asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many representations he has received on the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisons) (Scotland) Bill; and if he will name the organisations expressing opposition to the Bill.

My right hon. Friend has received 25 representations, including a number from ratepayers and ratepayers' organisations, supporting the Bill's aims and one from the Scottish Assessors' Association, which was concerned at the effects of clause 1 and 2. The following nine bodies have written expressing opposition to the Bill or to part of it:

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what has been the total cost of (a) the travel expenses between Edinburgh and London and (b) the overnight subsistence allowance paid to civil servants in his Department, for each of the last five years.

I regret that this information is not readily available in the form requested and could not be obtained except at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will cause an investigation to be made to ascertain how and why prisoner Charles Richardson was able to frequent openly his former known haunts, and meet former policemen, and so on whilst escaped from prison.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the rights attached to the respective categories of citizenship which fall outside the initial category of British citizenship set out in the British Nationality Bill.

The British Nationality Bill provides that citizens of the British Dependent Territories, British overseas citizens and British subjects are to be Commonwealth citizens. They would therefore be entitled to any rights conferred by United Kingdom legislation on such citizens, as well as any specifically conferred on those who hold the citizenship or status concerned. British protected persons would, as now, not be Commonwealth citizens, but would have access to consular and passport facilities.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what reply he has sent to the statement issued by the Roman Catholic hierarchy of England and Wales on the Government's policy of nationality.

My right hon. Friend wrote to the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster on 30 January. A copy of the letter was released to the press and it has also been placed in the Library of the House.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has as to those Commonwealth and EEC countries which automatically readmit to their citizens body on application former citizens who have renouced their citizenship and those who do not follow this practice; and if he will list the countries concerned.

I regret that the information requested could be collected only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the reasons for the proposed provisions to enable a British citizen who has renounced his citizenship in order to acquire the citizenship of another country to be registered once more as a British citizen on application.

The reasons are set out in paragraphs 91 and 92 of the White Paper "British Nationality Law: Outline of Proposed Legislation", Cmnd. 7987, published in July last year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has to streamline the system of remands in custody by magistrates; and what safeguards will be introduced against abuse and injustice.

I have no proposals at the moment to change the permanent law on this subject. I shall welcome views on whether remand prisoners should be produced in court less frequently, and on the safeguards that would be desirable if such a change were made.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in the light of the finding of the Bloomsbury and Marylebone county court on 27 January that two police sergeants attached to Hampstead police station did on 6 November 1977 falsely imprison and maliciously prosecute Mr. Trevor Rhone and that they subsequently lied to the magistrates, the investigating officer, and the county court, whether disciplinary action is to be taken against the oficers concerned.

I understand that the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis is considering what further action, if any, he should take in relation to the case.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what is the current pension of the following grades of civil servants who retired on 1 September 1971 as a percentage of their salary on retirement and as a percentage of the pension of similar ranked civil servants retiring on 1 September 1979: (a) permanent secretary, (b) under secretary, (c) assistant secretary and (d) senior principal.

The information requested is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether the current figures of operational and potential reserves of coal need reassessment in the light of both increased costs and the location of resources.

Operating reserves—reserves at existing collieries and planned new developments—are assessed annually by the National Coal Board. Potential reserves, which are assessed in accordance with the criteria laid down by the 1976 World Energy Conference, are also reviewed regularly in the light of information gained from the board's exploration programme, which is continous. Recent evaluation has not indicated any reason to revise, except in detail, the 1976 World Energy Conference assessment.Should there be any change in the World Energy Conference definitions of national reserves, the NCB would respond accordingly.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what is the current total inventory of radioactive material, in curies, of the fuel rods in each of the atomic reactors and also the spent fuel being reprocessed at the moment, including that awaiting reprocessing and also the radioactive waste awaiting disposal.

