asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the bodies, statutory and otherwise, for which he is responsible which sell a good or service, or whose activities have a direct bearing on the prices charged for goods and services, or which have any responsibility for monitoring any prices.

The National Economic Development Office sells its own publications and films and the Review Board for Government Contracts affects the price of contracts in so far as it periodically reviews and, where necessary, recommends changes in the profit formula.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he has taken to publicise the arrangements which have been made to enable individuals and organisations to pay their taxes directly to the Treasury while the Civil Service unions remain in dispute with the Government.

No arrangements have been made by Inland Revenue to enable individuals and organisations to pay their taxes directly to the Treasury. The attention of the larger payers has been drawn to the existing transfer credit facilities, which are available to all taxpayers.Customs and Excise have been in touch with certain companies direct about the way in which they should make their payments. Others should continue to send in the amounts due from them in the normal way.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if the recent circular about changes in the rules of the Civil Service Building Society, sent out by that society, was approved by the Registry of Friendly Societies.

No. The Registry has no authority either to approve or to object to circulars concerning changes of rules sent by building societies to their members.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the proposals for changes in building societies legislation submitted to the Government by the Building Societies Association.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to him on 5 February 1981.—[Vol. 998, c. 203.] No further proposals have been received.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will consider the amendment of the Building Societies Act with a view to improving the position of ordinary members of building societies relating to control over boards of directors in such matters as election procedures and the provision of information.

This consideration will be among those borne in mind when the opportunity for building society legislation of this nature next arises.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consideration he is giving to the letter about value added tax from the Spastics Society of 19 March and six other major charities, a copy of which has been sent to him by the right hon. Member for Manchester, Wythenshawe; what action he is taking; and if he will make a statement.

The letter was written under a misapprehension about the effect of the Value Added Tax (Handicapped Persons and Charities) Order 1981. These charities did not appreciate that item 5 of the revised group 16 of schedule 4 to the Finance Act 1972 zero-rates all purchases of ambulances and wheelchairs by charitable institutions providing care for the handicapped. I have sent to the right hon. Member a copy of the letter my hon. and learned Friend the Minister of State, Treasury has written informing them of the correct position.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the change in the financial position of widows since the Budget; and whether he plans to raise the £30 tolerance level.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from the Disablement Income Group about the abatement of benefits for disabled people and, in particular, of invalidity benefit in this year's uprating; what reply he is sending and if you will make a statement.

[pursuant to his reply,> 27 February 1981, c. 445]: I have written to the right hon. Member.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the procedure by which the Inland Revenue will identify for 1981–82 those women aged 60 to 64 years who will become taxpayers by virtue of income consisting of basic retirement pension and graduated pension only and who have not been income tax payers previously due to the combined values of basic pension and average graduated pension being either below the value of the single tax allowance of the Inland Revenue's assessing tolerance.

[pursuant to his reply, 30 March 1981, c. 26]: Under an arrangement set up last year the Inland Revenue is notified of all pension awards, so that cases in which there is liability to tax may be identified from this information. Also, employers are required to notify tax offices where an employee ceases work on retirement, and this enables the Inland Revenue, by direct inquiry of the individual, to obtain information about the receipt of a National Insurance retirement pension and so determine any tax liability.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he is satisfied that there has been no breach of the Montreux convention, governing passage of warships through the Dardanelles, by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

Responsibility for supervising the provisions of the Montreux convention relating to the transit of warships is a matter for the Turkish Government. From time to time, questions on the application of the provisions of the convention are discussed between the British and Turkish Governments, and other parties to the convention. The British Government's views on the interpretation and application of the convention are not always shared by our allies.

asked the right hon. Member for Middlesbrough, as representing the House of Commons Commission, how many of the total staff at the House, all grades and all Departments, are registered disabled persons; and what percentage they represent of the total.

I have been asked to reply.There are eight registered disabled persons in the six Departments of the House. This represents 0·9 per cent. of total staff for whom the Commission is responsible.

asked the Attorney-General whether he will give, for the longest and most convenient stated period of time, the number of occasions when prosecutions have been instituted in respect of pornographic material being sent through the post.

Prosecutions under section 11 of the Post Office Act for sending or receiving obscene or indecent material through the post have never been conducted exclusively by the Director of Public

asked the Lord Privy Seal how many people are (a) in Crown service, in each of the Dependent Territories and in which categories of employment and (b) in paid or unpaid service—not falling within paragraph (a) above—as a member of any body established by law, in each of the dependent territories, members of which are appointed by or on behalf of the Crown.

