asked the Secretary of State for Energy what proportion of capital expenditure by the Central Electricity Generating Board was covered by retained income in (a) 1970 and (b) 1980.

I am advised by the CEGB that the proportion of its capital expenditure covered by retained income—the self-financing ratio—was 63·1 per cent. in 1969–70 and 55·7 per cent. in 1979–80. Corresponding figures for the electricity supply industry, which includes the 12 area boards as well as the CEGB, are 77·4 per cent. in 1969–70 and 81·5 per cent. in 1979–80.Figures for the individual years are given in the CEGB's statistical year book and in annual reports of the Electricity Council. Copies of these documents are available in the Library of the House.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether he will announce who is to take up the chairmanship of the National Nuclear Corporation.

I am pleased to announce that Mr. Frank Gibb, who is currently deputy chairman of the National Nuclear Corporation is to take up the chairmanship. His appointment, which comes into effect today, is on a part-time basis.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether he will make a statement on progress with the pressurised water reactor design.

I am anxious that work on the development of the design for the first British pressurised water reactor should proceed as quickly as possible, consistent with fully meeting United Kingdom safety requirements. The Government also wish to see more use made of the advice and experience on PWR technology available front Bechtel, Westinghouse and the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority.The project has now reached a point where many complicated and technical decisions must be made. In the light both of this and of my wish to see rapid progress, the National Nuclear Corporation and the Central Electricity Generating Board have advised me that a joint task force should be established, combining the resources of NNC, CEGB and UKAEA. Dr. Walter Marshall, chairman of the UKAEA, will act as chairman of the task force.I welcome this proposal and will look to the task force to ensure that firm design proposals are developed as soon as possible for endorsement by the CEGB and NNC boards, and that more use is made of the advice of Bechtel and Westinghouse. I have asked Dr. Marshall to keep me fully informed on progress on the design.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade how many seafarers employed on United Kingdom registered ships died as a result of falling from aloft for each year since 1975; what were their ages and category of employment; what incidence of death per 100,000 at risk they represented; and what investigations and actions the Government have taken to reduce such accidents.

The number of deaths recorded by the registrar of shipping and seamen resulting from falls from aloft on board merchant ships registered in the United Kingdom were:

	No.	Estimated number of Seamen at risk ('000s)	Incidence per 100,000
1975	7	108	6·5
1976	4	103	3·9
1977	—	95	—
1978	3	88	3·4
1979	4	82	4·9

Statistics for 1980 are not yet available.The ages and categories of the seafarers concerned are not at present separately recorded, but will be when the accident reporting system mentioned below comes into force.The occupational safety of seafarers at work was comprehensively studied by the steering committee on the safety of merchant seamen at work which the Department of Trade convened and which reported in 1978.The committee did not comment specifically upon falls from aloft, but some of its work and several of its recommendations applied to accidents of that type.The committee produced the "Code of Safe Working Practices for Seamen", which is now statutorily required to be carried on all United Kingdom merchant ships and to be easily accessible to the crew. It includes a chapter on working aloft and outboard. Similarly the booklet "Personal Safety on Ships", which is issued free of charge to individual seafarers, also includes a section on the subject.The Department is introducing several sets of regulations on the advice of the committee, three of which will be relevant to this type of accident. First, proposed regulations for protective clothing and equipment will require provision and use of safety harness and lifelines for all work aloft. Secondly, regulations will require the appointment of accident prevention officers on board and provision for the election of safety officers. Thirdly, accident reporting regulations will require all accidents involving three days or more incapacity to be reported. Falls from aloft are separately distinguished on the proposed accident report form.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether, in view of the present failure of air traffic control facilities, he will ask the British Airports Authority and the Civil Aviation Authority to invite tenders for alternative provision for such facilities.

Though I naturally regret the inconvenience caused to the travelling public and the airlines by the current industrial dispute, I do not accept that our air traffic control facilities have failed. Accordingly, we are not contemplating inviting tenders for alternative provisions of air traffic services.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if the accidents investigation branch will be entering any caveats to the report of the Spanish aviation authorities on the crash of the Dan Air Boeing 727 at Tenerife on 25 April 1980; what further discussions are taking place between the British and Spanish authorities about the report; and if he will make a statement.