I am advised by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority that the inventory of radioactivity in a nuclear reactor when its reaches an equilibrium value under normal operation might typically be about 10 curies per watt of electrical capacity. The radioactivity diminishes rapidly when the reactor is shut down and this reduction continues subsequently at a gradually reducing rate. The radioactivity associated with spent fuel from the United Kingdom reactors which is undergoing reprocessing or awaiting reprocessing is estimated to amount to some 400 mega curies. After reprocessing the level of radioactivity in wastes continues to decline. The radioactivity of wastes held prior to treatment and disposal amounts to some 550 mega curies.It will be seen from this that, in the nuclear programme as a whole, the amount of radioactivity is changing continuously. It is not therefore meaningful to attempt to provide precise figures relating to the total number of curies of radioactivity existing at any given time in a nuclear programme.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what steps the Government are taking to encourage the wider use of heat pumps to further their energy conservation policy.

We have encouraged the development of United Kingdom manufactured heat pumps of improved cost effectiveness through research and development expenditure and we are assisting in the promotion of heat pumps by funding demonstration projects. The EEC is also sponsoring a number of United Kingdom programmes. Further work on the same lines, dealing particularly with heat pumps for the domestic sector, is under consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what is his projection of the offshore oil platform market in 1981; and what variations in employment levels he expects.

Two developments—Beryl B and Hutton—have been approved by the Department and we expect orders, for a fixed steel platform and a tension leg platform respectively, to be placed this year. The Department is currently considering a revised plan for the extension of a field, and several other projects—both for oil and for gas fields—are approaching the stage of submission to the Department. The nature of the industrial opportunities which will arise from these projects is varied; for example steel jackets, small jackets for shallower water, floating production facilities. A range of contractors, including platform and module yards and shipyards, will be interested. It is not possible for that reason, and also for the considerable problems of timing and competition, to forecast effects on employment.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy (1) what is the standard issue weapon of Atomic Energy Authority constables;(2) how many arrests have been made by Atomic Energy Authority constables since the enactment of the Atomic Energy (Special Constables) Act 1976

In relation to the weapons issued to AEA constables, I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by the then Under-Secretary of State for Energy during the debate on the Atomic Energy Authority (Special Constables) Bill on 26 February 1976.—[Vol. 906, c. 752]. The position has not changed since then.Not all AEA constables are armed. Constables carry firearms when they are on duties related to the guarding of special nuclear material on sites or in transit. As indicated during the debate in the House on the Atomic Energy Authority (Special Constables) Bill, armed constables are deployed on the AEA sites at Dounreay, Harwell and Winfrith and the British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL) site at Windscale. However, it would not be in the public interest to give details of the deployment of AEA constables on these duties either at sites or in transit.With regard to the number of arrests made by AEA constables, I am advised that since the enactment of the Atomic Energy Authority (Special Constables) Bill, 9 arrests have taken place outside, but in the vicinity of, AEA or BNFL sites and 34 within such sites. In none of these cases were the constables armed.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 3 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 3 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 3 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 3 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 3 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 3 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 3 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 3 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 3 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 3 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 3 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 3 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 3 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 3 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 3 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 3 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 3 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 3 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 3 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 3 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 3 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 3 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 3 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 3 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 3 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 3 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 3 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 3 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 3 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 3 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 3 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 3 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 3 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 3 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 3 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 3 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 3 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 3 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 3 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 3 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 3 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 3 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 3 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 3 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 3 February.

I refer the hon. Members and my hon. Friends to the reply which I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Wandsworth (Mr. Dubs).

asked the Prime Minister if she will make a statement on Government policy towards Chile.

Our policy is to have normal relations with Chile consistent with our interests. In so doing, we have left the Chilean Government in no doubt that their record on human rights, like that in many other countries, has given rise to deep concern in this country.

asked the Prime Minister what progress is being made in reforming the common agricultural policy of the European Economic Community.

There will be discussions on changes in the common agricultural policy in the context of the 1981 price-fixing and the budget restructuring exercise. Negotiations will take place on the basis of proposals which the Commission will be making.

asked the Prime Minister whether she has any plans to visit Warsaw.

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister when she next expects to visit the metropolitan district of Bradford.

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister if she will introduce measures to allow the long-term unemployed to become eligible for the long-term supplementary benefit rates.

Although we are well aware of the case for this change, it would cost £75 million in a full year and cannot be contemplated in present economic circumstances.

asked the Prime Minister if she will issue directions to the nationalised industries and services that their prices should not be raised in the coming year by more than 10 per cent.

No; but the Government have stressed the need for nationalised industries to increase their efficiency and so avoid unnecessary tariff increases.

asked the Prime Minister how many Ministers, Ministers of State and Parliamentary Secretaries, respectively, there were in Mr. Atlee's Administration in 1951 and Sir Alec Douglas-Home's in 1964; and what are the current comparable figures.

The figures, as at January in each year, are as follows:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer by how much, at no loss to the Exchequer the tax threshold could be increased if the standard rate of tax was increased by lp, 2p, 3p, 4p, 5p, and 9p; and what is, for each of these charges, the level of taxable income at which the taxpayer would become worse off.

The information, which relates to the levels of incomes and allowances in 1980–81, is as follows:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list for each of the last 10 years the national average income for a man and state for each of those years what percentage of the male working population earned up to 30 per cent. more or less than that figure.

The available statistics on the incomes of men are derived from the Inland Revenue's survey of personal incomes. The averages quoted below therefore relate to men for whom income tax records are held; many of those with incomes too small to come within the income tax field are excluded. Calculations have been made for three years only: 1970–71, which is the first year for which suitable data are available; 1974–75, a year in the middle of the period; and 1979–79, the last year for which data are available. Figures for all the years requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer by how much the existing £15,000 starting figure for the payment of stamp duty on house purchase would need to be increased to keep it in line with (a) the movement in the retail price index and (b) the increase in house prices since 1 May 1974.

The starting figure for the payment of stamp duty on house purchase was raised from £15,000 to £20,000 by last year's Finance Bill. On the basis of the most recent figures available for the movement in the RPI and the increase in house prices, the current threshold of £20,000 would become the equivalent of £15,000 in May 1974 if it were increased respectively by about £18,000 and £13,500.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will make a statement in connection with his policy for charging the public for Treasury pamphlets relating to the arts and the heritage; and how he assesses the value of them.

The Treasury's policy in regard to material it makes generally available to the public is based on the actual costs of production and distribution. I assume that the hon. Member has particularly in mind the 76 page memorandum, "Capital Taxation and the National Heritage", published on 17 December 1980. The charge of £2 per copy for that document reflects only the cost of re-producing it plus postage and a small handling charge. It takes no account of the staff time spent on drafting the memorandum.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consideration he has given to making economies in the printing of Treasury minutes made under section 2 of the Currency and Bank Notes Act 1954.

I have reviewed the need for continued publication of Treasury minutes relating to the fiduciary note issue. In view of the substantial savings that can be achieved in printing costs it has been agreed with the House authorities that these minutes need no longer be printed as House of Commons papers. The minutes will continue to be laid in accordance with section 2(9) of the Currency and Bank Notes Act 1954 and be available in the Library.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his Department will examine methods of allowing owners of agricultural land who let their land where economic and land management considerations make this desirable (a) to a reduction of the level of investment income surcharge on agricultural land that is let, (b) to capital gains tax roll-over relief, (c) to retirement relief where up to £50,000 of gains is exempt from tax and (d) to the recovery of VAT on the cost of repairs on land which is let; and if he will make a statement.

[pursuant to his reply, 27 January 1981, c. 360]: I have noted my hon. Friend's views on the tax reliefs needed to encourage owners of agricultural land to let it and will bear these in mind.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the reply to the hon. Member for Bournemouth, East (Mr. Atkinson) on 20 January, Official Report c. 85–6, what is the number of new small firms coming into registration for value added tax as compared with the number going bankrupt at the most recent date for which such figures are available.

[pursuant to his reply, 2 February 1981, c. 34]: Separate figures in respect of new small firms are not available, but in the period 1 January 1980–31 December 1980 the total number of new registrations for value added tax was 171,547.Similarly, the number of registrations cancelled as a result of insolvency is not available, but is estimated to be in the order of 10,000 in the same period.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what percentage of women admitted in labour to maternity units in the Birmingham area health authority during the past 12 months, and who have not received any antenatal care are of Asian origin.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what percentage of women admitted to maternity units in the Sandwell area health authority, during the last 12 months, and who have not received any antenatal care, are of Asian origin.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what percentage of women admitted in labour to maternity units in the Leicester Area Health Authority area during the last 12 months who have not received any antenatal care are of Asian origin.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what percentage of women admitted in labour to maternity units in the North-West Thames regional health authority, during the last 12 months, and who have not received any antenatal care, are of Asian origin.

