asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will arrange for an exhibition relating to microelectronics to be displayed in the Upper Waiting Hall of the House of Commons.

I understand that arrangements have been made with the authorities of the House for an exhibition to be held in the Upper Waiting Hall from Monday 26 November to Friday 7 December.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he expects to receive the report of the Top Salaries Review Body on the secretarial allowances of Members of Parliament.

The delivery of this report is, of course, a matter for the review body. However, I can say that my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister hopes to receive the report in the next few months.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made in the discussions between his Department and the BBC about the basis upon which the BBC can be enabled to carry forward its longer-term planning on the home services.

The previous Administration increased the television licence fees in November 1978 to last for about a year. They recognised in January 1979, following the CAC award to BBC staff, that that level of fees was inadequate to finance the BBC home services and would bring the Corporation to the limit of its borrowing powers in much less than a year, but they decided that a further increase in the fees then was not acceptable, and instead increased the BBC's borrowing powers from £30 million to £100 million. Since then, the BBC has been going increasingly into deficit. The decision of the previous Administration has inevitably meant that the fee increases which I am making today are larger than they would otherwise have been in order to enable the BBC to repay its deficit on current account.I have today laid the necessary regulations to increase the fee for a colour television licence by £9 to £34 and the monochrome licence by £2 to £12. The new fees come into effect at midnight tonight. I intend these fees to last for at least two years. The new fees mean that viewers will be paying less than 70p a week if they have a colour television set and less than 25p a week for a monochrome set. Even at the increased levels, these fees are less than those in most other European countries.In recent months, the Home Office, the BBC and the Post Office have participated in two studies designed to strengthen the operation of the television licensing system and to enable the BBC to plan ahead. I have today published in one booklet two papers about aspects of financing the BBC; copies are available in the Vote Office.The first paper—on methods of payment of the television licence fee—was prepared by the standing working party on the administration of the broadcast receiving licence. It sets out the facts regarding various methods of payment of the television licence fee. I have decided as a result to give greater publicity to the television licence savings stamp scheme. This scheme provides the most flexible way of enabling people to pay for their licence in advance by instalments of their own choosing, both as to size and timing and it has proved particularly helpful to pensioners and other persons with limited incomes.In addition, a pilot scheme has been introduced to evaluate the possibility of payments being made by direct debit from purchasers' bank accounts, possibly also by instalments, and if, as I hope, this works well, I intend to introduce payments by direct debit more widely. I am also considering, in consultation with the Post Office, the possibility of payments by credit cards. I have concluded that payment of the licence fees by instalments over the Post Office counter cannot be introduced, because of the cost involved and the additional complexities this would introduce into the existing system.The second paper which was undertaken by the Home Office and the BBC sets out proposals designed to enable the BBC to carry forward its longer-term planning in the home services while at the same time maintaining its editorial independence. It envisages, first, that consideration of future expenditure should be separated from consideration of the need for, and timing of, particular changes in the licence fees. It also envisages that the Government should signify their agreement to provisional planning figures for BBC expenditure for a four-year period, even though a particular increase in the licence fees might relate to a shorter period of time.The aim is that there should be a firm cash figure for the first financial year in the period and provisional planning figures on the same price basis for the later years. The figures would be reviewed annually at the turn of each calendar year and would be brought to the notice of Parliament thereafter. I welcome the broad approach in this paper.Discussions will begin immediately on setting a firm cash figure for the BBC expenditure in the financial year 1980–81 and provisional planning figures for the three following years. It will be for the Governors to decide how the money is to be spent, but these discussions will take place in the context that the fee increases announced today must last for at least two years, that they take account of the need for the BBC to pay off its deficit on current account and to increase its expenditure on capital equipment and that they enable it to prepare to increase its Welsh language television broadcasts by the autumn of 1982.I shall expect the BBC to live within the cash figure set. This means that particular attention will have to be paid to containing increases in costs, especially labour costs, if there is to be no diminution in the BBC's services. I believe, however, that the fee increases and the new arrangements announced today should enable the BBC to plan ahead with a greater degree of confid- ence and stability than has been the case for several years.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the cost of providing the kitchens at the new Wymott prison, Leyland; and if these kitchens are now, six months after opening, inadequate for the number of prisoners which the prison is capable of housing.

The cost of providing the kitchens was £240,000. There is no reason to think that the kitchens will be inadequate when the establishment has built up to full capacity.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why the laundry facilities at Her Majesty's prison, Wymott, Leyland, are not being fully used, taking into account external orders from other Government services.

Work has still to be done on the laundry, but some capacity is available and this is being fully used. There are plans to take up further capacity as it becomes available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Government intend to make greater funds and manpower available to the crime prevention programme.

The recent White Paper on the Government's expenditure plans 1980–81 (Cmnd. 7746) announced additional provision for the law and order and protective services, including the police. It is for chief officers of police to decide, in the light of local circumstances, how their resources, in terms of manpower and expenditure, can best be allocated for crime prevention.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what measures the Government propose to take to make attacks on citizens in the streets less frequent;(2) what measures the Government propose to take to increase the ability of the police to prevent attacks on citizens in the street.

The Government attach the highest priority to maintaining law and order, and consider that the best protection for the citizen is a strong effective police force. Since the beginning of this year, there has been a gain of 3,416 in the strength of the police in England and Wales which, on 30 September, stood at 112,491. It is for chief officers to decide how they should deploy this additional strength, but I am sure that the safety of people in the street is one of their major concerns.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is satisfied that the public's right to move around in safety is not in serious jeopardy.

I can never be entirely satisfied while street crimes continue to be committed. We shall continue to support every effort by chief officers of police to prevent the commission of such crimes.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will cause an investigation to be made to ascertain how and in what way David Quillan, a convicted criminal, was allowed to enter Great Britain from America and remain as an illegal imigrant and to commit further crimes; whether he will deport this man; and whether he will make a statement.

I have no information about Mr. Quillan to suggest a need for special inquiries of this kind. If the hon. Member has any information about criminal offences that may have been committed by Mr. Quillan, he should pass it to the appropriate chief officer of police.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will ensure that the necessary steps are taken to provide that the hon. Member's Caernarfon constituency is correctly spelt, with an "f", for all electoral and parliamentary purposes henceforward.

I shall consider this matter when I receive a report from the Parliamentary Boundary Commission for Wales recommending changes in constituencies in that part of Wales.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when the United Kingdom will have completed the resettlement of the existing quota of Vietnamese refugees from Hong Kong at the present rate of progress;(2) how many more Vietnamese refugees from Hong Kong will need to be resettled in the United Kingdom before the United Kingdom will have discharged its existing commitment to them;(3) how many Vietnamese refugees from Hong Kong have been resettled in the United Kingdom in each calendar month since it was first agreed to give them a home in the United Kingdom;(4) how many Vietnamese refugees from Hong Kong have now been resettled in the United Kingdom

The Government agreed in July to accept a further 10,000 Vietnamese refugees from Hong Kong in addition to the quota of 1,000 agreed in January by the previous Administration. I understand from the joint committee for refugees from Vietnam that the numbers of Vietnamese refugees arriving from Hong Kong since February are as follows:

1979
February	45
March	45
April	90
May	15
June	0
July	50
August	60
September	170
October	1,055
Total	1,530

These figures are subject to revision and have been rounded. They do not include refugees rescued at sea by British ships. It is hoped that another 1,500 will arrive during the course of November and December, but it is too early to say how soon it will be possible to complete the programme of arrivals assumed by our undertakings.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if private contractors carrying out reimburseable cost contracts for his Department will be subject to the cash limit constraints which apply to public sector employers, and in what way, or if such contractors will be automatically reimbursed for extra labour costs irrespective of the level of wage and salary settlements they may enter into.

There are cash limits on amounts available for procurement by my Department. Any unexpected increase in contractors' costs would reduce the amounts of business they can be given. For Government contracts, where the price may be varied to take account of changes in wages and material costs, the variations are calculated from formulae normally based on published indices. These formulae are not affected by cash limits, nor are prime cost contracts in which approved costs incurred by the contractor are reimbursed.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on local government boundary reorganisation in Liverpool.

On 29 October, I made an order providing new electoral arrangements for Liverpool. These arrangements, which were proposed by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England in a report submitted to my predecessor in January 1979, will come into operation at the elections of metropolitan district councillors to be held on 1 May 1980, when the whole number of councillors for each new ward of Liverpool will be elected.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many husbands have been refused leave to remain indefinitely in the United Kingdom, following the 12 months' probationary period, since the change in the rules in March 1977.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to questions by the hon. Member for Leicester, South (Mr. Marshall) on 9 November.—[Vol. 973, c. 336–7.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he proposes to make further orders providing for new electoral arrangements for English districts to take effect in May 1980; and if he will make a statement.

After consulting the political parties and the local authority associations concerned, I have decided that in order to allow candidates and others a reasonable period to prepare for the elections of district councillors to be held in May 1980 no electoral arrangements orders to come into effect at those elections shall be made after 15 December 1979.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish a table showing, for the latest available year, the number of days lost through industrial disputes per 1,000 employees for the Caernarfon group of local employment offices, the Pwllheli/Porthmadog group of local employment offices and for Wales, respectively.

In 1978, the number of working days lost in Wales through industrial stoppages per thousand employees was 441. Information for groups of employment offices is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if, in view of the further weakening in the bargaining power of management brought about by increased interest rates, he will accelerate his proposals for redressing the balance of industrial bargaining powers.

As I told my hon. Friend on 12 November, I hope to publish a Bill to amend the law on industrial relations before the Christmas recess.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will bring forward legislation to seek to enable wage increases to be frozen where settlements are referred to him by either the Office of Fair Trading or the Monopolies Commission, those bodies either together or severally having first been given powers to refer excessive deals negotiated in fields where monopolistic work forces can negotiate extortionate claims without the likelihood of direct consequences in the market place.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if private contractors carrying out reimbursable cost contracts for his Department will be subject to the cash limit constraints which apply to public sector employers, and in what way, or if such contractors will be automatically reimbursed for extra labour costs irrespective of the level of wage and salary settlements they may enter into.

Contractors are not reimbursed extra labour costs under firm price contracts, but where a contract provides for the reimbursement to the contractor of actual or calculated costs, that reimbursement will reflect nationally agreed wage settlements.There is, however, a cash limit on procurement by my Department and any excessive increase in contractors' costs would, therefore, mean less work for them.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what is the current average level of major pay settlements in the private sector;(2) what arrangements exist for monitoring pay settlements in both the private and public sectors.

The Department keeps watch on trends in pay bargaining in both the public and private sectors. But pay

£ million
	Cash limit
	Present	Revised
Total grant-in-aid to the Manpower Services Commission	632·238	620·238
Vote 16, labour market services	111·834	123·834
	744·072	744·072
The reduction in the total grant-in-aid requires consequential reductions to 3 of its components:—
Vote 19 Department of Employment	534·888	524·188
Vote 20, Welsh Office	34·928	34·450
Vote 21, Scottish Economic Planning Department	60·199	59·377

These change make available an additional £12 million for the special temporary

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what further steps he is taking to reduce the number of workers killed and injured in the construction industry;(2) what consultations he has had with unions about workers killed and injured in the construction industry;(3) what discussions he has had with the Health and Safety Executive about the number of people killed and injured in the construction industry;(4) what is his estimate of the number of workers likely to be killed and injured in the construction industry in the next live years in the absence of improvements in safety;(5) if he will publish in the

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether any changes have been made to his cash limits.

The following changes are being made:employment programme (STEP), which is run by the MSC on my behalf, without increasing the total of my cash limits as a whole. When STEP was limited to areas where help is most needed the revised estimate took insufficient account of commitments already incurred. The extra money required will be found from the MSC's grant-in-aid cash limit where a change in the mix and duration of opportunities in the youth opportunities programme will reduce the overall cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what surveys have been conducted by his Department of the availability for work of sewing machinists in the Amble area; and whether the information so obtained has been made available to existing local employers in this trade.

An inquiry was carried out in September 1979 by Amble jobcentre on behalf of a prospective employer who had asked about the availability of sewing machinists in Amble. Callers at the jobcentre were invited to say whether they would be interested in such work if it were available, and details of those expressing interest were sent to the firm concerned.Details from this particular inquiry have not been passed to other firms. The results obtained could, however, be

							India	Pakistan	Bangladesh
Wives	…	…	…	…	…	…	466	3,098	4,372
Children under 18			…	…	…	…	1,686	5,087	9,916
Other dependants		…	…	…	…	…	1,328	910	28
Fiances	…	…	…	…	…	…	3,510	1,708	21
Fiancees	…	…	…	…	…	…	35	43	1

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether, on receipt of the study by the White Fish Authority, he will make a statement about the development of fishing by British trawlers in Falkland Island waters.

The study has not been finalised. When complete, it will be published.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will list the countries with which, since the present Government came to office, his noble Friend has refused to exchange ambassadors, the State

asked the Lord Privy Seal what representations have been received from the People's Republic of China about extension of democratic control over the internal affairs of Hong Kong; and if he is satisfied that any such extension would not be opposed by China.

No such representations have been received. My right hon. Friend cannot usefully comment on the possible Chinese attitude to hypothetical developments.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will list the current number of people awaiting admission into the United Kingdom from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh as dependants, children, fiancés and fiancées, respectively.

The number of people whose applications for entry clearance were outstanding at the end of September are as follows:being one with whom the United Kingdom has diplomatic relations at chargé d'affaires level, on the grounds of alleged repression of human rights.

There are no such countries.

asked the Lord Privy Seal when he expects to receive the report of the interdepartmental committee under the chairmanship of Lord Nicholas Gordon-Lennox covering the British Council; and whether it will be published.

The report is to be submitted to Ministers by the end of this month. The decisions taken by Ministers in the light of the report will be made public in due course.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what economies have been recommended for the British Council for the financial years 1980 to 1981, 1981 to 1982 and 1982 to 1983.

It was announced on 1 November that reductions in Government grants to the British Council in 1980–81 total £5·2 million, consisting of:

£3 million grant-in-aid from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office;

£2·2 million in grants from the Overseas Development Administration.

For the period beyond April 1981, an interdepartmental review of the British Council is now considering what further savings should be made. The Council is actively participating in the work of the review, which will need to complete its task and report during November. The review's recommendations will be considered by Ministers before final decisions are taken.

asked the Lord Privy Seal when he anticipates the European convention on the protection of animals used for experimental purposes will be signed and ratified.

I have been asked to reply.Discussions on the draft convention are continuing and good progress has been made. But it is too soon to say when a final version will be available for signature.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what is the total value of economic aid which has been given to Uganda since the installation of the civilian Government.

In April and May 1979, we made capital aid grants totalling £2 million for immediate economic rehabilitation in Uganda. We are also incurring expenditure on technical co-operation activities estimated to cost about £700,000 this year. Earlier this month we offered the Uganda Government a further £4 million of capital aid for expenditure in 1980–81 and said that we hoped to spend up to £1 million on further technical cooperation activities in that year.In addition, we indicated that we hoped, subject to parliamentary approval, to be able to conclude a retrospective terms adjustment agreement which would relieve Uganda over a period of years of payments to Her Majesty's Government totalling over £16 million in respect of past Government loans; and to reach a final agreement on the payment of pensions for expatriate staff which would benefit Uganda substantially (including a net payment to Uganda of up to £2¾ million).

asked the Lord Privy Seal what requests for aid received from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees are outstanding; and if he is in a position to make a statement about further support for refugees in Uganda and Kampuchea.

We have yet to reply to the recent appeal by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in respect of Cambodian refugees now in Thailand. However, we have pledged £6 million this year to the High Commissioner's general programmes, which finance some of his activities in Thailand. We shall also be bearing our share of about £4 million of European Community aid for these activities. No other requests are outstanding.We have informed the High Commissioner that we cannot help with his appeal in respect of refugees in Uganda. Earlier this year, we made directly to the Uganda Government a £2 million rehabilitation grant, which includes provision for help for refugees.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry by how much labour productivity would have to be increased in the United Kingdom motor car industry to enable prices to be reduced by 10 per cent.; and what is his estimate of the effect on imports and exports of such a reduction in prices.

The information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what is the estimated underusage of capacity in the Lancashire cotton, man-made woven fabric industry, taking cotton and manmade fibres separately.

There are no official statistics showing the underusage of capacity in the Lancashire cotton and man-made fibre woven fabric industries. In the joint CBI and NEDO inquiry, for October 1979, into trends in the textiles and clothing industries 64 per cent. of the respondent firms in the cotton and manmade fibre weaving industry reported that they were working below a satisfactory full rate of operation. Separate figures for cotton and man-made fibres are not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will grant special development status to the Saltney and Broughton areas in the constituency of the honourable Member for Flint, East; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales announced on 13 November that, subject to the necessary approval of the European Commission, the Shotton travel-to-work area (which now includes Saltney and Broughton) is to be designated as a special development area.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what proposals he has for the regeneration of industry; and where and when he expects expansion to take place.

The Government have gone a considerable way towards creating the right climate for the regeneration of industry by reducing direct taxation, by starting to change the emphasis away from public spending so that it will become possible to release resources for private sector use, by removing restraint such as price, dividend and exchange controls, and by sticking to a firm monetary stance to curb inflation.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what now is the estimated cost of the Madams Bank Bridge;(2) when he now expects the contract for the Madams Bank Bridge to be let.

[pursuant to his reply, 19 November 1979, c. 80]: I would refer the hon. Member to my earlier reply of 25 June 1979. A revised estimate is not available.The bids to design and construct the bridge are being assessed. I hope that it will be possible to make an announcement shortly.—[Vol. 969, c.

asked the Prime Minister why she prevented the publication of industrial relations consultative documents in the Department of Employment Gazette; what was the cost to public-funds of the resultant reprinting of the Gazette, containing the documents in an amended form; and from which Vote head the additional expenditure thus incurred will be met.

I have not prevented publication of industrial relations working papers in the Department of Employment Gazette. One working paper was found to require amendment after it had been incorporated in an original print of the September Gazette, and, as a result, the Department of Employment decided to reprint the edition. The extra cost was £3,465.85, which was charged to HMSO Printing Vote.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will now give final details in tabular form of (a) 1977–78 and (b) 1978–79 about the operation

COMMUNITY LAND SCHEME: ACQUISITIONS IN 1977–78 AND 1978–79
Region					Industry		Housing/Commerce		Total
					£	Acres	£	Acres	£	Acres
1977–78
Central	…	…	…	…	2,800	1·0	—	—	2,800	1·0
Dumfries and Galloway			…	…	46,957	16·85	—	—	46,957	16·85
Highland	…	…	…	…	12,259	9·48	—	—	12,259	9·48
Lothian	…	…	…	…	545,565	87·07	—	—	545,565	87·07
Strathclyde	…	…	…	…	—	—	17,185	0·02	17,185	0·02
Total	…	…	…	…	607,581	114·40	17,185	0·02	624,766	114·42
					£	Acres	£	Acres	£	Acres
1978–79
Fife	…	…	…	…	—	—	235,803	39·59	235,803	39·59
Lothian	…	…	…	…	66,260	19·09	22,559	2·99	88,819	22·08
Strathclyde	…	…	…	…	—	—	106,799	9·87	106,799	9·87
Shetland	…	…	…	…	320,212	787·93	—	—	320,212	787·93
					386,472	807·02	365,161	52·45	751,633	859·47
Note: The figures for 1978–79 are provisional until all community land accounts for that year have been submitted.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will bring up to date the information regarding circulars, letters, publicity booklets, orders, regulations including joint orders and directions under the Community Land Act last given in a written answer by the

CIRCULARS
Reference			Subject	Date of issue
SDD Circular 21/1979	…	…	Community Land Scheme:	11 April 1979
			Operation in 1979–80
SDD Circular 29/79	…	…	Community Land Act 1975:	21 May 1979
			Suspension of Activities

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will list the disposal notification areas under the Community Land Act still in existence in Scotland; and what advice he has given to local authorities regarding the exercise of their powers in these areas, pending the repeal of the Act.

There are two disposal notification areas, both in Grampian region, at Longside airfield and Dyce

The information is as follows:previous Minister to the hon. Member for Melton on 9 March, indicating if any such documents have been issued since 3 May.

The information is as follows:East. The authorities concerned have been informed that approval under the community land scheme will not be available for financing any new land acquisitions in these areas or elsewhere.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will give for each region or islands area in (a) 1977–78 and (b) 1978–79 figures for staffing and administration costs relating to the Community Land Act.

The information is as follows:

Region								1977–78	1978–79
								£	£
Borders	…	…	…	…	…	…	…	2,200	820
Central	…	…	…	…	…	…	…	10,610	13,959
Dumfries and Galloway				…	…	…	…	12,114	—
Fife	…	…	…	…	…	…	…	14,154	15,105
Grampian		…	…	…	…	…	…	25,912	15,254
Highland		…	…	…	…	…	…	3,151	2,414
Lothian	…	…	…	…	…	…	…	21,697	69,730
Strathclyde		…	…	…	…	…	…	65,157	39,448
Tayside	…	…	…	…	…	…	…	4,851	2,915
Orkney	…	…	…	…	…	…	…	—	—
Shetland	…	…	…	…	…	…	…	4,858	6,850
Western Isles		…	…	…	…	…	…	—	—
	Totals							164,704	166,495
The 1978–79 figures are provisional since all accounts have not yet been received.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will now give details in tabular form for each region in respect of (a) the 65·40 acres of industrial land and (b) the 1·02 acres of commercial land acquired in 1976–77 under the Community Land Act which have since been resold; what were the total receipts in each case; and how they compare with the acquisition costs of £245,282 and £181,750, respectively, excluding administration costs.

All accounts for 1978–79 are not yet available. From those submitted, at 31 March 1979, of the 65·4 acres of industrial land, a total of 26·07 acres had been disposed of in Lothian and Fife regions. The return from this land was £128,945 in grassums and annual rents. The position in respect of the 1·02 acres of commercial land remains as in the answer given to my hon. Friend on 11 December 1978.—[Vol. 960, c. 53–54.]

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will give details in tabular form for each region in respect of (a) the 112·87 acres of industrial land and (b) the 0·01 acres of commercial land acquired in 1977–78 under the Community Land Act which have since been resold; what were the total receipts in each case; and how they compare with the acquisition costs of £618,467 and £17,000, respectively, excluding administration costs.

All acounts for 1978–79 are not yet available. From those submitted, at 31 March 1979, 2·8 acres of industrial land had been leased in Lothian region at an annual rent of £2,800. No commercial land had been disposed of.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he now expects Possilpark health centre to be completed, and the range of facilities to be provided at the centre to be available.

I am informed by the Greater Glasgow health board that the health centre at Possilpark is now scheduled for completion in February-March 1980 and should be operational within three months thereafter. I shall ask the board to keep the hon. Member informed of progress.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions his officials have had with the Strathclyde regional council social work department on the relocation of the Possilpark blindcraft workshops into a purpose-built single storey building; what financial and other assistance his Department would provide to facilitate the move to new premises; and what time scale his officials envisage before the existing premises can be vacated.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give a breakdown of the cash limit of £194 million which he has fixed for rate support grant in 1980–81 showing the amounts included for inflation, the amounts included for each category of local government employer in respect of the Clegg Commission comparability awards and the percentage increases in wages and salaries he has assumed to be granted in each case by the Clegg Commission for the purposes of fixing the cash limit.

The cash limit for rate support grant in Scotland in 1980–81 of £194 million is compatible with increases in local authority costs, resulting from price changes and new pay settlements of 13 per cent. between 1979–80 and 1980–81 Separate provision has been made for an increase in total costs resulting from comparability awards. There are no figures for individual pay settlements.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade against what countries or industrial sectors the United Kingdom currently operates selective import controls.

The main area covered by import restrictions is textiles and clothing, where the major part of low-cost imports from some 42 countries are subject to various forms of restraint arrangements.

SHARES IN TOTAL WORLD EXPORTS OF GOODS PERCENT
		United Kingdom	France	West Germany	Italy	Belgium/Luxembourg	Denmark	Netherlands	Ireland
1948	…	11·6	3·7	1·4	1·9	3·0	1·0	1·8	0·4
1953	…	9·0	4·9	5·7	1·8	2·7	1·1	2·6	0·4
1964	…	7·4	5·2	9·4	3·5	3·2	1·2	3·4	0·4
1970	…	6·2	5·7	10·9	4·2	3·7	1·1	3·8	0·3
1978p	…	5·5	5·9	10·9	4·3	3·4	0·9	3·9	0·4
p provisional
Sources:
United Nations statistical yearbooks 1971,1972 and 1977
United Nations monthly bulletin June 1979

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will approach the European Commission with a view to the prevention of the dumping of Russian-made Christmas cards.

It is for the greetings card industry to decide whether or not to approach the Commission for remedial action, if it believes that it is suffering injury from dumped Russian-made Christmas cards. Officials of my Department have discussed the question with the

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will set out in convenient tabular form United Kingdom foreign trade as a percentage of world trade in 1945, 1951, 1964, 1970 and 1979 as compared with that of each of the United Kingdom's EEC partners.

Trade shares are normally measured in terms of the value of exports. Comprehensive information is available only from 1948, and then, initially, only for certain years. Comparable figures are not available for 1951, nor, as yet, for 1979. The table below gives the required information, including, where necessary, figures for years closest to those specified.industry, and if requested will give further advice and help in the formulation of a case.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will publish a table showing, for the most recent available period, the number of motor vehicles imported into the United Kingdom from each of the following countries, and the proportion this represents of United Kingdom motor vehicle sales, Japan, France, West Germany, Italy, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Russia, Norway and Sweden.

The information is as follows:

NEW REGISTRATIONS OF NEW MOTOR VEHICLES IN THE UNITED KINGDOM BY COUNTRY OF ORIGIN 10 MONTHS TO OCTOBER 1979
	Japan	France	West Germany
CARS
Number of units	161,816	174,775	209,767
Percentage of total new registrations in the United Kingdom	10·6	11·4	13·7
GOODS VEHICLES
Number of units	21,496	7,602	17,026
Percentage of total new registrations in the United Kingdom	8·3	2·9	6·5
	Italy	East Germany	Czechoslovakia
CARS
Number of units	84,943	—	9,104
Percentage of total new registrations in the United Kingdom	5·5	—	0·6
GOODS VEHICLES
Number of units	3,048	—	—
Percentage of total new registrations in the United Kingdom	1·2	—	—
	USSR	Norway	Sweden
CARS
Number of units	19,678	—	31,054
Percentage of total new registrations in the United Kingdom	1·3	—	2·0
GOODS VEHICLES
Number of units	1	—	4,793
Percentage of total new registrations in the United Kingdom	—	—	1·8
The above table provides information of new registrations of imported vehicles which can be directly compared with total new vehicle registrations. These figures of imports differ from those which are published in the Trade Accounts because of timing differences.
Source: Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will publish a table showing, for the most recent available period, the value of imports and exports of motor vehicles between the United Kingdom

VALUE OF UNITED KINGDOM TRADE IN MOTOR VEHICLES, JANUARY TO SEPTEMBER 1979
£ millions
					Passenger motor cars		Goods vehicles
					Exports	Imports	Exports	Imports
Japan	…	…	…	…	8	309	—	26
EEC	…	…	…	…	213	1,403	122	106
Comecon		…	…	…	—	37	—	2
Norway		…	…	…	2	—	3	—
Sweden		…	…	…	2	123	5	17

asked the Secretary of State for Trade (1) whether he will circulate in the Official Report a table showing (a) the volume and value of iron and steeel products imported from and exported to the EEC Six and from and to other countries in each year from 1970 and this year to date, (b) the trade balance and (c) the general level of tariff on imports of iron and steel from the Six;

The information is as follows:(2) if he will circulate in the

[pursuant to his reply, 15 November 1979, c. 769]: Details of United Kingdom trade in iron and steel with the EEC Six and the rest of the world are given in the tables below. There is no single representative level of customs duties on iron and steel and their products. The duties in 1970 ranged from free to 25 per cent. according to the form in which the products were imported. This range applied throughout the period 1 January 1970 to 31

I. UNITED KINGDOM TRADE IN IRON AND STEEL BY VALUE EEC(6)
(£ million
							Exports (f.o.b.)	Imports (c.i.f.)	Crude balance (exports valued f.o.b. minus imports c.i.f.)
1970	…	…	…	…	…	…	43·6	58·3	- 14·7
1971	…	…	…	…	…	…	42·4	69·2	- 26·9
1972	…	…	…	…	…	…	43·2	91·7	- 48·5
1973	…	…	…	…	…	…	67·0	170·0	- 103·0
1974	…	…	…	…	…	…	96·7	421·8	- 325·1
1975	…	…	…	…	…	…	121·9	462·4	- 340·5
1976	…	…	…	…	…	…	172·6	542·3	- 369·7
1977	…	…	…	…	…	…	213·2	553·1	- 399·9
1978	…	…	…	…	…	…	248·1	592·9	- 344·8
January-September 1979				…	…	…	225·8	510·3	- 284·6
January-October 1979			…	…	…	…	254·6	580·6	- 325·9

REST OF WORLD
(£ million)
							Exports (f.o.b.)	Imports (c.i.f.)	Crude balance (exports valued f.o.b. minus imports c.i.f.)
1970	…	…	…	…	…	…	304·6	164·1	+ 140·6
1971	…	…	…	…	…	…	360·4	137·2	+ 223·2
1972	…	…	…	…	…	…	333·2	160·4	+ 172·8
1973	…	…	…	…	…	…	366·2	203·3	+ 162·9
1974	…	…	…	…	…	…	455·8	294·5	+ 161·3
1975	…	…	…	…	…	…	560·0	361·5	+ 198·5
1976	…	…	…	…	…	…	650·8	423·4	+ 227·4
1977	…	…	…	…	…	…	803·3	431·5	+ 371·8
1978	…	…	…	…	…	…	857·6	463·2	+ 394·4
January-September 1979				…	…	…	713·9	378·1	+ 335·8
January-October 1979			…	…	…	…	790·7	428·5	+ 362·2

II. UNITED KINGDOM TRADE IN IRON AND STEEL BY VOLUME
(Thousand tonnes)
					EEC(6)		Rest of World
					Exports	Imports	Exports	Imports
1970	…	…	…	…	547	649	3,796	2,064
1971	…	…	…	…	511	818	4,595	1,673
1972	…	…	…	…	500	1,154	4,244	2,039
1973	…	…	…	…	678	1,501	3,705	1,782
1974	…	…	…	…	634	2,770	2,901	1,600
1975	…	…	…	…	592	2,607	2,766	1,595
1976	…	…	…	…	804	2,738	3,065	2,016
1977	…	…	…	…	908	2,415	3,720	1,858
1978	…	…	…	…	1,011	2,300	3,574	1,925
January-September 1979				…	825	1,790	2,713	1,454
Source: United Kingdom Overseas Trade Statistics: SITC(Rev 1/Rev 2) division 67.
Note: Owing to changes in the classification of the trade statistics, the figures for 1978 and 1979 are not absolutely equivalent to those for earlier years but the differences are negligible.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether he will circulate in the Official Report a table

The information requested is given in the table below. Figures of relative volume have been affected in the first half of the year by the road haulage dispute and, more recently, particularly in October, by the disputes in the engineering industry.The deterioration evident in the figures of relative volume owes much to the United Kingdom having a somewhat stronger underlying trend growth for imports than exists in other countries, probably resulting from weaknesses in non-price factors and industrial performance generally, aspects which have also affected our export performance.