The numbers in Crown service in each of the Dependent Territories are given in the attached list.I have had to consult certain of the Dependent Territories and will write to the hon. Gentleman as soon as I have the details.Prosecutions and, although offences were at one time reportable to him, they have not been so since 1 January 1979. This is reflected by a big drop in the number of prosecutions conducted by the Director in that year, the last for which any figures are available. I am unable to give figures for proceedings conducted by other prosecutors; those for the Director for the years 1976 to 1979 are given in the table below:—

asked the Attorney-General whether any guidance is given to judges and magistrates on the assessment of probation and after-care service reports in divorce cases; and, if so, what the guidance is.

No. The assessment of evidential material is a judicial function with which it would be improper for the Executive to interfere.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in what ways he furthers the Government's policy towards smaller firms through the procurement policy of his Department.

In their purchasing, the Northern Ireland Office and Northern Ireland Departments seek both to secure value for money and to enhance the competitiveness of suppliers. To assist smaller firms interested in undertaking Government contracts there is a booklet giving advice on how to go about it and where to make contact in Government Departments. This booklet, "Tendering for Government Contracts—Advice for Small Firms", was published by the Department of Industry's small-firm service; it is in circulation in Northern Ireland and copies can be obtained from the Department of Commerce for Northern Ireland.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the bodies, statutory and otherwise, for which he is responsible which sell a good service, or whose activities have a direct bearing on the prices charged for goods and services, or which have any responsibility for monitoring any prices.

The Information requested is as follows:

• Fisheries Conservancy Board for Northern Ireland
• Foyle Fisheries Commission
• Northern Ireland Fishery Harbour Authority
• Ulsterbus Ltd.
• Citybus Ltd.
• Northern Ireland Railway Co. Ltd.
• Northern Ireland Airports Ltd.
• Northern Ireland Carriers Ltd.
• Ulster Sheltered Employment Ltd.
• Northern Ireland Electricity Consumers' Council
• Northern Ireland Electricity Service
• Northern Ireland Tourist Board.
• Belfast Harbour Commission
• Londonderry Port and Harbour Commission
• Warrenpoint Harbour Authority
• Coleraine Harbour Commission
• Carlingford Lough Commission

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much Northern Ireland has received from the European social fund in each year from 1 January 1973 to 31 December 1980; how much of these receipts were paid to the private sector and how much to the public sector; how much each year represented a cash addition to the Northern Ireland economy; and how much was used to offset Government expenditure in Northern Ireland.

[pursuant to his reply, 30 March 1981, c. 20]: Total receipts from the European social fund and for the private and public sectors are shown in table 1.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, further to the written reply published in the Official Report on 2 March on the European agricultural guidance and guarantee fund, whether the figure given covers receipts in respect of intervention arrangements; and whether the receipts in respect of the public sector are in fact cash additions to the Northern Ireland economy in that they are paid as additional money over and above central government contributions.

[pursuant to his reply, 30 March 1981, c. 20]: The figures I gave the hon. Gentleman on 2 March were, as requested, for receipts from the European agricultural guidance and guarantee fund guidance section. Payments from the guidance section to the public sector are in addition to Government contributions.—[Vol. 1000, c. 19–20.]

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what has been the total saving to the Treasury so far on the non-payment of salaries to those civil servants who have been taking part in industrial disputes; and what amount, on average, each civil servant has lost in salary income.

I estimate that the total deductions from the pay of those non-industrial civil servants who took part in industrial action between 9 March and 27 March, both dates inclusive, will be more than £8 million. The amount of the deduction for each of the civil servants involved will vary widely, since it depends on current salary and duration of unauthorised absence or absences. An average figure has little significance in these circumstances, but for what it is worth it amounts to some £30 for each civil servant who has taken part.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence in what ways he furthers the Government's policy towards smaller firms through the procurement policy of his Department.

