aware that that is a very disappointing answer and that the agriculture industry is expecting some increase now to take account of increased fuel costs and rising inflation? Is he aware also that Conservative candidates in the election campaign gave the impression that action would be taken speedily if the Conservative Party came to power? Is it the right hon. Gentleman's intention to pay up to the EEC limits in future?

The question is directed to the levels for 1980, and I have answered it in that sense. In relation to the present situation we hope to announce a decision very shortly.

Does my right hon. Friend agree that what farmers require, above all, is a clear and strong commitment by the Government to supporting a home-based food industry? Does he agree further that his colleagues at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food are to be congratulated on the successful negotiations in Europe which will be of real help to consumers and farmers alike?

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. There is no doubt that the success of my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in his negotiations in Europe last month was an extremely good boost in confidence for the farming industry. Scotland is no exception to that.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he plans next to meet representatives of the fishing industry.

I met representatives of the United Kingdom fishing industry both at home and in Luxembourg at the time of the Council of Fisheries Ministers on Monday 25 June 1979. I am arranging meetings at an early date with representatives of the industry in Scotland.

When my right hon. Friend meets those representatives, will he, in the light of the tragic loss of the "Carinthia" last week and the 22 fishermen from the North-East who have died at sea in the last 12 months, seek to persuade them, in conjunction with his right hon. Friend at the Department of Trade, to make far more use of the new radio open line for reporting in? Can he tell the House what consideration he is giving to compulsory survival training for fishermen?

I agree with my hon. Friend that the number of tragedies in the fishing industry should cause us great concern. I shall be discussing these matters with representatives of the fishing industry at the earliest possible opportunity.

What will the Secretary of State be able to say about herring when he next meets the fishermen? Does he agree that there is evidence of an increase in the number of herring in the North Sea? Can he say what he is currently telling fishermen about whiting quotas?

We are convinced that it is necessary to continue the herring fishing prohibitions in 1979, because we must allow for the recovery of depleted stocks. Naturally we regret the hardship which closures of this kind can cause, both to catchers and processors, but we cannot ignore the compelling scientific evidence that demonstrates the need for continued protection of herring in our waters. As for whiting, that is a matter we shall also discuss with the industry.

Will the right hon. Gentleman, in conjunction with his right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, be prepared to give a sympathetic reply to the request from the Western Isles fleet for a fixed quota of herring caught by drift net for the local market on the lines of a similar dispensation given to the Dutch?

This is a wider question, but I shall consider that suggestion before meeting representatives of the industry.

In his discussions with the fishing industry, will my right hon. Friend include talks with the Fife Shell Fishermen's Association about the disastrous state of the crab market which has resulted in hundreds of boxes of crab bodies being thown overboard each week? Will he take steps to prevent the dumping on the market of cooked crab meat from outside the EEC?

This problem is causing great concern in some quarters of the fishing industry. I cannot say that we have a reasonable and readily identifiable solution to it, but it is a matter that we shall discuss.

When will the right hon. Gentleman be able to announce a decision about funding for the development of the fish market in Aberdeen? Is he aware that there is concern in the city following the meeting of his right hon. Friend Lord Mansfield with the Aberdeen harbour board, when he gave its members a very dismal view of the funding that might be provided by his Department?

I do not know about the last part of that question, but the case which was put by the Aberdeen owners for consideration for parity with the English ports is very much under consideration by my Department.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of the employment consequences to Scotland of the dispersal of Civil Service jobs from the Ministry of Defence and the Overseas Development Administration to Glasgow and surrounding districts.

This depends on assumptions about local recruitment and the multiplier effect, but the regional implications and the importance of job structure will be taken fully into account in the current review of the dispersal programme.

Is the Secretary of State aware that many right hon. and hon. Members on both sides of the House are very concerned to hear that there will be a review at all, in view of the specific assurances given by his predecessor and by him at the Dispatch Box only a month ago that the full dispersal would go ahead? May we now have from the right hon. Gentleman an assurance that there will be no diminution of the numbers going to Glasgow and East Kilbride? Will he tell the House how much has already been expended by the SDA, and local authorities, in preparing for these people coming to Glasgow?

