asked the Secretary of State for Trade (1) whether final agreement on 1981 quota levels for Indonesian textile imports into the United Kingdom was reached during the previous Secretary of State's discussions with the Indonesian Government on 7–8 January;(2) if he will give details of the 1981 quota levels for Indonesian textile imports into the United Kingdom;(3) when he expects 1981 quota levels for Indonesian textile imports into the United Kingdom to be finally agreed between Indonesia and the European Commission.

At the discussions between my right hon. Friend the previous Secretary of State for Trade and the Indonesian Government on 7–8 January an understanding was reached on quota levels for 1981 which would be acceptable to the United Kingdom and Indonesia. These levels are as follows:

MFA Category	1981 quota
6 Woven trousers	700,000 pieces
7 Blouses	500,000 pieces
8 Woven shirts	800,000 pieces

Aircraft Accidents since 1971 at public Air Displays
year	Date	Place	Aircraft	Killed	Seriously injured
1971	22 August	Seething, Norfolk	ZLIN 326	1
1972	21 May	Biggin Hill	DH60 GIPSY MOTH		2
		Weston-Super-Mare,	DH82A TIGER
	30 July	Avon	MOTH & STAMPE		1
		Burton Constable
	19 August	Hall, Yorks	T66 TIPSY NIPPER	1
		*Halfpenny Green
	28 August	Staffs	PIPER PA28 200	2
1973	—	NIL	—	—	—
1974	1 Sept	Farnborough	SIKORSKI S67	2
		Chew Magna,
1975	7 June	Somerset	AIRTOURER	2
			D31
	10 August	Shoreham, Sussex	TURBULENT		1
1976	—	NIL	—	—	—
			BELL 206B
			HELICOPTER &
			DH82A TIGER
1977	15 May	Biggin Hill	MOTH	5
	31 July	Bodmin, Cornwall	CESSNA 150L	1
1978	—	NIL	—	—	—
1979	—	NIL	—	—	—
			DOUGLAS A-26C
1980	21 Sept	Biggin Hill	INVADER	7
*Air Race.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what is the machinery for co-ordination between his Department and the European Economic Community antidumping unit.

The relationship between member States and the anti-dumping unit of the European Commission is formally governed by Council regulation (EEC) No. 3017/79 and its ECSC equivalent. This regulation provides among other things for the establishment of an Anti-Dumping Advisory Committee of member States and sets out the respective roles of member States and the Commission in anti-dumping investigations. Frequent informal contacts are also maintained between officials of my Department's antidumping unit and their counterparts in the Commission.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will list the aircraft accidents, resulting in fatal or serious injury, which have occurred at public air displays in the United Kingdom in each of the past 10 years.

The information is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will publish in the Official Report a breakdown for the figures of fireworks accidents on and around 5 November 1980; and if he will make a statement.

I hope to be able to publish the figures soon.

asked the Secretary of Trade how many building construction firms and companies have (a) gone bankrupt and (b) been liquidated since May 1979.

The numbers of insolvencies analysed by industry are only available quarterly. Construction industry figures for England and Wales for the period 1 April 1979 to 30 September 1980 inclusive—later figures are not yet available—are given below.

Bankruptcies*	1,097
Company Liquidations†	1,200
These figures will include civil engineering firms: separate figures for building firms are not available.
* bankrupticies relate to individuals and partnerships; deeds of arrangement are included as well as receiving and administration orders. Figures for parts of a calendar year are approximate.
† compulsory plus creditors' voluntary liquidations.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if, pursuant to his reply of 20 January on trade

United Kingdom Trade in Manufactures*less Precious Stones† and Metals‡
			1. Exports				OTS Basis £ million
Year	Belgium/Luxembourg	Denmark	F.R. of Germany	France	Irish Republic	Italy	Netherlands	Greece	**European Community
1971	187	154	365	297	265	174	302	57	1,801
1972	217	162	401	377	295	189	332	52	2,025
1973	294	214	525	478	406	250	417	67	2,651
1974††	452	254	661	665	503	347	669	73	3,624
1975	520	293	892	851	558	402	739	86	4,343
1976	757	422	1,252	1,227	774	558	1,005	110	6,107
1977	966	490	1,657	1,462	1,037	698	1,384	176	7,871
1978	1,120	471	1,995	1,688	1,342	784	1,418	168	8,981
1979	1,268	501	2,463	2,098	1,650	1,030	1,724	219	10,955
1980	1,295	481	2,826	2,415	1,628	1,310	1,835	172	11,963

			2. Imports				OTS Basis £ million
Year	Belgium/Luxembourg	Denmark	F.R. of Germany	France	Irish Republic	Italy	Netherlands	Greece	**European Community
1971	130	91	555	267	135	190	218	2	1,587
1972	172	117	715	391	158	249	275	3	2,079
1973	253	157	1,102	588	213	356	398	5	3,073
1974††	361	180	1,414	775	291	478	647	10	4,155
1975	433	182	1,526	986	321	576	654	14	4,704
1976	694	221	2,195	1,354	472	752	895	23	6,605
1977	881	256	2,875	1,756	614	1,100	1,070	31	8,583
1978	1,058	311	3,719	2,158	681	1,427	1,231	44	10,632
1979	1,332	374	4,837	2,742	832	1,820	1,595	53	13,587
1980	1,315	378	4,447	2,575	954	1,677	1,583	57	12,986