When placing contracts the Ministry of Defence does not differentiate between firms on the basis of their size, except to ensure that a firm has the capability and capacity to undertake the work involved.The defence equipment programme is such that most of our business, and certainly all major contracts, tends to be placed with the larger firms. The complexity of modern equipment fosters the trend towards prime contractorship. A significant proportion of the work placed with the larger firms is sub contracted and this provides perhaps the best opportunity for small firms to obtain MOD work—although there are fields in which small firms predominate.Since the responsibility for sub-contracting rests primarily with the main contractors, it is not possible to provide, without disproportionate effort, details of the extent to which small firms are involved in the defence equipment programme. Some indication of their importance is, however, shown by the fact that about 5,000 firms hold current quality-assurance assessments from MOD.Although there is no special preference scheme for small firms such as that operated by the United States Government, action has been taken to encourage them to tender for Government business. The small firms division of the Department of Industry published in January 1981 a free booklet entitled "Tendering for Government Contracts—Advice for Small Firms" which is aimed at removing any apprehension they may have about bidding for Government contracts and provides information (including a contact point) to enable them to pursue more detailed enquiries with appropriate Government Departments, including the MOD. Another booklet in the same series gives advice on selling to large firms and should assist small firms interested in obtaining sub contract work.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will set out the approximate value of disused property within defence establishments.

Property which is no longer used and is surplus to long-term requirements is passed to the Property Services Agency for disposal, unless its location makes it inalienable. We have obtained disposal receipts of £44 million in 1979–80 and £62 million in 1980–81 and hope to obtain a total of approximately £260 million in the next five financial years, mainly from surplus married quarters.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will set out the number of houses in defence establishments which have been empty for three years or more.

Our records do not readily permit the identification of Service married quarters and civilian houses vacant for three years or more but there are probably several hundred scattered over many different locations. It is sometimes necessary to keep houses vacant for a considerable time to allow for future deployments. Where houses are identified as surplus to our long-term requirements, we aim to dispose of them as quickly as possible. The stock of houses has been reduced by 8,000 over the past three years.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the United Kingdom share of imports of manufactured goods by the European Economic Community each year since 1970 and in each quarter of 1980.

The available information is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will list for all the member countries of the European Economic Community details of the measures in force in each country aimed at regulating or reducing prices, showing in addition the rate of change of retail prices in those countries in May 1979, May 1980, and currently.

My Department does not keep details of price regulation measures in force in member countries of the European Community. The information on retail price changes is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will make a statement on his policy towards the permitted numbers of quieter aircraft at provincial airports.

The policy governing restrictions on the number of aircraft movements at provincial airports is for the airport owners to decide, in consultation with representatives of the interests affected.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will seek to ban the import of T-shirts bearing Royal photographs or other insignia commemorating the marriage of the Price of Wales, in the light of the circular by the Lord Chamberlain forbidding the domestic manufacture of such items by the United Kingdom textile industry.

[pursuant to the reply, 30 March 1981, c. 3]: No. I do not think the use of import controls would be appropriate in the circumstances. The Lord Chamberlain's circular does not forbid the manufacture of such items but lays down guidelines. I understand that the Lord Chamberlain's Office is actively encouraging the United Kingdom textile industry to produce commemorative items of this sort using devices other than those listed in the circular.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the bodies, statutory and otherwise, for which he is responsible which sell a good or service, or whose activities has a direct bearing on the prices charged for goods and services, or which have any responsibility for monitoring any prices.

The bodies in this category for which my right hon. Friend is responsible are:

• Area health authorities (8)
• Cwmbran Development Corporation
• Development Board for Rural Wales
• Land Authority for Wales
• National Library of Wales
• National Museum of Wales
• Sports Council for Wales
• Wales Tourist Board
• Welsh Development Agency
• Welsh Health Technical Services Organisation
• Welsh Water Authority

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish in the Official Report details of the pupil to teacher ratio for Welsh local education authorities for 1980–81, referred to in paragraph 4 of "The Effects on the Education Services in Wales of Recent Local Authority Expenditure Policies: An Assessment by HMI".

The latest available figures are shown in table 1.14 of "Statistics of Education in Wales, No. 5, 1980" which was published on 30 March 1981 and a copy of which is available in the Library. Final figures for 1980–81 are not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if the reduction referred to in paragraph 9 of Her Majesty's Inspectorate's expenditure policies report on local authorities' programmes of courses of in-service training, including residential courses in Welsh, is in accordance with Government policy.

Expenditure priorities are for individual LEAs to determine but in formulating our public expenditure proposals, the Government have not planned any reduction in spending on in-service training.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will hold consultations with the Equal Opportunities Commission and with local education authorities, about the implications of the statement in paragraph 7 of Her Majesty's Inspectorate's expenditure policies report, indicating a significant effect on the number of promotion posts available for women as a result of a combination of falling rolls and economies.

No. Appointments are the responsibility of local authorities and I would expect them to choose the person best qualified for a post irrespective of sex or political considerations.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish in the Official Report figures for the reduction in the number of part-time teachers employed by local education authorities in Wales in 1980–81, as referred to in paragraph 6 of "The Effects on the Education Service in Wales of Recent Local Authority Expenditure Policies: An Assessment by Her Majesty's Inspectorate".

