asked the Secretary of State for Trade what was the average cost to the Post Office Users National Council of dealing with each of the 101 representations about National Giro services received in 1979–80; and how much expenditure he estimates will be saved in a full year if National Giro services are no longer scrutinised by the council.

The cost of dealing with representations about National Giro services cannot be separately calculated. But it is estimated that savings to the council, should National Girobank be removed from its remit, would be negligeble.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what is his estimate of the effect on imports into the United Kingdom from individual West African countries of regulations applying to animal feedstuffs and other produce susceptible to alfa toxin disease.

The regulations come into effect on 1 February 1981. It is therefore too soon to estimate then-effect on imports from individual West African countries. We hope that the measures will be temporary and that normal trade will be resumed in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he is satisfied that imports of tyres manufactured in East Germany, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia and imported to the United Kingdom through European Economic Community countries which are not parties to recent voluntary price agreements on such products do not constitute dumping.

The price undertakings on certain types of cross-ply and fabric braced radial tyres negotiated by the Commission with suppliers in the German Democratic Republic, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and Romania cover imports into the United Kingdom whether consigned direct from the country of manufacture or indirectly from elsewhere. The Commission, with the help of my Department, reviewed the operation of these undertakings in autumn 1980 and was satisfied that they were being respected. If my hon. Friend has any evidence to the contrary, my Department would be glad to examine it and to take it up with the Commission. E APP

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what percentage as regards weight and financial value of herbicides exported between January and September 1980 contained 2,4,5-T; and to what extent the presence of this particular herbicide in the exported product was labelled.

Herbicides derived from 2,4,5-T are included with a number of other herbicides under SITC (R2) Sub-group 591.3 in the Overseas Trade Statistics but are not separately identified. The information requested is, therefore, not available. No information is available on the extent of labelling of 2,4,5-T products in this period. However, a product containing more than 60 per cent. of 2,4,5-T in solid form or 15 per cent. in liquid form consigned by sea from the United Kingdom is subject to the terms of the Merchant Shipping (Dangerous Goods) Rules, 1978, SI 1978–1543, as amended, and must comply with the relevant provisions of that instrument, including the provision requiring containers to be marked with distinctive and durable labels or stencils indicating the correct technical name of the goods. All products containing 2,4,5-T consigned from the United Kingdom by air constitute restricted articles under IATA Restricted Articles Regulations (23rd edition) and must comply with those regulations, which require, inter alia, that containers be marked "Other Resricted Articles, Group A." We have no evidence that these requirements have not been complied with.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what progress has been made in the discussions with the United States of America authorities about the damage caused to the United Kingdom synthetic fibre and textile industry by competition from American products which enjoy price advantages as a result of the underpricing of feedstock products and energy.

A meeting between the Commission and the new American Administration is planned for the second week of February. A preliminary report will be made to the Council of Foreign Ministers on 16–17 February. The Government welcome the removal of price controls on oil announced by President Reagan on 28 January. This is a significant move in the right direction.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether he will refer to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission the growing influence of Lonrho in the House of Fraser.

The commission has already investigated the merger situation between Lonrho and House of Fraser which arose when Lonrho increased its shareholding in House of Fraser to 29 per cent. through its acquisition of Scottish and Universal Investments, which was itself a shareholder in House of Fraser. There is no power to make a further reference of that merger situation, given the commission's conclusion that it might be expected not to operate against the public interest.My right hon. Friend will announce as soon as practicable his decision on whether any new merger situation between these companies should be referred to the commission.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what effect membership of the European Economic Community has had on the United Kingdom's terms of trade for each year since accession.

Indices of the United Kingdom's terms of trade (SITC 0–9) from 1970 may be found in the Monthly Review of External Trade Statistics, table D2. It is not possible to isolate the effects of membership of the European Community on these terms of trade for any year since accession.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what effect membership of the European Economic Community has had on the United Kingdom's terms of trade in agriculture produce for each year since accession.

Indices of the United Kingdom's terms of trade in agricultural products (SITC 0+1) from 1970 may be found in the Monthly Review of External Trade Statistics, table D2. It is not possible to isolate the effects of membership of the European Community on these terms of trade for any year since accession.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what effect membership of the European Economic Community has had on the United Kingdom's terms of trade in manufactured goods for each year since accession.

Indices of the United Kingdom's terms of trade in manufactured goods (SITC 5–8) from 1970 may be found in the Monthly Review of External Trade Statistics, table D2. It is not possible to isolate the effects of membership of the European Community on these terms of trade for any year since accession.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if any civil servant in his Department has, as his duties or part of his duties, responsibility for promoting or preparing a pro-European Economic Community case; and if more than one, how many.

Civil servants in my Department have the same range of responsibilities in relation to the Government's policy towards the European Community as they have in relation to the Government's policy in other areas. This may sometimes involve the preparation of material designed to explain the Government's policy. It is not possible to estimate what proportion of their time is spent on this function in relation to the Community.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what was the value of United Kingdom exports of the following manufactured goods to Japan in 1980 (a) televisions, (b) radios, (c) high fidelity systems, (d) motor vehicles, (e) electronic calculators and (f) textiles; and how many units were exported in each section where definition is possible.

