asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps are being taken to prevent overcrowding in the Strangers' Cafeteria at peak times.

Mr. Speaker has recently approved a recommendation from the Services. Committee that for an experimental trial period efforts should be made to ensure compliance with the rules for the use of the Strangers' Cafeteria, especially the rule which allows only three guests per Member—(who must be accompanied)—to make use of the facilities from noon onwards. A new notice drawing attention to the rule will shortly be posted at the entrance and the entrance itself is to be manned at all peak times by a security or police officer. It is hoped by this means to ensure that hon. Members, their secretaries and the staff of the House are not inconvenienced by the presence in the Strangers' Cafeteria of large numbers of unauthorised persons.I request all hon. Members to co-operate in this experiment, which will begin on Monday next, 15 December. If overcrowding continues to be a problem, it may be necessary to consider introducing more stringent rules.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement about the hunger strike by women prisoners at Armagh gaol.

Three women prisoners in Armagh prison who had been taking part in the dirty protest there started to refuse food on Monday 1 December. Like the men on hunger strike at the Maze, they are taking water and salt. On 3 December they were moved from their dirty cells to a clean, larger cell in the same wing, which they have not fouled or damaged.The three women are medically examined daily. Their condition is not yet giving any cause for concern.The declared objective of the hunger strike in Armagh prison, like that at Maze, is to secure political status for certain sentenced prisoners. On that issue—which has already been the subject of a decision by the European Commission of Human Rights—the Government have repeatedly made their position plain. We shall not be coerced by threats, whether the blackmail of a hunger strike or other forms of protest inside or outside the prisons, into recognising that the alleged motive for a crime justifies some form of preferential treatment in prison.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will publish in the Official Report full details of the crimes for which the women prisoners in the Armagh gaol, now on hunger strike, were convicted.

Mary Elizabeth Doyle was sentenced at Belfast City Commission on 29 November 1978 for the following:

Offence	Sentence
	Imprisonment
1. Possessing explosive substances with intent	8 years'
2–3. Placing prohibited articles (2 cases)	6 years' in each case
4. Possessing explosive substances in suspicious circumstances	4 years'
5. Possessing prohibited articles	4 years'

All sentences to run concurrently.Mairead Farrell was sentenced at Belfast City Commission on 9 December 1976 for the following:

Offence	Sentence
1–3. Causing explosion (3 cases)	Imprisonment 14 years' in each case
4. Possessing explosive substance with intent	12 years'
5. Possessing firearms and ammunition with intent	10 years'
6. Belonging to a proscribed organisation	5 years'

All sentences to run concurrently.Margaret Mary Nugent was sentenced at Belfast City Commission on 29 June 1977 for the following:

Offence	Sentence
	Imprisonment
1. Acting with intent to cause explosion	12 years'
2. Possessing explosive substances with intent	12 years'
3. Possessing firearms; at time of committing offence	12 years'
4. Belonging to a proscribed organisation	3 years'

All sentences to run concurrently.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether any changes are to be made in the arrangements to which the operators of cross-Channel car ferry services are currently subject, following the 1974 report of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission on the supply in the United Kingdom of these services.

My right hon. Friend has decided that some relaxation of current requirements would now be appropriate.The previous Government made a number of announcements following publication of this report in 1974, reporting the progress made by the Director General in discussions with the United Kingdom operators to ensure the effective implementation of the commission's recommendations about collective fixing of common minimum rates and pooling arrangements and also to obtain further improvements in the structure of the tariff. On 21 November 1976 the then Minister of State for Prices and Consumer Protection told the House that he considered that modifications to fare structures then introduced constituted a major further step towards implementation of the report. He said that he was asking the director general to continue negotiations to secure further improvements, and said that he was willing to consider a reduction of supervision in the light of experience.Following these continued negotiations undertakings were submitted to my right hon. Friend by Sealink (UK) Ltd, European Ferries Ltd, P & O Normandy Ferries Ltd at the end of 1979, and by British Rail Hovercraft Ltd (Seaspeed) at the beginning of this year. These undertakings took into account developments in the competitive situation since 1976, including the emergence of new or extended services on the routes concerned and the ending of the pooling agreement between Sealink and European Ferries. The director general's recommendation, which the Government accepted, was that these developments justified the cessation of the detailed control of tariff increases. My right hon. Friend agreed that this control, to which the United Kingdom operators had until then submitted, should be ended.The undertakings therefore provided, in summary, that with regard to reference services the respective operators:

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether he intends to modify his recent proposals on the origin marking of certain consumer goods, in the light of representations made to him.

On 3 October I issued for statutory consultations a draft order under sections 8 and 9 of the Trade Descriptions Act 1968, requiring goods sold by retail in five sectors to be marked with or accompanied by an indication of the country in which they were manufactured; and requiring information on origin to be included in certain advertisements for such goods. The consultations have confirmed that this extension of existing origin marking requirements will be widely welcomed. I propose however to modify the order to meet some practical poonts put to us by retailers and other interests, to ensure more effective and easier enforcement, and to keep burdens on traders to the minimum consistent with effective implementation of the new requirements. In particular I aim to ensure that retailers are provided with the origin information they will need when goods are supplied to them unmarked; and to meet the special problems of mail order and other catalogues.I am accordingly issuing a revised draft of the order on which further consultations will be completed by 16 January 1981. I shall lay the order before the House as soon as possible thereafter; and intend, as previously announced, that it should enter into force on 1 January 1982.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether he is satisfied with the arrangements for consumer protection in the field of building societies.