I refer the hon. Member to table 10.03 of "Statistics of Education in Wales, No. 5, 1980", a copy of which is available in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish in the Official Report details of the reduction in in-service training by local education authorities in Wales in 1980–81.

The information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what is his estimate of the number of posts at risk which have been maintained by local education authorities as a result of the first round of specific grant for bilingual education under the Education Act 1980; and how he intends that these posts should be funded in future, as referred to in paragraph 6 of Her Majesty's Inspectorate's report on expenditure policies.

It is not possible for me to say how many of the posts concerned would have been at risk were it not for the 1980–81 Welsh language education grants; that is a matter for the local education authorities concerned. Similarly, it is for these authorities to decide what posts to maintain in the future within the overall level of funds available to them. I hope to be able to continue to afford broadly the same level of Welsh language education grants in the coming year.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will seek to identify the "disturbing signs" referred to in paragraph 8 of Her Majesty's Inspectorate's report on the education service in Wales, which indicates that the continuation of present policies will soon result in serious difficulties for some schools.

The report comments that the difficulties experienced by some schools cannot be entirely attributed to the economies being affected. Curricular and organisational policies as well as the inherent problems of small schools are contributory factors. I will continue to keep the situation under review.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will investigate the nature of the adverse effects on additional remedial provision through the loss of part-time teachers, principally at primary level as set out in paragraph 6 in "The Effects on the Education Service in Wales of Recent Local Authority Expenditure Policies: An Assessment by Her Majesty"s Inspectorate'.

I will continue to keep the situation under review.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales (1) which education authority has changed recently from a policy of employing, in much of its area, peripatetic teachers of Welsh, as indicated in paragraph 6 of the expenditure policies report of Her Majesty's Inspectorate;(2) which local education authorities have made reductions in the advisory services which have in some cases accentuated the existing imbalance in curriculum coverage and also weakened the influence of advisory teams at a time when their work was beginning in many cases to impinge significantly upon schools according to paragraph 12 of Her Majesty's Inspectorate's expenditure policies report;(3) if he will publish in the

The report prepared by Her Majesty's Inspectorate is based on information which is partly qualitative and partly quantitative. The coverage of schools and colleges was neither statistically representative nor fully comprehensive. The considered HMI view of the overall position is that the fabric of education is intact and that the economies which have been made have not seriously affected the range and quality of provision as a whole.The report is not a detailed assessment of each local education authority; much of the information was obtained by HMI from the LEAs on a confidential basis, and I cannot therefore give details of individual authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many local education authority advisers have been in post in each year since 1974, both in total and as a figure per thousand of the school population; and what advisory services they provided.

The Welsh Office does not collect this information.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will consult with local authorities on the reference to "unpredictable timing of cuts in capitation and of subsequent adjustments" in paragraph 15 of Her Majesty's Inspectorate expenditure policies report; and if he will make a statement.

No. It is for local authorities to determine their own expenditure policies, including the timing of any reductions in provision which they feel are required.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what is his policy with regard to the future of maternity units dealing with fewer than 500 births per year; and whether he has taken recent trends in perinatal mortality rates into account.

The general policy is to provide as resources permit for all deliveries to be in consultant obstetric units with a full range of facilities. Health authorities are encouraged to phase out other units but this depends on the availability of better alternative provision. The future of each small maternity unit has to be considered on its merits taking account of all relevant information.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales, how many circulars have been issued by his Department since May 1979; how many of these have not borne the title of another Department on the issued circular; and how many circulars have been issued in that period without a similar circular being published by another Department.

[pursuant to his reply, 30 March 1981, c. 9]: From 1 May 1979 to 20 March 1981 the Welsh Office issued seven circulars which were not mirrored by other Government Departments.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport how much less the estimated expenditure on motorways and trunk road new construction and improvement in England for 1980–81 is than the actual expenditure for this purpose in the years 1975–76, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1978–79 and 1979–80.

The figures requested by the right hon. Member are as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list in the Official Report the principal signal companies that provide approved pedestrian crossing equipment, indicating the approximate amount of public money for which he is responsible that has been spent on pedestrian crossing orders awarded to each company over the past five years.

The principal signal companies which provide approved pelican pedestrian crossing equipment are:

• GEC Traffic Automation Ltd.
• Plessey Controls Ltd.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what is the approximate cost of each of the various items included in button-operated pelican pedestrian crossings.

Equipment for a pelican crossing is supplied at an overall price; the total cost varies depending on location and the facilities provided. The approximate costs of a fixed-time pelican pedestrian crossing without a centre island on a two-way road is £4,100. This may be broken down as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what is the approximate cost in current prices of each of the various items of equipment included in a standard zebra pedestrian crossing.

Zebra crossings are usually installed as a complete item at a single overall price. The price varies widely depending on the location. It AS estimated that the average price of £2,400 may be broken down as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish in the Official Report the current expenditure of each local authority in England in 1979–80 for which figures are now available and list those authorities for which figures have not yet been received, with a date when a full list can be expected.

I will write to the hon. Member shortly, providing figures for those authorities from which my Department has received returns.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the bodies, statutory and otherwise, for which he is responsible which sell goods and services, or whose activities have a direct bearing on the prices charged for goods and services, or which have any responsibility for monitoring any prices.

The principal bodies for which I have Ministerial responsibility and which provide goods or services or make charges to the public are the Ordnance Survey, the British Waterways Board and the regional water authorities in England. Other bodies for which I am responsible are listed in the Report on Non-Departmental Public Bodies (Cmnd. 7797); some of these provide goods or services to the public in the course of their activities, though this is not necessarily their principal function.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he has taken to promote schemes for collecting bottles and cans so as to minimise the waste of raw materials and energy; and if he will make a statement.

We are assisting the glass industry to meet its recycling targets over the next three years by giving as much encouragement as possible to the bottle-bank scheme, which is organised by the glass industry in co-operation with local authorities.As regards cans, I understand that as a follow-up to a working party report on beverage containers, completed last year, officials in the Department of Industry are having discussions with the metal-packaging industry on the development of voluntary schemes to recover and recycle all types of metal beverage container. There have for some time been collection schemes for aluminium cans in Edinburgh and Birmingham and one for all types of cans in Leeds.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give full particulars of any shorthold tenancies which have been registered in the metropolis, giving the numbers and the districts; and if he will give similar particulars for eleswhere in the United Kingdom.

Up to 13 March, the number or rent registrations in England where applicants had indicated that their letting was a shorthold is set out in the table below.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many dwellings were sold by local authorities from their housing stock in each quarter since the beginning of 1978; and what are the total sales so far in the current year.

Figures on the disposal of local authority dwellings in England and Wales from the beginning of 1978 to the end of 1980 are as follows. More recent figures are not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the total expenditure by local authorities in England on loan charges on capital expenditure incurred through the construction of council housing; what was the expenditure incurred in building new units during 1979–80; and what estimate he can provide for these figures in 1980–81.

The information on loan charges is not available in the precise form requested. Total housing revenue account expenditure in 1979–80 by local authorities in England on loan charges arising from capital investment amounted to £2,338 million at outturn prices.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the total amount paid in rent rebates to local authority tenants, the total expenditure by local authorities on supervision and management and repairs and maintenance of their housing stock, and the gross, unrebated, income on the housing revenue account of local authorities from local authority dwellings, for local authorities in England in 1979–80; and whether he will provide estimates of these figures for 1980–81.

The following is the information:

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what consultations he is having with the representatives of the building industry on the proposed privatisation of the Building Research Establishment at Watford.

No consultations are taking place at present as my right hon. Friend is still considering the options for the future status of the Building Research Establishment.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress he has made in his consideration of the Housing Corporation's proposal to guarantee private funds for self-build associations.

The Housing Corporation has entered into arrangements to make private funds available to self-build societies in place of lending by the corporation itself. My right hon. Friend has given his consent to the corporation guaranteeing this lending.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will publish a table showing the percentage price increases in the following commodities, cumulatively at the end of April and at the end of October from April 1977 to October 1980: coal, electricity and gas.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy haw many staff, and at which grades, are employed in monitoring energy prices for domestic users.

A number of staff, in various Divisions, in grades from under-secretary to EO, spend part of their time on this function. total effort amounts to rather less than three man years.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what percentage of the blocks allocated in each of the North Sea licensing rounds remains untouched; and for how long this has been the case.

All blocks remaining under licence from the first to fourth rounds have been seismically surveyed or drilled or a combination of the two as part of the working obligations during the initial period of the licence. The percentage that have not been drilled subsequently and the time period involved are as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list the bodies, statutory and otherwise, for which he is responsible which sell a good or service, or whose activities have a dirct bearing on the prices charged for goods and services, or which have any responsibility for monitoring any prices.

National Coal Board, British Gas Corporation, British National Oil Corporation, the Electricity Council, Central Electricity Generating Board, the 12 area electricity boards (in England and Wales), and the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, together with their respective subsidiaries.

Percentage fuel price rises from end April 1977 were:

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will take steps to encourage the introduction of lead-free petrol into the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement on the present lead content of petrol.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Local Government and Environmental Services to the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Small Heath (Mr. Howell) on 12 January.—[Vol. 996, c. 515]. A statement on all aspects of environmental policy on lead, including lead in petrol, will be made as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what study he has made of the results of the report recently published on doctors' career decisions by the Institute of Manpower Studies; and what value the report has for the assessment of the popularity of some consultant specialities and in modifying methods whereby postgraduate training for unpopular and incompletely filled consultant specialities can be made more popular and lucrative.

The report "The Determinants of Doctors' Career Decisions", published by the Institute of Manpower Studies in 1979, was based on research commissioned by the Department in 1977. It showed a doctor's choice of career involves many factors—for example, 91 per cent. of respondents attached great importance to positive interest in the work of the specialty and 23 per cent. to remuneration.The Department is particularly concerned to improve recruitment to the shortage specialties and to encourage opportunities for part time work for doctors with domestic commitments, and the report has been studied with care. It has no doubt also provided useful information to the colleges, faculties and higher-training committees in carrying out their responsibilities for the training of doctors.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what progress has been made towards the implementation of the proposals in the Nodder report on the organisational management of mental illness hospitals.

My right hon. Friend's recent handbook of policies and priorities for the health and personal services in England, "Care in Action", again drew the attention of those planning services for the mentally ill to the report's recommendations, which had been commended to them in a circular last year; but it is for health authorities themselves to make decisions on implementing them. The report also recommended tasks for the Department which are being pursued.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the total number of census enumerators that have been appointed in the Malpas area of Cheshire; and how many of these were registered as unemployed at the time of their appointment.

Forty-two census enumerators have been appointed, of whom 32 were persons out of work; 14 were registered as unemployed.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether the views of medical assessors are taken into account in maintaining the policy of supplying only one type of communication aid for the severely handicapped from central resources.

The provision of communication aids for the speech impaired through the health service is a matter for individual health authorities, apart from the special arrangements under which a typewriter control system may be provided from central funds to severely disabled people who meet certain eligibility criteria and who are also eligible for an environmental control system. At present contracts are made with only one manufacturer. In reaching decisions about its procurement policy, the Department takes account of all relevant views including in this instance medical assessors. Meetings with these consultants are arranged from time to time and one is scheduled for November of this year.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what consultations he has had with handicapped people and organisations representing them before he arrived at the view that synthetic speech devices currently available are of only limited use to persons who have permanently lost the power of speech.

Officials of the Department have been in touch with a number of individuals and with the Parliamentary Information Technology Committee about the application of microelectronic technology in the aids field. Three officials are observers on the Advisory Group set up by the Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation, which represents the United Kingdom on the International project on Communication Aids for the Speech Impaired (IPCAS). The part which synthetic speech aids can play in helping people who have permanently lost the power of speech depends upon clinical and other factors pertaining to each patient and I have reached no conclusions as to their general usefulness.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if, in the light of the results obtained from a survey carried out in North-West Staffordshire, he will publish a breakdown of the lists of doctors at present registered as unemployed in the United Kingdom, according to sex, specialty, country of origin, and where qualified.

Though I have seen press reports, I have not received the results of the survey of medical unemployment I understand was conducted by the North-West regional hospital junior staffs committee of the British Medical Association. Of the 641 unemployed persons in Great Britain registered as seeking work as doctors on 11 December 1980, 180 were women. The remaining information requested is either not available or could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will publish the document issued by his Department which instructs departmental investigators on how to interview single mothers applying for benefit.

The document in question forms part of the Department's instructions about liable relative work, and has been in virtually the same form for many years, during several Administrations. These instructions have no direct bearing on entitlement to benefit but deal with the protection of public funds, and publication would not, therefore, be appropriate. However, as I said in my reply to the hon. Member for Keighley (Mr. Cryer) On 25 March—[Vol. 1, c. 365–6]—I have arranged for this part of the liable relative procedures to be looked at urgently and I will make a further statement when that examination is complete. I will include in that statement information about any changes made in this part of the instructions.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he has yet concluded his discussions with the National Union of Mineworkers on the effect of the Social Security (No. 2) Bill on the miners' early retirement scheme; and whether he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend has had no discussions with the National Union of Mineworkers about section 5 of the Social Security (No. 2) Act 1980, which provides that a person aged 60 or over will, from 6 April, have his unemployment benefit reduced by the amount of any occupational pension he receives in excess of £35 a week. Payments made under the mineworkers voluntary early retirement scheme are not exempt from these provisions, but I understand that the National Coal Board will ensure that the total payments to which the mineworkers concerned are entitled, will remain unchanged.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what progress has been made with the setting up of the Clinicair scheme; and how much revenue he estimates will be generated by the scheme for the National Health Service.

This scheme was launched by British Airways and American Medical (Europe) Limited in November and I understand that they have been concentrating since then on promoting it widely in this country and overseas. Patients will be admitted to hospitals run by American Medical (Europe) Limited. There will, therefore, be no direct financial benefit to the NHS, but as explained in my letter of 3 February to the hon. Member there should be very real benefits to this country, not least through valuable foreign exchange earnings.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will consider changing the frequency of payment of either unemployment benefit or supplementary benefit so that they are similar.

The frequency of paying both unemployment and supplementary benefit to the unemployed is the same, but there are differences in the way that pay periods are calculated. The difficulties caused by this are set out in the joint Department of Employment/Department of Health and Social Security Rayner report, 'Payment of Benefits to Unemployed People' published on 20 March, a copy of which is in the Library of the House. An examination of the problem will be mounted shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his policy with regard to the representation of employees and pensioners on the boards of trustees of occupational pension schemes.

The participation of employees in the management of their occupational pension schemes has many advantages but that participation should be open to all members of a pension scheme on a basis freely negotiated between employer and employees.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will amend his Department's instructions to supplementary benefit officers in order (a) to make it clear that a mother does not have to answer such questions about her child's father as those set out in the section entitled "Illegitimacy" and (b) to emphasise that she should be so informed at the start of the interview, in accordance with paragraph 14 of the supplementary benefit handbook; and if he will make a statement;(2) in what proportion of cases where a single mother is interviewed is information about her sexual relationships used in subsequent proceedings.

I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Members for Brent, South (Mr. Pavitt) and Kingston upon Hull, Central (Mr. McNamara) on 27 March [Vol. 1, c. 436].

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will introduce legislation to exempt nurses in special hospitals from prosecution, after restraining violent patients, providing an independent tribunal set up by his Department is satisfied no other course of action was available, and providing the nurse complied with a code of conduct laid down by his Department.

I have some sympathy with the anxieties which are felt by nurses in special hospitals on this subject, but I am satisfied that it would not be right to exempt nurses in special hospitals, or any other group, from the general provisions of criminal law. Section 141 of the Mental Health Act already provides that criminal proceedings (other than for an offence under that Act which can be instituted only by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions) shall not be brought against any person in respect of any act done or purporting to be done in the discharge of functions conferred by the Mental Health Act without the leave of the High Court. The section further provides that the High Court shall not give such leave unless satisfied that there is substantial ground for the contention that the person concerned has acted in bad faith or without reasonable care.The House of Lords has made it clear that this section covers actions performed in the course of control of detained patients. There is therefore already scrutiny by an Independent tribunal under rules which give nurses substantially greater protection than that suggested by the hon. Member. I would, of course, be willing to consider any reasoned proposals for the amendment of this section or any suggestions for handling incidents which involve injuries to patients.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether, in view of the work-to-rule dispute at Rampton hospital following the court case on 27 March, he will now negotiate with the Prison Officers Association on what levels of restraint are permissible on violent patients and how these should be carried out in an emergency.

Officials from my Department have had initial talks with the Prison Officers Association at which there was a full exchange of views about these and other matters relating to the present position at Rampton. It was recognised that the restraint of violent patients raises important professional, legal and other issues. I sympathise with the strain under which staff at the hospital have been working for almost two years, but I hope that, in the interests of the patients and indeed of all concerned, including the staff themselves, normal working at the hospital will be resumed as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he has made provision for conscientious objectors to exercise any rights of objection in respect of filling in, or having to complete the census form.

The Census Act and Census Regulations make no such provision. I can see no grounds for objecting to giving the information asked for on the census form which is required solely for statistical purposes.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services where in England de-lousing stations are available for use at weekends.

I have been asked to reply.Under the Public Health Act 1936, local authorities are empowered to provide cleansing stations for deinfestation purposes. Records of the location of stations so provided, and their hours of opening, are not kept by my Department. I understand, however, that deinfestation facilities are available to persons without a settled way of life who are admitted to resettlement units provided by the Department of Health and Social Security. In England and Wales there are 22 such units, open seven days a week.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether there has been any change in the figures he gave on 7 February 1980,—[Official Report, c. 300], of deaths from deliberate inhalation of solvent vapours and what action is contemplated by the Government on this matter.

[pursuant to his reply 12 March 1981, c. 382]: As I said in my earlier reply exact figures on solvent abuse are not available. I regret, however, that the figure of known deaths in Great Britain given in that reply (22) was incorrect. The figure of known deaths from solvent abuse in Great Britain in 1980 is 13.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will publish in the Official Report a list of the new general hospitals that he expects to be opened in England in the next five years.

[pursuant to his reply, 3 March 1981, c. 113–14]: Present intentions are that new major developments will open at the following hospitals or sites in the next five years. The list is subject to change depending on the availability of resources and progress on planning and building. Final decisions to proceed have not yet been taken in all cases. The appropriate regional health authority or board of governors would be able to provide further information on individual schemes.

• Northern RHA
• South Cleveland General
• Furness General
• North Tyneside General
• Hartlepool General
• Queen Elizabeth (Gateshead)
• Yorkshire RHA
• Pontefract General
• Grimsby
• Leeds General
• Scunthorpe
• North Western RHA
• Royal Preston
• Leigh Infirmary
• Manchester Royal
• Ormskirk
• Hope (Salford)
• Bolton General
• Park (Davyhulme)
• Royal Lancaster
• Queen's Park (Blackburn)
• Royal Albert Edward (Wigan)
• Mersey RHA
• Chester
• St. Helens
• Arrowe Park (Wirral)
• Macclesfield
• Halton General
• West Midlands RHA
• West Park (Wolverhampton)
• Dudley
• Stafford
• George Eliot (Nuneaton)
• New Cross (Wolverhampton)
• Hereford County
• Newtown (Worcester)
• Sandwell
• Kidderminster General
• Wordsley
• Bromsgrove/Redditch
• Warwick
• Walsgrave (Coventry)
• Trent RHA
• Leicester General
• Leicester Royal
• Chesterfield
• Glenfield (Leicester)
• University (Nottingham)
• King's Mill (Sutton-in-Ashfield)
• Kilton (Worksop)
• Rotherham
• County (Lincoln)
• Pilgrim (Boston)
• Northern General (Sheffield)
• East Anglian RHA
• Great Yarmouth
• Addenbrooke's (Cambridge)
• Hinchingbrooke
• Rosie Maternity (Cambridge)
• Ipswich
• West Suffolk
• Oxford RHA
• Northampton General
• Stoke Mandeville
• Amersham
• Milton Keynes
• Wexham Park
• Wessex RHA
• Southampton General
• Odstock (Salisbury)
• South Western RHA
• Derriford (Plymouth)
• Gloucester Royal
• Cheltenham
• West Somerset
• Weston General (Weston-super-Mare)
• North-West Thames RHA
• Bedford General
• Luton and Dunstable
• St. Charles (W10)
• Watford General
• St. Mary's (W2)
• Charing Cross
• North-East Thames RHA
• Newham
• Colchester
• London (Whitechapel)
• Broomfield (Chelmsford)
• South-West Thames RHA
• Redhill
• Croydon
• South-East Thames RHA
• Maidstone
• Orpington
• Kent and Sussex (Tunbridge Wells)
• Buckland (Dover)
• Lewisham
• Post Graduate
• The Hospitals for Sick Children (Great Ormond Street)
• Teaching Hospital
• Moorfields (City Road)

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list in the Official Report the paediatric consultant availability (a) in maternity units and (b) in reasonably close proximity to maternity units for each area health authority; if he will indicate any shortfall; and if he will make a statement.

[pursuant to his reply, 25 March 1981, c. 365]: The Department does not collect information on consultant staffing below regional level. However, we are not aware of any area health authority which does not have consultant paediatric cover for all consultant obstetric units, although this would not necessarily extend to general practitioner maternity units which are some distance away. The following table shows, for each regional health authority (RHA) on 30 September 1980, the whole time equivalent of consultant staff in post in paediatrics and paediatric neurology; the whole time equivalent of vacant posts; and the establishment whole time equivalent of posts per 100,000 population.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to the reply which he gave to the hon. Member for Renfrewshire, East (Mr. Stewart) in the Official Report, dated 31 March, c. 38, what steps he proposes to take to increase the dog licence fee at least to cover the cost.