asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he is satisfied with the level of economic activity in Wales.

No, Sir. The Government's economic polices are designed to reduce inflation and create the conditions for soundly based economic expansion.

In Wales, is not the consequence of the Budget a decline in economic activity and a likely surge of unemployment? Will not this hurt the economy of Wales, given the steel cutbacks that we have already had? Did the right hon. Gentleman make clear to his Cabinet colleagues that the Budget would be a deeply injurious blow to the prospects of working people in Wales?

I do not accept that the Budget is damaging to Wales. It is designed to restore economic health after the mess left to us by the previous Government and to defeat inflation. The Budget contained a notable package of measures for small businesses which will be of particular advantage to Wales. The hon. Gentleman will be aware that the unemployment trend was rising steeply when we came into office.

After 12 months at the Welsh Office, is the Secretary of State now in a position to say who is responsible for the high unemployment in Wales?

As I pointed out in my first speech from the Dispatch Box, the first brief that I was given on entering office warned that unemployment would go on rising substantially, that we were on a rising trend of unemployment in Wales and that unemployment had more than doubled under the previous Government. It will take time to change round the Welsh economy after the mess left by our predecessors.

In view of the great interest in economic activity displayed by Labour Members, will my right hon. Friend say whether they have supported his request to the TUC to call off its day of national sabotage on 14 May?

I am bound to say that I hope they have. Perhaps one or other of the Labour Members will say whether they support this lunatic step, which can do only more damage to the economy in Wales.

Following his visit to Gwynedd last week, does the Secretary of State now fully appreciate the likely drop in economic activity in that part of Wales? Will he bring forward an urgent programme of capital expenditure in the public sector, in order, at least in the short term, to make up for this fall?

I am very much aware of the serious problems facing that part of Wales. We had a useful and constructive discussion with the local authorities, and I value the way in which they approach these problems. We shall consider very carefully the proposals that they put to us. I have already told the hon. Member that we shall be reviewing regional development status in areas when the situation changes.

I am sure that the right hon. Gentleman will be pleased to know that at least there is unanimity among us over our dissatisfaction with the level of economic activity in Wales. With 92,000 unemployed, and 50,000 redundancies announced since the Secretary of State took office, how can he justify the cuts in public expenditure of £26 million in industry, energy, trade and employment between this year and 1982–83? Can he tell us what effect this is likely to have on economic activity in Wales?

I think that the statement the right hon. Gentleman has just made will do considerable additional damage to the Welsh economy. [Interruption.] It is the kind of encouragement and incitement to industrial damage and disruption that can only be harmful to Wales. It is completely in line with the previous language used by right hon. Gentlemen on the Opposition Benches about the creation of industrial deserts. It seems to be their object to worsen the atmosphere in Wales and to make things more difficult.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many Welsh local authorities have notified his Department that they are interested in exploring the possibility of enterprise zones within their areas.

Two, apart from Swansea city council and West Glamorgan county council.

While I realise that it will take time for the success of enterprise zones to be evaluated, may I ask my right hon Friend to ensure that other possible sites are being identified for extension of this policy?

As my hon. Friend knows, this is an experiment. We have suggested one initial site. We are now consulting the local authorities, the Welsh Development Agency and other public bodies about possible alternative sites, and we shall consider carefully any representations that are made to us.

On the basis of the current discussions with the Swansea city council, when does the Secretary of State expect the proposed enterprise zone to come into effect? Will he indicate any possible changes in the guidelines, and will there be an opportunity to discuss those guidelines in the House?

We hope to complete the process of consultation by the time that the House rises for the Summer Recess. Subject to the legislation going through, we hope that the enterprise zones will be in existence by the end of the year. I note that the hon. Gentleman has written to me suggesting some changes in boundaries if the Swansea valley site is selected. I am encouraged by the hon. Gentleman's suggestion that the area might be extended. That suggests that perhaps he and others see virtues in this experiment.

As special measures will be taken in areas where there have been steel closures or the scaling down of activity and as there will be this special experiment in this enterprise zone, and possibly in another enterprise zone, will that not place some burden on agencies, such as the Welsh Development Agency, and possibly on the other parts of Wales which are in neither the steel areas nor the enterprise zone? Will he keep a watch on this aspect, because it could easily be overlooked?