			Fatalities
Date	Aircraft	Operator	Passengers	Crew
14 May 1977	Boeing 707	Dan Air	Cargo Flight	5+1*
		Transmeridian Air
2 September 1977	CL 44	Cargo	Cargo Flight	4
31 July 1979	HS 748	Dan Air	15	2
16 February 1980	Brittania	Redcoat Air Cargo	Cargo Flight	5+2*
25 April 1980	Boeing 727	Dan Air	138	8
26 June 1981	HS 748	Dan Air	Cargo Flight	3
* Supernumerary company staff.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade when he expects to publish the Green Paper on copyright.

Work on the Green Paper on copyright and related topics is now complete and I expect to publish it in the middle of this month. It will be entitled "Reform of the Law relating to Copyright Designs and Performers Protection—A Consulative Document."

asked the Secretary of State for Trade when he intends to publish the report of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission on roadside advertising services; and whether he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend received the report on 8 May. It is being published today. The commission has found scale and complex monopoly situations to exist in favour of British Posters Limited and its 10 member companies, and has concluded that monopoly situations operate and may be expected to operate against the public interest, in that:

(1) they have led to a higher level of prices and to a more consistent approach in pricing strategy among members than would have obtained in a more competitive market; and hence contributed to the very high level of profitability;

(2) the discouragement of the sale of "pool" panels

The comments of the United Kingdom accredited representative who participated in the Spanish investigation have been attached to the report by the Spanish aviation authorities on the crash of the Dan Air Boeing 727 at Tenerife on 25 April 1980 which I have now received. United Kingdom and Spanish authorities have today discussed the comments made by the United Kingdom accredited representative and a date for the synchronous publication of the report. No statement will be made until the report is published.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether he will list the fatal accidents to aircraft on the United Kingdom commercial register, other than third party accidents from 1 January 1977 to date, stating in each case the numbers of fatalities and the name of the airline operator involved.

Following is the information:to Independent Poster Sales Limited has strengthened the position of British Posters and its members and restricted competition, to the detriment of other companies and the public interest;(3) they have inhibited the adjustment of British Posters Limited's pre-selected campaigns in composition and flexibility to meet the requirements of clients.The commission has also found that a complex monopoly situation exists in favour of the members of the British Poster Advertising Association and the Solus Outdoor Advertising Association Limited, by virtue of the operation of certain agreed standards of conduct. It has concluded that this complex monopoly, in the form in which it existed at the time of the reference, operated against the public interest in that the standards of conduct, which provided that members of the associations should not bid or negotiate for, or interfere with, sites occupied by a fellow member of either association, substantially restricted competition between contractors in the acquisition of new sites. The wording and the interpretation of the standards were substantially changed in March 1980. However, the commission considers that though the practical effects of the revised version of the standards are not yet clear, the wording is so imprecise and obscure as to make the provision open to abuse and, in its view, likely to have some effect in restricting competition.In making recommendations as to what action should be taken for the purpose of remedying or preventing the adverse effects it had identified, the commission noted that certain of these adverse effects arose from the existence of British Posters in its present form. It was satisfied that it would not be possible to amend its constitution whilst retaining its existing membership, or a broadly similar membership, without retaining the substance of these adverse effects. This was because the width of the present membership ensured that it must be the dominant supplier of pre-selected campaigns—campaigns or packages made up by contractors in advance of inquiries by customers and sold as a block. It considered, moreover, that a joint selling organisation of this kind could not operate efficiently and economically unless information on, and views of, the state and prospects of the market and on selling and promotion policies were exchanged between its member companies, covering a very large part of the total market. The commission considered that this exchange must influence the commercial practices both of British Posters and of its members, including the general level at which prices are set. It said that the most significant detriments to competition in the present structure of the industry derived from the fact that both the largest companies were members of British Posters.The commission has recommended, in the light of these considerations and of the adverse effects which it has identified, that British Posters Limited should cease to exist and should not be reformed. It has indicated ways in which, in its view, buyers might, in the event of British Posters ceasing to exist, obtain, and suppliers be able to offer, packages of sites without giving rise to adverse effects on competition and on the public interest.On the standards of conduct of the association, the commission doubts the need for any agreed standard simply intended to commit members to abide by the law; that is, to ensure that a member does not induce a site owner to breach his contract with another member. However, the commission considers that if a standard does remain, its wording should be clear and precise on this point.I welcome this important report by the commission and I accept its recommendation that British Posters should cease to exist and should not be reformed. The Government will be considering urgently the best means of achieving this and will, if necessary, be ready to make an order under the Fair Trading Act 1973. With regard to the standards of conduct of the two trade associations, I am asking the Director General of Fair Trading to seek an undertaking from the associations that they will delete and not reintroduce the clause requiring members not to bid or negotiate for or interfere with any site in the physical occupation of another member where the other member has a valid agreement in respect of the site and no legal notice finally terminating that agreement has been given to the other member.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many of the 49 persons charged under section 11 of the Prevention of Terrorism Act between 29 November 1974 and 31 December 1980 were subsequently convicted; and what sentences they received.

During the period in question, 50 persons were charged under section 11 of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1976. In the case of two of them, the charge was withdrawn at the trial stage, four still await trial, six were acquitted and 13 convicted.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, following the appearance of Mr. Gee, who escaped from Her Majesty's prison, Crumlin Road, Belfast on 10 June at a Provisional Sinn Fein Wolfe Tone commemoration platform at Bodenstown in the Irish Republic on 21 June, what steps he is now taking, consequent upon his reply to the right hon. Member for Mansfield (Mr. Concannon) on 11 June, Official Report, column 556, that he believed that the authorities in the Irish Republic would assist in their return to Northern Ireland to hear judgment.

I understand that Paul Patrick Magee one of the prisoners who escaped from Belfast Prison on 10 June, appeared at a rally at Bodenstown, County Kildare in the Republic of Ireland on 21 June. All necessary legal steps have been taken to secure the arrests of the escapers. I would also remind the hon. Gentleman that to escape from lawful custody in Northern Ireland following charging or conviction for certain specified offences, including those for which seven of the escapers had been convicted and the other had been charged, is an offence under the Republic of Ireland's Criminal Law (Jurisdiction) Act 1976.

asked the Secretary of Stare for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement about the involvement of Coopers and Lybrand and W. S. Atkins and Partners in the present reassessment of the future of the Northern Ireland gas industry.

As part of the further studies into a supply of Kinsale gas to Northern Ireland which I announced on 12 June, it is necessary to obtain firmer information about the potential market for natural gas in Northern Ireland and about the engineering aspects of a possible pipeline. Messrs. Coopers and Lybrand and the W. S. Atkins group have been retained by the Department of Commerce to undertake these respective assignments.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he will place in the Library his press statement made on 30 June about the regime at Her Majesty's prison, Maze.

I did so on 30 June 1981.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he will publish security statistics for the first part of 1981.

It is my intention to publish security statistics every six months. As figures for the first half of 1981 are not yet available, I am, exceptionally, publishing figures for the five months January to May 1981. Following is the information:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will publish a table in the Official Report showing total public expenditure, including capital formation, as a percentage of gross domestic product for the years 1960–61 to date;(2) If he will publish a table in the

Figures for the public expenditure "planning total" are not readily available for the years before 1974–75 and a breakdown between expenditure on capital account and current account is not available for any year. Figures for general Government expenditure, from which the planning total is derived, are available for 1961–62 onwards. The relationship between general Government expenditure and the public expenditure planning total is shown in Table 2.4 of "Financial Statistics".The following table shows the public expenditure planning total, in the years for which this information is available, and general Government expenditure as a percentage of gross domestic product at market prices; and the percentage of general Government expenditure accounted for by current expenditure, within which final consumption is shown separately, and expenditure on capital account. Table 2.4 of "Financial Statistics" will include figures for 1980–81 in the July issue.

PUBLIC SPENDING(*)
	Public expenditure planning total(†) as % of GDP at market prices	GENERAL GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURE(‡)
		Total
		Current Account
		as % of GDP at market prices	Total	(of which final consumption)	Capital account(‡)
			£m	as % of column(3)
	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)
1961–62		36·3	9,979	83·0	46·4	17·0
1962–63		36·0	10,381	84·0	47·5	16·0
1963–64		36·4	11,331	82·2	46·0	17·8
1964–65		36·2	12,249	80·1	45·3	19·9
1965–66		37·6	13,605	80·5	45·1	19·5
1966–67		39·0	15,049	79·3	44·7	20·7
1967–68		42·8	17,449	76·6	42·2	23·4
1968–69		41·3	18,242	78·7	42·3	21·3
1969–70		40·8	19,325	78·2	42·0	21·8
1970–71		41·2	21,579	77·7	43·2	22·3
1971–72		41·3	24,316	78·8	43·9	21·2
1972–73		41·6	27,559	79·2	43·9	20·8
1973–74		43·4	31,989	80·4	43·4	19·6
1974–75	46·4	48·7	42,816	79·5	42·8	20·5
1975–76	46·5	48·9	53,881	81·3	44·6	18·7
1976–77	44·8	46·4	59,441	85·3	46·0	14·7
1977–78	40·7	42·9	63,624	89·8	47·4	10·2
1978–79	41·6	44·2	74,284	88·2	45·5	11·8
1979–80	41·4	44·6	89,039	88·5	45·3	11·5
(*) Includes non-trading Government capital consumption, to be comparable with GDP at market prices.
(†) Including net payments of debt interest (as in Table 1·2 of Cmnd 8175).

