asked the Secretary of State for Employment what has been his Department's expenditure, in each region of the United Kingdom on the employment transfer scheme, for the last quarter for which figures are available; and what were the figures for each of the eight previous quartets.

I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission, which is responsible for the employment transfer scheme, that the information is not available. However, the table below gives the total expenditure on the employment transfer scheme during the period 1 April 1980 to 30 September 1980 for the whole of Great Britain.

Quarter ended	Expenditure during the quarter
30 June 1978	£2,884,183
30 September 1978	£2,565,201
31 December 1978	£2,442,426
31 March 1979	£2,072,364
30 June 1979	£2,091,339
30 September 1979	£1,991,250
31 December 1979	£1,538,800
31 March 1980	£1,377,510
30 June 1980	£1,145,329
30 September 1980	£1,032,024

This decrease in expenditure is the result of a number of major changes made to the scheme in July 1978, January 1979 and July 1979 which were designed to make tie scheme more cost effective and to reduce ETS spending as a contribution to the Government's expenditure cuts.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what was the number employed on unemployment benefit work in his Department in Dundee (a) in May 1979 and (b) at the latest available date.

The number of staff engaged on unemployment benefit work in the two Dundee offices was 96 on 1 May 1979 and 117 on 1 November 1980.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what was the total expenditure by his Department in 1979–80 and the estimated expenditure in 1980–81 on fees and commission to any outside bodies providing advice to or acting es agents for his Department in furtherance of the policy of privatisation of the assets of his Department or of nationalised industries or other public bodies.

Nil.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment by what percentage unemployment has increased since May 1979 in the Keighley travel-to-work area.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he intends to extend the temporary short-time working scheme to the original period of 12 months; and if he will state the estimated number of jobs such action would save.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many redundancies have been notified to his Department for the Consett travel-to-work area in each month since and including June 1980

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what action he is taking to ensure that Welsh apprentices who are involved in redundancy are enabled to continue their training; and whether he has information on the number of apprenticeships in Wales which have been terminated, and in which trades because of redundancy.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the monthly unemployment figures for the United Kingdom and Scotland respectively, on both a crude and seasonally adjusted basis, for each month from January 1972 to date.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment, further to the reply to the hon. Member for Norfolk, North, Official Report, 6 August, col. 116, if he will now estimate the net costs of employing all the unemployed, assuming a wage of £65 a week.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment, further to his reply to the hon. Member for Norfolk, North, Official Report, 9 June, col. 165, if he will now estimate the figures assuming a national minimum wage of £1·65 an hour.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what was the number of employees in the Calderdale metropolitan district working short time under the temporary short-time working scheme during October 1980.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what currently is the total number of youth opportunities programme and special temporary employment programme placings in the development and special development areas;(2) whether statistics are available in his Department as to the allocation of special temporary employment programme and youth opportunities programme placings in travel-to-work areas.

November each year	Wolverhampton travel-to-work area		West Midlands region
	Number	Percentage rate	Number	Percentage rate
1971	5,915	4·2	80,485	3·5
1972	5,366	3·8	70,187	3·1
1973	2,490	1·8	38,976	1·7
1974	*	*	*	*
1975	8,651	6·3	119,489	5·2
1976	*	*	126,800†	5·5†
1977	8,572	6·1	131,696	5·7
1978	8,916	6·1	123,986	5·3
1979	9,838	6·8	127,573	5·5
1980 (provisional)	16,910	11·6	234,391	10·0
*Not available
†Estimated

asked the Secretary of State for Employmment what is the number of job vacancies on Merseyside at the latest date; and what they were in May 1979.

[pursuant to his reply, 28 November 1980]: At 7 November 1980, the provisional numbers of notified vacancies remaining unfilled at employment offices and careers offices in the Merseyside special development area were 1,890 and 14, respectively. The corresponding figures at 4 May 1979 were 4,019 and 152. The figures are not adjusted for seasonal influences, which normally lead to vacancies being higher in May than in November.Vacancies notified to employment offices are estimated to be about one-third of all vacancies in the country as a whole. Because of possible duplication the figures for employment offices and careers offices should not be added together.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether it is Government policy to ensure that no craft apprentice should be prevented from finishing his training as a result of redundancy; whether any policy announcement on this matter has been made; and, if so, when it was made.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what have been the total registered unemployed and what percentage this represents in the Wolverhampton area and the West Midlands area for each of the past 10 years.

[pursuant to his reply, 25 November 1980]: The following table gives the numbers registered as unemployed and the percentage rates of unemployment in the Wolverhampton travel-to-work area and in the West Midlands region at November 1980 and, where available, at November each year from 1971.

asked the Prime Minister how many of the replies given to written parliamentary questions during the week commencing 10 November provided information additional to that already available from sources already provided by Her Majesty's Government.

While some two-thirds of my own written answers to substantive questions in the week concerned provided new information, I have much sympathy with the point made by my hon. Friend.

asked the Prime Minister what was the total expenditure by her Department in 1979–80 and the estimated expenditure in 1980–81 on fees and commission to any outside bodies providing advice to or acting as agents for her Department in furtherance of the policy of privatisation of the assets of her Department or of nationalised industries or other public bodies and in the disposal of assets by other Departments or other public bodies.

None.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will make a statement on aid to be given to Zimbabwe in the near future.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what development aid is being given to Zimbabwe curing the current year.

Out of the £75 million pledged over t tree years we have made grants of I million for refugee rehabilitation, £7 million for reconstruction and £500,000 fir joint projects with voluntary agencies, have provided technical co-operation of various kinds and are now negotiating an additional £5 million grant for reconstruction and loans for land resettlement and for the purchase of essential British equipment.Outside it we are spending this year over £5 million on cantinuing awards under the pre-independence training programme, have agreed a loan towards the cost of railway electrification and, separately from the aid programme, have a continuing programme of military assistance.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what is the cost per United Kingdom resident in the fiscal year 1980–81 of expenditure for the purposes of overseas development.

A little over £17.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what further representations have been received to increase expenditure in the aid programme.

The Government continue to receive a number of representations calling for an increase in the aid programme.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what further cuts have been made in his Department's projected overseas development expenditure.

The aid programme for 1981–82 is to be reduced by about £12 million in 1980 survey prices.

asked the Lord Privy Seal how the number of overseas students studying at United Kingdom universities and supported by him compares with the academic year 1979–80.

Al the start of the present academic year, there were about 5,200 students supported by aid funds on degree or post-degree courses in the United Kingdom, compared to about 6,200 at the same time in the previous academic year.

asked the Lord Privy Seal how many British aid projects in the West Indies involve the building of luxury hotels; and on what criterion such projects are approved.

Aid funds are not being used for the building of hotels. In a number of cases they are used to finance physical infrastructure which helps the development of tourism, and the criterion is the benefit to the social and economic development of the countries in question.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will make a statement on the facilities provided to enable students from Zimbabwe to continue their education in the United Kingdom.

:Zimbabwean students who were studying in this country at the time of independence on awards made under our training programme will continue to receive support until the completion of the courses for which their awards were given. New awards may be financed, at the request of the Zimbabwe Government, from the £75 million allocated to Zimbabwe at independence.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what action is being taken by his Department to increase the amount of fertiliser aid to the poorest countries.

None. It is for individual recipient countries to decide whether or not to ask for aid in the form of fertilisers. We have been providing a significant amount of fertilisers in this way and also helping to set up fertiliser factories.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether he will make a statement on the future British aid programme for Jamaica.

I would refer the hon Member to the reply given on 27 November to the hon. Member for Kingston-upon-Hull, Central (Mr. McNamara).—[Vol. 994.]

asked the Lord Privy Seal what is his policy towards ensuring that the recipients of overseas aid in academic institutions overseas are selected on academic rather than political criteria.

Our policy is to ensure that all aid-funded students are academically acceptable and have the necessary potential to benefit from the proposed training. This includes those students on training courses in developing countries other than their own, and the very exceptional cases where we finance students in their country of origin.

asked the Lord Privy Seal which countries have sent, respectively, police, anti-terrorist and security personnel to the United Kingdom for training as part of the overseas aid programme since 1975; in respect of these categories how many persons from each of these countries received training during each year since 1975; and what areas of activity this technical assistance or training covered.

Since 1976 the following numbers of overseas police officers have been trained in the United Kingdom under the aid programme:

1976	103
1977	87
1978	65
1979	92

The training has included general command and specialised training for instructors, CID, photography/ fingerprinting, fraud, traffic control, driving, dog handling and equitation. Anti-terrorist and security personnel are not trained under the aid programme.Figures for 1975 and 1980 and individual country numbers are not readily available but I will write to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what consideration is being given to Glasgow as one of the centres in the United Kingdom for the installation of district heating and combined heat and power schemes.

£ million
	National Coal Board	Electricity supply industry (England & Wales)	British Gas Corporation
1970–71	11·1	—	—
1971–72	110·3	—	—
1972–73	15·4	—	—
1973–74	260·8	269·3	74·9
1974–75	68·2	262·0	—
1975–76	32·4	66·1	23·6
1976–77	54·5	9·2	5·4
1977–78	75·0	7·8	—
1978–79	172·0	5·3	—
1979–80	251·1	5·5	—

NOTES:1. Grants to the National Coal Board cover a number of operating and social grants. Grants to the electricity supply industry and British Gas Corporation are compensation for price restraint and for accelerated investment.2. The electricity supply industry in Scotland is the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Scotland.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will make representations to the South African Government against the requirement for British firms to organise all-white military reserve units to protect their plants in South Africa.

To the best of our knowledge, no such requirement has been placed on British firms in South Africa.

My hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State announced on 2 April a programme of work to test the feasibility of combined district heating and power generation in specific locations. Glasgow is one of the 19 areas where the local authority is participating in this programme, which is progressing well.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what was the total expenditure by his Department in 1979–80 and the estimated expenditure in 1980–81 on fees and commission to any outside bodies providing advice to or acting as agents for his Department in furtherance of the policy of privatisation of the assets of his Department or of nationalised industries or other public bodies.

Nil in 1979–80 and an estimated £100,000 in 1980–81.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will publish a letter showing the sums of debt written off, interest forgone, and additional sums given to the National Coal Board, British Gas, and the electricity authorities in each of the last 10 years.

The only incidence of debt written off or interest forgone in any of the three industries since 1970–71 has been the write-off of £449.6 million in respect of the National Coal Board for 1972–73. Government grants to the industries (excluding regional development grants) for the period 1970–71 to 1979–80 were as follows:

asked the Lord Privy Seal what positive steps Her Majesty's Government would be prepared to take in promoting negotiations for an exercising of self-determination in East Timor.

asked the Lord Privy Seal, in view of the Portuguese Government's announced intention to commence consultations with concerned Governments, including members of the EEC on the future of East Timor, what positive steps Her Majesty's Government would be prepared to take in promoting negotiations for an exercising of self-determination in East Timor.

We support the principle of self-determination and stand ready to play a part in resolving the problems of East Timor if we can usefully do so. This is, however, primarily a matter for the Governments of Portugal and Indonesia, and we see at present no scope for any initiative by Britain.

asked the Lord Privy Seal, in view the situation in East Timor and the restrictions placed by the Indonesian Government on the distribution of relief aid, including their refusal to allow access to British aid agencies such as Oxfam to enter East Timor, what representations Her Majesty's Government have made to the Indonesian Government that there should be effective monitoring of aid distribution by independent observers.

asked the Lord Privy Seal, in view of the situation in East Timor and the restrictions placed by the Indonesian Government on the distribution of relief aid, including their refusal to allow access to British aid agencies such as Oxfam to enter East Timor, what representations Her Majesty's Government have made to the Indonesian Government that there should be effective monitoring of aid distribution by independent observers.

Supervision of international aid in East Timor has been undertaken by the International committee of the Red Cross. The international committee has reported that the situation has improved for the people of tie territory, and has expressed satisfaction at the cooperation shown by the Indonesian authorities.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether Her Majesty's Government will undertake that no military supplies of any kind will be permitted to be exported to Indonesia until satisfactory arrangements have been made for a genuine act of self-determination in East Timor.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether Her Majesty's Government will undertake that no military s applies of any kind will be permitted to be exported to Indonesia until satisfactory arrangements have been made for a genuine act of self-determination in East Timor.

No, but all relevant factors, including political considerations, are taken into account in reaching decisions on defence sales issues.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether any guarantees were required by Her Majesty's Government that the Hawk ground-attack aircraft recently supplied for training purposes to the Indonesian Government will not be converted for use in combat in East Timor; and whether he will ensure that such guarantees are obtained before any other such aircraft are sold.

No. The Hawk aircraft recently delivered were equipped for training. Their sale was approved by the previous Administration. We have no indication that the Indonesian Government plan to use them in any capacity in East Timor.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what was the total expenditure by his Department in 1979–80 and the estimated expenditure in 1980–81 on fees and commission to any outside bodies providing advice to or acting as agents for his Department in furtherance of the policy of privatisation of the assets of his Department or of nationalised industries or other public bodies, including the Overseas Development Administration.

No expenditure of this kind was incurred by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, including the Overseas Development Administration, in 1979–80, and none has been estimated for in 1980–81.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what proposals he has for placing before the European Economic Commission to strengthen the antidumping regulations.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he is satisfied with the speed with which antidumping complaints are dealt with by the Commission of the EEC.

The Community anti-dumping regulations were revised at the beginning of this year following the multilateral trade negotiations under the GATT. My concern is to ensure that these regulations work speedily and effectively. In my view, the Commission's antidumping resources are overstretched and I have been strongly supporting the Commission in its desire to allocate more staff for this area of work.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what capital sum he expects to be added to the air travel reserve fund during the current year.

The chairman of the Air Travel Reserve Fund Agency tells me that the accumulated fund is expected to increase through investments by about £1 million during the current financial year, provided no new claims arise.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade when next he plans to meet the Director General of Fair Trading to discuss consumer issues.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade when next he plans to meet the Director General of Fair Trading to discuss consumer issues.

My right hon. Friend and I meet the director general whenever this is desirable. I met him last on 5 November and I intend to do so again next month.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what meetings have taken place between European Economic Community Ministers on matters relating to consumer affairs.

There have been no recent formal Council meetings specifically to discuss consumer affairs. As I made clear in a speech at a consumer affairs conference in Paris in October, I believe that consumer Ministers should meet informally more often to consider in outline Commission proposals for legislative action long before they have crystallised into detailed and complex proposals for Council directives. I have already taken the opportunity to visit and discuss these matters with Ministers of some member States and it is my intention to meet Ministers in other member States as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether the imports of Japanese motor vehicles to the latest available date comply with the understandings reached between the British and Japanese motor industries.

The Japanese car manufacturers have voluntarily undertaken to market prudently in this country. Shipments are lower than in 1979, but their penetration of the smaller United Kingdom market has increased. The SMMT is to have urgent consultations with its Japanese counterpart. I have made known my concern to the Japanese Government.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will make a statement on his discussions with the French Government on their boat registration proposals; if he himself has yet met his French ministerial counterpart to discuss the matter: and if he will make a statement.

We have reached the following four-point understanding with the French authorities on the documentation of British pleasure craft visiting French waters:

1. The French authorities will continue not to enforce the requirement in French law relating to the proper documentation of British pleasure craft for an additional period of three months—that is, until 31 March 1981.

2. Thereafter, as an interim arrangement until 31 December 1983, the French authorities will accept as proper documentation for British pleasure craft either a certificate of registration or, in the case of British pleasure craft making bona fide temporary visits from the United Kingdom to France, parts II and III of Customs Form C1328.

3. The purpose of this interim arrangement is to provide the British authorities with a period of some two years to complete the necessary preparatory work for revised registration procedures with a view to enacting the necessary legislation in the 1982–83 Parliamentary Session.

4. As from 1 January 1984 the French authorities will accept as proper documentation for British pleasure craft only certificates of registration or other documents in conformity with the Convention on the High Seas 1958."

Pleasure craft leaving United Kingdom ports by sea are already required to carry parts II and III of Customs form C 1328.Her Majesty's Customs and Excise will shortly announce details of the arrangements whereby pleasure craft taken to France by other means—for example, by trailer—and wishing to carry that form are enabled to do so.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade by what percentage the United Kingdom's imports from other European Economic Community countries have exceeded exports to those countries in each of the years 1978 and 1979; what the position is so far in 1980; and how this compares with the situation in the year immediately preceding British entry into the European Economic Community.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what is the present ratio of United Kingdom exports to the rest of the European Economic Community with imports from the European Economic Community; and what was this ratio in the year before British membership of the European Economic Community.

United Kingdom imports from other European Community countries exceeded exports to those countries by 20 per cent. in 1972, 18 per cent. in 1978 and 17 per cent. in 1979. In the first 10 months of this year there has been a considerable improvement with imports exceeding exports by only 1½ per cent.The export/import ratio for our trade with the European Community in the first 10 months of this year was 98 per cent., a considerable improvement on the figure of 84 per cent. in 1972.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will make a statement on the present state of the import and export of television sets.

Imports of television sets in the first nine months of this year were 1,009,892 sets whilst exports totalled 246,195 sets. The equivalent figures for the same period in 1979 were 841,121 and 207,145.Representatives of the industry have recently returned from a further round of discussions with the major Far Eastern suppliers. I understand that overall the industry considers these talks to have been successful, but I do not have specific details.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade when he plans to meet the chairman of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission to discuss the workings of the Competition Act.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade when he plans to meet the chairman of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission to discuss the workings of the Competition Act.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what percentage of United Kingdom exports now go to other countries of the European Economic Community; and what the figure was in 1970.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what percentage of United Kingdom exports now go to other countries of the European Economic Community; and what was the figure for 1970.

The other countries of the European Community now take over 40 per cent. of United Kingdom exports compared with less than 30 per cent. in 1970.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what discussions he had with the Indonesian Government about reprisals to the United Kingdom textile quota in the form of cancellation of contracts with British companies.

My right hon. Friend has corresponded with he Indonesian Minister for Economic, Financial and Industry Affairs and discussed the matter with The Indonesian ambassador in London. Further contacts are to take place at official level.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade when last he met his Indonesian counterpart to discuss trade between the United Kingdom and Indonesia.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given earlier today to the hon. Member for Easington (Mr. Dormand).

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what has been the average monthly deficit or surplus in the United Kingdom's trade in manufactured goods excluding oil and precious stones over the past three years with the European Economic Community and the rest of the world, respectively.

In the three-year period ended October 1980, the United Kingdom had an average monthly crude deficit on trade in manufactured goods (which exclude oil) less precious stones of about £200 million with the European Community, compared with a surplus of some £450 million with the rest of the world.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what are the latest figures relating to the balance of trade between the United Kingdom and non-OPEC industrialising countries.

In the period January to October 1980, the United Kingdom had a crude trade deficit of £42 million with the non-OPEC industrialising countries.

asked the Secretary of state for Trade what action he intends to take TO deal with Me counterfeiting of British auto accessories by overseas manufacturers.

The Government make representations on a bilateral basis where possible, where adequate evidence of counterfeiting is available and United Kingdom manufacturers have been unable to obtain redress through legal processes.In addition, the Government are pressing through he Community for the finalisation of a GATT agreement on measures to discourage the importation of counterfeit goods, under which signatories would be able to seize goods reasonably suspected of being counterfeit. My hon. Friend the Minister for Trade is due to see representatives of the trade in December to review the evidence of counterfeiting and to consider what further action might be taken.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what representations he has received regarding the renegotiation of the multi-fibre arrangement.

My right hon. Friend has received numerous representations from trade associations, unions and other representatives of the United Kingdom textile, clothing and knitting industries advocating that the multi-fibre arrangement should be renewed on strengthened terms. We have also received reports from interests representing consumers, importers and the developing countries calling for a relaxation of import controls on goods covered by the arrangement.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what progress has been made in the negotiations leading up to a review of the multi-fibre arrangement for trade in textiles and clothing.

The textile committee set up under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) will meet in Geneva on 9 and 10 December to review the operation of the current multi-fibre arrangement which expires at the end of 1981. I do not expect negotiations on a successor arrangement to begin until next year.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what discussions he has had concerning the safety of airline employees serving on Belfast flights.

The stringent security measures necessary for flights between Great Britain and Northern Ireland are under continuous review, to ensure the safety of passengers, airline staffs and aircraft on those flights.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will publish the latest available figures for the preceding 12-month period for cars imported by the United Kingdom from France and Germany, respectively, compared with the number of cars exported to the same markets.

The information for the period October 1979 to September 1980 is as follows:

United Kingdom Imports and Exports of Cars
	Numbers
	Imports	Exports
France	174,739	17,556
Federal Republic of Germany	223,002	12,778

Source: Overseas Trade Statistics of the United Kingdom.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will make a statement on the action taken against dumped shoes from Brazil.

A United Kingdom countervailing duty of 8 per cent. has been in force against imports of a range of men's leather fashion boots and shoes from Brazil since 1976. This duty is currently under review by the European Commission.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade which countries are now the six largest markets for United Kingdom exports.

In the period January to October 1980 inclusive, the six largest markets for goods exported from the United Kingdom were Federal Republic of Germany, United States of America, Netherlands, France, Switzerland and Belgium-Luxembourg.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will take steps to ban smoking on all British civilian aircraft.

No. This is a matter for the Civil Aviation Authority. The authority already bans smoking in certain places on aircraft, such as lavatories, where there is a possible safety risk. Amenity considerations with aircraft in this respect are for the operators.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what representation, if any, he has received from industrialists on the effects on exports of Government policy.

We are in frequent contact with industrialists, and many take the opportunity to make their views on policy questions known to us.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what steps are taken to ensure that products stated to be "All British Made Products" are in fact made in the United Kingdom; and what proposals he has to strengthen the law with regard to such advertisements.

False or misleading indications of national origin, both on goods and in advertisements, are prohibited under the Trade Descriptions Act 1968. I see no need at present to amend these requirements, the enforcement of which is a matter for local authority trading standards departments.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what is the location of the street depicted in the Export Credits Guarantee Department's advertisement "Who pays the bills when a country goes out of business".

It is not the Department's practice to identify individual markets in its advertising. The

UNITED KINGDOM TRADE IN MACHINERY*
1975=100 OTS basis
	Export volume indices (S A)			Export unit value indices (NSA)
	Consumer	Intermediate	Capital	Consumer	Intermediate	Capital
Second quarter 1980	106	120	102	182	198	187
Third quarter 1980	100	115	101	195	207	193
October 1980	84	124	97	196	207	196

	Terms of trade†			Relative volume‡
	Consumer	Intermediate	Capital	Consumer	Intermediate	Capital
Second quarter 1980	130	132	109	62	72	59
Third quarter 1980	141	134	112	60	72	64
October 1980	140	135	115	55	85	68

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether he will circulate in the Official Report figures for February to April 1980 comparable to those published by his predecessor in reply to Mr. Bryan Gould, on 11 July 1977 concerning the increase in exports of machinery since 1976.

The available information is as follows:

Exports of Machinery and Transport Equipmentl Percentage Change February-April 1980 on Same Period a Year Earlier
per cent.
United Kingdom	39
United States of America	20
Federal Republic of Germany	17
Japan	18
France	16
Belgium/Luxembourg	10
Netherlands	14
Italy	183

asked the Secretary of State for Trade, further to his reply of 1 July to the hon. Member for Grimsby, concerning trade in machinery, whether he will now publish figures for the second and third quarters and for October 1980 on the same basis.

Following are the figures:

asked the Secretary of State for Trade, further to his reply dated 30 June in answer to a written question from the hon. Member for Grimsby

	Percentage changes—
	Year 1976 to October 1980
	Machinery (*)	Metal manufactures (†)	Chemicals (‡)
Import unit value index	+26	+ 14	+45
Export unit value index	+64	+61	+50
Wholesale price index	+71	+56	+ 70
(*) Machinery: SI1C (Rev 2) Divisions 71–77.
Wholesale price index for "Mechanical Engineering"—SIC Order VII (excluding MLH 342).
(†) Metal Manufactures: SITC (Rev 2) Division 69.
Wholesale price index for "Metal Manufacturing"—SIC Order VI.
(‡)Chemicals: SITC (Rev 2) Section 5.
Wholesale price index for "Chenicals and allied Industries"—SIC Order V.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether he will publish a table in the Official Report showing imports and exports of manufactures from the EEC Six in each quarter since the beginning of 1976, by volume, using the increase in unit values as a price deflator.

The use of aggregate price indices to compile volume figures of United Kingdom trade by area is unlikely to be valid, since the commodities traded and the prices and price movements of these commodities will vary for different parts of the world. It would be wrong to publish misleading information.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what was the total expenditure by his Department in 1979–80 and the estimated expenditure in 1980–81 on fees and commission to any outside bodies providing advice to or acting as agents for his Department in furtherance of the policy of privatisation of the assets of his Department or of nationalised industries or other public bodies.

Total expenditure in 1979–80 was £19,446 and for 1980-81 is estimated as £261,000

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what was the precise number of black African workers employed by category A companies who were being paid below the poverty datum line and the minimum effective level in the years ended June 1978 and June 1979.

I refer the hon. Member to the written answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow, Central (Mr. Grant) on 16 April—[Vol. 982, c.653–41.] concerning the increase in prices of certain products during recent years, whether he will now publish in the Official Report comparable figures showing the increase from 1976 to October 1980.

The information is as follows:Not every category A company has reported under the code of conduct, but all category A reports made for the first and second reporting periods are available for scrutiny in the Library of the House.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade how many reports he has received of injury resulting from the high flammability of imported Indian dresses; on what date he received the first of these reports; whether he has ordered an investigation into the hazard; what form any such investigation is taking; when it started; what progress has been made; when he expects a report; and if he will make a statement, particularly about the risk to children.

I know of six instances of injury resulting from imported Indian cotton dresses catching fire. The first report was received in June 1980. Any lightweight cotton fabric, such as that used in the manufacture of Indian cotton dresses, can catch fire from a flame and, once alight, the flames would spread rapidly across the dress as it would with some other flimsy fabrics. I believe that the public realise that. The Department has asked the importers of the dress involved in the most recent incident for samples of the fabric as it has been suggested that the material was set alight, not by a flame, but by a smouldering cigarette. I shall let the right hon. Member know the outcome of this investigation.I have had no reports of accidents to children involving such dresses. However, in the course of a review of the flammability of clothing generally, officials are to propose to representatives of the clothing trade and consumer safety organisations a meeting early next year to discuss the possibilities for new measures, which would be in addition to those already taken for nightdresses. The needs of children and others most at risk will be taken fully into account.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will publish details of the percentage of the United Kingdom's total export trade accounted for by North Sea oil exports for the last two quarters of 1979 and the first two quarters of 1980, and the value of those oil exports.

Information on the importance of crude oil in the United Kingdom's total exports may be derived from tables A2 and A5 of the November issue of the monthly Review of External Trade Statistics, a copy of which is in the House of Commons Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade when he is going to bring into-force sections 22 to 24 of the Insurance Brokers (Registration) Act 1977.

I have today made the commencement order to bring sections 22 to 24 into force on 1 December 1981. From that date the use of the expression "insurance broker" and certain related expressions will be restricted to those individuals who are registered with the Insurance Brokers Registration Council or bodies corporate which are enrolled with the council.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what is the number of bankruptcies in Wales so far in this financial year; and what was the number in a comparable period in the last two years.

In the period April-October 1980, county courts in Wales dealt with 146 receiving and administration orders in bankruptcy, compared with 130 in the same period of 1979. Comparable figures for earlier years are not available. These figures are less accurate than those for calendar years published in the bankruptcy general annual report as orders consolidated or rescinded are not deducted, but it is now possible to allow for most of the transfers from the High Court or other county courts.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade when he expects to appoint a chairman for the South Western Gas Consumers' Council.

This appointment will be announced shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade how many companies have gone out of business in Scotland since May 1979.

The total number of compulsory and creditors' voluntary liquidations—the two types which involve insolvency—was 454 in the period May 1979 to October 1980 inclusive.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade how many used tractors were exported during the most recent 12 months for which figures are available; and what were the corresponding statistics for the previous year.

Details of exports of used wheeled agricultural and forestry tractors (excluding agricultural walking tractors) are given in table VII of the publication "Overseas Trade Statistics of the United Kingdom" against code number 87016100 under SITC(R2) sub-group 722.4. Copies of these publications are in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade how much consumer demand for textiles and clothing products has risen or fallen in the second quarter of 1980 compared with the same period in 1979.

[pursuant to his reply, 28 November 19801: The information available relates to consumers' expenditure on clothing and is published in table 1.5 of the October issue of the Monthly Digest of Statistics, a copy of which is in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many appeals to the tribunal against decisions to make deportation orders under section 3(5)(b) of the Immigration Act 1971 have been allowed during each of the last five years and to the latest convenient date in 1980.

I regret that the information for the years 1975–78 is not readily available. The information for 1979 and for the first six months of 1980 is as follows:

1979		Six
1980	(January-June)	Eight

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total expenditure by his Department in 1979–80 and the estimated expenditure in 1980–81 on fees and commission to any outside bodies providing advice to or acting as agents for his Department in furtherance of the policy of privatisation of the assets of his Department or of nationalised industries or other public bodies.

Nil.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he intends to introduce legislation during the present Session of Parliament to introduce the open channel system of personal short range radio communications in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will be in a position to announce the results of the public consultation on open channel radio.

Primary legislation would not be required to introduce the service. Final decisions about the choice of frequency and the introduction of the service will be taken as soon as possible after the public response to the discussion document has been analysed.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, in view of the widespread concern of the people of Bradford and other areas of West Yorkshire because of the succession of unsolved murders of young women during the past five years, he will call for a report from the chief constable of West Yorkshire on the progress of investigations by his force.

I fully appreciate and share the public concern about this tragic series of murders. I am being kept fully informed of developments through Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will ask the chief constable of West Yorkshire to forward to him a copy of the police report to the Leeds coroner of the circumstances surrounding the death of Helen Smith in Jeddah; and if he will make the report available to hon. Members.

No. I understand that certain police inquiries into this death are continuing. When the police report is completed, it will be for the Leeds coroner to decide, in the light of the police investigations, what, if any, further action he should take. This is not a matter in which it would be appropriate for me to intervene.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the cost of the policing and controlling of the British Movement rally in London on Sunday 23 November.

The Commissioner estimates that the cost was £209,000.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many arrests were made during the demonstrations in London on Sunday 23 November 1980 by the British Movement and the counter-demonstration by the Communists; and what was the charge in each case.

Seventy-six, of which 49 resulted in charges of using threatening words or behaviour; six of obstructing the highway; 15 of obstructing the police; three of possessing an offensive weapon; two of offences against the person; and one of defacing a wall.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many members of the Metropolitan Police took part in policing the march by the British Movement in Paddington on 23 November and the counter-demonstration; and what is the estimated cost of this operation.

3,400; £209,000.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will refuse entry into the United Kingdom of Israeli citizens who have received paramilitary training in Israel immediately preparatory to seeking entry to the United Kingdom.

All relevant factors, including a passenger's background and intentions, are taken into account before leave to enter is granted or refused.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people, originally sentenced under section 53 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 (a) up to five years ago and (b) over five years ago remain in the custody of an institution for which he is responsible not having, in the meantime, been convicted of any other offence.

We will reply as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what areas of his Department's budget have been cut; and by how much in each case, in order to provide the additional £45 million for civil defence over the next three years.

The estimated cost to Home Office programmes of the additional measures announced on 7 August 1980 is about £30 million over the next three years. The necessary financial provision has been found in the course of the Government's review of public expenditure by economies and reallocation of planned provision within the overall Home Office programmes. It is not practicable to relate the cost of the home defence measures to savings in specific areas.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has received an application from the Independent Broadcasting Authority to split the frequencies to enable the present local independent radio stations to offer separate services on medium wave and VHF; and, if so, whether he will make a statement about this matter.

Each BBC and IB A local radio service is broadcast on VHF and MF so that the same programme material is available on both frequencies. The IBA has sought our agreement to some experimentation with broadcasting different programmes from time to time on the two frequencies. The matter is under consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has received an application from the Independent Broadcasting Authority to operate a national commercial radio network; and if so, whether he will publish in the Official Report precise details of the application and the terms of his reply to the application.

No, but the authority has indicated to us that it considers that later in the decade there may be a case for at least one national independent radio service. The scope for additional sound broadcasting channels, and how these might be used, will be considered in the first instance in the context of preparations for the regional administrative radio conference, which is to take place in 1982–1983, to plan sound broadcasting in the 87·5–108 MHz band.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department which countries have sent police to the United Kingdom for training since 1975; how many officers from each country have received training in each year; and what areas of activity such technical assistance or training covered.

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

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department to which countries the United Kingdom has sent police personnel to give technical assistance or training to other Governments' police forces since 1975; how many British and how many foreign forces were involved; and what areas of technical assistance or training this included.

Advice on such matters as organisation, training, CID work, and crowd, traffic and travel control has been provided by the Metropolitan Police and eight provincial forces to Bahrein, Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Ghana, Gibralter, Kenya, Mexico, Pakistan, Portugal, St. Lucia, Seychelles, Swaziland, Turkey, Turks and Caicos Islands, Venezuela, Virgin Islands, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many tribunal hearings there are each year of cases of immigrants wishing to stay in the United Kingdom; how many tribunals find in favour of the immigrant and how many find against the immigrant; how many immigrants apply for leave of appeal; how many such applications are granted and how many appeals are upheld; how often his Department applies for leave to appeal and how many such applications are granted; and how many appeals are upheld.

The information is not readily available in the precise form requested. The following tables show the total number of appeals of all kinds disposed of in each year since 1970 by adjudicators and the immigration appeal tribunal. Not all of these will have involved hearings.The table of appeals to adjudicators relates to the number of appeals by individuals, whereas the tables of appeals to the tribunal relate to the number of cases disposed of (where one case can involve more than one appeal).

APPEALS TO ADJUDICATORS
Year	Total disposals	Allowed	Dismissed	With-drawn	No jurisdiction
1970	350	51	293	6	—
1971	2,443	461	1,688	294	—
1972	4,114	704	2,610	800	—
1973	5,292	751	3,652	869	20

Year	Total disposals	Allowed	Dismissed	With-drawn	No jurisdiction
1974	7,666	934	4,634	2,085	13
1975	10,937	1,302	6,327	3,291	17
1976	12,412	1,297	7,131	3,302	682
1977	11,671	1,273	7,098	2,557	743
1978	11,455	1,355	7,569	2,357	174
1979	13,176	1,566	8,437	3,106	67

IMMIGRATION APPEAL TRIBUNAL
Appeals by immigrants (appeals at first instance or against adjudicators' decisions)
Year	Total disposals	Allowed	Dismissed	With-drawn	No jurisdiction
1970–71	117	32	74	11	—
1972	166	46	96	24	—
1973	152	30	93	25	4
1974	203	46	105	50	2
1975	190	34	79	73	4
1976	603	98	333	140	32
1977	257	39	151	51	16
1978	342	37	207	91	7
1979	311	46	171	83	11

IMMIGRATION APPEAL TRIBUNAL
Appeals by Home Office against adjudicators' decisions
Year	Total disposals	Allowed	Dismissed	With-drawn	No jurisdiction
1970–71	41	19	16	6	—
1972	52	21	23	8	—
1973	41	18	19	4	—
1974	44	24	8	12	—
1975	58	22	9	27	—
1976	136	56	31	47	2
1977	70	40	15	15	—
1978	95	49	24	20	2
1979	74	40	25	7	2

About 1,525 applications for leave to appeal to the tribunal were made to the tribunal in 1975, and about 1,600 in 1976. I regret that further information about applications for leave to appeal is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, in view of the anxiety experienced by both unconvicted and sentenced prisoners and their relatives in present circumstances, he will remove one major barrier to communication by suspending the regulations applying to censorship of prisoners' letters, except as regards inspection for contraband.