The Welsh Development Agency is not directly responsible for the management of the enterprise zone, though it will be carrying out some land clearance and site preparation in the area if the Swansea valley site is chosen.

If one or more of these enterprise zones is established in Wales, where will the public expenditure to finance them come from? Will it be additional money to the Secretary of State's budget or will it mean cuts in other items in that budget? If the latter is the case, some of the already poor areas in Wales will have to finance the steel closure areas.

We made it absolutely clear that, as far as the 100 per cent. rate relief is concerned, the local authorities will not have to meet that cost. I assure the right hon. Gentleman that it is not coming from other parts of my budget.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many firms and of what nationality, known to his Department, have been set up in Wales since May 1979.

Ninety-two firms are known to my Department to have set up in Wales since May 1979, of which 15 are known to have started production. Of the total, 79 are of British origin, five American, three Swedish, two German, one Canadian, one Swiss and one Danish.

Does my right hon. Friend agree that that demonstrates a new interest in Wales, not only from those within the United Kingdom but from abroad, and shows an awakening of greater confidence in Wales and in what the Government are doing in the Principality to stimulate industrial development.

I think that it gives the lie to the "industrial desert" assertion. I am glad to report that interest continues, because we have made 30 formal allocations in the first quarter of this year.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that this position is inadequate when Wales, under this Administration, is facing a redundancy level of 1,000 jobs for every week that the Government are in office? Far from there being an indication of new interest, is it not a fact that most of the factories that have already set up were under negotiation—some virtually at the end of negotiation—when there was a change of Administration? As so many of the new firms that come to Wales go to Government factories, will the right hon. Gentleman assure us that, if press reports that the WDA is to sell off £66 million worth of factories prove to be true, the occupants rather than property investors will be given the first opportunity to buy those factories?

I am glad that the right hon. Gentleman left us a few good things, not a total picture of devastation, when he left office. Some of the jobs were in the pipeline. As I pointed out, there were 30 formal allocations in the first quarter of this year, and that shows a continuing interest in Wales.

Do not these figures suggest how lunatic would be the policy of import controls, as advocated by some sections of the Labour Party, as they would tend to discourage inward investment?

I entirely agree with the view expressed by my hon. Friend.

Will the Secretary of State tell the House to what extent the Welsh Development Agency was involved in attracting the companies to which he referred in answer to his hon. Friend the Member for Anglesey (Mr. Best)? Will he also refer this matter to the Secretary of State for Industry, with particular reference to the Northern region, which has been pressing for a Northern development agency?

I cannot give the hon. Gentleman a breakdown, but the Welsh Development Agency clearly played an active role in attracting many of these companies, and many of them are occupying WDA factories. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Industry is well aware of the WDA's record and of what has been happening in Wales.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will review the regulations governing the provision of pedestrian crossing facilities on roads for which his Department is directly or indirectly responsible.

I do not think that this will prove necessary. As regards trunk roads, the regulations for the provision of crossings are applied flexibly and with particular regard to the safety of pedestrians. The provision of pedestrian crossings on other roads is the responsibility of local authorities.

Is my hon. Friend aware that the people of the village of Gwernymynydd will be extremely grateful to him for the decision that he has taken to provide a pedestrian crossing on the road that is to be straightened out there? None the less, does he accept that it is becoming unreasonably difficult to get consent to pedestrian crossings across trunk roads, even in cases where the need is absolutely paramount? Is there not a need for a reappraisal of priorities here?

I am grateful that the people of Gwernymynydd are pleased about the pedestrian crossing. I assure my hon. Friend that the safety of pedestrians will remain the yardstick for decisions to be made on pedestrian crossings.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what recent initiatives he has taken to encourage the fostering and growth in the use of the Welsh language.

I refer the hon. Member to the speech I made at Llanrwst on 15 April. Copies have been placed in the Library of the House and I am having it printed for wider circulation. In this speech, among other things, I announced a major increase in the Government's financial support for the language.

Is the Secretary of State aware that we welcome the statement made in Llanrwst, as far as it goes, and recognise that it goes a substantial step forward? None the less, is he aware that we were also interested to note his words when he said that education through the medium of the Welsh language gave an additional educational experience to a child? In these circumstances, will he give a lead from the Dispatch Box in suggesting to parents of children who are about to enter school that they should actively consider the possibility of sending their children to a bilingual Welsh language primary or nursery school?