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are his estimates of the percentage of value of oil produced from the Scottish sector of the North Sea which he has received by way of royalties, petroleum revenue tax and corporation tax.

The United Kingdom continental shelf is not divided into sectors. It would in any case be impracticable to allocate North Sea revenues to any particular geographical area.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if the Government still intend to introduce arrangements for bringing State retirement pensions into the PAYE system from April 1982; and, if so, what consultation has taken place with organisations representing pensioners about the need for information and publicity for these changes.

I shall let my hon. Friend have a reply as soon as possible.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what effect have the delays in payments of value added tax and pay-as-you-earn, due to the Civil Service dispute, each had on the Revenue; and what has been the cost in interest charges on the extra borrowing.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what goods are currently subject to special value added tax schemes for secondhand goods; whether the review of their operation announced by the Minister of State, Treasury on 17 April 1980 has been completed; and if he will make a statement.

Secondhand schemes currently apply to cars, motor cycles, caravans, boats and outboard motors, aircraft, electronic organs, works of art, antiques and collectors' pieces. The whole area of the operation of the secondhand schemes has been carefully considered in the light of comments from interested bodies. Reactions to the current mechanism for providing relief were generally favourable and I do not therefore propose any alteration in the basic method of charging VAT on the margin. Some adverse comment was received about the extent and nature of the record-keeping requirements for the schemes. However, I am satisfied that the current requirements are necessary to prevent evasion and abuse and should therefore be retained.As regards the scope of the schemes, many representations for relief were received. Candidates for relief should be able to satisfy two criteria, namely a demonstrable distortion of trade due to the application of VAT, and a scheme which is capable of being easily and effectively controlled by Customs and Excise. Only one body to date, that dealing with the trade in secondhand guns, has presented evidence which clearly meets these requirements. I have therefore decided that a special scheme should be introduced for firearms later this year.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the measures taken by the Government since entering office to ease the tax burden on the low paid and to help eliminate the poverty trap.

[pursuant to his reply, 29 June 1981,c. 249.]: As regards the poverty trap, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Services to the hon. Member for Wolverhampton, North-East (Mrs. Short)—[Vol. 3, c. 58–60]. The position of the low paid was substantially improved by the income tax changes in the 1979 Budget. It has also been improved by a number of changes in the social security field, particularly the increases in family income supplement and one-parent benefit.Further improvements in the position of the low paid depend largely on securing reductions in inflation and the restoration of a strong economy, which are the objectives of the Government's economic strategy.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will give figures for the United Kingdom's tax take to date in the North Sea for the United Kingdom continental shelf oil and gas production as a percentage of (a) gross turnover of oil and gas and (b) profits recorded by the operating company;(2) if he will provide, in respect of oil and gas takes for the United Kingdom continental shelf, estimates for

[pursuant to his reply, 23 June 1981, c. 61]: It is estimated that the tax take, including royalties, from North Sea oil and gas production was about 35 per cent. of gross turnover in the period 1970–71 to 1980–81 inclusive and will be about 45 per cent. of gross turnover in each of the years 1981–82, 1982–83 and 1983–84. It would not be possible to express the take from royalties, PRT and CT as a percentage of the companies' North Sea profits. The profit recorded by the operating companies in their accounts may include profits from activities other than North Sea oil production and the cost of development fields not yet in production may be set off against the profits from producing fields. Since profits are calculated in different ways for each tax, the profits returned by the companies for each tax will vary according to the tax for which the return is made and will in any case differ from the measure of profits shown in the accounts.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what is the latest figure of the numbers of industrial and non-industrial civil servants.

