asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what revenue he estimates would accrue to the Exchequer per £1 of child benefit if it were taxable for all taxpayers paying income tax at above the basic rate; and if he will make a statement.

If child benefit were taxable when paid to persons liable to the higher rates of income tax, the yield at 1981–82 benefit and income levels would be about 3½p per £1 of child benefit.We have no plans to bring child benefit into tax.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he will move to appoint a select committee of senior hon. and right hon. Members to investigate all aspects of the events prior to, during and subsequent upon the trial and conviction of Mr. Peter Sutcliffe to ascertain whether or not there was any neglect or maladministration on the part of any of the public authorities or their servants at any time, including events revealed at the trial.

No. I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given to the hon. Members for Keighley (Mr. Cryer) and for Bradford, South (Mr. Torney) by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary on 1 June.—[Vol. 5, c. 229–30.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether information required for the purposes of personal licensing of citizens band radio equipment can include details of the equipment manufacturers' serial number.

Recording each individual piece of equipment and keeping track of changes of ownership would make unacceptable demands on staff and resources. The CB licence will therefore only require the holder to use equipment which conforms with the appropriate Home Office Specification.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Government propose to license approved importers of citizens band radio equipment.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police were deployed in policing the People's March for Jobs rally and march in London on Sunday 31 May; of these, how many men were used only in reserve; and what was the total cost of the operation.

3,373 officers were deployed, including 554 in reserve. The cost was £289,184.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis with a view to reducing the level of policing on peaceful marches and demonstrations in the capital.

None. The operational deployment of his officers is a matter for the commissioner.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will give, for the latest and most convenient stated date, the actual or estimated total number of immigrants settled in Great Britain and the total number of persons resident in the United Kingdom.

I have been asked to reply.According to estimates from the latest labour force survey taken in the period March-May 1979, 2,920,000 persons usually resident in private households in Great Britain had been born outside the United Kingdom and had thus at some time migrated to Great Britain. The mid-1979 estimate of the population resident in private households in Great Britain was 53,575,000.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service when she intends to recover the costs of the Civil Service dispute with her cash limits.

The 1981–82 cash limits have been announced by my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The present Civil Service dispute does not alter the requirement for all Departments, including my own, to keep within those cash limits.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service whether he now has any plans to devolve Civil Service accommodation.

The Government's revised plans for dispersing Civil Service work to accommodation outside London were announced to the House on 26 July 1979.—[Vol. 971, c. 902–921.]

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what is the salary range of assistant secretaries in the Civil Service.

The current salary range for assistant secretaries is from £16,500 per annum to £19,500 per annum.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many hospital beds have been declared closed in each health board area since April 1979; and what were the comparable figures in the previous five years.

Health Board	Annual net decrease* in the total bed complement for each Health Board area, in the year ending
	31 March 1976	31 March 1977	31 March 1978	31 March 1979	31 March 1980	Approved Bed Complement 31 March 1980
Argyll and Clyde	35	134	* [+62]	6	22	4,646
Ayrshire and Arran	27	*[+20]	* [+29]	—	15	2,813
Borders	98	*[+19]	—	24	*[+17]	944
Dumfries and Galloway	* [+49]	13	3	52	* [+6]	1,739
Fife	47	*[+52]	* [+8]	99	42	2,918
Forth Valley	* [+29]	* [+7]	95	—	15	3,789
Grampian	36	4	* [+20]	51	358	5,474
Greater Glasgow	381	645	200	*[+44]	106	15,032
Highland	* [+2]	53	34	* [+8]	47	2,447
Lanarkshire	*[+113]	*[+11]	*[+351]	413	14	5,872
Lothian	14	267	99	*[+10]	21	8,955
Orkney	—	1	* [+6]	—	* [+2]	131
Shetland	—	—	—	—	—	160
Tayside	183	118	103	7	27	5,800
Western Isles	—	—	—	—	3	212
SCOTLAND	628	1,126	58	590	645	60,932
* The figure given in square brackets is the total net increase in beds in the relevant year.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has established a ceiling for council house rents.