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for what he said and for adding his encouraging support to a number of other congratulatory messages that I have received from those who are concerned about the future of the Welsh language. I made it clear in my speech that parental consultation is to be an important part of the future role of education authorities and that they must take full account of the views of parents in this matter. I think that my speech clearly indicated that there was nothing in our experience in education in Wales that suggested that learning Welsh could be harmful to children. In many parts of Wales, it must clearly be of considerable advantage that they should be able to speak Welsh.

Does my right hon. Friend know of the particular pleasure caused by his announcement that financial provision will be made for the project in Nant Gwrtheyrn for a Welsh language centre and for teaching the Welsh language in this village?

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. As he knows, it is now up to those involved to raise private sector money to enable me to produce the grant which would enable them to round off the appeal and meet the total. It is now up to the individuals to see whether they can make a success of this project.

Does the right hon. Gentleman recollect that many people in Wales felt that the best boost to the Welsh language would be the fourth television channel? As he sees the evidence of lawbreaking around Wales as a result of the Government's decision, is he beginning to realise the damage that the cynical contempt shown by the present Government has done to relations in Wales? How does he explain the fact that the Conservatives fought an election campaign on introducing the fourth channel and then abandoned that decision within two weeks of coming into office? Is he aware that such a blatant abuse of the democratic process plays into the hands of the militants by making ordinary law-abiding people feel cheated?

I have justified and explained the change of policy that we announced in the speech that I made at Llanrwst. Indeed, I have done so in the House of Commons, so I do not need to repeat myself. But I hope that the implications behind the right hon. Gentleman's words from the Dispatch Box just now were not that extremism might in any sense be justified. That would really be a monstrous suggestion.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many council-owned dwellings in Wales have been purchased by their tenants during the past 12 months; and whether this constitutes an upturn in the numbers of such sales.

In 1979 1,187 council-owned dwellings were sold, an increase of 156 compared with the 1978 figure.

Has my hon. Friend any evidence that some of the authorities which are now selling houses are a little inexperienced in this sort of work? Will his Department give all possible advice and help in appropriate circumstances?

Some 17 authorities in Wales are selling council houses. They are accumulating experience. Obviously, we expect a considerable increase in sales when the Housing Bill is enacted.

Is not one of the reasons why the hon. Gentleman expects an increase in the sales of council houses that the Government are forcing up rents to incredible levels? He has already imposed a £2 a week average increase by withdrawing subsidies, and in the next year or two we shall see in the valley communities the £20-a-week council house rent. That might well force people to buy their properties, but it does nothing for the homeless of Wales. Will the hon. Gentleman reconsider the whole of his housing investment programme for the next year?

No, we shall certainly not do that. But the reason why we expect an increase in sales is that under the Housing Bill we are for the first time giving to council tenants a right to buy. From our experience in our constituencies, we know that there are many people who wish to buy their own homes and who have hitherto been denied that opportunity by their councils and local authorities.

Will my hon. Friend make arrangements in areas in which local authorities have opposed this policy to ensure that tenants will have the right to buy their council houses and flats?

There will be no question but that council tenants will have the right to buy once the Housing Bill becomes law.

Has the Under-Secretary seen the warnings from the respected chairman of the Council for the Principality that if the proposed cuts by the Welsh Office of the housing investment programme continue, this will mean a complete halt to council house building in Wales next year? Even if this is only partially true and if council house sales continue, do not the Administration have some concern for those who are at the receiving end—young couples and those on the waiting lists—who will find it increasingly impossible to have a decent roof over their heads?

It is not true that the Government's housing allocations for this year will mean the end of council house building. It is entirely up to the local authorities concerned to decide what they do with the money that has been allocated to them. Hon. Members will know that every authority in Wales has this year been allocated 80 per cent., at least, of its previous year's allocation, as promised by the previous Government in November 1978——

Making 37 per cent. less.

I hear the hon. Member for Merthyr Tydfil (Mr. Rowlands) objecting from a sedentary position. I assure him that his authority has had 92 per cent. of its allocation for last year.

In real terms?

Every authority can increase the money allocated to it, by selling council houses.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate he has made of the number of firms which have decided to move, within Wales, from areas which no longer attract development grants to development areas or special development areas.