This information is not available at present. It is an important matter and I am grateful to the hon. Members for raising it. I know that health authorities are anxious to ensure that the importance of antenatal care is known to all groups of women in their communities.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he expects to announce his decision regarding the size and scope of the new district health authorities.

I hope to announce all my decisions by the end of May.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he is yet in a position to announce the date when the White Paper on the elderly will be published.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is now in a position to announce the publication date of the White Paper on the elderly.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he is yet in a position to announce the date when the White Paper on the elderly will be published.

I hope it will be published in about a month.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will now amend regulation 2 of the boarding out of children regulations 1955 to enable single men to be foster parents of children to which they are not blood-related.

Although, by their nature, there are few such requests, I am persuaded that the regulations should be changed to make this possible. I also propose to amend regulation 21 to increase the minimum frequency of visits in cases where special care is needed to safeguard the welfare of the child.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will meet representatives of pensioners organisations to discuss the index linking of retirement pensions.

My right hon. Friend will be meeting representatives of the National Federation of Old-age Pensions Associations tomorrow. I expect that the index-linking of retirement pensions will be raised.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he plans to review the recommendations of the South-East Thames regional health authority to combine the Hastings and Eastbourne health districts.

Regional health authorities are in the process of consulting widely on the size and location of the new district health authorities. Following such consultations, my right hon. Friend is expecting recommendations from the South-East Thames regional health authority later this month.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is satisfied with the effect of his recent changes in the supplementary benefit system.

It is still too early to pass any judgment, but, so far as I am aware, no serious problems have appeared.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, assuming maximum claiming of all means-tested benefits, by how much a family with two children would benefit by an increase in the gross pay of the wage-earner in the family from £55 to £75 per week.

This would depend on the assumptions made about the family and their circumstances. On the basis of the assumptions made for a two child family in the tax benefit model tables, the immediate increase in net weekly spending power would be £7·40. This takes account of the fact that, once family income supplement had been awarded, it would continue unchanged for 12 months regardless of a pay increase or other changes.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many vacant consultant posts there are throughout England and Wales.

At 30 September 1980 there were 1,163 consultant posts vacant, of which 463 were wholly or partly occupied by locums.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is satisfied with the quantity and quality of the financial advice given by social workers to families with financial problems.

Social workers are not the main source of such advice, but I am sure that they and those responsible for their training will take account of any justified criticisms.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what representations he has received on the International Year of Disabled People.

I have not received any specific representations on the International Year of Disabled People, but it has been mentioned in correspondence I have received on a wide range of subjects.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what further statement he can now make on the development of his Department's plans to mark the International Year of Disabled People.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement on progress in his Department in co-operating in the International Year for Disabled People.

I refer the hon. Member and my hon. Friend to my reply to the right hon. Gentleman the Members for Manchester, Wythenshawe (Mr. Morris) and for Stoke-on-Trent, South (Mr. Ashley)—[Vol. 997, c. 53]—on 19 January. Arrangements are progressing with regard to the special activities which I mentioned.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how his Department's plans to mark the International Year of Disabled People will assist disabled persons living in areas of the United Kingdom such as County Durham.

The aims of the International Year of Disabled People are to change attitudes towards disabled people; to increase awareness of their needs, abilities and aspirations; to promote their integration and participation in community life and to further the prevention of disability. I understand that a very wide range of events designed to reflect these objectives has been organised in County Durham and I hope that the hon. Member will help publicise them and actively participate in them.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he is satisfied with the support the Government are giving to the International Year of Disabled People.

Yes. I refer the right hon. Gentleman to the reply my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister gave to the right hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, South (Mr. Ashley) on 19 January.—[Vol. 997, c. 7.]

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what representations he has received regarding the ending of earnings-related supplement.

About 150 letters have been received from bodies and individuals about the ending of earnings-related supplement.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services on how many occasions in the last 12 months final year medical students have been employed as locum doctors in the Oxfordshire area health authority.

