asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will visit the Centre for Information and Advice on Educational Disadvantage to see the work which it carries out.

My right hon. and learned Friend has at present no plans to visit the centre.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he is yet ready to announce his plans for an advisory committee on the supply and education of teachers.

I have decided to constitute an advisory committee for an initial period of five years. Dr. Clifford Butler has agreed to become the first chairman.The terms of reference will be:

asked the Prime Minister if she will ensure that a Minister from the Department responsible for the matter under discussion is present in the House whenever an hon. Member seeks leave to introduce a Bill under the Ten Minutes Rule procedure.

I agree that this is a desirable practice and I hope that it will be generally observed in future.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) if he will publish a table showing the comparison, for the latest date for which information is available to his Department, between unemployment levels in the United Kingdom and those in Austria, Israel, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Sweden and Switzerland;(2) if he will publish a table showing for England the proportion of unemployed persons who (

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will circulate in the Official Report a table showing the share of (a) wages and (b) wages and salaries as a percentage of national income in the principal industrial countries in 1958, 1968 and in the latest available year.

COMPENSATION OF EMPLOYEES AS A PERCENTAGE OF NATIONAL INCOME*
Per cent.
			United Kingdom †	France	Germany (FR)	Italy	Japan	USA
1958	…	…	72	59	60	50	52	71
1968	…	…	74	62	64	57	53	74
1977	…	…	80	71	72	71	68	77
Notes
* Compensation of employees refers to wages and salaries and employers' contributions to pensions and social security schemes. National income is at factor cost ie excluding indirect taxes and including subsidies.
† 1958 United Kingdom figures does not strictly correspond to OECD definitions.

asked the hon. Member for Wokingham (Mr. van Straubenzee) as representing the Church Commissioners, whether there is any ecclesiastical responsibility for the chapel which is part of Witley Court, Great Witley, Worcestershire.

The Church Commissioners have no responsibility for the building to which the hon. Member refers. I am, however, writing to him.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many medical reports were prepared in 1978 and 1979 on an out-patient basis at Holloway, Brixton and Durham prisons and Risley remand centre.

The information is as follows:

	1978	1979
Brixton	43	42
Durham	8	6
Holloway	7	5
Risley	84	122

The available figures for principal industrial countries are shown in the following table.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why it is taking so long for him to reply to the communication from the hon. Member for Newham, North-West inquiring as to the methods he should adopt in obtaining naturalisation; when he may expect a reply to this letter dealing with the case of Ms. A. H. of Stratford, E15; and whether he will take action to expedite his replies to letters in the future.

I wrote to the hon. Member on 22 April and do not consider that there was any undue delay in replying to his letter which was received in the Home Office on 31 March.As to the other parts of the question, I am satisfied that every effort is made to reply to hon. Members' letters as quickly as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the numbers of (a) prosecutions from 1 January 1960 to 1 January 1973, and from 1 January 1973 to date, respectively, under (i) section 3(1) of the Aliens Restriction (Amendment) Act 1919 and (ii) section 3(2) of the Act, (b) convictions under each of these subsections and (c) deportations following convictions under each of these subsections; and what was the date of the last prosecution.

The information requested is not available separately for each section or subsection of the Aliens Restriction (Amendment) Act 1919. The information available relates to persons proceeded against and found guilty at magistrates' courts for all offences under the operative Acts or Orders in Council thereunder and is published annually in " Criminal Statistics, England and Wales" (offence classification 102 of table 1(a) of the volume for 1978, Cmnd. 7670). This information shows that a prosecution under the Act of 1919 was completed during 1978. Information on the number of persons deported following convictions under the Acts is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the monthly total of persons seeking admission at Heathrow airport who were refused admission in each month from November 1979 to the latest available date; and how many of these persons were Iranians.

The information requested is given in the following table.

REFUSALS OF LEAVE TO ENTER AT HEATHROW AIRPORT, NOVEMBER 1979–FEBRUARY 1980
	Number of persons
	Total	Of which Iranian nationals
November 1979	1,020	338
December 1979	1,170	354
January 1980	934*	329*
February 1980	836*	209*
*Provisional.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide a breakdown of the prison population detained under Immigration Act powers on the latest convenient dates (a) alleged illegal entrants, (b) recommended for deportation by the courts without custodial sentence, (c) recommended for deportation and custodial sentence discharged, (d) under section 3(5)(a) of the Immigration Act 1971 and (e) under section 3(5)(b) of the Immigration Act 1971.

The information on 18 April 1980 for England and Wales was as follows:

(a)	56
(b)	37
(c)	48
(d)	48
(e)	5

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many cases individual firms have requested police protection for the transport of their loads of goods; in how many cases police protection was granted or refused; and who bears the cost of such protection.