Yes. The Registrar of Friendly Societies has certain statutory responsibilities to protect the interests of both investors in and borrowers from building societies. The Director General of Fair Trading is required to monitor the provision of services to consumers and has powers to take action against practices which may adversely affect the interests of consumers.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what is the total value of textiles and clothing goods so far exported in 1980.

In the period January-October 1980, the value of exports of textiles and textile products including clothing—(as defined below)—was £1,969 million fob.

asked the Secretary 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.

[pursuant to his reply, 11 December 1980]: Following is the information:

United Kingdom Imports: January-October 1980
Woven garments	£ million cif
Crousers	47·5
Jeans	117·6
Men's and boys' breeches and shorts	2·9
Men's and boys' shirts	74·4
Women's, girls' and infants' blouses	34·3
Other women's, girls' and infants' outer garments (coats, jackets, suits, costumes, dresses, skirts, etc.)	150·5
Knitted or crocheted garments, not elastic or rubberised
Jerseys, pullovers, slip-overs, twinsets, cardigans, bed-jackets and jumpers	127·6
Other outer garments (including knitted skirts) and clothing accessories (other than gloves, stockings, etc.	91·9

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many employees were in employment in Scotland in November in each year from 1970 to 1980, inclusive.

Estimates of employees in employment in Scotland are not available for the month of November. Estimates for December are, however, available from 1974 to 1979 and. these are given in the following table:

December estimate	Employees in employment ('000)
1974	2,079
1975	2,074
1976	2,069
1977	2,057
1978	2,067
1979	2,054

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish in the Official Report details showing the number of male and female persons aged over and under 18 years, respectively, registering for employment in each of the sub-regions of Scotland at the most recent convenient date.

The following table gives the numbers of males and females aged 18 and over, and under 18, respectively, who were registered as unemployed in each of the regions and island authority areas in Scotland on 9 October 1980.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether, notwithstanding the present merger talks between his Department, the British Council and the Inter-University Council, it is his intention to maintain, for the future, a significant programme of aid to higher education in the developing countries.

An aim of the discussions is to improve our arrangements for administering aid to tertiary education. The scale of that aid will remain substantial, within the constraints of the total aid programme.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will explain the statement of the Under-Secretary of State for the Army on 13 June, Official Report, c. 1095, that the United States of America has committed itself to consult its allies about a decision on the use of cruise missiles, time and circumstances permitting; and if he will describe what will happen if time or circumstances do not permit, and specify who will decide whether or not time and circumstances permit.

At the North Atlantic Council meeting at Athens in 1962, both the United Kingdom and the United States specifically committed themselves to consult their allies, time and circumstances permitting, before releasing their nuclear weapons for use. The Council also adopted guidelines on the degree to which political consultation on such use might be possible. It would not be in the public interest to reveal the precise details of the arrangements.The separate arrangements for joint decision over the use of United States bases in the United Kingdom were set out in the reply of my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the hon. Member for Harlow (Mr. Newens) on 20 December 1979.—[Vol. 976, c. 321.]

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the net saving on the defence budget as a result of the recent moratorium.

Of the order of £100 million in the present financial year.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how redundancy pay is classified as a source of income in the family expenditure survey; and whether he will separately identify the average weekly amount received by households which were in receipt of such payments for each of the last five years.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what information he has on the total amount of redundancy money paid out to redundant employees both under the redundancy payment provision of the Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act 1978 and otherwise in each of the last five years.

Information is held only on payments made in accordance with the statutory redundancy provisions. The amount paid in the last five years and in 1980 to date is as follows:

1975	£178,284,000
1976	£189,162,000
1977	£165,438,000
1978	£184,262,000
1979	£222,333,000
Jan.-Oct. 1980	£364,890,000

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he has any information about the proportion of total redundancy payments that is saved and the proportion which is spent on goods and services; and, if not, whether he will institute a study to ascertain such information.

No systematic information is held on the way employees spend their redundancy payments, and I do not think such a study would be justified.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if, in view of the recently announced £250 million package for the youth opportunities programme and the special temporary employment programme and the new rates of supplementary and unemployment benefits, he will increase the youth opportunities programme standard trainee allowance which has been frozen since November 1979; and if he will make a statement.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) if he has now reached a decision on the future of the Wages Inspectorate's homeworking unit;

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what estimates he has made of the effect of his proposed reduced staffing levels in the Wages Inspectorate on (a) the annual recovery of arrears from employers for employees suffering under-payment of statutory minimum wage rates and conditions and (b) the number of prosecutions brought by the Wages Inspectorate;(2) what discussions he has had with the chairmen or other members of wages councils about his proposed cuts in Wages Inspectorate staffing levels;(3) what is the reduction in the level of inspection by the Wages Inspectorate which he now proposes;(4) what are the establishment figures respectively for wages inspectors and for other Wages Inspectorate staff at 1 May 1979, 1 December 1979, 1 December 1980; and what reduction he proposes to make respectively in these staffing levels and by which date.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give figures for the United Kingdom, France, West Germany and Italy for each of the last 10 years, or as near as such figures are available, of the percentage in working population unemployed.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what was the total number of working days lost through strikes involving 5,000 or more workers in 1979; and what is the number of days lost by the same criterion for 1980 so far.

The total number of working days lost through stoppages involving 5,000 or more workers in 1979 was 23,295,000.Corresponding figures for part of the year are not compiled, but a rough estimate for the first three quarters of 1980 is about 10 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the total number of persons on short-time working in the Blackburn travel-to-work area in respect of which temporary short-time working compensation grant (a) is being paid, and (b) is not being paid.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the total number of registered disabled persons in the (a) Walsall travel-to-work area and (b) West Midlands region who are unemployed; and what were the figures for May 1979.

[pursuant to his reply, 9 December 1980]: I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that at 9 October 1980, the latest date for which figures axe available, there were 668 registered disabled persons unemployed in the Walsall travel-to-work area, and 6,952 in the West Midlands region. The comparable figures for 10 May 1979 were 550 and 5,998 respectively.In addition to the numbers of registered disabled people unemployed or 9 October 1980, there were a further 926 unregistered disabled people unemployed in the Walsall travel-to-work area, and 11,533 unregistered in the West Midlands region. The comparable figures for 10 May 1979 were 754 and 8,443 respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make representations to the Council of Ministers or the European Economic Community to increase the budget of the social fund and extend its terms of reference so that it can be used for a broader range of projects to assist disabled people.

[pursuant to his reply, 10 December 1980: in discussions of the 1981 Community budget the United Kingdom has supported proposals for an increase social fund provision for schemes for disabled people. However, significant extensions of the fund's scope would be difficult to justify at present since the volume of eligible applications under current rules already greatly exceeds the resources available to the fund.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many cases of the employment of minors were known to his Department in each of the last three years; how many iesultec1 in prosecution; and what was the outcome of the prosecutions.

I have been asked to reply.A wide range of employment legislation restricts the sort of work which can be undertaken by minors, whether or not they have left school and I am advised by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department that comprehensive information on resulting prosecutions is not available because some proceedings may be under legislation which does not identify the circumstances of the offence.The only information available relates to the number of persons prosecuted for offences against the Employment of Children Acts. Control of the employment of children of compulsory school age under this legislation and local byelaws is exercised by local education authorities, but they Ere not required to report on this matter to my Department. Information about prosecutions is published annually in 'Criminal Statistics—England and Wales". For 1977 to 1979, the last three years for which figures are available, the information is as follows:

Number of Prosecutions under the Employment of Children Acts
England and Wales	1977	1978	1979
Proceeded against	72	29	38
Charges withdrawn or dismissed	6	1	6
Found guilty of which	66	28	30
— discharged	5	—	4
— fined	61	28	26

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will make a statement regarding the difficulties which are being experienced by colleges, polytechnics and universities in placing students on sandwich courses in the public and private sector as a consequence of the deepening economic recession.

The Government are very conscious of these difficulties and as far as possible within current manpower and financial constraints are seeking to sustain the public sector's provision of sandwich course placements. In the private sector it is for the employers themselves to determine what placements they cart make available within their firm's overall training commitment. As well as contributing some limited direct funding for placements in key occupations, the Government are financing a unit to improve the information available to the providers and users of sandwich courses.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he is now in a position to state the composition and the terms of reference of the review of the youth service and related matters.

I have nothing to add to the answer I gave on 25 November 1980 to my hon. Friend the Member for Harborough (Mr. Farr).—[Vol. 994, c. 83.]

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many religious education specialists he expects to come into the schools each year between the current year and 1985; and whether he estimates that this will be sufficient to remove the need for any secondary school pupil from then onwards to be taught by teachers unqualifed in the subject.

It is estimated that 500 specialist religious education teachers completed training this year. The number is likely to be nearer 400 next year and thereafter numbers will depend largely upon the success of institutions in recruiting students to PGCE courses. The recent trend has been encouraging. There is, however, no immediate prospect of ensuring that all secondary school tuition in RE is given by teachers qualified in that subject. The extent to which the proportion of RE teaching given by RE specialists changes between now and 1985 will depend not only on the output from initial training, but on the rates of wastage from teaching and rate of re-entry to it of RE specialists; and on the way in which those specialists are deployed in the schools.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is his estimate of the number of religious education specialists required each year to compensate for natural wastage brought about by retirement or by transfer to another subject.

This information is not available within my Department.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if, in the forthcoming regulations relating to the pensions of teachers retired since 1 April 1979, he proposes to make provision to improve arrangements for compensating teachers for loss of employment in line with the pensions improvements.

The regulations will relate only to superannuation and will provide, in certain cases, for pensions to be calculated by reference to notional salaries higher than those in fact received. But in so far as any compensation payment is calculated by reference to "average salary" within the meaning of the Teachers' Superannuation Regulations 1976, there will automatically be corresponding increases in that compensation.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he is now in a position to make a further announcement about the designation of an enterprise zone in Wales.

I have today invited Swansea city council to prepare a scheme under the terms of schedule 32 to the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980 with a view to the designation of some 735 acres in the Lower Swansea Valley as an enterprise zone. A copy of the invitation has been placed in the Library of the House. This is the first proposed enterprise zone for which the statutory procedures have begun.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will seek to introduce legislation during this Parliament to set up a land bank; and if he will make a statement.

I have no plans to establish a land bank.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what has been the external financing requirement, in constant money terms, of the Welsh water authority for each year since its inception; and how these figures compare with the external financing limit set for that authority for next year.

The following has been the net annual external financing requirement of the Welsh water authority for each year since it began operations: the figures contain the same elements of finance as are included in next year's external financing limit, and are expressed on a common price basis using the GDP deflator.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether he will circulate in the Official Report a list of all the publications held by the Office of the EEC Commission in London and by the Office of the EEC Assembly for distribution to members of the public, together with the numbers printed, including the numbers on order, the country of origin, the total cost to date, and the numbers issued to date.

No. This is a matter for the Commission and the European Parliament.

asked the Lord Privy Seal (1) if he will make corrections to the leaflet issued by the Office of the EEC in London entitled "Europe and Your Food" but bearing no mark of origin, to remove misleading passages on the price and availability of food as a result of United Kingdom membership of the EEC;(2) if he will make a correction to the leaflet issued by the EEC Commission entitled, "Europe and Your Job", to remove analyses of costs which are misleading.

No. Any information put out by the Commission is published on its own responsibility.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will approach the Polish Government with a view to negotiating a mutual assistance pact similar in scope to that which existed between the two countries in 1939.

No. The Polish Government have repeatedly made clear their full commitment to Poland's present system of alliances.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether he has any plans to visit South Africa within the next 12 months.

My right hon. Friend has no plans to do so.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether he has any plans to visit South-West Africa within the next 12 months.

My right hon. Friend has no plans to do so.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether he has any plans to visit Chile in the next 12 months.

Neither my right hon. Friend nor I am planning to do so.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, in the light of the present economic circumstances, he has any plans for revising the financial rates of return imposed on the nationalised industries.

There are at present no plans to change the nationalised industries' financial targets in response to current economic circumstances, but the targets are kept under review.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on progress made by the Inland Revenue since the House of Lords decision of 13 December 1979 in the case of Commissioners of Inland Revenue v Rossminster Ltd.

I understand that the Inland Revenue investigation into the affairs of the Rossminster Group is still in progress. Treasury Ministers do not, of course, intervene in the conduct of individual cases.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what studies have been made by the Treasury relating a) the "Why Work?" problem; and if he will publish the findings of any such studies.

I shall let my hon. Friend have a reply as soon as possible.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give figures at constant prices for each of the last 10 years for the rate of inflation in the United Kingdom, France, West Germany and Italy.

I shall let my hon. Friend have a reply as soon as possible.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give figures at constant prices for the amount of central Government financial assistance to expenditure by local and regional government in the United Kingdom, France, West Germany and Italy in each of the last 10 years (a) in absolute terms and (b) as a percentage of the expenditure by such local and regional governments.

The information requested is not available.Figures for central Government grants to local and regional governments, and for local and regional expenditure, are published at current prices in "National Accounts of OECD Countries", volume II. Figures for central Government loans to local and regional authorities are published at current prices in the SOEC publication "General Government Accounts and Statistics 1970–77".

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give figures at constant prices for the United Kingdom, France, West Germany and Italy for each of the last 10 years—(or as near as such figures are available) of the gross domestic product of those countries.

Figures of the gross domestic product at constant market prices for the United Kingdom, France, West Germany and Italy in each year up to 1978 are given on page 158 of "National Accounts ESA—Aggregates 1960–1978", published by the Statistical Office of the European Communities (SOEC). The figures are shown at 1975 prices and have been converted to a common unit of valuation on the basis of 1975 purchasing power parities. Purchasing power parities provide a more satisfactory basis for converting GDP estimates expressed in national currencies into a common unit of measurement than exchange rates since the latter do not necessarily reflect the relative domestic purchasing power of different currencies. Figures based on exchange rates are, however; given in the above publication, expressed in EUAs'—European units of account; the relevant pages are 97, 101, 105 and 121.Member countries have provided SOEC with data for 1979. These are shown below, together with revised figures for 1978.

Gross domestic product at 1975 prices
000 million
	Purchasing power standards		EUAs
	1978	1979	1978	1979
United Kingdom	243·3	246·3	202·6	204·5
France	280·9	289·7	304·5	314·3
West Germany	338·9	353·5	379·2	396·1
Italy	205·3	215·0	171·4	179·9

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give figures at constant prices for each of the last 10 years of the amount of money raised in taxes controlled by local, regional or provincial governments in the United Kingdom, France, West Germany and Italy.

The information requested is not available.Figures of taxes received by State and local government are published at current prices in the OECD publication "National Accounts of OECD Countries 1961–1978" volume II.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give figures at constant prices for the United Kingdom, France, West Germany and Italy for each of the past 10 years, or as near as such figures are available, of public expenditure on (a) housing, (b) education and (c) health.

The information requested is not available.Figures of general Government expenditure on housing, education and health are published at current prices in the SOEC publication "General Government Accounts and Statistics 1970–77".

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) when he expects to reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for Brent, East dated 10 March concerning Budget priorities;(2) pursuant to his written reply to the right hon. Member for Brent, East on Monday 2 June, when he expects to reply to the hon. Member for Brent, East in respect of the letter he wrote on 3 June arising out of that written reply.

I very much regret that the right hon. Member has not received replies. I shall write to him very soon.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his Department's estimate of the level of manufacturing output as a proportion of gross domestic product at current prices for the United Kingdom for 1979.

Output—value added—of manufacturing industry accounted for 27½ per cent. of the gross domestic product at current prices in 1979.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will give figures for each of the last 10 years of the number of people employed in public services under (a) central Government and (b) local, regional and provincial governments in the United Kingdom, France, West Germany and Italy;(2) if he will give figures for the number of people employed in the public services in each of the last 10 years in the United Kingdom, France, West Germany and Italy.

Estimates of the number of people employed in central and local government and in public corporations for each of the last 10 years in the United Kingdom can be found in the November 1979 and November 1980 issues of Economic Trends. Corresponding data on a consistent basis for these years for France, West Germany and Italy are not readily available.Some guidance on international comparisons of public service employment was given in the August 1980 issue of

asked the Minister of Transport how many complaints he has received so far in 1980 from (a) hon. Members and (b) members of the public concerning the day-to-day running of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Centre in Swansea.

My right hon. Friend and I have received 396 representations about the centre from hon. Members and 215 from members of the public during the period January to November 1980. In addition, hon. Members have raised 234 cases direct with the centre under the special facilities available to them for dealing with constituents' straightforward problems. Many of the inquiries have been about policies and procedures for driver and vehicle licensing rather than complaints.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many housing co-operative dwellings were commenced in 1980 as compared with 1979; and what percentage difference this represents.

Separate figures for cooperative housing starts are not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is Her Majesty's Government's policy on housing co-operatives and their future for 1981.

Projects proposed by par-value housing co-operatives are treated on precisely the same basis as proposals by other housing associations.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what advice he has given to housing cooperatives on cutting expenditure without affecting building starts.

Economics of individual projects are best discussed by the housing association with the Housing Corporation or the local authority providing the funds.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will assure members of housing cooperatives whose projects have started that the finance will be made available for completion.

It is for the Housing Corporation or local authority concerned to decide in what circumstances finance can be made available for completing housing association projects.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set out in the Official Report the number of units of accommodation in the Basildon constituency owned by the Basildon district council, the Waltham Forest district council and the Basildon development corporation and the number of applications for purchase from and completed sales to tenants of each housing authority in the same constituency.

I invite my hon. Friend to get in touch with the district council for the information he seeks.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he is yet in a position to give the actual levels of grants paid to the following English national parks for 1980–81: Dartmoor, Exmoor, the Lake District, Northumberland, the North Yorkshire Moors, the Peak District and the Yorkshire Dales.

Provisional grant figures for 1980–81 are:

	£
Dartmoor	393,800
Exmoor	306,800
Lake District	701,300
Northumberland	192,700
North York Moors	411,700
Peak District	948,700
Yorkshire Dales	455,300

They do not reflect the benefit of the rate support grant increase order which shall be announced shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement regarding the policy of his Department in the area of providing cash funding for essential rescue archaeology work in the United Kingdom.

I have reviewed the Department's assistance of essential rescue archaeology and I am satisfied with the present level of funding by the Department which, at £3·5 million for England for the current year, is similar in real terms with that for last year. I do not have responsibility for other parts of the United Kingdom.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish in the Official Report the number of full and part-time workers in the employment of the Metropolitan district council of Salford for each year since and including 1975; and if he will give projected figures for 1980–81 and 1981–82.

Figures for individual local authorities have been published in the Joint Manpower Watch returns since March 1980 and copies are in the Library. My hon. Friend may care to consult the authority concerned about earlier years and about any future projections.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish in the Official Report the number of (a) full-time and (b) part-time local government workers employed in each year since 1955; and if he will give projected figures for 1980–81 and 1981–82.

The numbers of full-time and part-time local government employees in England and Wales—excluding non-uniformed law and order groups and agency staff because they were not included in surveys before 1975—were as follows at mid-June in the years shown:

Thousands
Year	Full-time	Part-time	Total
1955	1,078	270	1,348
1956	1,102	286	1,388
1957	1,122	302	1,424
1958	1,140	314	1,454
1959	1,165	331	1,496
1960	1,179	353	1,532
1961	1,202	374	1,576
1962	1,238	400	1,638
1963	1,271	426	1,697
1964	1,300	472	1,772
1965	1,326	501	1,827
1966	1,380	539	1,919
1967	1,423	578	2,001
1968	1,451	618	2,069
1969	1,467	657	2,124
1970	1,468	694	2,162
1971	1,506	728	2,234
1972	1,570	770	2,340
1973	1,629	825	2,454
1974	1,598	845	2,443
1975	1,660	896	2,556
1976	1,682	892	2,574
1977	1,668	888	2,556
1978	1,665	903	2,568
1979	1,687	924	2,611
1980	1,663	901	2,564

The Government's expenditure plans imply further substantial reductions in manpower in 1980–81 and 1981–82, the actual extent of which will depend on the overall effect of decisions made by each individual authority in the light of its own circumstances.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will bring up to date his answer to the hon. Member for Melton of 14 April 1980, regarding the size and cost of his Department.

[pursuant to his reply, 8 December 1980]: On 1 November 1980 the total number of non industrial and industrial staff in post in the Department of the Environment including the Property Services Agency, was 47,021. This is a reduction of 9·8 per cent. since the general election.The net cost to public funds of running the Department during the financial year ending 31 March 1981 is estimated to be some £438·7 million made up as follows—at outturn prices:

	£m.
Wages and salaries	185·8
General administrative expenditure	83·8
Accommodation and HMSO	50·3
Pay etc of PSA industrials	118·8
Total	438·7

As in previous answers to my hon. Friend, the staff numbers in this answer exclude casually or seasonally employed staff and PSA staff locally engaged overseas. They also exclude the Ordnance Survey.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement about the price of liquid milk.

As foreshadowed in the written reply which I gave on 8 August to my hon. Friend the Member for Hereford (Mr. Shepherd), the Government have been giving further consideration to the price of liquid milk. Because of the urgent need to meet continuing increases in the costs of production, processing and distribution resulting from such factors as higher energy costs and wages, they have concluded that the maximum retail price should be increased by 1½p per pint on 4 January 1981. From that date the maximum price of ordinary pasturised milk will be 18½p per pint. This will result in a partial recovery of the costs that have taken place.The Government have also considered the level of the wholesale price, and, following discussions with the two sides of the dairy industry, have decided that as from 1 January 1981 the maximum wholesale prices should be set at the following levels:

	p per litre
England and Wales (except London)	16·860
London	15·223
Scotland	16·860
Northern Ireland (except Belfast)	16·860
Belfast	16·769

This means that the additional income from the increased retail price in the period to 31 March 1981 will be divided equally between dairy farmers and distributors.The Government are now considering the implications for liquid milk prices of the recommendations on the costing system put forward by Binder Hamlyn, and have arranged meetings with interested organisations. They will announce their conclusions at the earliest opportunity, but they would in any case hope that it will be possible to avoid any further increase in the retail price for some considerable time to come, and thereby introduce a greater measure of stability in the market for liquid milk.Orders giving effect to these new prices will be laid before Parliament shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Carmarthen on 26 November, Official Report, Vol. 994, whether he will publish the report of Sir Derek Rayner on regional development grant administration, after he has let the Industry and Trade Committee know its main conclusions.

The report deals in considerable detail with the procedures for examining applications for regional development grant and for monitoring payments and enforcing the conditions under which grant is paid. The publication of the detail of these procedures would not be in the public interest.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will list the financial aid given from Government sources to British airlines to assist in the purchase of the airbus.

No financial aid has yet been disbursed from Government sources. I refer to the reply by my hon. Friend on 21 April 1980. If any other commitments are entered into, I shall inform the House.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry when he intends to designate the Coalville employment office area as a derelict land clearance area.

On 9 December I laid before the House an order designating the Coalville employment office area as a derelict land clearance area. The order will come into operation on 31 December 1980.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry whether qualifying activities for regional development grant purposes will continue to be defined by reference to the 1968 standard industrial classification.

Yes. The Industry Act 1972 provided for the payment of regional development grants for certain qualifying activities which were defined by reference to the 1968 Standard Industrial Classification—revised edition.While a new Standard Industrial Classification was published last year, its introduction will not be completed before 1983 and its purpose is to enable United Kingdom statistics to become directly comparable with those of other European countries. Definition of qualifying activities by reference to the 1968 SIC is well established and familiar to applicants for grant under the regional development grants scheme. I see no advantage in changing the basis of definition and the scheme will continue to be based on the revised edition of the 1968 SIC which will continue to be available from Her Majesty's Stationery Office.

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.

[pursuant to his reply, 11 December 1980]: Such estimates are a matter for the management of the Post Office, but I understand that the Post Office uses rail conveyance wherever practicable, and that about 70 per cent. is transported by rail for some part of its journey.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his estimate of the extra revenue to be gained horn lifting the ceiling on national insurance contributions for (a) employee's class 1, (b) employers' class 1, and (c) self-employed class 4 contributions, 1981–82 contribution rates.

On the assumptions used in the report by the Government Actuary on the financial provisions of the Social Security (Contributions) Bill 1980, Cmnd. 8091, it is estimated that the extra receipts in Great Britain in the financial year 1981–82 as a result of lifting the ceiling in April 1981 from £165 to £200, including contributions to the National Health Service, the redundancy and maternity pay funds, and national insurance: surcharge are, on the proposed contribution rates (a) from employees £183 million, and (b) from employers, £327 million, with a further million from the self-employed as a result of raising the ceiling from £8,300 to £10,000 a year.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the residential psychiatric hospitals in the Greater London Council area, the number of patients each accommodates, the number of staff in medical, administrative and other categories at each hospital and the cost per patient for a week's stay and the average annual cost.

Following is a list of mental illness and mental handicap hospitals located in the Greater London Council area compiled from the hospital return—form SH3—for the year ended 31 December 1978. The average cost in 1979–80 per in-patient day is shown for each hospital.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what use is being made of largactil in the treatment of adolescents; what variations in frequency of use have been made in recent years; what side effects have been experienced; and if he will make a statement.

Largactil is used as a neuroleptic and sedative in psychiatric medicine and may be used by medical practitioners in accordance with their clinical judgment for treating children, adolescents and adults. There is no centrally available information on variations in the frequency of the prescription of largactil for different age groups. I shall write to the hon. Member on the question of side effects.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the number of induced abortions, the number of births, and the total of abortions and births, to girls aged 16 to 19 years in each of the last 10 years; the number of induced abortions, the number of births and the total of abortions and births to girls aged under 16 years in each of the last 10 years; and the rate of induced abortions, the rate of births, and the rate of abortions and births, per 1,000 girls aged 15 to 19 years in each of the last 10 years.

The numbers of medically induced abortions are not readily available. The following are the figures for all therapeutic abortions carried out under the Abortion Act 1967.

Abortions and total births to women aged under 19, 1970–79
England and Wales residents
Abortions			Total births		Total abortions and births
Years	Under 16	16–19	Under 16	16–19	Under 16	16–19
1970	1,732	13,518	1,446	80,608	3,178	94,126
1971	2,296	18,176	1,547	82,165	3,843	100,341
1972	2,804	21,786	1,618	78,397	4,422	100,183
1973	3,090	23,480	1,703	72,467	4,793	95,947
1974	3,335	24,197	1,601	67,978	4,936	92,175
1975	3,570	24,122	1,554	62,644	5,124	86,766
1976	3,425	23,963	1,437	57,148	4,862	81,111
1977	3,624	24,592	1,334	53,778	4,958	78,370
1978	3,298	26,363	1,401	55,198	4,699	81,561
1979	3,534	29,192	1,391	58,331	4,925	87,523

Abortions and total births: Rates per 1,000 women aged 15–19, 1970–79
England and Wales residents
Years	Abortions	Total births	Total abortions and Births
1970	9·05	50·44	59·53
1971	12·09	51·49	63·73
1972	14·54	48·65	63·23
1973	15·43	44·34	59·80
1974	15·94	40·87	56·62
1975	15·66	36·78	52·21
1976	15·05	32·67	47·52
1977	15·13	29·97	44·88
1978	15·60	30·08	45·46
1979	16·80	30·95	47·55

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what representations he has received with regard to the payments made to disabled people working at the Hexagon centre, owned by Hampshire county council; what replies he is sending; and if he will make a statement;(2) if, having regard to the fact that disabled people who work at the Hexagon centre, owned by Hampshire county council, are now required to pay £1·50 a week "attendance money" for working at the centre, he will institute a full and urgent inquiry into the running of this work centre;(3) what representation he has received about payments made to disabled people who work at the Hexagon centre owned by Hampshire county council; what replies he is sending; and if he will make a statement.

The right hon. Gentleman has written to my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Social Services and for Employment. I shall reply as soon as possible. I understand that the Hexagon centre is a day centre for physically handicapped people where the Hampshire county council provides day care in the form of diversionary pursuits, special activities and work-orientated training for people unable to follow sheltered or open employment. Incentive payments are made to clients who participate in work activities as part of their rehabilitation.Under section 29 of the National Assistance Act 1948 the authority has the power to charge for the service it provides and, I understand, it does so. I see no need for any form of inquiry.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether people living on social security payments will have them increased if, as in the case of disabled people working at the Hexagon centre, owned by Hampshire county council, they are required to pay "attendance money" at the work centres they attend.

The circumstances in which people in receipt of supplementary benefit may be entitled to increase in respect of additional requirements are set out in the Supplementary Benefit (Requirement) Regulations 1980 (S.I. No. 1299). These circumstances do not include charges for attendance at local authority day centres. Local authorities do, however, have the power to abate or waive such charges in individual cases.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what level of Christmas bonus would be necessary today to preserve the purchasing power of a £10 bonus in 1973; and what level of bonus would similarly have been necessary in December 1978.

Based on the movement of the general index of retail prices up to October 1980, the latest date for which a figure is available, the present real value of the £10 bonus in 1973 is £27·71. The corresponding figure for December 1978 was £20·81.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how much has been spent on National Health Service medicines, including chemists' dispensing fees and other distributory costs, per person so far in 1980.

A total of £14·25 per person—in England—up to the end of September, the latest date for which figures are available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will arrange for circular LAC (80)5, dated 9 October to be republished clarifying in paragraph 16 (i) whether the £2,000 capital disregard is personal to the claimant only, as the circular says, or is in fact a joint disregard embracing the capital of both claimant and spouse.

I have no plan to re-issue circular LAC (80)5 which was issued to give social workers a summary of the changes in the supplementary benefits scheme taking place in November. It was not intended as a comprehensive statement of the law. The introduction to the circular directs readers to the supplementary benefits handbook, which contains a detailed description of the provisions of the scheme. Copies of the handbook were sent to all directors of social services and all hon. Members. The handbook makes it clear that the regulations provide that a claimant's resources include those of other members of the assessment unit and that the £2,000 capital disregard relates to the total capital of the assessment unit.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what are the running costs of the Henley in Arden camp; how many workers there have been in the camp in each of the past three years; what was the cost in each of those years; what courses are provided: and what similar institutions exist.

I shall let my hon. Friend have a reply as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services why his Department used envelopes measuring 15in. x 10in. to despatch to all Members Letters sent on 4 December concerning ministerial correspondence when he could have used ordinary foolscap envelopes; what was the cost of dispatching the larger envelopes: and whether he will arrange for economies in the future.

The larger envelopes were used because the enclosures sent to many hon. Members would not easily fit in smaller ones. The cost—excluding postage—of using the large buff envelopes was about £16; to have used white foolscap envelopes of the type normally used for letters to hon. Members would have cost about £24·50—excluding postage. It is not possible to estimate the cost of conveying the letters—by departmental van—-to the House; but I do not think it would have been significantly different had smaller envelopes been used. I always encourage my Department to do things in an efficient and economic way; using larger envelopes reduced the staff time spent on this exercise. Moreover, I believe the cost of this exercise will be more than justified by an improved service to hon Members and more efficient use of any Department's resources.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what changes he is proposing in the constitution of the Central Council for Education and Training in Social Work; and if he will make a statement.

In September 19'19 the Government issued a consultation document which drew attention to problems created by the doubling of the council's size since 1962 when it was originally established with 32 members—21 of them appointed by Ministers—and sought comment on a range of options, including retention of the present constitution; a reduction of about a third in the membership; and reduction to 20–25 members, all of them to be appointed by Ministers after appropriate consultations.We are grateful to the wide range of interested bodies and individuals who commented. Inevitably, differences of view emerged; but a very large majority—including the Association of County Councils, the Association of Metropolitan Authorities, the Association of Directors of Social Services and the comparable bodies in Scotland favoured reduction of the number of members. There was also substantial support for the proposal that the council should be able to delegate some of its executive functions to committees or boards which would be free of the present statutory requirement that two-thirds of their membership should be drawn from the council itself.After careful consideration of the issues and of all the views expressed on them the Government have now concluded that the best way of improving the council's effectiveness would be to reduce the number of members from the present 64 to a maximum of 25—excluding the chairman—provided that the necessary range of interests and experience could be included in the arrangements for the smaller council. We further concluded that this would be secured by giving Ministers the power to appoint the whole membership after suitable consultations—which would be statutorily required—and the chairman, and by enabling the council to appoint committees and delegate functions to them without the present restrictions on their membership. Such committees would be answerably to the council and their chairmen would have to be members of the council itself. Ministers would have reserve powers to require the council to establish committees to assist in the discharge of its functions as they relate in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland; and to require appointments of chairmen of such committees to be put to it for approval. No changes are proposed in the present functions of the council, or in its status as a wholly independent statutory body.I hope that there will be an opportunity later in the Session for the introduction of legislation to make the necessary changes. The changes themselves are not likely to be implemented before 1982. In the meantime, the present council will continue with its important work.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what action he proposes to take in the light of the latest judgment on the involvement of nursing staff in the termination of pregnancy by medical induction.

The House of Lords this week decided that the guidance issued by the Department was good in law and allowed its appeal against the decision given by the Court of Appeal in the case brought by the Royal College of Nursing. I am, therefore, informing health authority medical and nursing officers, and those concerned in the private sector, that the advice given in circular CMO/CNO(80)2 (which was suspended following the ruling of the Court of Appeal) is reinstated.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement of the eligibility of persons employed in the National Health Service for membership of the House.

I am advised that the description

"employed in the civil service of the Crown"

in section 1 of the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 does not extend to persons employed by health authorities; and that as their office of employment is not mentioned elsewhere in that section or in the schedule to the Act they are not disqualified by it from membership of the House.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what inquiries he has made into the sale of blood given by donors to the National Blood Transfusion Service, and if he will make a statement.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Wolverhampton, North-East. Official Report, 10 November, c. 75, what progress has been made with his inquiries into the sale abroad of blood plasma through the National Heart hospital in London.

[pursuant to his reply, 9 December 1980]: Following the recent comments in the press, inquiries have been made both of the board of governors for the National Heart hospital and also through the National Blood Transfusion Service. These are not yet complete, but at this stage I have no evidence of commercial sales of voluntarily donated blood. I am asking the board of governors for the National Heart hospital for a further report.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether the United Kingdom proposes to collaborate with the French in the development of a 1500 megawatt commercial fast reactor; and what is the Government's attitude to the payment of a multi-million pound fee for doing so.

No decisions have been reached on fast reactor policy. However, the possibilities for international collaboration are among the options that the Government are considering.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether he will give at the latest and most convenient stated date the names of peers who hold any appointments sponsored by or coming under the control of his Department and the salary and or expenses paid or claimed; and how many meetings or conferences, committees or non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible, held during the last 12 months, were attended by them.

Following is the information as at 1 December 1980:

• British Gas Corporation—Lord Scanlon, part-time member, salary £3,670 pa.
• British National Oil Corporation—Lord Croham, part-time deputy chairman, salary £15,200 pa.
• United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority—Lord Kearton, part-time member, salary £3,545 pa.
• Lord Flowers, part-time member, salary £3,545 pa.
• Merseyside and North Wales Electricity Board—Lord Sefton, part-time member, salary £2,500 pa.

Reasonable travelling and subsistence expenses are reimbursed within the discretion of the chairman of the board.Attendance at board meetings is a matter for the chairman of the board concerned and I have no information as to such attendances.