UNITED KINGDOM TRADE IN MACHINERY*
	OTS basis 1975=100
	Relative volume†	Terms of trade‡
1970	119	96
1971	124	98
1972	96	102
1973	84	94
1974	82	99
1975	100	100
1976	95	96
1977	87	103
1978	74	111
1976—
1st quarter	105	99
2nd quarter	97	96
3rd quarter	91	96
4th quarter	89	96
1977—
1st quarter	85	100
2nd quarter	88	102
3rd quarter	87	104
4th quarter	89	106
1978—
1st quarter	78	109
2nd quarter	75	109
3rd quarter	74	112
4th quarter	71	113
1979—
1st quarter	59	114
2nd quarter	67	117
3rd quarter	63	121
October	53	121
* SITC (Rev 2) divisions 1971 to 1977.
† Export volume index (fob) as a percentage of the import volume index (cif); seasonally adjusted.
‡ Export unit value index (fob) as a percentage of the import unit value index (cif); not seasonally adjusted.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what is his estimate of the effect of the public expenditure cuts announced for the year 1980–81 on the district general hospital building programme for Wrexham, Llanelli, Bridgend and Morriston; if he will list his estimated starting dates for each hospital and the latest estimate of the costs envisaged; and if he will make a statement.

No cuts affecting the National Health Service were announced. The White Paper (Cmnd. 7746) makes it clear that the Government plan to maintain spending on the National Health Service in 1980–81 at the level proposed by the last Administration. The proposed major hospital developments at Bridgend, Morriston and Wrexham are still expected to start in the latter part of 1980–81. Site problems at Llanelli preclude a start before 1982–83.The latest estimates of costs, at October 1979 prices, are:—

	£m
Morriston	13·2
Bridgend	16·3
Wrexham	11·3

Estimates are not yet available for Llanelli.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many children in the Gower constituency receive (a) free school meals and (b) free school transport.

About 1,400 children were taking free meals in maintained schools in the Gower constituency in October 1978. The information on school transport is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what plans he has to recover the waste heat from power stations, especially for the benefit of local communities.

The report of the combined heat and power group, chaired by Dr. Walter Marshall, makes recommendations concerning the utilisation of waste heat from power stations to the benefit of, inter alia, local communities.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what is the current cost per kilowatt hour of electricity supplied by the most recently constructed coal-fired, oil-fired and nuclear-powered power stations.

The estimated costs of CEGB power stations currently under construction are as follows:

Completion	£ per kW (March 1979 prices)
Drax (coal-fired) (start on site 1978)	380
Heysham II (nuclear AGR) (start on site 1979)	720–800

No new main oil-fired stations are currently planned.It should be noted that these current estimates reflect the circumstances of the individual sites and are not necessarily indicative of costs of building new stations on green field sites.

asked the Secretary of of State for Energy what is the current construction cost per kilowatt of coal-fired, oil-fired and nuclear-powered power stations.

The following table gives the generation costs in 1978–79 for the CEGB's six Magnox nuclear stations, 13 coal-fired stations and 2 oil-fired stations commissioned after 1 April 1965, as published in the CEGB's annual report for 1978–79:

	per kwh*
Nuclear (Magnox)	1·02
Coal-fired	1·29
Oil-fired	1·31
* Capital charges are expressed as annuities.

The costs of nuclear stations include provision for reprocessing and vitrification of residues from nuclear fuels, and for the ultimate decommissioning of the stations.Although the AGR station operating was not fully commissioned for that year, its costs on a comparable basis were about 1·3 p/kwh. These figures are not, of course, suitable as a basis for future investment decisions.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what is the current price index, including fuel handling, per kilowatt hour of electricity, generated by oil, coal and nuclear power, respectively, taking 1970=100.

The price of electricity from different types of power station is not separately distinguished. The following information on the cost of electricity generated in the CEGB's nuclear (Magnox), coal-fired and oil-fired stations is available from 1971–72 relating to modern stations, and on accounting bases which have been subject to relatively minor changes as mentioned in the CEGB's annual reports.

	1971–72	1978–79
Nuclear (Magnox)	100	237
Coal fired	100	300
Oil fired	100	336

Power stations in Scotland and Northern Ireland are the responsibility of my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will establish minimum energy efficiency standards to include buildings, vehicles, appliances and heating equipment.

Minimum standards of thermal insulation of buildings are set in the building regulations for which the Department of the Environment is responsible. Improvements in standards for new domestic buildings are under consideration.We do not at present plan to introduce mandatory efficiency standards for vehicles; we have a voluntary commitment from the motor industry to a target of a 10 per cent. improvement in the average petrol consumption of new cars by 1985.I shall be introducing a Bill later in the Session which will provide enabling powers to set minimum efficiency standards for all types of heating appliances, and to require the labelling of household appliances with their energy consumption.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what financial incentives are available to persuade industry, local authorities and home owners to invest in energy-saving measures; and if he will consider extending these incentives.

The following schemes provide financial incentives, in the form of grants (or, in the case of local authorities, of loan sanctions), to encourage investment in energy-saving measures:

(1) Incentives to industry:

(a) Energy conservation scheme

(b) Energy survey scheme

(c) Demonstration projects scheme

(d) Tax allowances for insulation of existing industrial buildings.

(2) Incentives to local authorities:

(a) Insulation of public sector housing

(b) Insulation etc. of schools

(c) Insulation etc. of non-domestic buildings

(3) Incentives to home owners:

Homes insulation scheme.The homes insulation scheme has recently been extended to cover tenants of public sector housing. The energy conservation programme is constantly under review, but we do not have any present plans for further extension of these incentive schemes.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has now reached firm conclusions on his proposals for the redistribution of functions between county and district authorities; and if he will make a statement.