No. The responsibility for setting rent levels rests with individual local authorities, which may charge such reasonable rents as they may determine for their houses.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if, in view of the need for places for children of secondary school age in the Rutherglen and Cambuslang area, he will ensure that adequate resources are made available to the local authority to build a new secondary school in Rutherglen and to commence work on the building of phase 2 of Trinity high school.

	1 April 1976		1 April 1977			1 April 1978
Grade	Minimum	Maximum	Minimum	Maximum	Percentage increase on maximum	Minimum	Maximum	Percentage increase on maximum
	£	£	£	£		£	£
Chief Area Nursing Officer	5,049	9,222	5,257	9,430	2·2	5,776	10,573	12·1
District Nursing Officer	4,602	8,586	4,810	8,794	2·4	5,395	9,844	11·9
Area Nurse* AN/A	6,333	7,161	6,541	7,369	2·9	7,252	8,203	11·3

Figures of total reductions in bed numbers in each board area in the years in question are not available centrally. In the table following, however, figures are given for the net decrease in total bed complements over all specialities in each health board area for each of the five years from 1 April 1975 to 31 March 1980, the only years for which this information is available. The overall changes in bed complements reflect a decrease in the total number of acute beds partially offset by an increase in the number of long-stay beds, in accordance with the priorities established in "The Way Ahead"—published in April 1976—and in "Scottish Health Authorities Priorities for the Eighties"—published in December 1980.

This is a matter for Strathclyde regional council, which decides the priorities for school bulding in the region within the authorised cash limit for each year.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a table showing rates of pay for all classes of nurses within the National Health Service for each of the last five years, and showing the percentage increase, net, for each year.

The information is set out in the following table. In addition to the pay scales operative from 1 April each year those for 1 August 1979 are given since the first stage of the award by the Clegg Commission came into effect on that date.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many persons qualified as doctors, nurses and teachers, respectively, are unemployed in Scotland on the latest date for which figures are available; and what were the comparable figures in each of the last five years.

	Dec 1980	Dec 1979	Dec 1978	Dec 1977	Dec 1975
Numbers registered in Scotland for employment as Medical Practitioners	42	34	36	21	23
State-registered and State-enrolled nurses and State-certified midwives	658	643	593	677	244
Teachers (primary and secondary)	1619	1177	1180	1115	129

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many different schemes for reimbursing car mileage expenses exist in Scotland for members of public bodies; what are the rates in each case; and how they compare with the rates applicable to local authorities.

Most public bodies other than local authorities fall into the categories of (a) boards, councils and committees of the national health service and (b) departmental committees and other bodies financed by the Scottish Office. For both categories there is a basic car mileage rate which, for category (a) bodies is 9·6p per mile and for incategory (b) bodies, 10·8p per mile. It is unusual for there to be a difference between these two rates, but the category (b) rate was increased from 9·6p to 10·8p only on 1 June. Where, however, the use of a member's private car is justified by a significant saving of time or by some other factor, a higher rate may be payable, on the following scale for both categories:

For cars of engine capacity
up to 1000cc	16·2p per mile
1001cc and over	19·1p per mile

Information is not available in the precise form requested. The following table gives the number of people in Scotland registered for employment in the specified occupations in December 1980—the latest date for which information is available—and in the same month in previous years.The maximum basic car mileage rate for members of local authorities is 7·4p per mile and the maximum higher rates are:

For cars of engine capacity
not exceeding 999cc	13·5p per mile
exceeding 999cc but not exceeding 1199cc
	14·7p per mile
exceeding 1199cc	16·3p per mile

The detailed criteria according to which the basic or the higher mileage rate is payable differ as between the three categories. If the hon. Member seeks elaboration of these criteria, or any further information, perhaps he will write to me.

asked the Lord Privy Seal why his letter of 21 May replying to the communication sent to him by the hon. Member for Newham, North-West on 3 April concerning the entry of Mrs. Patel to the United Kingdom was not posted until 26 May; and whether he will both expedite replies to correspondence and see that these are posted on the date signed.

