asked the Secretary of State for Employment what was the total number of notified vacancies unfilled in the Greater London area at employment offices and at careers offices, on the most recent convenient date.

At 7 November the numbers of notified vacancies remaining unfilled at employment offices and at careers offices in the Greater London area were 19,365 and 1,663 respectively.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.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment 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enacted under section 2 of the European Communities Act and which would cease to have effect if that section were to be repealed.

No legislation for which the Department of Employment group has responsibility has been made under section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972. The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations required to implement the directive safeguarding employees rights in the event of transfer, and so on, (77/187/EEC) are expected to be laid in the new year.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the percentage change in employment in manufacturing, employment in local authorities and employment in service industries generally for each of the last 10 years, including latest estimates for 1980–81.

Continuous employment estimates by industry for the whole economy over the whole of the last 10 years are readily available only from my Department's employment series. The latest figures relate to June 1980. The following table gives annual percentage changes in the total numbers of employees in employment in manufacturing industries—order groups III to XIX of the 1968 edition of the standard industrial classification, service industries—order groups XXII to XXVII—and local government service—minimum list heading 906 of the SIC. The figures for local government service cover only a proportion of all local authority employees: they exclude those engaged in, for example, building—included in the construction industry—and education and health—included as professional services in the services sector.

Percentage change in the numbers of employees in employment over the previous year
June	Manufacturing industries	Service industries	Local government service
1971	-3·4	0·6	2·6
1972	-3·5	2·5	3·3
1973	0·7	3·7	2·8
1974	0·5	1·2	1·9
1975	-4·8	2·5	1·8
1976	-3·2	0·6	-3·8
1977	0·7	0·6	-1·5
1978	-0·8	0·9	0·8
1979	-1·1	1·7	1·7
1980	-5·1	-0·2	-0·5

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish a table showing the percentage increase in unemployment in each planning region of the United Kingdom, taking May 1978 as base 100.

[pursuant to his reply, 28 November 1980]: The following table gives the provisional percentage increases between May 1978 and November 1980 in the numbers registered as unemployed, seasonally adjusted and excluding school leavers, in each region of Great Britain and in Northern Ireland.

	Per cent.
South-East	39·1
East Anglia	40·3
South-West	23·6
West Midlands	80·5
East Midlands	60·8
Yorkshire and Humberside	58·9
North-West	48·8
North	40·3
Wales	46·5
Scotland	39·8
Northern Ireland	43·1

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.

[pursuant to his reply, 1 December 1980: Following is the information:

Registered unemployed including school leavers and not adjusted for seasonal variations
	Scotland	United Kingdom
1972
Jan	149,750	971,489
Feb	148,829	968,226
Mar	148,241	966,978
April	144,370	956,447
May	132,464	871,872
June	125,591	804,256
July	132,400	817,726
Aug	134,807	875,068

	Scotland	United Kingdom
Sep	134,895	862,441
Oct	129,465	826,296
Nov	126,805	807,097
Dec	124,104	779,800
1973
Jan	127,523	806,270
Feb	120,105	753,293
Mar	113,826	717,205
April	107,162	680,835
May	98,090	621,683
June	91,358	574,612
July	91,989	567,000
Aug	91,573	582,300
Sep	84,499	556,225
Oct	80,637	533,822
Nov	79,599	520,423
Dec	79,006	511,533
1974
Jan	95,116	627,483
Feb	93,144	628,812
Mar	89,658	618,413
April	86,160	607,602
May	78,357	561,646
June	77,201	541,500
July	86,760	574,306
Aug	89,687	661,020
Sep	85,075	649,675
Oct	83,470	640,797
Nov	85,468	653,003
Dec	‥	‥
1975
Jan	102,300	771,800
Feb	101,326	791,785
Mar	98,756	802,587
April	97,160	845,025
May	96,951	850,333
June	99,780	866,055
July	122,775	990,083
Aug	127,046	1,151,038
Sep	121,407	1,145,493
Oct	123,180	1,147,269
Nov	127,762	1,168,901
Dec	130,916	1,200,770
1976
Jan	150,072	1,303,243
Feb	146,787	1,304,416
Mar	145,128	1,284,905
April	145,569	1,281,117
May	141,935	1,271,826
June	144,134	1,331,838
July	165,649	1,463,456
Aug	170,100	1,501,976
Sep	161,403	1,455,708
Oct	158,028	1,377,110
Nov	†160,300	†1, 366,500
Dec	†163,900	†1,371,000
1977
Jan	183,418	1,448,193
Feb	179,572	1,421,818
Mar	175,447	1,383,472
April	170,168	1,392,250
May	164,163	1,341,691
June	186,218	1,450,055
July	194,271	1,622,359
Aug	196,298	1,635,832
Sep	189,076	1,609,068
Oct	183,889	1,518,336
Nov	185,190	1,499,094
Dec	186,199	1,480,822
1978
Jan	203,629	1,548,544

	Scotland	United Kingdom
Feb	196,789	1,508,674
Mar	191,038	1,460,966
April	180,862	1,451,758
May	171,247	1,386,810
June	187,150	1,446,061
July	191,906	1,585,811
Aug	192,847	1,608,316
Sep	179,886	1,517,663
Oct	175,606	1,429,502
Nov	173,859	1,392,011
Dec	171,709	1,364,307
1979
Jan	190,300	1,455,275
Feb	191,689	1,451,877
Mar	182,997	1,402,254
April	175,590	l,340,595
May	165,441	1,299,282
June	182,769	1,343,865
July	187,431	1,463,982
Aug	186,033	1,455,498
Sep	177,244	1,394,526
Oct*	178,489	1,367,639
Nov	179,528	1,355,203
Dec	180,250	1,355,458
1980
Jan	203,232	l,470,571
Feb	203,828	1,488,923
Mar	200,124	1,477,961
April	201,067	1,522,927
May	196,346	1,509,191
June	223,150	1,659,676
July	236,326	1,896,634
Aug	241,267	2,001,208
Sep	240,938	2,039,476
Oct	246,138	2,062,866
Nov (provisional)	254,559	2,162,874
Not available.
* The figures from October 1979 are not comparable with those for earlier dates because of the introduction of fortnightly attendance and payment of benefit. It has been estimated that the resulting spurious effect is an increase of 20,000 on the monthly figures for the country as a whole from October 1979. The corresponding effect on the figures for Scotland is about 2,600.
† Estimated.

Registered unemployed, excluding school leavers and seasonally adjusted.
Thousands
	Scotland	United Kingdom
1972
Jan	137·3	901·9
Feb	138·7	911·5
Mar	140·2	916·8
April	139·6	910·9
May	133·5	878·1
June	130·9	847·9
July	129·3	844·0
Aug	128·6	838·4
Sep	132·0	840·6
Oct	127·3	811·9
Nov	124·3	791·4
Dec	121·2	764·9
1973
Jan	116·4	741·6
Feb	111·9	701·6
Mar	107·6	673·6
April	104·1	650·0
May	100·1	634·0
June	97·3	620·0
July	93·6	601·2
Aug	90·5	577·7
Sep	86·5	557·6

Thousands
	Scotland	United Kingdom
Oct	82·6	539·2
Nov	80·2	522·0
Dec	78·3	513·0
1974
Jan	83·0	563·4
Feb	84·9	577·7
Mar	84·5	582·5
April	83·8	581·9
May	81·2	574·2
June	83·2	588·6
July	84·0	595·0
Aug	84·9	616·5
Sep	85·6	627·6
Oct	85·1	638·1
Nov	85·7	648·9
Dec	‥	676·0†
1975
Jan	92·1	703·1
Feb	91·0	733·8
Mar	92·8	768·8
April	94·7	812·1
May	99·2	858·5
June	103·8	905·0
July	110·2	960·5
Aug	112·2	993·2
Sep	115·7	1,030·1
Oct	121·1	1,088·7
Nov	125·1	1,129·4
Dec	127·5	1,166·5
1976
Jan	129·6	1,196·6
Feb	133·3	1,227·9
Mar	136·4	1,243·6
April	141·5	1,258·3
May	143·7	1,270·9
June	144·5	1,278·6
July	146·6	1,281·5
Aug	148·6	1,292·5
Sep	149·6	1,297·7
Oct	150·8	1,296·9
Nov	†153·3	†1,307·5
Dec	†156·0	†1,317·5
1977
Jan	158·7	1,329·2
Feb	160·3	1,331·7
Mar	161·6	1,333·7
April	162·7	1,341·4
May	163·4	1,337·5
June	168·8	1,378·6
July	170·3	1,393·0
Aug	172·0	1,393·2
Sep	174·2	1,414·0
Oct	174·8	1,419·7
Nov	175·8	1,424·9
Dec	177·2	1,424·7
1978
Jan	177·1	1,421·4
Feb	176·4	1,413·5
Mar	176·3	1,410·9
April	173·2	1,403·0
May	170·8	1,386·3
June	169·9	1,379·6
July	168·9	1,367·9
Aug	168·9	1,370·6
Sep	167·8	1,357·2
Oct	168·2	1,347·4
Nov	166·1	1,333·3
Dec	164·5	1,323·5
1979
Jan	165·8	1,340·9

Thousands
	Scotland	United Kingdom
Feb	172·4	1,366·0
Mar	170·3	1,360·3
April	169·3	1,325·3
May	166·7	1,306·1
June	165·2	1,281·8
July	166·5	1,276·4
Aug	166·0	1,262·0
Sep	167·3	1,261·9
Oct*	169·5	1,278·8
Nov	169·7	1,283·7
Dec	170·5	1,297·7
1980
Jan	175·7	1,336·7
Feb	182·3	1,383·1
Mar	184·8	1,413·5
April	191·6	1,458·1
May	194·1	1,483·8
June	198·8	1,535·1
July	205·2	1,605·7
Aug	211·8	1,695·4
Sep	220·2	1,784·4
Oct	230·2	1,892·6
Nov (provisional)	238·8	2,028·2

Employment Office/Jobcentre	June 1980	July 1980	August 1980	September 1980	October 1980	November 1980 (provisional)
Batley	35	24	21	25	29	31
Bingley	60	59	39	44	42	28
Bradford	618	520	461	359	321	325
Bradford Professional and Executive Office	55	33	37	42	45	31
Bramley	93	99	75	75	76	59
Brighouse	68	67	52	50	45	56
Castleford	70	75	79	78	56	50
Dewsbury	136	138	129	87	76	75
Elland	25	17	14	13	13	11
Halifax	181	173	124	126	114	115
Hebden Bridge	13	10	10	23	17	16
Hemsworth	9	8	18	19	10	8
Horsforth	67	57	32	42	36	36
Hudders field	291	272	192	177	224	155
Hunslet	84	62	54	37	53	45
Keighley	165	136	128	100	99	103
Knottingley	38	26	36	27	18	9
Leeds	1,187	870	622	636	616	609
Leeds Professional and Executive Office	141	103	112	119	159	164
Morley	127	81	89	45	52	64
Normanton	36	31	22	8	13	16
Otley	96	71	42	43	61	30
Pontefract	56	44	42	38	44	32
Rothwell	47	33	24	28	14	40
Seacroft	95	51	69	49	35	21
Shipley	58	43	34	27	28	31
South Elmsall	18	15	17	22	8	9
Sowerby Bridge	30	17	47	12	19	25
Spen Valley	53	35	35	33	33	29
Todmorden	23	23	17	15	13	16
Wakefield	280	214	157	148	144	130
Wetherby	154	149	96	94	80	66
Yeadon	56	55	54	37	42	30
West Yorkshire Metropolitan County	4,465	3,611	2,980	2,678	2,635	2,465

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what steps he is taking to ensure that the 3 per cent, quota system related to the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act is adhered to.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish in the Official Report a table to show the number of job vacancies which have been notified to each jobcentre in the region of West Yorkshire for each month since June 1980.

The following table gives the numbers of notified vacancies remaining unfilled at each employment office in the West Yorkshire metropolitan county at the dates specified. Vacancies notified to employment offices are estimated to be about one-third of all vacancies in the country as a whole.

