asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people currently are unemployed in the London area; how many are on Manpower Services Commission schemes; and what were the comparable figures a year ago.

At 12 February 1981, the number of people registered as unemployed in Greater London was 248,941 compared with 144,586 at 14 February 1980. I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that the following figures apply for special programme schemes in London.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he and the Secretary of State for Social Services have received the report of the officials who, assisted by Sir Derek Rayner, have been undertaking a scrutiny of the delivery of benefits to unemployed people.

This report has been received and is being published today together with a statement of the Government's initial reactions to the report's recommendations. A copy of the report and the Government's response has been placed in the Library. Copies are available to Members from the Vote Office.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he expects any universities to close or for mergers to take place as a result of cuts in Government expenditure.

The level of grant announced for 1981–82 for universities and the level of resources for higher education for the two succeeding financial years do not require that universities should close. The detailed implications of the Government's expenditure plans for higher education are under discussion.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the various options that are being considered for universities in order to meet Government spending plans; and if he will make a statement on these.

The detailed implications for the universities of the Government's expenditure plans for higher education are under discussion with the Unversity Grants Committee and my right hon. and learned Friend expects to make a statement in due course.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will obtain and place in the Library a copy of the report of the Special Committee of the Canadian Parliament on the Disabled and the Handicapped.

[pursuant to his reply, 18 March 1981, c. 103]: Earlier today Mr. David Smith, Chairman of the Special Committee of the Canadian Parliament on the Disabled and the Handicapped, presented me with a copy of the report. It has been placed in the Library of the House with the copy deposited there on Monday 16 March.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service whether he will make a statement giving the actual or estimated number of civil servants who took part in the recent national strike.

Some 273,400 non-industrial civil servants were on strike on Monday, 9 March. This represents just over 50 per cent. of the total number of non-industrial civil servants in post at 1 January 1981. Details are as follows:

asked the Lord Privy Seal, further to his answer of 11 March to the hon. Member for Lambeth, Central, which of the countries give rights of entry, reentry and abode to those residents who are United Kingdom and Colonies citizens who owe their citizenship to their connection with a former colony.

There is no provision in the laws of India, Kenya and Tanzania for conferring the right of abode or permanent settlement on non-citizens; but this does not preclude the persons concerned from continuing residence and re-entry. The laws of other Commonwealth countries listed can confer permanent settlement on non-citizens, some following a qualifying period of residence, others by Ministerial discretion.Re-entry permits are required for the persons concerned resident in Kenya, Tanzania, Malaysia and Singapore. India, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi do not have this requirement.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether the Government intend to ratify the European outline convention on transfrontier co-operation between territorial authorities or communities, which has already been signed or ratified by nine Council of Europe member States.

The question whether the United Kingdom should sign the outline convention is at present under consideration.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what procedures he has followed to consult the people of Hong Kong on the provisions of the British Nationality Bill that affect them; if he believes that these provisions are acceptable to the Hong Kong community; and if he will make a statement.

Consultation with Hong Kong took place through the Governor before and after publication of the White Paper, which was widely publicised in the territory. In addition, representations on the Bill have been received from the Hong Kong Governnment and the Governor's unofficial advisers since its presentation. These have been discussed in meetings with the Governor, and the points which have been raised are being considered by the Government.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether dates have been set for a constitutional conference for Belize and for further negotiaions with Guatemala.

The constitutional conference will open at Malborough House on 6 April. Negotiations with Guatemala to prepare a treaty or treaties on the basis of the heads of agreement signed on 11 March will begin on 20 May.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what was the cost in the last two financial years of hospitality and other arrangements for foreign parliamentarians and their wives visiting the United Kingdom.

[pursuant to his reply, 12 March 1981, c. 406]: The information regarding other visitors is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how much is the advised open market value of the 132 surplus empty Royal Air Forces houses at Dishforth, North Yorkshire; how much has been spent on their care and maintenance, and by whom, since they fell vacant; how much has been paid and by whom, to the local authority in rates whilst vacant; and if he will make a statement.

My hon. Friend has written to me on the subject and I shall be writing to him about this very complex matter.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the anticipated effect on the defence budget of the proposals outlined in the Chancellor of the Exchequer's recent Budget Statement; and if he will take steps to reimburse the Defence Vote for the additional taxation in respect of taxes on petrol, diesel and aviation and turbine spirit in particular.