As the hon. Member knows, my letter was a follow-up to my undertaking in a letter to the hon. Member of 30 April to make inquiries of one of our posts abroad. This inevitably takes time.It is always my objective to dispatch letters on the date of signature. My letter of 21 May to the hon. Member was signed late that day. The bank holiday period, which for Government Departments began on Friday 22 May, then intervened. It was because of these unusual circumstances that the letter was not posted until 26 May. I apologise to the hon. Member for any inconvenience caused.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether he will open an emergency office in the Yorkshire and Humberside region to deal with the endorsement of passports in present circumstances.

No. In the present circumstances it would be impossible for the Passport Office to set up emergency offices in any part of the country.

Special Employment and Training Measures
Scheme and Weekly Allowance (if applicable)	Out turn cost 1979–80	Provisional out turn cost 1980–81	Whether taxed
	£m	£m
Temporary employment subsidy	40·9	1·0	Paid to em- ployers
£20 p/w per worker for 12 months.
£10 p/w per worker for succeeding 6 months
Temporary short-time working compensation scheme	24·4	365·0	Paid to employers
Up to 20 November 1980·75% of normal pay for six months
From 21 November 1980—50% of normal pay for nine months
Job Release Scheme	85·4	136·0
Scheme (incl. disabled—1/4/79–5/4/80—£31·50 (£40 incl dependent)			No
Main scheme 6/4/80–5/4/81—£36 (£45·50 incl dependent)			No
Disabled Scheme 6/4/80–5/4/81—£43 (£53 incl dependent)			Yes
Main Scheme 6/4/81–5/4/82—£40 (£50·50 incl dependent)			No
Disabled Scheme 6/4/81–5/4/82—£47·50 (£59 incl dependent)			Yes
Small firms employment subsidy £20	45·4	10·8	Paid to employer
Adult employment subsidy £20	0·4	—	Paid to employers
Special temporary employment programme	51·0	46·8	Yes
Local rate for the job up to a maximum which has increased from £64·68 to £83, since 1979
Community industry	16·7	19·1	Yes
£28·60—Aged 16
£31·80—Aged 17
£36·40—Aged 18*
Youth Opportunities Programme	121·8	215·1	No
£20·55 (April to November 1979) Increased to £23·50

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many people are subject to wages council orders in Cornwall; and if he will give the figures separately for men and women;

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether, in the Government's consideration of the recommendations of the Manpower Services Commission on employment rehabilitation of disabled people, special attention will be given to the employment and training of the disabled young in Wales.

The recent report on the Manpower Services Commission's future role in providing employment rehabilitation for disabled people in all parts of the country did not consider provision for young people, as courses at employment rehabilitation centres help disabled young people bridge the gap between school and work and are provided under the youth opportunities programme.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish figures for 1979–80 and 1980–81 tabulating the different grants and allowances, the total cost to the taxpayer, and the weekly amounts payable, under the various training and employment schemes for which he is responsible.

The information requested is given in the schedule below.(2) how many establishments are subject to wages council orders in Cornwall;(3) how many establishments in Cornwall were visited by wages inspectors last year; and what proportion of these was found to be infringing wages council regulations for the last 10 years;

The statistics requested are not kept in a form which provides figures for particular counties. These could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many wages inspectors are employed by his Department; and how many of these work in Cornwall.

The number of wages inspectors employed at 1 May 1981 was 127. Of these, two normally work in Cornwall.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what would be the cost of providing all 1980–81 school leavers with a one-year traineeship.

The cost of providing 12-month traineeships for all those leaving school in 1980–81 would depend on the nature of the training offered, the balance of funding between Government and industry, the level and nature of any allowances paid to trainees, the numbers actually leaving school and the numbers entering employment.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he is satisfied that the 13-week restriction on pre-training opportunities programme courses is not preventing a large number of people who are unable to meet the required standards within the 13 weeks from progressing to further training opportunities programme courses.

I shall reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give assurances that if voluntary registration is implemented adequate measures will continue to be taken to assess the number of disabled unemployed persons by (a) age, (b) duration of unemployment and (c) medical category.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he is yet able to make a further statement on the future of the quota scheme for disabled people.

