asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how much, in the latest year for which figures are available, has been spent, under the National Health Service, on gold-work dentistry.

It is estimated that the gross cost of dental treatment involving the use of gold approved for payment under the National Health Service during the year ended 31 December 1979 was £26 million (England and Wales). This represents gross fees for treatment clinically necessary including the dentists' net remuneration, practice expenses, the cost

NHS MANPOWER
ENGLAND AS AT 30 SEPTEMBER 1978
WHOLE-TIME EQUIVALENTS
Directory Employed Staff	Total	Whole-time	Part-time
	(wte)	(wte)	(wte)
Nurses and Midwives(1)	347,499	257,401	90,098
Medical and Dental(2)	(3)34,505	26,489	(3)8,016
Ancillary	172,177	111,007	61,170
of which: Catering staff	15,978	8,886	7,092
Domestic staff	59,484	21,701	37,783
Porters	23,849	23,359	490
Administrative and Clerical	100,304	80,591	19,713
Professional and Technical	57,237	47,459	9,778
of which: Technicians	25,291	22,587	2,704
Works and Maintenance	25,443	25,398	45
Ambulance staff(4)	17,520	17,444	76
All directly employed staff:	754,685	565,789	188,896
Independent Contractors(5)	Number
General Medical Practitioners(6)(7)	22,651
General Dental Practitioners	11,919
General Ophthalmic Practitioners(6)(8)	7,051
General Practice Pharmacy Contractors	8,764
All NHS manpower:	805,070
1. Excludes agency nurses and agency midwives.
2. Excludes locum staff, hospital practitioners, part-time medical/dental officers (clinical assistants), general medical practitioners participating in Hospital Staff Funds and occasional sessional staff for whom no wte is collected.
3. Includes 1,226 honorary staff.
4. Includes ambulance officers and control assistants.
5. The figures relate to actual numbers. It is not possible to distinguish between whole and part-time.
6. There is a minor element of double counting between general medical practitioners and ophthalmic medical practitioners.
7. As at 1 October 1978.
8. As at 31 December 1978.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his estimate, for each year from 1979–80 to 1983–84,

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish in the Official Report the total number of employees in the National Health Service and a breakdown by number of (a) doctors, (b) nurses, (c) technicians, (d) catering and domestic staff, part time and full time, (e) porters, and so on.

The table sets out the information for 1978, the latest year for which complete information for all the staff groups is available:84 of the number of people who will receive supplementary benefit who will also receive (

With the exception of unemployment benefit, the estimates made of the number of supplementary benefit recipients in the years referred to have not separately distinguished recipients of individual benefits.For unemployment benefit, and on the assumptions used in the White Paper on public expenditure, the estimates are as follows:

Number of supplementary benefit recipients with unemployment benefit
Financial year
1979–80	95,000
1980–81	165,000
1981–82	190,000
1982–83	215,000
1983–84	215,000

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when last he received an authoritative measurement of the total number of persons of non-British ethnic origin resident in this country.

Estimates derived from a large-scale sample of the population of England in 1977, analysed according to the proportion of the sample who classified themselves as white or belonging to four other broad ethnic groupings, were contained in the report on the national dwelling and housing survey which was published by HMSO in February 1979. This and other recent surveys which have collected information about the ethnic origin of the population have given results which are broadly consistent, making allowance for sampling variability, with the annual estimates of the size of the population of New Commonwealth and Pakistani ethnic origin—updated from results obtained from the 1971 census—which are produced by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys; the most recent of these related to mid-1978.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Wolver-hampton, North-East on 17 March, if he has yet received the report of Sir Derek Rayner into his Department's activities in support of health care exports; and if so, if he will publish it.

I expect to receive a draft report in the near future, together with Sir Derek Rayner's comments. No decisions will be taken until those most affected by the report have been consulted.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether he will make a statement on the safety of shipping in the Channel and in the area of our southern ports.

My Department is concerned to ensure that all appropriate measures are taken to maintain and improve the safety of shipping in the English Channel. To this end, we are working generally within the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organisation to obtain improvements in international standards and in particular with the French authorities on safety of navigation in the Channel. We will shortly be resuming discussions with the French authorities to improve the routeing of ships in the Channel with the expectation that specific proposals for changes will be submitted to IMCO for international adoption.Within statutory port and harbour limits, responsibility for safety of navigation rests with the harbour authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if the United Kingdom representative on the working group of the European Economic Community Council of Ministers will be directed to insist on the state of the art defence, despite the rejection of this in the October 1979 European Economic Community draft directive on liability for product defects.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Basildon (Mr. Proctor) on 29 April.—[Vol. 983, c. 413.]

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what is his latest assessment of the total annual balance of trade with the developing world for the 12 months to the latest convenient date.

In the 12 months ended March 1980, the United Kingdom's trade with the developing world—which includes the oil exporting countries—on an overseas trade statistics basis, was in surplus by £226 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how professional and executive standards are defined for the purpose of identifying whether or not an unemployed person is included on the professional and executive register.

I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that there are no set criteria for determining eligibility to enrol with professional and exeutive reruitment, the general rule being that all persons may enrol provided they are qualified, academically, by training or by experience, to obtain posts in the occupational areas concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether any interim accounts of the Manpower Services Commission in respect of its financial year ended 31 March were available when considering the public expenditure resources to be made available to the commission for future years.