The cost to the defence budget of the fiscal proposals in the Budget Statement is estimated at about £4 million in 1981–82. There are no plans to increase the defence cash limit on this account, although the cash limit will be kept under review.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from the Sun newspaper on the consequences for the public sector borrowing requirement of uprating child benefit, following the readers' poll.

I have received a letter from the journalist who wrote the articles which requested readers' views on the size and frequency of payment of child benefit.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer to what extent he has received support and opposition to his Budget; and whether he will give details in the Official Report.

I have received a large number of representations on all aspects of the Budget. These are far too numerous and diverse to be adequately summarised in the Official Report.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the current purchasing value of the £ sterling today compared with that in May 1979.

Taking the internal purchasing power of the £ sterling as 100p in May 1979, its value in February 1981, the latest month for which information is available, was 77p.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the number of those persons who will become income tax payers in 1981–82 as a result of not changing the tax allowances who are in receipt of rent rebates or allowances or rate rebates.

I will let the hon. Member have a reply as soon as possible.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he has any plans to smooth the pattern of value added tax payments.

At present, largely through an accident of history, there are distinct peaks of VAT receipts every third month. A more even profile is desirable for the purposes of monetary management, and Customs and Excise will shortly open discussion with a number of the largest payers of VAT with a view to retiming their tax payments so as to smooth the monthly flow of receipts. Transitional arrangements will be proposed to avoid disadvantaging the companies concerned.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether there has been any further review of the Inland Revenue's practice about remitting arrears of tax which have arisen in consequence of official error.

Yes. I have discussed the practice with the Inland Revenue in the light of the recommendations in the First Report of the Select Committee on the PCA, Session 1979–80 (HC 406).As a result of revisions—the last in November 1979—of the income limits in the White Paper of July 1971 (Cmnd 4729) by which the Inland Revenue's practice in these cases was established, the current practice is that where the taxpayer's gross income is less than £4,000 a year, no attempt is made to recover the arrears of tax. Where it is £4,000 or more but less than £6,000 only one-quarter of the arrears is collected; if £6,000 or more but less than £8,000 one-half of the arrears is collected; and if £8,000 or more but less than £10,000 three-quarters of the arrears is collected. Where the taxpayer's gross income is £10,000 or more there is normally no remission.The new arrangements will raise the income limits generally so as further to smooth the taper at the top of the range and will, as a new feature, provide more generously for those who are elderly or dependent on pensions. In other respects the arrangements will continue to operate within the framework of the 1971 White Paper.Under these arrangements, the rule for normal cases will be that if the taxpayer's gross income is not more than £6,000 no attempt will be made to recover the arrear of tax. Where it is over £6,000 but not more than £8,000, only one-quarter of the arrears will be collected; if more than £8,000 but not more than £10,000, one-half of the arrear will be collected; if more than £10,000 but not more than £12,500, three-quarters of the arrears will be collected; if more than £12,50 but not more than £17,500, nine-tenths of the arrears will be collected. Where the taxpayer's gross income is above £17,500 there will normally be no remission.A special scale of remission will be allowed to a tax payer who has arrears of tax and who at the crucial date is at least 65 years of age or is in receipt of a national retirement or a widow's pension. In cases qualifying under those conditions, each of the limits above will be £2,000 greater, with the result that there will be total remission if the taxpayer's gross income is £8,000 or less and some remission will be allowable on gross incomes of up to £19,500.The practice altered in the ways I have just described will apply to arrears, the actual or likely amount of which is first notified to the taxpayer or his agent on or after today. The date of that notification will also be the date for testing eligibility for the higher scale.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will now carry out an urgent investigation into the events leading to the discovery of 100 cassette recordings and 16 tape recorders containing confidential and personal information on the tax affairs of individuals and companies in the West Midlands and the West country in a Warwickshire scrapyard, apparently originating from Inland Revenue offices in Solihull; and whether he will now make an interim statement.