There is no centrally available statistical information about requests for police protection for the transport of goods. It would be for the chief officer to decide whether to provide protection in any particular case and, if so, whether on a chargeable basis.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department at what stage during the service of short, medium and long custodial sentences, respectively, consideration is given to a court's recommendation for deportation; and what procedures are employed to ensure that decisions are made and, where appropriate, communicated to authorities responsible for parole before completion of sentence or eligibility for parole.

Section 6(6) of the Immigration Act 1971 precludes the making of a deportation order on the recommendation of a court while an appeal can be brought against it or against the conviction on which it was made. An appeal can be brought within 21 days in the case of a magistrates' court—28 days for a Crown court—in England and Wales and 28 days for all courts in Scotland.Thereafter, if the custodial sentence is of 12 months or less, consideration of the recommendation begins as soon as the court certificate and police report on the convictions are received. The decision is notified to the prison authorities as soon as it has been taken. If the sentence is longer than 12 months, the recommendation is considered upon receipt and a preliminary decision taken. A decision not to deport is notified to the prison authorities without further delay. If deportation appears to be merited, the recommendation is reconsidered several months before the earliest date on which the person could be released, whether on parole or otherwise. A decision to deport taken then is notified to the prison authorities as soon as the order has been made.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department at what stage during the service of short, medium or long custodial sentences, respectively, where the court has not recommended deportation, consideration is given to making a deportation order under section 3(5)(b) of the Immigration Act 1971.

The possibility of serving notice of intention to deport under section 3(5)(b) of the Immigration Act 1971 on a person convicted of a criminal offence and sentenced to imprisonment, but not recommended for deportation, is considered as soon as possible during the sentence. The stage at which such consideration begins varies from case to case. When notice of intention to deport is served, a deportation order may still not be made while an appeal (which lies to the Immigration Appeal Tribunal) remains undetermined.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in the light of the refusal of prison officers at Ashford remand centre to allow persons detained under Immigration Act powers to attend education classes, if he will ensure that such persons are to be treated as if remanded for trial although only detained under administrative powers by the Immigration Act 1971.

A person detained under the Immigration Act 1971 is treated as an unconvicted prisoner. At present education classes for unconvicted prisoners are not provided at Ashford remand centre.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will seek to change the law to make persons convicted of criminal offences against the person or criminal damage to property fully liable to compensate the victims and to render them bankrupt if the necessary funds are not available.

We see no need to change the existing powers of the courts to order and enforce payment of compensation by offenders. Under section 35 of the Powers of Criminal Courts Act 1973 a court may order a person convicted of an offence to pay compensation for any personal injury, loss or damage resulting from that offence or any other offence which is taken into consideration in determining sentence. The enforcement measures available include the attachment of earnings, distraint on goods and the initiation of proceedings in the civil courts, which have further powers to compel payment. Under section 39 of the 1973 Act, where the Crown Court has convicted a person of an offence and that offence together with any other relevant offences has resulted in loss or damage exceeding £15,000, the court may make a criminal bankruptcy order against him. These provisions of the criminal law do not affect the rights of persons who have suffered injury or loss to sue the offender for damages in the civil courts.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department it he will seek to extend the scheme to compensate persons injured during the commission of criminal offences.

A revised and extended criminal injuries compensation scheme was introduced with effect from 1 October 1979. We have no plans to extend the Scheme further.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to make it easier for persons whose property is damaged or destroyed by minors to recover damages awarded as a result of compensation orders or through civil actions by means of attachment orders on the earnings of the parents.

There is already power in criminal proceedings for the courts to make an attachment of earnings order against a parent or guardian whom the court has ordered to be responsible for the payment of compensation for damage caused by a juvenile. The recovery of damages awarded as a result of a civil action is a matter for my noble and learned Friend the Lord Chancellor.

asked the the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the criteria set out in paragraphs 3, 4 and 6 of the White Paper " The Interception of Communications in Great Britain", Cmnd. 7873, cover the use of interception in trade disputes.

I have nothing to add to the description given in the White Paper of the conditions governing the issue of warrants.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his best estimate of the value of the further substantial amounts referred to in his reply of 3 April to the hon. Member for Islington, South and Finsbury on the Crown Agents tribunal.

About £0.2 million, in respect of the cost of legal representation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has now received the report of the subcommittee of the Central Fire Brigades Advisory Councils on the fire at Wool-worth's store in Piccadilly, Manchester, in May 1979; and if he will make a statement.

I understand that the sub-committee has completed its work on this fire. Its report will be considered by its parent committee later this month, and then submitted to us after which we shall make a statement.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the cost of policing the National Front march in Lewisham on Sunday 20 April.

I understand from the Commissioner that this is estimated at £300,000.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has completed his consultations regarding the designation under the Fire Prevention Act 1971 of premises in the health and social services sector; and if he will make a statement.