I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that the commission does not issue interim accounts, but information on expected expenditure by the commission in the 1979–80 financial year was available to the Government when considering public expenditure resources for the commission in future years.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment why the accounts of the Manpower Services Commission for the year ended 31 March 1979 have only just been made available to hon. Members.

I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that copies of its statement of accounts for 1978–79 were sent to the Comptroller and Auditor General by the statutory date of 30 November 1979. The Comptroller and Auditor General is thereafter responsible for examining, certifying and reporting on the statement; for laying copies of the statement and of his report before each House of Parliament; and for arranging for their publication.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what level of pentachlorophenol in industrial compounds or chemicals would constitute a hazard to the health of workers using them;(2) what level of ingestion of pentachlorophenol compounds would cause serious damage to internal organs; and what biological tests have been made of it by the Health and Safety Executive, the Pesticides Advisory Committee or other public health bodies;(3) what action has been taken by the Health and Safety Executive to examine the effects on workers of pentachlorophenol, a dioxin contained in wood preservatives.

[pursuant to his reply, 29 April 1980, c. 324–6]: The extent to which pentachlorophenol in industrial compounds would constitute a hazard to the health of workers using them would depend upon not only the concentration but also the duration and type of exposure, for example, splashes on the skin, inhalation of droplets or ingestion. The pesticides safety precautions scheme recommendations for safe use, which should appear on the product labels, take these matters into account.The Health and Safety Executive's guidance note EH 15/78 gives the threshold limit value for exposure to airborne concentrations of pentachlorophenol as being 0.5 mg/m

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) which EEC countries have placed limits on the use of pentachlorophenol in wood preservative or other compounds in common industries or domestic use;(2) which public bodies are responsible for monitoring the level of dioxin compounds and toxicity in wood preservative;(3) how many wood preservatives on sale to the public contain the dioxin pentachlorophenol; and what health warnings are given on the packaging;(4) what limits are placed on the dioxin content of wood preservatives used in the timber and furniture trades, in particular the level of pentachlorophenol.

[pursuant to his reply, 29 April 1980, c. 324–6]: Twenty-one wood preservative products containing pentachlorophenol have been notified to the Health and Safety Executive and cleared through the pesticides safety precautions scheme for sale specifically to the public, subject to the incorporation on product labels of official recommendations for safe use; between 60 and 70 other pentachlorophenol wood preservatives have been cleared for use solely by professional operators or for use in the industrial treatment of timber.Health warnings are being modified to bring product labels into line with the requirements of the EEC directive 78/631/ EEC on the labelling of pesticides, and therefore existing labels will vary in detail in the meantime. They should, however, include recommended hazard warnings and precautionary advice broadly as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the latest official figures for unemployment in the employment offices in the area covered by the Macclesfield constituency; how these figures compare with the previous five years; and if he will give a breakdown of the unemployment figures by industrial classification.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list those skillcentres it is proposed to close over the next three years; how many retraining places will be lost as a result; how many jobs will be lost; how much it is estimated these closures will save; and how this figure was arrived at.

[pursuant to his reply, 2 May 1980, c. 592]: I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that it has decided that the following skillcentres and skillcentre annexes will be closed over the next three years. Where indicated the decisions are subject to review or to confirmation in the light of further consultation.

Skillcentre	Review/consultation
Dumbarton	* (R)
Port Glasgow	* (C)
Hillington Annexe
Darlington	* (C)
Leeds Annexe
Sheffield Annexe
Dudley
Coventry Annexe
Telford Annexe
Llanelli	* (R)
Blaenau Gwent Annexe
Tremorfa Annexe
Treforest Annexe
Poplar
Enfield Annexe
Kidbrooke Annexe

Rationalisation is designed to achieve some shift of places from areas where either they are not fully utilised or there is overprovision to areas where they can be more effectively used, and as a result there will be a slight increase in training places overall. It is not possible to give an accurate net figure for the reduction in Civil Service jobs resulting from the rationalisation programme, but they will be part of the saving of 520 posts in skillcentres that the Manpower Services Commission decided to make as a contribution towards the manpower savings required of it over the next three years. The total estimated savings on annual operating expenditure will be approximately £5,000,000. This figure is based on rent and rates for each centre or annexe to be closed—at 1979–80 prices; savings in staff costs—at 1979–80 prices—assuming that half the staff concerned will move elsewhere into the skillcentre network; and half the cost of materials, non-capital and operating costs, the financial charges and administration costs, less receipts, the other half being presumed to be taken up elsewhere in the skillcentre network.There will also be receipts from sale of premises, which cannot yet be calculated accurately.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what alternative training places will be provided in those places where skillcentres are to close; if he is satisfied that there are sufficient places available to meet demand and needs; and if he will make a statement.

[pursuant to his reply, 2 May 1980, c. 592]: I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that the programme of skillcentre rationalisation upon which it has now decided will, overall, result in slightly more skillcentre places being available. Some skillcentres and annexes are to be closed because their viable classes are being transferred to main skillcentres close by. Others are for closure because there is clearly more provision in the area than demand from trainees and employers warrants; in these cases access to alternative facilities in the area will be helped by transport arrangements, as necessary. I am satisfied that there will remain within the skillcentre network sufficient places to meet trainee demand and employer needs, and moreover that these places will as a result of the rationalisation exercise be better situated to meet those needs.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy when he expects the five generating units of the Isle of Grain power station will be completed; and what assessment he has made of oil-fuelled capacity of the Central Electricity Generating Board by that date.