[pursuant to his reply, 29 January 1981, c. 484]: There is no generally accepted definition of "high fidelity"; audio equipment generally is included in the Overseas Trade Statistics of the United Kingdom within groups 761 to 764, inclusive, to which my hon. Friend may care to refer.The remaining information is as follows:

Exports of Selected Manufactured Goods to Japan, Jan-Dec 1980 S175I81
	Value (£ thousand)	Number
Television sets	37	109
Radios portable or designed/adapted for fitting to motor vehicles	—	—
Motor vehicles	16,761	3,659
Electronic calculators	27	3,536
Textiles	44,703	N/A

Source: Overseas Trade Statistics of the United Kingdom; SITC (R2) Sub-groups 7611, 761·2 (part) (televisions); 762·1, 762·2 (part) (radios); Groups 781, 782, 783 and Sub-group 784·1 (motor vehicles); Subgroup 751·21 (part) (electronic calculators) and Division 65, Groups 266 and 267, Sub-groups 268·7 (part) and 847·11 (textiles).

asked the Lord Privy Seal what arrangements have now been made for the acceptance of contributions for overseas aid by private citizens who wish to contribute; and for what purposes such contributions will be used.

Parliamentary approval will be sought in the spring Supplementary Estimate to credit such donations to the Overseas Aid Vote (Class II, 10) and to use the proceeds in support of two projects for children in Bangladesh. It is proposed that the total of contributions should be divided equally between equipment for the child nutrition unit run by the Save the Children Fund, and drugs for eye operations undertaken by Blind Children International, a body run in co-operation with the Royal Commonwealth Society for the Blind. Freight charges will be met from the aid programme.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what decisions have been taken in respect of the rationalisation of United Kingdom support for tertiary education overseas, in the light of the examination of the position of the Inter-University Council for Higher Education Overseas, mentioned in the "Report on non-departmental public bodies"—Cmnd. 7797.

It has been agreed that the work of the IUC will be brought together with analogous and related British Council work in the field of higher education. Accordingly, from 1 April 1981 the work now done by IUC will be carried out by a higher education unit within the British Council. The British Council will appoint a new standing committee, comprising members selected by an independent Inter-University and Polytechnic Council, representing the institutions concerned in Britain. The task of the standing committee will be to guide the work of the higher education unit, which will be concerned with assistance and co-operation in this field in all countries, developed and developing.These arrangements will provide a means through which support from the aid programme for higher education in developing countries can be deployed. Staff transferred from the IUC to the British Council will help in this. Funds in support of the work of the standing committee will be included in Government grants to the British Council. There will be some savings, particularly when it is possible to locate the unit in British Council premises. The arrangements will be reviewed by those concerned in three years time.I should like to take this opportunity of expressing the Government's appreciation of the excellent work carried out by the Inter-University Council since its creation in 1946. It has made a distinguished contribution to overseas development and Commonwealth partnership. I believe that the new arrangements will provide an appropriate basis for an equally effective partnership in future covering a broader field of higher education and a wider circle of countries, between all those concerned with the advancement of higher education.

asked the Solicitor-General for Scotland how many cases of suicide were notified to his Department in the past year; and in how many cases the person was unemployed.

Of the 2,480 deaths reported by procurators fiscal to Crown Office during 1980, 377 were considered by Crown counsel to justify the term "suicidal". I am unable to say whether any of these persons were unemployed at the time of their deaths since no record of this is kept by my Department and the details could not be obtained without disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he is satisfied that all imports of steel conduit tube are suitable for use under varying degrees of hazardous circumstances in conformity with classes two, three and four of British Standard 4568; and whether he will make a statement.

I have read the recent articles on this matter in the Electrical Review and the Electrical Times. Inquiries are being made, and I shall write to the hon. Lady as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will consider, in the light of difficulties experienced by the Manpower Services Commission in securing industrial placements owing to contractions in local industry, that job sampling training opportunities scheme programmes should be operated with selected colleges of technology acting as training bases and with local industrialists with a view to subsequent training placement.

I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that resources currently available would not permit developments of this kind, useful though they might be in helping individuals to select the training most suitable for them. A number of courses offering job sampling and work experience are already provided under the Training Opportunies Scheme (TOPS). It is also current practice to make arrangements in suitable cases for TOPS trainees, in particular from skillcentres, to be given short job trials with employers to bridge the gap between training and employment. Despite the difficult economic conditions the latest avilable follow-up figures indicate that over 60 per cent. of those who completed TOPS vocational training during the second quarter of 1980 were in employment three months later and of these 80 per cent. were using the skills they had been taught.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what study the Health and Safety Executive has made of the carcinogenic potential of 1,2-dibromoethane; and what recommendations regarding its usage have been made.

The Health and Safety Executive has not itself carried out any specific toxicological studies on 1,2-dibromoethane. Nevertheless, it is aware of the studies published in the United States by the National Cancer Institute, the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.No specific recommendations have been made by the executive regarding usage of the chemical, but its general usage is covered by the requirements laid down the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The policy of the Health and Safety Commission regarding the handling of all toxic chemicals is set out in guidance note EH18, "Toxic Substances: a precautionary policy", and states that "exposure should be kept as low as is reasonably practicable and in any case within the published threshold limit values". 1,2-dibromoethane is used chiefly in the formulation of anti-knock additives for petrol. Most of the remaining usage is in the manufacture of certain herbicides and fungicides and in the fumigation of certain agricultural products and flour mills.The chemical has been cleared under the pesticides safety precautions scheme for its use as a fumigant, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has issued recommendations for the precautions to be taken during this use. These include the use of suitable respiratory equipment and protective gloves when handling or applying the fungicide. Its use is restricted to professional operators; the chemical should not be used on farms.In the course of a sampling exercise carried out by the executive at several plants where 1,2-dibromoethane is used the samples taken showed that the atmospheric concentrations in the workplaces were all below 2 parts per million (ppm) and mostly below lppm, compared with the current threshold limit value of 20 ppm, 8-hour time-weighted averaged.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment, in view of high incidence in the winter of farmer's lung, if he will introduce legislation to require that all employers who have contact with spore-laden mouldy hay are provided with special protective facial masks.

My right hon. Friend has no plans at present to introduce specific legislation requiring provision of special protective face masks for all employees in contact with spore-laden mouldy hay.Under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 employers have a general duty to ensure the health and safety of their employees while at work. The general duties provisions are widely used by the Health and Safety Executive when requiring safe working practices to be adopted for such work activities as the handling of mouldy hay.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many redundancies have been notified to him under section 100 of the Employment Protection Act in Dundee in each month since May 1979; how many establishments were involved; and what are the respective totals.

The number of proposed redundancies in Dundee which have been notified to my Department under the redundancy handling provisions of the Employment Protection Act 1975, for each month since May 1979, is as follows:

	Employees	Establishments
1979
May	—	—
June	37	1
July	173	4
August	138	4
September	137	4
October	840	6
November	268	8
December	424	5
1980
January	182	5
February	274	8
March	62	3
April	322	6
May	366	9
June	580	6
July	663	12
August	223	9
September	1,129	12
October	779	8
November	222	6
December	856	13
Total	7,675	129

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

	Employees
1979
May	29
June	63
July	59
August	77
September	127
October	38
November	43
December	87
1980
January	230
February	109
March	346
April	164
May	247
June	221
July	430
August	339

	Employees
September	443
October	379
November	✶478
December	✶395
Total	4,404
✶Provisional figures.

A total of 65 establishments was involved.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the current unemployment percentages in the United Kingdom and all other members

	Germany	France	Italy	Netherlands	Belgium	Luxembourg
1970	0·7	1·6	5·4	1·3	2·3	0·0
1971	1·0	1·9	5·2	2·3	2·6	0·0
1972	1·1	2·0	5·2	2·7	3·0	0·0
1973	1·8	2·2	4·8	2·8	3·1	0·0
1974	3·6	3·4	4·9	3·8	4·1	0·1
1975	4·7	4·7	5·5	4·8	6·5	0·4
1976	4·3	4·8	5·7	4·6	7·3	0·5
1977	4·3	5·2	6·9	4·6	8·4	0·9
1978	3·9	6·0	7·6	4·4	8·7	0·8
1979	3·3	6·5	7·8	4·2	9·1	0·8
1980	4·3	7·3	8·3	6·3	10·6	0·9

	United Kingdom	Ireland	Denmark	Greece	Norway
1970	2·6	5·7	1·7		1·1
1971	3·7	6·8	2·2		1·1
1972	3·1	6·7	1·3		1·4
1973	2·0	6·1	1·5		0·9
1974	2·7	7·5	4·8		0·8
1975	4·7	9·9	5·7		2·0
1976	5·3	10·2	5·8		1·2
1977	5·7	9·7	6·6		1·0
1978	5·2	8·8	7·2		1·6
1979	5·2	7·8	5·5	3·2	1·3
1980	8·6	10·8	8·6	3·7	✶l·3
November 1980

Source: Statistical office of the European Communities for EC member States except for Greece.OECD Main Economic Indicators for Norway and Greece.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the size of the working population in the United Kingdom for each year since 1945 up to the latest year for which figures are available; and what percentage of the total population the working population make up in each year of the same period.

The available information relates to the middle of each year. The figures from 1945 to 1950(a) are for Great Britain; those for 1950(b) onwards for the United Kingdom. The methods of making employment estimates have changed on a number of occasions since 1945. In those years when the changes have led to discontinuities in the series, two sets of figures are given.

The unemployment percentage rates for December each year are given below. There are differences in concepts and coverage. The figures for the European Community member States except for Greece are based on national data of numbers of people registered at public employment offices, expressed as a percentage of the civilian working population. The rates for for·way and Greece are the number of people registered at employment offices expressed as a precentage of total employees.

	Working population (thousand)	As a percentage of the total population
1945	21,649	45·3
1946	20,523	42·9
1947	20,367	42·2
(a)1948	20,274	41·6
(b)l948	22,780	46·8
1949	22,771	46·5
(a)1950	22,982	46·7
(b)1950	23,554	46·5
1951	23,809	47·1
1952	23,925	47.2
1954	24,293	47·6
1955	24,508	47·8
1956	24,730	48·1
1957	24,820	48·0
1958	24,684	47·6
1959(a)	24,768	47·5
1959(b)	24,180	46·4
1960	24,509	46·6
1961	24,744	46·7

	Working population (thousand)	As a percentage of the total population
1962	25,038	46·9
1963	25,157	46·9
1964	25,299	46·8
1965	25,503	46·9
1966	25,636	46·9
1967	25,495	46·4
1968	25,383	46·0
1969	25,375	45·8
1970	25,308	45·6
1971	25,123	45·1
1972	25,195	45·1
1973	25,547	45·6
1974	25,601	45·7
1975	25,798	46·1
1976	26,097	46·6
1977	26,282	47·0
1978	26,316	47·1
1979	26,369	47·1
1980	26,278	46·9

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the projected cost of the redundancies at the Liverpool Tate and Lyle refinery.

At this stage the detailed information required to make such a projection is not available.

asked the Paymaster General if, in the interests of expanding public knowledge of the EEC, he will ensure that all material issued by the Government Department information sections on grants and subsidies from the EEC includes the information that since the United Kingdom joined the EEC the United Kingdom has contributed approximately £2 for every £1 received in grant or subsidy.

No. Full information on the United Kingdom's net contribution to the Community budget is published regularly—for example in the public expenditure White Papers.

asked the Paymaster General what further plans he has to ensure that the general public is informed of the facts on the United Kingdom's relationship with the EEC and the effect of this relationship on the economy.

This is the responsibility in the first place of the Departments concerned, with such co-ordination by me as may be necessary.

	Full-time		Part-time
	Numbers✶†(1 April)	As percentage of working population‡	Numbers✶†•¶(1 April)	As percentage of working population‡
1955	707,300	2·89	23,800	0·10
1956	698,900	2·83	24,900	0·10
1957	683,200	2·76	24,900	0·10
1958	651,800	2·64	24,100	0·10
1959	634,500	2·56	24,000	0·10

asked the Prime Minister if, when she makes a statement on the Scott report on index-linked public service pensions, she will list those members of the committee who are in receipt of, or are likely to receive, a public service pension themselves.

A majority of the members of the Scott committee have never been members of any public service pension scheme.

asked the Prime Minister if she will publish in the Official Report the number of full and part· time civil servants employed in each year since and including 1955 up to the most recent date for which figures are availble, indicating in percentage terms the proportion that each figure represents of the total working population.

The information requested is set out in the table below:

	Full-time		Part-time
	Numbers✶†(1 April)	As percentage of working population‡	Numbers✶†•¶(1 April)	As percentage of working population‡
1960	630,100	2·57	24,800	0·10
1961	629,500	2·54	24,800	0·10
1962	634,400	2·54	25,500	0·10
1963	648,500	2·59	26,100	0·10
1964	644,800	2·56	26,200	0·10
1965	641,700	2·52	26,400	0·10
1966	648,300	2·53	27,300	0·11
1967	665,500	2·62	28,900	0·11
1968	677,700	2·67	29,900	0·12
1969	671,000	2·65	26,800	0·11
1970	686,800	2·71	28,100	0·11
1971	686,000	2·74	28,200	0·11
1972	677,600	2·68	25,600	0·10
1973	686,400	2·68	27,600	0·11
1974	678,100	2·66	27,800	0·11
1975||	686,400	2·67	30,000	0·12
1976	732,100	2·82	31,100	0·12
1977	729,900	2·80	31,400	0·12
1978	720,800	2·75	29,800	0·11
1979	717,300	2·73	29,900	0·11
1980	690,600	2·64	28,600	0·11
✶ The Post Office, Forestry Commission, Agricultural Research Council and the Development Commission are excluded throughout.
† Casual and seasonal staff were excluded from the Manpower count from 1 January 1967 but were previously included.
‡ Adult students are excluded from the working population in 1960 and later years.
|| The Manpower Services Commission and its agencies (ACAS, HSC/E, ESA and TSA) were excluded from the manpower count. They became civil servants under the Employment Protection Act of 1975 and were included in the count with effect from 1 January 1976.
¶ For the purposes of the Civil Service manpower count, part·timers are counted as half units, and not on a head count basis as shown in this table.

asked the Prime Minister, pursuant to her reply to the hon. Member for South Ayrshire on 11 December 1980, Official Report c. 723, and the replies of the right hon. Member for Oswestry (Mr. Biffen), 2 December 1980, c. 144 and 16 December 1980, c. 150, whether she has made any changes in the ministerial responsibilities in connection with the monitoring of price increases.

Certain prices are available from the information the Department of Employment collects in order to compile the retail prices index, but they are not used by the Government to monitor individual price increases. I have made no recent change in ministerial responsibilities in this respect.

asked the Prime Minister if she will give the complete list of subjects for which it has been agreed to commission joint studies with the Government of the Republic of Ireland; how often the joint study groups on each of these subjects have met; when and where such meetings took place; and who was present.

The joint studies at official level concern possible new institutional structures, citizenship rights, security matters, economic co-operation, and measures to encourage mutual understanding. These studies are being conducted by official working parties under the supervision of a steering group of senior officials. Progress will be reported to Ministers before our next bilateral discussions.

asked the Prime Minister if she will clarify the matter of arts responsibilities and budgeting consequent upon the change of function from the Office of Arts and Libraries to the Department of Education and Science and upon the alteration of status of the Minister responsible from Cabinet rank to Minister of State.

I can assure the hon. Member that transfer of the office to the Department of Education and Science does not represent any change in the status of the arts. Whilst the formal transfer of functions will be from the Chancellor of the Duchy to the Secretary of State for Education and Science, my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Arts will have independent responsibility for the arts. He will have responsibility for the arts budget, which will continue to be separately identified in Public Expenditure White Papers. In addition, questions will be addressed separately to him in his own Question Time. My right hon. Friend will also be able to consult me directly.I have made it clear from the first that I am convinced of the need for the arts to have their own independent voice in Government. I believe that these arrangements will continue to ensure it.

asked the Prime Minister, following the reorganisation of departmental responsibilities for arts, to which Department she intends that the Standing Commission on Museums and Galleries should be transferred in April 1981.

On 1 April 1981, departmental responsibility for the Standing Commission on Museums and Galleries will pass from the Civil Service Department to the Department of Education and Science, where its work will fall within the remit of my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Arts.

asked the Prime Minister who is to be responsible for the appointments to the Standing Commission on Museums and Galleries which is now manned substantially below establishment levels which pertained earlier.

As First Lord of the Treasury, I am responsible for the appointment of the chairman and the 13 members of the Standing Commission, including seven members on the nomination of the trustees, councils or advisory bodies of various national museums. There are at present four vacancies, and these will be filled in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for each of the years 1970 to 1980 how many members of the Merchant Navy have been prosecuted for, and how many have been convicted of, offences under section 2 of the Sexual Offences Act 1967; and, in respect of those convicted, how many have received fines and how many have been given custodial sentences.

Offences relating to section 2 are not separately identified in the information collected centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will list the 1980 electorates for the 10 proposed constituencies provisionally recommended for Avon and the five proposed constituencies provisionally recommended for Somerset by the Boundary Commission for England in its notices dated 13 November 1980 and 12 May 1977, respectively.

The information requested is as follows:

Constituency	1980 electorate
AVON
Bath	69,538
Bristol, East	73,843
Bristol, North-West	68,842
Bristol, South	64,501
Bristol, West	72,769
Kingswood	68,292

Constituency	1980 electorate
Northavon	72,157
Wansdyke	69,229
Weston-Super-Mare	69,561
Woodspring	69,358
SOMERSET
Bridgwater	62,885
East Somerset	63,425
North Somerset	60,287
Taunton	68,794
Yeovil	62,661

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many civil actions for false imprisonment, malicious prosecution or assault have been brought against the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis in each of the last three years; how many were successful; and in each of these latter cases, what disciplinary action was taken.

The numbers of actions started in 1978, 1979 and 1980 involving one or more of these grounds were 42, 40 and 46 respectively. Of the 33 which were completed, five were successful. I shall write to the hon. Member about the question of disciplinary action.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects the Boundary Commission to report in respect of St. Helens.

I understand that the Boundary Commission for England is unlikely to publish its provisonal recommendations for the parliamentary constituencies in Merseyside before the summer.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects the Boundary Commission to report in respect of the county of Durham.

I understand that the Boundary Commission for England is likely to complete its review of all parliamentary constituencies in England, including those in Durham—for which it has already published its provisional recommendations—by the end of 1982.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether any participation by Great Britain in a fast breeder reactor constructed outside Great Britain would be preceeded by a public inquiry on the principle of whether a commercial fast breeder is desirable.

Monthly coal imports into Welsh ports in 1980
	Steam Coal		Coking Coal		Anthracite		All coal
		Average		Average		Average		Average
	Quantity	price £/	Quantity	price £/	Quantity	price £/	Quantity	price £/
	'000 tonnes	tonne	'000 tonnes	tonne	'000 tonnes	tonnes	'000 tonnes	tonnes
January	81·5	26·9	—	—	—	—	81·5	26·9
February	61·3	26·1	18·4	32·8	—	—	79·7	27·6
March	45·6	25·9	—	—	—	—	45·6	25·9
April	138·0	26·9	82·8	30·7	—	—	220·8	28·3
May	57·4	26·5	153·4	32·1		—	—210·8	30·6
June	24·8	26·3	77·9	29·9	0·8	27·6	103·	29·0
July	133·9	26·1	75·8	30·1	—	—	209·7	27·5
August	29·6	26·9	110·0	30·	—	—	139·6	30·0
September	136·0	25·9	45·8	29·	—	—	181·8	26·7
October	132·4	25·9	—	—	—	—	132·4	25·9
November	22·0	25·3	75·0	29·2	—	—	97·0	28·3
December	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Total	862·5	26·3	639·1	30·6	0·8	27·6	1502·4	28·1

Source: Her Majesty's Customs and Excise.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy, following the abandonment of the SGHWR as a commercial project for nuclear power stations, what additional work and what type of work has been transferred to Winfrith Heath, Dorset.

The abandonment of the SGHWR as a commercial reactor system allowed Winfrith to redeploy skilled resources on important work in the nuclear field which was not being done elsewhere. Much of this new work is under contract to BNFL and other outside organisations. The contracts include work on irradiated fuel transport flasks and the disposal of radioactive waste. In addition, the establishment has an important programme of work on PWR safety and deploys a team on behalf of the Department of Energy on North Sea oil recovery.

Fast reactor policy, including the possibilities for international collaboration, is under review, and no decisions have been taken. The Government have undertaken that any decision to build a full scale fast reactor in the United Kingdom would be subject to a full and thorough public inquiry. However, there are no plans for any inquiry into projects outside the United Kingdom nor do I think one would be appropriate.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how much coal has been imported into Wales each month since January 1980; what the purposes of the imports were; what was the average price per ton; and whether, and to what extent, the coal was subsidised by the Government in the country of origin for its production or transport.

I have been asked to reply.Provisional figures for imports of coal into Welsh ports are shown below. Nearly all these imports come from USA—97 per cent. with the remainder being supplied by Australia—2 per cent. the Netherlands—1 per cent.—and the Republic of Ireland—negligible. None of these countries pay coal production or transport subsidies.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will give an evaluation of the annual cost of research work undertaken at Winfrith, Dorset and the percentage he estimates which is non-nuclear.

The cost of the work at Winfrith in 1980–81 is estimated at £28 million, of which £16 million will be recovered from sales of electricity supplied from the Winfrith reactor to the CEGB and contract research. About a tenth of the effort at the site is devoted to non-nuclear work, mainly on oil recovery programmes.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will indicate the non-nuclear work that is currently undertaken at Harwell and the percentage it represents of the total research work undertaken on the site of the nuclear establishment.

In 1979–80 about a quarter of the effort at Harwell was devoted to non-nuclear work, and the proportions for the current financial year are expected to be similar. This work is concerned with a wide range of technical problems brought to the laboratory by a variety of sponsors. Approximately 400 contracts were carried out for industry last year, including, for example, the development of materials for special purposes, and of instrumentation and inspection techniques, as well as work on advanced batteries and the efficient use of heat in process industries. Technical support is provided to the Department of Energy on the organisation and implementation of research into alternative energy sources and the development and demonstration of energy conservation projects. A detailed account is given in the annual report of the UKAEA.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether he is satisfied with the level of flaring of gas in the North Sea; and if he will list current flaring agreements.

Consent to the flaring of gas is given only when we are satisfied that no alternative method of disposal is technically and economically achievable. Partly as a result of the pressure that this Government have maintained on operators to conserve gas, the rate of flaring has been approximately halved since its peak in the summer of 1979.Current flaring agreements with individual operators are commercially confidential. However the following table gives the volumes of gas flared at each field in 1980.

Average gas flaring rates at UKCS oilfields in 1980
	Million cubic metres a day (provisional)
Argyll	0·13
Auk	0·06
Beryl	0·38
Brent	3·45
Claymore	0·88
Piper
South Cormorant	0·41
Dunlin	0·61
Forties	2·49
Heather	0·10
Montrose	0·50
Murchison (United Kingdom)	✶0·51
Ninian	1·51
Statfjord (United Kingdom)	0·20
Thistle	0·61
✶ Since start-up in September.

Lewis asked the Secretary of State for Energy to what extent the £48,000 per annum salary of the newly appointed chairman of the Electricity Council compares with that paid to the former occupant of this position.

The salary of the newly appointed chairman of the Electricity Council is the same as that paid to the previous chairman.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy when he proposes to hold the promised inquiry into the economics and safety of a commercial demonstration fast reactor.

Fast reactor policy is still under review and it is too early to say when a public inquiry into any proposed commercial demonstration fast reactor might be held.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy (1) if he will list the capital expenditure actually incurred—that is, historic costs—for each of Hinkley Point B and Drax, first half, power stations, in each accounting year from the date of ordering to the date of commissioning;(2) if he will list the capital expenditure actually incurred—that is, historic costs—for each of Dungeness B, Hartlepool, Heysham and Drax, second half, power stations, in each accounting year from the date of ordering to 1979–80, together with the estimated capital costs to completion in March 1980 prices and the estimated completion dates in each case;(3) if he will list the capital expenditure actually incurred—that is, historic costs—for each of the following power stations commissioned between 1965 and 1977 in each accounting year from the date of ordering to the date of commissioning; Dungeness A, Sizewell, Hinkley Point A, Oldbury, Trawsfynydd, Wylfa, Tilbury B, Ferrybridge C, Aberthaw B, Fiddler's Ferry, Drakelow C, Ironbridge B, Rugeley B, Cottam, Ratcliffe, West Burton, Eggborough, and Didcot.

I am asking the chairman of the CEGB to write to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list in the Official Report the rate of monthly losses of carbon dioxide from each of the Magnox power stations and state the main reasons for these losses in each station; and what analysis his Department has made of the effect of these losses on the safety of the stations.

Carbon dioxide losses are vented from reactor buildings via stacks to the atmosphere. Samples of the losses are analysed on a regular basis for radioactivity, and the rate of loss is monitored by the Central Electricity Generating Board and the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate of the Health and Safety Executive. The inspectorate has advised me that the losses do not affect the safety of the stations. I am asking the chairman of the Central Electricity Generating Board to write to the hon. Member about losses of carbon dioxide from particular Magnox power stations.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what offset arrangements are proposed in the Trident missile system contract for the provision of gauges and tools by British manufacturers.

The transfer of a strategic weapon system such as Trident is a very different issue from a conventional arms purchase. In the circumstances, when the agreement was negotiated, it was not appropriate to press for specific offset arrangements.Procurement of the submarine itself, the tactical weapon system and propulsion plant, together with the supporting facilities—which comprise over 70 per cent. of the Trident costs—will be undertaken by British industry. Any gauges and tools required for this large element of the programme should be provided by British manufacturers.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence, in view of the jobs and capital investment involved in the JP233 project, when he expects his review of the future of the bomb to be completed.

The review will be completed as quickly as possible, but this is unlikely to be before April 1981.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will make a statement about the progress of the intergovernmental studies being carried out in conjunction with the Republic of Ireland.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what progress has been made on the joint Anglo-Irish studies which were envisaged in the communiqu6 issued following the meeting in Dublin on 8 December 1980.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what progress has been made with the joint studies agreed upon at the Dublin meeting between Mr. Haughey and the Prime Minister last December.

I refer my hon. Friends and the hon. Member to the reply given today by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the hon. Member for Belfast, East (Mr. Robinson).

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will publish in the Official Report the revised list of the United Kingdom parliamentary delegation to the North Atlantic Assembly.

Details will be published in the Official Report when the complete revised list becomes known. In the meantime, the hon. Member for Bolton, East (Mr. Young) is being replaced by the right hon. Member for Greenock and Port Glasgow (Dr. Mabon).

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether he has received evidence that any member of the diplomatic corps in London has issued fraudulent end-user certificates for use by arms purchasers on any occasion prior to the one referred to in his answer to the hon. Member for Edinburgh, Central on 27 January.

We are not aware of any such evidence over recent years. The allegation made in The Observer of 18 January and referred to in my answer to the hon. Gentleman on 27 January was the first to be brought to our notice.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland at what price the Northern Ireland Police Authority purchased the site that Upper Galwally, Belfast; and whether the land and buildings were purchased by agreement or vested.

The police authority for Northern Ireland purchased the Galwally site for £325,000, by agreement.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the cost will be to public funds of repairing the damage caused by the recent riot by prisoners in Maze prison.

The cost of repairing cells and replacing furnishings damaged by prisoners at Her Majesty's prison, Maze (Cellular) during the evening of 27 January 1981 will be approximately £13,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his estimate of the current gross cost of making the widowed mothers' allowance non-contributory and what would be the savings in other benefits, the extra costs in housing rebates, and the extra income from income tax.

It is estimated that the current gross cost of making widowed mothers' allowance non-contributory would be about £15 million a year, and that about half this amount would be saved in other benefits. I am sorry that information on the extra costs which would be incurred in housing rebates is not readily available. Nor is it possible to estimate the extra income from income tax, although it is thought that the amount would be very small.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what advice his Department gives to doctors on the drugs which are suitable for prescribing to newly born children; and if he will make a statement.

The treatment of individual patients is for the clinical judgment of the doctors concerned. It would be inappropriate for the Department to offer guidance on the suitability of particular drugs in the treatment of new born babies. Information on individual drugs is available to prescribers in the data sheets circulated by the producers.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the location of laser centres for treatment of cervical cancer in England and, in particular, in the South-West.

Comprehensive information is not held centrally. Hospitals in the following places are known to have such facilities: Birmingham, Cambridge, Dartford, Gateshead, London, Manchester, Redhill and Sheffield. For information about services in a particular place, the hon. Member might like to consult the health authority concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether, pending the modernisation and expansion of the Elstree blood products laboratory, he will ensure that full use is made of the spare blood products laboratory capacity at Edinburgh.

The United Kingdom health Department are working together to ensure that the best possible use is made of the resources of both the protein fractionation centre at Edinburgh and the blood products laboratory at Elstree.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services in the light of the poor response to the Down's Syndrome Association's public appeal for a research centre, if he will consider making a substantial contribution to start this research.

It is open to the association to apply for a research grant at any time, and this Department, which makes a grant towards the association's administration expenses, has already explained how this may be done.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will give the numbers of

Numbers Receiving Benefit
	Total Registered Unemployed claimants	Unemployment benefit	Supplementary benefit✶	Unemployment and Supplementary benefit	Not receiving benefit
8 November 1979	1,151,800	386,600	471,700	80,100	213,400
13 November 1980	1,895,100	778,600	663,900	161,300	291,300
✶Includes 90,200 (1979) and 133,700 (1980)claimants whose entitlement to benefit had not been determined at the date of the count.
source: 100 per cent of claimants for unemployment benefits or credits.

The hon. Member may like to know that figures for these categories can be found in the "Quarterly Analysis of Registered Unemployment Claimants (Great Britain)", a copy of which, from the February 1980 analysis onwards, is in the Library of the House.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will review the regulations on industrial deafness so as to bring them into line with other industrial diseases.

The Industrial Injuries Advisory Council, an independent body which advises my right hon. Friend on matters relating to the industrial injuries benefits scheme, has a continuing remit to keep the benefit provisions for occupational deafness under review. I understand that a sub-committee of the council is at present considering the latest evidence on the scheme's operation and on the possibilities for extending its coverage.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many coal miners have obtained disablement benefit from the extension of the regulations covering occupational deafness on 3 September 1979.

There is no centralised record of such awards, and it would be disapproportionately expensive to assemble the information requested from regional office and local office records.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when it was decided not to allow a claimant to a medical appeal tribunal to withdraw the appeal; an what the reasons are for so doing.

Claimants have, and always have had, the right to apply for leave to withdraw an appeal to a medical appeal tribunal, just as it has always been, and remains, the responsibility of the tribunal to decide whether leave should be given.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services who may use the title chiropodist; and if he is satisfied that all who use that title are qualified to give the service implied by the title.

My right hon. Friend is currently considering proposals which would require amendment of persons claiming and receiving unemployment and social welfare benefits at the latest and most convenient stated date and similar details for a year ago.

The information is as follows:the Professions Supplementary to Medicine Act 1960 so that the title "chiropodist", and other professional titles within the scope of the Act, could be limited to those with suitable prior training and experience. We shall shortly be consulting further the professions concerned, the Council for Professions Supplementary to Medicine and other interested parties on the detailed proposals, but have no further statement to make at this stage.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how much training his Department requires of an individual before it recognises him or her as a qualified chiropodist;(2) if he will take the necessary steps to require those who wish to practise as chiropodists first to undergo a course of training and an examination acceptable to the profession.

Employment in the National Health Service as a chiropodist is open only to those who satisfy the requirements for State registration laid down by the Chiropodists Board, an independent statutory body established by the Professions Supplementary to Medicine Act 1960. Various qualifications are recognised for this purpose, but the most common method of achieving State-registration is through a three-year course of full-time training at an approved school of chiropody. Outside the National Health Service, there are no statutory restrictions governing use of the title "chiropodist", though it is an offence falsely to claim to be State registered.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when the review panel to resolve disputes with pharmacists over payments for National Health Service prescriptions is to be named; and what are the reasons for the delay.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the reason for the delay in setting up the promised review body for the remuneration of dispensing pharmacists, under the terms of the Health Services Act 1980; and whether he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Member and my hon. Friend to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Belper (Mrs. Faith) on 11 December 1980. Consultations with the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee are continuing and I am not yet in a position to add to that reply.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many inquiries were received by his Department from members of the public in the last year for which information is available.

In 1980, the public inquiry office at Department headquarters dealt with 123,000 telephone calls and 8,565 personal callers. This does not take account of telephone inquiries which may have bypassed the public inquiry office, or of inquiries received in the Department by letter, or of enquiries at local offices or at the Newcastle or North Fylde central offices.The cost of ascertaining such information could not be justified.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list in the Official Report all the official bodies to which he makes appointments other than civil servants, including those bodies in categories excluded from the "Report on Non-Departmental Public Bodies", Cmnd. 7797; and if he will indicate in each case whether he proposes to discontinue them in 1981.

Following is the information requested:List of bodies currently in the categories included in the Report on Non-Departmental Public Bodies:

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if child benefit order books have been ordered and printed for a four weekly payment system; and, if so, where they are stored.

No such order book foils have been printed.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services' what further consideration he has given to

	Attendance Allowance as at 31 December 1979		Mobility Allowance as at 31December 1980
Social Security Region	Number✶	Rate per 1,000 Population	Number† Population	Rate per 1,000 Population
Northern	16,500	5·5	9,400	3·16
Yorkshire and Humberside	23,500	4·7	17,670	3·57
East Midlands and East Anglia	26,500	4·9	14,510	2·65
London North	21,000	4·0	12,500	2·39
London West	26,500	4·8	11,890	2·15
London South	36,000	5·9	15,560	2·55
South-West	25,000	5·8	12,130	2·81
West Midlands	26,000	5·1	14,680	2·85
North Western (Manchester)	18,000	5·2	11,870	3·49
North Western (Merseyside)	20,500	6·3	10,640	3·26
Wales	22,500	8·1	11,560	4·17
Scotland	24,000	4·7	15,850	3·07
Great Britain	286,000	5·3	158,260	2·91
✶ Estimated.
†Excludes those awarded mobility allowance under the Vehicle Scheme Beneficiaries Regulations 1977 (26,400 at 31 December 1980).

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many claims for attendance allowance and mobility allowances were made in 1980 in each Department of Health and Social Security region; and what percentage was granted.

No reports have reached the Department which suggest any significant change in the position as summarised in the reply my right hon. Friend the Member for Daventry (Mr. Prentice) the former Minister for Social Security gave the right hon. Gentleman on 26 June—[Vol. 987, c. 277]— or would justify any alteration in the Department's long-standing policy on the issues concerned as referred to in his reply on 30 June—[Vol. 987, c. 446-47.]

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will seek powers to require all local authorities to inform him of the number of disabled people living on supplementary benefit who are required to pay for their home helps.