asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) if he will ensure that adequate photocopying facilities are available to hon. Members in all buildings occupied by the House at all times from 9 am to the rising of the House;(2) if he will ensure that at least one photocopying machine is available continuously at all times in each building occupied by the House;(3) whether, in view of the difficulties of communications between Norman Shaw South and the House, and the resulting pressure on photocopying facilities, he will direct that the practice whereby all the photocopiers in Norman Shaw South except one are switched off after 9 pm should cease forthwith;(4) if he will ensure that at all times of the day there is a photocopy machine available on each floor of Norman Shaw North for the use of Members;(5) if he will make inquiries about the adequacy of photocopying machinery in Norman Shaw North; and if he will indicate, over the last year, the number of Members and staff using the machinery, the number of machines available, the number of faults reported and the average time taken to rectify faults.

The adequacy and operating times of copying machines are matters for the Services Committee. I understand that the occupants of Norman Shaw North are adequately served by the copying machines in the building. Nevertheless, I shall write further to the hon. Member.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will arrange for a number of hon. Members to observe the pending elections in Rhodesia, and to report back to the House.

The Government do not propose to recommend the formation of an all-party group to report on the elections in Rhodesia. But they are prepared to discuss through the usual channels arrangements for a certain number of Members of Parliament to observe the elections. The Governor has agreed to provide appropriate assistance.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what were the total amounts at 1 January covered by certificates of indemnity issued by the national museums, galleries and libraries in England in respect of objects on long-term loans to their permanent collections on a long-term basis, broken down to the individual institutions, and recording the comprehensive total for all the institutions together.

I have been asked to reply.For those institutions covered in the answer given to the hon. Gentleman's question on 24 January 1979 the total was £33,873,387. The amounts in respect of the individual institutions are given below:

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is the cost of 250 sheets of House of Commons writing paper in size A4.

£3·11 for sheets with plain stamped portcullis crest and £4·51 for those with coloured stamped crests.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he will specify the allocations made to public institutions in the United Kingdom during the half year ended 31 December 1979on the recommendation of the Standing Commission on Museums and Galleries, of individual works of art and museum objects pre-eminent for national, scientific, historic or artistic interest which have been accepted by the Treasury in satisfaction of capital transfer tax, together with information, where applicable, as to wishes expressed in the matter of allocation by testators and executors; and

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much he estimates it will cost to administer the public lending right; and if he will consider increasing the total allocation from its present level of £2 million.

The annual cost of administering the Public Lending Right Act 1979 has been estimated to be, at November 1978 prices, approximately £600,000. This cost will be met from the central fund for public lending right, for which the Act sets a maximum of £2

I have been asked to reply.The following table sets out the items which have been allocated on the advice of the Standing Commission on Museums and Galleries or the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts to public institutions in the United Kingdom during the half year ended 31 December 1979. The second table lists the items which have been accepted in lieu of tax but for which formal allocation procedures have not been completed.million, less the salary costs of the Registrar. There is provision in the Act for this amount to be increased, with the consent of the Treasury, by statutory instrument, and the possibility of an increase in the central fund will be considered in the context of the Government's plans for public expenditure as a whole. As the hon. Member will know, however, any such possibility is unlikely to arise for the next two financial years.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will seek to amend the Public Lending Right Act to restrict payments to authors from the United Kingdom or from a country with a scheme for which United Kingdom authors are eligible; and if he will give the reasons for his decision.

I refer the hon. Member to paragraph 2.9 of the consultative document on public lending right, published last December. This explains why no action is proposed for the present.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will confirm that only those libraries which have computerised equipment for recording book loans will be used in the sample proposed in the consultative document on public lending right; why the figure of approximately 70 service points was chosen for the sample; and if he will consider a smaller number.

To restrict the range of the sample to library service points which have already installed computerised equipment for recording loans would undermine the statistical validity of the sample. It is proposed, however, that the selection of individual service points for the sample should, so far as is possible within the constraints of a stratified random sample, take into account any special difficulties which might be posed by the selection of particular service points. The figure of approximately 70 service points is proposed in the light of the conclusion of the Technical Investigation Group in 1975, that a sample of this size was the minimum consistent with an acceptable degree of accuracy. I am of course ready to consider during the

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is the latest estimate of the cost of constructing the British Library on the Euston site; if he has reviewed the original decision to cons-

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster why he has suggested that public lending right should terminate at the end of the fiftieth year after the author's death; and if he will consider reducing this period.

The period of 50 years is the period specified in the Public Lending Right Act 1979, subject to any provision which may be made in the scheme, about which I am currently holding consultations. I shall be happy to consider any representations that the period should be reduced.

asked the Chancellor the Duchy of Lancaster whether he will publish in the Official Report the attendance figures for 1979 reported by the national museums and galleries in England, broken down to the individual institutions but comprising their outstations, with figures in each case of the percentage increase or decrease on the attendance figures for 1978.

I have been asked to reply.For those institutions for which I am responsible the following is the information requested:struct the Library in the light of the Government's declared intention to reduce public expenditure; and if he will make a statement.

I am reviewing all aspects of the scheme, including its cost. I will make a statement as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the chairmen and members of rent tribunals in Scotland, with their dates of appointment.

There are currently seven rent tribunals in Scotland, whose combined membership totals 32—seven chairmen, six valuer members, seven lay members, and 12 reserve members. I am writing to the hon. Member with the details.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the additional cost of binding in hard covers the two-

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what were the total amounts at 1 January covered by certificates of indemnity issued by the national museums, galleries and libraries in Scotland, in respect of objects on long-term loans to their permanent collections, broken down to the individual institutions and recording the comprehensive total for all the institutions together.

The information is as follows:

This consultative paper is not bound in hard covers but has a stapled index-card cover which cost about £90.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will publish in the Official Reportthe attendance figures for 1979 reported by the national museums and galleries in Scotland, broken down to the individual institutions but comprising their outstations, with figures in each case of the percentage increase or decrease on the attendance figures for 1978.

The information is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what action he is taking to achieve an early settlement of the fishing rights for British vessels in Faroese waters in 1980.

My Department took part in further negotiations between the EEC and the Faroe Islands on 9–10 January aimed at establishing a reciprocal fisheries agreement for 1980. It was not possible to reach agreement and a further meeting will be held on 12–13 February. Meanwhile, however, it was decided that vessels of each party could fish in the other party's zone on an interim basis with effect from midnight 10 January.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will offer the Government in Kiribati whatever assistance they may require in maintaining essential services on Banaba until such time as the promised full resources survey of the island has been completed and its recommendations implemented.

We already provide special financial assistance to Kiribati in respect of recurrent expenditure and I understand that the Kiribati Government have decided to maintain essential services on Banaba.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what estimate has been formed by his Department of the needs of the Banabans resident in Banaba following the decision of the British, Australian and New Zealand Governments to wind up the operations of the British phosphate commissioners on that island.

The administration of Banaba is a matter for the Kiribati Government and no assessment has been made by my Department. However, a resources survey of Banaba is being financed from aid and is expected to provide information which will help the Kiribati Government to estimate the needs of those residing in Banaba.Meanwhile, I am informed that educational and health facilities will continue to function and that fuel and food supplies will be provided as necessary by the Kiribati Government. The district officer will remain at his post.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether special assistance will be given to Zambia by the United Kingdom to repair the 11 rail and road bridges destroyed by the illegal régime in Rhodesia during October and November 1979.

A proposal for assistance by the United Kingdom with reconstruction projects in Zambia is at present being discussed with the Zambian Government.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if any training is proposed to be offered to people from developing countries in respect of sea bed and related technologies; how courses will be funded; and if special assistance is proposed to be given to Commonwealth countries.

The question of training personnel from developing countries to meet the manpower requirements of the proposed International Sea Bed Authority is under careful consideration at the Law of the Sea Conference. The secretariat is studying the requirements, and possible funding arrangements. This study should indicate how we and other countries might help.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were convicted of the theft and fraudulent use of credit cards during the last 12 months for which figures are available.

The information requested is not available centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many credit cards were reported lost or stolen in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and of this total how many were issued by banks, financial and retail companies, respectively;(2) how many cases of loss or theft of credit cards were reported in the last 12 months for which figures are available; how many cases of fraudulent use of credit cards were reported; and what was the value of the credit fraudulently obtained during the same period.

The information requested is not available from the records kept by the Home Office.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young men at each centre within the borstal system have committed suicide and how many have attempted to commit suicide in each of the existing borstal centres during each of the last 10 years for which records are available.

The information is contained in the following table. I regret that the total number of attempted suicides in borstals in 1973 was wrongly given as 56 in the answer I gave to a question by the hon. and learned Member on Monday 17 December.—[Vol. 976, c. 2–4.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation to require changes to be made to Independent Television franchise areas.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the powers of the Independent Broadcasting Authority concerning the allocation of the boundaries of franchise areas and changes to them.