			3. Crude Balance				OTS Basis £ million
Year	Belgium/Luxembourg	Denmark	F.R. of Germany	France	Irish Republic	Italy	Netherlands	Greece	**European Community
1971	+57	+63	-190	+130	-16	+84	+55	+214
1972	+45	+45	-314	-14	+137	-59	+56	+49	-54
1973	+41	+58	-577	-109	+192	-107	+19	+62	-422

[pursuant to his reply, 26 January 1981, c. 275]: An explanation for the difference between the United Kingdom balance of trade in manufactures with the rest of the European Community and with the rest of the world was given in my reply to my hon. Friend's related question answered on 21 January, [Vol. 997, c. 158.] The best method of reducing the deficit with our Community partners is to sell more to them; and it was in order to improve the co-ordination of my Department's export promotion activities in respect of Europe that the Exports to Europe Branch was formed last year.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will list the exports, imports and balance of trade in manufactures, excluding precious stones and metals, between the United Kingdom and each European Economic Community country and with the European Economic Community overall, for each of the last 10 years, treating Denmark and the Republic of Ireland as if they were member States throughout that period.

[pursuant to his reply, 26 January 1981, c. 275]: The available information, which is given in the tables below, relates to the European Community as now constituted. Thus it includes Denmark, the Irish Republic and also Greece consistently throughout, as is our normal practice.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give permission for local officers of the Department to co-operate with those bus companies which are considering proposals to grant concessionary bus fares to the local unemployed.

There are administrative problems for my Department in the current proposals, but my officials are considering whether there are any alternative methods which could be administered by the bus companies.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the inability of John Bright and Brothers, Rochdale, to pay out redundancy payments to employees and of his Department's agreement to lend the money to the company concerned; how much money is involved: when employees will be paid; and if he will ensure that the owners of the company pay the debt out of assets acquired from the company and others.

The auditors of John Bright and Brothers Ltd. have provided evidence of the company's inability to make statutory redundancy payments to its employees, and I am therefore satisfied that these should be paid direct from the redundancy fund in accordance with section 106 of the Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act 1978. Payments totalling approximately £217,000 will be made to about 350 employees, probably within the next two or three weeks. The company is being asked to repay its share of the payments and I expect that the debt will be fully recovered in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment by how much the Manpower Services Commission's trainee allowance of £23·50 would need to be increased to restore it to its original level.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Ormskirk (Mr. Kilroy-Silk) on 19 December.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will immediately increase the Manpower Services Commission's trainee allowance of £23·50.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Holborn and St. Pancras South (Mr. Dobson) on 8 December.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish a table showing public sector pay for non-manual workers as a proportion of private sector pay, for each year since 1970, to the latest convenient date, taking 1970 as 100.

The following table shows the position in April each year based on the results of the New Earnings Survey.

Average weekly earnings of non-manual employees*in the public sector as a proportion of average weekly earnings of non-manual employees in the private sector, the proportion being expressed as an index with 1970 equals 100
F33
April	Men aged 21 and over	Women aged 18 and over
1970	100	100
1971	99·0	96·7
1972	102·1	101·3
1973	98·5	95·5
1974	101·2	94·5
1975	105·1	100·1
1976	109·6	103·6
1977	105·2	98·5
1978	98·7	92·2
1979	96·8	89·6
1980	99·7	90·8
* Full-time employees whose earnings in the survey period were not affected by absence.

Changes in relative average earnings in different sectors will reflect changes in the structure of employment as well as changes in the rate of pay for comparable jobs. Also, the above figures for women will reflect the tendency for equal pay arrangements to come into force at an earlier stage in the public than in the private sector.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list for December 1980 the 20 travel-to-work employment areas with the highest percentage male unemployment in Great Britain.

Percentage rates of unemployment are calculated for employment office areas either singly or grouped into travel-to-work areas. The following table gives the 20 areas in Great Britain with the highest male unemployment rates at 11 December 1980. The figures are not adjusted for seasonal variations and the list includes a number of coastal areas in which unemployment is generally higher in winter than in summer.

	Male percentage rate of unemployment
South East
Margate	21·1
East Anglia
Hunstanton	19·2
South West
Falmouth	23·3
Ilfracombe	24·8
St Ives	26·5
East Midlands
Corby	24·5
Mablethorpe	21·2
Yorkshire and Humberside
Whitby	26·4
North
Hartlepool	19·6
Consett*	27·2
Wearside*	19·0
Wales
Rhyl	20·8
Tenby	20·3
Lampeter*	20·4
Wrexham*	19·5
Scotland
Portree	21·7
Rothesay	21·5
Sanquhar	22·6
Stornoway	22·2
Irvine*	21·1
* Travel-to-work areas comprised of a grouping of employment office areas.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what steps he is taking to ensure that those organisations which currently operate closed shops review them regularly, and in particular that they hold a secret ballot about them in accordance with paragraph 45 of the code of practice.

The code of practice has been in force only a few weeks, and the essential first step is to bring it to the attention of those affected by closed shops. My Department has therefore arranged for an initial printing of 300,000 copies of the code, of which well over half have already been distributed.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what proposals the Health and Safety Executive has for the further reorganisation of the Factory Inspectorate; whether these involve the removal of the title "factory inspector"; and if he will place a copy of all Health and Safety Executive reorganisation proposals in the Library;(2) how many discussions he has had with the relevant trades unions or factory inspectors who inspect factories, as opposed to those undertaking administrative tasks, on any proposed reorganisation of the inspectorate;

Last year a job evaluation study of the HSE inspectorates was carried out on a basis agreed with the trade unions concerned in order to establish whether a common grading structure would be practicable and desirable. In the light of that study the Executive put proposals to the trade union side for changes in organisation within HSE. The Executive is at present engaged in discussions with the trade unions concerned on these matters. However I have asked the Director of the Executive to arrange for a copy of the proposals to be placed in the Library. The matters raised by the hon. Member are discussed in this document. The Executive does not consider that the changes proposed would require any alteration in the terms of the warrants appointing HSE inspectors.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment when he expects the second working party to study the lifting of heavy weights to make a report; how many meetings the working party has had; and if he will place a record of attendance in the Library.

The working party on manual handling hopes to be in a position to complete its work by April this year, with a view to submitting its final report to the Health and Safety Commission shortly afterwards. There have been four meetings of the working party, and work has gone on outside the formal meetings.I do not think it would be appropriate for me to place a record of attendance in the Library, as those members who were prevented by illness or other pressing reasons from making a full number of attendances have nonetheless made a considerable contribution outside formal meetings.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will set out in the Official Report the precise responsibilities of the Ministers in his Department.

I have overall responsibility for matters relevant to my Department. The division of responsibilities among my other Departmental Ministers is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he has studied the several reports from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments expressing concern regarding the lack of specific qualifications provided on warrants carried by inspectors of the Health and Safety Inspectorate; and whether he will instruct the Health and Safety Commission, as the enforcing authority, to provide new warrants conforming to section 19 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

[pursuant to his reply, 20 January 1981, c.46]: I have considered the reports on my right hon. Friend's behalf. Section 19 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 does not require an inspector's qualification to be included in his instrument of appointment and I am satisfied that the warrants issued by the Health and Safety Executive fully meet the

Civilian Employment 1970–80 (thousand)
	Numbers employment in Manufacturing					Percentage of employment in Manufacturing
	United Kingdom	France	Germany (FR)*	Japan	USA†	United Kingdom	France	Germany (FR)*	Japan	USA†
1970	8,465	5,677	··	13,770	22,200	34·7	27·9	··	27·0	28·2
1971	8,181	5,742	··	13,830	20,132	34·0	28·1	··	27·0	25·4
1972	7,907	5,794	9,550	13,830	20,463	32·9	28·2	36·6	27·0	25·0
1973	7,955	5,907	9,541	14,430	21,572	32·3	28·4	36·4	27·4	25·6
1974	7,955	5,957	9,410	14,270	21,534	32·4	28·4	36·6	27·2	25·6
1975	7,611	5,780	8,890	13,460	20,007	30·9	27·9	35·8	25·8	23·6
1976	7,367	5,721	8,784	13,450	20,814	30·2	27·5	35·8	25·5	23·8
1977	7,413	5,690	8,757	13,400	21,451	30·3	27·2	35·7	25·1	23·7
1978	7,354	5,581	8,744	13,260	22,325	30·0	26·7	35·4	24·5	23·7
1979	7,276	··	··	··	··	29·4	··	··	··	··
1980	6,910	··	··	··	··	28·4	··	··	··	··
Source: OECD Labour Force Statistics.
·· Not available.
* Series prior to 1972 not available on the same basis.
† Including mining and quarrying.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what proposals have been made for future support under the training opportunities scheme for diving training.

[pursuant to his reply, 23 January 1981, c. 255]: I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that it proposes to reduce support for basic air diving training under the training opportunities scheme (TOPS) from 130 training completions in 1980–81 to 95 training completions in 1981–82. This reduction is being made because the Manpower Services Commission considers that the present level of TOPS support for basic air diver training is excessive in relation to the response of the industry to meet its own training needs.The Commission is consulting interested parties in the industry about the future requirements for trained divers and about the level of support it would be appropriate to provide under TOPS after 1981–82.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish in the Official Report the number of persons employed in the manufacture of goods for sale and the number of persons employed in all other categories of employment, giving the same in percentage terms; if he will publish these figures for each of the 10 years prior to and including 1980 and provide similar comparisons for the United States of America, France, West Germany and Japan.

[pursuant to his reply, 26 January 1981, c. 307]: Following is the latest available information for manufacturing industries. It is important to note that these data are not fully comparable, owing to differences between countries in coverage and methods of compilation of the statistics.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the increase in percentage and actual terms in unemployment among ethnic minorities, showing age groups and, in particular, young people, for the latest 12 months for which figures are available; and what are the comparable figures for the increase in total unemployment and the comparable figures in those regions which account for most ethnic minority unemployment.

[pursuant to his reply, 26 January 1981, c. 306]: The numbers of unemployed ethnic minority workers are collected quarterly in February, May, August and November, but are analysed by age groups only annually in February. Age analyses for all unemployed people are made in January, April, July and October.Table 1 below gives the actual and percentage increases by age group between February 1979 and February 1980 for unemployed ethnic minority workers in Great Britain. It also gives the changes for corresponding age groups of all unemployed between January 1979 and January 1980.Table 2 gives the actual and percentage increases by region for unemployed ethnic minority workers and for all unemployed people between November 1979 and November 1980.

Table 2
	Increase in numbers unemployed between November 1979 and November 1980
	Unemployed ethnic minority workers		All unemployed
	Actual	Percentage	Actual	Percentage
South East	15,330	77·3	182,146	67·6
West Midlands	8,261	65·1	106,818	83·7
East Midlands	*1,459	*30·5	54,839	75·3
Yorkshire and Humberside	3,693	90·6	83,697	71·4
North west	4,391	95·1	112,764	56·6
Other regions	987	40·7	238,640	47·2
Great Britain	34,121	70·5	778,904	60·3
* The ethnic minority workers unemployment figures for the East Midlands are incomplete and it is estimated that the changes between November 1979 and November 1980 are underestimated by about 120 and 2½ per cent. respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish in the Official Report the factors which determine whether a person is classified as section I or section II under the "Disabled Persons

[pursuant to his reply, 27 January 1981, c. 375]: I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that unemployed disabled people are allocated to section I of the Disabled Persons Employment Register if they are thought likely to be able to compete in open industry on comparable terms with regard to earnings and job security, with non-disabled people. Allocation to section II of the register is restricted to those who are unlikely to obtain and keep employment other than under sheltered conditions. Account will be taken of how long the disability is likely to last; the individual's employment record; whether the disabled person will be

Region	Total Number of Unemployed Registered Disabled People	Number of these allocated to Section II	Percentage of unemployed registered disabled people allocated to Section II
South East England	14,861	1,548	10·4
East Anglia	2,319	341	14·7
South East England	5,413	918	17·0
West Midlands	7,307	717	9·8
East Midlands	4,166	406	9·8
Yorkshire and Humberside	6,547	696	10·6
North West England	12,749	1,006	7·9
Northern England	5,289	588	11·1
Wales	3,980	860	21·6
Scotland	6,029	693	11·5
GREAT BRITAIN TOTAL	68,660	7,773	11·3

asked the Prime Minister is she is satisfied, in the light of the smaller numbers of circulars issued by the Scottish Office on the urban programme in Scotland compared with the number issued by the Department of the Environment in respect of England, that the urban programme in Scotland is being properly administered; and what is the reason for the discrepancy between the two Departments.

Yes. In England, under the "traditional" urban programme, local authorities are invited to apply for grant towards projects in areas of special social need by means of an annual circular setting out the criteria for that year. In Scotland, where there are effective informal arrangements between the Scottish Office and the smaller number of eligible local authorities, a formal annual circular has not been required.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list the facility trips provided to journalists by her Department during 1980, the destination and purpose of such trips, the papers, radio channels, magazines or television channels benefitting, and the cost of such facilities.

A facility was offered to journalists once during 1980, on the occasion of my official visit to Greece and Yugoslavia. Political correspondents from BBC TV and radio, ITN, the Daily Mirror, The Daily Telegraph, the Daily Mail, the Daily Express, the Financial Times, The Sunday Times, The Economist and Now! took part. Those involved were charged for the facility, and there was no net cost to public funds.

asked the Prime Minister what reply she is sending to the Spastics Society, the Royal National Institute for the Blind, the Royal National Institute for the Deaf, the National Society for Mentally Handicapped Children and Adults, and to the other charities which have appealed to her to relieve them of the burden of value added tax as her personal contribution to the International Year of Disabled People.

I shall send a copy of my reply to the right hon. Member as soon as possible.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service whether he has plans to move civil servants to vacant office accommodation in the city of Leicester.

No. I refer the hon. and learned Member to the answers my predecessor gave him on 21 May and 23 July.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service when he next proposes to meet representatives of the senior civil servants to discuss career development.

I am always ready to discuss appropriate topics with leaders of Civil Service unions.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service if he will introduce measures in order to attract to Civil Service employment experienced qualified accountants of proven high ability.

Proposals designed to improve the deployment and management of accountants in the Civil Service are under discussion with Departments and with the unions concerned. These measures should open up better career prospects and thus attract more high-quality candidates both as internal trainees and as experienced professionals so as to improve the accountancy input into Government.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what is the current state of negotiations on Civil Service pay and conditions; and if he will make a statement.

I have nothing to add to the answer which my predecessor gave to the hon. Member on 10 December 1980.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service on what basis the remuneration of civil servants will be determined in the current year.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer which my predecessor gave to the hon. Member for Blackburn (Mr. Straw) on 10 December 1980.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what progress is being made with plans for the dispersal of Civil Service jobs to the regions, and especially to Scotland.

Plans for implementing the programme of dispersal announced in 1979, which includes at least 2,000 posts for Scotland, are progressing satisfactorily. The move of the Overseas Development Administration's staff to East Kilbride will begin in February. About 100 posts from the Ministry of Defence are planned to go to Glasgow in 1982–83, as I told the House in my previous capacity on 24 November, and the main move remains scheduled for 1986.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service whether the Government intend to publish the findings of the Scott committee.

As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister told the hon. Member for Huddersfield, East (Mr. Sheerman) on 13 January, the report of the Scott committee will be published in due course.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service whether the Government will now take steps to end the indexation of Civil Service pensions.

Whether and what changes would be desirable in present public sector pension arrangements will be considered in the light of the report of the Scott committee, which will be published in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to ensure that matrimonial maintenance orders can be enforced throughout the EEC, particularly where a marriage partner against whom an order has been made in the United Kingdom moves to another EEC country.

The United Kingdom has reciprocal arrangements for the recovery of maintenance with all the other member States of the European Community. If the right hon. Member has a particular problem in mind, we should be glad to advise him of the procedures involved.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons for each of the last five years have been remanded in custody in Her Majesty's prisons awaiting trial for more than six months.

The information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, I refer the hon. Member to the estimates for those held on remand in prison department establishments in England and Wales on 30 November 1980, which were given to the hon. Member for Newham, North-West (Mr. Lewis) on 23 January 1981—[Vol. 997, c. 261–2.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many persons remanded in custody awaiting trial have been found not guilty of the offence charged in the last five years;(2) how many persons remanded in custody have been sentenced, on conviction, to non-custodial sentences for the last five years.

Information on the ultimate disposal of those received on remand is published annually in "Prison statistics England and Wales"—tables 2·1 and 2·2 of the volume for 1979, Cmnd. 7978. Table 2·4 of the same publication gives summary information for the past five years which does not exclude the double counting of persons received initially as untried and subsequently as convicted unsentenced for one set of charges. Figures for 1980 are not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the weekly cost of keeping an inmate in a top security prison.

During the financial year 1979–80 the average weekly cost of keeping a male prisoner in a maximum security prison in England and Wales was £304. The average cost of keeping a female in custody was £164 a week.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of young people involved in juvenile crime in 1980 came from broken homes.

Information on the home background of juvenile offenders which would enable this question to be answered is not available centrally. I could, if my hon. Friend wishes, let him have references to research touching on the matter.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he is likely to receive the remaining reports of the Parliamentary Boundary Commissions for England and Wales on their general reviews of parliamentary constituencies; and when he expects present Government proposals for the reorganisation of the constituencies.

I understand that the Boundary Commission for England is likely to complete its task of reviewing all parliamentary constituencies in 1982. The Boundary Commission for Wales has not yet begun its general review, but seems likely to complete it in plenty of time for the next general election. My right hon. Friend will submit the report of each commission to Parliament as soon as practicable after he has received it.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the facility trips provided to journalists by his Department during 1980, the destination and purpose of such trips, the papers, radio channels, magazines or television channels benefiting, and the cost of such facilities.

The Home Office provided no facility trips for journalists during 1980 where travel costs were met from public funds. Where facilities were provided at prisons and other Home Office establishments the only expense involved would be in the provision, on occasion, of light refreshments from local resources.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners had been on remand for (a) longer than three months (b) longer than six months (c) longer than nine months and (d) over a year on average in London establishments at the latest convenient date.

[pursuant to his reply, 19 January 1981]: The only estimates which can be made available with disproportionate cost are given in the following table.

Unsentenced prisoners in prison department establishments in Greater London†on 30 November 1980: by length of time since first remand in custody
Length of time since first remand in custody*	Estimate number of persons†
Up to and including 3 months	560
Over 3 months up to and including 6 months	170
Over 6 months up to and including 9 months	100
Over 9 months up to and including 1 year	40
Over 1 year	30
Total	900
* Including any time which may have spent on bail.
† Excluding unsentenced prioners held in police cells on 30 November 1980 because of industrial action by prison officers, for whom corresponding information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners had been on remand for (a) longer than three months, (b) longer than six months, (c) longer than nine months and (d) over a year at Brixton prison at the convenient date.

[pursuant to his reply, 19 January 1981]: The only estimates which can be made available without disproportionate cost are given in the following table.

Unsentenced prisoners in Brixton prison on 30 November 1980: by length of time since first remanded in custody*
Length of time since first remand in custody*	Estimate number of persons
Up to and including 3 months	320
Over 3 months up to and including 6 months	70
Over 6 months up to and including 9 months	50
Over 9 months up to and including 1 year	20
Over 1 year	20
Total	480
* Including any time which may have been spent on bail.

asked the Lord Privy Seal, further to his answer of 14 January, Official Report, c. 571, what civil rights are enjoyed in each of the countries listed by citizens of the United Kingdom who owe their citizenship to their connection with a former colony.

This information is not readily available. I shall reply as soon as it is.

asked the Lord Privy Seal pursuant to his answer of 20 January, Official Report, c. 14, in which of the countries listed citizenship of that country would automatically be granted to the children born there of parents who are solely citizens of the United Kingdom who owe their citizenship to their connection with a former colony.

From the latest information we have the present position appears to be that the following countries would automatically grant their citizenship to children born there to parents who are citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies:

Malaysia, (provided that a parent is permanently resident there or, broadly, that the children would otherwise be stateless). Kenya, Tanzania, India, Zimbabwe.

asked the Lord Privy Seal, further to his answer of 12 January, how many heads of household have applied for but not yet received special vouchers.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 23 January to the right hon. Member for Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles (Mr. Steel)—[Vol. 997, c. 268.].

asked the Lord Privy Seal if any decisions have been taken by the United Nations or any of its associated bodies with regard to the Falkland Islands.

The United Nations General Assembly has adopted several resolutions on the Falkland Islands, most recently resolution 31/49 in 1976, which requested Argentina and the United Kingdom to expedite negotiations on sovereignty. The United Kingdom voted against the resolution because it made no reference to the right of self-determination. Since then, the item has remained on the General Assembly's agenda, but has not been discussed.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what international recognition there has been for the Argentine claim to sovereignty of the Falkland Islands.

So far as we are aware, no State has expressly recognised the Argentine claim to sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, though on occasions during United Nations debates and in the conference of nonaligned countries, sympathy has been expressed for the Argentine claim.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if there is any precedent for dealing with a request by the Canadian Government to patriate the Canadian constitution, as distinct from a request to amend that constitution.

There have in the past been numerous requests for amendment to the British North America Act from the Canadian Federal Parliament, but none of them so far has been a request to patriate the Canadian constitution.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will list in the Official Report the bodies which have made representations against the recent proposed increases in public bus fares in Hong Kong.

A list is being obtained from Hong Kong. I shall let the hon. Member have a reply as soon as possible.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what machinery exists in Hong Kong for making objections against public bus fare increases.

A transport complaints unit exists to consider all such objections. The unit reports to the Transport Advisory Committee, which is examining the applications for fare increases. Other established channels may also be used, for instance, representations to the unofficial members of the Executive and Legislative Councils.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what is the proposed percentage increase in the fare increase in public bus fares in Hong Kong; what was the last percentage increase; and on what date this was implemented.

The Kowloon Motor Bus Company Ltd. has proposed fare increases ranging from 33 per cent. to 100 per cent. The China Motor Bus Company Ltd. has proposed increases of between 33 per cent. and 40 per cent. The last fare increases were implemented on 3 February 1980 and averaged 60 per cent.: thus, for example, the fare for the main urban routes rose from 30 cents—approximately 2·5p—to 50 cents—approximately 4p.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what discussions have taken place with unofficial members of the Executive and Legislative Councils concerning proposed increases in public bus fares in Hong Kong.

There have been discussions beween the administration and the public relations and transport panels of the unofficial members of the executive and legislative councils. The Executive Council will be consulted further before any decision is taken.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether, to promote the aims of the International year of Disabled People, the Government will allocate additional funds for programmes to prevent disability in the developing nations.

The Government recently contributed £3,000 to the United Kingdom secretariat for the International year of Disabled People to promote contacts with organisations concerned with disability in developing countries. About 10 per cent. of the aid programme goes towards health programmes, which in most cases contribute to the prevention of disability.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will list the facility trips provided to journalists by his Department during 1980, the destination and purpose of such trips, the papers, radio channels, magazines or television channels benefiting, and the cost of such facilities.

The Central Office of Information, on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, arranged 69 facility programmes in the United Kingdom for journalists from 152 different media outlets in 45 overseas countries in 1980. The cost was £50,000.Facilities were also provided to visiting television teams from abroad ranging from advice and research to the setting up of schedules, locations and other filming requirements. Production liaison officers sometimes accompany such teams during filming. The annual cost of this activity is estimated at £110,000.164 journalists from 45 overseas countries took part in programmes in the United Kingdom arranged by the sponsored visits service of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.The purpose of the facilities was to assist the overseas news media by providing accurate background information on British affairs.Two British journalists made visits overseas with the assistance of the Overseas Development Administration for the purpose of writing a book and articles on development matters.Journalists representing the news media and the major newspapers have accompanied my right hon. and noble Friend on visits abroad, but this has been on a repayment basis.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he plans to have any discussions with the United States of America over the rapid deployment force.

This and other matters of common interest are regularly discussed in contacts at a number of levels between Her Majesty's Government and the Government of the United States.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is now to be the programme for the withdrawal of the AEW Shackletons; and whether the new Nimrod AEW aircraft that are to replace them will be in service at the time of the withdrawal.

The number of aircraft in the Shackleton AEW squadron will begin to reduce from the middle of this year, but the withdrawal will not be completed until after the Nimrod AEW aircraft has been introduced into service.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence by what extent the longest range of the RAF longest range bomber or attack aircraft will be reduced following the withdrawal of the Vulcan force; and whether any such RAF aircraft will have the present capability of the Vulcan to take part in long-range roles such as intervention from United Kingdom bases in the Gulf area.

The Tornado, which will enter service as the Vulcan squadrons are phased out, does not have the same operational range as the Vulcan. It can, however, be extended by flight refuelling. This will also enhance its ability to deploy from the United Kingdom base for operations outside the NATO area.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many accidents in the handling and transportation of nuclear weapons have occurred since 1945 on territories covered by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Alliance.

No accidents have occurred involving either damage to nuclear weapons containing fissile material on United Kingdom territory or damage to United Kingdom weapons of this type on the territory of any of our NATO Allies. Any other such accidents are matters for the Governments concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many accidents in the handling and transportation of nuclear weapons have occurred on United Kingdom territory; whether there was any release of radioactivity as a result of such accidents; and what steps were taken to decontaminate the areas involved.

For the first part of the hon. Member's question I refer him to the reply I have already given today to his question on the subject of nuclear weapon accidents on NATO territory. The answers to the second and third parts are "No" and "None" respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how future planned defence spending in total will compare with the plans existing in April 1979 after the economies he announced on 20 January.

Whilst I believe that the outturn of defence expenditure in the year 1978–79 is important, I do not believe that the plans of the previous Government are relevant to future defence expenditure. But the figures are as follows:

	£million at 1980 Survey Prices
	1981–82	1982–83
Cmnd. 7439*	9,922	9,930
Present plans	9,753	10,051
* These plans were described as provisional.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence by how much the future spending on defence, on an annual basis, will be reduced as a result of the economies he announced on 20 January compared with the spending if no such economies had been made.

My statement was concerned with 1981–82, when the defence budget is planned to be £9,753 million at 1980 survey prices. The corresponding figures for 1982–83 and 1983–84 are £10,051 million and £10,353 million respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence to what extent there will be fewer Lightning fighters in service than was originally intended as a result of the decision not to proceed with the formation of the third squadron; how much of the money spent or committed on this squadron will no longer be needed; and what will be the savings from the decision not to proceed.

As my right hon. Friend indicated on 20 January, we now plan to find the equivalent of a further squadron from an augmented Lightning training unit, so that in an emergency planned fighter numbers should be maintained. None of the modest amount of money so far spent on establishing the third squadron will be wasted, but we shall save a substantial part of the £30 million that an extra squadron would have cost over the next five years.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the facility trips provided to journalists by his Department during 1980, the destination and purpose of such trips, the papers, radio channels, magazines or television channels benefiting, and the cost of such facilities.

624 facility visits were arranged by MOD PR staffs during the calendar year 1980. This figure does not include visits arranged by establishments and local commands, for which information is not available centrally. All the major national press, radio and TV companies took part in the visits, together with a wide range of local media representatives.The general purpose of such facility visits is to inform the media and through them to contribute to a deeper understanding of defence issues among the general public.Facility visits are arranged to a great many defence establishments in the United Kingdom and abroad; it is not possible to itemise them without disproportionate effort. Similarly, detailed information on all costs relating to these visits is not readily available. Every effort, however, is made to keep such costs to a minimum. In particular, for facility visits in the United Kingdom journalists are normally expected to pay their own travel costs; and for visits abroad Service transport is used whenever possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will make a statement on the status of the projected Anglo-Italian EH101 anti-submarine helicopter; and whether he will make development funding available for it.

We are negotiating with Italy about undertaking joint work on a new anti-submarine warfare helicopter. The question of development funding will be considered in the light of these negotiations.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if production of the JP233 bomb is proceeding as planned; and if not, if he will make an early statement.

The JP233 airfield attack system is still in development and not at the production stage. Following the recent withdrawal of the United States from the joint United Kingdom-United States programme, development is being continued by the United Kingdom alone pending a review of the future of the project.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the cost of the JP233 bomb project to his Department.

It is not the practice to disclose estimates of such development costs.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if his review of leave arrangements for special hospital patients has been completed; and if he will make a statement.

Ronald Sailes was convicted in May 1980 of the murder of a young girl while he was on leave from Broadmoor hospital. As I stated in reply to my hon. Friend on 4 June 1980—[Vol. 985, c. 696–98]—following his conviction, I asked for urgent consideration to be given to what lessons could be learnt from this case. The review of arrangements for sending patients on leave, which was not confined to Broadmoor but covered the four special hospitals in England, was carried out by officials of my Department and the Home Office in consultation with staff at Broadmoor and the other special hospitals. I accept the review team's conclusions and have placed a copy of its report in the Library of the House.As well as looking closely at the arrangements made for Ronald Sailes's leave, the review team collected information about the use of leave for other patients. Its report concludes that, while no improvements in leave arrangements could guarantee that a similar tragedy will never happen again, some lessons can be learnt for the future. The review team has appended to its report a set of guidelines on the main steps to be taken when a patient is sent on leave. The guidelines cover consultation within and outside the hospital about the proposed leave, the passing of information to relevant agencies and individuals, the selection of a suitable hostel for a particular patient, and the arrangements for supervising patients on leave. The team has suggested that these guidelines should be made available to the special hospitals for their immediate use, and that they should then be reviewed after a period of time in the light of comments from the hospitals and their experience of using guidelines.One particular question considered in the review was whether the police should always be alerted to the presence in their area of a patient on leave from a special hospital. It is already Home Office practice to notify the police when a restricted patient—one who is subject to special restrictions set out in section 65 of the Mental Health Act 1959—is sent on leave. The review team has recommended that the police should also be notified of leave arrangements, unless the responsible medical officer is satisfied that there are social circumstances which make this inappropriate, for patients who, though not now restricted, have previously been subject to restrictions, as Sailes had—and for patients who, though never subject to restrictions, have been convicted of a serious sexual or violent offence—there will be very few, if any, of these, because a patient with such a conviction will almost certainly have been subject to a restriction order; with other unrestricted patients the police should not normally be notified unless the responsible medical officer is satisfied that there are special reasons for doing so.I shall be arranging for the report and appendices to be sent to the special hospitals as the team recommend and will be considering how its conclusions can best be made known to other interested agencies and organisations.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) whether he will make a statement approving the use in the United Kingdom of pure cotton or regenerated cellulose in internal sanitary protection tampons in view of their long history of successful use, as opposed to those containing other polymeric materials;(2) whether the inquiries referred to in his answer of 11 November 1980,

Further data are awaited from the United States and from the Laboratory of the Government Chemist.The information so far available indicates that there are no brands of tampon available in the United Kingdom which have a carboxymethylcellulose base. The 'Rely' brand, with this formulation, was withdrawn from the United States market following the number of cases of toxic shock syndrome associated with its use. I am advised that there is at least one brand of tampon available in the United Kingdom which has a polyacrylate base, but the further data will give more precise information.Certainly, in this country, toxic shock syndrome appears to be an extremely rare condition. Very few cases have been reported and none, as far as I am aware, linking this condition with any specific type of internal sanitary tampon. However, when the full data are available, an assessment of the materials used will be included as part of the full medical and scientific review which the Department will undertake with the advice of its independent expert advisory committee on toxicity. Following this review, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade will consider what action, if any, requires to be taken.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, in the light of recent evidence that fully qualified trained general practitioners are finding it difficult to get posts as principals, if he intends to reduce the medical school entry in the next two years.

No. Although there is competition for posts as principals in general practice, I am not aware that fully qualified and otherwise suitable candidates are finding it difficult to get posts.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many consultant posts for each

Hospital medical consultant vacant posts* analysis by region and length of time vacant England 30 September 1980
	All posts		Vacant less than 6 months		Vacant 6 months but less than 1 year		Vacant 1 year or more
Region	Numbers	Wte	Numbers	†Wte	Numbers	Wte	Numbers	Wte
England	1,106	921·5	283	246·0	219	198·8	604	476·8
Northern	78	73·0	24	21·0	23	22·5	31	29·5
Yorkshire	63	62·2	16	15·5	11	11·0	36	35·7
Trent	94	92·4	30	30·0	12	12·0	52	50·4
East Anglia	27	24·8	13	12·2	6	5·4	8	7·3
North West Thames	73	43·7	15	11·5	15	12·1	43	20·1
North East Thames	172	118·2	28	21·0	18	11·7	126	85·3
South East Thames	73	55·9	19	14·2	26	24·1	28	17·7
South West Thames	79	40·1	25	16·8	8	6·4	46	16·8
Wessex	14	12·1	5	5·0	5	4·8	4	2·3
Oxford	51	48·7	1	1·0	23	21·4	27	26·4
South Western	28	25·6	22	20·3	2	1·3	4	4·0
West Midlands	162	151·4	19	17·1	26	25·8	117	108·5
Mersey	46	43·2	17	16·8	4	3·3	25	23·1
North Western	125	121·0	44	41·4	36	34·7	45	44·9
London PGTH's	21	9·3	5	2·2	4	2·3	12	4·8
* Figures include all posts not occupied by a pennanent holder at 30 September 1980 including posts approved by the Department but not yet occupied or advertised. In former years only vacancies which had been previously occupied or advertised were included.

Hospital dental consultant vacant posts* analysis by region and length of time vacant showing numbers and whole-time equivalent England 30 September 1980
	All posts		Vacant less than 6 months		Vacant 6 months but less than 1 year		Vacant 1 year or more
Region	Numbers	Wte	Numbers	Wte	Numbers	Wte	Numbers	Wte
England	13	24·7	9	8·1	9	8·5	13	8·1
Northern	2	2·0	1	1·0	1	1·0	—	—
Yorkshire	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Trent	3	2·6	2	2·0	—	—	1	0·6
East Anglia	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

I regret that information in the form requested could be produced only at disproportionate cost. However, the attached table shows by region the number and whole-time equivalent (wte) of consultant posts vacant for under six months, for six months to a year, and for a year or more. Of the 921·5 wte posts vacant, 247·9 wte posts were occupied by locums. Further analyses by specialty will be available next month and will be placed in the Library of the House.