asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he is satisfied with the construction of the retail price index.

Yes. I am satisfied that the retail prices index as at present constructed fulfils the purpose for which it was designed. This is to provide a measure of the change from month to month in the prices of the goods and services bought by the general consumer. However, as regards some uses of the index, I have reservations about the emphasis that is sometimes placed on the index in claims on the country's resources when changes in world trade and other factors are affecting our prosperity. I should also like to see the constituent parts of the index given more attention and am examining ways of doing this.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will extend the length of time of assistance under the temporary short-term working compensation scheme from nine months to 12 months in special development areas.

In his statement about the Government's special employment measures on 21 November, my right hon. Friend announced that the maximum period of support under the temporary short-time working compensation scheme would be extended to nine months. This is to be financed by cutting the rate of reimbursement from 75 per cent. to 50 per cent. of normal pay for workless days. We have to strike a balance between the needs of industry and what the country can afford and I can see no prospect of our being able to extend the scheme further in 1981–82 in the way the hon. Member suggests.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment Whether firms of under 10 employees can benefit from the temporary short-time working compensation scheme or any similar scheme.

[pursuant to his reply, 4 December 1980]: I regret that firms with fewer than 10 employees are unable to benefit under the TSTWC scheme. The scheme is designed to enable employers to keep together a particular work force, which might be difficult to reassemble and there is a limit below which this argument ceases to have force. Moreover, the figure of 10 redundancies coincides with the requirement in the Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act that only redundancies affecting more than 10 workers need be notified to this Department; this notification is used under the scheme as evidence that there is a real threat of redundancy.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if, in view of the fact that many smaller companies are unable to take advantage of the temporary short-time working scheme, he will seek to reduce the minimum threshold for qualification from the intention to make 10 more workers redundant to five or more; and if he will make a statement.

[pursuant to his reply, 9 December 1980]: I have no plans at present to reduce the minimum threshold to enable companies with a potential number of redundancies of less than 10 to qualify for assistance under the temporary short-time working compensation (TSTWC) scheme.I do not think it would be cost effective to reduce the threshold further. The scheme aims to avert redundancies, thus helping employers keep together a particular labour force which might be difficult to re-assemble, and there must be a limit below which this argument has force. Moreover, the figure of 10 redundancies coincides with the requirement in the Employment Protection Act 1975 that only companies faced with making 10 or more workers redundant need notify the redundancies to my Department; this notification is used under the scheme as evidence that there is a real threat of redundancy.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what representations he has received regarding the allocation on non-working days under the temporary short-time working compensation scheme; and if he will make a statement;(2) if he will change the rules of the temporary short-time working compensation scheme to make it more flexible with regard to allocating non-working days in specific divisions of four—four and five weeks;(3) what study he has made of the difficulties that are being caused to some firms by his Department's insistence that the allocation of non-working days under the temporary short-time working compensation scheme must be used in specific divisions of four—four and five weeks; and if he will make a statement.

[pursuant to his reply, 8 December 1980]: I have received very few representations requesting a change to this ruling.The temporary short-time working compensation scheme was designed essentially to provide support on a weekly basis and thus the maximum entitlement to support is expressed in terms of workless days per week. However, in order to allow firms some flexibility in regulating their work and also to allow them to work a week on—week off system of short-time working it was decided to allow firms to spread claims over a four or five-week period up to a maximum entitlement of four or five times the weekly maximum. For individual workers on short time, there has to be at least one normal day's work after a period of seven consecutive days without work.There is also scope within the rules for firms which find their trading position deteriorating while claiming support to adjust this maximum entitlement by increasing the size of the redundancy group. Most have found the flexibility provided to be sufficient. I have no plans therefore to change this ruling.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what was the percentage of total employment in manufacturing industry in the United Kingdom for 1977.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what was the total number and percentage rate of unemployment in the United Kingdom in November in 1950, 1955, 1960, 1965, 1970, 1975 and 1980, respectively.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what volume of British National Oil Corporation oil has been sold in advance of acquisition; and over what period forward sales extend.

I refer my hon Friend to the British National Oil Corporation's 1979 accounts for a full description of BNOC's forward oil purchase agreement with Britoil Inc. I am asking the chairman to write to my hon. Friend about the agreements negotiated last winter by the corporation to receive payment in advance for oil to be delivered during 1980–81.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy when he expects to make a decision on the onshore destination of the various fractions of gases coming from the proposed gas-gathering pipeline.