I am advised by the Central Electricity Generating Board that it has decided that work on the four uncompleted units at Grain should cease by 27 June. Resumption of work on units 1 and 3, which have almost been completed, will depend on the resolution of industrial problems on the site.Sixteen per cent. of the board's main generating plant is oil-fuelled.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy, in view of the current oil price, if he will recommend to the Central Electricity Generating Board that planned capacity of the Isle of Grain power station should be reduced by completing only three generating units of the five originally contemplated.

This is a matter for the Central Electricity Generating Board. I understand that the board is re-assessing the case for completing the station in the light of present circumstances.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what information he has on the capacity of light water reactor power stations operating in each European Community country by 1984 and of the capacity likely to be under construction by that date.

The capacities of light water reactor power stations officially projected for the international fuel cycle evaluation for 1984 were as follows:

	Gigawatts (E)
Belgium	5·5
Denmark	—
F. R. Germany	17–21·2
France	30·6
Ireland	—
Italy	2·2
Luxembourg	—
Netherlands	0·5
United Kingdom	—

No figures were given for the capacity under construction in that year but the projected additional capacity for the year 1990, all of which would need to be under construction in 1984, was as follows:

	Gigawatts (E)
Belgium	1–4
Denmark	0–3
F. R. Germany	17–18
France	22–29
Ireland	—
Italy	22–30
Luxembourg	—
Netherlands	0–2
United Kingdom	1–4

These projections may be subject to revision and must be treated with caution.The construction of a pressurised water reactor in the United Kingdom remains subject to safety clearance by the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate and to a public inquiry.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will publish a table showing the total annual production of coal for each of the 12 leading coal producers, on 1979 levels; and how these levels compare with output in 1967, including opencast coal and lignite production.

The latest available figures are for 1978. These are tabulated below together with those for 1967.

PRODUCTION OF COAL, LIGNITE AND BROWN COAL (million tonnes of coal and coal equivalent)
Country	1967	1978
China	227	618
USSR*	507	603
USA	510	544
Poland	131	205
Federal Republic of Germany	142	127
United Kingdom	178	124
India	69	102
Customs Union of South Africa	49	89
Czechoslovakia	69	85
Australia	41	83
German Democratic Republic	74	79
Democratic People's Republic of Korea	20	42
* Coal production includes low grade coal.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will take steps to support the increasing use of gasohol as a fuel of the internal combustion engine.

Using current technology, it requires almost as much energy to make ethyl alcohol from agricultural products as is contained in the alcohol made. Therefore, I do not consider it opportune to encourage its production in the United Kingdom in order to blend it with petrol to make gasohol.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what arrangements exist with the French Government for mutual advice or warning to populations in Northern France, Southern England, or the Channel Islands, of serious accidents in nuclear installations on either side of the Channel, which might result in the release of radioactive contaminants.

[pursuant to his reply, 28 April 1980, c. 348]: The Government attach importance to close cooperation with the French Government in this field. An arrangement has been agreed by which, in the event of an emergency at the Cap de la Hague installation likely to affect the Channel Islands, the prefect of the La Manche area would notify the islands direct.We are also in touch with the French Government over the establishment of general contingency arrangements covering the action to be taken in the event of a serious nuclear incident in either country.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, following a nuclear attack, in what circumstances the armed forces in a locality will be placed under the control of the civilian local commander-in-chief for the area in which they are located.

On request, and subject to any overriding military commitment. the armed services would aid the civil authorities. They would remain under military command.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, further to his reply to the hon. Member for Rugby on 28 April, he will give details of the special instructions issued to chief constables on the role of the police in time of war.

Copies of Home Office circular No. ES 3/75, and of the accompanying police manual of home defence, are in the Library of the House. Further detailed instructions contain classified material.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, further to his reply to the hon. Member for Rugby of 28 April, he will now use his power under regulation six of the Civil Defence (Planning) Regulations to compel local authorities to take action on Home Office circulars.

I have no plans to do so at present.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department further to his reply of 28 April to the hon. Member for Rugby, why no advice has been prepared for local authorities on how to combat chemical weapons.

The widespread use of chemical weapons against the civilian population is not considered likely. Both the risk of attack and the form it might take are kept under continuous review.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, further to his reply of 28 April to the hon. Member for Rugby, why he has no plans to introduce a system of regular annual inspections by his Department of plans provided by county councils to be implemented in time of war for the defence of the civil population.

I prefer to rely upon regular informal liaison between the Home Office and local authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions have been brought, in each of the last five years, against shopkeepers for selling cigarettes or tobacco products to young persons under 16 years.

The information is published annually in " Criminal Statistics, England and Wales"—offence classification 144 in table 1(a) of the volume for 1978, Cmnd. 7670. Information for 1979 is not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether it will be possible for traders in the Bristol area to seek compensation under the Riot Damage Act 1886; and if he will make a statement.

Yes. The consideration of claims is a matter for the Avon and Somerset police authority.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many female, past or present, work permit holders in the United Kingdom are in danger of deportation following the Appeal Court decision in November 1979 concerning their children and their right of admission to the United Kingdom; and from which principal countries such women were recruited to work in Great Britain;(2) what representations he has received from the Transport and General Workers' Union on behalf of its women members who are at present or past work permit holders and who are now liable for deportation where the existence of children overseas has been disclosed and their entry to the United Kingdom applied for;(3) what is the policy and attitude of his Department towards ex-migrant women workers in the United Kingdom affected by the Appeal Court decision in November 1979 concerning a child or children of such women; and if he will make a statement.