Under section 2 of the Independent Broadcasting Authority Act 1973 determination of franchise areas and the allocation of franchises to programme contractors are entirely the responsibility of the IBA.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why it is necessary to classify as restricted the clinical details concerning drug treatment to prisoners.

Information about clinical treatment given to specific prisoners is not subject to a security classification. But since personal details are involved, such information is not disclosed without the written consent of the prisoner concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when was the first time the sex drug Benperidol was used on prisoners; and if this was before it received its product licence.

Benperidol was first prescribed by a doctor working in a prison in 1971 after the Committee on Safety of Drugs had authorised the manufacturers to dispense it on the prescription of any registered medical practitioner. The product licence was issued in July 1973.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are being taken in order to assess the experiences at the Reading borstal, when it operated as a correction centre, in devising the more rigorous regimes for the proposed pilot scheme; and whether he intends to take into such account the actual and attempted suicide rate in that institution.

As I told the hon. and learned Member on 14 December, the experiences at Reading in 1967 are being taken into account in devising the pilot project.—[Vol. 975, c. 810–11.] I shall write to the hon. and learned Member about the availability of information on suicides and suicide attempts at Reading at that time.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he proposes to institute a tote system for harness racing; and whether a representative for harness racing will sit on the proposed horseracing advisory council.

The Royal Commission on Gambling recommended that statutory provision should be made for totalisator facilities at harness race meetings. This is one of the recommendations which I am considering for inclusion in general legislation on gambling when time permits.The horseracing advisory council is being set up by the racing industry and I have no responsibility for its composition.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether a record is kept by the police national computer of all requests for information from the records held on the computer; and, if so, for how long the record of such a transaction is kept;(2) whether a record is kept on the police national computer of all requests received for information relating to the registration number of a motor vehicle; and, if so, for how long the record of such a transaction is kept.

A record is kept at the computer centre of each inquiry, including those relating to motor vehicles, and of the terminal involved. The record is kept one month; but its retention for a longer period is being considered. Additionally, police forces are asked to keep at computer terminals a record of each inquiry and the name of the officer needing the information. It is for each chief officer of police to decide how long those records should be kept.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, in the light of the detailed statistics contained in his letter to the hon. Member for Oldham, West of 12 December, he will now list, as originally requested in the question of the hon. Member for Oldham, West, on 25 October, the names of all persons who have died whilst in police custody since 1970, the police station where they died, the date oftheir death, and the cause of death as stated in the death certificate.

I wrote to the hon. Member on 8 January to say that I am arranging for the information to be obtained, and that I shall write to the hon. Member as soon as it is available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers there are in the London borough of Newham of West Indian origin; what their ranks are; and how long it is expected to take to place the police force in Newham on the same percentage basis as the local population so far as manning by ethnic groups is concerned.

As I said in reply to a question from the hon. Member on 21 December—[Vol. 976, c. 426]—I understand from the Commissioner that there are two officers of West Indian origin serving in those divisions of the Metropolitan Police district which contain the London borough of Newham. Both are constables. The Commissioner is, with my support, anxious to encourage the recruitment to his force of members of the ethnic minorities. Their allocation within the Metropolitan Police district is a matter for the Commissioner.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the minimum use of force tactical intervention squad has been employed since 15 November 1979; if so, where and for what reasons; and if he will make a public statement in future when it is employed.

No. I shall make a statement about any instance of indiscipline by inmates, whether or not the teams referred to are deployed, whenever the circumstances call for it.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the regional director of the south-east region of the prison department sent official congratulations to the minimum use of force tactical intervention squad on its handling of the incident at Wormwood Scrubs on 31 August 1979; and, if so, by whom and how it was signed.

No. However, the deputy regional director of the south-east region sent a personal note to the governors of five establishments thanking them for making officers available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why prisoners in D wing at Wormwood Scrubs are physically searched during cell searches; how often these take place; and if the same procedure is adopted (a) at other wings and (b) in other prisons.

Instructions to the prison service envisage that all convicted adult prisoners in closed prisons should be searched during fortnightly cell searches. The purpose is to prevent the possession of prohibited articles. These instructions are complied with at Wormwood Scrubs as at other prisons to which they apply, in so far as staff resources permit.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to receive the report on the events leading up to the incident at Wormwood Scrubs prison on 31 August 1979; and if he has yet decided whether it will be published.

On the timing of the report I have nothing to add to the reply I gave to a question by the hon. Member on 10 December.—[Vol. 975, c. 420.] My right hon. Friend will decide whether to publish the report when he has received and considered it.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has now decided to publish the report of the working party on open prisons.

I have nothing to add to the reply which I gave to a question by the hon. Member on Tuesday 11 December.—[Vol. 975, c. 541–2.]

asked the Attorney-General if he will initiate full discussions and consultations with all interested parties before he implements the decision of the rule committee to abolish the Royal Command on the High Court writ of summons.

The rules to which the hon. Member refers are contained in a statutory instrument—1979, No. 1716—which has been laid before Parliament in the usual way.

asked the Attorney-General why the Supreme Court Rule Committee sits in private; and why Mr. R. E. Ball was told not to discuss its decision to abolish the Royal Command on the High Court writ of summons.

The Supreme Court Rule Committee meets to consider the rules of the Supreme court. Any amending rules are laid, in the form of a statutory instrument, before Parliament. Like any other committee of the same kind, its discussions are private.Mr. Ball was not a member of the committee but resigned his office on learning of its decision to omit the Royal Command from the form of writ. He was at no time told on behalf of the Lord Chancellor not to discuss that decision, whether before or after the publication of the proposed amendments.

asked the Attorney-General if he will list all the changes recommended by the Supreme Court Rule Committee in the last year and indicate those which he intends to implement, and by what means.

The changes made by the Supreme Court Rule Committee in 1979 are contained in statutory instruments numbered 35, 522, 1542, 1716 and 1725 respectively, all of which have been duly laid before Parliament.

asked the Attorney-General if he will pass the function of procedural reform from the Supreme Court Rule Committee to the Law Commission.

No.

asked the Attorney-General how many court trials against suspected terrorists have been dropped because of the non-availability of key witnesses in Northern Ireland.

[pursuant to his reply, 3 December 1976, c. 6]: Records kept by the Director's office show that during the period 1 January 1975 to 31 December 1979 in eight trials on indictment of scheduled offences involving 16 accused the trial was either discontinued or one or more accused was found not guilty as a direct result of the non-availability of the evidence of a material prosecution witness or witnesses. These eight trials involved 18 witnesses whose evidence was not available. In each of the eight trials the bill of indictment was either discontinued entirely in respect of one or more accused or one or more accused was acquitted on all counts preferred against him on that bill of indictment.In each of the above cases the witnesses were intimidated. In two of these cases seven witnesses appeared at court on the day of trial but refused to testify when called to give evidence.During the period mentioned no trials of scheduled offences were discontinued or resulted in acquittal of an accused through witnesses being unavailable in Northern Ireland other than for reasons of intimidation.No corresponding statistics are maintained for trials where charges were altered in the bill of indictment or where the accused was acquitted on some but not all counts of the indictment by reason of the non-availability of evidence of a material prosecution witness or witnesses. There has in fact been a substantial number of cases in which the non-availability of the evidence of a witness has required alteration or withdrawal of individual counts.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science in what way the criteria that led to the ministerial approval of the decision to close Peel Brow high school, Bury, and its replacement by Woodhey comprehensive school have changed to enable the use of Peel Brow by pupils and staff of Ashmeadow high school.

There has been no change. The Peel Brow buildings are being used as a temporary annex to Ashmeadow high school pending completion of phase I of the new Ashmeadow project at Hazel Avenue. This has been delayed by factors beyond the control of Bury authority, but the new premises are expected to be taken in full use by about Easter 1980. At that time, all pupils now occupying the Peel Brow premises will be accommodated in the new building and Peel Brow will be closed.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list all those secondary schools in the North-West that operate on more than three sites, showing the maximum distances involved between the sites.

I regret that this information is not available. A recent sample survey of school building suggested that about 20 per cent. of all maintained secondary schools in England and Wales, or 1,000 in all, were on two or more sites in 1976; 350 having a distance of at least half a mile between the sites.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list all those secondary schools in the North-West whose physical education and games facilities are catered for by public parks, showing the maximum walking time from the school to such facilities.

I regret that this information is not collected by my Department.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many pupils and staff are on the recorded roll of Ashmeadow high school, Bury; how many operate from the individual sites that at present make up this school; how many pupils and staff, and with what frequency, travel between these separate sites; and how long he expects these arrangements to continue.

I am informed by Bury LEA that there are 937 pupils on roll at present at Ashmeadow high school; there are 59 permanent and 3 temporary staff. 338 pupils in the first and second years are taught in the Hazel Avenue site; 216 third-year pupils are taught in the Peel Brow site, Ramsbottom; 383 fourth and fifth-year pupils are taught in the Cedar Street site. No pupils regularly travel between these sites during the school day. 16 members of staff are involved in travel to the Peel Brow site and a further 18 members of staff travel between the Cedar Street and Hazel Avenue sites. It is not possible to give a general indication of the frequency of this travel.The authority intends to relinquish the premises in Ramsbottom at Easter 1980 when phase I of the Ashmeadow building project is completed. The school will then consist of two sites which are about 5 minutes' walk apart.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the weekly cost of transport for pupils of Ashmeadow high school, Bury, at present operating on five sites separated by distances up to a maximum of five miles; what is the estimated cost of staff travelling time; how many staff and pupil teaching hours are lost by split site travelling; what is the cost of duplicated services; what type of staff-pupil insurance cover has been taken out; and at what additional cost.

This information is not collected by my Department. I advise the hon. Member to approach the local education authority direct.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many letters he has received from pupils, parents, teachers, governors and members of Bury education committee concerning the completion of the Ashmeadow high school, phase II, special education priority area school building project; and when he expects this contract to be completed.

We have received 170 letters from pupils, 13 from parents, and 4 from teachers, governors and members of Bury education committee about the building work at the Ashmeadow high school.The contract for phase I is expected to be completed by Easter 1980. A start on phase II depends on the Bury local education authority being able to accommodate the project in its school building allocations.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what are the regulations regarding the heating and water supply of academic and physical education school units; and if he is satisfied that each of the five sites used by Ashmeadow high school, Bury meets those regulations.

Part VI of the Standards for School Premises Regulations 1972 includes the following requirements:

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) if he has received a report from the Schools Inspectorate on the teaching conditions being experienced by pupils and staff at Ashmeadow high school; and what consideration has been given by his Department to the safety, hygiene, environmental and educational aspects of the operation of this school on five separate sites;(2) if the Schools Inspectorate has visited Peel Brow high school, Bury to report on the educational, hygiene and safety standards to be adopted during its use by pupils of Ashmeadow high school.

One of Her Majesty's inspectors visited Peel Brow high school on 25 June and Ashmeadow high school on 18 December and has reported to my Department. My right hon. and learned Friend is satisfied that the authority has taken every possible step to ensure the provision of adequate safety, hygiene, environmental and educational conditions at its school.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what priority he gives to developments in special education priority areas.

In allocating resources for improvements and replacements of primary and secondary schools, my right hon. and learned Friend gives special preference to those areas of social and educational disadvantage where there are old and unsatisfactory buildings.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will take into account representation from the parents of pupils at Page school for girls when considering reorganisation for the 16 to 19 age group in the Kingswood area; and if he will reply to those representations.

My right hon. and learned Friend will take account of all relevant factors, including those representations submitted to him, before taking a decision under section 13 of the Education Act 1944. The Department will write to all objectors after a decision has been made.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what percentage of the 16 to 18-year-old age groups is currently continuing in full-time education; and how this figure compares with those of 1976–77, 1977–78 and 1978–79.

The percentage of those aged 16—over school leaving age—to 18

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many students in full-time education were receiving grants in the years 1976–77, 1977–78 and 1978–79.

The number of awards made by local education authorities in England and Wales, the Department of Education and Science and research councils was 441,300 in the academic year 1976–77 and 442,700 in 1977–78. Later figures are not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what research is being done in the United Kingdom into motor neurone disease; and what support is being given from public funds to this research.

The Medical Research Council supports a number of in England and Wales continuing full-time education in schools, universities and public sector further education establishments is provisionally estimated as 30 per cent. for 1978–79, the latest figure available, and was the same in each of the years 1976–77 and 1977–78.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the current percentage of young people in (a) West Yorkshire and (b) Greater Manchester, remaining at school after the age of 16 years; and how these figures compare with those for the past five years.

In January 1979—the latest date for which information is available—and for the previous five years, the percentages of pupils remaining at maintained secondary schools beyond the compulsory school age were as follows:research projects on motor neurone disease. Work is in progress at the National Hospital for Nervous Diseases on the topography of the spinal cord and pathways associated with the control of movement. Studies of the development in animals of neurological abnormalities, with feaures similar to those found in motor neurone disease, are being carried out in the department of physiology, University College, London; and a wide-ranging programme of research into muscular disease in man and animals is being supported at the Regional Neurological Centre, Newcastle upon Tyne. Research in the department of anatomy and embryology, University College, London, is aimed at determining the mechanisms involved in the development of different types of motor units; the neural control of muscle spindle activity is being investigated at St. Thomas's hospital medical school.The cost of this research was approximately £136,000 in the financial year 1978–79. A grant has recently been awarded to the Royal postgraduate medical school at Hammersmith for studies on cellular sensitivity in neurological disease—including motor neurone disease—to agents causing DNA damage.In addition to its support of research directly relevant to motor neurone disease, the council also supports a considerable volume of research on the structure and function of the nervous system, which may yield results relevant to furthering understanding of this disease.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the total number of A-level subject passes in England and Wales in each of the years since 1971.

The total numbers of passes in the English and Welsh Boards GCE A level summer examinations 1971 to 1978 were as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many schoolchildren in (a) the city of Manchester and (b) the area covered by Greater Manchester council are in receipt of (i) school meals and (ii) free school meals.

On a day in October 1979 the number of pupils taking dinners in schools maintained by the city of Manchester was 57,255–72·4 per cent. of those present—of whom 23,180–29·3 per cent. of those present—received them free of charge. Corresponding figures for the whole of the area covered by the Greater Manchester council were 316,442–67·6 per cent.—and 77,490–16·5 per cent.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many children were in receipt of school meals at the end of the summer term 1979 in (a) the city of Manchester and (b) the area covered by the county of Greater Manchester.

This information is not available in my Department and I would advise the hon. Member to approach the local education authorities concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will set up an inquiry into the possibility of substituting a loans scheme for the present mandatory grants system for students in polytechnics and universities.

My right hon. and learned Friend has the question of student loans under consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) how much of the income of the Royal postgraduate medical school in Hammersmith derives from fees paid for overseas students by his Department; by how much this figure will be reduced by his change of policy; and if he is satisfied that the school's reduced income from this source will in no way affect its viability;(2) how much of the income of the London school of hygiene and tropical medicine derives from fees paid for overseas students by his Department; by how much this figure will be reduced by his change of policy; and if he is satisfied that the school's reduced income from this source will in no way affect its viability.

No fees are paid by my Department in respect of overseas students at either the Royal postgraduate medical school or the London school of hygiene and tropical medicine. The University of London is entirely responsible for the distribution between these and other of its constituent colleges of the grant made available to it through the University Grants Committee.It is not possible to assess the extent to which any particular institution within a university will have its resources reduced following the decision to remove progressively the current subsidy relating to overseas students, or what effect this will have on the work of that institution. This is partly because it is not possible at this stage to predict what reduction there might be in the number of overseas students as a result of this decision, partly because decisions have not yet been taken by the Government on the level of recurrent grant to be made available to universities as a whole in 1980–81 and subsequent academic years, partly because the allocation of grants to individual universities is a matter for the University Grants Committee, and partly because, as already intimated, it is for each university to determine the internal distribution of the grant it receives.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether, in the light of his decision to consider alternatives to the present method of student union financing, he will consult student representative bodies on the subject before making firm proposals.

I have already consulted the principal parties concerned, including the National Union of Students.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proportion of children, living within statutory walking distance from school, he anticipates would pay less for school transport than they do at present if they were able to pay flat-rate school transport charges of 10p, 25p or 50p a day, respectively.

Information on which to base an answer to this question is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on research carried out under the auspices of the Agricultural Research Council at the Babraham institute of animal physiology into shellfish toxin received from Fort Detrick in the United States of America; if this involved co-operation with United States agencies; and, if so, if he will list them.

The programme of research at the Agricultural Research Council's institute of animal physiology has used certain biological toxins, including shellfish poison, for the study of animal physiology. This work has been of value in demonstrating the correlation between certain physiological activities.A sample of shellfish toxin, which originally derived from Fort Detrick, was at one time used for this research, but the institute's programme is entirely separate from any work carried out by United States agencies.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the average cost per student of courses in advanced and non-advanced further education, distinguishing between laboratory and workshop-based courses and classroom-based courses.

The figures are as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if there is any liaison between United States military establishments and United Kingdom educational institutions in research projects; and if he will make a statement.

I am informed that a number of United Kingdom universities have research grants from the United States Department of Defense. Where research scientists on the staff of universities or the Science Research Council are working on problems similar to those on which researchers in United States defence establishments are working, there may be normal scientific contact at conferences or workshops.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will allow the introduction of wage flexibility to Scottish naval dockyards to allow them to compete on the open labour market against other industries paying higher wages for skilled men.