The Central Fire Brigades Advisory Councils for England and Wales and for Scotland have recommended two classes of use of premises for future designation under the Fire Precautions Act 1971: hospitals catering predominantly for the mentally ill or mentally handicapped and homes for the elderly.I have considered these recommendations in the light of the factors concerning such designation to which the councils have themselves drawn attention, such as the life saving potential of improvements in fire precautions in the occupancies concerned and the additional burden of work which this extension of certification will impose, and also having regard to the financial implications for both the public and private sectors. I have decided, in consultation with my right hon. Friend, that it would be right as a next step to issue draft guides setting out basic standards for means of escape and related fire precautions in hospitals of all kinds and personal social services residential premises in England and Wales. These guides are at an advanced stage of preparation. In addition, a supplementary memorandum of guidance on fire precautions in hospitals will be prepared by the Home Office and DHSS for use by health authorities and those fire brigades which they might call in to advise them. This will highlight the most urgent features of the draft hospital guide and will cover other important aspects such as staffing, staff training and furnishings, which are not appropriate to the draft guide.These documents will enable health authorities, local authorities and other bodies to plan future fire precautions in premises on an informed basis in advance of any designation which may ultimately be made under the 1971 Act. The prospects for designation will be kept under review in the light of experience of the implementation of the guides and the classes of occupancy concerned will remain subject to the requirements of any other relevant legislation concerning the provision of reasonable standards of fire safety.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what reductions have been made in Inland Revenue staff in the last nine months; and what further changes are planned.

Including staff on short-term engagements, the number of staff in the Inland Revenue fell by 5,399 in the nine months from 1 July 1979 to 1 April 1980. A further reduction of the order of 2,500 is expected by 1 April 1982.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give further consideration to allowing donations to registered charities, such as the Muscular Dystrophy Group, to become tax deductible.

Charities such as the Muscular Dystrophy Group should benefit considerably from the measures announced in my right hon. and learned Friend's Budget Statement. The minimum period for which charitable covenants need to run to qualify for tax relief will

Thousand
Region			All taxpayars (counting married couples as one)	Higher rate taxpayers†	Taxpayers liable to investment income surcharge*
Borders	…	…	31	1	1
Central	…	…	100	5	2
Dumfries and Galloway	…	…	46	2	4
Fife	…	…	100	3	2
Grampian	…	…	147	11	8
Highland	…	…	63	3	3
Lothian	…	…	270	14	10
Strathclyde	…	…	844	34	20
Tayside	…	…	141	6	5
Island Authorities	…	…	24	1	—
Scotland	…	…	1,770	80	55
* The figures given do not necessarily equal the totals due to rounding.
† The last two columns are not mutually exclusive.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in view of the Government's intention to reduce the rate of inflation to 5 per cent. or under in the be reduced from over six years to over three years and, from 1981–82, relief on such covenants will be allowed at rates above the basic rate.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the number of people who will pay income tax in 1980–81; and what is the comparable figure for 1979–80.

The estimated number of persons paying income tax in 1980–81, taking account of the proposed increases in personal allowances, is 25.9 million. This is the same as the corresponding figure for 1979–80. Earning wives are counted separately from their husbands.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many taxpayers there are in Scotland; how many are subject to higher rates of taxation above the standard rate; and if he will provide a breakdown in each case for administrative units within Scotland.

Estimates of the numbers of taxpayers in Scotland and in the Scottish regions for the income tax year 1977–78, the latest for which data are available, are given in the table below. The classification relates to the place of residence of the taxpayers—or, if self-employed, to the place of business.next three years, why the Treasury is issuing a long tap stock at 13½ per cent. 2004–8 instead of index-linking the stock with a real yield of 1 per cent.

[pursuant to his reply, 21 April 1980, c. 22]: The authorities keep under review the range of debt instruments available. There was some discussion of the possibility of index-linked marketable Government securities in an article on the gilt-edged market in the June 1979 Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin. If the Government were to issue such stock this could, as the article pointed out, have a substantial impact on financial markets and the flow of funds in the economy. The question of index-linking in this area must therefore be considered in a wider context