The judgment affects at least 150 cases. The majority involve people from the Philippines with several from Portugal and Colombia.The judgment established that women who gained admission to this country by virtue of work permits obtained by deception as to the existence of dependent children are illegal entrants. It is the normal practice to send away people found to have entered illegally, but each case is being examined on its merits to see whether there are special compassionate circumstances justifying allowing the women to remain exceptionally.We cannot trace having received representations from the Transport and General Workers' Union on the general issue.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are his criteria in making further appointments, if any, to the Commission for Racial Equality.

Our aim is that the commission should have members with appropriate experience in many walks of life, who together will form a strong and well-balanced team to exercise the commission's functions under the Race Relations Act 1976.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why Mr. Pranlal Sheth has not been reappointed to the Commission for Racial Equality; and whether the decision is connected with his opposition to the Government's immigration policies and to the language test used by the British Steel Corporation in Scunthorpe.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to a question by the hon. Member for Oldham, West (Mr. Meacher) on 14 April.—[Vol. 982, c. 480.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will improve the administration and level of the assistance made available to members of the ethnic minorities seeking voluntary repatriation.

I am not aware of any complaints about the administration of the scheme operated on the Government's behalf under section 29 of the Immigration Act 1971 by International Social Service of Great Britain and we have no plans for altering the present arrangement. The scheme operated by the Supplementary Benefits Commission is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Services.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what fees, salaries, expenses and other benefits are paid to members of the Commission for Racial Equality; what was the total sum paid to each of the members of the commission who have failed to be reappointed; and whether similar remuneration will be paid to their replacements, if there are any.

The salaries payable to the commission's full-time chairman and full-time deputy chairman with effect from 1 April 1980 are £20,795 per annum and £14,515 per annum respectively. All part-time commissioners receive a fee, fixed at £40 per day with effect from 1 January 1980, for each day's attendance. In addition, travelling and subsistence allowances may be payable. Individual figures could not be provided without disproportionate effort, but the total for 1978–79 for all commissioners, the latest year for which the information is available, was £40,166 (which included the fees and expenses of additional commissioners appointed for the purpose of formal investigations). The remuneration of newly appointed commissioners will be at the same rate.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if any hostels, grant-aided by his Department cater specifically for offenders with mental disorders.

Some of the 220 hostels grant-aided by the Home Office accept offenders with mental disorders. None confines its admissions to this particular group or provides a specific number of places for them.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department which junior attendance centres also care for offenders aged 17 to 18 years.

Four of the junior attendance centres in the West Midlands—Birmingham A, Bilston, Coventry and Smethwick—and four in West Yorkshire—Bradford, Dewsbury, Halifax and Leeds—are available for the reception of boys aged 17 and 18 in addition to those in the normal age range of 10–16.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many trade unionists were arrested while taking part in industrial action in January, February, March and April of the current year and in each of the 12 months of 1979; and if he will list the offences with which they were charged and the numbers involved in each action.

This information is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate expense.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has completed his examination of the possibility of introducing citizens band radio in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is yet in a position to announce a start date for legal use of citizens band radio and the level of waveband for it in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

We have concluded that we favour in principle the introduction of a facility of this general kind. The scheme which I am considering would, however, differ in certain respects from that advocated by those whose ideas are based on the experience of other countries and we are proposing to call it Open Channel. It would take some time to introduce, because current developments in Europe and elsewhere have to be taken into account, and because further work is necessary, for example, to establish a precise frequency band and an appropriate technical specification.I therefore think it important that the general public should have the opportunity to consider the implications of the sort of scheme that might be possible, and to express their views. Accordingly I intend to publish a discussion document on Open Channel within the next few weeks, and I shall take the public reaction to this into account in reaching final decisions.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the proposed expenditure on the development of Stornoway airport for North Atlantic Treaty Organisation purposes.

The cost of planned works at RAF Stornoway is currently assessed as about £40 million. A large part of this would be NATO funded.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence when he proposes to pay the pensions to widows whose husbands served in the ranks before 1950.

Over 7,000 special widows' pensions have now been awarded under the scheme for pre-1950 Service widows which I announced to the House on 8 November 1979.—[Vol. 973, c. 262–64.]

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the precise function of the Social Science Research Council.

The objects of the Social Science Research Council, as laid down in its charter, are as follows:—

(a) to encourage and support by any means, research in the social sciences by any other person or body;

(b) to provide and operate services for common use in carrying on such research;

(c) to carry out research in the social sciences;

(d) to make grants to students for postgraduate instruction in the social sciences;

(e) to provide advice and to disseminate knowledge concerning the social sciences.

The expression " social sciences " is strictly understood to comprise the disciplines of economics, political science social anthropology, social psychology and sociology. But in fulfilling its charter obligations the council concerns itself with research into many other disciplines which enter into the study of social problems; the chief ones are law, medicine, mathematics, architecture, history and geography.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many people were employed by the Social Science Research Council on 3 May 1979; how many were employed on 21 April; and what is the cost to public funds of employing the people at present.

The staff complement of SSRC on both the dates mentioned in my hon. Friend's second question was 248. This figure is unlikely to increase. Because on both the dates in question there were unfilled vacancies, the respective numbers of staff in post (on the nearest dates to those mentioned for which figures are available) were 205 on 1 April 1979 and 235 on 1 April 1980. The cost to public funds of the salaries of the council's staff in the financial year 1979–80 was £1·49 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will abolish the Social Science Research Council.

