asked the Minister for the Civil Service what new employment for local people in East Kilbride he expects to be generated as a result of the decision to transfer part of the Overseas Development Administration to that town.

It is expected that approximately one-half of the 650 posts to be dispersed will be filled by local recruitment.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service how many questionnaires his Department sent out in January to April 1978, 1979 and 1980 which the recipients (a) were statutorily required to complete and (b) were not statutorily required to complete.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many one-teacher schools there are in Northern Ireland.

42.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the cost to public funds of the defence of Edward Manning Brophey at the La Mon murder trial.

£65,610·10.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will give the prosecution costs of the Edward Manning Brophey trial relating to the La Mon murders.

I cannot add to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member on 14 April.—[Vol. 982, c. 512.]

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons have been reported in connection with offences under section 26(d) of the Prison Act (Northern Ireland) 1953; how many of these were people who had been granted bail in the magistrates' courts; and how many had been granted bail in the High Court.

This information is not available at present. But, as I explained to the hon. Member in my answer to him on 24 April 1980, a review of bail is in hand and I shall provide further information when this is complete.—[Vol. 984, c. 269.]

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he will make a statement on the results of his Department, after 13 months of the present Government, in achieving the policy programme which he set it on assuming office.

The principal elements in my policy programme, and the progress made towards achieving their ends, may be summarised as follows :

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many questionnaires his Department sent out in January to April 1978, 1979 and 1980 which the recipients (a) were statutorily required to complete and (b) were not statutorily required to complete.

The numbers in the Departments for which my right hon. Friend is responsible were as follows :

asked the Prime Minister whether she will give an undertaking that Her Majesty's Government have not and will not agree to lift the present ceiling on revenue from value added tax under the own resources formula of the European Economic Community.

We are determined to ensure that the 1 per cent. ceiling is not breached. The Foreign Affairs Council recently reaffirmed the conclusion, adopted by Community Finance Ministers in February, that the growth of agricultural expenditure should be considerably reduced so as to keep total spending within the ceiling.

asked the Prime Minister if, in the light of the decision of the Department of the Environment to second staff to seven agencies for the purpose of assisting small firms, she is satisfied with the administrative co-ordination between that Department and the Department of Industry.

Four staff have been seconded to the Development Commission and three to other agencies. The Departments of Industry and Environment work closely together on many matters concerning small firms and I can assure my hon. Friend that these arrangements have not caused any difficulty.

asked the Prime Minister if she is satisfied with the coordination between the Inland Revenue and the Department of Health and Social Security over estimates of the number of invalidity pensioners who would be below the tax threshold and are thus penalised by the Social Security (No. 2) Bill; if she will use her influence to produce definitive statistics; and if she will make a statement.

I am satisfied with the co-ordination between the two Departments. In the absence of information on the additional income of invalidity pensioners it is not possible to produce definitive statistics of those who would pay no tax if the benefit were taxable. The best possible estimates have been made on the information at our disposal.

asked the Prime Minister what information she received from the United States of America regarding the false nuclear alert which took place on 6 June in the United States; and what action she proposes to reduce the risk of a nuclear accident.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave him yesterday. We are in touch with the United States about its investigation into the strategic alert of 6 June. I would emphasise that the measures taken by the

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether any compensation was paid to any colonial civil servant who had not completed his probationary period of service when the country in which he was working became independent.

All compensation schemes provided for officers serving on probation to become entitled to compensation usually once they had been confirmed in their appointments.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he has considered providing relevant advice for the promotion of their domestic tourism to those countries where such advice might be applicable and which are in receipt of aid from Her Majesty's Government; and if he will make a statement.

In appropriate circumstances advice on tourism promotion can be provided under the aid programme. As the following list illustrates our help in this field in recent years has usually taken the form of consultancies.

Watkins asked the Lord Privy Seal what will be the United Kingdom's contribution to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for 1980–81.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Northampton, North (Mr. Marlow) on 23 April.—[Vol. 984, c. 180–81.]

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he will meet the president of the Scottish NFU in order to discuss the problems of the dairy sector.

We discussed these problems at a meeting on 13 May. I have no immediate plans for a further meeting.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the latest available figures for productivity trends in Scottish industry.

Taking productivity as measured by the relationship between the index of industrial production and estimated employment in the industries covered, it is estimated that over the period 1970–79 there was an average increase for those industries of around 1.9 per cent. per annum.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent representations he has had on the effect on the Scottish fishing industry of the combination of the common fisheries policy and the imports of cheap fish from non-European Economic Community countries.

I have received a number of representations from the main organisations in the fishing industry as well as from individual fishermen on these matters. They were among the issues which were raised with my noble Friend the Minister of State and myself when we undertook a number of visits to the North-East of Scotland at the end of last month to learn about the state of the industry at first hand.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has considered the fisheries plan for the Clyde Estuary and the West of Scotland produced by the Clyde fisheries association and the Mallaig and North-West fishermen's association; and if he will make a statement.

The plan was submitted to my Department only within the past few days but I am aware of its general content. I shall keep it fully in mind during the resumed negotiations on the common fisheries policy.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what consideration he has given to the future operations of the Scottish Development Agency.

The future operations of the Scottish Development Agency will continue as provided for in the appropriate statute and as determined by the guidelines agreed between the agency and the Government.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether the number of midwives in post at the moment in Scotland is adequate.

There are shortages in some areas, but overall the position is reasonably satisfactory.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will discuss extra financial provision for Leith hospital when he next meets the Lothian health board.

No. It is for the health board to allocate its resources as it thinks appropriate.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has had on his consultative document, "Transport to the Scottish Islands".

Responses have so far been received from a number of individuals and six bodies, including the Highlands and Islands Development Board and Western Ferries.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether lie has yet concluded his consideration of the future support from public funds for Stonefield Vehicles; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend has made it clear that public funds should not alone attempt to finance the very substantial promotion and marketing support which is required by Stonefield Vehicles and that a private sector contribution should be sought. Efforts to secure private sector participation are continuing.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will pay a visit to the jobcentre at Bells-hill to discuss the jobs situation for school leavers in the area.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if, in his consideration of the representations made to him by the Scottish consumer council in response to his parents' charter proposals on education, he has reached any definite decisions about a parent's right to inspect his child's school records; and if he will make a statement.

I have the Scottish Consumer Council's response under consideration together with other comments I have received on my consultative paper. My proposals are intended to encourage a greater degree of openness between schools and parents, but the specific question of a parental right to inspect school records is a complex and sensitive matter which will require further study.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the latest employment and economic trends in Scotland.

Employment fell slightly in Scotland over the year to December 1979, as it did in the United Kingdom generally. Other economic indicators also suggest that the Scottish economy is moving broadly in line with the rest of the country.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a White Paper on the prospects for Scottish industry in the 'eighties.

No. The Government have made it quite clear that our policy of seeking to reduce inflation and to free more resources for private investment is what is required to improve the prospects for United Kingdom and Scottish industry alike.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many one-teacher schools there are in Scotland.

At September 1979 there were 78 education authority one-teacher primary schools in Scotland. There were also 107 nursery schools with a single teacher, generally assisted by nursery nurses, and 31 special schools, mostly staffed by instructors, which had the services of a single full-time teacher or a part-time teacher. These figures exclude one-teacher departments within larger schools.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the infant mortality rate for each social class in Scotland at the latest available date; and how these rates compare with the corresponding rates in 1960 and 1970.

Figures for 1978, 1970 and 1960 are given in the table below.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people have been in employment in Scotland for each of the past five years.

The number of employees in employment in Scotland for each of the past five years is set out in the table below.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many kidney dialysis machines are unused in each health board area due to a lack of trained staff to operate them.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will make a statement on the results of his Department, after 13 months of the present Government, in achieving the policy programme which he set it on assuming office.

The Scottish Office is making good progress in fulfilling the objectives set out in the Conservative manifesto for Scotland 1979. The Government's main objectives for the health, education and social work services are being vigorously put into effect. The Tenants' Rights etc. (Scotland) Bill has been introduced to Parliament. Police forces in Scotland are virtually up to full strength and we are taking through Parliament the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill which will clarify and strengthen police powers, and, in other respects, reform criminal procedure. A committee of inquiry has been established into the system of local government in Scotland. If my hon. Friend wishes to be informed about a particular matter of administration, I shall gladly write to him.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many questionnaires his Department sent out in January to April 1978, 1979 and 1980 which the recipients (a) were statutorily required to complete and (b) were not statutorily required to complete.

This information is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the ratio of administrators to medically qualified staff in the National Health Service in Scotland on 3 May.

At 30 September 1979, the latest date for which figures are available, there were 2,834 administrators and 8,577 medically qualified staff in the National Health Service in Scotland, a ratio of approximately 1:3. The figure for medically qualified staff includes hospital and community doctors and general practitioners. If restricted to hospital doctors only, their number was 5,109 and the ratio approximately 1 : 2.All figures are in whole-time equivalent terms.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will make a statement about the teachers' salaries dispute.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply which my right hon. Friend gave today to the right hon. Member for Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles (Mr. Steel).

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the prisons where prisoners are held on remand or are convicted but not sentenced, showing, for the most convenient recent date, the numbers so held in each prison, the number of certified accommodation places in single cells, and how many prisoners have been doubled or trebled up for want of single-cell accommodation.

Information relating to remand prisoners held on 30 April 1980 is listed below. The allocation of accommodation between remand and sentenced prisoners has to be flexible and details of the certified normal accommodation available solely for remand prisoners are not therefore available. Information collected centrally on prisoners sleeping two or three to a cell does not distinguish between remand and sentenced prisoners.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the number of prisons, or extensions to existing prisons, currently being built ; how much new certified accommodation this will provide ; and what are the dates of expected availability.

The details which the hon. Member requests are published in appendix No. 2 of the report on the work of the prison department for 1978 (Cmnd. 7619). Information relating to the latest position is being prepared and will appear in the 1979 report, which will be published shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Vietnamese refugees have been settled in the United Kingdom under the present Geneva agreement ; how many more are due to come ; and when the programmes will be completed.

I understand from the joint committee for refugees from Vietnam that, of the 10,000 refugees the Government agreed to accept at the Geneva conference last year, about 4,900 had arrived by the end of May. It is our aim to receive the remainder of the quota before the end of the year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will make generally available to the public all of the reports, documents and papers in connection with the death of Blair Peach, or failing this, make some available to his next of kin.

No. Under the Coroner's Rules 1953, the disclosure of inquest documents is a matter for the coroner.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many firearm and shotgun certificates, respectively, were issued in 1979.

Statistics on the number of firearm and shotgun certificates issued each year are not collected centrally ; but on 31 December 1979 there were in force in England and Wales 169,590 firearm certificates and 783,069 shotgun certificates.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will now publish the information and documentary evidence in the possession of his Department on which he bases his continuing ban on the entry of Scientologists.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, on the basis of the publicly available data in form RPF1, he will cause to be ascertained and published the number (a) in total and (b) by constituencies, of electors in Great Britain at the most recent convenient registration who are so qualified by reason of being citizens of the Republic of Ireland and not otherwise.

The information requested is not available as citizens of the Republic of Ireland resident in Great Britain are not separately identified for purposes of electoral registration.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many questionnaires his Department sent out in January to April 1978, 1979 and 1980 which the recipients (a) were statutorily required to complete and (b)were not statutorily required to complete.

The number of questionnaires sent out by the Home Office—not including the routine statistical returns made to the Department—in the specified periods was :

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, in order to prevent women being forced into marriages which they themselves do not wish to undertake, he will change the rules on appeal for entry clearance certificates such that if the woman in question gives confidential and sufficient indication that she does not wish the marriage to take place on her account then the clearance procedures will be terminated without any explanation being given to other interested parties.

This would amount to removing a right of appeal. It could not be done by amending the rules. Primary legislation would be required.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will list in the Official Report the number of prosecutions brought under the Sunday trading laws in each of the last three years.

The information is published annually in "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales". There were 139 prosecutions in 1977 and 245 in 1978. Information for 1979 is not yet available.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many questionnaires his Department sent out in January to April 1978, 1979 and 1980 which the recipients (a) were statutorily required to complete and (b) were not statutorily required to complete.

The Office of Arts and Libraries was set up in September 1979. It has sent out no questionnaires.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry whether he will extend the application of EEC regional grant aid to assisted areas to those parts of the United Kingdom scheduled for special investment status by the Development Commission.

The Development Commission's special investment areas (SIAs) are not regarded as aided areas which qualify for assistance from the quota section of the European regional development fund. We have no plans at present to seek to alter this arrangement. Any areas of the United Kingdom could in principle qualify for assistance from the non-quota section (currently 5 per cent.) of the fund if suitable measures were proposed by the European Commission and adopted by the Council of Ministers.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry how many questionnaires his Department sent out in January to April 1978, 1979 and 1980 which the recipients (a) were statutorily required to complete and (b) were not statutorily required to complete.

The Departments of Industry and Trade share a common

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what is estimated to be the final balance sheet cost of the National Enterprise Board's involvement with British Tanners Products, including any sums to be written off in relation to the shares purchased, the loans advanced and shares acquired in British Tanners Products.

This is a matter for the NEB.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what is the average level of redundancy payments to each man made redundant at every steel plant in the United Kingdom enforcing redundancies since 3 May 1979.

[pursuant to his reply, 10 June 1980]: This information is not available in the form requested. Redundant steel workers may receive one or more of the following payments :

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what recent representations he has received concerning the future of the public holding in Ferranti Limited; what reply he is sending; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. and hon. Friends have received about a dozen representations this month from right hon. and hon. Members whose constituents are concerned about the future ownership of the National Enterprise Board's shareholding in Ferranti Ltd. I also saw the company's board at its request yesterday. My right hon. Friend's statutory consent is required for the disposal of any shareholding by the National Enterprise Board; none has yet been sought for the Ferranti shareholding but at the appropriate time he will have close regard to all the representations that have been made to him.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about the in-service delivery dates of the new 5·56 mm. individual personal weapon and the new section light machine gun.

It is intended to introduce a new individual personal weapon and a new light machine gun during the mid-1980s. The two weapons will be British designed and manufactured and will fire ammunition standard to most NATO nations. Final decisions on this ammunition are expected shortly and depend upon the ratification by NATO of the round being recommended as a result of the recent NATO trials.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many questionnaires his Department sent out in January to April 1978, 1979 and 1980 which the recipients (a) were statutorily required to complete and (b) were not statutorily required to complete.

The Ministry of Defence sent questionnaires outside the Department during the periods in question as follows :

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make an oral statement on the action he proposes to recommend to the United States to reduce the risk of a nuclear war brought about by accident or design, following the recent false nuclear alerts.

We are in touch with the United States about the false strategic alerts on 3 June and 6 June. I shall be considering what more can be said when further details are known. As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and I have already made clear, the United States' response to the alerts was wholly defensive ; there was no danger of triggering war by mistake.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made in the sale of the former Royal Air Force houses at Middleton St. George, near Darlington.

In the last three months 30 surplus quarters at Middleton St. George have been handed over to the Property Services Agency for disposal, leaving about 60 which will be handed over as soon as possible. I understand that there are practical difficulties in the way of disposal by the PSA arising mainly from the provision of mains services.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science by what date representations will need to be received by his Department in order to be considered in the course of the internal Government inquiry into possible future arrangements for education in inner London.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to a question by the hon. Member for Lewisham, West (Mr. Price) on 23 May.—[Vol. 985, c. 389.]

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he intends to publish the results of the inquiry into the future of educational arrangements in inner London.

When the Government have completed their examination, I will make a statement to the House.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many of the non-industrial staff of his Department were absent without authority on 14 May ; how many of these hold politically sensitive posts ; and if he will take steps to transfer those officials in the latter category to work where opposition to Government policy does not matter.

Fifty-one, or 1·9 per cent. In view of the nature of the duties undertaken by these members of staff, I do not regard their transfer as necessary.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is his Department's attitude to bilateral schools.

My right hon. and learned Friend is concerned not with what labels are attached to schools but with the quality of education they provide. This attitude applies to all schools, including bilaterals.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science, what is the number of handicapped pupils in independent special schools and the number of handicapped people in non-special independent schools and the average cost per annum of educating a child in each type of school.

In January 1979, the latest date for which figures are available, the number of handicapped children attending non-maintained special schools, that is, schools provided by bodies other than local education authorities which have been approved as special schools under the Handicapped Pupils and Special Schools Regulations 1959, under arrangements made by English local education authorities was 8,297 and the number attending independent schools was 7,477. It is not possible to calculate average per capita costs from information available to my Department.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the comparative cost of a day's in-service education training in, respectively, a teachers' centre, a college of education and a university department of education.

This information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many children took school dinners for each of the years 1978, 1979 and for the latest date available in 1980 ; and if he will show, in each case, the percentage of children receiving free meals.

The information given below is for pupils in maintained schools in England and is based on the school meals census carried out on a day in the autumn terms 1978 and 1979. No information is available for 1980.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the number by which school meals have fallen in primary and secondary schools in the county of Derbyshire between May 1979 and May 1980.

This information is not available to the Department. I suggest the hon. Member consults the Derbyshire local education authority.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science to what extent the expansion of Northamptonshire at the behest of central Government is taken into account when assessing central Government provision of funds for education.

Central Government assistance to local authorities through the rate support grant is not earmarked for particular services such as education. A new method of assessing authorities' standard expenditure, which will replace the current needs assessment in relation to all services is being discussed with the local authority associations for the purposes of the new rate support grant arrangements proposed for 1981–82. It is intended that this method should produce more equitable results than its predecessor. Allocations of capital expenditure for education at present through the Department's building starts programmes take account of population growth in Northamptonshire.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many students from Iran who currently are staying in the United Kingdom are not taking courses of study at accredited institutions of higher education.

This information is not collected. In 1978–79 there were 9,088 Iranian students on full-time and sandwich courses attending universities and maintained and assisted institutions of higher and further educaton in the United Kingdom.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what course fees are paid by students from Iran attending British colleges and universities ; and what proportion of their total fees is paid from public funds.

Full-time students from Iran or their sponsors are, as in the case of other overseas students, required to pay in the current academic year £1,230 for postgraduate study, £940 for other courses of advanced further education and £520 for non-advanced courses. On average these fees represent about 40 per cent. of the cost of a course ; the balance is met from public funds.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will initiate a national publicity campaign informing parents how they might make voluntary donations for basic teaching materials.

No. This is a matter for local arrangements, subject to the provisions of the Education Acts.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether his revised income scales for the assisted places scheme assume a larger total cost for the scheme or a smaller number of places.

The resources available for the early years of the assisted places scheme remain those set out in "The Government's Expenditure Plans 1980–81 to 1983–84," Cmnd. 7841. Any assessment of the number of places that can be offered can only be approximate until the scheme is established, but the revised income scale is not expected signi- ficantly to affect the average cost of fee remission per place.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many questionnaires his Department sent out in January to April 1978, 1979, 1980 which the recipients (a) were statutorily required to complete and (b) were not statutorily required to complete.

The numbers are :

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will set out in comparable figures the sums of money allocated for school and other educational building for each of the next three years, for the current year, and for each of the past 10 years.

Capital expenditure on educational building in England, excluding universities, at 1979 survey prices for the years 1974–75 to 1979–80 is set out below, together with the planned expenditure for the years 1980–81 to 1983–84:

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects to reach a decision on the joint educational proposals over pay arrived at by the university authorities and the Association of University Teachers.

Following information from the Standing Commission on pay comparability that it would not be able to report on university teachers before summer 1981, all parties to the negotiations have been considering ways of proceeding in the changed circumstances. It is not possible to forecast how long the present negotiations will take but there will be no unnecessary delays.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the number of widow pensioners who are (a) below the tax threshold and (b) above it ; and what the position was prior to the decision to abolish the lower rate band of taxation.

Because it is not always necessary to identify widows as such, neither tax nor pension records can be relied upon to provide accurate counts of widows. However, it is estimated that of about 750,000 widows under age 65 who receive a national insurance widows' pension or similar benefit about half are taxpayers. There are also about 2½ million widows aged 65 or over, most of whom may be assumed to receive national insurance retirement pension, and it is thought that of the order of one-quarter of them pay tax, although this estimate is subject to a wide margin of error for the reasons already given.Information is not available to estimate any change in the position between 1979–80 and 1980–81, although it is likely to have been very small.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what have been the increases in the levels of domestic credit for each month since May 1979 ; and if he will make a statement on the implications of the figures in relation to his policy to reduce inflation.

Figures for domestic credit expansion are available in table 7·3 of Financial Statistics—the latest issue is that for May 1980.We made it clear in the Green Paper on monetary control that we intend to monitor domestic credit expansion. But it is money supply growth, not DCE, that is crucial for bringing down inflation. Our monetary target relates to £M3.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will introduce a system of income tax allowances for disabled people in order to make it more financially beneficial for them to undertake jobs where possible.

Our objective is to increase work incentives by reducing the burden of direct tax for all members of the community, but specific support for the disabled is more effectively provided through the social security system.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will amend tables for the Government's expenditure plans 1980–81 to 1983–84 set out in Cmnd. 7841 which are affected by the recently completed negotiations with the EEC and publish them in the Official Report.

My right hon. Friend the Lord Privy Seal told the House on 2 June—columns 1043–57—that the reductions negotiated in our net contribution in respect of 1980 and 1981 are about £700 million and £850 million respectively, subject to the operation of the detailed formula agreed. Since the timing of these reductions has yet to be determined no amendment can be made to the tables in Cmnd. 7841.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer in which member States of the European Community social insurance contributions are tax deductible, or partially so.

Employees' social insurance contributions are wholly deductible in Belgium, France, Italy and Luxembourg. In the Netherlands some such contributions are wholly or partially deductible, and in Germany the family status of the employee determines whether the contributions are deductible or not.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the cost of making national insurance contributions tax deductible.

The cost is not known precisely but would be in the range £1· to £2 billion in a full year at 1980–81 income levels.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish figures showing, for each of the following

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) why the figures given in the answers in the Official Report, 14 May, c. 477–8 which show the total of the value added tax from petrol and of value added tax from motor vehicle sales in 1979–80 of £1.225 million, differ from the total of £1,330 million given in the Official Report, 20 February, c. 216; (2) if he will state for both 1979–80 and 1980–81 the estimated gallonage of petrol sales, the estimated average retail price, the gross value added tax payable on the retail sales value and the net value added tax revenue ; and whether the volume of petrol sales for the purposes of the value added tax calculation given in the Official Report, 14 May, c. 478 is consistent with the volume implied by the excise duty revenue given in each year.

I shall let the hon. Member have a reply as soon as possible.

The latest available information is given in the following table :

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many questionnaires his Department sent out in January to April 1978, 1979 and 1980 which the recipients (a) were statutorily required to complete and (b) were not statutorily required to complete.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of the rebates in the United Kingdom's net contribution to the EEC budget in the current year will comprise (a) a cash rebate and (b) increased spending by the EEC in the United Kingdom.

I refer the right hon. Member to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Northampton, North (Mr. Marlow) on 9 June.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list in the Official Report those tax-free disability payments which incur reduction of a blind person's tax allowance ; if the tax allowance is reduced when the disability benefit is paid on account of a handicap additional to blindness ; and if he will make a statement.

I shall let the right hon. Member have a reply as soon as possible.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the staff establishment of his Department on 1 April 1979 and on 1 April of the current year ; and what was the shortfall on these figures, if any, and the grades and geographical regions where the shortfall occurred.

[pursuant to his reply, 23 May 1980, c. 470] : The information is as follows. Staff in departmental or specialist grades are shown at the nearest equivalent general service grade :