I am advised by the Manpower Services Commission (MSC) that an annual inquiry is made to find out the number and proportion of registered disabled people employed by employers who are covered by the quota provisions of the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1944, that is, those which are not Crown bodies and employ 20 or more workers. If an employer turns out to have fewer than 3 per cent. registered disabled people in his work force he is reminded of his obligations under the Act. That Act also requires employers within its scope to keep records, which are liable to inspection. The MSC's disablement resettlement officers are able to advise employers about the recruitment and retention of all disabled people, whether registered or not.The number of registered disabled people is now insufficient to enable each employer subject to quota to have 3 per cent. of such people in his work force, because many people eligible to register as disabled choose not to do so. The majority of such employers would probably reach the 3 per cent. level if all their disabled employees could be included in the count.The present quota scheme is no longer fully effective as a method of protecting the employment prospects of disabled people generally, and the MSC is reviewing it. I understand that the commission will be submitting recommendations to my right hon. Friend on this complex issue early in the new year. The Government will consider the commission's views very, carefully before reaching a conclusion.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish a table showing the numbers of (a) men and (b) women registered as unemployed for each of the last 10 years for the month of October; if he will show what percentage of the work force registered as unemployed the two categories represented in each case; and if he will show the percentage increase or decrease for each year.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what annual savings will result from the closure of the Frizington part-time benefit office; what was the average number of claimants using the office in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Frizington is one of a number of small offices recommended for closure following a cost reduction exercise conducted in my Department by Sir Derek Rayner. It is estimated that annual savings of £622 will be achieved by the proposed closure. The average number of unemployed claimants using the office in each of the last five years was as follows:

1980	160
1979	140
1978	140
1977	140
1976	130

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many places are currently available in the Basildon constituency for the youth opportunities programme and the special temporary employment programme; and what increase in the number of places in the youth opportunities programme and the new community enterprise programme, replacing the STEP, will take place in the light of his statement to the House on 21 November.

[pursuant to his reply, 28 November 1980: I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission (MSC) special programmes division that figures relating to the youth opportunities programme (YOP) are collected by local authority district (LAD). For the LAD of Basildon, which corresponds to the parliamentary constituency of Basildon, there are currently some 360 approved places for the programme. Plans for next year have still to be finalised and until then the MSC has undertaken to keep the level of provision under careful review to ensure that the present undertakings to young people are met.Under the existing geographic restrictions, the special temporary employment programme (STEP) does not operate in the South-East region. The recently announced community enterprise programme which will replace STEP on 1 April 1981 will apply nationwide. Provided scheme sponsors come forward, long-term unemployed people in the Basildon area will obtain employment under the programme, but it is not possible to predict the precise number likely to be involved.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many young people under the age of 20 years are registered as unemployed; and if he will break down the total figure to show the position in Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

[pursuant to his reply, 28 November 1980]: The following table gives for 9 October, the latest date for which an age analysis is available, the numbers of registered unemployed people aged 19 and under.

Number
Scotland	50,543
England	353,619
Wales	28,017
Northern Ireland	21,938
United Kingdom	454,117

The youth opportunities programme is available to help unemployed young people, and I announced on 21 November 1980 that the Government have decided to expand YOP from 250,000–260,000 places in the current year to 430,000–440,000 places in 1981–82. The programme will focus particularly on the groups of young people in the immediate post-school years.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many places under the youth opportunities programme are currently being supported in each of those travel-to-work areas designated as development and special development areas;(2) what is the total number of places currently being supported under the youth opportunities programme in travel-to-work areas designated as development areas and special development areas;

[pursuant to his reply, 28 November 1980]: I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that it is not possible to answer these three questions except at disproportionate cost.The youth opportunities programme (YOP) is a national programme. It seeks to provide work experience and work preparation for unemployed young people and caters for the needs of individuals rather than of particular areas.The total opportunities in the YOP that the MSC plans to provide in those of its local areas that lie partly or wholly in development and special development areas is 175,000 in the current year. That is almost 60 per cent. of all the planned provision.Statistical and planning information for YOP is based on special programme areas which are made up of a number of local authority districts (LADs). In general LADs are not coterminous with travel-to-work areas and therefore the information requested could be extracted in area offices only by manual analysis.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the total number of places currently being supported under the short-term employment programme in the travel-to-work areas designated as development and special development areas.

[pursuant to his reply, 28 November 1980]: I assume that the hon. Member is referring to the temporary short-time working compensation (TSTWC) scheme in his question. I regret that temporary short-time working compensation scheme statistics are not easily available below standard regional level and the cost of extracting all the information requested would be prohibitive.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the locations of major storage of propane gas or other dangerous substances in the proximity of residential property; what steps are being taken to prevent injury to persons or property if such substances escape; and if he will make a statement.

[pursuant to his reply, 28 November 1980]: Information about the locations of major storages of propane gas and other dangerous substances in the proximity of residential property could be provided only at disproportionate cost.Occupiers of all such premises are required under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 to have regard to the safety of their own employees and of other people who may be affected by their activities. The advisory committee on major hazards has been considering the safety problems associated with large-scale industrial premises conducting potentially hazardous operations and draft regulations based on its recommendations have been published by the Health and Safety Commission in the form of a consultative document entitled "The Hazardous Installations (Notification and Survey) Regulations". Because of the possibility of release of dangerous substances, occupiers of premises where substantial amounts of such substances are stored are encouraged by the Health and Safety Executive to co-operate with local authorities in setting up schemes for emergency action.

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

[pursuant to his reply, 1 December 1980]: Between May 1979 and November 1980 the provisional increase in the numbers registered as unemployed in the Keighley employment office area was 110 per cent. The figures on which the increase is based include school leavers, numerically greater in November than in May. Moreover, they are not adjusted for seasonal influences, which normally lead to unemployment being higher in November than in May. Additionally, the figures are not strictly comparable because of the introduction in September 1979, of fortnightly attendance and payment of benefit. Estimates of this effect are not available for local areas but for the country as a whole the monthly unemployment figures from October 1979 are about 20,000 or 1½ per cent. higher than under weekly attendance.

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.

[pursuant to his reply, 1 December 1980]: The number of proposed redundancies notified to my Department under the redundancy handling provisions of the Employment Protection Act 1975 for the Consett travel-to-work area since June 1980 is as follows:

	Establishments	Employees
June	4	3,940
July	7	359
August	6	298
September	8	515
October	10	313

These figures are not a true measure of the number of actual redundancies since many notified redundancies do not in fact take place—for example because of a subsequent application under the temporary short-time working compensation scheme—and there is no statutory requirement to notify my Department when proposed redundancies do not take place.A better measure of redundancies that are due to occur is provided by figures obtained by local offices of the Manpower Services Commission by consulting the firms concerned nearer the actual date of redundancy. I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that the number of redundancies reported to it as due to occur in the Consett travel-to-work area is as follows:

Employees
June	53
July	207
August	121
September	3,244
October	(provisional) 247

Both the Department of Employment and Manpower Services Commission figures are for redundancies involving 10 or more employees.

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.

[pursuant to his reply, 1 December 1980]: I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that the main responsibility for helping redundant apprentices lies with the industry concerned. Where the employer, assisted by the appropriate industrial training board (ITB) or other industry body, is unable to find an alternative employer, the MSC makes every effort itself to provide continued training. In addition the MSC has allocated nationally a total of approximately £1 million under the training for skills programme in the form of adoption grants to enable ITBs to arrange for continued training. The MSC has been notified of 103 redundant apprentices in Wales so far in 1980. Fifty-eight of these ire in the construction industry, 28 in engineering, 16 in road transport and one in distribution.

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.

[pursuant to his reply, 1 December 1980]: There were 3,802 potentially redundant employees being supported by the temporary short-time working compensation (TSTWC) scheme in the Calderdale metropolitan district in October 1980.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what currently is the total number of youth opportunities programme and special temporary employment programme placing in the development and special development areas.

[pursuant to his reply, 1 December 1980]: I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that it is not possible to provide figures on the youth opportunities programme (YOP) in the precise form requested.Some 3,000,000 young people are expected to enter YOP in 1980–81. About 58 per cent. of these would be in special programmes areas which are wholly or partially within development or special development areas.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether statistics are available in his Department as to the allocation of selective temporary employment premium and youth opportunities programme placing in travel-to-work areas.

[pursuant to his reply, 1 December 1980]: t am informed by the Manpower Services Commission's (MSC) special programmes division, which administers the youth opportunities programme (YOP) and the special temporary employment programme (STEP), that statistics are not available on this basis.

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.

[pursuant to his reply, 1 December 1980]: As this Government, like the last, believe that it is primarily the responsibility of employers to assess and meet their needs for trained manpower, we are in no position to ensure that redundant craft apprentices are always able to complete their training. I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission, however, that when an apprentice is declared redundant the appropriate industry training board or other training body attempts to secure his continued training with either an employer or some other training establishment. The MSC funds adoption grants in order to encourage employers to recruit redundant apprentices; approximately £1 million has been made available by the MSC in the current financial year. I know of no policy statement on this matter. The basic policy is well established but is operated flexibly and kept under review.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Holborn and St. Pancras, South, if he will give the figures for the average wages or salaries per head of household for one and two-parent families showing separately the figures for those in (a) full time, (b) part-time employment and (c) not employed, showing in each case the total income per head of household.

[pursuant to his reply, 2 December 1980]: Information is not readily available in the precise detail requested. However the following table sets out the available information from the family expenditure survey for 1979.

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

[pursuant to his reply, Official Report, 1 December]: The following table gives estimates, based on the new earnings survey for April 1980]: of the direct addition to the national wage bill caused by raising the pay of full-time workers—those working over 30 hours a week or more—over 18 who are paid less than £1·60 an hour and £1·70 an hour up to those levels. An estimate of the effects of a minimum wage at £1.65 an hour cannot readily be given.

	£1·60	£1·70
Approx. Cost	£870m	£1,300m
Percentage increase in wages bill	0·7%	1·0%

Separate estimates for the public sector can be made only for men aged over 21 and women aged over 18. The direct costs of a national minimum wage for all such full-time workers in the public sector are estimated, on the basis of the NES for April 1980, to be:

	£1·60	£1·70
Approx. Cost	£120m	£200m
Percentage increase in wages bill	0·3%	0·5%

These estimates make no provision for the direct costs of raising the pay of part-time workers nor for the indirect or repercussive effects of a minimum wage which could be considerable.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether, in future, indexation, where appropriate, of public service pay and pensions can be related to a new retail price index with the effects of tax on tobacco and alcoholic beverages removed.

[pursuant to the reply, 24 November, 1980]: Public service pay is not linked to the retail price index. The Government have no plans to relate public service pensions to a new retail price index. We shall, however, be reviewing their position in the light of the forthcoming Scott report.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade (1) what controls exist over the type of materials used in internal sanitary tampons; and what notification is required for changes in these materials;(2) whether he has any proposals for stopping the sale of internal sanitary protection tampons using plastic applicators;(3) whether he has any proposals for requiring health warnings on packets of internal sanitary tampons in view of (

There are no legal restrictions over the type of materials to be used in internal sanitary tampons and so there are no notification requirements.I have now received the results of an analysis of the materials used in all the major brands of tampon available in the United Kingdom, and medical advisers in the Department of Health and Social Security will use this analysis in considering the risks of using tampons and whether there may be a link between particular types of tampon and toxic shock. They will take into account experience in, and data from, the United States of America. Until their inquiries are complete, I believe it would be premature to consider restricting the sale of any of these products, whether or not using plastic applicators, or to require them to carry health warnings.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether he will publish figures in the Official Report updating those circulated in answer to a written question from the hon. Member for Grimsby on 17 March concerning imports and exports of finished manufactures, less motor vehicles.