Medical students cannot be employed as locum tenens medical practitioners. However, they can provide valuable assistance to a doctor who is covering for an absent practitioner. Medical students have acted in this way in Oxfordshire area health authority (teaching) as follows during the last 12 months:

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is satisfied with the provision of hospital services in third generation new towns.

The provision of hospital services locally, in new towns as elsewhere, is a matter for the relevant health authority.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if, in view of public concern in the Dearne area at the decrease in facilities at the Mexborough Montagu hospital, he will take action to bring the hospital up to a reasonable general hospital standard.

The Montagu hospital, Mexborough is managed by Rotherham area health authority (AHA) but treats patients from the areas of Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham AHAs. Last May the Trent regional healthauthority (RHA) resolved that the hospital should be developed as a general hospital, providing as full a range of general acute services as possible within the resources available. The RHA will discuss plans for implementing that resolution with those concerned locally, including the three AHAs.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is satisfied with the level of take-up of social security benefits.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is satisfied with the take-up of social security benefits.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what steps his Department will take in the course of 1981 to publicise more information about social benefits and encourage persons to claim those benefits to which they are entitled by law.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what further initiatives he intends to take to increase the take-up of social security benefits.

The Government must always be concerned where the level of take-up of a benefit is less than might be expected. For example, the take-up of child benefit increase, the premium paid to one-parent families, is disappointing. In my reply to my hon. Friend, the Member for Huntingdonshire (Mr. Major) on 22 January—[Vol. 997, c. 214-5.]—I announced that the name child benefit increase will be changed in April to one-parent benefit. We shall seek publicity about the name change to assist in furthering awareness. As I said then, I hope that more lone parents will realise that they may be entitled to this benefit and should make a claim for it.With regard to benefits in general, the Department's publicity budget for 1981–82 is not yet finalised, so it is not possible to give any firm commitments. However, it is proposed to use national press and television advertising to improve the take-up of family income supplement by working familes with low earnings. Leaflets and advice about other benefits will continue to be available from our local offices throughout the country, as well as from citizens advice bureaux and elsewhere.Also, of course, the order books held by beneficiaries have information on a wide range of benefits including supplementary benefit, rent and rate rebates and free prescriptions, glasses and dental treatment for low income families.A new edition of the Department's booklet "Help for Handicapped People" has just been published, detailing the wide range of cash and other benefits available for disabled people. It is being publicised by posters and on radio and television.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will commission a study of the effects on the take-up of benefits in the Strathclyde region of the publicity campaign mounted by the Strathclyde regional council.

Information about the results is being asembled. As I promised the hon. Member in my reply to him on 12 January, I will write to him as soon as I can.—[Vol. 996, c. 486.]

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many representations he has received on the consultative paper "Income During Initial Sickness: A New Strategy".

About 1,100.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what are the facilities in district general hospitals in the Greater London Council area for in-patient care for children with psychiatric problems.

Information is not collected centrally on facilities in district general hospitals for the inpatient care of children with psychiatric problems. However, in 1979 the average daily number of beds available for child psychiatry in all hospitals in Greater London was 79.Children suffering from some types of psychiatric problem may be more appropriately treated by admission to a paediatric bed in a children's department, but details of such use of paediatric beds is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he now expects to make an announcement about his conclusions regarding the death grant.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is now in a position to make an announcement on increasing the death grant.

I refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend's reply to the hon. Member for Bolsover (Mr. Skinner) on 12 January.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what would be the present value of the death grant if it had been maintained at the level which applied in 1960.

Based on the movement of the general index of retail prices up to December 1980, the current value of the full-rate death grant payable in 1960, when it was £25, is £140.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services in view of the fact that that 1981 is the International Year of Disabled People, if he will invite all health authorities to review the physical arrangements in their hospitals and clinics with the aim of improving access for disabled patients and disabled visitors.

It is obviously important that access for disabled patients and visitors to hospitals is made as easy as possible within the limits of available resources. Health authorities' attention has been drawn to the needs of disabled people on several occasions in the last few years. My right hon. Friend has recently written to the chairmen of regional health authorties to encourage, wherever possible, participation in the International Year of Disabled People, and I shall see that access is one of the matters that health authorities will consider during the Year.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what the retirement pension would be for a single person and a married couple if it had been increased in line with earnings and prices, whichever increased the most in November 1979 and 1980 respectively.

If, at the upratings in November 1979 and November 1980, legislation had required retirement pensions to be increased in line with the movements of prices or average earnings since the previous up-rating whichever was the greater, the appropriate factor would have been the movement in earnings since they increased by more than prices over the relevant periods.On this basis, the rates of retirement pension introduced in November 1979 would have been £23·65 for a single person and £37·80 for a married couple. These rates include amounts to make good the shortfall in relation to earnings at the time of the previous administration's up-rating in November 1978. The rates introduced in November 1980 would have been £28·05 and £44·85 respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he expects to receive the recommendations of the North-West and South-West Thames regional hospital health authorities for district boundaries.

March 1981.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he expects to announce proposals for the curtailment of the abuse of the National Health Service by tourists.

I must ask my hon. Friend to be patient a little longer.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services on how many occasions in the past 12 months disciplinary action has been taken in the National Health Service as a result of a conflict between managerial responsibilities and trade union activities.

This information is not available centrally, as all disciplinary action in the NHS is the responsibility of NHS management locally.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he has issued guidance to regional health authorities and area health authorities about the possible conflict between managerial responsibilities and trade union activities; and if he will publish the text of any such guidance in the Official Report.

I have issued no such guidance, nor do I see any present need to do so. A note drawing attention to the possibility of conflict was circulated to NHS regional personnel officers for discussion, and I took their advice into account in reaching my decision that no guidance was needed.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is satisfied that sufficient officers are employed by his Department to investigate social security fraud.

This matter is kept under constant review. The number of staff employed on fraud and abuse work is currently 1,050 higher than when we came into office. The arrangements mentioned by my right hon. Friend the Member for Daventry (Mr. Prentice), the former Minister with responsibility for social security and disablement, in his reply to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Perry Barr (Mr. Rooker) and four other hon. Members on 25 March 1980—[Vol. 981, c. 1155–9]—to collect information about our fraud and abuse campaign will enable us to make better judgments not only about the numbers of specialist staff required, but also about the best way to deploy them.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what representations he has received from industry concerning his proposed changes in the payment of sickness benefit; and if he will make a statement.

Most of the 1,100 or so representations that we have received on our proposals for an employers' statutory sick-pay scheme came from industry and commerce. The main concern was about the size of the proposed compensation for employers, and that, in particular, a disproportionate burden would fall on small businesses and on industries with high levels of sickness absence. Legislation will shortly be brought before the House and meanwhile I have nothing to add to what my right hon. Friend said during the debate on the Address on 21 November about the changes that we have decided to make in light of these representations.—[Vol. 994, c. 185–90.]

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he has any plans for voluntary workers to take over the duties at present performed by paid employees in the social services.

The best relationship between voluntary and statutory social services needs to be worked out locally. My policy is to encourage an expansion of care provided voluntarily, but this does not imply the displacement of local authority employees.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what has been the increase in the receipt of means-tested benefits over the last year.

The figures needed to make this comparison are not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he has yet completed the careful consideration he promised to give on 31 January 1980 to the proposals contained in the Council of Europe recommendation 874 concerning the European charter on the rights of the child; and if he will now take steps to implement the proposals.

The position in the Council of Europe is that the Committee of Ministers doubts the advisability of a European charter on the rights of the child based on the proposals in recommendation 874. Many of these proposals are in line with what we are already doing in this country.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many patients are currently awaiting transfer from each of the four special hospitals; what is the longest period of time a patient has been waiting; and if he will take steps to speed up these transfers.

The information, as at 1 January 1980, in respect of patients for whom recommendations made by the responsible medical officer concerned for transfer to a less secure hospital have been forwarded to health authorities, is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what reactions he has received to his response to the Social Services Committee's report on perinatal mortality from the professional bodies involved.

Four professional bodies have said that they are considering the Government's reply and a fifth has sent a copy of a letter addressed to the Social Services Committee. Other bodies have not yet responded.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give the perinatal mortality rates for 1979 and early 1980 for babies weighing (a) under 1,000 grams, (b) 1,001 to 1,500 grams, (c) 1,501 to 2,000 grams, (d) 2,001 to 2,500 grams and (e) over 2,500 grams for England and each area health authority; and if he will make a statement.

I understand that the national perinatal epidemiologial unit at Oxford is at present engaged in making the detailed calculations for 1979, on the basis of data supplied by the Department. I am in touch with the unit about this and I hope to be able to publish the figures in the Official Report in the near future. Information for 1980 is not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if his Department will publish all information which might be useful in helping awareness of ways of lowering the perinatal mortality and handicap rates; and if the release of information on the success or failure of the 30 area health authorities with high perinatal mortality rates might be helpful in this regard.

Information about perinatal mortality and handicap, and ways of reducing them, appears regularly in the professional and scientific periodicals. These are available to health authorities and to staff concerned in the provision of maternity and neonatal services. The Department publishes a variety of relevant reports and statistics including the quarterly "Health Trends", the annual report of th chief medical officer on the state of the public health, the triennial reports on maternal deaths and various discussion booklets in the prevention and health series, including in particular, "Reducing the Risk: Safer Pregnancy and Child birth". In addition, the quarterly bulletins of publications, started in November 1979, draw the attention of health and local authorities to major items of interest. With regard to the reports from 33 health authorities, I refer the hon. Member to my reply to him on 21 January.—[Vol. 997, c. 778–9.]

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the estimated cost of prescriptions issued on the National Health Service; and what income he expects to receive in the current financial year.

The estimated gross cost of prescriptions dispensed in the family practitioner services in England for the year ended 31 March 1981 is £1,000 million inclusive of fees and allowances. It is now estimated that income from patients' charges and prepayment certificates will be about £70 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many small hospitals have had a change of use and designation to community care centres; and if he will make a statement.

There is no record in the Department of any hospital being redesignated as a community care centre on a permanent change of use. In a few cases of permanent closure of hospitals, the buildings have been transferred to the local authority for whatever use it thinks is needed. The hon. Member may have in mind the Lambeth, community care centre which is to be set up by the Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham area health authority (teaching), using inner city partnership funds. This is a new building on the site of a hospital which has been closed and demolished. Patients will be under the care of general practitioners supported by their primary care teams and integrated with social services and appropriate voluntary organisations.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what financial provision his Department makes to reimburse examination fees paid by the post-18 years unemployed age group to external examining bodies.

None. Regulation 6(2)(a) of the Supplementary Benefit (Single Payments) Regulations 1980 (SI 1980 No. 983) specifically excludes any single payment for

"an educational or training need".

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether resources will be made available to area health authorities for the purchase of automatic response cradles.

During the last six years the Department has been giving financial support to a research study led by Dr. M. J. Bennett of Brunei University to develop equipment to test the hearing of neonates. Dr. Bennett has developed an auditory response system known as the Linco-Bennett cradle. Trials of the equipment in a screening role are still in progress but it is already clear that the system can serve a useful and important purpose in post-natal care. The Department is currently arranging to purchase three of the cradles, as a pump-priming exercise, for use and further evaluation in the NHS. We hope that the experience gained through the use of these cradles will encourage health authorities to acquire this equipment.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what is his estimate of the extra cost to the ambulance service of the proposal to restrict the casualty department at St. Mary's hospital, W.9 to those able to make their own way to and from the department; which hospitals will need to accept casualties at present dealt with at St. Mary's; what increase in medical and nursing staff is envisaged at those hospitals; and if he will make a statement;(2) if he will take steps to reopen the temporarily closed rheumatology and rehabilitation units at St. Mary's hospital, London, W.9;(3) if he will now refuse to endorse the proposal of the district management consultative document to close 127 beds at St. Mary's hospital, W.9.

I am considering a proposal submitted by the North-West Thames regional health authority to close beds at St. Mary's hospital, Harrow Road, but am not yet in a position to make a decision on this.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many nurses completed a training course for the State registered qualification in the last six years in the Royal Masonic, St. Andrew's, Northampton, Cheadle Royal, King Edward VII and Midhurst private hospitals; and how many State registered nurse qualifications were secured after training in National Health Service hospitals during the same period.

I have made inquiries from the General Nursing Council for England and Wales (GNC) to whom I am grateful for this information. The number of registered nurses admitted to a part of the register held by the GNC in recent years is as follows: