asked the Lord Privy Seal what further support he intends to give to the international university exchange fund; and what limitations he intends to apply to ensure that funds from United Kingdom resources allocated to this purpose cannot be diverted to the financing of secretarial assistance for United Kingdom citizens.

I have no plans to provide further support to, or through, the international university exchange fund; and therefore the second part of this question does not arise.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the number of unemployed young people aged 18 years and under who have never had a job at the latest available date at each careers office and employment office in the North-West.

The following table gives the numbers of registered unemployed young people aged 18 years and under who, at 11 September, the latest date for which information is readily available, had not been in employment since completing full-time education.Work experience and training opportunities will be available for these young people under the youth opportunities programme, which the Secretary of State announced on 14 February would be expanded this year in order to admit over a quarter of a million young people throughout the country by next March.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many unemployed people in each region of the United Kingdom were in the age groups (a) 16 to 18 years and (b) 19 to 21 years on 21 October 1980.

Information is not 198 available for the precise ages or date 490 specified. The following table gives the numbers of people registered as unemployed in each region at 9 October 1980 362 in the age ranges closest to those specified:ruary would be expanded this year in order to admit over a quarter of a million young people throughout the country by next March.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the total number of employees in Calderdale who during September and October were (a) registered as being on short-time working and (b) included in the temporary short-time working scheme.

Statistics of short-time working are not available below standard regional level. However, in the Calder-dale metropolitan district there were 3,594 employees working short-time under the temporary short-time working compensation (TSTWC) scheme in September 1980. The figures for October are not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he is satisfied with the operation of the Equal Pay Act; and what consideration he has given to amendments to the Act.

I am generally satisfied with the operation of the Act and have no plans at present to amend it.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether the tests at Maplin Sands, Essex, on the behaviour of liquefied gases in the event of a large-scale accidental spillage have been completed, what lessons have been

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many young people under the age of 19 years there are in the city of Manchester who have never had a job; if he will provide separate figures for each careers office and job centre at the latest date for which figures available, and if he will provide comparable figures for the same dates in 1978 and 1979.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the cost to public funds of operating the national dock labour scheme for each of the last 10 years, including the payment of redundancies; how these figures compare per head for each year with the average public cost of redundancy; and how many redundancies there have been each year.

The information requested is as follows:learnt by the Health and Safety Executive; and when these will be communicated to the relevant local authorities and to the hon. Member for Essex, South-East.

I shall be writing to my hon. Friend very shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will consider introducing a reformed retail price index excluding the effect of alcoholic beverage and tobacco taxes.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment when he intends to publish his revised draft codes of practice on the closed shop and picketing.

My right hon. Friend published draft codes of practice on the closed shop and picketing yesterday, and copies are available in the Vote Office

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether the liquefied gas tankers "Methane Progress" and "Methane Princess" are still under survey for the issue of fitness certificates in accordance with the safety requirements of the International Maritime Consultative Organisation; and when such certificates are likely to be issued.

The surveys of the "Methane Progress" and "Methane Princess" are now well advanced and it is expected that certificates of fitness will be issued well inside the recommended date for compliance with the IMCO code.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will circulate in the Official Report a table showing the increase in the volume of United Kingdom exports of manufactures, semi-manufactures and finished manufactures each year since 1970 and his estimate for 1980 to date, together with the corresponding figures for the volume of world trade.

Information on the volume of world trade in semi-manufactures and finished manufactures is not available readily, if at all. The remaining information as is available is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Trade why his Department is preventing expenditure for the development at Manchester airport of a longer runway to enable wide-bodied aircraft movements; and if he will make a statement.

The Greater Manchester council, on behalf of the Manchester International Airport Authority, submitted a bid on 9 October for the extension of Manchester airport's runway to be designated as a project of national or regional importance under the terms of the Local Government, Planning and Land (No. 2) Bill, now before Parliament, and for an appropriate allocation to be made for capital expenditure on this project in 1981–82. This application is being considered alongside similar bids from other local authority airports and I intend to announce a decision at about the same time as the rate support grant settlement is announced.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Northampton, North, Official Report, 30 October, col. 317, what the level of imports and exports to and from the European Community

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what action he is taking in the light of evidence that Quinton Hazell Supreme Holdings, a British-owned company operating in South Africa, now employs twice as many workers paid below the minimum recommended by the EEC and Department of Trade codes as it did in 1979; and what action he is taking to discover if the same trend applies to other companies in South Africa.

None. A report on the recent performance of Quinton Hazell Superite Holdings Ltd. under the volun-

The information is given in the table below. On the final part of the question, lower demand in the United Kingdom has certainly led to a reduction in import growth from the Community, despite exceptional arrivals in the first half of the year of silver and of iron and steel. Our exports to the Community are determined, principally, by the level of demand there, and by our competitive position.tary European code of conduct can be had on application to the Burmah Oil Co. Ltd. The performance of other British companies in South Africa can be judged by inspection of their reports under the code as the become available.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will publish in the Official Report the imports of special steels into the United Kingdom in 1977, 1978, 1979 and 1980 to date, by volume and value, from Germany, Italy, France, Sweden and all other countries, respectively.

This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether the general agreement on tariffs and trade permits trade controls against a country that subsidises fuel prices for products where fuel costs are a significant portion of total costs.

As my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State explained in his answer to my hon. Friend on 30 October, subsidies, other than certain export subsidies, do not contravene the provisions of the general agreement on tariffs and trade; and there is no provision in the GATT under which controls can be placed on imports on the grounds that the fuel costs involved in the production of the goods concerned are kept artificially low.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will circulate a table in the Official Report showing the weights used to calculate the index of competitiveness based on (a) export prices. (b) the International Monetary Fund index of relative normal unit labour costs and (c) the Treasury index of relative normal unit labour costs, together with the weights used for calculating the effective exchange rate.

I have been asked to reply.I refer the hon. Member to the replies I gave him on 22 July [c.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what provision will be made concerning the rights of the National Railway Museum to acquire items following the sale of British Railways subsidiaries.

No special provision is proposed.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects the enterprise zone at Clydebank to be in operation; what are the major causes of the present delays; what work is currently being undertaken to prepare the designated area; what plans he has for more enterprise zones in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

Subject to the enactment of the necessary legislation, I hope that the enterprise zone scheme which is proposed for Clydebank will come into operation on 1 April 1981. There has been no delay in implementing the Government's policy on this matter; following discussions with the local authorities concerned, the boundaries of the proposed zone should be finalised in time for formal invitations for the preparation of the scheme to be issued as soon as the Local Government, Planning and Land (No. 2) Bill has completed its remaining stages.The Government have no plans at present to establish further enterprise zones in Scotland. Because of their experimental nature, only a limited number of zones for the United Kingdom as a whole has been proposed, at least in the first instance.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many deaf-blind children of school age are currently resident in mental subnormality units within hospitals in Scotland.

This information is not collected centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many places there are for deaf-blind children in special schools in Scotland.

Six.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many deaf-blind children there are in Scotland of school age.

Comprehensive information is not available centrally.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what would be the likely financial effects on the United Kingdom for the first five years of Spanish and Portuguese accession to the EEC; and, if no estimate can be made, if Her Majesty's Government will not permit such accessions until proper estimates can be made.

No reliable figures can be given at this stage. Much will depend on changes in the Community's internal arrangements before Portuguese and Spanish accession. British support for such accession remains firm, but in the negotiations both on internal changes and with the applicants the Government will have very much in mind the need to keep down the budgetary costs to the United Kingdom.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what steps have been taken by Her Majesty's Government in the United Nations following the appeal of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front to the United Nations on 6 June, both about the threat of lethal nerve gas being used by Ethiopia on the Eritreans and the continuing occupation of Eritrea, since they unilaterally abrogated the federation set up by the United Nations in 1950.

We have no independent evidence to support the allegations that Ethiopia threatened to use chemical weapons in Eritrea. The Ethiopian Government assured us in August that these allegations were entirely without foundation. Consequently, we do not consider that there are good grounds for raising the matter in the United Nations.Since Eritrea is recognised internationally as an integral part of Ethiopia, there is no case for questioning this in the United Nations.

asked the Attorney-General how many cases involving shoplifting have been referred to the Director of Prosecutions in the last year; and what were the reasons for the reference

[pursuant to his reply, 30 October 1980, c. 329]: In the year ending 30 October 1980, 13 cases involving shoplifting were referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions for his advice for many different reasons. I have written to my hon. Friend with the information about the reasons for referral.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy how many man hours have been lost since construction on the THORP expansion at Windscale began; and to what extent the estimated costs have been revised as a consequence.

Preparatory work only has been started on the site for the thermal oxide reprocessing plant (THORP) at Windscale and to date there have been few hours lost. It has not, therefore, been necessary to revise cost estimates.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy how many companies wish to utilise natural gas liquids derived from the North Sea in United Kingdom facilities; and how he proposes to allocate supplies among existing petrochemical facilities and new projects.

Seven companies have indicated particular interest in using NGLs for petrochemical purposes, but natural gas liquids from the North Sea can also be used for many energy purposes. I have no powers to allocate supplies of natural gas liquids except when an Order in Council under section 3 of the Energy Act 1976 is in force.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if, based on the known availability of North Sea natural gas liquids he will estimate how much ethane crackers and of what capacity the feedstock will accommodate.

Ethane supplies from the United Kingdom continental shelf not included in the British Gas Corporation's specification gas are estimated to increase to some 2 million tons a year at the end of this decade. That would be sufficient to supply the cracker planned for construction at Moss Morren and two others of the same size.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement outlining the nature and extent of his energy conservation programme directed at householders.

The Government believe that the best incentive for householders to use energy efficently is realistic pricing of fuels coupled with a vigorous publicity and advice campaign. We have increased expenditure on publicity by 30 per cent. in real terms in the current financial year.My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment continues to make grants available through the local authorities to assist householders, in both the public and private sectors, with the costs of loft insulation, and is also proposing to increase the standards under the building regulations for thermal insulation of new dwellings.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether he will make more information available about help towards winter heating costs.

Yes. I have today published a quick guide to the various forms of help and advice available on heating costs, ranging from direct financial assistance with fuel bills for those most in need to easy payment schemes and insulation grants available to everyone.Copies of the guide have been placed in the House Library, and will be made available to the public through the coal, gas and electricity industries, citizens advice bureaux, and other organisations.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is satisfied that progress in improving race relations and equality of opportunity will not be adversely affected by his demand on 15 July to the Commission for Racial Equality for a significant reduction in the commission's staff.

The commission, in common with Government Departments and other fringe bodies, has been required to reduce its staff complement in order to accommodate the cost of the 1980 Civil Service pay settlement within the published limits. I have no doubt that the commission, in implementing this requirement, will determine its priorities so as to ensure that its resources are used to the maximum effect.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he plans to have with the Fire Brigades Union when he has received its comments on the Government's consultative document on the future of the fire service.

Our intention is to provide opportunities for full discussion of the responses to the consultative document on future fire policy in and through the machinery of the Central Fire Brigades Advisory Councils, which exist to advise my right hon. Friend and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland on fire service matters, and on which the Fire Brigades Union is represented.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his estimate of the number of persons now serving terms of imprisonment in the United Kingdom who are of (a) foreign, (b) Commonwealth and (c) Republic of Ireland origin.

The information available relating to persons serving sentences of imprisonment in prison department establishments in England and Wales is given in the following table. Questions relating to penal establishments in Scotland and Northern Ireland should be addressed respectively to my hon. Friends the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the estimated cost of an open channel handheld set on 928 MHz as compared to a similar set operating on 41 MHz.

We have no information on which to base a precise estimate. We recognise that 928 MHz equipment would be more expensive, but equipment cost is only one factor in determining the choice of frequency for open channel radio.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what reply he has sent to the letter from the chairman of the National Council for Civil Defence about the use of open channel radio in a post-nuclear attack period.

The chairman of the National Council for Civil Defence was told that no account had yet been taken of the possible contribution of open channel radio to wartime communica- tions. We shall, however, be considering the matter.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many replies he has received about the consultative document on open channel radio in favour of frequencies of 900, 41, 230 and 27 MHz, respectively.

A full analysis of the responses to date to the discussion document on open channel radio is not available, but a large majority favour 27 MHz.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to bring forward proposals for the repeal of the Vagrancy Act 1824.

The Government's intentions with regard to the suspected person offence in section 4 of the Act will be made known early next Session.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will obtain from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, and publish in the Official Report, the number of police officers who were employed to police the march organised by an organisation calling itself the British Movement in Welling on Sunday, 19 October, and an estimate of the cost of this policing exercise to public funds.

2,450; £150,000.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he is satisfied that the ending of the corset controls on banking assets in July has now worked through the measured money supply figures.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he considers the most recent figures for sterling M3 accurately record the overall growth of money supply.

The extent of distortions caused by the corset imposed by the right hon. Member for Leeds, East (Mr. Healey) in 1978 cannot be measured with precision. The money supply figures for banking July and August were certainly significantly affected by reintermediation after the ending of the corset. This may have accounted for between 4 and 6 per cent. of the 8 per cent. recorded growth and thus the underlying monetary growth was significantly less than the recorded figures. The figures for banking September and October were probably less affected, but we still cannot be absolutely sure that all the distortions have now worked themselves through.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the money supply is now on target.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he is satisfied with the rate of growth of the money supply.

Not yet. But there are a number of reasons for expecting the rate of growth to be much lower in the second half of the year.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he is satisfied with the progress made in controlling the money supply; and when he expects his policy in this respect to result in reductions in interest rates.

I refer the hon. Member to my earlier replies to the Members for Harlow (Mr. Newens) and for Bromsgrove and Redditch (Mr. Miller).

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, in view the Government's ratification of the teachers' pay increase without making additional resources available to education authorities, he will now take steps to remove the financial responsibility for some sections of the educational service from the ratepayers.

There were no special features in this year's pay settlement for teachers which would justify the change of responsibility between central and local government which the hon. Member suggests.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how close total taxation revenue for the current year to date is to his Budget forecast.

Total taxation receipts in the six months to 30 September were £27,309 million compared with a Budget forecast for the financial year as a whole of £61,780 million. In total, tax receipts of central Government are expected to be higher in the second half of the year than the first and the total for the year close to the Budget forecast.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from chambers of commerce and trade unions regarding the high rate of interest.

I have received a number of representations from chambers of commerce about the current level of interest rates. The Trades Union Congress has also made its views known to me.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what have been the major effects on the United Kingdom economy arising from the lifting of exchange controls.

The dismantling of exchange controls during 1979 has led to substantial capital outflows from the United Kingdom. These are estimated to have amounted to about £2 billion during the second half of 1979. More recent balance of payments figures suggest that these outflows continued in the first half of 1980, though it is not possible to make any precise estimates of their magnitude. So far, however, these outflows have been more than offset by non-resident inflows.The net effect of the abolition of exchange controls on the exchange rate has probably been to cause the subsequent appreciation in the rate to be less than would otherwise have occurred. There may also have been a slight downward influence on the money supply and on short-term interest rates.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the net payment by the United Kingdom to the EEC budget in the current year to date.

I refer the right hon. Member to the reply I gave to his question of 29 October 1980.—[991, c. 299.]

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what repayments he now expects to receive from the European Economic Community in the financial years 1980–81 and 1981–82, respectively.

I refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend the Lord Privy Seal's reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Mr. Carlisle) on 27 October.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the increase in prices over the preceding 12 months in each of the last three months for which figures are available.

The increase in prices, as recorded by the retail price index, for each of the last three months is: July 1980 16·9 per cent.; August 1980 16·3 per cent.; and September 1980 15·9 per cent.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many persons are employed in the Directorate-General of Internal Audit in his Department; what is the aggregate cost to public funds of this unit; what was the aggregate cost of travel and subsistence allowances drawn by members of this unit in the latest period of 12 months for which figures are available; how many of those employed in this unit have professional qualifications to conduct an audit; and if he will specify the respective responsibilities of this unit and of the Exchequer and Audit Department in respect of his Department.

The current strength of the Directorate-General of Internal Audit is 250 which is less than half the number employed on internal audit when the unit was set up in 1972. Its aggregate cost to public funds is approximately £3·8 million per annum. In the 12 months ending 30 September 1980 expenditure on travel and subsistence came to £368,000. There are 23 professionally qualified accountants in the unit of whom 15 belong to accountancy bodies whose members are qualified by law to audit company accounts. The unit is responsible for providing on behalf of my Department's Accounting Officers an objective review of the systems of control established to ensure the propriety, security, completeness and accuracy of departmental activities and an independent examination of the management of public funds and other departmental resources for which the accounting officers are ultimately responsible. The responsibilities of the Exchequer and Audit Department to the House of Commons are set out in the various Exchequer and Audit Departments Acts and include the external audit of the Ministry of Defence as of all other Government Departments. It is normal practice in large organisations in both the private and the public sectors to have arrangements for internal audit as well as for external audit.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence on what date his Department awarded its latest contract in Bath to Home Counties Cleaning Group Services Limited; and on what date the contract terminates.

Two separate contracts for cleaning Ministry of Defence offices on the Foxhill site and at the Empire Hotel in Bath, were awarded to Home Counties Cleaning (Western) Limited on 27 May 1980. They cover the period from 29 September 1980 to 26 September 1983.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the current cost of the Sting Ray lightweight torpedo project at September 1979 prices; when he expects the torpedo to be in production; and how many have been produced and tested since the project commenced in 1969.

At September 1979 prices the total estimated cost of development and production of the Sting Ray torpedo is £920 million. The development programme is proceeding on schedule and several hundred tests have been carried out since 1969 using prototype torpedoes or their component parts. It is not customary on security grounds to give details of weapons production, but the weapon is due to enter service in the early 1980s.