I should have thought that the right hon. Gentleman would have been a little chary of expressing such extreme remarks and would have regarded a review as an extremely reasonable exercise to undertake, particularly in view of the extreme dilatoriness of the previous Government over this question. I understand from the Property Services Agency that it has spent £3·45 million on the acquisition of sites at St. Enoch's and Anderston for the dispersal proposed there.

Will my right hon. Friend please contradict the rumours, now prevalent, that the Ministry of Defence is not to move to Glasgow? Will he confirm that this vital aspect of decentralisation and devolution is to be carried out as soon as possible, as I asked him to confirm in our recent debate on the Scotland Act—which I do not think was mentioned in his reply? I have also written to him and have not had a reply.

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his interest. I have made clear that no decisions on this matter have been taken. All these factors, and the concern expressed by my hon. Friend and others, will be taken into account in the course of the review, but no decisions have yet been taken.

If the Secretary of State is unable to persuade his colleagues in Parliament to disperse Civil Service jobs to Scotland, will he at least resist their demands that he slash the number of Civil Service jobs already in Scotland? Will he not at least recognise that his statement on Saturday that the Scottish Office was a great success—a success of which the people who worked in it should be proud—must have been greeted with a hollow laugh by most of his staff, bearing in mind the commitment to cut out one in eight posts in the Scottish Office?

There is no such commitment. What I have been discussing with my staff is the necessity, which all Government Departments must recognise, in view of the parlous state of the economy of this country as it was left by the previous Government, to reduce our expenditure on necessary services to a level we can afford. If the hon. Gentleman does not like it, he should have persuaded the previous Government to do something about it.

Does my right hon. Friend agree that one of the problems about dispersal has been the unfavourable image projected of Glasgow and the surrounding area? Will he impress upon those concerned the excellent amenities and the very high quality of life available in many parts of West Central Scotland including, of course, East Renfrewshire?

I agree with my hon. Friend that the best answer to the so-called unfavourable image is the extreme success of the Post Office savings bank which has been successfully established in Glasgow. People there enjoy it very much.

Will the Secretary of State accept that the kind of wriggling replies that he has given this afternoon are liable to do him an injury? Will he also accept that if Glasgow and West Scotland do not get these 6,000 Civil Service jobs that will be regarded as a total and complete betrayal of Glasgow and West Scotland?

I hope that the hon. Gentleman will not anticipate the results of the review. It is perfectly reasonable, and right, for a new Government to review such matters as these. I hope that he will await the outcome of the review.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland to what extent he is involved in the development of roads in the city of Glasgow.

My right hon. Friend makes each year an overall allocation of capital resources to Strathclyde regional council for the provision and improvement of public transport and roads within the region. Within that allocation the regional council decides which road schemes it wishes to proceed.

As a road, by its very nature, affects a wide area and is therefore of more than local interest, and when so much taxpayers' money is involved, should not the Secretary of State take a greater interest, and will my hon. Friend agree that some road proposals, such as that for a road to go through Glasgow Green—

Reading.

I do not know what the hon. Gentleman is talking about—the road proposed to go through Glasgow Green, the Crow Road expressway in my constituency, and, formerly, the Great Western Road project;—

Reading all the time.

Will you please shut up?

Order. No one could have been quieter than I was. Will the hon. Gentleman come to a conclusion?

I am trying to do just that, Mr. Speaker, and if hon. Members opposite did not interrupt so much I might be able to get to the point, which is that the roads which I have mentioned—the proposed road across Glasgow Green, the Crow Road expressway, and formerly the Great Western Road scheme—involve issues of aesthetic and environmental interest and financial—

Order. The hon. Gentleman is not being fair to the rest of the House. It was not just that he was interrupted. It was a very long supplementary question.

I know that my hon. Friend is voicing a matter which is of interest and concern to some of his constituents. I think that he will be aware that the proposals for the Crow Road expressway in particular have been before the regional council and the local authority since 1965. They were subject to extensive public consultation on the part of the local authority and also involved a public local inquiry into a compulsory purchase order. I am sure that my hon. Friend will agree that on a matter which is essentially local it is right and proper that Strathclyde regional council, which is the relevant authority, should decide its own priorities on the basis of what it believes to be appropriate.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he plans next to meet the Scottish CBI and the STUC.

I have already had meetings with both these bodies and shall be meeting them again later this summer.

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for that information. In his future discussions with both sides of Scottish industry, will my right hon. Friend emphasise that some recent news from Clydeside, notably from John Brown Engineering and Clydework Engineering, shows how industrial success can be achieved in Scotland if the key problem of improving productivity is tackled successfully by joint efforts on the part of management and employees?

Yes, I appreciate what my hon. Friend says, and I think it important to bear in mind that, even in the present situation which we have taken over in government, there are still good things as well as bad happening even on Clydeside, and we welcome that very much. As regards higher productivity, the strategy of the Budget is intended to encourage people to have an incentive to attain just that, and I am sure that it is most valuable for the future expansion of business in Scotland.

When the Secretary of State talks with the Scottish CBI and STUC, will he convey from those bodies to his colleagues in the Department of Industry the important fact that development area status in Scotland has been accorded not just on the criterion of levels of unemployment but also on the criterion of levels of depopulation, and that nothing should be done to damage that criterion?

I entirely agree that unemployment levels are not the only factor in this context, and all these other matters must be taken into account. They are being taken into account in our review of regional policy.

When the Secretary of State next meets the Scottish Trades Union Congress, will he listen carefully to the alternative economic strategy being offered by the general council of the STUC and, in particular, to the views of its local government committee, which is expressing great concern about the savage attacks being made on the public sector by his Government?

I shall always listen with the greatest interest and care to all that is said to me by the STUC. I can only share the concern which it must feel about the effects on local government of the reductions in public expenditure which we are forced to make. No one can deny that they are extremely difficult to deal with, and the reason for them is that there is simply not enough money left after the depredations of the last Labour Government to pay for the services which we would like to have.

When my right hon. Friend meets representatives of the STUC, will he urge on them the need to solve the inter-union dispute which is keeping the steel complex at Hunterston closed? Does my right hon. Friend agree that such continued closure does nothing for Scotland's image or for our prosperity?

I agree with my hon. Friend. I was present at the opening of the Hunterston complex, and it was extremely sad that an inter-union dispute should have made it impossible to work it on that day. I shall do anything I can to encourage those concerned to come together, but it is primarily a matter for the British Steel Corporation and its employees.

How does the Secretary of State propose to justify to the CBI and the STUC when he next meets them the Government's decision to discontinue the scheme of assistance for the offshore industry, which has brought many thousands of jobs to Scotland and whose discontinuance is bound to put many of these jobs at risk?

I appreciate the point that the right hon. Gentleman makes. My colleagues in the Department of Energy are closely involved in this matter. As regards discontinuance of the scheme, as the right hon. Gentleman will be only too well aware there is an extreme shortage of money to deal with many problems throughout the country. If he had thought about this a year or two ago, we might not have been in that position now.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he intends to announce his plans for the introduction of a four-year primary education degree for all students undertaking training as primary school teachers in Scottish colleges of education.

My right hon. Friend is considering proposals by the General Teaching Council for Scotland for replacing the primary diploma with a four-year degree and will make a statement in due course.

I am glad to hear that the Scottish Office is at least considering the issue, but is the hon. Gentleman not aware that the GTC put forward these proposals several years ago, colleges have already drawn up their proposals and all the teacher unions in Scotland are urging this measure on the Government? Further, is the hon. Gentleman aware that in England and Wales such proposals are well advanced, and if these proposals are not introduced in the near future the Scottish teacher training system, which has been in advance of that in England and Wales throughout this century, will fall behind? Finally, will the hon. Gentleman take it that there will be some disappointment in Scottish education circles about the delay which seems to be indicated by his answer?

The hon. Gentleman will be aware that the degree course in England and Wales is for three years, as compared with the recommendation for four years in Scotland, and that adoption of the Scottish proposal would mean a considerable increase in public expenditure. My right hon. Friend will make a statement as soon as posible, but I cannot at this point say just when that will be.

Will my hon. Friend remember that the present three-year course at the colleges of education provides excellent teachers for the primary schools of Scotland, and will he guard against adding on an extra year which may increase the theory content of these courses to the detriment of the practical ability of the teachers coming from the colleges?

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for making that valid point. We must continue to look at this matter not only on financial grounds but on educational grounds and make sure that it is necessary in the first place for this step to be made.

Before making up his mind, will the Minister consider also the strong representations and convincing arguments on this very subject adduced by the Presbytery, which I have communicated to his Department, and will he bear in mind that, irrespective of the number of years which may be involved, if a degree course can be introduced in England and Wales it ought surely to be introduced in Scotland?

I shall take those representations into account, and I note again the points that the hon. Gentleman makes.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is satisfied with the state of fuel supplies in rural areas of Scotland, and what steps he proposes to take now and during the coming winter to ensure that essential public services and industries will receive adequate fuel supplies.

While I am satisfied that supplies in rural areas are in general adequate, I recognise that there have been distribution problems in specific areas. I am satisfied that the major oil companies are making efforts to achieve an equitable distribution of oil products and are well aware of the need to rebuild stocks for the coming winter. The Government are watching the situation closely and will do all they can to help where serious difficulties arise.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the fuel supply problem in many rural areas is being aggravated because the percentage reductions being applied by the various companies, which range from 5 per cent. to 20 per cent., are based on the 1978 figures, which were themselves distorted because there was a price war going on during 1978? Is the Secretary of State aware also that the position in my constituency is already serious and that many petrol stations are running dry, including some which normally supply ambulances? May we have an assurance that he is prepared, if the need arises, to take urgent and active steps to ensure supplies when demand surges at the time of the harvest and in the coming winter?

We shall always do our best to respond to any crisis brought to our attention. In one instance it was brought to our attention that there were difficulties in obtaining supplies of fuel for ambulances, and I believe that that has been resolved satisfactorily. The local supplier is the best person to respond to genuine local difficulties. Where that procedure fails to resolve a serious problem for an essential service, or where there is revealed inequity of treatment by the supplier, I shall always be prepared to help if I can.

Will the right hon. Gentleman try to persuade his colleagues in the Department of Energy that there are serious problems in the Borders area of Scotland that must be considered distinctively? Is he aware that some suppliers are facing cuts in supply of up to 50 per cent? There is now a lay-off of lorry drivers among the small hauliers, which is extremely serious with the late harvest approaching.

The problem is complex. It is made more so because different companies have different quotas and different sources of supply. In general, supplies are available in most areas. Where pockets of difficulty arise we can usually do something to iron out the problems. I shall try to do that wherever possible.

I recognise that some petrol companies are indulging in slightly doubtful tactics under the cover of a distribution crisis. However, will my right hon. Friend take this opportunity to reassure would-be visitors from south of the border that Scotland is not a petrol desert north of the Tay, and that there are still real opportunities for them to enjoy their holidays in Scotland this summer?

I appreciate what my hon. Friend says. I think that the oil companies are mostly doing their best in what is a difficult situation for them as well. Some tourists have been having difficulty, but in general none of them need fear that if they come to Scotland on holiday they are likely to be left completely dry of petrol. I understand that the Scottish Tourist Board will soon be mounting a campaign to try to counter that idea.

As Scotland will be exporting 55 million tonnes of oil this year, how can the Government justify any fuel shortage?

Scotland will be importing a good deal of gas from other parts of the United Kingdom. The hon. Gentleman should realise that it is an international market and that the United Kingdom is currently extremely well placed. We are in a much better position than most of our neighbours, provided that everybody exercises common sense in a difficult situation.

On 11 June, the Secretary of State for Energy assured his hon. Friend the Member for Aberdeenshire, East (Mr. McQuarrie) that he was taking immediate steps to deal with the crisis in rural areas and that these steps would be effective. As it is clear that there are still widespread problems throughout Scotland, how can the right hon. Gentleman sustain the myth and the fiction that a free market in petrol will solve the problems of the rural areas? How can he say that tourists will have no problems in finding petrol supplies this summer?

First, I welcome the hon. Gentleman to his new responsibilities, upon which I congratulates him. Secondly, I cannot agree with him if he suggests that there is a widespread and wholesale impossibility of obtaining petrol throughout Scotland. That is not so, and I hope that those who are thinking of coming to Scotland will not take that view. There are bound to be difficulties. Nobody can pretend that everything will be plain sailing. If there are special difficulties in certain areas, the Scottish Office will always be willing to try to help. We have been able to provide help so far whenever a request has been made.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what action he intends to take to ensure security of tenure for persons resident in public authority houses in Scotland.

My right hon. Friend is considering whether security of tenure provisions should be included in the Government's proposed housing legislation.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the law in Scotland treats the tenants of local authority houses as second-class citizens, and that a local authority may proceed within the sheriff court to obtain an eviction order against a tenant without offering any reasonable proof to substantiate its action? Does he agree that the cornerstone of any such legislation should be to place a burden of proof on the local authority when it proceeds for the repossession of its property?

The hon. Gentleman has correctly stated the legal position. It is only fair to point out that in the majority of cases local authorities do not resort to eviction unless there are reasons which I think Members on both sides of the House would accept would justify that action. Many local authorities are severely criticised for not taking such action when many local residents believe that eviction would be appropriate. I take the hon. Gentleman's argument. The Government are considering the matter. He will be aware that local authorities have considerable feelings on the issue, and we are interested to receive their comments on the consultative paper that was put before them some time ago.

Will my hon. Friend bear in mind the real hardship and misery caused to many respectable and law-abiding council house tenants by the behaviour of their anti-social neighbours? Will he assure the House that he will do nothing to make it more difficult for local housing authorities to deal with the problem effectively?

My hon. Friend is correct to try to achieve a balance between the legitimate interests of the local authority and those of the tenant. We must take into account the real fears of many good tenants about the difficulties that they will have in resolving problems with anti-social tenants with whom they live. There is a need to achieve a balance, and that is what we are trying to achieve.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that there are many within the public sector of housing because of their employment? Individuals who have been employees of the Falkirk district health board are being forced on to the streets because they have finished their period of employment. Does he accept that security of tenure should apply to retired hospital workers? At present there are many vacant houses in the possession of district health boards that could be provided for retired workers who are now being forced to join housing queues at a time when they are going through the trauma of retirement.

The hon. Gentleman must accept that tied housing, which is the subject to which he is referring, produces a considerable number of different issues. It is difficult to provide security of tenure when an employee ceases the employment on the basis of which he was provided with a house. It is for the local authority, the body responsible for providing housing for those who need it, to respond to that type of need.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give £3·5 million to Tayside regional council to build a new Ardler high school in Dundee.

The hon. Gentleman will know from our recent correspondence that the regional council has decided to withdraw this proposed new school temporarily from its financial plan while various options for future school provision are considered.

Is the hon. Gentleman satisfied that the Tory-controlled Tayside regional council deliberately underspent its capital education expenditure allowances for the past three years up to March 1979 by £1,584,000, half the amount that it would take to build Ardler high school? That is in a region where £57,000 has been removed from the financial plan for 1979, a sum which should have been used for the initial design work for Ardler high school.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware—

Is the Minister asking a question of my hon. Friend the Member for Dundee, West (Mr. Ross)?

Yes; I am asking whether the hon. Gentleman is aware that the cuts to which he refers were requested by the previous Labour Government and the previous Secretary of State for Scotland.

Does my hon. Friend recognise that the education authority of the Tayside region is facing a real problem and that there are already considerable priorities, such as Arbroath high school and other schools in Perthshire, to which it has to give its urgent attention?

We shall consider carefully any proposals that the regional council makes to us.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that he has grossly misled the House? What he has said is totally without foundation. My hon. Friend the Member for Dundee, West (Mr. Ross) said that there had been an underspend and not a cut in public expenditure. I ask the Minister to withdraw his statement.

Such underspends might arise for various reasons and as a result of various actions. I do not think that the hon. Gentleman can deny that his Government introduced drastic cuts in expenditure, including local government expenditure.

rose—

Mr. John Mackay.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker.

I shall take points of order after Question Time.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. During an answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Dundee, West (Mr. Ross) on question No. 11 the Under-Secretary of State for Scotland—the hon. Member for Edinburgh, North (Mr. Fletcher)—advised my hon. Friend that the reason that the Ardler high school in Dundee had been withdrawn from the building programme was not that the Tayside regional council had underspent, in a period of three years, about £1 million of its education budget, but cuts in public expenditure imposed by my right hon. Friend the former Secretary of State and those of us who were in the previous Government. I challenged the Minister at the time and advised him that he had misled the House and that he ought to withdraw his statement. He declined to do so.

Order. The hon. Gentleman has been a Member of the House for a long time. [An HON. MEMBER: "Hear, hear. Too long."] Order. It is official. None of us has been here "too long", or I should be getting anxious. The hon. Gentleman knows that he cannot address a question to the Minister through me on a point of order.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his policy regarding the increasing use of English CSE mode 3 examinations in Scottish schools.

The use of these examinations in Scotland is a matter for individual education authorities.

Does my hon. Friend realise that the increasing use of the CSE mode 3 shows that there is a demand in Scottish schools for an examination below the level of the CSE O-level? Although he may not wish to go as far as the Dunning committee recommends, will he consider asking the Scottish certificate of education examination board to consider introducing an examination below O-level grade in certain specified subjects such as English and arithmetic?

I appreciate my hon. Friend's argument. I am sure that he will agree that until decisions have been made on the Munn and Dunning reports it will be difficult to take the matter any further. I agree that a considerable delay has taken place since the reports were commissioned in January 1975. My right hon. Friend will make a statement on the matter as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will make a statement about his decision to oppose the limitation of rents in the Cumbernauld and Kilsyth district.

The rent limitation order made by the previous Administration had the effect of limiting the increase in rents in Cumbernauld and Kilsyth district to £59 in the current financial year compared with the £71 which the district council proposed. My right hon. Friend took the view that there were no good grounds for interfering in this way with the district council's discretion and therefore exercised the powers given to him by section 2 of the Housing Rents and Subsidies (Scotland) Act 1975 to revoke the order. The revocation order was laid before this House on 20 June.

Will the Minister, who is one of the less reactionary members of this Government, come with me to my constituency and explain to the people of Kilsyth, Queenzieburn, Kelvinhead and Banton why the Tory Government are collaborating with the local SNP dictator, Provost Murray, who wants to impose a savage 40 per cent. rent increase? Is not the Minister ashamed to be a member of a Government who refuse to intervene to reduce prices yet intervene to increase rents?

I thank the hon. Gentleman for the compliment with which he preceded his supplementary question. I am not sure whether it was meant to do me good or harm. Presumably he is aware of that. The hon. Gentleman is always noted for his moderate language. He should be aware that even if the district council—it will be its decision—chooses to impose this full rent increase, the average rent in Kilsyth and Cumbernauld district will become the average rent in Scotland.

Does the hon. Gentleman accept that by reversing the previous Government's decision to limit swingeing increases in rents proposed by the SNP-dominated Cumbernauld and Kilsyth district council he is permitting the council to attack the living standards of council house tenants? Is he aware that the actions of this council, aided by the hon. Gentleman, have resulted in the erroneous comparison being made between houses built in Cumbernauld 21 years ago, or less, and houses built up to 50 years ago in Kilsyth and Croy, and that such a comparison has no validity?

The hon. Gentleman must accept that it is only right and proper that elected local authorities should decide their rent increases for themselves and be answerable to their own tenants and electorates for the decisions that they make.

Does my hon. Friend agree that the best way of limiting the rise in council house rents is by encouraging the sale of council houses, thus reducing the overall burden on housing authorities?

Scotland has a deplorably low level of home ownership. One important major way in which that level may be increased is by means of the policy to which my hon. Friend referred.

If the Minister is so anxious to allow these decisions to be made by local authorities, why do the Government propose to compel local authorities to sell council houses, even against their will?

This is a question of priorities. The right of a tenant to own the home that he lives in is a far more important right to protect and enhance than the right of the local authority to prevent him from doing so.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland by how much the Fife regional council will require to reduce its expenditure programme in the current financial year to meet the Government's requirements.

It is for Fife regional council, like other local authorities, to decide how to respond to my request to all local authorities in Scotland to reduce their planned current expenditure at least to the level consistent with the rate support grant settlement for 1979 –80.

Is the Minister aware that this represents a vicious attack on the living standards of the people of Fife, whatever measures the Fife region is compelled to take as a result of his measures? Bearing in mind that the Fife region already has the lowest rate level in Scotland, does he agree that the Fife ratepayer should not be faced with this reduction? Will the Minister say how Fife's present standards of service in education, youth employment and roads may be maintained in view of the parsimonious attitude of the Government towards local authorities in Fife?

There is no doubt that the changes will result in difficulties for local authorities in their spending next year. However, the matter should be kept in perspective. They will still have more to spend after our rate support grant increase has been made than they would have had under the previous Government's rate support grant order. We have reduced the size of the increase that would have occurred. We must all cut back because the previous Government, of which the hon. Gentleman was a supporter, left the Exchequer so empty that there is no money with which to keep these services going.

Does my right hon. Friend accept that the previous Labour Administration were prejudiced against rural areas in rate support grant terms? For a Labour-controlled authority, Fife regional council has been careful of public money. Will he please discuss with the Fife regional council urgent action to deal with the long-put-off problem of maintaining the unadopted roads?

It is my duty, and that of my officials, to do all we can to assist local authorities and their officials to make these reductions in the best possible way in the circumstances. It means great difficulties in the maintenance of many services. That is the result of there not being enough money with which to carry on as happened in the past five years.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland why the report on services for the elderly with mental disorder in Scotland—the Timbury Report—has not been published; and whether he intervened to delay its publication.

The report on services for the elderly with mental disability in Scotland was published by HMSO on Monday 18 June this year. There has been no intervention to delay publication.

I am glad that we have reached this question. It justifies the presence of the Under-Secretary of State. Perhaps he might add to his reply by explaining why the Government have departed from their usual procedure, and that of previous Governments, by not issuing this report to the press and the public. Is the report being covered up in view of the scandalous situation that it reveals of services for the elderly with mental disability and the fact that the cuts in public expenditure proposed by the Government are totally at variance with what is proposed in the report—which is greatly increased public expenditure for this group?

The report is now available for anyone who wishes to read it. There was no delay by the Government. I gave permission for the report to be published on 31 May, without commitment. The hon. Gentleman must realise that the implementation of this report would cost a great deal of money.

Does my hon. Friend agree that the only way in which we may support and help the services to the mentally handicapped and the elderly is by improving the wealth of the country?

I agree with my hon. Friend. If this country wants the services that European countries now have, we must have the same productivity as they have in Europe.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what are his future plans for the Royal high school building in Edinburgh.

My right hon. Friend will await the conclusions of the inter-party talks about the government of Scotland before making a decision about future use of the Royal high school building.

How much public money was spent by the Labour Government in preparing this building for the proposed Scottish Assembly, and how much has been spent on it since 3 May?

About £3·2 million has been spent so far on providing accommodation for this building. Further expenditure will be required to complete contracts entered into before the referendum by the previous Government. The total estimated cost was £3·75 million. However, we hope to achieve a saving on that sum by, for example, the diversion of furniture to other uses.

Have the Government made any contingency plans for alternative use?

It would be inappropriate to consider alternative uses until the completion of the inter-party talks, in which the hon. Gentleman is involved.

Does my hon. Friend agree that this building might be sold to private enterprise, which could conceivably put it to productive use?

Any question of the long-term use of the building must await the completion of the talks.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he intends to discuss with the Confederation of British Industry in Scotland and the Scottish Trades Union Congress the Government's economic strategy.

I have no doubt that, in the meetings I shall continue to have from time to time with both bodies, the Government's economic policies will be discussed fully.

Does not the Minister agree that if he goes along on that basis there will be an extremely short agenda? However, he might supplement the agenda by deciding as fast as he can to create jobs, especially in Fife, by making a decision on the Braefoot Bay-Moss Morran project. This is the longest running public inquiry on record. Will he put the developers, the local authorities and the residents out of their misery by announcing today when he intends to make a decision?

I should have thought that if I were to discuss with these bodies the Government's economic strategy it would be a very long agenda and hardly a short one—I hope it would be. As for Moss Morran, the hon. Member will not expect me to express an opinion either way, except to assure him that there will be no undue delay on my part in taking into account, in a proper manner, all the representations that are made, and making a decision as quickly as possible.

Does my right hon. Friend accept that a great many people who are concerned with this matter will much appreciate his answer? Many believe that this is not the right place for a development of the kind proposed.

I make no pronouncements either for or against this development. All I can say is that I am carefully taking into account all the representations that have been made.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects to announce the start of construction of the Partick health centre; and if he will make a statement.

I am not in a position to say when it will be possible to announce a starting date for this health centre. As the hon. Gentleman is aware, there have been difficulties in securing a suitable site for the development. These remain unresolved, but the health board is continuing its search.

That was a most disappointing answer. Having newly arrived in his job, will not the hon. Gentleman cut through some of the medical red tape which is preventing a proper site being found for this centre?

The hon. Member must know that the Strathclyde regional council has no longer made this site available and wishes to use it for another purpose. Another health centre is being considered at Baillieston, and the hon. Member also knows that there is the possibility of using part of the Western infirmary.