[pursuant to his reply, 16 March 1981, c. 24]: A full investigation into the events referred to by the hon. Member has been carried out urgently by the Inland Revenue. The equipment, which was obsolete, was disposed of in accordance with normal policy, but regrettably the proper steps were not taken to ensure that the cassette recordings had been cleared of past dictation. However, all of the tapes which were sold have now either been recovered by the Inland Revenue or are the subject of an assurance from the purchaser that they have been destroyed.The Inland Revenue deeply regrets the error that led to the uncleared tapes being disposed of. Urgent action is being taken to prevent this happening again.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will provide an estimate of the proportion of projected income from North Sea oil and gas which will come from the following sources: (a) royalties, (b) petroleum revenue tax, (c) corporation tax, (d) the supplementary tax introduced in the 1981 Budget and (e) any other source.

[pursuant to his reply, 18 March 1981, c. 100]: The total revenues for 1981–82 from North Sea oil and gas forecast in table 19 of the Financial Statement and Budget Report comprise receipts from royalties, petroleum revenue tax, supplementary petroleum duty and "ring fence" corporation tax. The approximate percentage attributable to each source is:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the corporation tax liability of all companies combined working on the United Kingdom continental shelf for each year since 1964; and how much of this liability has been paid in each year since 1964.

[pursuant to his reply, 18 March 1981, c. 100]: The only readily available information relates to receipt of corporation tax on North Sea oil and gas production. Details from 1970–71 to 1979–80 were given in my answer to the hon. Member for Oldham, West on 10 December 1980 [Vol. 995, c. 641–644]. Table 19 of the Financial Statement and Budget Report 1981–82 updates this information as follows:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what will be the extra number of income tax payers in 1981–82 as a result of failing to raise tax allowances; and if he will indicate separate numbers for people above and below 65 years of age.

[pursuant to his reply, 19 March 1981, c. 175]: It is estimated that 1¼ million more people will pay tax in 1981–82 than if allowances had been increased in line with the statutory indexation provisions. About 0·4 million are 65 years of age or above (or are married to a partner who is 65 or over); the remaining 0·85 million are below 65.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the years since the introduction of the unified income tax system when for women aged 60 to 64 years the annual income from basic retirement pension has been above the single person tax allowance; and in which of these years income tax liability exceeded the Inland Revenue's tolerance for the collection of small sums.

[pursuant to his reply, 19 March 1981, c. 176]: In none of these years. The proposed level of the single allowance in 1981–82 will be lower than the basic retirement pension receivable in that year, but in practice tax will not be paid on the pension where there is no other income because the tax due will be below the Inland Revenue's assessing tolerance.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will arrange for the physically disabled who receive a car or vehicle allowance to have this increased to account for the extra 20p tax on a gallon of petrol.

The vehicle scheme allowances have never been linked directly either to the cost of petrol itself or to the levels of excise duty and value added tax. They have represented the highest possible rate having regard to the available resources and other competing claims upon them. The Government are, in fact, already absorbing substantial increases in the cost of cars, insurance, and in the service and maintenence of invalid three-wheelers.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether the answer, Official Report, 3 November 1980, col. 409, about the cost of making the maternity grant non-contributory applied to the whole of the year 1982 or to part of that year only and if so, which part; whether the estimated cost of £1½ million represents only the additional outgoings in benefit to mothers, or whether any administrative savings which may occur because of contribution entitlement no longer having to be checked have also been included; and, if administrative savings were not included in the £1½ million, what these might be in a whole calendar year or whole tax year, whichever is more convenient.

The estimated £1½ million represents the additional benefit expenditure in paying an extra 60,000 maternity grants in any one year period. This cost is expected to be almost wholly offset by savings achieved through transferring administration of the benefit from local offices to the child benefit centre (about £1·2 million a year); and the savings on supplementary benefit (about £0·3 million a year).

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the average length of waiting time for patients requiring ear level hearing aids; what plans he has to reduce this delay; and whether he will consider coordinating with efforts being made by organisations working for the Year of the Disabled in an effort to reduce the overall delay.

I am aware of wide variations in waiting times at hearing aid centres but comprehensive information is not available centrally. The responsibility for audiology and hearing aid services rests with individual health authorities. It is for these authorities to monitor local services and to take all practicable steps to improve services for hearing impaired people.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many doctors are currently licensed to practise medicine in the United Kingdom; and, of these, how many are entitled to do so on the strength of foreign rather than full British qualifications.

