asked the Prime Minister what representations she has received about her attitude to the Soviet Union; and if she will make a statement.

I have received no formal representations, though naturally I have received many letters from the public about the Government's policy towards the Soviet Union. I set out my attitude to the Soviet Union fully in the Winston Churchill memorial lecture which I gave in Luxembourg on 18 October. A copy is in the Library.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her engagements for 8 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 8 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 8 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 8 November.

asked the Prime Minister whether she will list her engagements for 8 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 8 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her engagements for 8 November.

asked the Prime Miinister if she will list her official engagements for 8 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 8 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 8 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 8 November.

asked the Prime Minister whether she will list her official engagements for 8 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her engagements for 8 November.

I refer my hon. Friends and hon. Members to the reply which I gave earlier.

asked the Prime Minister if she will make a statement on the reasons for her policy on Zimbabwe-Rhodesia.

My right hon. Friend the Lord Privy Seal made a full statement to this House yesterday. I have nothing to add.

asked the Prime Minister why she changed her official Rover cars for Daimlers.

I shall be replacing two Rovers because they have been in constant use since 1972 and have covered very large mileages. I shall be replacing them with Daimlers because they are the best cars for the job, and because they are British made. Unfortunately, the 1972 style Rover is no longer in production.

asked the Prime Minister whether she will make a statement of the Government's policy towards rural jobs.

I am aware of the particular problems of rural areas, including their employment problems. The Government's policy is to provide a climate to stimulate the growth of real employment opportunities in rural and other areas. In particular, in rural areas our policy is to encourage traditional industries, notably agriculture, food processing and small businesses.

asked the Prime Minister when she expects to meet the Confederation of British Industry.

asked the Prime Minister whether she will meet the Confederation of British Industry.

No dates have been arranged.

asked the Prime Minister when she plans next to visit Poole.

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister if she will make a statement on her recent meeting with Chairman Hua Guofeng.

Premier Hua Guofeng visited Britain from 28 October to 3 November. His delegation included Vice Premier Yu Qiuli, Foreign Minister Huang Hua, and four Vice Ministers.Premier Hua's programme reflected the importance which the Government attached to the first visit to this country by a Premier of the People's Republic of China. It included industrial and agricultural visits, as well as social, ceremonial and cultural occasions.I had two sessions of official talks with Premier Hua, as well as a number of informal discussions. Our discussions on international affairs were wide ranging, and we reached a useful measure of agreement on many issues. We paid particular attention to the dangers for South-East Asia of Vietnamese policies in Indo-China, and I underlined our deep concern at the situation in Kampuchea. I also explained our policies on Rhodesia.We both expressed satisfaction with the rapid expansion of our bilateral relations, and our determination to maintain this process. We agreed that we had a mutual interest in the stability and prosperity of Hong Kong, and Premier Hua gave assurances that immigration from China would be reduced. We also discussed trade and defence sales in general terms, and cultural and air services agreements were signed.Premier Hua's visit was the culmination of several years of steadily improving relations between Britain and China. I believe that the talks we had, and the visit itself, have made a significant contribution to the further development of our relations, and have established an excellent basis for increasing co-operation in all fields.

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

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister what representations she has received regarding the proposed cuts in the BBC overseas services.

I have received over 200 letters from people at home and overseas.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will establish forthwith a national working party to investigate all aspects of school meals and midday supervision, instruct it to report by a specified date, to make the report public and to pay due regard to the need to provide solutions to the problems.

My right hon. and learned Friend has no plans to do so. The question of midday supervision, including supervision of the school meal, falls within the scope of a joint working party of representatives of the teachers and their employers, the local education authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when the NATO project for 17 to 19-year-old pupils, for which field trials in selected schools and colleges are being held, was approved by his Department; which professional, political, local authority and Civil Service organisations were consulted before this project was approved; and if he will publish details of the pilot project and list the schools taking part.

No NATO project is undergoing field trials in schools or colleges here. The project developed by the European atlantic movement—TEAM— is a private initiative. The question of its approval by my Department does not arise, but individual members of Her Majesty's Inspectorate have responded to requests by those involved with it for advice. I understand that TEAM has been testing some of its materials with teachers in sixth forms in Teignmouth grammar school and Gordonstoun school and that it hopes to do so also with Marlborough college and Eltham Green comprehensive school.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make available to hon. Members the report of Her Majesty's Inspectorate entitled " Towards Political Competence in an Open Society".

There is no such report by Her Majesty's inspectorate, but a statement on "Political Competence" was included in the set of working papers, "Curriculum 11–16" published in 1978 as a contribution to current debate about the curriculum. A copy is available in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what would be the capital costs of building replacement schools if all private schools were closed; and what would be the revenue costs of running these additional schools.

If all private primary and secondary schools in England were closed and all the pupils at present attending them were accommodated in additional local education authority maintained schools, the capital building costs, including land, fees and furniture and equipment, would, it is estimated, be about £1,000 million. The cost of running the additional schools would be of the order of £200 million per annum. Of course, capital expenditure on this scale would not, in fact, be involved because spare capacity resulting from falling rolls would allow most, if not all, of the pupils to be accommodated in local education authority maintained schools.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what plans he has to make alterations to the conditions of employment of head teachers.

Responsibility for the conditions of employment of all teachers, including head teachers, rests entirely with the employing authorities. Advice to local education authorities is formulated by the Association of County Councils and the Association of Metropolitan Authorities, acting through the Council of Local Education Authorities—CLEA.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he is satisfied that no hardship will result from the delay in completing the negotiations regarding a pay settlement for those involved in university education currently being considered by the university authority's panel.

I expect that any payments agreed to be appropriate for university teachers with effect from the normal date of their pay settlement—that is, 1 October 1979—will be made retrospectively. I hope that it will be possible to resume negotiations soon.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the work being undertaken by his Department with regard to preparing for public lending right, specifying the expenditure which he estimates is likely to be incurred in the current year and in succeeding years, and stating the number of civil servants directly and indirectly employed in this connection.

The drafting of a consultative document and other preparatory work has occupied a fluctuating proportion of the time of some of the staff of the office of arts and libraries, who are also engaged on other work. Precise figures for cost and manpower cannot be calculated, but they are small.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he thinks it will become necessary to appoint a registrar of public lending rights.

As soon as possible after I have brought the Act into force.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he will reconsider the advisability of the ban on the export of the silver plaque "The Adoration of the Shepherds" by the Dutch silversmith Paulus van Vianen in view of its greater importance in Dutch art history than in the British heritage.

No. Although I recognise that the plaque is of importance for the history of art in the Netherlands, none-the-less I agree with the recommendation from the reviewing committee on the export of works of art that the plaque is also of national importance to the British heritage. I therefore decided that the export licence should be withheld.

asked the Attorney-General how many land certificates were returned to the Land Registry in 1978 because of errors.

No exact figures are available. It is estimated that in 1978–79 errors requiring amendment of a land or charge certificate were made by the Land Registry in less than 1 per cent. of the total of completed transactions.

asked the Attorney-General how many claims were made against the Land Registry in 1978 associated with errors in the title of land.

No exact figures are available. In 1978–79 payments of indemnity in respect of such claims were made in 57 cases, in 36 of which the errors were of a minor nature and indemnity was paid only in respect of costs.

asked the Attorney-General what efforts he is making currently to make improvements and simplification in conveyancing procedures.

In accordance with the policy endorsed by the report of the Royal Commission on legal services—Cmnd. 7648—the Land Registry is working hard to extend the system of registered title, upon which the improvement and simplification of conveyancing largely depends. In addition, the Law Commission is preparing a report on land registration, which it hopes to publish before the end of next year; and the Royal Commission has made certain suggestions on conveyancing matters, which are being studied.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many people have been in Her Majesty's prisons for (a) five years and (b) 10 years and the latest date for which figures are available; and what was the average cost per annum per prisoner;(2) how many people, at the latest date for which figures are available, have been in Her Majesty's prisons for 20 years; and what is the number classified by offences.

Information in the form requested is not available. On 31 August 1979 881 persons in prison department establishments were serving sentences imposed over five years previously, of whom 232 were serving sentences imposed over 10 years previously and 16 were serving sentences imposed over 20 years previously. Seven of these 16 had been in custody continuously for 20 years or more; the remaining nine had spent some time at liberty on life licence which was subsequently revoked. All of the seven were serving sentences for murder.Details of the cost of maintaining an inmate in custody in the financial year 1977–78 are given in appendix No. 4 of the report on the work of the prison department 1978—Cmnd. 7619.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the cost of keeping in Her Majesty's prisons a man considered dangerous to the public.

A person who is a danger to the public is likely to be among those in security categories A or B. Such prisoners are normally held in dispersal prisons, but allocation to a particular type of establishment is also determined by other factors, including a prisoner's needs and the facilities available. As shown in the annual report on the work of the prison department 1978—Cmnd. 7619, para. 16—the average weekly cost in 1977–78 of custody in establishments for adult males was:

	…	£
Six dispersal Prisons	…	187
Other closed Training prisons	…	91
Local prisons and remand centres	…	85

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many adult males, adult females, young males

POPULATION OF PRISON DEPARTMENT ESTABLISHMENTS IN ENGLAND AND WALES (*) HELD ON REMAND OR ON SENTENCE ON 30 JUNE 1979: BY AGE, SEX AND TYPE OF INSTITUTION
					Adults		Young prisoners
Type of institution					Males	Females	Males	Females	Total
Remand centres	…	…	…	…	557	132	1,655	100	2,444
Local prisons	…	…	…	…	14,354	236	2,180	101	16,871
Training prisons:
open	…	…	…	…	3,104	359	—	29	3,492
closed	…	…	…	…	10,291	259	1,117	45	11,712
Borstals:
open	…	…	…	…	—	—	1,509	40	1,549
closed	…	…	…	…	—	—	3,508	117	3,625
Detention centres:
open	…	…	…	…	—	—	201	—	201
closed	…	…	…	…	—	—	1,839	—	1,839
Total	…	…	…	…	28,306	986	12,009	432	41,733
* Excluding 570 male and 16 female civil prisoners for whom no age information is readily available

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) untried prisoners, (b) convicted but unsentenced prisoners and (c) civil prisoners were in custody on 30 June.

The information requested is set out in the following table:

Population of unsentenced and non-criminal prisoners in prison department establishments in England and Wales on 30 June 1979 by status:
Status			No.
Untried	…	…	3,909
Convicted unsentenced	…	…	2,212
Non-criminal	…	…	586

POPULATION OF PERSONS SERVING SENTENCES OF IMPRISONMENT IN PRISON DEPARTMENT ESTABLISHMENTS IN ENGLAND AND WALES ON 30 JUNE 1979: BY AGE AND SENTENCE LENGTH
Sentence length	Adult prisoners	Young prisoners	Total
Up to and including one month	679	189	868
Over one up to and including six months	3,047	669	3,716
Over 6 up to and including 18 months	7,534	579	8,113
Over 18 up to and including three years	6,583	823	7,406
Over three years up to and including five years	3,661	361	4,022
Over five years—including life sentences and those prisoners detained at Her Majesty's Pleasure	3,907	159	4,063
Total	25,411	2,780	28,191

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many adults and young offenders in prison department custody on 30 June were

The information is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many adults and young offenders in prison on 30 June were serving sentences of (a) one month or less, (b) one to three months, (c) three to six months, (d) six to 18 months, (e) 18 months to three years, (f) three to five years and (g) over five years.

The information available is given in the attached table:imprisoned for (

The information requested is not yet available. I shall reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will implement the recommendation in paragraph 77 of the fifteenth report from the Expenditure Committee, Session 1977–78, that a special premium should be paid to psychiatrists in the prison service for the arduous and responsible nature of their work;(2) if he will implement the recommendation in paragraph 77 of the fifteenth report from the Expenditure Committee, Session 1977–78, that a director of psychiatric services, to work in partnership with the director of prison medical services, should be made;(3) if he will implement the recommendation in paragraph 77 of the fifteenth report from the Expenditure Committee, Session 1977–78, that more special wings such as C wing at Parkhurst prison should be established;(4) if he will implement the recommendations in paragraph 77 of the fifteenth report from the Expenditure Committee, Session 1977–78, that the prison department should expand its own psychiatric facilities.

The needs of the prison medical service are among the matters being considered in the light of the report of the committee of inquiry into the United Kingdom prison services—Cmnd. 7673.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will consider the wish of war widows to be represented at the Remembrance service at the Cenotaph on Sunday 11 November.

I have received no request from the War Widows Association of Great Britain for war widows to be represented at the official ceremony on Remembrance Sunday, and I am afraid that there would, in any case, be practical difficulties about adding to the number of participants at that ceremony.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many variation applications, in the case of divorced couples, were made during 1978 in the magistrates' and county courts in England and Wales.

I regret that this information is not available centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what section of immigration law and regulations was used to refuse admission to Mr. Mohammed Ahmed, case No. A.280907/2, at London Airport on 10 September, in spite of Mr. Ahmed being in possession of an entry certificate issued by the British Consulate, Karachi; and whether he will make a statement.

Mr. Ahmed was granted a visa to enable him to come to the United Kingdom to work as a domestic servant but when he was interviewed by an immigration officer on arrival it appeared from references he carried that he was contemplating employment as a garage hand. Mr. Ahmed also confirmed that his main employment in Pakistan had been in garages, and not as a domestic servant. The immigration officer was therefore satisfied that false representations had been employed or material facts had been concealed, whether or not to Mr. Ahmed's knowledge, for the purpose of obtaining the visa. He accordingly refused Mr. Ahmed leave to enter in accordance with paragraph 10 of the "Statement of Immigration Rules for Control on Entry, EEC and Other Non-Commonwealth Nationals"—House of Commons Paper 81, laid before Parliament on 25 January 1973.As the holder of a visa, Mr. Ahmed had a right of appeal to an adjudicator before removal, which he duly exercised. The adjudicator dismissed the appeal on 25 October. Mr. Ahmed is now appealing to the tribunal against the adjudicator's

PERSONS ARRESTED* FOR BEING SUSPECTED OF FREQUENTING A PUBLIC PLACE WITH INTENT TO COMMIT AN ARRESTABLE OFFENCE BY DISTRICT AND ETHNIC APPEARANCE METROPOLITAN POLICE DISTRICT: THIRD QUARTER 1979
Number of offences
Ethnic appearance
District		White skinned European	Dark skinned European	Black skinned (including West Indian/African)	Indian/Pakistani	Chinese/Japanese	Arabian/Egyptian	Not known	Total
A	…	25	2	18	2	0	0	0	47
B	…	22	0	21	2	0	0	0	45
C	…	25	7	29	0	1	0	0	62
D	…	21	3	29	0	0	0	0	53
E	…	18	1	8	0	0	0	0	27
F	…	14	0	0	1	0	1	0	16
G	…	8	0	10	0	0	0	0	18
H	…	8	0	3	0	0	0	0	11
I	…	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	3
J	…	6	0	1	0	0	0	0	7
K	…	15	0	1	0	0	0	0	16
L	…	4	0	20	0	0	0	0	24
M	…	14	0	5	0	0	0	0	19
N	…	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	2
P	…	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	4
Q	…	10	0	23	0	0	0	0	33
R	…	5	0	2	0	0	0	0	7
S	…	8	0	1	0	0	0	0	9
T	…	3	0	2	0	0	0	0	5
V	…	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	2
W	…	12	0	6	0	0	0	0	18
X	…	6	1	3	0	0	0	0	10
Y	…	4	2	10	0	0	0	0	16
Z	…	7	2	7	0	0	0	1	17
TA	…	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
MPD	…	243	18	202	5	1	1	1	471
* Persons proceeded against by means of a charge, referral to a juvenile bureau, a caution or in some other way; arrests not followed by any action are not included.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of the purchasing contracts issued

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the number of persons arrested and proceeded against for being suspected of frequenting a public place with intent to commit an arrestable offence by Metropolitan Police division and ethnic appearance for the second and third quarters of the current year.

[pursuant to his reply, 22 October 1979, Vol 972, c. 5–6]: The information is as follows:by his Department in 1978–79 was by means of selective tender, open tender and single tender, respectively.

For the supply of goods and services the proportions by value were (a) selective tendering, 91·7 per cent.; (b) open tendering, nil; (c) single tendering, 8·3 per cent. For construction contracts the proportions were (a) 98·6 per cent.; (b) nil; (c) 1·4 per cent.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has decided to abandon the plans of the previous Government to monitor the racial equality policies of Government contractors.

We are currently considering what steps can most usefully be taken to advance equal opportunities. This proposal is one aspect of that review.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will reconsider his decision not to introduce concessionary television licences for retired people living in their own homes; and if the fee is to be increased.

No; I have no comment to make on the possibility of any changes in the television licence fees.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will seek to obtain and place in the Library a transcript of his interview on the television programme "Face the Press" on 4 November, in which he stated his policy on immigration.

I understand that a cassette recording of this interview has been placed in the Library of the House.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what statute or other legal authority requires legislation before the introduction of a register of those wives and children entitled to entry for settlement under the Immigration Act 1971.

This would depend on the system of registration being introduced. The parliamentary group chaired by Lord Franks reported—Cmnd. 6698—that in its view the only feasible system which would also meet the criterion at usefulness would require legislation to qualify section 1(5) of the Immigration Act 1971. Legislation could also be required if, as the Franks group thought desirable, there were to be criminal penalties for intentionally providing false information, or if there were to be any extension of the appeals system.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what steps he is taking to recover the interest amounting to £1¼ million overdue to Her Majesty's Government from the Meriden Cooperative since 30 June.

None for the present.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he has received the British Leyland 1979 business plan; and if he will place a copy in the Library.

My right hon. Friend's predecessor received the BL 1979 corporate plan together with the report and recommendations of the National Enterprise Board earlier this year and he reported to the House on 2 April. My right hon. Friend has not yet received the BL 1980 corporate plan though he expects to do so shortly.BL's corporate plans contain substantial material which is commercially confidential and the publication of which would be of value to BL's competitors. However, as much information as may be consistent with protection of BL's competitive position will be made available to the House when my right hon. Friend comes to report on the Government's conclusions and intentions, following his consideration of the 1980 plan and the NEB's recommendations.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what consideration he has given to the establishment of a world commodities centre in London.

We are urgently considering this project, on which I hope an announcement will be made shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade (1) what has been the total cost of the Metrication Board since its establishment;(2) how many letters his Department has received since the announcement of the ending of further compulsory metrication; how many were in favour of the decision; and how many were against.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what estimate he has made of the effect to date and the likely effect over the next 10 years on British shipping of the competition offered by the Trans-Siberian railway.

Trade sources indicate that transit traffic via the Trans-Siberian landbridge has grown by some 60 per cent. since 1974. There has undoubtedly been some loss of traffic from the traditional shipping services—with consequent adverse effects upon the revenues of United Kingdom lines serving the Far East. It is impossible to quantify this but the competitive impact of the land-bridge will grow over the coming years as Soviet ports and railway facilities are improved especially if more Far East destinations, including Australasia, are served.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he has made any estimate of the proportion of British exports to the Far East that now uses the Trans-Siberian railway; and, for purposes of comparison, what is the proportion of such German, French, Dutch and Belgian exports that uses this route.

We estimate that some 8·5 per cent. of United Kingdom liner cargo exports to Japan were carried by this route in 1978. No comparable figures are available for exports from other European countries.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he has made an estimate of the related cost per ton of freight moved from United Kingdom ports to Far East ports by Western Conference line ships and by the combination of such ships and the Trans-Siberian railway.

Rate comparisons are difficult because of the wide variation in tariff structures and pricing policies. It is our understanding that rates for many individual commodities carried via the landbridge are significantly below conference rates.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what consultations he has had with trade and shipping Ministers of the EEC and OECD countries about the increased competition being offered to British and Western shipping lines by the Trans-Siberian railway system; and if he will make a statement.

My Department regularly discusses this issue with our OECD partners and has placed our concern on record with the Soviet authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether, further to his answer on 22 October, which of the replies from nationalised industries about their racial equal opportunity policies have been judged as needing guidance from his Department's race relations advisory service.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the annual cost of the family expenditure survey.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how much of the £½ million allocated in 1977 for altering work premises so as to give access to disabled workers has been claimed in that year and each subsequent year; whether this allocation has been increased; and if he will also classify these data according to the number of firms claiming help each year and the number of disabled persons gaining employment;(2) if he will classify according to percentages the number of workers employed in (

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what action he has taken to inform employers of the requirements of the Acts which impose obligations on them regarding the employment of disabled people;(2) what steps he proposes to take to make the quota scheme for the employment of registered disabled people more effective; if he sees the fit for work scheme as one of these steps; and if he proposes to end the quota scheme at any time;(3) how many Government permits have been issued to employees who claimed to be unable to employ their 3 per cent. quota of disabled people; what check is made on such claims; and if he will make a statement;(4) how many payments have been made under the Manpower Services Commission's scheme for capital grants to employers of disabled people; what has been the total expenditure to date; and if he will make a statement about the operation and effectiveness of the scheme;(5) what is the average length of time an unemployed registered disabled person has been out of work; by how much this figure is greater than the average for all unemployed persons; and if he will make a statement;(6) how many registered disabled people are unemployed; what is the number expressed as a percentage of the total registered disabled; and how this compares with the national average;(7) how many employers with over 20 workers are not at present employing their quota of 3 per cent. disabled people; and how many of them do not hold Government permits of exemption;(8) if he will publish in the

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he intends to continue the job release scheme after 31 March 1980; and if he will make a statement.

A decision about the future of the job release scheme will be made as part of the annual review of the special employment and training measures, which will take place later this year. Such a review has been the practice since the scheme's inception. Decisions will be announced as soon as possible before 31 March 1980.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment when he expects to bring forward legislation for trade union reform, to reduce the amount of taxpayers' money available to sustain strikers and their families, and to control the misuse of the overtime ban and work-to-rule.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what proposals he has to amend the Employment Protection Act with particular reference to the maternity provisions; and when he expects to introduce them.

The Government's proposals for amendment of the Employment Protection Act are contained in a set of working papers published on 25 September. Some of the proposals relate to the maternity provisions. Consultations are proceeding on the working papers, and it is hoped to publish a Bill at an early date.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many jobs were lost to the textile industry within the metropolitan borough of Oldham and Kirklees for the period 1977, 1978 and 1979; and if he will make a statement.

In 1977 a total of 1,284 redundancies were confirmed to my Department as having occurred in the textile industry in the employment office areas which most closely correspond to the metropolitan borough of Oldham and Kirklees. The figures for 1978 and January to October 1979 were 344 and 1,281 respectively. The Government are aware of the difficulties facing the textile industry and are taking such steps as are open to them, for instance by pressing for the effective implementation of the multi-fibre arrangement, to protect the industry from unfair competition. More generally, the success of the Government's economic policies will provide the best prospects for the future of the industry.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the estimated number of factory inspectors he hopes to employ in 1980.

[pursuant to his reply, 7 November 1979]: The number of factory inspectors in post on 1 November 1979 was 981. It will be for the Health and Safety Commission to decide its future recruitment programmes for factory inspectors in the light of the 1980–81 estimates which have yet to be settled by the Government.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what provision of legal services for the assistance of the factory inspectorate is provided or envisaged; and if he will make a statement.

[pursuant to his reply, 7 November 1979]: The Health and Safety Executive solicitor, with his staff of seven lawyers, is available to assist the factory inspectorate.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the number of factory inspectors in post and making factory visits for 1973–74, 1975–76, 1977–78 and 1979 at the most recent practicable date.

[pursuant to his reply, 7 November 1979]: I am informed by the chairman of the Health and Safety Commission that the number of factory inspectors in post and making factory visits for 1973–74, 1975–76, 1977–78 and 1979 is as follows:

April 1973	…	…	…	595
April 1974	…	…	…	603
April 1975	…	…	…	653
April 1976	…	…	…	685
April 1977	…	…	…	707
April 1978	…	…	…	802
April 1979	…	…	…	820
November 1979		…	…	881

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the average frequency of factory inspections for 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1979 to the most recent practicable date.

[pursuant to his reply, 7 November 1979]: This information is not available. I am informed by the chairman of the Health and Safety Commission that since the introduction of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, Her Majesty's factory inspectorate has been responsible for the inspection of a large number of establishments outside its traditional field of work in factories. The inspectorate's policy on selecting workplaces for systematic inspection is to treat each workplace on its merits, and to inspect those workplaces most deserving of inspection in any year, without distinguishing factories from other establishments. Since 1976 the inspectorate has endeavoured to include in its national inspection programme the 25 per cent. of factories most meriting inspection, which will, of course, include unsatisfactory establishments inspected in the previous year, and some establishments that have not been inspected for a number of years. This may be compared with the 1973 policy of endeavouring, with variable success, to inspect every workplace subject to the Factories Act, however low the risk, every four years.A sample survey taken at the end of June 1979 of establishments about which information is currently held on the inspectorate's register—which includes some, but by no means all, establishments due to be inspected by Her Majesty's factory inspectorate under the 1974 Act—shows that, subject to sampling error 10 per cent. had received their last substantial inspection since 1 January 1979; 32 per cent. had received their last substantial inspection since 1 January 1978; 50 per cent. had received their last substantial inspection since 1 January 1977; 65 per cent. had received their last substantial inspection since 1 January 1976; 77 per cent. had received their last substantial inspection since 1 January 1975.The vast majority of the remaining 23 per cent. of establishments employ fewer than 10 persons.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the recent discussions he has had with the Ministers of Defence of the Federal Republic of Germany and France, with particular reference to the prospects for co-operation on long-range anti-tank weapons and a new generation of tactical aircraft.

I met the French and German Defence Ministers in Hamburg on 15 and 16 October to discuss a number of equipment matters. In particular, we discussed possible collaboration on a future tactical aircraft and welcomed the examination the industries of the three countries are now making of the way in which such an aircraft might meet national requirements. We also signed a memorandum of understanding for a new phase of collaborative work in the antitank field which will carry into the next generation of weapons the trilateral co-operation now existing.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the cost of maintaining the British Army of the Rhine; and how much of this represents a charge on the balance of payments.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the Statement on the Defence Estimates 1979—Cmnd. 7474. Annex B shows that the functional costs of BAOR in 1979–80 are estimated at £1,079 million. Annex A, table 6, shows that local defence expenditure in Germany is estimated at £661 million, of which about £560 million is for BAOR. As the footnotes to that table point out, this figure represents only the initial incidence on the balance of payments and does not take into account offsetting factors arising from the presence of troops in Germany instead of the United Kingdom.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence when he intends to introduce pensions for pre-1950 Service widows; and if he will make a statement.

I have been considering how best to honour the commitment in our manifesto to introduce pensions for those widows of pre-1950 Service-men who did not receive one. I am glad to say that this examination is now complete and a special once-and-for-all-scheme to give pensions to the so-called "pre-1950 widows" will be introduced from Monday next, 12 November 1979.Briefly, the background is that, although Service officers' widows have been eligible for pensions for a century or more, the same facility was not available for ranks below that of warrant officer class I, until 1 September 1950. Thus the widows of many retired Service men were not able to receive any part of their husbands' pensions, which simply died with them.This anomaly is peculiar to the Armed Forces and my hon. Friend and others have fought a sustained campaign over many years to get this anomaly put right.I am glad to say that from 12 November pensions determined by reference to a minimum length of service will be available on application to those widows of regular Service men who do not now receive a Forces family pension or a war widow's pension and who fulfil the necessary conditions. The most important of these are that the husband was in receipt of a Service pension during his lifetime, or if he died in service, would have been eligible for a pension if he had been invalided on the date of his death; and that the widow was married to her husband while he was still serving.The rate of pension will be related only to the husband's pensionable rank, ranging from £21.47 to £35.33 per month and will be updated in line with pension increases.It is not possible at present to say how many widows will be covered by this

		Number of jobs in United Kingdom	Of which in Scotland
Service personnel	…	232,000	19,000
MOD civilians (excluding ROF employees)	…	214,000	19,700
PSA personnel employed on defence account	…	19,800	1,750
Estimated number of direct job opportunities in British industry (including ROF employees)	…	200,000	*
* No geographical breakdown available.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish in the Official Report details showing the estimated number of jobs being provided in (a) the United Kingdom and (b) Scotland arising out of the current defence programme.

The information as at 1 October 1979 is as follows:nine petroleum specialists have been recruited and there are another 11 who have been declared successful at interview and whose candidature is being progressed.It is likely that all the administrative support posts and some of the engineering posts will be filled by redeployment of existing staff. Until these possibilities have been exhausted no additional staff in these categories will be recruited.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy how many people in his Department have five to 10 years, 10 to 15 years and greater than 15 years' experience of working for one or more publicly-quoted fully integrated oil companies; and how many have gained such experience in each of the following areas (a) economic research, (b) exploration, (c) development, (d) production, (e) refining, (f) distribution and marketing, (g) finance and (h) general management.

Area of experience		5–10 years	10–15 year	Over 15 years	Total
(a) Economic Research	…	0	0	0	0
(b) Exploration	…	4	2	5	11*
(c) Development	…	0	0	1	1
(d) Production	…	2	1	2	5
(e) Refining	…	1	0	1	2
(f) Distribution and Marketing	…	0	1	0	1
(g) Finance	…	0	0	0	0
(h) General Management	…	0	0	1	1
Total	…	7	4	10	21
* Includes officers with Exploration and Production experience one (5-10 years) and three (over 15 years)

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what consideration he has given to the report of the combined heat and power group of which Dr. Walter Marshall was chairman; and what plans he has for further experiments in district heating.

As referred to in the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Dorset, South (Viscount Cranborne) on 26 July 1979—[Vol. 971, c. 356–7]—the report of Dr. Marshall's combined heat and power group is being given careful consideration but it is as yet too soon to make any announcement.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what is the current differential between the price of United Kingdom coking coal at the pit head and imported coking coal at English ports.

The average price of NCB coking coal at the pithead is currently £40·90 per tonne. The average price of third country coking coal imported at English ports is at present £30·37 per tonne.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will indicate the number of United Kingdom mines producing coking coal, specifying whether deep mine or opencast.

I understand that at the present time there are 57 collieries producing coking coal for the coke ovens

There are 21 officers in the Department of Energy who have had more than five years' experience of working in a publicly-quoted, fully integrated oil company. The details are as follows:market; and there are six opencast sites the output of which includes coking coal.In addition, there are four collieries capable of producing coking coal to prepared standards but which, for reasons of adverse market conditions, are not currently producing and supplying their output to coke ovens. Instead, their output is being prepared as steam-raising smalls for the industrial market.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what, of the total United Kingdom coking coal available, is the percentage of the specification required by United Kingdom steel manufacturers.

I have been asked to reply.In 1978 virtually all the available United Kingdom coking coal went to the BSC, which imported only 14 per cent. of its requirements. The Corporation recently announced that for 1979 it would be increasing the percentage of imported coking coal to 24 per cent. for operational and cost reasons. I have placed in the Library a copy of the press notice issued by BSC.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement on anthracite supplies and the level of imports.

In the first seven months of the current financial year—April to October inclusive—the NCB supplied the United Kingdom domestic market with 60,000 tonnes more of naturally smokeless fuels—anthracite and dry steam—than in the corresponding period last year. A further improvement is expected in the remaining five months of the year when the new mine at Betws in South Wales comes fully into operation.However, despite this upward trend, the NCB still has insufficient naturally smokeless fuels to meet all requirements, mainly because of an upsurge in demand following the oil crisis earlier in the year. Imports are therefore continuing and are expected to amount to about 200,000 tonnes over the year, representing between 13 per cent and 14 per cent. of the market for naturally smokeless fuels.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what progress is being made in the National Coal Board project for two 25 tonne per day oil-from-coal plants now being designed with financial assistance from the Government; and, in particular, what progress has been made in finding suitable sites for the pilot plants.

Design work for the oil-from-coal pilot plants has now reached the stage where site charcteristics

Health Board						30 September 1978	30 September 1976
Argyll and Clyde	…	…	…	…	…	2·5	2·5
Ayrshire and Arran	…	…	…	…	…	3·5	3·4
Borders	…	…	…	…	…	3·4	3·8
Dumfries and Galloway	…	…	…	…	…	3·9	3·7
Fife	…	…	…	…	…	3·6	3·4
Forth Valley	…	…	…	…	…	3·1	3·4
Grampian	…	…	…	…	…	3·0	2·9
Greater Glasgow	…	…	…	…	…	3·7	4·0
Highland	…	…	…	…	…	3·2	3·2
Lanarkshire	…	…	…	…	…	3·3	3·3
Lothian	…	…	…	…	…	3·7	3·7
Orkney	…	…	…	…	…	3·6	2·9
Shetland	…	…	…	…	…	2·9	3·2
Tayside	…	…	…	…	…	2·8	2·7
Western Isles	…	…	…	…	…	2·3	2·8

NOTE: In the absence of any specific definition, "administrators" has been taken to refer to officers in the administrative and clerical staff group in and above the grade of general administrative assistant-including managerial staff in hospital catering, domestic and laundry services.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the names of the members of the Cumbernauld development corporation together with the dates their appointments expire or fall to be renewed.

The informations requested is as follows:

	Appointment Expires
Chairman
Mr. H. B. Sneddon, OBE, JP	31.12.1982
Deputy Chairman
Mr. T. M. Barrie, JP	31.12.1982
Members
Mrs. C. Campbell	31.12.1980
Mr. F. M. Cook, OBE	31.12.1982
Mr. A. Fisher	31.12.1980
Mr. W. U. P. Lawson, MBE, TD	31.12.1982
Miss E. McIntyre, OBE	31.12.1980
Mr. J. P. Moreland	31.12.1982
Mr. M. Turner, OBE, JP	31.12.1982

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what payments he is instructing the Scottish Development Agency to make to him in the financial year 1980–81 in reduction of the Agency's public dividend capital.

Provision enabling the Agency to make such payments is included in the Industry Bill. I have no immediate plans to require it to do so.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether, in the light of the statement and answers on public expenditure by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 1 November, he will make a statement about the cancellation of plans to extend the facilities at St. Aidan's home for mentally handicapped men at Gattonside, Roxburghshire.

St. Aidan's is a private care institution, owned by the Brothers of Charity, with which the Borders health board has a contractual arrangement for the accommodation and maintenance of patients. The Borders regional council social work department has a similar arrangement with St. Aidan's for residents in the home for whom it is responsible. I understand that proposals to provide a social centre and extend the workshops at St. Aidan's have the approval in principle of the health board and of the social work department; but, because of existing commitments and the priorities of other developments, neither authority is able at present to assist the charity in financing the work.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will discuss with representatives of local authority education committees the pamphlet issued by the National Union of School Students "How To Disrupt Your School in Six Easy Lessons"; and if he will make a statement.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will raise the level of grant and loan for crofter housing.

No. This matter is kept under review against the background of the movement of building costs and the extent of the demand. I have no plans meantime for an increase in the levels of grant and loan assistance available.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list in the Official Report the number of representations he has received, since assuming office, against the operation of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries (Scotland) Act, giving a breakdown of these numbers on a regional basis; how many prosecutions have occurred under the workings of the Act on a regional basis; and if Her Majesty's Government has any plans to amend the Act.

In the period in question, 25 representations in relation to the Freshwater and Salmon Fisheries (Scotland) Act 1976 have been made as follows:

Central Region	…	…	21
Tayside Region	…	…	2
Highland Region	…	…	2

Only one of these representations related to the operation of the Act itself, the remainder being in respect of proposals submitted under the Act for the Upper Spey catchment area.As no order has yet been made under the Act, no prosecutions have taken place. The Government are presently reviewing the administrative and legislative structure of salmon and freshwater fisheries and I expect to make an announcement on the matter in due course.