United Kingdom Trade in Finished Manufactures Excluding Road Vehicles*
OTS basis, seasonally adjusted, 1975 = 100
	EXPORTS		IMPORTS
	Unit value index†	Volume index	Unit36 value index†	Volume index
1980—First quarter	184	118	163	165
Second quarter	192	121	165	170
Third quarter	199	118	168	157
October	201	122	168	159
* SITC (Rev 2) sections 7 and 8 less Division 78.
† Not seasonally adjusted.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the ratio of exports to imports of finished manufactures in the case of United Kingdom trade with the EEC Six each year since 1972, as a percentage of the 1975 figure.

The information is as follows:

United Kingdom Trade with the European Community (6) In finished manufacture*
Export/Import ratios
(as percentage of the 1975 figure)
1972	103
1973	87
1974	94
1975	100
1976	97
1977	96
1978	87
1979	79
* SITC Sections 7 and 8.
Source: Overseas Trade Statistics of the United Kingdom.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether the proposed directive on the origin marking for curtain textile products will permit goods made in the United Kingdom to be so described.

In the form proposed by the Commission the draft directive would permit this, at the discretion of suppliers, as an alternative or in addition to an indication that such goods were made in the EEC.

asked the Prime Minister if decisions have now been taken about the future of those

Department	Decision
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Centre for Information on Language	Grant to be reduced by about £36,000 per annum by 1983–84.
Teaching and Research Council for Educational Technology	Reduction in grant of about £222,000 by 1982–83.
DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYMENT GROUP
Disablement Advisory Committees	Numbers to be reduced from 220 to 88, with saving of about £150,000 per annum.

The figures given below update the earlier information. In addition, there is one minor revision to 1976, where the import volume index is now 106.bodies which were still under review when the "Report on Non-Departmental Public Bodies", Cmnd. 7797, was published in January 1980; and if she will make a statement.

In January this year I announced decisions which will lead to the abolition of over 240 non-departmental public bodies with estimated savings of £11.6 million in a full year.Since then, further decisions have been taken which will lead to the winding up of another 28 executive bodies and 164 advisory and judicial bodies. Valuable financial savings will arise from these decisions and from reductions in the expenditure of other bodies which have been reviewed. These savings will accrue over a period of time and in some cases cannot yet be calculated, but they will reach over £11 million a year by 1983–84.I am sure hon. Members will welcome these measures, which bring to 436 the total number of public bodies to he wound up; the total savings will approach £23 million a year by 1983–84.A number of reviews are still in progress, including those of the nationalised industries consumer councils and the industrial training board system.We shall keep all existing bodies under regular scrutiny. Those which continue to undertake valuable work and remain appropriate will be retained, but we shall keep under close control the money which the Government spend on them. Whenever bodies are no longer needed, they will be wound up.There are always pressures for the creation of new bodies. We shall be robust in resisting them. But we shall approve proposals for new bodies if we can be convinced that the function is essential and that a non-departmental body is the appropriate way to do the job, as in the case of the urban development corporations and other bodies we have set up.Details of the decisions are as follows:

Department	Decision
Industrial Relations Training Resource Centre	To be abolished; saving of £60–£100,000 per annum.
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Advisory Committee on Fixed Offshore Installations	Abolished in March.
Advisory Council on Energy Conservation	Reconstituted with reduced membership.
Severn Barrage Committee	To be abolished in 1981.
DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT
New Town Development Corporations (11)	*Target dates decided for abolition of first and second generation corporations.
Commission for New Towns	*To be abolished; legislation required.
New Towns Staff Commission	*Abolition associated with winding up of Development Corporations.
Advisory Panel on Institutional Finance in New Towns	*Abolished.
Housing Corporation	Staff reductions and administrative streamlining; savings of about £1 million.
Housing Services Advisory Group	Abolished. Saving of about £26,000 per annum.
National Consultative Council for the Building and Civil Engineering Industries	Abolished in April; saving of £60–£80,000 per annum.
FOREIGN OFFICE
British Council	Reduction in expenditure, phased over four years to reach £8·6 million per annum by 1983–84.
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL SECURITY
Advisory Committee on Child Psychotherapists (Grading and Appointments)	To be abolished after current negotiations; saving of about £12,000 per annum.
Advisory Committee on Top Grade Clinical Psychologist Posts
Advisory Committee on Top Grade Scientist Posts
Food Hygiene Advisory Council	To be abolished
General Nursing Council (E&W)	To be abolished after transitional period. New structure involves Central Council and two territorial boards.
Central Midwives Board (E&W)
Joint Board for Clinical Nursing Studies Panel of Assessors for District Nurse Training
Council for the Education and Training of Health Visitors
National Radiological Protection Board Advisory Committee	To be abolished
HOME OFFICE
Central Committee on Common Police Services	Fewer meetings, reduced membership.
Licensing Planning Committees (6)	Four to be abolished
New Town Licensed Premises Committees (17)	11 to be abolished by 1985 along with associated Development Corporations.
DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRY
Design Council	Staff reductions. Aim of increased income from advisory etc. services.
	Substantial savings.
NORTHERN IRELAND OFFICE AND NI DEPARTMENTS
Advisory Committee for Agricultural Training (NT)	Abolished.
Advisory Committee on Health Education (NI)	Abolished.
Extra Statutory Compensation Tribunal	To be abolished.
Hotel Grants Advisory Committee (NI)	To be abolished; Legislation required.
Northern Ireland Agricultural Trust	To be abolished; saving of about £400,000.
Northern Ireland Council for Nurses and Midwives	To be abolished after transitional period; replaced by new NI board.
NI Electricity Consumers Council	To be amalgamated; legislation required.
NI Consumer Council
NI Transport Users' Committee
NI Training Council	To be amalgamated; legislation required.
Youth Careers Guidance Committee
Youth Opportunities Programme Monitoring Committee
Nature Reserves Committee	To be amalgamated; legislation required.
Wild Birds Advisory Committee
NI Training School Management Boards (4)	Government intends that Boards' present functions will be discharged by one board.
SCOTTISH OFFICE
Scottish Food Hygiene Council	To be abolished.
General Nursing Council for Scotland	To be abolished after transitional period. Replaced by new Scottish Board.
Central Midwives Board (Scotland)
Governing Bodies of Colleges of Education (10)	Closure of two colleges; restructuring of another. Significant savings.
Scottish Horticultural Research Institute	To be amalgamated.
Scottish Society for Research in Plant Breeding
TREASURY
Commonwealth War Graves Commission	Staff reductions and other savings. Savings of over £200,000 per annum by 1983–84.
*Taking these bodies together, there will be substantial savings in the amount (currently about £640,000 per annum.) spent on departmental supervision, etc.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he plans to make a further reduction in the number 3f troops in Northern Ireland in January 1981.

We continue to look forward to a time when it will be possible for us to withdraw more regular units from Northern Ireland and for those that remain to return to their normal role and training. There are, however, no current plans to make a further reduction in the number of troops there in January 1981.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about his Department's plans to provide assistance to Service men to buy their own homes.

[pursuant to his reply, 8 August 1980, c. 479–80]: The introduction of revised assisted house purchase schemes for the Armed Forces was not possible this year for budgetary reasons. It remains my intention to introduce them as soon as the financial situation permits but it now looks unlikely that they can be given sufficient priority for funding in 1981–82. Implementation of the scheme for the sale of surplus married quarters to Service teen at discounted values has similarly had to be delayed; unlike the sale to sitting tenants under the corresponding local authority schemes, it would represent a substantial loss of money to the Ministry of Defence.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement about the price premium for untreated milk sold retail in Scotland

In my reply to my hon. Friend on 7 March 1980—[Vol. 980, c. 379–80]—I said that the existing premium of 1p per pint on raw, untreated milk sold retail would De discontinued shortly. It is my intention that the price premium for the "premium" grade of untreated milk in Scotland will be discontinued from 27 December 1981.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what was the United Kingdom contribution to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in the Middle East in 1979–80; and whit contribution is proposed for 1980–81.

In 1979–80 we paid £4·8 million to the agency's 1980 programme budget of $217·2 million. This year we shad provide £5 million towards the 1981 programme budget of $236·9 million. In addition, we are meeting about one-fifth of the European Community's food aid contributions, which in 1980 will cost the Community about $26 million.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether he is making available to the Government of Zimbabwe funds for the purchase of European farm land which is needed for the purposes of resettlement.

We are discussing with the Zimbabwe Government proposals for a £40 million programme for land settlement, comprising the purchase of land and its development for agricultural resettlement. The United Kingdom would meet half the cost of the programme.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy by how much he estimates that industrial consumption of electricity has been reduced below its level at the same time in 1979.

Information on industrial consumption of electricity is published quarterly in my Department's monthly bulletin "Energy Trends", copies of which are available in the Library of the House. For convenience, the latest information is given below:

	Percentage change in electricity consumption January June 1980 compared with January-June 1979
Iron and steel industry*	33·9 per cent.
Other industries	1·6 per cent.
All industry	6·7 per cent.
* There was a major dispute in this industry in the first quarter of 1980.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy (1) what has been the approximate annual value of equipment and services purchased by the Central Electricity Generating Board over the past three years from the private sector of the national economy;(2) what has been the approximate annual value of equipment and services purchased by the British Gas Corporation over the past three years from the private sector of the national economy;(3) what has been the approximate annual value of equipment and services purchased by the National Coal Board over the past three years from the private sector of the national economy.

These are matters for the industries concerned. I am asking the chairmen to write to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what impact he expects the supplementary tax on oil will have on future exploration and development in the North Sea.

I have been asked to reply.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy which process the United Kingdom intends to use for the disposal of nuclear waste, the AVM or the harvest process.

I have been asked to reply.I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my right hon. Friend to the hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed (Mr. Beith) on 27 November 1980.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what is his justification for the proposal to end inflation-proofing of public service pensions.

I am not sure to what the hon. Member is referring. My right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer told the House on 24 November that, subject to the necessary legislation, for the 1981 uprating public service pensions will be treated in the same way as retirement pensions. Any further action on index-linked public sector pensions will follow the report of the Scott inquiry, which is expected this month.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service how many disabled people were employed in the Civil Service on 1 November; and what percentage of the total this represents.

The numbers of registered disabled people employed by Government Departments are collected once a year. The latest available figures show that on 1 June 1980 there were 11,804 registered disabled people employed in the Civil Service which represents 1.7 per cent. of the total work force.These figures relate only to those disabled people who are known to be registered. Many disabled people choose not to register and there is no obligation to disclose registration to the employer.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service how many disabled people have been recruited into the Civil Service in the Wolverhampton and Stafford travel-to-work areas during the last 12 months; and what percentage of the total this represents.

I regret that the information is not available in the form requested by my hon. Friend. The numbers of registered disabled people recruited into the Civil Service are collected from Departments once a year and do not distinguish areas of employment.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he is taking to encourage farmers to increase beef, lamb and pig production during the next 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

The CAP settlement will determine the market support levels for 1981–82. Currently the livestock industry is benefiting from the higher rates of support under the EEC sheepmeat variable premium scheme and payments under the beef suckler cow scheme amounting to £2 million in 1980–81 in Wales. In addition, increased rates of hill livestock compensatory allowances, amounting to £3 million in Wales, have recently been announced.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how pig producers' returns in Wales compare with prices paid to Danish and Dutch pig producers; and if he will make a statement.

Prices secured by Welsh producers are in line with those of the rest of the United Kingdom. For the week ending 16 November 1980 the EEC pigmeat reference prices, which reflect the weekly average market price in each member State, were as follows:

	Deadweight
Denmark	65·65 p/kg
Netherlands	70·02 p/kg
United Kingdom	85·43 p/kg

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate he has made for the losses of rateable value through industrial changes in the next two years in the Port Talbot travel-to-work area and in West Glamorgan; and what proposals he has to mitigate this.

It is not possible to estimate changes in rateable value arising from future industrial changes in any area. However, I am considering ways of calculating rate support grant entitlements for local authorities in Wales which will take earlier account of changes in rateable value.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will arrange for Her Majesty's inspectors of constabulary to provide annual written reports for each police authority; and, if not, why he will not.

The Police Act 1964 places distinct responsibilities on police authorities, on chief officers of police and on the Secretary of State. Her Majesty's Inspectors of Constabulary have a statutory duty to report to the Secretary of State on matters related to police efficiency, and the provision of reports for police authorities would blur the lines of responsibility laid down in the Police Act. When conducting inspections, Her Majesty's inspectors invariably seek an opportunity of discussing with the chairman and members of a police authority matters which are within the authority's responsibility.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many suicides there have been in each prison in England and Wales during each year since 1970.

Suicides by Establishment 1970–79
Establishment	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979
Albany	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Ashford	—	—	—	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
Bedford	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	—
Birmingham	—	—	1	—	1	2	1	—	1	—
Bristol	—	—	1	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
Brixton	1	2	1	2	1	2	7	—	3	5
Camp Hill	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	—	—	—
Canterbury	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	1	—
Cardiff	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	—	—
Cardiff RC	—	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Chelmsford	—	—	—	—	—	1	—	—	—	—
Dartmoor	—	1	—	1	—	—	—	—	1	1
Durham (Male)	—	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	—
Durham (Female)	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	—
Exeter Prison	—	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Gartree	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	—	1
Hindley	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	—
Holloway	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	—	—	—
Hull	—	—	—	1	—	—	—	—	—	—
Morton Hall	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Latchmere House	—	—	—	—	1	—	—	—	—	—
Leeds	—	1	2	1	—	2	1	1	2	1
Leicester	—	—	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Lewes	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Lincoln	1	1	—	—	2	—	1	—	—	2
Liverpool	—	1	1	1	—	1	2	—	—	2
LongLartin	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	—
Low Newton (Female)	—	—	—	—	—	1	—	—	—	—
Manchester Prison	—	—	—	—	—	1	2	—	—	—
Norwich Prison	—	—	—	—	—	1	—	—	—	—
Parkhurst	—	—	—	—	1	—	—	1	—	—
Pentonville	1	1	—	1	—	—	—	—	—	1
Pucklechurch (Male)	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	—	—
Reading	—	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Risley (Male)	—	—	—	—	—	2	—	—	—	—
Shrewsbury	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	—	1
Stafford	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	—	1
Swansea	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	1	—	—
Wakefield	—	—	1	1	—	—	2	1	—	—
Wandsworth	—	1	3	1	—	—	—	—	1	2
Winchester Prison	—	—	1	—	—	—	—	—	1	1
Wormwood Scrubs Prison	—	1	1	1	—	—	1	1	1	2
Wormwood Scrubs (BAC)	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Totals	6	13	13	14	6	14	20	11	16	21

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will seek to ensure that visits by barristers and solicitors to those remanded in custody at Her Majesty's prison Holloway may continue beyond 4.45 pm, as is the case in other prisons; and if he will make a statement.

At Holloway barristers and solicitors ale able to see their clients between 9.00 am and 11.30 am and also between 1.30 pm and 4.45 pm. Visits cannot take place after 4.45 pm on a regular basis because of the limited availability of staff.

The information for each prison department establishment in which a suicide occurred is set out in the table below. The figures include four cases where the suicide took place outside the establishment concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Metropolitan Police has a "Buy British" policy for uniforms and other textiles and clothing.

The general policy of the receiver for the Metropolitan Police district is to buy British where possible and subject to getting good value for money.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects that the information on the reconviction of those subjected to the short sharp shock experiment will be available.

We hope to make available in late 1982 information about reconvictions during the first year after release of persons discharged from New Hall, Send and four other detention centres between June and December 1980.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what future use is to be made of 1 Trinity Crescent, Tooting, London, SW17.

This property belongs to the receiver for the Metropolitan Police district and was purchased by him in 1974 as part of the site for the new Trinity Road police station. It is understood that the receiver hopes—subject to planning agreement—eventually to use the site for that purpose, when this particular building would have to come down. In the meantime, he has offered the property to the London borough of Wandsworth at a nominal rent, so that the building might be used for housing homeless families or for other council purposes. I understand that as yet there has been no response to the offer.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many letters were sent by prisoners, in each of the last five years, whose postage was paid for out of public funds.

Convicted prisoners are permitted to send one letter a week at public expense and occasionally, when a governor considers it justified, a special letter, but the total number sent in a year by prisoners is not known.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the criteria determining the grant or refusal of applications for political asylum; how many such applications have been granted; and in respect of nationals of which countries over the past 10 years.

The criteria for the grant of asylum are set out in the immigration rules, which refer to the United Nations convention relating to the status of refugees. Broadly, the test is whether an applicant here has a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion if he returns to his own country.I regret that the statistical information requested is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he has taken or is considering to avoid concerted acts of indiscipline in prison by improving communications with prisoners and staff.

Many concerted acts of indiscipline by prisoners have nothing to do with failures of communication with them. The importance of good communications in maintaining reasonable and orderly regimes has, however, long been recognised. Staff training provides a foundation of knowledge and skills which enable officers, as they gain experience, increasingly to adopt a constructive approach in their relationships with prisoners. This approach helps officers to tolerate disagreeable behaviour and to reason with agitated prisoners; it is a measure of their professionalism that they are generally able to do so.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current policy relating to training prison officers in the minimum use of force tactical intervention squad; whether this represents any modification of previous policy; and, if so, in what respects.

There has been no modification of the policy, which was introduced in 1978, to train all members of the governor and prison officer grades—except hospital officers—who are medically fit in tactics in the use of minimum force to retain control of prison service establishments. The training continues to be designed to ensure that staff operate effectively in disciplined bodies, under firm leadership; it includes instruction in the wearing of protective equipment, restrictions on the use of force and practice in basic drills, manoeuvres and tactics.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the results of his inquiry into the events at Wormwood Scrubs prison on 31 August 1979; what recommendations he has received and from whom in respect of the inquiry; and what action he proposes to take.

The events at Wormwood Scrubs on 31 August 1979 were investigated by the regional director of the South-East region of the prison department. I told the House on 1 May this year that I had decided, on the advice of the Director of Public Prosecutions, that it would not be right at this stage to publish the regional director's report in view of the current police inquiries, which could lead to criminal proceedings. Police inquiries are still continuing and it is not yet possible to say when they are likely to be concluded.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will indicate, for every county fire authority, the average number of incidents attended annually by a fireman where such incident involves departure from the fire station, for the latest 12-month period for which figures are available.

The information requested is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the reason for the delay in dealing with the application for a passport made by Mr. Abdul Kahar, 9 Piercefield Place, Cardiff, who has lived in the United Kingdom since 1945; why the documentary evidence of residence sent to the Home Office—reference number K 305541—on 11 April, by recorded delivery, namely, marriage certificate in lieu of a birth certificate, merchant seaman's identity card and daughter's birth certificate, has not been returned despite many requests for them, and why no written communication has been sent to Mr. Kahar; and if he will now instruct that a passport be issued forthwith and apologies issued for the delay.

Mr. Kahar applied for registration as a citizen of the United Kingdom and colonies on 11 April. I am sony that, contrary to the usual practice and owing to inadvertence, an acknowledgment was not sent to him. We have not been able to trace any request for the return of the documents Mr. Kahar sent with his application.There has been a substantial increase in the number of applications for citizenship in recent years and because this has coincided with a period when economies are necessary it has not been possible to provide sufficient staff to deal with applications as quickly as we would like. Applications are therefore taking several months to deal with, and I am sorry that it has not been possible to consider Mr. Kahar's application before now.However, the application has now been considered and we shall shortly be getting in touch with Mr. Kahar to enable the formalities of registration, to be completed. The issue of United Kingdom passports is a matter for the Passport Office. Once Mr. Kahar has his certificate of registration, he should be able to obtain a passport on making application to that office.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has received from the Manx authorities about the increase or decrease in violent crime and vandalism, respectively, since the decision of the European Court in February 1978 made it unlawful for corporal punishment to be available to the Manx courts; and if he will make a statement.

Some information about these offences is available, but it is still too early to form any view as to whether changes in the relevant figures are significant.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is yet able to make a statement about an independent local radio station to serve East Kent.

In my reply to a question by my hon. Friend the Member for Aldershot (Mr. Critchley) on 15 November last year—[Vol. 973, c. 707–8]—I announced that I had accepted in principle the need for an ILR station in East Kent but that I wished to consider further its location and coverage. Since then, the Independent Broadcasting Authority has completed a technical investigation into the practicalities of providing such a service and has put forward a proposal for providing an ILR station for East Kent, from three pairs of Transmitters—each pair consisting of a vhf and an mf transmitter—in the Canterbury, Dover and Thanet areas. I have approved this proposal.In addition, the authority hopes eventually, when frequencies become available, to add a relay station in order to extend the East Kent ILR service into the Ashford area.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what was the result of the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the European Economic Community countries in relation to the Middle East situation.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave earlier this afternoon to the hon. Member for East Kilbride (Dr. Miller).

asked the Lord Privy Seal what representations have been received by the European Economic Community Ministers in relation to the European Council declaration on the Middle East from the United States Administration in their position as one of the co-signatories to the Camp David accords.

We are, of course, in constant and close touch with the United States on this question. I believe the United States understand that it is not our intention to cut across their efforts. Mr. Muskie made this clear after the Venice declaration.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what progress has been made at the Madrid review conference regarding the protection of human rights in the Soviet Union; and if he will make a statement.

It is a major British aim at the Madrid meeting to secure improved implementation of principle VII of the Helsinki Final Act on respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. The United Kingdom delegation in Madrid has already made clear the strong feelings of the British people against the current campaign of repression in the USSR and the need for progress in this area if confidence in the CSCE process is to be maintained.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will make a statement on the United Kingdom's participation in the Madrid review conference of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Streatham (Mr. Shelton) earlier today.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what indications Her Majesty's Government have had, and of what nature, that the Palestine Liberation Organisation is ready to renounce all links with terrorism and to accept Israel's right to exist behind secure borders.

The Palestine Liberation Organisation has not declared openly its readiness to accept Israel's right to exist and continues to be involved with terrorism. This is unacceptable to us. However, Palestine Liberation Organisation statements and contacts with it reveal some evidence of readiness to accept a negotiated settlement based on compromise in the right circumstances. We continue to urge both the Palestinians and Israel to recognise each other's rights.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what consultations he has had concerning the desirability of renewing the acceptance of the United Kingdom Government of the right of individual petition to the European Commission of Human Rights.

As my hon. Friend will know from the reply given on 25 November by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the hon. Member for Derby, North (Mr. Whitehead), the Government have decided to renew for a period of five years from January 1981 their acceptance of the right of individual petition to the European Commission of Human Rights and of the compulsory jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights.In taking this decision, the Government took account of the numerous representations made to them.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will make a statement on the decision by Her Majesty's Government to support at the United Nations the credentials of the Pol Pot regime as the Government of Kampuchea.

Our vote for the report of the credentials committee did not imply any weakening in our detestation of the Democratic Kampuchean regime. Our vote with those of 72 other Western and non-aligned nations, was designed to register opposition to Vietnam's continued occupation of Cambodia and the puppet regime it has installed there. I have placed in the Library copies of our explanation of that vote and of our intervention in the General Assembly discussion on 16 October.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what steps currently are being taken to try to bring about a cessation of hostilities between Iraq and Iran; and if he will make a statement.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what role the Government have played in trying to bring about a peaceful solution to the Iran-Iraq war.

The United Nations secretary-general's special representative, Mr. Olaf Palme, has visited Tehran and Baghdad to explore the prospects of bringing about an end to the fighting. The Islamic conference and the nonaligned movement are also planning high-level peace missions. We welcome these efforts. As my right hon. and noble Friend and his colleagues in the Nine made clear in their statement on 23 September, we are ready to support any international initiative likely to promote a political settlement of the dispute.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what representations he has made to the South African Government about their refusal to admit Mr. Paul Stephenson, the only black member of the British Sports Council.