At 1 April 1981, there were 689,600 staff in post—539,900 non-industrial and 149,700 industrial. There has thus been a reduction of 5,500 since 1 January 1981 and 42,700 since 1 April 1979.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service whether she will ensure that as from 1 July all costs of the Civil Service strike, including lost interest, will be subtracted from the cash limits and any pay offer reduced accordingly.

The present Civil Service dispute does not alter the requirement for all Departments, including my own, to keep within the cash limits for 1981–82 which we have already announced. As my right hon. and noble Friend indicated on 29 June, if the industrial action continues the Government obviously will have to consider what further response they should make, including reconsideration of the operative date of the present pay offer.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service if she will make a statement on the Civil Service strike.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service whether she will make a statement about the Civil Service pay dispute.

I refer hon. Members to the statement I made to the House last Monday.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service (1) how many civil servants in total have been on strike during the current pay dispute;(2) how many working days have been lost during the Civil Service pay dispute.

Between 9 March and 26 June 1981, both dates inclusive, about 800,000 non-industrial man days have been lost due to industrial action in the Civil Service pay dispute.Of this total, about 308,000 man days are accounted for by selective strike action, in which an overall average of some 3,900 staff have been on strike each day; and the remainder is accounted for by short-term "protest" action, including a one-day strike on 9 March by about 273,000 staff and half-day strikes on 1 and 14 April involving, respectively, about 106,000 and about 250,000 staff.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service when she next expects to meet representatives of the Civil Service unions to discuss industrial relations.

No meeting is planned, but I am ready to meet the Civil Service unions whenever we and they have something useful to discuss.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service, in the light of the fact that at the meeting of the shareholders of BAT Industries Limited, the chairman announced that sums of shareholders' money had been used to entertain civil servants at the Wimbledon tennis championships so as to maintain good and essential relationships, on what basis civil servants have been allowed to accept such hospitality; and whether he will give for the longest and most convenient stated period of time the numbers and names of such civil servants who have accepted such entertainment and hospitality.

The rules governing the acceptance of hospitality by civil servants are laid down in paragraphs 9882–9893 of the Civil Service pay and conditions of service code, a copy of which is in the Library. Information about individuals who accept hospitality is not held centrally.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service if she will now publish the White Paper promised in Cmnd. 8170.

A White Paper is being published today reporting on progress in recent years in seeking greater efficiency in the Civil Service and more value for the taxpayer in the work which it does.The White Paper makes it clear that there is still much to be done. Moreover, the pay dispute has occasioned immediate disruption to some services, and brought with it a loss of morale and of public confidence. All this will take time to repair. But the Government remain firmly committed to pursue the measures and policies outlined in the White Paper; they regard them as essential in the public interest.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what is the present condition of power and mechanical plant left on Banaba Island by the British Phosphate Commissioners in January 1981.

Latest available information indicates that the power station plant is being well maintained and has been properly protected. The condition of the cantilever and other mechanical equipment is poor.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what would be the net cost involved in the agriculture and fisheries development option for Banaba Island as set out in the Banaba Island resources survey final report published by the Overseas Development Administration in April 1981.

The consultants have estimated that the net costs to the Kiribati Government would total A$904,054 for years one and two, followed by an annual surplus thereafter of A$61,773. The costs to the Rabi Council of Leaders would be A$790,000 in year one, an annual average of A$262,000 for the next three years and about A$189,000 annually thereafter.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what would be the net cost involved in the subsistence option for Banaba Island as set out in the Banaba Island resources survey final report published by the Overseas Development Administration in April 1981.

The consultants estimated the overall net costs to the Kiribati Government and the Rabi Council of Leaders as follows:

	Year 1 A$	Year 2 A$	Annually thereafter A$
Kiribati Government	135,800	896,400	17,200
Rabi Council of Leaders	184,350	84,350	84,350

asked the Lord Privy Seal what would be the net cost involved in the mining option for Banaba Island as set out in the Banaba island resources survey final report published by the Overseas Development Administration in April 1981.

The consultants estimated that over the seven years of mining there would be an operational loss of A$3·3 million to be shared by the Kiribati Government and the Rabi Council of Leaders. The net costs to the Kiribati Government and the Rabi council over this period would be A$365,000 and A$1,704,000 respectively.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what grants in aid and loans have been made by Her Majesty's Government to Kiribati, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu in each of the years 1978, 1979 and 1980 and have been agreed for 1981 and any subsequent years, shown separately, in (i) money terms, (ii) on a per capita basis and (iii) as a proportion of gross national product.

I shall let my hon. Friend have a reply as soon as possible.

asked the Prime Minister if she has received a telegram from Merseyside civic leaders making representations about her attitude to the problems of Merseyside and asking her to visit Merseyside; and what reply she has sent.

I received a telegram from the leader of Merseyside county council to which I replied on 26 June.

asked the Prime Minister if she will make a statement on the Luxembourg meeting of European Economic Community Ministers, held during the week ending 19 June, to discuss the future of the Community's 8½ million jobless people.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Islington, Central (Mr. Grant) by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Employment on 19 June 1981 [Vol. 6, c. 314–315].

asked the Prime Minister whether she will list the occasions and dates since 9 January 1980 when she has met official representatives of the Trades Union Congress at a formal meeting to discuss policy issues, excluding meetings with Civil Service unions to discuss Whitley conditions; and whether there has been any occasion when she has refused to meet a Trades Union Congress deputation after the congress had officially requested one.

I met the Trades Union Congress General Council on 14 October 1980, and I chaired the National Economic Development Council on 4 February 1981. I have not received any other official request from the congress for a meeting with a TUC deputation in this period.

asked the right hon. Member for Middlesbrough, as representing the House of Commons Commission, why staff of the House were recently sent circulars about a scheme run by BUPA with their pay advice; and whether, in future, the Commission will exclude advertising material from such communications.

This action was in accordance with an arrangement which originated in 1970. I have arranged for the matter to be considered by the Commission.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why his Department has failed to answer the request from the Richmond-upon-Thames council in early May for advice on revisions to byelaws in Richmond; and if he will make a statement.

Richmond-upon-Thames council wrote to the Department in early May with a draft series of byelaws to regulate commons and a draft series to regulate parks and open spaces in the borough. A number of the proposals raised difficult questions of drafting and powers which needed time for their consideration. We have now sent the council comments on the draft byelaws for commons and hope to send comments on the byelaws for parks and open spaces shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the recent incident when three tourists climbed the wall into Buckingham Palace gardens and spent the night there; and if he is satisfied that arrangements for safeguarding Her Majesty The Queen's residence in London are in all respects adequate to ensure the safety of those who live there.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to a question by my hon. Friend the Member for Welwyn and Hatfield (Mr. Murphy) on 30 June.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what procedures are adopted by his Department for the registration of foreign nationals employed on oil rigs working on the United Kingdom Continental Shelf; and whether these are the same as those operated in 1979.

The Immigration Act 1971 does not extend to such installations.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many parents of legitimate United Kingdom residents have been stopped by immigration officers on visits to their children in each of the last five years.

The information requested is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications to join the Metropolitan Police were received in each of the last five years from members of ethnic minorities; and what proportion of these was accepted.

It is not possible at the application stage to distinguish applicants from the ethnic minorities. In each of the last five years the number of successful applicants from the ethnic minorities and the number who actually became recruits were as follows:

Recruitment to the Metropolitan Police from the ethnic minorities
Year	Successful applicants	Recruits
1976	43	23
1977	27	16
1978	19	9
1979	20	14
1980	33	22

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the total cost of the capital works which have already been carried out or which are committed for the immediate future in respect of the fourth television channel.

As of 1 June 1981, the IBA had paid about £7½ million for engineering works in respect of the fourth television channel, and it had outstanding contractual commitments of some £19·8 million.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the recent attempted escape from Albany prison, Isle of Wight.

On 8 June three prisoners attempted to escape from Albany prison. They gained unauthorised access to the grounds where staff apprehended them as they were attempting to scale the inner fence. The governor has inquired into the circumstances of the incident and my right hon. Friend is satisfied that the arrangements for ensuring the security of the perimeter of the prison worked effectively and that they were fully adequate to frustrate the attempted escape.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what were the numbers and nationalities of persons detained under the Immigration Act 1971 at Harmondsworth detention centre during 1980.

4,961 persons were detained at the immigration service detention centre at Harmondsworth during 1980. I regret that it is not possible, without disproportionate cost, to provide a breakdown of this figure by nationality.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department from which organisations he has received representations on the problem of kerb crawling.