I shall reply to the hon. Members as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many persons have been unemployed in the Wolverhampton travel-to-work area for (a) up to three months, (b) up to six months, (c) up to nine months, (d) up to 12 months, (e) up to 18 months, (f) up to two years and (g) over two years;

I shall reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list in the Official Report the percentage increase in salaries awarded on each occasion since 1975 to; general practitioners, consultants, heads of nationalised industries, judges, principals and assistant secretaries in the Civil Service, nurses and teachers.

I shall reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Wolverhampton, North-East on 29 January, Official Reportc. 479, what consideration the Health and Safety Executive has given to the studies into the possible association between exposure to pentachlorophenol and certain types of cancer; and if he will make a statement.

I am advised by the chairman of the Health and Safety Commission that the Health and Safety Executive—HSE—has considered studies made into the possible association between pentachlorophenol—PCP—and certain types of cancer. It is the view of the HSE that these studies do not provide conclusive evidence of such a link. The HSE is currently pursuing investigations of cases of cancer alleged to be associated with PCP exposure.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Newham, North-West on Thursday 21 May, Official Report, c. 141, he will give the unemployment figure for Newham for May.

At 14 May 1981, the provisional number of people registered as unemployed in the area covered by the Canning Town, East Ham and Stratford employment offices, which closely corresponds to the London borough of Newham, was 11,914.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will take steps to require that patients should be informed of the cost of drugs prescribed for them.

I assume the purpose of this is to deter those who seek medicines unnecessarily. As I explained in the Standing Committee debate of the Health Services Bill—[Standing Committee G, 1 April 1980, c. 1009–12]—however, it might also lead to patients not receiving treatment which was medically necessary.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what are the figures for baby deaths in the West Midlands in the last 10 years; and if he will break the figures down into the respective area health authorities.

Perinatal mortality numbers and rates per 1,000 total births for West Midlands Regional Health Authority (RHA) and Constituent Area Health Authorities (AHA) 1974–1979
Area	Year
		1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979
West Midlands RHA	Number	1597	1446	1341	1193	1109	1155
	Rate	22·5	21·8	21·1	19·4	17·2	16·8
Birmingham AHA	Number	335	318	283	270	277	242
	Rate	22·6	23·2	21·0	20·3	19·9	16·4
Coventry AHA	Number	107	81	82	93	65	85
	Rate	23·2	19·1	20·3	23·4	16·2	19·0
Dudley AHA	Number	85	90	85	75	89	72
	Rate	20·6	23·1	23·7	21·7	24·1	18·8
Hereford and Worcester AHA	Number	145	128	139	107	89	117
	Rate	18·5	17·5	19·8	15·1	11·8	14·3
Salop AHA	Number	99	71	104	87	81	82
	Rate	20·1	15·4	23·3	19·9	17·4	16·9
Sandwell AHA	Number	119	102	83	69	73	91
	Rate	27·0	25·5	22·5	19·2	19·6	22·6
Solihull AHA	Number	54	44	37	39	29	39
	Rate	20·1	17·1	15·5	17·1	12·7	15·9
Staffordshire AHA	Number	325	287	263	225	193	207
	Rate	23·8	22·4	21·4	19·2	15·5	15·7
Walsall AHA	Number	96	81	62	64	55	59
	Rate	25·9	23·1	18·6	19·9	16·8	16·7
Warwickshire AHA	Number	134	124	123	93	91	92
	Rate	20·9	20·7	21·5	17·6	16·4	15·5
Wolverhampton AHA	Number	98	120	80	71	67	69
	Rate	25·9	33·4	23·5	21·1	19·9	19·2

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will take urgent steps to ban all corporal punishment of children in care; and if he will make a statement.

The Department advised local authorities in 1978 against the use of corporal punishment in community homes and most no longer permit it. I am encouraged by this general tendency of local authorities to give it up and to turn to other ways of maintaining effective control and discipline. Nevertheless, it is the authorities that have the responsibility of running the homes, and their staff have the problem of caring for children with whom the community has failed to cope. I do not think it right to legislate on a particular method of control, particularly as authorities now have the benefit of the report of the working party on control and discipline. This provides valuable insights into the nature of good personal and professional relationships between staff and children in community homes and should allay fears that the abandonment of corporal punishment could make the task of staff in some homes impossible. I think that authorities and staff will be impressed by its persuasive and constructive approach at a professional level, and I prefer to rely on this rather than on legislation.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many instances of corporal

The number of perinatal deaths—stillbirths and deaths under one week—and rates per 1,000 total births of west Midlands regional health authority and its constituent area health authorities are shown win the following table. Comparable figures for the years prior to 1974 are not available.punishment of children in care have been reported to him over the past year; and if he is satisfied that his Department's advice is being adhered to by local authorities.

Local authorities are not required to report such instances to me, but I was made aware recently of some 15 cases in one local authority which., I understand, has since abandoned the use of corporal punishment. Although the Department has advised against the use of corporal punishment, we consider that final discretion should rest with individual local authorities who have responsibility for running community homes.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if any prosecutions are pending under the Food and Drugs Act 1955 regarding the distribution and sale of contaminated Meysan brand natural grapefruit juice and orange juice products;(2) if he is satisfied that all measures have been taken by his Department to prevent the further distribution and sale of contaminated Meysan brand natural grapefruit juice and orange juice; and what is his estimate of the number of cases of these unfit products still in circulation.

It is important to distinguish the cans to which I assume my hon. Friend is referring, and which were produced up to 1978, from cans produced more recently.Doubts about the safety of some cans of the earlier production were brought to the attention of the Department by officers of the Bristol city council. At the request of the Department's officials current importers agreed to send to local authorities a copy of an advertisement being placed by them in the national press with a view to the location and recovery of any stocks. The Department's officials also arranged for the situation to be drawn to the attention of local authorities by means of the weekly communicable disease report, published by the Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre.I can give no precise estimate of the number of cans which might be in circulation, but I do not believe the quantity to be significant.I am not aware of any prosecutions pending under section 8 of the Food and Drugs Act 1955.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how much, in the most recent convenient year, was expended by his Department in commissioning studies and reports by outside organisations or individuals.

Expenditure by my Department on research and other commissioned work, including that of committees of inquiry, amounted to £4·5 million in the financial year 1980–81. This includes grants totalling £1·5 million to the Schools Council, the Centre for Educational Research and Innovation and the National Foundation for Educational Research. Figures of expenditure on commissioned work by other grant-aided institutions could not be provided without disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish a list showing which local education authorities still provide free travel for pupils in the 16 to 18 year age group who are attending sixth form and other colleges, distinguishing between those authorities which make a general provision and those which provide it on a limited basis only.

This information is not available within the Department.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proportion of 3 to 4-year-olds were in (a) nurseries and (b) primary schools for each local education authority in the West Midlands for each year since 1970; and how this compares with the average figure for the United Kingdom as a whole for these years.

The information available in respect of January of each year since 1974 is given below. Due to the reorganisation of local government on 1 April 1974, comparable information in respect of the years 1970 to 1973 is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what proportion of the components of British cars is (a) manufactured in the United Kingdom and (b) imported; and if he will express the imports as a percentage of total components used (i) by weight and (ii) by value.

The information required to answer this question, covering several companies, is not available. However, I refer my hon. Friend to my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Knutsford (Mr. BruceGardyne) of 20 May, in which I said:

"BL says that nearly 95 per cent. of its total purchases are sourced in the United Kingdom".—[Official Report, 20 May 1981; Vol. 5, c. 91.]

asked the Secretary of State for Industry (1) what proportion of the money paid in grants under the paper and board industry selective assistance scheme was for projects specifically intended to increase the consumption of waste paper;(2) how much money paid in grants under the paper and board industry selective assistance scheme has been repaid to the Government as a result of closures;(3) how many mills have closed, and how many machines have been taken out of production, after having been the subject of grants made under the paper and board industry selective assistance scheme;(4) what increase or decrease in the consumption of indigenous fibre, including waste paper, has taken place in mills for which grants were made under the paper and board industry selection assistance scheme;(5) how much was paid in grants under section 8 of the Industry Act 1972 in connection with the paper and board industry selective assistance scheme.

To date, grants to the value of £17·96 million have been paid under the paper and board industry scheme to encourage and assist projects involving (a) the expansion of the paper and board manufacturing industry's capacity to process and use indigenous fibre and (b) the expansion of the industry's capacity to store waste paper. Of this sum just over 97 per cent. has related to projects to increase capacity to process and use waste paper. Eight mills are understood to have closed and, in all, 14 machines are understood to have been taken out of production after having been the subject of grants under the scheme. No repayments of grant have yet been received. Figures for the actual consumption of indigenous fibre in grant-assisted mills are not available. These will vary with the mills' output.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry to what extent the share of wages and salaries in total income generated by manufacturing industry has increased during the past decade.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he is satisfied that National Health Service reorganisation in Wales will not emphasise central control with the same body providing the general guidelines and thus exclude views of local people.

Reorganisation will provide for the delegation of day-to-day decision-making to the local level whilst ensuring that essential central strategic controls are maintained.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list in the Official Report the capital receipts of each of the housing authorities in Wales from the sale of council dwellings during the financial year 1980–81.

The provisional figures based on local authority returns are given below:

Net Capital receipts from sales of council dwellings 1980–81
	£ thousands
Alyn and Deeside	647
Colwyn	491
Delyn	856
Glyndwr	28
Rhuddlan	19
Wrexham Maelor	0
Carmarthen	775
Ceredigion	457
Dinefwr	0
Llanelli	139
Preseli	15
South Pembrokeshire	599
Blaenau Gwent	59
Islwyn	0
Monmouth	476
Newport	271
Torfaen	0
Aberconwy	0
Arfon	27
Dwyfor	0
Meirionnydd	0
Ynys Mon	*0
Cynon Valley	0
Merthyr Tydfil	0
Ogwr	0
Rhondda	*0
Rhymney Valley	2
Taff-Ely	34
Brecknock	0
Montgomery	7
Radnor	0

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many councils for sport and recreation there are in Wales; how many staff in total they employ at what total inclusive cost, and in how many buildings; and in what ways such councils are accountable.

The Sports Council for Wales is the only such council in Wales. It employs 110 full-time and 29 part-time staff. Staff costs in 1980–81 were approximately £900,000. These figures include staff of the National Sports Centre for Wales and National Tennis Centre in Cardiff and the National Outdoor Pursuits Centre under construction in North Wales as well as the council's administrative staff. Apart from ground staff and four staff at the Outdoor Pursuits Centre, all are accommodated in the National Sports Centre for Wales. I appoint the chairman and members, and the council is required to submit a report and statement of accounts to me annually.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what recommendations have been submitted to local authorities in Wales arising from the working parties' reports on straying sheep.

The working parties do not submit formal reports. Under the leadership of the local authorities, their task is both to formulate and implement fencing and gridding schemes designed to combat the problem of straying animals in their localities. This is done with the agreement of the various interests concerned in each case.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish a table identifying and itemising payments made to date under section 21 of the Education Act 1980 for the costs of bilingual education.

Payments to date in respect of the grant year 1980–81 have been in accordance with the details contained in the answer given to the hon. Member for Carmarthen (Dr. Thomas) on 28 January 1981. [Vol. 997, c. 444–46.] Decisions on grants to be allocated in 1981–82 will be announced shortly, and payments will be made in due course.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he proposes to take further steps to preserve bass stocks in view of the strong representations that have been made to hon. Members on this matter.

No. As I replied to my hon. Friend on 16 March 1981, I do not consider that further measures, in addition to the increase in bass minimum size to 32 centimetres from 1 May this year and to 38 centimetres from 1 May 1983, would be justified.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will publish in abridged form the evidence collected by his scientists on the bass stocks of the United Kingdom and the use of microfilament nets on these fish.

A paper summarising the evidence requested by my hon. Friend has been placed in the Library of the House.