At 1 January 1981, 109,842 medical practitioners were fully registered and 4,278 were provisionally registered by the General Medical Council to practise medicine in the United Kingdom. No breakdown of these by place of qualification is available. At the same date, 5,308 doctors were included in the GMC's register of medical practitioners with limited registration, all of whom held qualifications gained overseas.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what consideration has been given to the question of medical confidentiality in his discussions on charging overseas visitors for National Health Service treatment.

I cannot see any new issues of confidentiality arising from our proposal, but I have no doubt that the professional bodies whom we shall be consulting will tell us if they see any problems on this subject.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what definition of 'ordinary residence' he intends to use to check whether a person is entitled to free National Health Service treatment when overseas visitors are to be charged.

'Ordinary residence' is not defined in the National Health Service Act 1977, and its interpretation will be a matter for the courts. We intend to give health authorities some broad guidance based on relevant legal rulings. Certain categories of people on the borderline will be exempted by the regulations and this should reduce the area within which uncertainties of interpretation of ordinary residence might occur.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what questions he intends to be asked in order to check if someone is entitled to free National Health Service treatment when overseas visitors are to be charged.

After consultations with selected NHS representatives, I am satisfied that hospitals can ask a few simple questions about a person's home address in a non-discriminatory way, looking for supporting evidence only in doubtful cases. In many cases, hospitals do already need to inquire into a person's home address. We shall be consulting the NHS and ethnic minority organisations about some alternative forms of words before we decide which questions to recommend.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many of the mothers who will be affected by the proposals in Cmnd. 8106 in respect of child benefit payments now cash their order books more frequently than every four weeks; and what are the latest figures for the proportion of: (a) these mothers and (b) all mothers who cash their child benefit weekly.

I shall let the hon. Member have a reply as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will consider the present practice of retailers of pricing petrol in non-tenderable amounts; if he will consider amending th Price Marking (Petrol) Order 1980 to prevent this practice; and if he will make a statement.

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

asked the Attorney-General whether the inquiries into the allegations of misappropriation of the Grunwick strike funds have been completed; and, if so, what conclusions have been reached.

I confirm that the Director of Public Prosecutions has received a police report following investigations into this matter. His decision was that, in all the circumstances, no further action was called for.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he has any further plans to increase food production from the lowlands of Wales during the next three years.

The Government will continue to support all areas of agricultural production.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he has any further plans to improve the trunk road A44 between Aberyswyth and Ponterwyd during the next three years.

Consideration is being given to improvements listed below. Their timing is sbject to satisfactory completion of engineering design and of statutory processes and the availability of finance.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what meetings he has held with the chairman of ICL; and what were the subjects discussed.

The last meeting my right hon. Friend has held with the chairman of ICL was on 24 March 1980, specifically to discuss the company's interest in the computerisation of PAYE.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of women charged with soliciting are convicted; what is the comparable figure for females charged with any other offence.

The numbers of women proceeded against and found guilty of offences, including those relating to prostitution, are published annually in 'Criminal Statistics, England and Wales' (Tables 1(a) and 5(a) of the volume for 1979, Cmnd. 8098). The percentages requested are given for 1979 in the following table.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will investigate why nearly half of all complaints against police officers are withdrawn.

I have at present no plans for such an investigation, but I have noted the recent comments of Sir Cyril Philips, the new chairman of the Police Complaints Board, on this subject.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the members of the Police Complaints Board with their ages, qualifications, retirement dates and reasons for their appointment.

The members of the Police Complaints Board are listed below, with their ages and dates of expiry of appointments. There are no specific qualifications for membership of the board; appointments are made, by the Prime Minister, on an individual basis in the light of factors such as experience, background, capacity for the kind of work undertaken by the board, and the need for members to command the confidence of both the police and the public. Members are appointed in a personal capacity and not as representatives of particular groups, but the aim is to reflect as wide a representation of interests as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he plans to change the composition, methods and powers of the Police Complaints Board; and if he will make a statement on its activities.

Section 8 of the Police Act 1976 requires the Police Complaints Board to make annual reports to the Home Secretary on the discharge of their functions and also to keep under review the working of the relevant provisions of the Act and report to the Home Secretary thereon at least once in every three years.The board's report for 1980 is to be published in April. Its first triennial review report was published in July 1980 (Cmnd. 7966). I have no immediate plans to recommend changes in the composition of the board. On the question of other changes, I would refer the hon. Member to the replies I gave to a question by my hon. Friend the Member for Bury St. Edmunds (Mr. Griffiths) on 5 March and to a Question by my hon. Friend the Member for Petersfield (Mr. Mates), on 18 March.—[Vol. 1000, c.

asked the Prime Minister what estimate she has made of the cost to the Exchequer and to other public bodies of her commitment to Northern Ireland that electricity prices would be brought more closely into line with prices in Great Britain.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is considering how far the differentials should be changed at the next tariff increase and this will determine the extra expenditure involved.

asked the Prime Minister why the European Economic Community Commission, despite its request in a letter of 23 February 1979 to the United Kingdom Government, has to date not received all the necessary information it requires to enable it to evaluate the allocation of aid from the European regional development fund in the United Kingdom budget; and if she will undertake to have this information supplied forthwith so that a proper and conclusive examination may be made of the question of 'additionality'.

I am looking into the matter and will reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

asked the Prime Minister pursuant to her reply to the hon. Member for Islington, Central on 17 March concerning leakages of official information, why it would be inappropriate to disclose the information requested.

Because I do not believe that it would be in the public interest to do so.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what parts of the 1947 and 1957 Agriculture Acts have been repealed.

Owing to the detailed nature and length of the reply, I am depositing a note in the Library of the House.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has any evidence that fishing vessels from any European Economic Community country have ever fished for herring within 12 miles of the Northumberland coast.

The rights accorded to the Netherlands and the Federal Republic of Germany under the 1964 London convention to fish for herring off North-East England, which were described in the reply to the hon. Member of 26 February, were given because vessels from these countries had habitually fished there between January 1953 and December 1962.In addition, since 1 January 1973 all member States of the European Community have had the right to fish for herring in the 6–12 mile zone from Coquet Island to Berwick-upon-Tweed, except during those periods when herring fishing has been banned. My Department is not aware of the extent to which these rights have been exercised.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a list of local authorities in England showing for each at November 1979 prices his estimate of its 1978–79 outturn current expenditure, its target for current expenditure in 1980–81 as notified to it by his Department, its revised budget for current expenditure in 1980–81 as notified to him, and its target for current expenditure in 1981–82 as notified by his Department in its letter of 23 January 1981 and at November 1980, and estimated outturn 1981–82 prices, its target for current expenditure in 1981–82 as notified to it by his Department or as estimated by him on the basis of the Government's cash limits.

I have today placed in the Library of the House copies of all the information requested except as regards the last item, since Government cash limits are calculated by reference to total expenditure for the purposes of rate support grant, and not current expenditure only.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment why plaster and paint is peeling from some inside walls of the Royal high school, Edinburgh; how long the building has been in this state; what is the estimated cost of repairing this damage; whether there is any other damage; what the cost of repairing this will be; and if he will make a statement.

Lining paper on the plaster of one staircase has become detached since refurbishment of the former Royal high school building was completed in June 1979. This was caused by condesation due to the low temperature at which the building has been kept, on energy-conversation grounds, while it is unoccupied. The estimated cost of repairs is £250; they will be undertaken as part of the scheme announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland on 14 January 1981, primarily to house the Crown Office in the building. The problem will not recur when the building is in use. I am not aware of any other damage.—[Vol. 996, c. 1363.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he plans to introduce a unified housing benefit to replace rent allowances and rebates; and if he will make a statement.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend to my right hon. Friend the Member for Hornchurch (Mr. Squire) on 17 March.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will be willing to meet a deputation of council tenants on 25 March regarding the rent increase recommended by the Government; and if he will make a statement;(2) whether he will receive a deputation from Walsall council regarding the reduction in housing subsidies and the increase in council rents which the Government have recommended.

No. The necessary determinations of reckonable income for the new subsidy system have already been made and their effect was discussed in this house on 15 December 1980. It is now for each local authority to discharge its ususal statutory responsibility for setting council house rent levels.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing for 1981–82 the taxation revenue and public road cost figures in the same format as on page 112 of volume 2 of the Transport Policy Consultation Document 1976; if he will present a table showing the revenue cost and revenue to cost ratios for the main categories of goods vehicles, giving the number of vehicles in each category; if he will break down the road cost figure into its constituent components; and if he will present revised revenue to cost ratios for cars, including the value-added tax paid on fuel and car sales.

The information is given below: