asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what policy proposals he is considering for Vietnamese refugees who gain places in further and higher education establishments.

I am unable to add at present to the reply I gave on 25 June to the hon. Member for Cannock (Mr. Roberts).—[Vol. 987, c. 196.]

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many places and how many grants have been made to Vietnamese refugees at educational institutions in Great Britain.

I regret that information collected centrally is not sufficiently detailed to enable me to identify how many places and how many grants have been made to Vietnamese refugees at educational institutions in Great Britain.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he intends to bring into force those sections of the Education Act 1980 which relate to school admissions and attendance orders and the assisted places scheme; and if he will make a statement.

It would not be practicable to bring the school admissions provisions of the Education Act 1980 (sections 6–9 and schedule 2) into force in respect of admissions to schools in the 1981–2 school year, as many local education authorities are already committed to their admission arrangements for that year.My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales and I therefore intend that these provisions should apply for the first time in respect of admissions to schools in the autumn of 1982; they will come into force on 1 October of this year, with appropriate transitional provisions, so that authorities and schools will have a reasonable period in which to make the new admissions and appeal arrangements which will be necessary to comply with the requirements of the Act.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science, further to his reply to the hon. Member for Upminster (Mr. Loveridge), Official Report, 11 June, column 198–99, what proposals his Department has now put forward to the other parties to the negotiations on university teachers' pay.

The joint proposals of the Association of University Teachers and the university authorities' panel are still under consideration but I hope that a meeting of the negotiating committee will be arranged shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many civil servants of the following grades were in post in his Department on 1 April and how many he expects to be in post in his Department on 1 April 1981, 1 April 1982 and 1 April 1983: permanent secretary, deputy secretary, under-secretary and assistant secretary.

On 1 April 1980 my Department, including the University Grants Committee, had in post one permanent secretary, one second permanent secretary (period appointment), six deputy secretaries, 15 under-secretaries and 38 assistant secretaries. I cannot at this stage make a firm estimate of the numbers in each of these grades in future years, but some reductions are planned as part of the Department's manpower savings.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many people are at present members of the Advisory Council for Adult and Continuing Education; what are their names; what payment they have each received, if any, since they were appointed to the council; and if he will take steps to abolish it.

The Advisory Council for Adult and Continuing Education comprises the 23 members listed below. None receives any payment for work with the council. As my right hon. and learned Friend announced on 18 December 1979, the council is to continue in being until October 1983.

• Chairman
• D. R. Hoggart
• Members
• Mrs. L. Ball
• Miss J. M. Bisgood
• Mr. P. C. Boulter
• Mr. P. A. Cosway
• Mr. P. R. Clyne
• Mr. F. Dale
• Mr. R. D. Freeman
• Mr. H. D. Gilbert
• Mr. D. H. Grattan
• Miss S. J. Hardy
• Mr. H. D. Hughes
• Mr. R. A. Jackson
• Professor H. A. Jones
• Mr. P. Linklater
• Professor N. E. S. McIntosh
• Mr. D. J. Moore
• Mr. N. M. Parkin
• Mr. R. Phillips
• Mr. A. R. Rodgers
• Mr. P. Scroggs
• Sir Roy Shaw
• Mr. R. G. Smethurst

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he has any plans to appoint a member of the Association of British Correspondence Colleges to the Business Education Council.

My right hon. and learned Friend has no plans to do so. Appointments are made to the Business Education Council on a personal basis, and members do not serve in a representative capacity.

asked the Prime Minister if she will now increase the nurses' pay offer in view of recent evidence of the flow of nurses who are accepting jobs abroad due to low pay in Great Britain.

The pay of nurses and midwives is negotiated by the Nurses and Midwives Whitley Council, which is at present engaged in negotiations for the 1980 settlement. With regard to these negotiations I have nothing to add to my reply to the hon. Member on 3 June. I am not aware of any evidence which shows that there is any significant outflow of nurses as a consequence of pay levels.

asked the Prime Minister whether she has sent a reply to the letter sent to her on 17 June by the Group of Eight on council house building; and if she will now publish the correspondence.

I have replied to the letter today.

asked the Prime Minister what was the aggregate cost to public funds of the Wilson committee; and what was the aggregate reimbursement in all forms received by each of the members.

The aggregate cost to public funds was £334,000, excluding the cost of printing the report. Committee members received only travel and subsistence expenses.

asked the Prime Minister if, further to her reply on 3 June, she will seek to extend Prime Minister's questions to run from 3.15 p.m. to 3.45 p.m. so that at least some 10 per cent. of those Members with questions to her on the Order Paper may be called instead of the present 5 per cent., or so, whilst at the same time not taking time away from Departmental Ministers.

No.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what is the total cost per annum of in-house catering departments within the Civil Service.

For 1979–80, cash subsidies for meals totalled £1,729,000. This represented approximately 2p per day for every civil servant with access to a staff restaurant. Additional payments, amounting in 1979–80 to about £2,500,000, are made to meet excess staff costs incurred in providing meals in certain establishments, for example, in dockyards, whose staff work abnormal hours. Premises, equipment and services are also provided, but the cost of these is not readily available.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service if he will put out to private enterprise the present in-house catering departments within the Civil Service.

I have examined the in-house catering departments within the Civil Service and think that the present arrangements are economical. I have no plans at present to change them. In any particular establishment the decision whether to use outside caterers is taken on its merits.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service how the cash limit of £191,000 for the expenditure of the English and Welsh Parliamentary Boundary Commissions for 1980–81 was determined.

The cash limit for the Boundary Commissions for England and Wales is determined by reference to the commissions' programmes of work within the overall limit of available resources in the public expenditure allocation.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service on what basis it is proving cost effective for the top 12 civil servants to have the free use, on a tax-free basis, of Government cars to take them to and from their offices and the London main line railway stations on their way to their private homes.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 23 May 1980. —[Vol. 985, c. 386.]

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will now make an inquiry into the dismissals of Mr. Philip Corddell and Mr. Richard Cleverly from the Brixton unemployment benefit office; and if he will make a statement.

These officers were dismissed for repeated breaches of staff rules, mainly involving unauthorised absences from duty. They are exercising their right to a hearing by the Civil Service appeal board, where the justification for the dismissals will be considered. No other inquiry is appropriate.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many special programmes for the unemployed are currently being administered by the Manpower Services Commission; if he will name each programme; how much public money is detailed for the operation of each in 1979–80 and 1980–81; and how many public officials are employed by the Manpower Services Commission to administer each programme;(2) if he will list under headings the forms sent to employers under special programmes by the Manpower Services Commission; whether forms are single, duplicate or in triplicate; what is the estimated cost of postage by so doing; how many public servants are required to administer each stage of the process; and if he will make a statement with regard to the amount of paper sent and the steps he is taking to reduce it.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many, and what proportion, of (a) English metropolitan counties, (b) English metropolitan districts, (c) English non-metropolitan counties, (d) English non-metropolitan districts, (e) Greater London authorities, (f) Welsh counties, (g) Welsh districts, (h) Scottish regions, (i) Scottish island auth-

	Number and proportion who satisfied the 3 per cent, quota
Types of authority	1976	1977	1978	1979
(a) English metropolitan counties	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil
(b) English metropolitan districts	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil
(c) English non-metropolitan counties	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil
(d) English non-metropolitan districts	97	87	78	51
	(32·8%)	(29·4%)	(26·4%)	(17·2%)
(e) Greater London authorities	1	1	1	1
	(2·9%)	(2·9%)	(2·9%)	(2·9%)
(f) Welsh counties	1 (12·5%)	1 (12·5%)	Nil	Nil
(g) Welsh districts	16	20	16	16
	(43·2%)	(54·1%)	(43·2%)	(43·2%)
(h) Scottish regions	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil
(i) Scottish island authorities	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil
(j) Scottish districts	14	16	16	15
	(26·4%)	(30·2%)	(30·2%)	(28·3%)

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of the total work force has been registered disabled in England, Wales and Scotland, respectively, in each of the last five years.

I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that the information requested is set out below. Figures shown are for May of each year. The figure for 1980 is provisional and based on the total work force as at May 1979.

England
	Per cent.
1976	2·3
1977	2·2
1978	2·1
1979	1·9
1980	1·8
Wales
	Per cent.
1976	3·2
1977	3·1
1978	2·9
1979	2·8
1980	2·7
Scotland
	Per cent.
1976	2·3
1977	2·2
1978	2·0
1979	2·0
1980	1·9

I am advised by the Manpower Services Commission that the information requested was not collected centrally, in years prior to 1976, and is not yet available for 1980. The information in respect of the years 1976 to 1979 is set out in the table below.

Great Britain
	Per cent.
1976	2·3
1977	2·3
1978	2·1
1979	1·9
1980	1·9

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what steps he intends to take to increase the proportion of disabled people employed in Government Departments, in health authorities and in local authorities, respectively.

The Manpower Services Commission is reviewing the provisions of the existing quota scheme to see how best to protect opportunities for disabled people in the future in all areas of employment, and I understand the commission hopes to be able to make recommendations to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State by the end of the year.Meanwhile all employers are being encouraged to give full and fair consideration to disabled job seekers and to make full use of the potential of their disabled workers. My right hon. Friend was pleased to launch the MSC's "Fit for Work" campaign last September. The campaign, which covers employers in public and private sectors alike, encourages the adoption of enlightened policies on all aspects of the employment of disabled people in the interests of promoting equal employment opportunities. I expect employers in the public sector to set an example by implementing the policy guidelines featured in the campaign.In addition, the Government will be drawing the attention of public-sector employers to the regulations, which we are about to introduce under the new Companies Act, requiring the publication in directors' reports of information on the employment of disabled people, and asking them to make similar arrangements for disclosure.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many and what proportion of health authorities satisfied the 3 per cent. quota for employment of registered disabled people in England,

	Number and proportion of local authorities which satisfied the 3 per cent, quota
	1976	1977	1978	1979
England	98	88	79	52
	(23·8%)	(21·4%)	(19·2%)	(12·7%)
Wales	17	21	16	16
	(37·8%)	(46·7%)	(35·6%)	(35·6%)
Scotland	14	16	16	15
	(21·5%)	(24·6%)	(24·6%)	(23·1%)

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many (a) registered and (b) unregistered disabled people are unemployed in the London borough of Haringey; and what proportion of (a) registered disabled people and (b) she work force as a whole is unemployed in the London borough of Haringey.

I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that the available information relates to the areas served by the local employment offices at Tottenham and Wood Green whose boundaries include part of Enfield and Edmonton. At 8 May 1980, the latest date for which figures are available, there were 249 registered disabled people and 445 unregistered disabled people unemployed in those areas. The unemployment

1. AVERAGE RATES OF UNEMPLOYMENT
	England per cent.	Wales per cent.	Scotland per cent.	Great Britain per cent.
1976—
(a) RDPs	14·0	14·7	13·1	14·0
(b) Total work force	5·0	6·8	6·4	5·3

I am advised by the Manpower Services Commission that no health authority satisfied the 3 per cent. quota in the years 1976 to 1979—the only previous years for which the information has been collected centrally. Figures for 1980 are not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many and what proportion of local authorities satisfied the 3 per cent. quota for employment of registered disabled people in England, Wales and Scotland, respectively, in each of the last five years.

I am advised by the Manpower Services Commission that the information requested was not collected centrally in years prior to 1976, and is not yet available for 1980. The information in respect of the years 1976 to 1979 is set out in the table below.rate amongst registered disabled people was 11·1 per cent. and the unemployment rate amongst the work force as a whole was 4·7 per cent.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the average rate of unemployment (a) among registered disabled people and (b) among the work force as a whole in England, Wales and Scotland, respectively, and in Great Britain as a whole in each of the last five years; and what are the latest figures for unemployment among each of these categories.

I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that the information requested is set out below; figures are for May of each year.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many school leavers there are without employment in Carlisle and Cumbria, respectively; and if he will make a statement.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what action his Department is taking to deal with the increase in the numbers unemployed in Carlisle and Cumbria, as a result of the closure of Courtaulds' mills.

All the resources of the Manpower Services Commission are available to help those affected by the closures of the Courtaulds' mills in Carlisle and Cumbria whether they are seeking work or the chance to train for a fresh skill. I understand from the Manpower Services Commission that officials of the employment services division visited both mills to conduct individual interviews with those losing their jobs. Further placing inquiries are being made with local firms.The Government will continue to pursue economic and industrial policies designed to encourage the regeneration of the country's industrial base which is necessary if we are to create secure and 'lasting employment.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is his estimate of the number of redundancies likely in his Department in Carlisle and Cumbria, respectively, as a result of the implementation of the Government's policy of reducing the number of civil servants.

There are currently no indications that any staff in the Department of Employment group will need to be made redundant in Carlisle and Cumbria, as it is expected that the reductions of staff required can be achieved through natural wastage and redeployment.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) whether a doctor is eligible to register as an unemployed doctor;(2) how many doctors have been registered as unemployed for each month for the last two years; and what records are kept of medical unemployment.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many people have been out of work in Wolverhampton for (a) one to three months, (b) three to six months, (c) six months to a year and (d) over a year; and how this compares with the figures of a year ago;(2) how many of those unemployed in the Wolverhampton area are aged under 21 years; and how many have been unemployed for longer than three months, six months and one year, respectively.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what is the total unemployed in the Liverpool travel-to-work area; and how this figure compares with the same period in 1979;(2) what is the percentage unemployed in the Liverpool travel-to-work area; and what was the percentage for the same period in 1979;(3) what is the number of vacancies in the Liverpool travel-to-work area; and what was the number in June 1979.

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

		Aged under 18 years		Aged 18–19 years
		Number	of which percentage female	Number	of which percentage female
1977	January	128	41·4	222	47·7
	July	681	51·4	294	49·3
1978	January	194	51·0	288	47·9
	July	644	44·4	301	51·2
1979	January	173	48·0	255	48·2
	April	144	43·8	212	49·5
	July	641	44·6	267	51·3
1980	January	215	53·5	342	46·5
	April	273	48·7	359	42·1

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the latest number of redundancies notified to his Department since May 1979.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many civil servants of the following grades were in post in his Departments on 1 April; and how many he expects to be in post in his Department on 1 April 1981, 1 April 1982 and 1 April 1983; permanent secretary, deputy secretary, under-secretary and assistant secretary.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many persons aged 18 years and under are registered as unemployed in the Bury and Radcliffe travel-to-work areas; what percentage of these are female; and what were the comparable figures for 1979, 1978 and 1977.

The age analysis of the numbers registered as unemployed has been made quarterly since July 1978. Until then it was made half-yearly in January and July. Figures are available for those under 18 years of age and those aged 18–19 years and are provided below.The figures for July include considerable numbers of school leavers not present in those for other dates. The information is for the Bury travel-to-work area which comprises the Bury, Heywood and Radcliffe employment office areas.

At 1 April 1980 the numbers of staff in the DE group in these grades were:

Permanent Secretary	1
Deputy Secretary	8
Under Secretary	26
Assistant-Secretary	66·5

A number of senior posts have already been saved but my right hon. Friend cannot at this stage say what he expects the numbers to be in each grade in future years. However, it is fully intended that future reductions in the DE group will include a proportionate saving in senior posts.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what was the absolute number of employees in the nationalised industries and services in the United Kingdom in 1950, 1960, and 1970 and at the most recent date for which figures are available;(2) what proportion of total employment in the United Kingdom was represented by the nationalised industries and services in 1950, 1960 and 1970, and at the most recent date for which figures are available.

The information for 1961 and later years is given in an article, "Employment in the public and private sectors 1961–78" on page 90 of the November 1979 issue of Economic Trends. In 1960, the nationalised industries, which then did not include the Post Office, employed 1,830,000 people, or 7·7 per cent. of civilian employment. Figures for 1950 are not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many redundancies were notified to his Department in the last year for the Birmingham travel-to-work area.

[pursuant to his reply, 24 June 1980, Vol. 987, c. 90]: From June 1979 to May 1980 inclusive, the number of proposed redundancies notified to my Department in accordance with section 100 of the Employment Protection Act 1975, for the Birmingham travel-to-work area, involved 26,733 employees at 344 establishments.I have noted the hon. Member's remarks in the debate on 20 June concerning job losses in Birmingham, which appear to have been based on a misinterpretation of the figures supplied in my written answer of 16 June. Since my answer may have misled the hon. Member, I should like to take this opportunity to explain these statistics in more detail.All employers are required by law to notify my Department of prospective redundancies involving 10 or more employees; and these are figures which I have quoted. However, many of these notified redundancies never occur. For example, jobs may be supported by the temporary short-time working compensation scheme (for which prior notification is a condition), or the firm's circumstances may subsequently improve for other reasons. In such cases there is no obligation on any employer to notify my Department that the redundancy will not take place, or that it will affect fewer workers than expected, although some employers do so.An indication of the scale on which employers' intentions alter is provided by a separate set of figures based on reports compiled by the Manpower Services Commission's employment offices and jobcentres as they follow up these redundancy notifications. I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that the provisional total of redundancies reported by its local offices as due to occur in the Birmingham travel-to-work area, from June 1979 to May 1980, involved 6,620 employees. (This figure too does not cover redundancies involving fewer than 10 workers).To some extent the figures reported by the Manpower Services Commission are subject to change in the same way as those notified to my Department under the Employment Protection Act. For example, redundancies may still be averted, or be reduced in size, after they have been reported. However, as the information is obtained much nearer to the date of the prospective redundancy, it is likely to be closer to the truth.Furthermore, whereas the figures notified to my Department relate to the months during which the notifications are received, the Manpower Services Commission's figures related to the months during which redundancies are due to take place.The Manpower Services Commission's reports cover the advance notifications of redundancies made- to my Department. The two sets of figures cannot therefore be added together to give a total of redundancies. Moreover, "redundancies", however measured, cannot be equated with "net job loss", since to measure the latter redundancies have to be offset by new jobs created.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the recent unemployment figures for Merseyside.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 24 June 1980.—[Vol. 987, c. 88.]

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will draw up clear guidelines in consultation with the Trades Union Congress so that in future studies of workers' health in relation to their work there will be trade union involvement.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether he will require hotels and other catering establishments to indicate and invoice their prices at a figure inclusive of value added tax in line with the practice of tour operators and hoteliers offering overseas holidays.

As I indicated to my hon. Friend the Member for Chorley (Mr. Dover) on 17 December 1979—[Vol. 976, c. 25]—I propose to lay before Parliament as soon as practicable a general order requiring traders to quote either VAT inclusive prices or prices showing clearly the amount of VAT.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what have been the percentage increases in the amount of (a) French and (b) Spanish potatoes imported into the United Kingdom in the course of this year up to the end of May, since the corresponding period in 1979.

Details of imports of potatoes from France and Spain are given in table III of the May 1979 and May 1980 issues of the Overseas Trade Statistics of the United Kingdom under SITC (R2) sub-group 054·1. Copies are in the

	Total	Bottled whisky	Bulk blended	Million proof gallons Bulk malt
January 1980	8·23	6·22	1·50	0·48
February 1980	9·36	6·73	1·78	0·83
March 1980	7·78	5·30	1·48	0·98
April 1980	6·32	4·31	1·31	0·68
May 1980	6·51	4·47	1·35	0·66

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what organisations he consulted before deciding to lay regulations under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 to introduce a cooling-off period for credit transactions negotiated on the doorstep.

Regulations relating to agreements to which the cooling-off provisions of the Consumer Credit Act will apply will be made only after the customary consultation with a wide range of representative organisations. If my hon. Friend has any particular organisation in mind and will let me have its name, I will ensure that it is consulted.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade (1) what volume of Scotch whisky was exported each month since January of the current year; and if he he will give breakdowns for each month according to bulk malt, hulk blended and bottled whisky;(2) if he will list the main countries to which Scotch whisky is exported and the volume exported to those countries each year for the past 10 years; and if he will give breakdown for each month according to bulk malt, bulk blended and bottled whisky.

The volume of Scotch and Northern Irish whisky—(which are not separately identified in the Overseas Trade Statistics)—exported during each of the first five months of 1980 and to the principal markets for a representative selection of the years in question—(which have been chosen to permit a reply to be given within acceptable limits of cost)—are shown in the tables below:

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether, in view of the danger to health, he will take steps to restrict or prohibit the importation of benzidene-based dyestuffs.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what is the cost to his Department of providing secretariat and executive support services for each non-departmental public body to which he appoints members other than civil servants.

[pursuant to his reply, 18 June 1980, c. 511]: Costs were incurred during the year ended 31 March 1980 as follows:

	£
Advisory Committee on Historic Wreck Sites	4,130
Advisory Committee on the Safety Household Electrical Equipment	30,000
British Overseas Trade Advisory Council	7,370
British Overseas Trade Board	24,590
Cinematograph Film Council	7,910
Distribution Statistics Advisory Committee	600
Export Guarantee Advisory Council	9,200
Insolvency Law Review Committee	81,000
Interim Action Committee on the Film Indusry	31,030
The 43 Nationalised Industries Consumer Councils	2,003,000
Overseas Projects Board	25,000
Pilotage Commission	5,000

asked the Secretary of State for Trade how many civil servants of the following grades were in post in his Department on 1 April and how many he expects to be in post in his Department on 1 April 1981, 1 April 1982 and 1 April 1983: permanent secretary, deputy secretary, under-secretary and assistant secretary.

The staff in post in my Department on 1 April included one permanent secretary, five deputy secretaries, 23 under-secretaries and 55 assistant secretaries. Details of forward staffing requirements are still being worked out and I cannot say at this stage what I expect the numbers to be in each of these grades over the next three years. It is, however, my intention to see that savings in posts at senior levels continue to be broadly in proportion to the planned overall reduction in numbers.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will seek with his colleagues in the Community to raise a levy against United States imported goods equivalent to the subsidy given by the United States Government by artificially subsidising oil prices.

[pursuant to his reply,26 June 1980 c. 233]: Imports into the United Kingdom of polyester filament yarn and nylon carpet yarn from the United States, and other suppliers, have been made subject to quantitative restrictions and the Community has imposed an anti-dumping duty on imports from the United States of acrylic fibres.The Community is also continuing to discuss with the United States the extent of the advantage which accrues to United States' producers as a result of United States domestic energy policy with a view to finding some resolution of the issue.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what is the estimated saving in the United Kingdom's external trade balance by the import of New Zealand lamb as opposed to importing lamb from the EEC countries.

[pursuant to his reply,27 June 1980, c. 340]: No reliable estimate can be made, given the uncertainties of the level of demand and price. Moreover, in present circumstances there is no practical possibly of Community supplies being sufficient to replace those from New Zealand.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether the Private Utility Transmission Company is intended to have a common carrier status; and whether the participants themselves will determine the transmission charges.

Proposals on these matters will be developed by the organising group mentioned in my reply of 19 June to my hon. Friend the Member for Northampton, North (Mr. Marlow). I have certain powers relating to these questions under part III of the Petroleum and Submarine Pipe-lines Act 1975.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what amounts of debts incurred by domestic gas and

	Year ended 31 March
	1976	1977	1978	1979
Domestic gas bad debts written off £ million	3·264	4·864	5·638	5·307
Total revenue from domestic gas sold and used £ million	853	1,030	1,287	1,458
Domestic gas bad debts as percentage of total domestic revenue	0·38%	0·47%	0·44%	0·36%

For the electricity supply industry, separate figures of bad debts written off in respect of domestic consumers are not available. Figures of total bad debts written off and increases in provisions for

	1974–75	1975–76	1976–77	1977–78	1978–79
£ million	3·965	5·660	8·104	12·629	12·982

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if the gas supplied to the gas gathering pipeline (North Sea) will be priced by an independent tariff board or pursuant to the determination of the British Gas Corporation.

As for other gas, the price of gas transported through a gas-gathering pipeline would be a matter for negotiation between buyer and seller.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will take steps to ensure that any excess profits of the gas and electricity industries are applied in part to home insulation and other energy-saving schemes.

No. However, my right hon. Friend has announced the Government's intention in principle to impose a levy on the British Gas Corporation in respect of gas purchased from the United Kingdom continental shelf under contracts not subject to petroleum revenue tax. This will mean that some of the financial benefits which would electricity users were written off by the British Gas Corporation and the Electricity Council for the years 1975 to 1979; and if he will make a statement.

The domestic gas bad debts written off by the British Gas Corporation in respect of the financial year ended 31 March 1976 and subsequent financial years are listed below. Prior to the financial year 1975–76 there was no separate analysis of gas bad debt in the domestic sector.bad and doubtful debts are published in the Electricity Council's annual statement of accounts and statistics. The figures for the years 1974–75 to 1978–79 are as follows:otherwise accrue to the corporation will be permanently transferred to the Exchequer to the benefit of the nation as a whole. The electricity supply industry is at present a net borrower from the Government.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what is his estimate of the number of redundancies likely in his Department in Carlisle and Cumbria, respectively, as a result of the Government's policy of reducing the number of civil servants.

None. There are no members of the staff of my Department employed in Carlisle or Cumbria.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy how many civil servants of the following grades were in post in his Department on 1 April and how many he expects to be in post in his Department on 1 April 1981, 1 April 1982 and 1 April 1983: permanent secretary, deputy secretary, under-secretary and assistant secretary.

For 1 April 1980 the figures are 2, 4, 15 and 31 respectively. I cannot say at this stage what I expect the numbers to be in each grade in future years. But reductions in the size of the Civil Service will include an appropriate saving in senior posts.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what will be the proportion of profit that will accrue to the Exchequer from any petroleum found as a result of the exploration licences given by him in respect of the Greater Manchester area; and how much will accrue to the company concerned.

Under the terms and conditions of onshore petroleum exploration licences the licensees rights are restricted to searching for petroleum by means of survey work and shallow drilling; these rights do not extend to the production of petroleum.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if, in respect of the licences granted by the Department of Energy in Greater Manchester for petroleum exploration, he will publish in the Official Report detailed information on all the conditions attached to those licences in respect of the parliamentary constituency of Bolton, East.

Model clauses specifying the terms and conditions to be incorporated in onshore petroleum exploration licences are set out in schedule 6 to the Petroleum (Production) Regulations 1976. Copies of these regulations are available in the Library of the House.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy when he will publish his next report on oil and gas development in the United Kingdom.

I have today arranged for the publication of my annual report on the development of the oil and gas resources of the United Kingdom, the "Brown Book", and have placed copies in the Library of the House and the Vote Office stores. The report is a detailed account of developments in 1979.

asked the Attorney-General whether he will seek to extend legal aid to cover representations made on behalf of a mental patient appearing before a mental health tribunal.

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

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will arrange for the Metropolitan and other police forces to have the services and advantages of official OHMS franked envelopes for their official postage.

No. The Metropolitan Police make extensive use of automatic franking arrangements. Elsewhere, this is a matter for individual forces.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his definition of the term subversive as used in his report "Interception of Communication".

Subversive activities are those which threaten the safety or wellbeing of the State, and which are intended to undermine or overthrow Parliamentary democracy by political, industrial or violent means.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners from Wormwood Scrubs, Maidstone, Leicester, Dartmoor and Wandsworth prisons have been housed under the Housing (Homeless Persons) Act 1977 following assistance from the prison welfare department since December 1977.

The information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why instructions from his Department forbid the making of a refund by the National Television Licence Records Office when a person changes from colour to black and white reception; and if he will make a statement.

The grounds on which refunds may be given must be limited if the licensing system is not to become unmanageable.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he accepts the recommendation of the Finer committee on one-parent families that imprisonment as a sanction for maintenance defaulters should be abolished; and, if so, when he will bring forward legislation to implement it.

We are not satisfied that there is an adequate alternative to the courts having the power in the last resort to use the threat of imprisonment as a means of enforcing the payment of maintenance.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why he has been unable to date to give a decision in the case of Mr. A. Ghafoor of Leamington Spa whose mother Mrs. Karim Bibi of Kharachi has applied to visit Great Britain for her grandson's wedding on 5 July and who submitted his request to the Home Office, via the hon. Member for Warwick and Learning-ton, on 28 May.

We were unable to call for a report on this case until further identifying details were received from my hon. Friend on 12 June. We have now done so and I shall write to my hon. Friend as soon as I can.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department under what statutory authority immigration officials may act without a warrant when they suspect someone of being (a) an illegal immigrant and (b) in breach of the immigration laws; and in what circumstances and under what authority they can examine confidential personnel records.

Section 24(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 provides that a con- stable or immigration officer may arrest without warrant anyone who has, or whom he, with reasonable cause, suspects to have, committed or attempted to commit the offences (a) of knowingly entering the United Kingdom in breach of a deportation order or without leave of an immigration officer; and (b) of knowingly remaining beyond the time limited by the leave or failing to observe a condition of the leave.An illegal entrant may also be detained under the authority of an immigration officer, under paragraph 16 of schedule 2 to the Act, pending his removal; and a person liable to be so detained may, under paragraph 17, be arrested without warrant by a constable or by an immigration officer.The Act gives no authority to an immigration officer to examine confidential personnel records in connection with inquiries regarding a person's immigration status, and it is for the holder of the records to decide whether or not the information contained therein should be divulged to the officer making an inquiry.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what proportion of offenders received probation orders for each year since 1960; and if he will break these down into relevant age groups;(2) what proportion of juvenile offenders were given supervision orders for each year since 1960.

Information for 1968–78 on persons sentenced for indictable offences who were given a probation order or supervision order is published in tables 6·10–6·17 of "Criminal Statistics. England and Wales, 1978" (Cmnd. 7670). The power of the courts to make a probation order in relation to juvenile offenders (under 17) was replaced by the power to make a supervision order on 1 January 1971, when section 7(7) of the Children and Young Persons Act 1969 came into force.The available information for the years 1960–67 is given in the following table; this information is not comparable to that for 1968–78 because it includes probation orders given for an offence other than the principal offence and because of the points noted in the footnotes to the table.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will carry out a feasibility study into the possibility of the probation service being given a direct subsidy for each offender it takes out of the prison system.

We are aware of the Californian scheme of this kind but have no plans to introduce it here. The responsibility for placing offenders under supervision in the community rests with the courts and not with the probation service. Funding arrangements for the probation service are shared by central and local government, and already take account of the workload of probation officers.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department for how many people the probation service was responsible in each year since 1970, breaking these down into (a) probation orders, (b) after-care supervision, (c) offenders on community service orders and (d) juveniles on supervision orders and any other categories.

The information available on those supervised by the probation service since 1968 is summarised in table 6·2 of "Statistics of the criminal justice system, England and Wales, 1968–78". Further details are to be found in table 3 of "Probation and after-care statistics, England and Wales 1978" and table 7 of "Statistics on Community Service Orders" (Home Office Statistical Bulletin, issue 3/80). Copies of these pulications are available in the Library of the House.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young offenders at the latest convenient date were sent to borstal without having had any supervision from the probation service; and what are the comparable figures for the previous 10 years.

Information is not available in the form requested. However, of the 5,600 serving sentences of borstal training on 30 April 1980, about 700 are known to have had no previous sentence which would have resulted in a period of pre-or post-custodial supervision, either by the probation service or a local authoority social service; information on the previous convictions of about 1,000 of these trainees is not at present available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many civil servants of the following grades were in post in his Department on 1 April and how many he expects to be in post in his Department on 1 April 1981, 1 April 1982 and 1 April 1983: permanent secretary, deputy secretary, under-secretary and assistant secretary.

The number of staff in post in these grades on 1 April 1980 was as follows:

Permanent under-secretary of State	1
Deputy under-secretary of State	7
Assistant under-secretary of State	23
Assistant secretary	50

I cannot say at this stage what I expect the numbers to be in each grade in future years. But reductions in the size of the civil service will include a proportionate saving in senior posts.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he has now taken or intends taking to reduce the number of persons in custody on remand; and if he will make a statement.

The number of persons in custody on remand in England and Wales depends on (a) the numbers from whom bail is withheld and (b) the length of time spent on remand in custody. As to (a) I would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to a question by my hon. Friend, the Member for Burton (Mr. Lawrence) on 21 June last year. As to (b) I would refer the hon. Member to the answer my right hon. Friend gave to a question by the hon. Member for Ormskirk (Mr. Kilroy-Silk) on 30 April. —[Vol. 968, c. 627–8; Vol. 983, c. 566–7].

asked the Lord Privy Seal what aid has been given in recent years to assist developing countries to establish their own quality control centres in order to monitor the standards of imported drugs.

No requests have recently been received from individual developing countries for assistance of this nature. The World Health Organisation, to which the United Kingdom contributes both financially and by the provision of expertise, is giving increased priority to an action programme on essential drugs. This is designed to increase the capacities of developing countries in this field, including drug procurement and quality control.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what decision he has made about the terms of the Government's aid to Zimbabwe.

Capital aid for immediate post-war reconstruction and technical co-operation will be provided as grants. Capital aid for purposes other than reconstruction will be on loan terms. Such loans will carry 2 per cent. interest, with a seven-year grace period on amortisation and 25 years to final maturity.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the cost to the Exchequer of the abolition of the employer's national insurance contribution in (a) the development areas and (b) manufacturing industry.

I regret that the total cost of employer's National Insurance contributions in the development areas and in manufacturing industry is not readily available. Without this information it is not possible to estimate any cost to the Exchequer if the contributions were varied as suggested.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in view of the difficulties of the confectionery and chocolate industries, he will introduce reduced rates of value added tax for these products, similar to those operated in West Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Republic of Ireland, France and Italy.

No.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many Northern Ireland civil servants have received promotion in the capital taxes office in Belfast since 31 December 1978;(2) how many of Great Britain's civil servants have received promotion in the capital taxes office in Belfast since 31 December 1978;(3) whether the controller of the capital taxes office, Belfast, was formally retired in March; what gratuity he received; and what office he now holds in the capital taxes office.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the estimated full year cost of allowing married person's income tax relief to widows below the age of 60 years who are in employment or self-employed.

The cost is not known precisely but would probably be of the order of £50 million at 1980–81 income levels, on the assumption that widows with children continued to receive the additional personal allowance as well.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the number of redundancies likely in his Department in Carlisle and Cumbria, respectively, as a result of the implementation of the Government's policy of reducing the number of civil servants.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the cost, in terms of lost tax revenue, of the tax concessions made to parents who contribute to the care of their adult sons' and daughters' higher and further full-time education.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many civil servants of the following grades were in post in his Department on 1 April and how many he expects to be in post in his Department on 1 April 1981, 1 April 1982 and 1 April 1983: permanent secretary, deputy secretary, under-secretary and assistant secretary.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, since the present daily attendance allowance paid tax-free to Members of the House of Lords is worth to most of them on a normal tax basis as much as £100 a day and, having regard to the Government's policy of cuts in public expenditure, he will seek to tax these and similar payments.

No.