asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether he will cause investigation to be made into the identity of fares on the alternative car ferry services between Stranraer or Cairnryan and Larne.

This is for the Director General of Fair Trading to consider under the relevant competition legislation. I understand that he is looking into this matter.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether it is his intention to introduce any legislation during the current Session to implement any of the recommendations of the Whitford committee report on copyright law.

It is not the Government's intention to introduce any such legislation during the current Session as further public debate on many of the issues dealt with by the Whitford report is considered to be necessary. The next step will, therefore, be the publication of a Green Paper.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade how many complaints he has received in respect of damage caused by aerial crop spraying; and if he is satisfied that current legislation is adequate to protect people from accidental pollution.

Aerial crop spraying is the concern of the Civil Aviation Authority and I am satisfied that the authority's arrangements for controlling this kind of activity are adequate. I am asking the authority's chairman to write to the hon. Member with the information he seeks and an explanation of how the authority's control of aerial crop spraying operates.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the number of vessels and the country of origin which have been re-registered as British vessels in the years 1977, 1978 and 1979; and the first six months of 1980.

[pursuant to his reply, 24 November 1980]: I regret that this information is not readily available and could be assembled only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment, further to his reply dated 3 November 1980 to a written question from the hon. Member for Grimsby concerning redundancies notified to him in September, if he will publish in the Official Report information regarding the legal obligations on employers to notify him of impending redundancies; whether and, if so, when the employers concerned are required to inform their workers; what obligations are imposed on him by statute regarding.' confidentiality; and whether those obligations remain when the workers concerned have been informed that they are to be made redundant.

An employer proposing to make redundancies is required by statute to notify my Department, where 10 or more workers are to be made redundant, within certain time limits. Full details of the notification provisions are contained in section 100 of the Employment Protection Act 1975.With regard to any obligation to inform the workers of a proposed redundancy, the employer is required by statute to consult the recognised independent trade union for the category of workers to be made redundant, within certain time limits. Full details of the consultation provisions are contained in section 99 of the Employment Protection Act 1975.If there is no recognised union, the employer is under no obligation to consult anyone about the proposed redundancy. However, he must still notify the Department. The employees will, of course, be entitled to their individual periods of notice under their contracts of employment subject to the minimum laid down in the Employment (Consolidation) Act 1978.There is no obligation imposed on the Secretary of State by statute as regards confidentiality. However, information given by employers to my Department under the redundancy handling provisions is given in confidence. Details would not be divulged by my Department even after the workers concerned had been informed that they were to be made redundant.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment, further to his reply dated 3 November 1980 to a written question from the hon. Member for Grimsby, if he will publish in the Official Report details concerning those firms which have already made public their intentions as disclosed to the Department.

My Department does not keep records of those firms which have made public their intention to declare redundancies.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the average increase in income per head for (a) the industrial worker and (b) the agricultural worker since 1975, taking 1975 as a base index of 100; and if he will express these figures (a) nationally and (b) for East Anglia.

The details in the following table relate to average weekly earnings each April from the new earnings survey.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what measures are planned under the Government youth opportunities programme for job creation for young people in East Anglia during 1981.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how much money has been expended on employment training schemes and job creation in the parliamentary constituency of the Isle of Ely in 1979–80; and what were the amounts expended in 1977 and 1978.

I am informed by the special programmes division of the Manpower Services Commission (MSC), which administers the youth opportunities programme (YOP) and the special temporary employment programme (STEP), that the expenditure on these programmes is monitored on an area office basis. Therefore, specific figures for the Isle of Ely are not available.However, for the Ipswich area—which includes the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Essex—the following expenditure applies to the current programmes:

Financial Year:	1978/79	1979/80
YOP:	£1,429,000	£3,256,000
STEP:	£396,000	£1,142,000

Expenditure figures for the job creation programme and work experience programme—the forerunners of YOP and STEP—in 1977 and 1978 can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.In addition, the Manpower Services Commission provides training under its training opportunity scheme (TOPS) for adults who may be employed or unemployed at time of application. Information on the cost of this training is not available by parliamentary constituencies and cannot be given for the Isle of Ely. The following table

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many persons of 18 years of age and under there are in the parliamentary constituency of the Isle of Ely who have never had a job; and if he will provide comparable figures for 1977, 1978 and 1979.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment under what conditions small businesses may claim on the temporary short-time working scheme.

Any employer genuinely intending to make 10 or more workers redundant, and who has notified the Department of Employment of those redundancies in accordance with the provisions of the Employment Protection Act 1975 and whose business is not insolvent or about to become insolvent, may apply for compensation under the temporary short-time working compensation scheme.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will hold discussions in the early future with the Greater London Council and representatives of local authorities in the Greater London area with a view to tightening up precautionary measures to control accidental leakages of gaseous and similar harmful chemical substances from industrial and chemical installations sited close to residential areas.

The Health and Safety Executive is responsible for the enforcement of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act in the majority of premises containing hazardous chemicals, although local authorities have similar duties in some cases. In health and safety matters close liaison is already maintained at a number of levels between the executive, the GLC and other local authorities in the Greater London area. The formal link for this liaison is with the senior area director of the Health and Safety Executive, who is available to meet representatives of the GLC and other local authorities to discuss these matters should they wish. Bearing in mind the existing arrangements, my right hon. Friend does not propose to initiate discussions with local authorities on precautionary measures to control accidental leakage of harmful chemical substances at this time.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service how many civil servants are still in post in the following categories: (a) women over 55 years of age and (b) men over 60 years of age; and how many civil servants are employed over the age of 65, 70, 75 and 80 years of age respectively.

At 1 October 1980 there were 31,600 female civil servants in post aged between 55 and 60 and 23,000 male and 10,800 female civil servants aged between 60 and 65 years. The latest accurate information for those aged 65 years and over relates to 1 January 1980, when there were 806 civil servants in post at or above that age. A detailed breakdown by five-year age bands for these staff is not available. These figures are for non-industrial civil servants. There are no corresponding figures for industrial civil servants centrally available.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he intends to publish the revised guidelines for the Northern Ireland Development Agency.

Copies of the new draft guidelines for the agency have today been placed in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of thefts of less than £50 value are sent for trial at the Crown courts; and what is his best estimate of the inclusive costs of bringing these cases for trial.

The information requested is not collected centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the United Kingdom is a signatory to a European agreement to use citizens band radio on the 27 MHz channel; and if he will make a statement.

No. The United Kingdom is a member of CEPT—European Conference of Post and Telecommunications Administrations—which has recommended a common standard for those countries which have introduced two-way low-power personal radio systems at 27 MHz. But this recommendation has no effect on member States, such as the United Kingdom, where citizens band radio at 27 MHz is illegal.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will circulate in the Official Report a list showing the substantive legislation within his sphere of responsibility which has been enacted under section 2 of the European Communities Act and which would cease to have effect if that section were to be repealed.

The only statutory instrument made under section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972 for which our Department has responsibility is the Licensing Act 1964 (Amendment) Regulations 1979 (SI 1979/1476). If the section were repealed, these regulations would fall. We have no intention of repealing it.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether members of the board of visitors of Strangeways prison, Manchester, exercise their right to speak to prisoners out of the hearing of a member of the prison staff.

It is a matter for individual members of boards of visitors to decide when to exercise the right, conferred on them by rule 96(2) of the Prison Rules 1964, to interview prisoners out of the sight and hearing of officers. I understand from the chairman of the board of visitors of Manchester prison that members of the board exercise this right whenever they consider it right to do so.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why North Wales has no civil defence headquarters.

There are plans for a sub-regional headquarters in North Wales and, following the home defence review, funds have been allocated for the provision of accommodation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is satisfied that Brecon is a suitable headquarters for the civil defence network in Wales.

We have no plans for such a headquarters in Brecon.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the cost of civil defence operations in East Anglia in the years 1977, 1978 and 1979.

Civil defence grant was paid on the following aggregate expenditure by the county councils of Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk in the financial years shown:

1977–78	£140,000
1978–79	£166,000
1979–80	£206,000

Civil defence expenditure by central government attributable to this area cannot be identified without disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has in respect of expenditure on civil defence in East Anglia for 1981.

In my right hon. Friend's statement to the House on 7 August on the home defence review, he announced the Government's intention to double the money available for home defence at local level. Guidance will soon be issued to local authorities about the allocation of the additional funds being made available in 1981–82 and subsequent years.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action has now been taken to give effect to the recommendations he approved after receiving the report of the inquiry into the fire at the Woolworth's store in Piccadilly, Manchester in May 1979; and if he will make a statement.

The principal recommendation made in the report of the sub-committee of the Central Fire Brigades Advisory Council was that suitable regulations should be made under section 12 of the Fire Precautions Act 1971 to control the display in shops and department stores of polyurethane foam-filled furniture. The preparation of such regulations depends in the first instance on further research to establish the criteria which should govern the application and content of the regulations. A programme of research for this purpose is being undertaken by the fire research station of the Department of the Environment. Other recommendations in the report relating to existing legislation and guides as to standards are still under consideration. A seminar was held by our Department on 23 September to bring the subcommittee's recommendations to the notice of the retail trade.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether it is his intention to introduce any legislation during the current Session to implement the recommendations of the Williams committee on the law relating to obscene publications.

No. We are studying the recommendations in the light of the wide range of views expressed by the bodies we consulted and by others who have commented on them.

asked the Prime Minister, further to her reply dated 26 March, Official Report, column 567, to the hon. Member for Grimsby concerning the raids by staff of the Commission of the European Economic Community on the premises of British companies, whether the Government will introduce legislation giving Government Departments, including in particular the Inland Revenue, similar powers where breaches of rules and regulations are suspected.

Rights of entry to business premises, similar to those conferred on Commission officials for the purposes of investigating breaches of the Community's competition rules, are already conferred on a number of United Kingdom Government Departments for the purposes of specific enactments. The question whether any new rights need to be conferred on Government Departments can be decided only on an individual basis, taking into account the problems of enforcing any particular enactment. A committee under Lord Keith is currently considering the enforcement powers of the Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise.

asked the Prime Minister what Royal Commissions and departmental advisory bodies, including independent inquiry boards, have been set up since 3 May 1979; and if she will list their chairmen and appointees.

Following is the information, as at 21 November.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has any plans to meet representatives of the National Farmers Union of Scotland to discuss the problems of the hill livestock sector.

My noble Friend the Minister of State and I discussed these matters with representatives of the National Farmers Union of Scotland on 29 October.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many pensioners' houses are protected under the Tenants Rights Etc. (Scotland) Amendment Act 1980 in the constituencies of Edinburgh, Pentlands and Berwick and East Lothian.

The main category of houses affected by the Act is amenity housing, for which the latest available estimates by local authorities are eight in Berwickshire, none in East Lothian and 165 in Edinburgh. Estimates are not available for parliamentary constituencies. An unknown number of other houses adapted for the elderly are likely to come under the provisions of the Act.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the Government's proposals for legislation regarding Scottish local government.

My right hon. Friend is proposing to introduce tomorrow a Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Bill which will include measures on rate support grant and other local government finance matters. It will also provide for the relaxation of a number of controls over local government and for the abolition of certain non-departmental public bodies.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received about his proposals to reduce the number of colleges of education in Scotland.

Following his announcement of 6 August, my right hon. Friend has received 317 separate representations, many of common origin.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a range of estimates for the cost and savings to public funds involved in his intention to close Hamilton college of education and Callendar Park college of education and merge Craiglockhart college of education.

I expect the reduction in the number of colleges to produce savings in staffing, administration and accommodation costs and in a closer correlation between the demand for trained teachers and the economical use of college resources. Detailed figures must depend on the outcome of the consultations on closures.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will reconsider his decision to close Callander Park, Hamilton and Craiglockhart colleges of education.

My right hon. Friend concluded that Hamilton and Callendar Park colleges should be closed and that it would be desirable for Craiglockhart to cease to operate as a separate entity. He does not propose to change these decisions.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is satisfied that those institutions licensed to perform abortions are strictly observing the terms of the abortion laws; and if he will make a statement.

I have no knowledge of any breaches of the law. If the hon. Member believes there are such breaches, he will no doubt inform the appropriate authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects the North Ayrshire district general hospital to open; and if he will make a statement.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is satisfied with the rate of progress of work being carried out to replace the ventilation system at the new North Ayrshire district general hospital.

The remedial works of the North Ayrshire district general hospital are making good progress. A phased handover programme of the new buildings to the hospital authority has been agreed with the contractor and has already commenced. The first patients are expected to be admitted in the autumn of 1982.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has, or whether any submissions have been made to him, to close part of the Moray Firth to vessels engaged in fishing.

I have no plans nor have I received submissions to close any part of the Moray Firth to fishing boats.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects that work on site will begin for the Torness nuclear power station.

Preliminary civil engineering work began on site in February 1979 and construction work was started in August 1980.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the unemployment situation in Scotland.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the latest Scottish unemployment figures and announce what action he proposes to take to reduce the number of unemployed people in Scotland.

On 13 November, seasonally adjusted unemployment in Scotland was 238,800—10·6 per cent. I share hon. Members' concern about the upward trend in unemployment in Scotland. The only sound solution is to control inflation, and there are signs that our policies to this end are taking effect. At the same time, we are taking steps to alleviate the worst effects of unemployment—particularly among young people—through the special employment measures, which are being substantially expanded in 1981–82.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a further statement on the Scottish Development Agency's role in attracting inward investment to Scotland.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Aberdeenshire, East (Mr. McQuarrie) on 12 November.—[Vol. 992, c. 199.]

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will now arrange to have an urgent meeting with Scottish local authorities to discuss the proposed changes in regional development status in view of the drastically changed situation in many of the Scottish local authority areas, particularly the Grampian region.

While I am always ready to meet local authorities, I do not consider that a discussion along the lines proposed would be helpful at this juncture. I have been fully involved in the consideration of the representations made by Scottish local authorities against changes in their assisted area status and I continue to keep a close watch on the situation, bearing in mind that the Government's aim in their regional policy is to concentrate the available aid on those areas suffering the most severe difficulties.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimate he has made of the reductions in the number of people employed in the National Health Service in Scotland over the last six months.

Staffing data for the last six months are not yet available. In the six-month period from September 1979 to March 1980, there was an increase of 750—whole-time equivalent—in the number of people employed in the National Health Service in Scotland. Almost all of them were nurses and midwives. The figure does not include doctors and dentists.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the level of hill livestock compensatory amounts that will be paid to Scottish hill farmers under the less favoured areas directive of the European Economic Community in 1981; and what is the permissible limit under this directive.

My right hon. Friends and I are considering the outcome of the review of the economic situation in hill farming in the United Kingdom which has been carried out by our Departments in consultation with the National Farmers Unions; we hope to make an announcement about the rates for 1981 very soon. The maximum amounts payable are £60 per cow and £9 per ewe, subject to an overall maximum payment of £60 per hectare.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has considered the findings of the fatal accident inquiry into the death of Michael Shirkey while a patient at the State mental hospital at Carstairs; if he will hold an internal review of the arrangements under which young people are held in institutions for the adult criminally insane; if he will establish separate facilities for psychiatrically disturbed youngsters in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

I understand that the sheriff made a formal determination of death caused by bilateral pneumonia, with no finding of negligence on the part of either medical or nursing staff, and that he recommended that consideration be given to having certain equipment at the hospital. The transcript of evidence giving the sheriff's summing-up in full is, however, not yet available. This will be studied by the committee of management of the State hospital and myself as soon as it is received. The equipment recommended— a special thermometer and thermal blanket—is meanwhile being obtained.As regards the accommodation available in Scotland for holding psychiatrically disturbed young persons, I propose to review the situation in the light of reports on psychiatric services which are at present being prepared for the Scottish Health Service Planning Council by the programme planning group on mental disorder.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he will take to ensure the compliance by Dundee district council with the provisions for the sale of council houses in the Tenants' Rights Etc. (Scotland) Act 1980.

If Dundee district council, which is, I understand, due to discuss the question shortly, was unwise enough to decide not to comply with the provisions of the Act, that would be a very serious matter. My right hon. Friend would then feel obliged to decide urgently whether he should use the powers available to him in respect of an apparent default by a local authority in respect of its statutory duties.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he now expects to be able to lay before Parliament proposals for the introduction of a road equivalent tariff to the Scottish Islands.

Replies to our consultative paper on "Sea Transport to the Scottish Islands" indicated a wide range of views on road equivalent tariffs as a basis for ferry charges. These are being considered and my right hon. Friend hopes to announce his conclusions early in 1981.