There are no plans to abolish the Social Science Research Council.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the effects of glue sniffing in schools.

I have no evidence that this practice is either widespread or increasing among schoolchildren. The matter is best tackled through teachers and others in positions of responsibility warning young people about the dangers involved and through continuing programmes of health education, which include reference to the misuse of drugs generally.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will take action to provide vocational education centres for students between the ages of 16 and 19 years and vocationally-orientated study courses for pupils aged 14 to 16 years.

Under the terms of the Education Act 1944, the responsibility for providing educational facilities lies with local education authorities: together with governing bodies and teaching staff, they are also responsible for the curriculum. My Department's consultative paper " A Framework for the School Curriculum " places particular emphasis on the need for the school curriculum to be relevant to working life. The further education service traditionally works closely with industry in providing vocational education and training, but the Government are currently reviewing with the local authority associations the educational provision that is made by local education authorities for 16–19 year-olds.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will seek to amend school leaving dates as laid down in section 9 of the Education Act 1962 in order that children who have completed their examinations may take up employment.

The Education (School Leaving Dates) Act 1976 amended section 9 of the Education Act 1962 by changing the second leaving date from the end of the summer term to the Friday before the last Monday in May. This achieved the object of my hon. Friend's question.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many comprehensive schools have asked to revert to grammar school status; which they are; and whether he will encourage more schools to follow suit.

The proposal made by Birmingham local education authority in respect of Sutton Coldfield Girls' School, which was approved on 23 April, is the only such proposal to have been received. My right hon. and learned Friend believes that it is for local education authorities and, where appropriate, the governors of voluntary schools to decide the form of secondary education they wish to propose. He considers proposals of all types on their merits.

asked the Secretary of Stale for Education and Science if he will take steps to implement the various recommendations of the Spinks report on biotechnology as far as his Department is concerned; and if he will make a statement.

The recommendations are under consideration. I can, however, tell the hon. Member that organisations which are funded by the science budget of the Department are already making increasing provision to support biotechnology.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will announce planning guidelines for the recipient bodies of the science budget for the period up to 1983–84.

I have accepted the recommendation of the advisory board for the research councils that the guidelines for use in their planning by the bodies which are grant-aided from the science budget should be as follows, on the basis of the Government's expenditure plans in Cmnd. 7841:—

Per cent.
	1981–82	1982–83
Agricultural Research Council	+0·9	+1·1
Medical Research Council	+0·6	+1·1
Natural Environment Research Council	+0·6	+1·1
Science Research Council	+0·1	+0·6
Social Science Research Council	–4·8	0·0
British Museum (Natural History)	+0·6	+1·1
Royal Society	+0·6	+1·1

For 1983–84 the guidelines provide for zero growth.The guidelines for each body represent the projected percentage change in its base allocation from year to year. The position will be reviewed by the advisory board in its current year's forward look.

asked the Solicitor-General for Scotland when next he intends to meet the Scottish Law Commission.

I have not, nor has my right hon. and noble Friend the Lord Advocate, at present any plans to meet the Scottish Law Commission, but meetings are held when and as necessary.

asked the Solicitor-General for Scotland when he plans to meet the sheriffs principal of Scotland.

I have no immediate plans to meet the sheriffs principal of Scotland, but my noble and learned Friend the Lord Advocate, has meetings with them from time to time whenever necessary.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the crisis in the fish processing factories in Aberdeenshire, East.

I am aware that some firms have been having difficulty in marketing their products and have been obliged to lay off some staff. I hope that the problem will be a short-term one but I shall watch the situation carefully and will be glad to look at any particular problems that my hon. Friend has in mind.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what progress has been made regarding the modernisation or otherwise by the Scottish Special Housing Association of the houses currently owned by the National Coal Board in Denbeath, Methil; and whether the cuts in the Scottish Special Housing Association budgets in 1980–81 will necessitate a further delay of this project.

The SSHA's original proposals for the modernisation of NCB houses at Denbeath were much too costly and my Department has been discussing with it how a cheaper scheme could be devised. The association is still considering what changes in its programme will be needed in the light of the reductions in public expenditure.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with representatives of the fishing industry about the administration of the Government's temporary financial support.

The scheme of temporary aid was introduced following general discussions between Ministers and representatives of the industry on the state of the catching sector. The broad administrative arrangements for the scheme have been agreed between officials and the fish producers' organisations, through which the bulk of aid is being channelled.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the latest talks he has had with representatives of the fishing industry.

I meet representatives of the industry frequently for a general exchange of views on the state of the industry and will continue to do so as the need arises.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement about the timetable for the construction of the new Borders district general hospital at Huntlyburn; and how this compares with previous plans concerning this replacement for Peel hospital.

The Borders health board now expects to submit a final cost limit to my Department in January 1981. If all goes to plan, a contract for the scheme might then be let by December 1982 with work on site commencing shortly thereafter. This represents a delay of some 12 months to the board's earlier timetable as a result of the need for the board to re-examine the project last year in order to contain it within cost limits.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of the appointments which he makes to the various boards and public bodies in Scotland takes some account of the political affiliation of the person appointed.

My guiding principle is to appoint persons with experience, ability and appropriate expertise.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when next he expects to meet the chairman of Grampian area health board.

My right hon. Friend has no plans for such a meeting at present.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he intends next to meet the chairman of the Scottish region of British Railways.

My right hon. Friend and I shall be meeting Sir Peter Parker, the chairman of British Rail, on 21 May. Both I and my officials have regular meetings with the general manager of the Scottish region.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is yet in a position to report on the requests for an inquiry into the circumstances leading up to the deaths of Tracy O'Day and Mandy McGibbon.

My right hon. Friend hopes to complete his consideration soon of the request made to him for an inquiry under the Children Act 1975 into the circumstances of the death of Tracy O'Day. The applicants for an inquiry into the circumstances of the death of Amanda McGibbon have been advised that it would be appropriate for them in the first instance to explore the matter with the Strathclyde regional council's social work department.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has any plans to meet the Clyde Fishermen's Association.

I had lunch with the executive committee of the Clyde Fishermen's Association following its annual general meeting on 3 May when I took the opportunity to discuss a number of matters with it.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he plans next to meet the chairman of the Scottish Landowners' Federation.

My noble Friend the Minister of State will be attending the annual general meeting of the federation on 9 May.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has any plans to meet the chairman of the Forth Ports Authority.

My right hon. Friend has at present no plans to do so.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he plans next to meet representatives of the Scottish Confederation of British Industries and the Scottish Trades Union Congress.

I refer my hon. Friend to the replies I gave earlier to the hon. Member for Edinburgh, Leith (Mr. Brown) and my hon. Friend the Member for Leek (Mr. Knox).

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many persons were cited to attend for jury service at the High Court in Glasgow during the circuits in January, February and March 1980; and how many of these persons were empanelled at least once as jurors.

The numbers were 1,400 and 735 respectively—100 other citations were countermanded.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what consideration he has given to the " Highlands and Islands Structural Policy", issued on 31 March by the National Farmers Union of Scotland; and whether Her Majesty's Government intend to put forward any of its recommendations to the European Economic Community.

I have studied the union's proposals with interest, in the context of the structural measures proposed by the Commission of the European Communities last year and currently under consideration by the Council of Ministers. I hope to discuss them with the union's president later this month.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish an estimate of the increased velocity of circulation of money as the result of non-bank financial intermediaries attracting deposits from the United Kingdom banks.

Deposits with non-bank financial intermediaries are not included in the target monetary aggregate £M3. An increase in these deposits at the expense of United Kingdom banks will therefore be reflected in the first instance in the stock of £M3 being lower than it would otherwise have been. This will cause a temporary increase in the velocity of circulation. The Government are conscious of the effect that switches in deposits can have on the relationship between the monetary aggregates and the rest of the economy and this is one reason why a number of aggregates are kept under observation. There has been a tendency over a number of years for deposits at building societies to increase at a faster rate than those at the United Kingdom banks, but this has not been a feature of recent months.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of the gross domestic product of each European Economic Community country is taken up by public expenditure.

The information which is available on an internationally comparable basis relates to the general Government sector and does not cover public corporations.The latest information is given below:

General Government expenditure* as a percentage of gross domestic product at market prices
1977
Belgium	46·7
Denmark	N/A
France	44·1
Irish Republic	47·4†
Italy	46·0
Luxembourg	51·9
Netherlands	55·8
United Kingdom	44·3
West Germany	44·4
* Expenditure by central and local government combined, excluding capital transfers, loans and expenditure on the acquisition of company securities, for which figures on an internationally comparable basis are not available.
†1976

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the latest projection published by the European Commission on the likely size of the budgetary transfer for the United Kingdom for the current year.

The latest projections published by the Commission are as follows:

	MEUA
Net transfer in 1980
MCAs attributed to the UK	—1683
MCAs not attributed to the UK	—1813

These figures are contained in Commission document Com (80) 147 final which has been deposited in the House.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, if inflation continues at a steady rate of 16½ per cent. for the next three years and invalidity benefit is uprated by 11½ Per cent. in 1981 and 1982, what income tax would be paid by (a) a single person, (b) a married couple whose sole income consisted of (i) invalidity pension alone,

INCOME TAX PAYABLE
1981–82 TAX YEAR
			Uprating as:
			11½ per cent.		16½ per cent.
			Single	Married	Single	Married
Invalidity pension only	…	…	0	0	0	0
With lower invalidity allowance	…	…	0	0	0	0
With middle invalidity allowance	…	…	0	0	25·74	24·33
With higher invalidity allowance	…	…	28·56	11·64	60·39	58·98
1982–83 TAX YEAR
			Uprating as:
			11½ per cent.		16½ per cent.
			Single	Married	Single	Married
Invalidity pension only	…	…	0	0	0	0
With lower invalidity allowance	…	…	0	0	0	0
With middle invalidity allowance	…	…	0	0	28·62	26·25
With higher invalidity allowance	…	…	6·15	0	69·00	66·63

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the estimated likely additional revenue from value added tax which would accrue if 1,000 additional staff of Her Majesty's Customs and Excise were employed on value added tax control and investigation.

The extent to which Customs and Excise is able to collect all the value added tax which is legally due depends on a number of factors including the experience and knowledge of the staff concerned, the deterrent effect of the control programme and the effectiveness of enforcement procedures. Few of these factors can be measured with any precision and it is not possible to make a reliable estimate of the additional

[pursuant to his reply, 24 April 1980, c. 272]: On the assumptions stated, and assuming also that both the invalidity pension and allowance were taxable, and that tax thresholds were increased by 16½ per cent. but there were no changes in tax rates the amount of income tax payable would be as shown in the following table:revenue which might be obtained from the employment of 1,000 extra staff.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the tax threshold for a single person, a married couple, a married couple with one child and a married couple with two children in the tax year 1980–81; whether the invalidity benefit for each of these groupings is above or below the tax threshold; what additional income each of these units claiming (a) invalidity benefit, (b) sickness benefit, and (c) unemployment benefit, needs to make them eligible for tax equivalent to the proposed five point reduction.

[pursuant to his reply, 24 April 1980, c. 274]: The figures for

				Receipt of invalidity pension and allowances in 1980–81
			Tax threshold 1980–81	No allowance	Lower rate	Middle rate	Higher rate
Single	…	…	1,375	1,260	1,344	1,428	1,525
Married	…	…	2,145	2,017	2,101	2,184	2,282
Married, one child	…	…	2,145	2,393	2,478	2,561	2,658
Married, two children	…	…	2,145	2,770	2,854	2,937	3,034

If the pensions and allowances were to be increased by 16½ per cent. rather than 11½ per cent. and made fully taxable, and the benefit were to be made taxable this year, the income other than benefit needed to produce a tax liability in 1980–81, on the assumption that child dependency additions would not be taxed, equal to the five points abatement of the benefit increases would be:

	single £	Married £
No allowance	163·10	205·70
Lower rate	81·00	123·60
Middle rate	1·90	44·50
Higher rate	Appropriate liability arises even without extra income.

The above calculations assume that the persons concerned were drawing invalidity benefit throughout the whole tax year. No such assumptions could be made in relation to the recipients of short-term benefits such as unemployment or sickness benefit: no figures can therefore be given in respect of these.These calculations have been made in respect of the tax year 1980–81. Comparable

INCOME TAX PAYABLE BY BENEFICIARIES RECEIVING
Benefit			invalidity Pension only		Invalidity Pension and lower Invalidity Allowance		invalidity Pension and middle invalidity allowance		Invalidity Pension and higher Invalidity allowance
Up rating	…	…	11½%	16½%	11½%	16½%	11½%	16½%	11½%	16½%
Single	…	…	0	0	0	0	15·81	22·83	44·97	52·53
Married	…	…	0	0	0	0	11·85	22·65	41·01	52·35

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the effect on (a) the standard rate of income tax and (b) the rate of value added tax. respectively, of meeting the cost of teachers' salaries from those taxes.

[pursuant to his reply, 28 April 1980, c. 333]: 61 per cent. of the cost of school and further education teachers' salaries is already met by central Government as rate support grant. To

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, if invalidity benefit were liable to tax, what income tax would be paid in tax year 1980–81 by (a) a single person, (b) a married couple whose sole income consisted of (i) invalidity pension alone, (ii) invalidity pension together with the lower rate of invalidity allowance, (iii) invalidity pension with the middle rate of invalidity allowance and (iv) invalidity pension with the higher rate of invalidity allowance; and what income tax would be paid by the same categories if the up-rating of invalidity pension in November were 16½ per cent. and not 11½ per cent.

Rees [pursuant to his reply, 24 April 1980, c. 272–3]: The income tax that would be paid, given the assumptions in the question, is shown in the table below.transfer the total cost to general taxation would require the addition of about 3 percentage points to the rate of value added tax, or alternatively of 2½p on the basic rate of income tax. This excludes the cost of a pay claim to take effect from 1 April which is now under negotiation.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will now revise Treasury form 700a, bearing in mind the recommendations of the Select Committee on the National Land Fund.

[pursuant to his reply, 2 May 1980, c. 700]: A revised version of form 700a will be issued as soon as possible.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if contributions by an employer to a strike indemnity fund will be allowable for offsetting against tax liability.

[pursuant to his reply, 2 May 1980, c. 699]: It will depend on the facts of the case.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many organisations having a turnover of £100,000 or less are registered for VAT; and what is the proportion they represent of all the organisations so registered, the amount they pay in value added tax and the proportion that represents of the total amount of value added tax collected.

[pursuant to his reply, 2 May 1980, c. 699]: One million registrations, 80 per cent. of all registrations for VAT, are of businesses with taxable turnover less than £100,000 a year. It is estimated that at the current rate of VAT traders among this group are making VAT payments of about £1,600 million a year, 8–9 per cent. of all VAT payments. Repayments of VAT by Customs and Excise, mainly to other traders in the group, are about £650 million a year, 11–12 per cent. of all VAT repayments.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will now revise the Treasury Memorandum 1977 on capital taxation and the national heritage.

[pursuant to his reply, 2 May 1980, c. 699–700]: The memorandum is being revised in the light of experience, comments received and changes in the legislation, including those provided for in the Finance (No. 2) Bill 1980. A new edition will be issued as soon as practicable.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, with reference to his written answer to the hon. Member for Warley, East, Official Report, 15 April, column 615, it is a fact, consequent upon that answer, that the Commissioners of Inland Revenue are financially advantaged in so far as they withhold from tax debtors, by means of the application of an administrative accounting practice, a proportion or percentage of the benefit of the tax exemption which is provided for without qualification under statute, in respect of objects so exempted which are accepted by those commissioners for the purpose of satisfying tax debts payable on other property.

[pursuant to his reply, of 2 May 1980; c. 700]: A As stated in my written answer of 11 March the Commissioners of Inland Revenue derive no financial advantage from this practice.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, with reference to his written answer to the hon. Member for Warley, East, Official Report, 24 April, column 266, that no tax or interest on that tax is taken into account in respect of objects accepted in satisfaction of capital transfer tax charged on other property, he will state the basis on which the interest waived was calculated in the instances referred to in his written answers to the hon. Member for Warley, East, Official Report, 31 October 1979, column 525 and Official Report, 12 February, column 601.

[pursuant to his reply, 2 May 1980, c. 700]: As was stated in the earlier replies to which the hon. Member refers, property accepted in lieu of CTT is generally of a standard to qualify for conditional exemption. In these circumstances it will not itself bear tax, but will be accepted in lieu of tax on other property. The interest waived in the cases to which the hon. Member refers was interest on CTT on property other than that ultimately accepted in lieu. The interest was waived for a period following the receipt of the offer.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the value of the metal content of the ½p coin was at the latest date for which the figure is available.

[pursuant to his reply, 6 May 1980]: The value of the metal content of the ½p coin is approximately 0.18p based on current metal prices.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the saving if mortage tax relief were paid at the same rate as life insurance premium tax reliefs.

Rees [pursuant to his reply, of 6 May 1980]: At 1980–81 income levels, and current interest rates the

		Further increase in specific duty*	Approximate VAT-inclusive price increase
(a)	Tobacco	16½%	6½p per packet of 20
(b)	Beer	16%	1½p per pint of typical beer
	Wine		10½p per 70 cl bottle of table wine
	Spirits		66p per bottle of whisky
* The duty increases required to meet first and full year costs of the increased benefit would be the same if the duties were to be increased together about 3½ weeks before the increase in the benefit.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has studied the world conservation strategy statement issued by official and voluntary international organisations; and if he will issue his considered comments upon the statement.

I have studied the world conservation strategy and I gave my support to the general aims when I spoke at the strategy's launch ceremony on 5 March. It is too early yet to issue my considered comments on the strategy, but the hon. Member can be assured that it is being given full attention by Her Majesty's Government.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps the Government propose to take to make more local authority mortgages available

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer by what percentage (a) the duty on tobacco and (b) the duties on alcoholic drinks would each have to be raised beyond the increases proposed in the Budget in order each to yield the cost of an increase in child benefit to £5.20 per week (i) in a full year and (ii) in the current financial year instead of £4.75 as proposed; and what would be the effect on the prices of 20 cigarettes, a pint of beer, a bottle of spirits and a bottle of wine.

Rees [pursuant to his reply, 6 May 1980]: The information is:for first-time house buyers, particularly those on local authority housing waiting lists, who wish to buy houses modernised by local authorities under the recently announced " Improvement for sale scheme ".

I cannot hold out any prospect of additions to the housing investment programme allocations which have been announced for 1980–81. However, local authorities are free to determine what provision is made for mortgages within their single HIP allocation. The Housing Bill contains a new and comprehensive power for local authorities to indemnify building societies which will help widen the scope of societies' lending. Such indemnities will not count against the HIP unless they are invoked. In so far as local authorities dispose of dwellings improved for sale and held under part V of the Housing Act 1957 with mortgages under section 104 of that Act, those mortgages do not count against the HIP allocation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will publish a table showing the total and the percentage expenditure on sport by each of the county and district councils of England and Wales for the latest year available;(2) if he will publish a table showing the total and percentage expenditure on the arts by each of the county and district councils of England and Wales for the latest year available.

My Department does not collect the information in the form and detail requested. However, I refer the hon. Member to the publication by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), entitled " Leisure and Recreation Statistics: 1979–80 estimates".

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment for what purposes the Property Services Agency has leased the first and second floors at Caxton House, Tothill Street; and what other accommodation will be vacated as a result of this new commitment.

The whole of Caxton House has been leased by the

					Complement 1 April 1980	Staff in post 1 April 1980
Science Category
Director (CSO A)	…	…	…	…	1	1
CSO (B)	…	…	…	…	1	1
DCSO	…	…	…	…	6	5
SPSO	…	…	…	…	22	21
PSO	…	…	…	…	69	69
SSO	…	…	…	…	115	107½
HSO	…	…	…	…	138	126
SO	…	…	…	…	100	83½
ASO	…	…	…	…	61	48
					513	462
Research Officers
SRO	…	…	…	…	1	1
RO	…	…	…	…	—	1
					1	2
Professional and Technology Category
Superintendent Engineer	…	…	…	…	1	1
PPTO	…	…	…	…	15	15
PTO I	…	…	…	…	16	19
PTO II	…	…	…	…	12	12
PTO III	…	…	…	…	12	12
PTO IV	…	…	…	…	14	15
					70	74

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will bring up to date the table of staffing of the Building Research Establishment given in the reply by the Under-Secretary of State for the Environment the hon. Member for Hampstead (Mr. Finsberg) on 17 July 1979; what is the current shortfall of staff in post compared with the authorised complement (a) overall and (b) in the science category; and what is the proposed staffing establishment for the current financial year.

The complement and staff in post figures are given below. The proposed complement is 811 for 1 April 1980, reducing to 789 by 1 April 1981, but this is subject to review in the light of the further manpower savings to be made in 1980–81 in connection with the recent Civil Service pay settlement. The shortfall of staff in post compared with complement at 1 April 1980 was 50 in the science group and 48 overall.