Since publication of the report of the working party on vagrancy and street offences in 1976, the following organisations have made representations concerning the problem of kerb crawling:

• Broomhall community group, Sheffield
• Canning area residents association, Liverpool
• Derby Road area improvement group
• Leicester city council
• Melbourne Road and St. Peters residents association,
• Highfields, Leicestershire
• Newtown community improvement group
• Southampton Central association of residents
• Southampton city council
• Stoke on Trent city council
• Whalley Range association, Manchester
• Wycliff branch Labour Party, Leicester.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the names and details of the two cases other than that of Mr. Preece where representations were made about Dr. Clift; if he will give the number and position of the investigating officers in one of the cases who decided that the evidence against the prisoner was overwhelming; and if he will allow these cases to be reopened now that further investigation has led a judge in the Scottish Court of Appeal to describe Dr. Cliff as discredited.

I would prefer not to publish the names of the persons in question but I am writing to the the right hon. Member to give him the information.The investigating officer asked to consider one of these cases was Detective Chief Superintendent Proven Sharpe, the then head of the CID in Devon and Cornwall constabulary. The decision that the evidence in the case was not such as to justify any special action was taken not by him, but by the Home Office which had the benefit both of his report and of the views of the Department of the Director of Public Prosecutions. I do not consider that the two cases were of a nature that requires their reconsideration in the light of the recent judgment in the High Court of Justiciary in Scotland.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish a list of those convicted after trials in which Dr. Clift had given evidence; and if he will include the name of the convicted person's solicitors.

Dr. Clift joined the forensic science service in 1953. It would not be practicable to compile the requested information now.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department at which forensic science laboratory Dr. Clift was working when he gave evidence in the cases of Messrs. Morgan, Brown and Cowley and of Mr. Preece whose convictions were subsequently quashed; and in what year Dr. Clift gave evidence in the trials that led to conviction of Messrs. Morgan, Brown and Cowley and Mr. Preece.

Dr. Clift was working at the Chorley forensic science laboratory when he gave evidence at the trial of Mr. Preece in 1973, and at the Harrogate forensic science laboratory when he gave evidence at the trial of Messrs. Morgan, Brown and Cowley in 1975.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the forensic science laboratories at which Dr. Clift has worked, giving for each the dates when he was there and an estimate of the number of cases he dealt with.

The dates of Dr. Clift's service and the forensic science laboratories at which he has worked are as follows:

• May 1953-May 1954—Wakefield
• May 1954-December 1954—Harrogate
• January 1955-December 1970—Preston
• December 1970-June 1974—Chorley
• June 1974-June 1976—Harrogate
• June 1976-September 1977—Birmingham

Dr. Clift was involved in about 250 cases in the period he was at the Birmingham laboratory. I regret that it is not possible to estimate accurately the number of cases that he handled at the other laboratories.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to investigate the cases Dr. Clift may have been involved with when he was at forensic science laboratories other than Birmingham.

I do not contemplate such a general inquiry. I explained the reason for my decision in a letter I sent to the right hon. Member on 23 June.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish in the Official Report details of the quality assurance scheme that has been introduced by the forensic science department of the Home Office; and whether the development of the scheme is any way connected with the suspension of Dr. Clift.

Formal schemes of quality assurance have operated in forensic science laboratories since 1969. Therefore their introduction had nothing to do with the matter referred to. However, the schemes have been kept under review and developed in the light of experience. A notable development was the creation in June 1977 of posts of assistant director in laboratories with the responsibilities for quality control set out in (1), (2) and (4) following.Currently the schemes are organised as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had and with whom before reaching his recent decisions in connection with the legalisation of citizens' band radio; and if he will delay his decision to commit citizens' band radio to 27 MHz. FM, to enable him to have discussions with interested parties, not yet consulted.

The decision to introduce a 27 MHz. FM citizens' band service was announced on 26 February in a reply to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Haltemprice (Sir P. Wall) and took into account the representations we had received on this issue from a wide range of interests including CB groups, the manufacturing industry and users of other radio services. We have received further representations since then, in particular about the subsequent choice of frequencies for the service in the 27 MHz. range; but as my right hon. Friend indicated in reply to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Haltemprice on 24 June our aim is to introduce a viable service in the autumn and we must now work towards this on the basis of the decisions which we have taken.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will make a statement on the joint army and police anti-terrorist exercise Operation Nexus which took place at the National Exhibition Centre on 27 and 28 June;(2) if, in future, he will make it his practice to inform the relevant local authorities and the Member of Parliament of exercises such as Operation Nexus held in the Meriden parliamentary constituency on 27 and 28 June, in advance;(3) if he will list the authorities which were notified in advance of Operation Nexus which was held at the National Exhibition Centre on 27 and 28 June.(4) why persons at the National Exhibition Centre were not informed that Operation Nexus was an exercise; and if he will make a statement.