CONSUMER PRICES INDICES
				1979		1980
				November	December	January	February
(a) Food prices*—
Belgium†‡	…	…	…	102·5	102·8	103·8	—
Denmark	…	…	…	104·8	104·8	—	—
France†	…	…	…	104·8	105·5	106·7	—
Irish Republic§	…	…	…	103·3	—	—	—
Italy	…	…	…	106·2	107·7	—	—
Luxembourg‡	…	…	…	101·2	101·6	—	—
Netherlands†	…	…	…	101·1	101·4	102·4	—
United Kingdom	…	…	…	107·5	108·7	110·8	—
West Germany||	…	…	…	100·3	100·7	102·0	—
(b) All items—
Belgium	…	…	…	103·2	103·6	105·1	105·8
Denmark	…	…	…	107·8	108·1	108·9	110·1
France	…	…	…	106·0	106·8	108·9	110·2
Irish Republic§	…	…	…	107·9	—	—	—
Italy	…	…	…	109·0	111·0	114·5	116·4
Luxembourg¶	…	…	…	103·1	103·5	104·1	104·9
Netherlands	…	…	…	102·5	102·6	102·8	103·3
United Kingdom	…	…	…	110·0	110·9	113·6	115·0
West Germany	…	…	…	102·2	102·6	103·1	104·2
Notes—Not available.
* Including meals in restaurants, etc.
† Including beverages.
‡ Excluding restaurant meals.
§ Quarterly index.
║ Including beverages and tobacco.
¶ Excluding rent and restaurant meals.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will set out, for those with earnings in each band, respectively, up to £2,000 a year, £4,000, £5,000, £6,000, £8,000, £10,000, £15,000, £20,000, £30,000 and above £30,000, the value of the total Budget tax cuts and, separately, the value of the total Budget tax increases, showing the amount this represents of the total in each case and than gilt-edged market management and the impact on Government finances.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a table showing the changes in (a) food prices and (b) all consumer prices in each Common Market country since May 1979, taking the May 1979 index as 100.

Following is the information:the average per tax unit in each of these bands; and if he will provide the same information for the rise in average mortgage interest repayments at each earnings band arising from the increase in interest rates in, separately, June 1979 and November 1979.

[pursuant to his reply, 14 April 1980, c. 519]: Information is available only by reference to ranges of total income subject to tax, which includes unearned income but excludes non-taxable social security benefits. The estimated cost relates to the changes in personal allowances, higher rate thresh-holds and investment income surcharge threshold and the withdrawal of the lower rate band. The information is for a full year at 1980–81 income levels, but because it is not accurate enough to subdivide the range over £20,000 no

Range of total income 1980–81						Total budget cost	Percentage of total cost	Average per tax unit*
						£ million	Per cent.	£
Up to £2,000	…	…	…	…	…	53	3·5	37
£2,000–£4,000	…	…	…	…	…	219	1·2	41
£4,000–£5,000	…	…	…	…	…	136	8·9	49
£5,000–£6,000	…	…	…	…	…	156	10·1	62
£6,000–£8,000	…	…	…	…	…	289	18·8	68
£8,000–£10,000	…	…	…	…	…	203	13·2	75
£10,000–£15,000	…	…	…	…	…	212	13·8	97
£15,000–£20,000	…	…	…	…	…	115	7·4	240
Over £20,000	…	…	…	…	…	156	10·1	485
* A tax unit includes married couples counted as 1 unit, The figures are averaged over all tax units who would be liable to tax at 1979–80 allowances.

The following is the available information regarding mortgage interest. The estimated amount of interest relates to all allowable mortgage interest but incorporates a rate of 15 per cent. for a full year in respect of building society

Range of total income 1980–81						Allowable mortgage interest	Percentage of total allowable interest	Average allowable interest per mortgagor
£						£million	Per cent.	£
Up to 2,000	…	…	…	…	…	35	0·6	620
2,000 to 4,000	…	…	…	…	…	194	3·1	710
4,000 to 5,000	…	…	…	…	…	265	4·3	810
5,000 to 6,000	…	…	…	…	…	490	7·9	880
6,000 to 8,000	…	…	…	…	…	1,296	21·0	950
8,000 to 10,000	…	…	…	…	…	1,236	20·0	1,010
10,000 to 15,000	…	…	…	…	…	1,708	27·7	1,360
15,000 to 20,000	…	…	…	…	…	499	8·1	1,750
Over 20,000	…	…	…	…	…	449	7·3	2,690

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the effect of his proposed increases in duty on tobacco products in the Budget on revenue and the retail price index and the corresponding figures of an increase in duty twice as large.

[pursuant to his reply, 22 April 1980, c. 126]: As recorded in the Financial Statement and Budget Report 1980–81, the Budget increase in tobacco products duty is expected to yield £180 million in 1980–81 and £195 million in a full year. A duty increase twice as large would raise £370 million in a full year including consequential VAT. The impact effects on breakdown has been shown above this amount. Information on a similar basis for the indirect tax increases is not available.mortgages in accordance with the current rate recommended by the Building Societies Association. If the rate had been 11¾ per cent. the rate applying in June 1979 the amounts would be reduced on a pro rata basis.the retail price index would be about 0.3 and 0.6 per cent. respectively.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will update, in line with his Budget changes, the replies given to the hon. Member for Norfolk, North, Official Report 21 February, column 335, and 19 March, column 221, showing tax-free incomes and tax break-even points as percentages of average earnings in 1979–80 and 1980–81, and also comparing the new figures with post-November family income supplement and supplementary benefit entitlement levels for the same family types as in the previous replies.

The figures are as follows:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what principles are applied by the Inland Revenue in its current practice concerning the treatment of foreign exchange gains and losses, whether realised or unrealised, in respect of foreign currency borrowings and loans made by companies registered in the United Kingdom pursuant to the Inland Revenue statement dated 6 October 1976 in drawing the distinction, mentioned in the 1976 statement, between borrowings regarded as being from fixed as distinguished from those on circulating capital accounts;(2) whether any distinction is drawn by the Inland Revenue in its current practice concerning the treatment of foreign exchange gains and losses, whether realised or unrealised, in respect of foreign currency borrowings and loans made by companies resident in the United Kingdom pursuant to the Inland Revenue statement dated 6 October 1976 between borrowings for a short term and those for a longer term;(3) whether any distinction is drawn by the Inland Revenue in its current practice concerning the treatment of foreign exchange gains and losses, whether realised or unrealised, in respect of foreign currency borrowings and loans made by companies resident in the United Kingdom pursuant to the Inland Revenue statement dated 6 October 1976 between borrowings raised by companies from external lenders, whether or not with the benefit of guarantees from other members of the borrowing company's group, and those raised from lenders within the borrower's group;(4) if he will outline the current Inland Revenue practice concerning the treatment of foreign exchange gains and losses, whether realised or unrealised, in respect of foreign currency borrowings and loans made by companies resident in the United Kingdom and in particular to supplement the Inland Revenue statement dated 6 October 1976;(5) whether any particular criteria are applied by the Inland Revenue in its current practice concerning the treatment of foreign exchange gains and losses, whether realised or unrealised, in respect of foreign currency borrowings and loans made by companies registered in the United Kingdom pursuant to the Inland Revenue statement dated 6 October 1976 to finance companies controlled from overseas which borrow foreign currency for conversion into £ sterling to lend out in the United Kingdom in the course of their business operation.

I shall let my hon. Friend have a reply as soon as possible.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will extend to women selling a business within a period of five years before their age of eligibility for a State pension a similar exemption from capital gains tax up to a realised sum of £10,000 as is allowed for men selling a business within five years before their State pension age.

We intend to examine all aspects of the capital gains tax retirement relief. It is too early to say what changes will be made but my hon. Friend's suggestion will be borne in mind.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what assistance the Civil Service has given to the Governor of Southern Rhodesia since the election.

The Government have provided a three-man team to advise the incoming Government of Zimbabwe on the structure and development of the public service. The team leader is an Under-Secretary in the Civil Service Department. He is supported by a former under-secretary from the Overseas Development Administration and by an adviser from the technical education and training organisation for overseas countries (TETOC).

asked the Lord Privy Seal what funds have been provided by his Department to the National Water Council over the past five years for training students and trainees from developing countries; what plans he has to use the facilities of the National Water Council in the future; and what funds have been allocated for that purpose.

No direct grants are provided by the Overseas Development Administration to the National Water Council for the training of students and trainees from developing countries, but the Council's overseas manpower development group at Newbury is reimbursed the cost of the training attachments made under the technical cooperation training programme. Total expenditure for the period 1975–1979 was some £50,000. In addition, the ODA reimburses the costs of NWC staff released for training assignments in developing countries: separate figures are not available.No funds are specifically allocated for NWC training attachments. We expect the demand for training in the United Kingdom of water industry personnel to continue, but future numbers will relate to availability of finance and to priorities agreed with individual developing countries.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what proportion of the aid budget is for payments to United Kingdom citizens who have worked in former colonial territories.

In the 1980–81 Supply Estimates £25 million is provided for pensions and associated payments to those who worked in former colonial territories—that is about 2.8 per cent. of the total aid budget. But these payments are made to all overseas officers who served on expatriate and pensionable terms in those territories, not only to United Kingdom citizens. To identify the figure which related to United Kingdom citizens only would involve disproportionate cost.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service if he will make a further statement regarding the Government's plans for independent scrutiny of the Government Actuary's calculation of the value of index-linkage of public service pensions.

I refer my hon. Friend to the remarks of my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his Budget Statement. A detailed announcement will be made in due course.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what was the size of the Civil Service on 1 April 1979 and 1 April 1980, respectively.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what progress has been made so far in reducing the size of the Civil Service.

At 1 April 1979, there were 732,300 staff in post in Government Departments. The corresponding figure for 1 April 1980 is 705,100.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service by how much he expects to reduce Civil Service manpower over the next four years.

I refer my hon. Friend to the statement I made in the House on 6 December 1979.—[Vol. 974, c. 627–40]. It is difficult to make forecasts in this field, but the general trend is clearly downwards.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service how many Government Departments have achieved staff reductions since 4 May 1979.

Since 1 April 1979 there has been a reduction of over 27,000 in the total number of staff in post in Government Departments. Reductions have occurred in all major Departments with the exception of the Home Office, where the increase reflects the priority the Government attach to prisons and to other law and order services.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what are the total numbers of civil servants employed by each Government Department at the latest convenient date; and what percentage increase or decrease these represent from May 1979.

Department	Staff in post (full-in time equivalents) 1April 1980	Percentage increase/decrease from 1April 1979(+ or -)
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food	13,800	-1·4%
Customs and Excise	27,200	-1·5%
Inland Revenue	78,300	-7·5%
Department for National Savings	10,400	-3·7%
Ministry of Defence	218,000	-3·0%
Royal Ordnance Factories	21,800	-5·3%
Department of Employment Group	50,000	-5·4%
Department of the Environment (including PSA)	48,300	-8·0%
Department of Transport	13,600	-2·0%
Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Overseas Development Administration	11,600	-4·2%
Home Office	34,100	+1·8%
Lord Chancellor's Department	10,000	-2·0%
Scottish Office	11,000	-1·5%
Department of Health and Social Security	96,200	-2·2%
Other departments	60,100	-2·1%
Total (rounded to nearest 100)	705,100	-3·7%

asked the Minister for the Civil Service if he is yet in a position to indicate the date when the new jobs will be created by the movement of Civil Service Departments from England to Scotland.

The dispersal of 1,400 Ministry of Defence posts to Glasgow, the composition of which was announced by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Defence for the Army on 1 February—[Vol. 977, cc. 797–89]—is expected to take place in the mid-1980s. The possibility of an earlier move into temporary accommodation is being considered.Planning for the dispersal of the 650 posts to East Kilbride is well advanced and the movement of the first tranche of posts will be completed in January 1981. On present plans the larger part of the dispersal should be completed by August 1981.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what relationship the use of cash limits will have to the pay research system.

The Government's policy is to reconcile the operation of

[pursuant to his reply, 22 April 1980, c. 130]: The following table gives the staff in post at 1 April 1980 and the percentage increase or decrease from 1 April 1979 for the main departments. Corresponding figures are not available centrally for May 1979.pay research with cash limits. The staging of this year's settlement has permitted pay research to determine the pay rates while keeping the cost within the cash limit the Government have set in the light of their wider economic objectives.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service if he will bring forward proposals to encourage travel by public transport by civil servants on duty journeys.

My officials are continually studying the rules on official travel by civil servants to ensure that public transport is used whenever possible. In addition to the actual cost of the travel, it is necessary to take into account the adequacy of public transport and the costs involved by way of official time and subsistence payments.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what have been the numbers of permanent secretaries, under secretaries, assistant secretaries and principals, employed in the Civil Service for each of the last 15 years.

The information for the grades named in the non-industrial Home Civil Service is set out in the table below.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what progress is being made by Sir Derek Rayner in his scrutiny of the Civil Service.

I should make it clear that Sir Derek Rayner is assisting Ministers in their scrutinies of the work of their Departments and that he is not engaged in a separate " scrutiny of the Civil Service ".The work undertaken by Sir Derek Rayner is as follows:

asked the Minister for the Civil Service how many redundancies there have been in the Civil Service since he took office.

I refer my hon Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Warwick and Leamington (Mr. Smith) on 25 March.—[Vol. 980, c. 536].

asked the Minister for the Civil Service how many civil servants are employed in the research departments of all Government Departments and at what total annual cost, including salaries, pension contributions, accommodation, heating and lighting, and other services, including research contracted out and grants.

I regret that information is not collected centrally in this form, and could be assembled only at inordinate cost. A considerable amount of information on voted expenditure on in-house research and on research contracts and grants is given on a departmental basis in the Supply Estimates.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service whether there is any proposal to raise the advisory limit of £50 to be spent in answering parliamentary questions; and what would be the maximum amount now if the limit were raised in line with inflation.

This advisory figure was set in 1965. At today's costs the figure would be nearly £200. I am considering whether fresh guidance is needed.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what will be the effect on the Civil Service of the Clegg Commission comparability award.

The Clegg Commission does not deal directly with the pay of any Civil Service grades. There is however, a relatively small number of civil servants—about 6,000, mainly nursing and teaching staff—whose pay and conditions of service are based upon those which apply to those doing similar work elsewhere in the public service. Some of these outside groups have been the subject of work by the Clegg Commission, and the resultant settlements will therefore affect civil servants in the grades in question.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many of the dwellings at Holly Hedge House, Blackheath, London S.E.3, were occupied at any one time on average during the last period of 12 months for which figures are available.

Of the nine dwellings at Holly Hedge House, Blackheath, London, S.E.3, eight have been occupied throughout the past 12 months.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many persons on average made use of the training facilities at Holly Hedge House, Blackheath, London S.E.3, during a typical week in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Three permanent staff employees are present daily at Holly Hedge House. The average weekly attendance of Regular Army instructors, ACF officers, adult instructors and cadets is about 200 mainly for evening and weekend training sessions.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence which plane was involved in a near collision with DanAir flight DA064 on 31 March; whether the plane was from the Royal Air Force or the United States Air Force; whether it carried nuclear arms; what action he has taken to prevent a recurrence; and if he will make a statement.

I have written to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what ministerial permission was sought or given for the use on the evening of 17 April by Princess Margaret of a helicopter of The Queen's Flight for the purpose of attending a function within 50 miles of the centre of London.

Her Royal Highness Princess Margaret visited Leeds Castle to attend a dinner given by the Royal College of Nursing. As is the practice in these cases, the use of a helicopter of The Queen's Flight was approved by both the Palace and by the Ministry of Defence.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will take steps to tighten up ministerial control over the use of aircraft of The Queen's Flight.

The rules governing use of The Queen's Flight were reviewed shortly after the Government assumed office. I am satisfied that they provide for adequate control.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what were the recruitment figures for postmen in the United Kingdom in each month since May 1979 up to the latest month for which figures are available.

That is a matter for the Post Office.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will make a statement on the future of the cost escalation scheme for ships.

The Government have decided that, in view of the support for merchant ship orders through the intervention fund, the cost escalation scheme for merchant ships should cease. The date of termination is still under review but it will be not later than the end of June this year.Warship export orders do not receive support through the intervention fund and they will be eligible for the general cost escalation scheme administered by ECGD.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps have been taken and are proposed regarding the submission to him on the plight of the fishing industry by Aberdeen district council.

My noble Friend the Minister of State offered to meet representatives of Aberdeen district council and the local fishing interests on 11 April to discuss the council's submission, but this meeting has had to be postponed at the request of the district council. It is hoped that agreement can be reached on a new date soon.Since receipt of the district council's submission, the Government have announced a package of aid to the United Kingdom fishing industry as a whole. Aberdeen vessels will benefit from the aid amounting to £2 million which is being made available to the industry through producer organisations. Some Aberdeen vessels are also among those which have submitted tenders for participation in the programme of exploratory voyages for which the Government are making up to £1 million available.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a table showing, for Scotland, the average percentage total unemployment for each year from 1966 to 1980.

The following table gives the annual average unemployment rates for Scotland from 1966 to 1979, inclusive.

Year	Percentage Rate
1966	2.7
1967	3.7
1968	3.7
1969	3.6
1970	4.2
1971	5.8
1972	6.4
1973	4.5
1974	4.0
1975	5.2
1976	6.9
1977	8.1
1978	8.2
1979	8.0

NOTE: The average for 1979 is not strictly comparable with those for earlier years because of the introduction of fortnightly attendance and payment of benefits. This had the effect of raising the monthly unemployment figures for Scotland by about 2,600 from October 1979.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the names of companies in Scotland which qualified for and received from Brussels the 50 per cent. European Economic Community industrial grant in the years 1978 and 1979, together with the nature of the project and the amounts which were paid.

It is not the practice for aid received for industrial projects under the European regional development fund to be passed on to the companies concerned. In accordance with the governing Community regulation, and recognising that the firms concerned have all necessarily already received national regional aid, grants received from the fund for these projects are retained by the Exchequer as partial reimbursement of expenditure on national regional industrial policy.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement about his proposals for development programmes in microelectronics for schools and colleges in Scotland.

My hon. Friend the Minister with responsibility for industry and education in Scotland announced in reply to a question by my hon. Friend the Member for Argyll (Mr. Mackay) on 15 January 1980—[Vol. 976, c. 701–2]—that about £0·3 million would be made available in 1979–80 for the provision of microelectronics equipment for loan to schools and colleges through the Scottish Council for Educational Technology. A further sum of about £1 million will be provided over the next four years for a research and development programme. The main emphasis of this programme will be to promote an awareness in schools and colleges of the implications of microelectronics and the study of applications. In addition, an educational development centre in microelectronics is to be established, with grant-aid from my Department, at Paisley college of technology to provide courses for technologists, technicians and, on an in-service basis, for lecturers, and to disseminate information on new educational developments in microelectronics.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he proposes to make any increases in house improvement grants.

Yes. I shall shortly be laying an order to increase the levels of maximum eligible expense for repair grants and standard amenities grants by some 30 per cent. over present levels. I shall also be prepared to consider representations by local authorities for increases which they consider to be justified for houses which are below the tolerable standard.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, further to his reply to the right hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, South (Mr. Ashley), Official Report, 7 March, c. 361, if he will now show the numbers of unemployed males in each family category as percentages of all males in the same family category.

GREAT BRITAIN
							(thousands)
(1)			(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)
Type of family			Number of unemployed males receiving benefit	Number of families headed by a male (aged 16–64)	Column (2) as a percentage of column (3)	Number of unemployed males receiving benefit	Column (5) as a percentage of column (3)
			All periods			Over 1 year
Singal	…	…	(402)	4,820		88	1·8
Married couples
No children	…	…	(110)	4,960		36	0·7
All with children	…	…	224	6,410	3·5	71	1·1
1 child	…	…	69	2,420	2·9	20	0·8
2 children	…	…	73	2,710	2·7	20	0·7
3 children	…	…	44	930	4·7	15	1·6
4 or more children	…	…	37	350	10·6	17	4·9
Sources: 5 per cent. sample of claimants for unemployment benefit or credits on 9 November 1978; 2 per cent. sample of supplementary benefit recipients on 29 November 1978; 4 per cent. sample of child benefit recipients at 31 December 1978 and OPCS population figures.
Notes:
(i) Column (2) figures in brackets—Married recipients of unemployment benefit without supplementary allowance are shown in the table as single, unless they were receiving benefit for a dependant. Thus single males and married couples without children arc not expressed in column (4) as a percentage of families headed by a male. A percentage figure is given, however, for the single males and married couples without children shown in column (5) since the number still receiving unemployment benefit after 1 year is very small.
(ii) Column (3)—A deduction, estimated from the family finances survey October 1978–79, has been made in respect of one parent families headed by a female, for those categories listed as married with children.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, following the transfer of persons detained under the Immigration Act 1971 to Ashford remand centre rather than Her Majesty's prison, Pentonville, and in view of the consequent expense which falls upon dependants who visit the more remote establishments, if he will issue travel warrants to dependants to visit Ashford.

Under the standard arrangements administered by the Supplementary Benefits Commission, a dependant on a low income and not in full-time work can get help with travelling expenses

The information is not available in precisely the form requested, but the table below gives, for the family types shown, the estimated numbers of registered unemployed males receiving unemployment benefit and/or supplementary allowance in November 1978—the latest date available—and expresses them, where possible, as a percentage of the estimated total number of families of each type headed by a male. No comparable information is available for unemployed men who were not in receipt of benefit.to Ashford. There are no proposals to extend this help to others.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will consider giving people over 80 years who are not in receipt of supplementary pensions a fuel allowance as of right; how many people would be involved; and what the estimated cost would be.

The substantial package of fuel help, announced by my right hon. Friend on 27 March—[Vol. 981, c. 1658–63]—directs assistance to specific groups of low income consumers likely to incur large fuel bills, in particular, the elderly and disabled on supplementary benefit. Some elderly people on low incomes, not previously eligible for supplementary benefit, may, as a result of the measures in this package, become eligible, and they should apply for benefit. Given current economic constraints, help to consumers on higher incomes is not at present envisaged.An estimated 1 million people are aged over 80 and not in receipt of supplementary benefit. The cost of paying a fuel allowance to them would depend upon the level of that allowance. At a weekly rate equivalent to the basic rate of supplementary benefit heating allowance in November 1980—£1·40—the cost would be over £70 million a year.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his policy concerning full-time fund raisers in the health and social service sectors paid for out of public funds; and if he will make a statement.

Legislation is already before the House which will give health authorities the power to engage in fund-raising activities to supplement their exchequer funds. There may be occasions when a health authority will wish to employ someone to organise such activities; this will be a matter for individual authorities to decide. However, it is envisaged that health authorities' fund raising activities will be largely self-financing; and to this end the Health Services Bill includes provisions requiring that the first call on any funds raised will be to defray any expenses incurred in raising them.Local authorities have powers enabling them to raise funds in certain circumstances. The extent to which they use them for the personal social services is a matter for them.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, pursuant to the reply to the hon. Member for Eccles on 27 July 1979, whether his Department's in-house project on the classification and assessment of disablement has been completed; and if he will make a further statement.

No, this work is still going on. I hope it will be finished before the end of this year.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he has received the report on classification of impairment disability and handicapped prepared for the World Health Organisation; and if he will make a statement.

No, but I understand that it will be published shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the estimated cost to the Treasury of exemption from national health insurance contributions both for employer and employee in respect of first-year apprentices.

Information on the numbers of first-year apprentices and their pattern of earnings is not available and no estimate of the cost of exemption can be made.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the total administrative cost of each regional health authority in the last year to a convenient date and including the amounts for expenses and remuneration of chairmen and committees, the number of staff and the total of salaries and wages paid; the cost of rent and equipment, and all other significant items of expenditure.

[pursuant to his reply, 25 February 1980, Vol. 979, c. 464]: Information in the form requested is not available, but the following table sets out an analysis of the total revenue expenditure on headquarters administration for each regional health authority shown in its accounts submitted for the financial year ended 31 March 1979, the most recent for which accounts are available. Also shown in the table are the numbers of staff—in whole-time equivalents—in the National Health Service administrative and clerical group in post on 30 September 1978 at regional health authority headquarters.