The Government have considered carefully the views put forward by the local authority associations, individual authorities and others following my answer of 18 July to my hon. Friend the Member for Sowerby (Mr. Thompson).On development control, I have decided, with two exceptions, to confirm the proposals announced in that answer. Responsibility for development control is therefore to rest with only limited exceptions with district councils. Those excep- tions relate to minerals developments and developments which straddle the boundaries of national parks; both these categories of development are already county matters.In addition there will be a new county matter, namely private applications for waste disposal sites. The definition of minerals development will include rail aggregate depots, marine aggregate wharves and aggregates processing plant. County planning authorities will lose the power to direct district planning authorities to refuse an application.District councils will have a statutory duty to consult county councils on planning applications which would have a significant bearing on an important structure plan policy. A working party of my Department and the local authority associations has made good progress in developing the code of practice which will provide districts with guidelines for consulting counties about applications which affect strategic matters.With the announcement of the Government's decision the way is now clear for the working party to proceed to an agreement. The Government do not propose to change local authorities' powers to acquire deemed planning permission for their own developments.As announced in my answer on 18 July, the Government have accepted in principle the associations' joint proposals for certain other minor changes in the planning field, where powers are now exercised concurrently by county and district authorities. Detailed legislative proposals are now being discussed with the associations.I said in my statement on 18 July that the arrangements for highways and traffic management were not working satisfactorily in certain areas and that the Government were convinced that the operation of agency agreements between counties and districts was in urgent need of improvement. A working party of officers of the associations, chaired by the Department of Transport, would draw up a code of practice to provide a proper basis for this improvement. I understand that this working party has now prepared a draft code and that it is at present being considered by the associations.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list those historic monuments in London in

London Monuments		Present price	1980 Price
Banqueting House,	Adults	15p	30p
Whitehall	Children under 16 and retirement pensioners	5p	15p
Chiswick House	Adults	20p	30p
	Children under 16 and retirement pensioners	5p	15p
Hampton Court	Adults
Palace	Summer	£1·00	£1·20
State Apartments	Winter	50p	60p
	Children under 16 and retirement pensioners
	Summer	40p	60p
	Winter	20p	30p
Kensington Palace	Adults	30p—Summer	60p
State Apartments		—Winter	40p
	Children under 16 and retirement pensioners	15p—Summer	30p
		—Winter	20p
Kew Palace	Adults	20p	40p
	Children under 16 and retirement pensioners	5p	15p
	for 1980 separate charge for Queens Cottage
	Adults		30p
	Children under 16 and retirement pensioners		15p
Lancaster House	Adults	25p	50p
	Children under 16 and retirement pensioners	10p	25p
Tower of London	Adults
	November/February	50p	£1·00
	March/June and September/October	£1·00	£1·50
	July/August	£1·50	£2·00
	Children under 16 and retirement pensioners
	November/February	30p	50p
	March/June and September/October	50p	70p
	July/August	50p	£1·00
Westminster Abbey,	Adults	15p	30p
Chapter House	Children under 16 and retirement pensioners	5p	15p
London Monuments—Free Admission
Eltham Palace Great Hall
Greenwich—Queens House; also RN College Painted Hall and Chapel
Jewel Tower—Westminster
King Henry VIII Wine Cellar, Whitehall
London Wall Tower Hill
Westminster Abbey—Pyx Chamber

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what recommendations he has made to the Commission of the European Communities concerning the total ban on imports of

The announcement of an increase in admission charges to ancient monuments in England from 2 January 1980 was made to the national press on 16 November. The new charges are designed to meet increased costs of upkeep, the effects of inflation and increased VAT since the last general rise in January 1978.Present charges for the London monuments and their new charges in 1980 are as follows:whale products; and if he will make a statement.

I have recommended to the President of the Commission of the European Communities that the Commission formally proposes to the Council of Ministers a ban on the import into the Community of the primary products of all whales.The suggested list of products to be controlled includes: meat and offal, whether or not fit for human consumption; whalemeat extracts and juices and whalemeat; whalebone, if worked or simply prepared; the hair and waste thereof; whale fat and whale oil, including sperm oil, whether or not refined or modified; mixtures including sperm oil, and sperm-aceti wax. Ambergris has not been included as this occurs naturally without killing whales and is not a reason for killing them.To allow industries a reasonable interval to increase the production of the substitutes that are available and to switch to production techniques not requiring whale oil, I have asked that the Council decides by Christmas on a ban to come into effect on 1 January 1982.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what advice he has had from the laboratory of the Government Chemist on the feasibility of identifying leather or cosmetics that contain sperm oil.

I understand that the Government Chemist could identify leather containing sperm oil and that in principle sperm oil can be detected in cosmetics, but his formal advice has not been sought because of the practical difficulties of imposing import controls on the wide range of goods which may contain sperm oil. I am writing further to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if, in the light of a recent decision reached at a public inquiry held in Rugby where two local authorities were at variance in a matter permitting general development outside a structural plan, he will revise planning requirements and allow district councils more control over planning matters which directly concern them.

My right hon. Friend the Minister for Local Government and Environmental Services has announced the Government's proposals for transferring some development control powers from counties to districts. He does not propose to make changes in the Secretary of State's policy on calling in for his own decision, where appropriate, proposals which depart from a structure plan.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what would be the monthly mortgage payments of a council house tenant who purchased his council house with a 75 per cent., 80 per cent., 85 per cent., 90 per cent., 95 per cent., or 100 per cent. mortgage at 13 per cent. per annum, repayable over 20 years if the cost of the house was £5,000, £6,000, £7,000, £8,000, £9,000 or £10,000, respectively.

Gross monthly payments on annuity mortgages can be calculated using a set of standard annuity tables, such as the "Mortgage Repayment Tables", published by the Building Societies Association.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if private contractors carrying out reimbursable cost contracts for his Department will be subject to the cash limit constraints which apply to public sector employers, and in what way, or if such contractors will be automatically reimbursed for extra labour costs irrespective of the level of wage and salary settlements they may enter into.

Contractors are not reimbursed extra labour costs under firm price contracts but, where a contract provides for the reimbursement to the contractor of actual or calculated costs, that reimbursement will reflect the level of relevant nationally agreed wage settlements.There is, however, a cash limit on procurement by my Department. Any excessive increase in contractors' costs would therefore mean less work for them.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has any firm and quantifiable evidence to suggest that controlled and regulated tenants of private rented accommodation wish to purchase their property.

I know of no survey evidence about the number of tenants renting from private landlords who would wish to buy the houses in which they live. But between 1971 and 1976 such evidence as is available points to an average of 20,000 to 25,000 households a year buying their houses as sitting tenants from private landlords.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what are now the usual procedures for the disposal of surplus Government property, including property occupied by residential tenants.

In general it is now the practice to sell surplus Government property on the open market but where practicable tenanted residential dwellings are first offered to the occupants.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list his Department's responsibilities relating to children and the statutes from which these arise showing which branch or division within his Department and which Ministers deals with each of these responsibilties; who is responsible for coordinating the various responsibilities relating to children within his Department; and who is responsible for co-ordinating his responsibilities for children with those of other Departments.

My responsibilities relating to children in the fields of health and personal social services are mainly derived from and specified in the National Health Service Act 1977, the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970, the Nurseries and Child Minders Regulation Act 1948, the Children Acts 1948, 1972 and 1975, the Children and Young Persons Acts 1933–69 and the Employment of Children Act 1973. I have asked my hon. Friend the Minister for Health and my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State to assist me in the exercise of these responsibilities. The division primarily concerned is the children's division, which works in close association with other administrative and professional divisions.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what steps he proposes to take to ensure that regional and area health authorities shall redistribute their resources amongst health authorities so that the effects of both cuts and inflation bear less hardly on those areas and regions already disadvantaged.

Regional and area allocations for 1979–80 were fixed early in the financial year. It is for each health authority to absorb the effects of inflation on its allocation although there may be scope within a region for an authority or authorities to assist harder hit areas. The Government have not cut allocations and have no plans to do so.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will introduce a scheme to assist the parents of handicapped children with travelling costs involved in visiting them at long-stay hospitals.

No. I recognise the importance of encouraging visits by parents of handicapped children being cared for in long-stay hospitals, but it would not be justifiable to make special financial provision for visiting a particular category of patients. Parents not in full-time employment whose income after payment of travelling expenses for visiting is below their requirements by supplementary benefit standards may seek help from the Supplementary Benefits Commission. For parents in full-time work, but with low incomes, the Supplementary Benefits Commission may very exceptionally help with the cost of an emergency journey.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what steps he will take to carry out his Department's responsibilities towards mentally disordered offenders in prison, as recommended by the May committee;(2) whether he will make a statement on his policy on those parts of the May committee report that affect his Department.

The mentally disordered offender presents very real problems. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department explained in his reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Lichfield and Tamworth (Mr. Heddle) on 7 November, he and I accept that it is undesirable to detain in prison prisoners whose mental disorder permits them to be detained in hospital under the Mental Health Act. It is estimated that at any one time some 200 sentenced mentally-ill prisoners fall into this category. We shall continue our efforts to have such people transferred to hospitals with appropriate levels of security.There is, however, a large number of offenders serving prison sentences who exhibit disturbed behaviour but whose mental disorder does not permit their detention in hospital under the terms of the Mental Health Act; adequate provision must be made in the prison system for them, and the National Health Service must make psychiatric care available to them after they are released. In our continuing efforts to ensure that facilities are provided for the various groups of people referred to by the Committee my right hon. Friend and I will take careful account of the recommendations made in the Report.—[Vol. 973, c.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the total number of prescriptions issued annually under the National Health Service; and of these how many are issued free of charge for (a) children under 16 years, (b) persons over retiring age, (c) expectant mothers, (d) mothers with young children, (e) people suffering specified conditions, (f) war service pensioners and (g) persons in receipt of supplementary pensions, family income supplement or on low incomes.

In England and Wales in 1978 there were 331·0 million prescription items dispensed. The information requested on items dispensed free of charge is set out below:^*

Dispensed for	Millions
(a) Children under 16 years	39·6
(b) Persons over retiring age	104·9
(c) Expectant mothers	12·5†
(d) Mothers with children under one year of age
(e) People suffering from a specified medical condition
(f) War service pensioners	1·0
(g) Persons in receipt of supplementary benefit, family income supplement or on low incomes	16·4
* The breakdown into categories is done on a sample basis.
† A breakdown of this figure is not available

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what would be the estimated annual additional cost of granting exemption from payment for prescriptions to children under 17 years of age, instead of the current 16-year age exemption.

It is estimated that in England and Wales there are about 790,000 16-year-olds. Their prescription needs are not high and many would be entitled to claim exemption on grounds of low income. If, on average, they required about two prescriptions a year, the additional cost of exempting them from charges might be about £700,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the total number of pre-paid prescriptions taken out each month since January 1979.

Information on the issue of pre-payment certificates is only collected on a six-monthly basis. During the first six months of 1979, 16,100 six-monthly certificates and 140,775 12-monthly certificates were issued in England.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many dentists in Halifax are (a) working full-time for the National Health Service and (b) combining National Health Service with private dental practice, respectively; and how these numbers have changed during the last two years.

General dental practitioners are independent contractors. They are not required to provide the information requested.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if, pursuant to his reply, Official Report,24 July, column 330, he will make a statement on progress made in his Department on the case relating to national insurance contributions involving Simpsons in the Strand.

The formal application for a decision on this matter by my right hon. Friend has now been received and arrangements are being made to hold an inquiry.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what conclusions he has reached as a result of the visit of the Minister of State to Stoke Mandeville hospital on 20 November.

My hon. Friend concluded that, in view of the national importance of the national spinal injuries centre at Stoke Mandeville hospital, one of the two wards now closed should be reopened as soon as possible and that the other should be reserved for the use of patients with spinal injuries. He also concluded that there is a need for new arrangements to ensure that the cost of the national spinal injuries centre is separately identified within the health authorities' target allocations.The national spinal injuries centre is by any standards a "centre of excellence" of national as well as of regional significance and should be regarded as such. I hope that it may prove possible over the next few years, with the help of voluntary moneys, to provide facilities which reflect this.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what visits are made to lodgings and private hostels where people on social security are being housed and how often.

Individual claimants in lodgings and private hostels are visited on the same basis as other supplementary benefit claimants. The frequency varies according to the category of claimant. Powers to inspect private hostels are vested in local authorities. I refer the hon. Member to the replies given to her yesterday by my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Department of the Environment.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he intends to end the earnings rule for pensioners; and if he will make a statement.