There is no realistic basis on which to make such an estimate. I am aware of only one company which has decided to move within Wales as a result of the changes in assisted area boundaries and the associated changes in regional development grants.

Will the Minister inform the House whether the Ofrex company is considering moving, perhaps out of Wales? Will he also bear in mind that in the Ogmore constituency it is expected that we shall have 4,000 redundant steel workers as a result of the rundown by the British Steel Corporation at Port Talbot and that we could very well have a further 5,000 redundant miners within the Ogmore constituency? Will he dispel the rumours about the future of the Wyndham Western colliery in the Nant-y-Moel area of the Ogmore valley, which could mean redundancy there and an industrial desert in the Ogmore constituency, because in the Ogmore valley it is the only employer of labour?

It is true that Ofrex Engineering Ltd. has written to me arguing that the changes in policy could influence future development at its premises. I have already said a number of times in the House and elsewhere that we are considering the future of the development area status of the areas affected by steel closures. They cover the areas referred to by the hon. Gentleman. Specific mine closures are a matter for the NCB.

Is the Secretary of State aware that, even since his visit to my constituency recently, yet another factory has announced its closure—the Spillers factory near Pwllheli? In those circumstances, is not the time right to look at the whole of regional policy and incentives to see whether a new package can be put together in order to maintain, sustain and develop companies in development areas rather than lose them, which is our current experience?

As the hon. Gentleman knows, although regional incentives have an important role to play, they have not been the answer to his particular part of the United Kingdom in the past. They certainly do not offer an automatic solution to the current difficulties that are faced there. But I have already told the hon. Member that I am carefully considering the representations that have been made to me, and I repeat that assurance.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate he has made of the number of new jobs likely to be created in Wales in 1980–81.

Nearly 19,000 manufacturing jobs are currently estimated to arise in Wales over the next three to four years from projects which have been allocated Government-financed factories or offered selective financial assistance. About 4,000 of these jobs should materialise within the current year.

Is not the right hon. Gentleman becoming something of a job charlatan in going around Wales and speaking of these jobs in the pipeline—18,000 jobs over the next four years—when, as my right hon. Friend the Member for Swansea, West (Mr. Williams) has just pointed out, about 44,000 net redundancies have been notified in a mere 10 months of the present Government? Are not some extra special measures now needed, given the jobs crisis that Wales is facing?

That is why, of course, we have announced special measures. The hon. Gentleman repeatedly seems to cast doubts on these jobs. They are important projects. They are Government-financed and aided projects. They are well spread in Wales. Incidentally, they are only the manufacturing projects resulting from Government financial assistance for factories. In this total no account is taken of other jobs, particularly in the service sector. I give just one example. There are 600 jobs coming to Cardiff through the new AA offices. Plenty of other similar developments are taking place.

Is it not a fact that the figures my right hon. Friend has given do not include any natural growth that might occur in existing firms and companies which do not apply for some grant or for some new building?

That is absolutely right, and that is the point that I have just made. They do not include jobs in projects that do not receive financial assistance or are not allocated Government-financed factories: nor do they include jobs in the service industries.

What are the prospects for school leavers? Can the right hon. Gentleman name any new projects for the Deeside and Buckley area in northeast Wales?

The Manpower Services Commission hopes to meet the guarantees to school leavers. The hon. Gentleman knows that Shotton has some extremely attractive sites and is one of the best locations in Britain. Projects such as the titanium and Point of Air projects have been announced. The hon. Gentleman asked for specific projects, and I have referred to two.

Does not my right hon. Friend agree that the constant stream of predictions of gloom and doom from the Opposition have done nothing to help create jobs in Wales for the coming years?

Incitements to industrial action, such as have been made by the Opposition this afternoon, will certainly not help the creation of jobs in Wales in the coming year. I couple that with the previous talk of industrial deserts. Such talk is doing untold harm to Wales and is making the job of creating fresh jobs in Wales much more difficult. I agree with my hon. Friend that such predictions are disgraceful.

Does not the right hon. Gentleman accept that if any damage is being done to Wales it is being done by a Government of whom the Secretary of State is a prominent member? Will he accept that some jobs in the pipeline do not materialise and that even when they do they often take longer to materialise than had been envisaged? It is all very well for the Secretary of State to trot around Wales talking about 18,000 jobs when he knows that they should be compared with the 50,000 redundancies that have been announced this year. When are we likely to see a fair match or, as the Prime Minister might say, "a broad balance" between the number of redundancies and the number of jobs created by the Government?

