asked the Attorney-General whether he has completed his consideration of the evidence in the case of Orme v Associated Newspapers Ltd; and what action he proposes to take in the light of it.

Yes. On 23 June I applied to the Charity Commissioners pursuant to section 5(2) of the Charities Act 1960 to remove the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity and the Sun Myung Moon Foundation from the register of charities.

asked the Attorney-General whether, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Wirral (Mr. Hunt), Official Report, 16 February, column 1, he will make a further statement on changes to the law relating to damages for death recoverable by the estate of a deceased.

There is nothing that can usefully be added to the answer to which my hon. Friend refers. The Government intend to introduce legislation to implement recommendation 19 of the report of the Royal Commission on civil liability and compensation for personal injury.

asked the Attorney-General if he has considered the decision of the Court of Appeal on 15 June in the case of In Re W, a minor; and if he intends to bring forward legislation to broaden the appellate structure under the Children and Young Persons Act 1969.

I have been asked to reply.I shall certainly study with great care the implications of the judgment of the Court of Appeal in this case.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the amount of tax paid on capital gains by the corporate sector; and what was the amount paid in capital gains tax by individuals during the last year for which figures are available.

The amount of capital gains tax paid by individuals and trustees in 1980–81 was £508 million. Tax paid on capital gains by the corporate sector cannot be estimated precisely but is likely to have been of the order of £200 million.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what revenue was received by the Board of Inland Revenue from registered trade unions in the latest financial year for which figures are available.

I regret that the information is not available.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in view of his speech to the Royal Society of Health in April that he proposes to press ahead with the imposition of cash limits on the spending of general practitioners, if he will make a further statement giving greater detail.

No decision has been made about cash limiting expenditure on the family practitioner services. But, as my right hon. and learned Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, indicated in his speech to the Royal Society of Health, it is for consideration whether the cost of the family practitioner services, currently running at £2·5 billion a year, could be more effectively controlled without endangering the standards of care that these services provide. Whether this could be done by cash limiting is a matter that will require further study.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the impact on petroleum revenue tax and corporation taxation of the $4·25 reduction in the price of North Sea crude; and on what assumptions of time and currency fluctuations these calculations are based.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answers given to the hon. Member for Bedford (Mr. Skeet) on 11 June 1981.—[Vol. 6, c. 187.]

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, in the light of recent changes in the oil price, he will take steps to improve the corporation tax revenues from offshore supply work in the North Sea under section 38 of the Finance Act 1973.

[pursuant to his reply, 23 June 1981]: The Inland Revenue is already active in using its powers under section 38, Finance Act 1978 to ensure that non-residents meet the liabilities imposed by that provision.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give the value of North Sea supply contracts placed with foreign-registered companies liable for tax under section 38 of the Finance Act 1973.

[pursuant to his reply, 23 June 1981]: This information is not available.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the effect on revenues and taxes of North Sea oil (a) of the reduction of the British National Oil Corporation's oil price and (b) of the recent devaluation of the £ sterling.

[pursuant to his reply, 22 June 1981, c. 4]: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answers given to my hon. Friend the Member for Bedford (Mr. Skeet) on 11 June 1981.—[Vol. 6, c. 187.]

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the rise in labour costs in proportion to the rise in value added in manufacturing industry for the periods 1968 to 1973, 1973 to 1978 and 1978 to 1980 for the United Kingdom, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, the United States of America and Japan, respectively; and what was the net movement in the value of their currencies during each period.

The latest available information is given in the following table. Changes in labour costs are derived from income from employment data comprising wages and salaries and employers' contributions to social security and private pension schemes. Value added is the contribution made by manufacturing industry to total domestic income after deducting stock appreciation and depreciation. In order to give an indication of the change in the value of currencies two price indices are shown—the consumer price index and the GDP deflator or implied index of home costs.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to ensure the renogiation of double tax agreements, for example with the Netherlands, to ensure that North Sea supply companies registered from countries such as the Netherlands Antilles will become liable to tax under section 38 of the Finance Act 1973.

[pursuant to his reply, 23 June 1981]: Discussions have already taken place with a number of countries—including the Netherlands—on the need for special rules in double taxation agreements to cover trading activities and employments in the North Sea. Our agreements with some of them have already been revised accordingly. The Netherlands Antilles are free to negotiate their own double taxation agreements, and talks with them about a revised comprehensive agreement are in progress.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade how many representations he has received from petrol retailers about the domination of retail sales by the major oil companies.

During the 12 months to 18 June I received representations for 63 petrol retailers on this subject.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what has been the value of the increase in trade to the United Kingdom since the United Kingdom joined the EEC.

Figures of the United Kingdom's trade in total and with the European Community are given in tables A2 and A9 of the "Monthly Review of External Trade Statistics", available in the House of Commons Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether the official Spanish report on the accident to the Dan—Air 727, at Tenerife, on 25 April 1980, has been received; and if he will make a statement;

If he has now received the official Spanish report on the accident to the Dan-Air 727, at Tenerife, on 25 April 1980; and if he will make a statement.

The definitive text of the report of the Spanish authorities has been received by the Accidents Investigation Branch. It has been translated into English and is being studied, which will take some time as it is a lengthy document. It, together with any comments which are considered necessary by the accredited representative of the United Kingdom, will be submitted to the Secretary of State.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will now introduce a house condition survey for Scotland similar to that in England.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Glasgow, Carscadden (Mr. Dewar) on 2 March 1981.—[Vol. 1000, c. 226.]

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish details of the home insulation scheme in Dundee district for both public and private sectors in the latest available year showing (a) expenditure allocated, (b) actual expenditure and what percentage of the allocation this represented, (c) number of homes insulated and (d) the percentage of houses in each sector represented.

The following table gives the information available for the financial year 1980–81:

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many building trade workers are unemployed in Dundee; and what percentage of the local construction industry labour force this represents.

On 14 May 1981, the latest date for which information is available, 1,664 people who had last worked in the construction industry were registered as unemployed in Dundee. This represented 24·0 per cent. of the construction industry labour force in Dundee. The percentage rate is based on the mid-1977 estimate of employees in employment and is subject to revision when later census of employment results become available.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many mathematics and science teachers are currently employed in schools in Scotland; and how this compares with each of the previous three years.

Information about the qualifications of teachers in education authority secondary schools is not yet available for September 1980 and was not collected for September 1977. The following table shows for September 1978 and September 1979 (i) the numbers of teachers who claimed mathematics or a science subject as their main teaching subject and (ii) all teachers qualified to teach mathematics or a science subject.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the medical institutions in Scotland carrying out research into the condition osteogenesis imperfecta; what is the level of Government support towards such research; and if he intends to increase the level of support.

My Department does not have comprehensive information about research work carried out by medical institutions in Scotland, but is always prepared to consider applications for research support from funds allocated by the Secretary of State. At present no research work on osteogenesis imperfecta is being supported by the Department and no applications have recently been submitted in this field.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish in the Official Report the annual number of convictions in Scotland for crimes of murder, culpable homicide and attempted murder from 1960 to the latest available date; and if he will publish figures for the same period covering convictions for the total number of summary offences.

Figures for the number of murders, culpable homicides and attempted murders, where a charge was proved, and the number of persons against whom a charge is proved in a summary court are published in the annual volume "Criminal Statistics, Scotland". The latest figures, for 1979, have not yet been published and are given below:

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will set out a table of the amount of capital expenditure on roads for which his Department has responsibility in Wales for the last 15 years for which figures are available.

The information for the latest 15-year period for which outturn data are available is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what further action is being taken to help small businesses following the allocation in March of an additional £1 million for the small firms service in 1981–82.

The additional resources are to be used primarily to strengthen existing teams of counsellors and to make business management advice and help through counselling more widely available. The business opportunities programme launched by my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 5 May will help to develop awareness of the Small Firms Service.Independent research by Messrs. Research Associates has confirmed recently that Small Firms Service counselling is a highly cost effective and practical way of providing a business management advisory service for small firms, and in the research team's view safeguarding and creating jobs. The counsellors are independent and experienced business men who are engaged on a contractual basis. I am placing a copy of the report in the Library.The Small Firms Service will also be further developing its working relationship with the numerous other organisations which offer advice and assistance to small businesses in order to achieve the most efficient way of applying the various resources to individual business needs.

asked the Prime Minister what change has been made in the composition of the United Kingdom delegation to the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe.

I have appointed the hon. Member for Manchester, Blakeley (Mr. Eastham) as a Substitute Member, in place of Sir Thomas Williams, QC.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list the numbers of passengers of each nationality whose arrival was recorded in his Department's computer in its first six months of operation since 1 August 1980;(2) whether all visitors admitted for a period of less than six months are among those who are included in his Department's computer.

I shall reply to the hon. and learned Member shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in view of the fact that Mr. Ronald Chapman, a company director, was sentenced on 21 April by Judge Michael Nickma to nine months imprisonment on a corruption charge for receiving moneys and gifts from Mr. Tony Green and that on 4 June the same judge ordered the acquittal of the same Mr. Tony Green for corruption in offering gifts of money to the said Mr. Ronald Chapman, he will recommend the exercise of the prerogative of mercy in respect of Mr. Chapman; and whether he will make a statement.

No. Mr. Chapman pleaded guilty to all the offences with which he was charged and did not seek leave to appeal against his convictions. It is open to him to do so if he considers that the decision in Mr. Green's case renders them unsafe or unsatisfactory.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in view of the concern of many police, the various organisations, justices of the peace and others connected with law and order at the failure to prosecute in some serious cases and the ineffective sentences for such crimes, whether he will cause an investigation to be made into these matters to see to what extent improvements can be made in the present situation.

No. The responsibility for prosecution of offences falls not to the Home Secretary but to chief officers of police in consultation, as appropriate, with the Director of Public Prosecutions. Sentencing in individual cases is entirely for the courts within the limits set by Parliament.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has reached a decision on the representations made to him recently on the appropriate frequency sub-band for citizens band radio.

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for the way in which he has drawn to my attention the wide range of views on this issue, all of which I have carefully considered. Because of the growing demand for a CB service and the serious situation which now exists through interference caused by illegal AM equipment, the Government's first priority must be to introduce a viable FM service in the autumn. This can be achieved now only by using the frequency band 27·6 to 28 MHz. 40 channels will be available, with a transmitter output power of 4 watts. The performance of such equipment would be superior to anything which has been adopted by our neighbours in Europe, and should match the performance and cost of illicitly used American equipment. The specifications for this service and for the additional one at 934 MHz will be available from HMSO from today.I recognise the force of the arguments put to me that we should move towards eventual commonality with Europe. It will be our objective in the longer term to adopt the relevant specification recommended by CEPT. We therefore propose to consult those concerned in order to reach agreement on the relocation of the existing authorised services in that band and on the protection of the services which would be affected.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what is the estimated cost of the appraisal of the resources of Banaba Island published by the Overseas Development Administration in February 1980 and of the Banaba Island resources survey final report published in April 1981.

The estimated costs of the appraisal and resources surveys are £8,700 and £131,000 respectively.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what economic development project options have been identified in the Banaba Island resources survey final report for development on Banaba Island.

The report identified and examined three broad options:

asked the Lord Privy Seal what plans have been agreed by Her Majesty's Government with the Government of Fiji for the development of Rabi Island in accordance with Her Majesty's Government's offer of £1 million in November 1978; and what progress has been made in respect of such development.

We await signature of the formal grant agreement by the Government of Fiji, and the Fiji Department of Foreign Affairs recently undertook to look into this urgently. Five projects were approved in principle by the Overseas Development Administration appraisal mission which visited Rabi Island during October 1980.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will place in the Library a report of the progress and results to date of the Overseas Development Administration work on alternative energy resources for developing countries.

The Administration's programme of research and development on alternative sources of energy is making satisfactory progress but work of this nature does not yield quick results and it is too soon to publish a report. The programme is continuing to expand modestly and will take account of the recommendations of the United Nations conference on new and renewable sources of energy to be held in Nairobi in August 1981.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what was the number of school leavers at the end of the academic year 1979–80; and of these how many were registered unemployed in January 1981.

I am informed by the Secretaries of State for Education and Science, Wales and Scotland that the total number of school leavers in Great Britain in the summer 1980 term was about 800,000, including those going on to further education. At January 1981 the number of unemployed school leavers under 18 years of age was 95,837, but the statistics do not distinguish how many of these were 1980 summer term school leavers. At May 1980, the last count before summer term school leaving started, the number registered was 45,765.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many (a) boys and (b) girls who left school at Easter are still without jobs.

The statistics do not distinguish by sex the number of Easter school leavers who are still unemployed.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many school leavers there were in (a) 1980 and (b) 1981 in the Northern region, broken down according to local education authorities, who still have yet to receive an offer on the youth opportunities programme for the latest available date in accordance with the 1980 school leaver undertaking.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many unemployed persons there were in the Bolton travel-to-work area in May 1974, May 1979 and May 1981; and what percentage this represents as a proportion of the total working population.

The following table gives the numbers registered as unemployed and the percentage rates of unemployment in the Bolton travel-to-work area at the dates specified. The unemployment rates are based on the estimated numbers of employees—employed and unemployed—which differ from the working population figures in that they exclude members of Her Majesty's Forces and the self-employed.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he is satisfied that the 1981–82 provision of work experience and training places for the young unemployed in the Kirklees and Oldham areas will be adequate to cope with local demand and enable summer school leavers to find some employment provision by Christmas 1981; and if he will make a statement.

During 1981–82 the Manpower Services Commission plans for some 18,000 entrants to the youth opportunities programme in the Leeds area office area, which includes Kirklees; and for some 11,700 entrants to the programme in the Manchester east area office area, which includes Oldham. I believe that this provision will be sufficient to offer a place on the programme by Christmas 1981 to all those 1981 school leavers who do not go into employment, training or education, and remain unemployed.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many unemployed adults are enrolled in courses offered by (a) the Manpower Services Commission and (b) colleges of further education which have the purpose of increasing their literacy skills.

Information on the number of unemployed adults undergoing training designed to improve literacy skills is unavailable in the form requested. 3,600 preparatory course starts are planned under the training opportunities scheme at colleges of further education and other centres during 1981–82. This Department does not collect information on the numbers of unemployed adults receiving other forms of literacy tuition at colleges of further education. That is the responsibility of my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Education.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment, in view of the number of adult unemployed who have literacy problems, if Her Majesty's Government will (a) increase the education content in community enterprise programme schemes, (b) increase the number of training opportunities programme preparatory courses and (c) encourage unemployed adults to increase their literacy skills without loss of benefit.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment, pursuant to the right hon. Member's reply of 10 June, Official Report, c. 142–43, if he will detail, as much as is possible, how the manpower and financial savings proposed in the recommendations in Sir Derek Rayner's report "Payments of Benefits to Unemployed People" would (a) increase, (b) remain constant and (c) decrease in relation to a higher level of unemployment than that assumed in the report.

It is not possible to provide detailed information for all the recommendations while work is still in progress on the estimates of savings in the report and the recommendations are under consideration in the light of comments received on the consultative document. In broad terms, however, with a higher level of unemployment that is assumed in the report, estimated savings from the changes in unemployment benefit and social security office procedures are likely to increase, while, for example, estimated savings from recommendations relating to the detection of abuse of benefits are unlikely to be significantly affected, and estimated savings from recommendations relating to management levels, where higher unemployment may have reduced the scope for making savings, are likely to decrease.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the percentage increase in the numbers of unemployed (a) in each of the last 12 months and (b) as an annual figure for each of the last five years in (i) Great Britain and (ii) Cambridgeshire; and how many and what percentage of those currently unemployed have had no job for more than one year.

[pursuant to his reply, 23 June 1981, c. 9]: The information is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list all known instances of malicious damage to the radioactive components of British nuclear installations, together with the extent of the damage; and whether the culprits were apprehended.

I am advised that there have been no known instances of malicious damage to the radioactive components of civil nuclear installations operated by the CEGB, the UKAEA, BNFL or Amersham International Limited—formerly The Radiochemical Centre. Responsibility for civil nuclear installations operated by the SSEB lies with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland, but I understand that, there too, there have been no known instances.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will give the number of arrests made by the Atomic Energy Authority constabulary and the number of offences cleared up by the Atomic Energy Authority constabulary in each year since 1977; in what respects the two figures are comparable; and, if not, what is the reason for any discrepancy between these numbers.

Figures for the years in question, of the numbers of arrests made by the AEAC and the number of offences cleared up were included, respectively, in my answers of 19 December 1980 to the hon. Member for Ormskirk (Mr. Kilroy-Silk) and of 27 April to the hon. Member for Barking (Miss Richardson). The two sets of figures are not comparable because "offences cleared up" do not necessarily involve arrests. Also, certain arrests were made at the request of Home Department police forces, following investigation of offences not the concern of the AEAC.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if, in view of the world oil glut and consequent price reductions, he will undertake an immediate review of North Sea production.

Production levels from North Sea fields are kept under constant review in the light of all relevant technical and economic considerations. However, we have said that we shall honour the assurances given by the then Secretary of State, the right hon. Member for Chesterfield (Mr. Varley) on 6 December 1974, which restrict the Government's ability to reduce the rates of production. In any event, variation in North Sea production can have only a marginal impact on total world oil supply.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether he has received the communication from the hon. Member for Newham, North-West, together with a covering note from the deputy leader of the London borough of Newham, Mr. Colin W. Watts, JP, and a declaration from the shop stewards in the gas industry, against any rises in gas prices; what action he has taken or intends taking; what was the nature of his reply; and whether he will make a statement.

I can confirm that I have received the hon. Member's letter of 18 June. I shall be replying as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what proportion of the high level nuclear waste which the authorities propose to bury underground in depositories originates from the military, as opposed to civil, nuclear programme.

I have been asked to reply.There are no proposals to bury high-level radioactive waste underground. That is simply one option which might be adopted for the vitrified waste, after an initial period of storage. The amount of high level waste produced by the military programmes is a small proportion of the total produced by civil programmes.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what facilities are provided by the institutions of the European Community for educational purposes.

The institutions of the European Community have no educational establishments of their own, but are a major contributor to the income of the European schools and provide funds for specific research projects at the European university institute.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he has settled the composition of the four groups of General Certificate of Education and Certificate of Secondary Education boards which are to administer the proposed single system of examinations at 16-plus; and if he will make a statement.

Yes. The composition of the four groups in England will be as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will arrange for the present testing protocols involving the use of live animals to be reviewed and updated.

I have been asked to reply.Statutory and other obligations require the use of live animals for a wide range of tests. Review of the requirements of a particular test with the object of its replacement or modification is a matter for the relevant authority. Scope for review depends largely on the extent to which alternative methods are practicably available and provide scientifically valid results.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the names of the projects in England which have been entered for his "Joint-Care Award" of the Health and Social Service Journal, identifying the authorities and other bodies involved in each of these projects.

The competition was organised by the Health and Social Service Journal, and not by my right hon. Friend. However, I have arranged for a list of the projects entered to be placed in the Library of the house.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when full replies will be sent to the letters addressed to the Minister for Health from the hon. Member for Goole and dated 13 February and 8 April, about the proposed content of the new hospital to be built at Goole.

The reply involved greater inquiries and as a result took longer than expected; I wrote to the hon. Member yesterday.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how many applications have been accepted and rejected in the following categories for payment under the Vaccine Damage Payments Act 1979; diptheria, tetanus, whooping cough, poliomyelitis, measles, rubella, tuberculosis and smallpox;(2) how many applications accepted for payment under the Vaccine Damage Payments Act 1979 have been connected with

Information about the number of claims by vaccination category is given in my reply to the right hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, South (Mr. Ashley) on 1 June.—[Vol. 5, c. 255–57.]Information about the number of awards up to 10 April 1981 is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many applications he has received to date for payment under the Vaccine Damage Payments Act 1979; how many of the applications have been accepted and payment made; how many have been rejected; and how many have still to be decided.

The information is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will list each of the local authorities in England and Wales which recognise, for the purposes of the implementation of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act, deafness as a disablement as opposed to a handicap.

The Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970 imposes a duty on every local authority in England and Wales having functions under section 29 of the National Assistance Act 1948 to inform itself of the number of persons within its area to whom that section applies, including persons who are deaf, and, where appropriate, to make arrangements for the provision of services for such persons.Deafness is a disability which may or may not be a handicap depending on the severity and nature of the hearing loss and its effect on the life of the individual. I am not aware of any local authority which draws a distinction between disability and handicap in a way which precludes them from providing services for deaf people.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish a table showing the value of flat rate unemployment benefit for a single person, a married couple and a married couple with two children, for each year since 1948 as an index with 1948 equal to 100.

The following table gives the information, based on the index of retail prices, for the months in which benefits were increased. The column for the married couple with two children does not take account of family allowances/child benefit.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many of the 33 employed people recruited in that area as census enumerators were non-Kirkby residents.

Kirkby did not constitute an administrative area in the 1981 census. In the only census district that was wholly within the boundaries of the former urban district, 36 persons were appointed as enumerators; of these 25 did not live in Kirkby.The rules on confidentiality of the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys provide that, wherever feasible, census enumerators should not be appointed to work in areas where they are likely to be known.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services for what reason it was decided that the majority of people employed as census enumerators in Kirkby should have been employed, in view of the fact that the town has nearly 7,000 unemployed persons.

No such decision was taken. Suitable persons who were out of work were given priority over other candidates, and until end-January 1981 no other persons were appointed without the permission of the managers of local jobcentres. Ultimately, to ensure there was a force sufficient to undertake the census, employed persons were taken on. These arrangements applied throughout the country.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what percentage of the average manual wage the State pension was in 1951, 1971 and 1981, respectively.

I refer my hon. Friend to table 5.1 of the Department of Health and Social Security's "Abstract of Statistics for Index of Retail Prices, Average Earnings, Social Security Benefits and Contributions", dated May 1981, a copy of which is in the Library of the House. Comparable figures for 1981 are not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what progress has been made since he took office in achieving his declared aim to get as many mentally handicapped children and adults as possible out of large hospitals for the mentally handicapped into a more suitable setting in the community;(2) if he will seek to run down obsolete hospitals for the mentally handicapped and replace them in 10 years with a network of district-based small units.

In the Library are copies of "Mental Handicap: Progress, Problems and Priorities", a report of the Department's review of progress made in mental handicap services in England since the 1971 White Paper and of a speech my right hon. Friend made on 10 December last to the National Society for Mentally Handicapped Children and Adults in which he set out the action we propose to take to follow up that report.Since then, he has stressed in "Care in Action" that health and local authorities in co-operation with voluntary organisations should give priority to providing a locally based service and to enabling the large badly located hospitals to be run down. We are concentrating on getting children out of hospitals and in this regard would refer the right hon. Gentleman to my reply to the right hon. Member for Manchester, Wythenshawe (Mr. Morris) on 18 June—[Vol. 6, c.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will now publish all reports on hospitals for the mentally handicapped made by the national development team; and if he will list the subjects and dates of compilation of each report;(2) if he will widen the powers of the national development team so that it can examine conditions in hospitals on its own initiative and publicise its reports; and if he will include lay members on the panel.

The subjects of the 62 reports so far completed by the development team for the mentally handicapped and the dates on which the team visited the health and local authorities concerned are as follows. A further six reports are in preparation.Regarding the publication of reports, I refer the right hon. Gentleman to my reply to the hon. Member for Eccles (Mr. Carter-Jones) on 5 June.—[Vol. 5, c.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will set up an independent advocacy service to protect the welfare and rights of mentally handicapped people.

I refer the right hon. Gentleman to my reply to the hon. Member for Eccles (Mr. Carter-Jones) on 5 June.—[Vol. 5, c. 443.]

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will transfer funds from the National Health Service to local authorities for the development of services for mentally handicapped people.

Existing joint finance arrangements already enable NHS funds to be used for agreed social services schemes, and we estimate that about £50 million has been spent on services for mentally handicapped people since joint finance was introduced in 1976. We shall shortly be issuing a consultative document inviting views on other ways of encouraging the transfer of people, including mentally handicapped people, who do not need hospital treatment to the care of social services departments.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many mentally handicapped people in the United Kingdom are in small, well-staffed units; and how many of them are (a) men, (b) women and (c) children.

Statistics in the form requested are not collected centrally. However, chapters 4 and 5 of the recent review of mental handicap services in England entitled "Mental Handicap: Progress, Problems and Priorities", a copy of which is available in the Library of the House, summarise the available information and discuss the size of units and staffing.I have asked my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to reply separately to the right hon. Gentleman.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many children's wards or units there are in long-stay hospitals for the mentally handicapped; how many children there are in each unit; and if he will give a date for the closure of these wards or units and the transfer of the children into small, well-staffed units.

Statistics on the total numbers of children's wards and units in mental handicap hospitals are not collected centrally. On 31 December 1979 there were 2,839 children under 16 resident in mental handicap hospitals, of whom 2,446—provisional figure—had been in hospital for more than one year.Since local circumstances vary widely it would be impracticable, particularly at a time of restraint on public expenditure, to impose a date by which children must be removed from large hospitals. My right hon. Friend made clear his view that large hospitals do not provide a favourable environment for children to grow up in and I am glad that mental handicap hospitals have very largely ceased to admit children other than for short-term care.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the total number of long-stay hospitals for the mentally handicapped; how many patients they accommodate; how many of them are long-term; and how many are (a) men, (b) women and (c) children.

On 31 December 1979 there were 45,419 patients resident in the 203 hospitals and units for the mentally handicapped in England. Provisional figures for the numbers of these patients who had been in hospital for more than one year are:

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he proposes to meet officials of the new organisation, the Advocacy Alliance.

I am prepared to meet representatives of the Advocacy Alliance if asked to do so.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he has now seen the film "Silent Minority"; and if he accepts that the conditions illustrated in it were factual.

I have seen the film, but I am not prepared to comment on the specific allegations made until I have studied the reports from the health authorities concerned, for which I called on 4 June.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when the report of the Occupational Pensions Board entitled "Improved Protection for the Occupational Pension Rights and Expectations of Early Leavers", will be published.

The board's report has been published today (Cmnd. 8271). I welcome the report and acknowledge the constructive recommendations that it contains. These recommendations have substantial implications for employers and for the occupational pension schemes which they have established. Among other things, a majority of the board have recommended that final salary pension schemes should be required to increase preserved benefits in line with movements in earnings up to a ceiling of 5 per cent. a year, calculated over the whole period of preservation, while urging that schemes should make such further improvements above this level as their resources permit. A minority of the board considered that if there had to be a limit on a statutory requirement it should not be less than 8½ per cent. a year. The Government recognise the difficulties that would have to be faced if these proposed requirements were to be introduced and conclude that everyone concerned with occupational pensions should have an opportunity to study the detail of the report. We shall be very glad to receive any representations on it, and we shall also be considering alternative approaches whereby the interests of early leavers might be better protected.As soon as practicable, I propose to implement the board's recommendation that a guaranteed minimum pension provided by a contracted out pension scheme may be revalued at a fixed rate after being accepted by the contracted out pension scheme of a new employer. This will remove a possible bar to certain types of transfers taking place.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many frigates are (a) in dockyards undergoing modernisation and (b) awaiting entry into a dockyard for modernisation; and how many are in each dockyard.

The following frigates are undergoing refits in the Royal dockyards:

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will make a statement on the results of his Department in achieving the Government's policy programme since his predecessor answered a similar question from the hon. Member for Melton on 10 June 1980.

The Government continue to attach high priority to the task of maintaining and improving the nation's defences through membership of the North Atlantic Alliance and this is reflected in the allocation of increasing resources to defence at a time of economic difficulty. The Statement on the Defence Estimates 1981, Cmnd. 8212, sets out the main achievements over the last year in carrying forward the Government's programme including the decision to acquire the Trident strategic nuclear system. Since then, the Government have approved recommendations from the Armed Forces Pay Review Body in line with the commitment to maintain Armed Forces pay at the level of their civilian counterparts. I shall make a statement on the forward defence programme tomorrow.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will announce the cost to his Department of procuring the Plessey radar AR-3D tactical, long-range mobile air defence system; and whether he will give any details of its entry into service and deployment.

The Royal Air Force will buy the Plessey AR-3D radar to meet its need for air traffic control at RAF Gatow in West Berlin. It is expected to enter service in 1982 and will replace the ageing AR1 radar system. No cost will fall to the Ministry of Defence as the system will be paid for from the Berlin budget, which is funded by the Federal Republic of Germany.