I hope soon to respond to certain recommendations made by the organising group for the gas-gathering pipeline which are relevant to this matter.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if his Department has received a copy of "North-East Leicester coalfield, The Vale of Belvoir—the case against coal mining in this valuable and attractive agricultural area", produced by Leicestershire county council; what study has been made of it; and if he will make a statement.

I have received a copy of the document. This is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment who is now considering the report of the inspector who conducted the public inquiry into the National Coal Board's proposal.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what assessment he has made of the saving in terms of energy if mail at present transported by road were transported by rail.

I have been asked to reply. I shall reply to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service whether he will ensure that, in the light of the fact that public servants are drawing several indexed pensions and part-time and full-time salaries for public appointments, all such persons retire completely when on pension or give up their pensions when appointed to Government appointments on a full or part-time paid on expenses reimbursement basis.

No. As my right. hon. Friend the Prime Minister said in her reply to the hon. Member on 5 December 1980 the Government will continue to make appointments to public bodies on the basis of a person's suitability for the appointment. It would not be in the national interest to waste the considerable experience and expertise acquired by public servants during their careers by barring them from further public service on retirement. There are abatement arrangements for those in receipt of pensions from public funds as explained in my reply to the hon. Member on 1 April 1980. — [Vol. 982, c. 131–132].

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what are the plans for implementing the suggestion, contained in the fourth report of the Select Committee on the Parliamentary Commissioner, that the Parliamentary Commissioner be allowed to investigate contractual and commercial transactions of a Government Department.

The Government are considering the Select Committee's report and will present their observations to Parliament as soon as possible.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service when the next issue of the Index to the Statutes will be published.

Her Majesty's Stationery Office expects to publish the 1977–78 edition by the end of January 1981.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service when the next issue of the Chronological Table of the Statutes will be published.

The Chronological Table of the Statutes 1979 was published on 4 December 1980. The next issue will be published about one year later.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what comparisons are made between the maternity leave provisions in the Civil Service and similar private sector schemes; and which firms are used as comparators.

My Department obtains information from independent organisations which undertake surveys of employees' conditions of service in both the public and private sectors and takes all relevant factors into account.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what progress has been made by the working group studying the possible introduction of domestic wireless licences;(2) what is the estimate of the Home Office of the number of licensable domestic wirelesses in the United Kingdom.

I expect to receive in the new year a further report from the working party on the administration of the broadcast receiving licensing system, which is considering again methods of payment of the licence fee and whether the base of the licensing system might be expanded, including the possibility of reintroducing radio licences. Most of the 20 million households in the country use one or more radio sets, but precise figures for all radio sets in use are not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he now proposes to publish the report prepared by his chief medical adviser, Sir Henry Yellowlees, on the conduct of X-ray examinations for non-medical purposes at the direction of immigration officers.

The review concerned the nature and conduct of medical examinations in the immigration control context and was not confined to the use of X-rays for assessing age. Copies of the report will be made available to hon. Members shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will list the 1980 electorates for the proposed constituencies recommended for Northumberland by the Boundary Commission for England in its notice dated 23 February 1978.

The information requested is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what representation he has received from members of the public on the role and future of the Commission for Racial Equality since May 1979;(2) what representations he has received from members of the public on the role and future of the Equal Opportunities Commission since May 1979.

I regret that this information is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the total number of indictable offences connected with firearms in England and Wales in 1979; and what was the number and percentage of them that involved air weapons.

The information requested is published in paragraph 3·5 and table 3·3 of "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales 1979", Cmnd. 8098 which was issued on 27 November 1980. The total number of offences was 6,547 of which 5,066 involved air weapons.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the question raised on 13 November by the hon. Member for Batley and Morley regarding the number of indictable offences committed by children and young people with air weapons in England and Wales in 1979, whether the information is now available; and whether he will now give it.

The information requested is given in the following table which also indicates the large number of offences for which the age of the suspect was not known.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total number of fatal, serious or slight injuries caused by air weapons in England and Wales in 1979.

The degree of injury in serious offences recorded by the police in England and Wales in 1979 in which air weapons were reported to have been used is published in table 3.7 of "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales, 1979"—Cmnd. 8098—issued on 27 November. No information is available on accidental injuries caused by air weapons.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to receive and to publish the report of the local radio working party.

We hope to publish the third report of the Home Office local radio working party before the Christmas Adjournment.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been paid to police surgeons in the Metropolitan Police area since the start of the prison officers' dispute; and how these figures compare with the same period in 1979.

The information is not readily available in the form requested, but the Metropolitan Police estimates that the costs so far incurred in examining prisoners temporarily accommodated in police cells are of the order of £85,000.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the status of Gibraltarians at present under EEC regulations; and how this will be altered in the proposed Nationality Bill.

Gibraltarians benefit from the free movement rights of the Treaty of Rome within the European Community. The provisions in the Nationality Bill will have no effect on this arrangement.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Gibraltarians visited the United Kingdom in each of the past 10 years.

The total number of admissions of Gibraltarians in 1979 is published in table 1(a) of the "Control of Immigration Statistics"—Cmnd. 7875—and in the corresponding tables for previous years. The purpose of journey is not recorded.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Gibraltarians have taken advantage of the present agreement to allow them free access to settle in the United Kingdom; and how many have subsequently returned to Gibraltar.

Gibraltarians are admitted to the United Kingdom free of conditions. No records are kept of those who decide to settle or of those who subsequently return to Gibraltar.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the estimated number of Gibraltarians who would qualify for British citizenship under the proposed Nationality Bill.

I regret that no reliable estimate is available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to announce his findings following the representations he has received from the public in response to the consultative paper on the private security industry.

In consultation with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland, I have considered the views expressed by numerous organisations and individuals on the Labour Administration's discussion paper on the private security industry. We have concluded that the case for special statutory controls over the industry has not been made out and that it is preferable to support and encourage self-regulation within the industry. Discussions will now take place with the industry on how this might best be achieved.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what widow's pension could accrue to the widow of a United Kingdom Member of the European Assembly if she had one dependent child; who would pay this pension; how it would be linked; how it would compare with that available to the widow of an hon. Member; and, if there are differences, in what way they can be equated, are equitable and how they arise.

Under the European Assembly (United Kingdom Representatives) Pensions Order 1980 (1980 No. 1450), three-quarters of the basic or prospective pension of the deceased, of which one-half would be in respect of the widow herself, and one-quarter in respect of the dependent child. The deceased's basic or prospective pension would be based on relevant terminal salary and length of service. The pensions would be paid from the Consolidated Fund and covered by the Pensions (Increase) Act 1971. These provisions are the same as those applying to former hon. Members and their dependants.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list in the Official Report the number of houses or apartments which have been allocated by each local authority in the United Kingdom to refugees from Vietnam and the number of refugees involved in each case;(2) If he will list the number of units of accommodation made available to Vietnamese refugees by each new town development corporation; and what is the number of refugees involved in each case;(3) If he will list in the

The information requested is not immediately available. We shall publish it in the Official Report shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many South Vietnamese refugees have been admitted for settlement in the first 11 months of 1980; and what is his estimate for the full year 1980 and for 1981.

About 6,480 refugees from Vietnam were admitted in the first 11 months of 1980. A further 350 are expected to have arrived by the end of the year.During 1981 we expect to admit the remainder of the quota which we undertook to accept at the request of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. There will also be some family reunion cases and we shall continue our obligations in respect of those rescued at sea.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is satisfied with the current level of immigration from the New Commonwealth and Pakistan; and if he will make a statement.

The Government are pledged to continue the commitments repeated over the years to certain United Kingdom passport holders and to the wives and children of men already settled here. Many of these have come and will continue to come from the New Commonwealth and Pakistan. These commitments, and our undertaking to admit 10,000 refugees from Vietnam, are reflected in the current level of immigration. Any further immigration beyond these categories is strictly limited by the revised immigration rubs which we introduced in March.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will consider making repatriation resettlement grants available for all those from the New Commonwealth and Pakistan who wish to take advantage of them.

We have no plans to alter the present arrangements for the voluntary repatriation scheme operated under section 29 of the Immigration Act 1971. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Services has responsibility for arrangements operated within the supplementary benefits scheme.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what grounds, in view of the commitment to original Service pensioner settlers to retain full British citizenship, the Government are not excluding Falkland Islanders from the provisions of the White Paper on British Nationality Law.

We are not aware of any commitment to the original settlers that would have a bearing on the forthcoming nationality legislation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will list the 1980 electorates for the 81 proposed constituencies provisionally recommended for Greater London, apart from the borough of Enfield, by the Boundary Commission for England in its notice dated 14 June 1979.

We are obtaining this information and will publish it in the Official Report as soon as it is available.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales (1) which education authorities have failed to submit specific figures in relation to the expenditure on books for primary and secondary schools;(2) what estimate he has of the expenditure on books per capita by each of the education authorities (

The latest available information is shown in the following table:—

I am satisfied with current arrangements by which advice on methods of rabbit control is available from the Agricultural Development and Advisory Service to farmers who need it.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what was the number of hill cows in Wales in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Hill cows in Wales which qualified: for hill livestock compensatory allowances in the last three years were:—

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether he will arrange for all civil servants of his Department who come in direct contact with the public, to be identifiable by wearing a conspicuous name tag.

I consider that the present arrangements for staff to identify themselves in their dealings with the public, which vary according to the circumstances are satisfactory.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what discussions he has had with his counterparts in Europe for the establishment of an integrated European air traffic control; if he will indicate what obstacles to such an integrated control system exist; and if he will make a statement.

When occasion arises I discuss air traffic control issues with my European opposite numbers. My hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Defence for the Royal Air Force and I also participate in the deliberations of Eurocontrol, the European organisation for the safety of air navigation.The arrangements for Eurocontrol embodied in the original convention proved inappropriate because they

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether he will investigate the level of promotional support given for food exporting by national Governments of individual EEC countries, with a view to raising any unfair trading practice with the European Commission.

Both my Department and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food already have a fair amount of information on other European Community countries' promotion of their food exports.Our information does not suggest any breach of Community obligations. The primary responsibility for ensuring that there is no breach rests however with the Commission, acting on behalf of the Community as a whole; the common agricultural policy legislation and the competition rules of the Treaty of Rome provide the necessary legal framework.I should be happy to consider any further information that my hon. Friend may have.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will set out, for the last 12 months and the last three complete years, the volume of United Kingdom steel production, imports and exports, imports and exports divided into EEC and non-EEC origin, destination, imports further subdivided into product which could or could not be manufactured in the United Kingdom and production divided into British Steel Corporation and other United Kingdom manufacturers.

The following is the available information:

asked the Secretary of State for Trade when work will commence on the proposed new Looe coastguard observation post and equipment store; what is the completion date and the estimated cost; and if he will make a statement.

Tenders have been invited for the construction of a new sector base for Her Majesty's Coastguard at Looe. This will comprise a lookout, sector office, garage and storage for boat and rescue equipment. The work is estimated to cost about £60,000. It is hoped to start work about the end of January 1981 and to complete it in the late summer.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what is the value of each of the following textile products that have been imported into the United Kingdom so far in the current year; trousers, jeans, shorts, men's and boys' shirts, blouses, other women's and girls' outer garments, knitted garments, jumpers, cardigans, pullovers, other outer garments and skirts.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether, further to his reply to the hon. Member for Northampton, North on 5 December, Official Report, column 395, he will give the technical details explaining why it is impossible for some petrol pumps to accommodate higher gallonage prices.

Certain types of petrol pumps, particularly mechanical ones, are not designed to indicate and compute above a unit price of 99·9p because of limitations in the indicating and price-computing mechanism. The face of a pump of this type is designed to show only three figures for the price per gallon so the gear train would need some redesigning to go above £1·00 per gallon; in addition, the price-to-pay gearing would have to be completely redesigned. Alternatively, a new face could be provided, but again both gear trains would need redesigning. The abilty to modify a pump would depend on sufficient space being available.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will ensure that the Pilotage Commission consults shipping representatives from Rochester and Chatham, who object to the London pilotage district draft byelaws, before a decision is made on the byelaws.

I have asked the commission for its advice on these byelaws and I understand that it intends to take evidence from all the parties who have entered objections to the proposals. It is for the commission to decide how to conduct its proceedings, but I have drawn its attention to my hon. Friend's question.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will list the investment schemes at local authority airports which he has approved as projects of national or regional importance qualifying for special capital expenditure allocations under the provisions of the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980.

In his statement on airports policy on 17 December 1979 my right hon. Friend said that it would be the Government's intention to adopt policies to maximise the potential of the English regional airports, and those in Scotland and Wales, and thus to shift the burden away from the London area airports. In pursuit of that objective the following airport investment schemes submitted by local authorities have been designated as projects of national or regional importance and will receive an appropriate allocation of the national cash limit for capital expenditure in 1981–82:

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement about the availability of nursery school places over the next five years.

The Government's expenditure plans up to 1983–84 for pupils under 5 were set out in Cmnd. 7841. The implications for those plans of the statement by my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 24 November are a matter for consultation with the local authority associations.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many applications have been received for funds available under the scheme announced earlier in the year to allow schools to reform school curricula so as to enable more children to learn about the microchip; and if he will make a statement.

Over 200 applications for financial support from the microelectronics in education programme have been received, of which a substantial number are concerned with curriculum development. Thirty projects lave been approved in 1980–81 and the education departments will shortly be publishing criteria for the allocation of the resources available in the remaining three years of the programme.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many children aged 16 years chose to leave school at Easter 1979, Easter 1980 and at the spring bank holiday 1979 and 1980; and what percentages those figures represent when expressed as a proportion of all those fifth-formers entitled to do so.

In 1979, 45,000 boys and girls aged 16 left English schools in the spring term representing 14 per cent. of those entitled to do so.A further 256,000 had left by the end of May, amounting to 35 per cent. of the whole fifth form: any pupil becoming 16 during the academic year could leave by that date. Figures for 1980 are not yet available but at similar percentages the totals would be 46,000 (Easter) and 274,000 (April/May).

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is his estimate of the number of secondary schools with no one on their staff (a)possessing a religious education qualification of any type or (b)having trained with religious education as their main subject, and the number of schools where no provision is made on the timetable for pupils to study for public examinations in religious education in CSE, in GCE at O-level, or in GCE at A-level respectively.

Estimates of the number of schools without such teachers could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The information about study for public examinations is not available in my Department.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he expects a fall in the number of persons expected to sit summer examinations but entitled to leave school at Easter, due to their being disallowed supplementary benefits until September.

My right hon. and learned Friend does not expect candidates to sacrifice worthwhile qualifications for a short term financial gain. However, the Department

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many fifth form children currently attending schools in (a)England and Wales, (b)in West Yorkshire and (c)in Greater Manchester, will be old enough to leave school at Easter 1981 should they require to do so.

It is estimated that 327,000 pupils will be entitled to leave school in England at Easter 1981. Comparable estimates are not made for individual areas by my Department.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many teachers currently teaching religious education (a)have trained with religious education as their main subject or (b)possess a religious education qualification of any type.

Information is not available for all schools. For maintained secondary schools in England and Wales it is estimated that in 1977 there were about 22,000 teachers who taught religious education. The following table gives fuller details:will pay very close attention to the number of entries for public examinations in 1981, and if they give grounds for concern we shall give further consideration to this issue.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps he proposes to take to encourage children of families where finances are particularly low to contemplate sitting examinations or working towards them.

My right hon. and learned Friend will continue to encourage head teachers to advise all their pupils on the value of obtaining worthwhile qualifications.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will categorise the 73 reports received from members of the public at the temporary police post at Upper Galwally both by the addresses of the complainants and the nature of the complaints.

Between the opening of Galwally police post and 31 October 1980 121 report were received—not 73 as stated in my previous reply on 4 November—[Vol. 991, c. 453.] It would not be appropriate to disclose the addresses of those persons who made reports, but about 75 per cent. of them were residents of the area serviced by the post.The reports received can be categorised as follows—as percentages of the total number of reports received:—

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will set out in the Official Report the activities which are permitted in handicraft classes at Her Majesty's prison Maze, and the activities outside that list which were (a) permitted and (b) not permitted in 1979–80 and 1980–81.

In Her Majesty's prison Maze (cellular) the activities which are permitted in handicraft classes supervised by teachers are: marquetry, scraper boards, mosaic work, soft toys, macrame, rug-making, canework and woodwork. In addition, the following activities are permitted in a handicrafts room supervised by prison officers: woodwork, pinboards. lollipop stick models, matchstick models, picture framing and soft toys. Work on model kits and decorating handkerchiefs may also be done in cells.