It is pretty cool to be lectured by the right hon. Member from the Dispatch Box about things that do not materialise when jobs are in the pipeline. I have already told the right hon. Gentleman that of the 50,000 notified redundancies 6,000 have been withdrawn. They do not all materialise, either.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what further measures he is considering to meet the jobs crisis in West Glamorgan.

I have already announced a major programme of industrial site preparation and advance factory building in West Glamorgan, and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Industry is reviewing the assisted area grading of the areas affected by job losses at Port Talbot.

Reviewing, reviewing and reviewing. For how long will the Govment dally and fiddle while the economies of the steel areas burn? Were we not promised last December that a decision on regional development status would be made by the end of January? All the key factors are known. The position is becoming worse and worse. What is the reason for the delay?

All the factors are not known, because agreements have not yet been reached between the British Steel Corporation and the unions. I have repeatedly made clear that we shall announce decisions on regrading very quickly after firm decisions have been made about the future of Port Talbot and Llanwern.

I appreciate that the right hon. Gentleman wishes to take account of the decision in the British Steel Corporation, and I would have some sympathy if that were the only possible tragedy confronting West Glamorgan. We are already facing redundancies at Louis Marx and——

Order. I am sorry to interrupt the right hon. Gentleman, but he must ask a question. The right hon. Gentleman is giving information.

As long as there is an interrogative in the sentence, it constitutes a question. Is he aware——

Order. The right hon. Gentleman must ask a question.

As I was saying, is the right hon. Gentleman aware of job losses apart from those in the steel industry? Is he aware that jobs have been lost among such long-standing employers as Louis Marks and Mettoy in Swansea and that there is a risk to jobs in Metal Box at Neath? Will he make an immediate declaration that West Glamorgan will be given special development area status?

I am aware of other job losses, but I am also aware that current unemployment levels in the area do not justify special development area status. I am sure that it would be in the interests of the right hon. Gentleman's constituents if all the relevant facts were made available before that decision is taken.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that as a result of the steel strike the average loss per worker was about £1,300? Does he not agree that nobody wins in a strike, particularly one of such magnitude and duration? Does he not also agree that all the Opposition's protestations about the day of action merely show that they have utterly separated themselves from reality? Is there not now a new understanding that one does not preserve jobs by going on strike?

More tragic than the financial loss is the fact that the strike weakened the BSC even further and made additional job losses more likely. Every strike threatens jobs and that is why it is so wrong and wicked that the right hon. Member for Swansea, West (Mr. Williams) should encourage them.

Williams asked the Secretary of State for Wales when next he intends to meet the Council for the Principality.

I have no immediate plans to meet the Council for the Principality, though I expect to meet its representatives on the Welsh Consultative Council for Local Government Finance when it meets on 15 May.

Will the right hon. Gentleman tell us his estimate of the cost of the Clegg award as it affects teachers in Wales? Will he compensate Welsh local authorities for those costs, or does he expect the cost to be met by further cuts in education or by the sacking of teachers?

The right hon. Gentleman would receive a more helpful and detailed answer if he asked a specific rather than a general question. In making their allocation to local authorities, the Government made estimates of the likely cost of a Clegg award. Provision has been made in the financial allocation to local authorities, from which they can plan.

Does not the right hon. Gentleman agree that with the cut in the housing improvement programme in Wales of £28·5 million it is impossible for local authorities to complete as many houses next year as they did this year? What message will he give to the Council for the Principality and to the homeless people of Wales when the Government will sell more houses than they are building?

Under the Labour Government there was a declining trend in house building. We have continued those policies and met their guarantee of an 80 per cent. allocation. I have nothing to add to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Under Secretary—[Interruption.] Again, we get an intervention from the hon. Member for Merthyr Tydfil (Mr. Rowlands) from a sedentary position. His local authority has received 92 per cent. of its previous allocation.

Does not my right hon. Friend agree that, given the percentage of poor housing stock in Wales, the emphasis should be not on new building but on improving the existing housing stock?

My hon. Friend will be aware that we have just announced an important new initiative that will help local authorities to improve houses for sale.

Does not the Secretary of State recognise that 15,000 to 20.000 building workers are unemployed in Wales, that 60,000 families are on waiting lists for council houses and that it is therefore ridiculous to pay people to be out of work?

Jobs will not be created if we cannot reduce public expenditure, public borrowing and interest rates. Such reductions must remain the Government's central objectives.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will take steps to help the self-employed and small firms in Wales during the coming year; and if he will make a statement.

The Government in their fiscal and other policies are giving high priority to helping the self-employed and small businesses. My Department and the agencies for which I am responsible recognise the importance of the small business sector in our economy in Wales and will give every possible assistance and encouragement.

I am grateful to the Secretary of State for his reply, but I am sure he is aware that many self-employed people and small firms in Wales are finding life very difficult these days because of high interest rates——

And many other things.

The Secretary of State is responsible for Wales on behalf of the Welsh people. Will he take the matter up with the Chancellor of the Exchequer to persuade him to lower the bank interest rate forthwith to help the economy in Wales?

I am glad that I shall have the hon. Gentleman's support in all our measures to reduce public sector borrowing, which is essential if we are to reduce interest rates. I am glad that he regards it as an important priority. I hope that he will also agree that the Chancellor announced an important package of measures for small businesses in the Budget.

In seeking to help small businesses, particularly in Mid-Wales, the area covered by the rural development board, will the Secretary of State discuss with the board the possibility of extending its activities to encourage service businesses no less than manufacturing ones?

I have discussed the encouragement of service ventures with the agency and with the board. Under the Act they have the power to support service industries, and I know that in planning their industrial locations they are taking increasing account of the need for a service element on the sites as well as purely manufacturing development.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry whether he will take steps to assist the hosiery and knitwear industries.

The Government's economic policies are designed to deal with the causes of inflation and encourage industries throughout the country to become more competitive and so expand.

When the Secretary of State went to Leicester last week and visited hosiery and knitwear factories, was he told of the deep recession into which those traditional industries are sinking and of the high unemployment among them? Will he do his best to help those industries, not least by ensuring that VAT is not charged on children's clothing and that the tremendously high proposed increases in gas and other fuel prices will be cushioned for them?

When my right hon. Friend visited the city, he was indeed told of the problems faced by the industries there. He made a careful note of them. I know that he is keenly aware of, and interested in, the problems. The hon. and learned Member's second point, about VAT on children's clothing, is a matter for the Treasury. I shall ensure, as I have on behalf of the clothing industry already, that its views are well understood. The effect of the Government's fuel policies is a matter for the Department of Energy.

What will be done about the problems that I have raised five times in the House in recent months about origin labelling? Do the Government understand that a sweater such as the one I am wearing may be labelled so as to make one think that it is Shetland wear when, in fact, it may come from Indonesia or Hong Kong? What will the Government do to make it clear where woollen textile imports come from?

If origin labelling on the garment is incorrect, there is an established procedure for prosecution by the inspectors of the local authorities and, if need be, for confiscation of the goods. If the hon. Gentleman is referring generally to labelling not being provided or being misleading, that is a matter for the Minister for Consumer Affairs.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he is now in a position to make a statement regarding the conclusions of his review of the statutory monopolies enjoyed by the Post Office.

My right hon. Friend will be making an announcement as soon as possible.

I am relieved to hear that, because my right hon. Friend was promising us a statement about the monopoly of the mails earlier this year. Can my hon. Friend assure us that when my right hon. Friend makes his statement he will take into account the fact that the Monopolies Commission has now concluded, as if we needed it to tell us, that the monopoly of the mails is acting against the public interest? Will the Minister draw the appropriate conclusions as soon as possible?

My right hon. Friend will, of course, have noted that point. As for the length of time that it has taken for this matter to be completed, it is complex and I am sure that my hon. Friend will agree that the implications of any decision must be considered carefully.

Will the Minister remember that any application of the free market philosophy to the Post Office without regard to the social consequences will bring great disadvantage to people in rural areas, particularly areas such as Weardale in my constituency, and that the Post Office must be retained as a great public service for the community and not be subject just to the free market philosophy?

I am sure that my right hon. Friend will take account of the comments by the right hon. Gentleman but also of the need, both in rural areas and elsewhere, for efficiency in the operation of the postal service.

Does my hon. Friend agree that the social consequences of getting mail delivered in rural areas within a day or two instead of 10 days or a fortnight as at present would also be beneficial? Is it his intention to allow private firms to go a little further and to bid for the handling of mail in inner cities and between big cities? Will that be done on a competitive tendering basis?

These are all matters for the result of the review, though my right hon. Friend will no doubt note what my hon. Friend has said. As for speeding up the process in rural areas, if there are examples of delays of as long as 10 days I hope that my hon. Friend will draw them to my attention or to that of my right hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what steps are being taken, whether through the EEC or otherwise, to combat the damage to free world liner trades between Europe and the Far East arising from the non-commercial rates quoted by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics for its trans-Siberian container service.

The first step is to develop a common appreciation among the Governments in Europe and in the Far East of the extent of the threat from the trans-Siberian land bridge. The matter is under discussion within the OECD.

I thank my hon. Friend for that answer. May I ask him to remember that the USSR already takes 30 per cent. of the westbound trade and 24 per cent. of the eastbound trade, according to the General Council of British Shipping, and that urgent action is therefore necessary? What is the next step that my hon. Friend has in mind?

My hon. Friend refers to certain figures. I think that he should make it plain that it is the Japanese trade about which he is speaking. The next step must be to collect appropriate information, because the information we have is not entirely comprehensive, and then to consider within the Community to what extent the Community as a whole can take any action that it might feel appropriate.

Is this not another example of the Russians subsidising an activity to the detriment of the free world and of Britain in particular?

Since Russia does not issue financial statistics of such operations, it is difficult to say positively that it is subsidised, but certainly the rates offered raise that suspicion in most people's minds.

asked the Lord Privy Seal how many British orchestras have toured the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics under Arts Council or British Council sponsorship; what has been the cost of this sponsorship; and how many Soviet cultural visits have been arranged in each of the last four months.

No British orchestras have toured the USSR and no Soviet cultural visits have been arranged under Arts Council or British Council sponsorship in the last four months. Under the terms of the charter, the Arts Council is not permitted to provide funds for cultural visits and tours outside Britain.

The House will be pleased with that reply, because the Minister will know that it is different from the reply that he would have given three months ago. Can he tell us how many tours have been cancelled?

Perhaps the hon. Gentleman will table a question on that point. I cannot answer it off the cuff.

Will the Minister take such opportunities as he gets to inform the Soviet authorities that cultural contacts with their country would be much more welcome if they were to grant human rights to people who live there and in particular if they allowed Andrei Sakharov, Ida Nudel and Vladimir Slepak out of exile?

We have made our position clear a number of times on that subject to the Soviet authorities. We particularly deplore the fact that the Soviet authorities are conducting a "clean-up", as they describe it, of the places in which various events connected with the Olympic Games are intended to occur, so that there is no contact between people they regard as undesirable and visitors to the Soviet Union.

Will the Foreign Office make it clear that the Soviet swimmers who are here at present are welcome?

We take the view that we should set ourselves against events which would enhance Soviet prestige or give the impression that nothing in our relationship with the Soviet Union had changed. That is why we have taken our position on the Olympic Games. The Soviet Government have made it perfectly clear that they intend, if they possibly can, to make a big propaganda bonanza out of the Games.

While the Minister is getting his civil servants to give him a proper brief to answer the hon. Member for Isle of Ely (Mr. Freud), will he include in his comments the orchestras that are sponsored by other organisations and are receiving public money, such as from the BBC?

I am not aware that any orchestras sponsored by the BBC have toured the Soviet Union in recent months. Perhaps the hon. Member for Isle of Ely (Mr. Freud) had in mind the proposed tour by the English Chamber Orchestra. On our advice, that tour was cancelled after the intervention of the British Council. With the assistance of the British Council, the English Chamber Orchestra was able to find other engagements in order to avoid any loss of revenue.

rose——

Order. I shall allow an extra minute at the end of the next series of questions in order to call the Front Bench on this question.

Thank you for accommodating me, Mr. Speaker. Will the Minister accept that this is an area in which we on the Labour side of the House feel that displeasure at Soviet aggression should be made clear by keeping the Soviet Union culturally at arm's length, for a while?

I believe that the Government's policies have had that effect. The Soviet authorities can have no doubt that we have demonstrated to them our displeasure at the events in Afghanistan by terminating various contracts in the cultural field and in other areas.