The exercise was one of a series held by police forces to test contingency plans for handling terrorist incidents. Troops were involved. The chief constable of the West Midlands police has informed me that the management of the Exhibition Centre and the chairman of the Birmingham city council committee responsible for it were informed. The setting of these exercises needs to be realistic, but they are intended to cause no disruption or inconvenience to the public. I very much regret that on this occasion some members of the public were inconvenienced. I understand that the chief constable is writing personally to apologise to those most directly affected.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will now give an approximate date for the publication of the report of the advisory committee on the use of laboratory animals which has recently been presented to him.

It is hoped that the report will be ready for publication soon.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, following representations he has received, he is yet able to announce his decision as to whether the remains of General Sikorski should he returned to Poland; and if he will make a statement.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave yesterday to my hon. Friend the Member for Stretford (Mr. Churchill).

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he is satisfied with the general efficiency of the Welsh Water Authority; and if he will make a statement.

There is always scope for examining the efficiency of any organisation and the Welsh Water Authority management and the Welsh Office are currently reviewing the operation of the authority in the light of the recommendations in Cmnd. 7131 and the Monopolies and Mergers Commission report on the Severn-Trent Water Authority.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many local authorities in Wales at (a) county council level and(b) district council level have designated access officers.

This information is not held centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many men and women, respectively, were employed in the United Kingdom in each of the last five years; and how many persons over retirement age are included in those figures.

The numbers of men and women, respectively, employed in the United Kingdom in each of the last five years are as follows:

Employees in Employment—United Kingdom
(thousands)
	men	women
June 1976	13,392	9,152
June 1977	13,363	9,255
June 1978	13,385	9,372
June 1979	13,380	9,540
June 1980	13,110	9,401

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what action he is taking to reduce the number of young people unemployed in the Walthamstow area.

This year there will be 10,200 entrants to the youth opportunities programme in the north London area office area, which covers Walthamstow. The training opportunities programme for unemployed people aged 19 and over offers some 230 training places in or near Walthamstow.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he has received the report of the community business ventures unit, "Whose business is business?"; and when he expects to make a response to its contents and recommendations.

No. However I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that the report is expected very shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish the letter he has sent to the chairman of wages councils concerning the wage rates for young people in wages council industries.

The text of the letter, which my noble Friend sent on 29 July 1980 to the chairman of the two retail wages councils, is as follows:

"As the Minister responsible for the administration of the Wages Councils Act 1979 I am writing to seek the views and the assistance of the Council on a matter which is frequently put to me in criticism of the operation of the wages council system. This concerns the position of the very small shopkeeper and the part-time workers he employs. It has been represented to me that the Council's awards are not designed with these people's needs sufficiently in mind and that the effect is to reduce opportunities for employment, especially for young people and for women. I am sure the Council would be anxious to maximise employment opportunities in present economic circumstances.

The typical case represented to me is the shopkeeper whose establishment is situated away from the competitive labour market of the High Street and who employs at most only a small handful of workers, usually female who would not find employment elsewhere because they are only available for work close to their homes or for limited and often specific hours. The increases in wage rates agreed by the Council are, it is suggested, forcing many such employers to reduce the number of jobs they would otherwise be able to provide. And it is argued that such employees are themselves less concerned with earning the hourly equivalent of full-time workers than with having the opportunity of a job retaining an earnings capacity.

I have no doubt that the Council has considered this difficult issue and I would welcome the Council's views on the extent of the problem and whether any special provision could be made which might go some way towards meeting it, particularly in view of the present levels of unemployment.

If, as I hope, you will seek the views of the Council at an early occasion, you might think it would be helpful if one of my officials attended to explain the problems further as they have been represented to me.

We have a common interest in seeking to respond to criticisms of the operation of wages councils since I am firmly committed to the principle of wages councils. I look forward to the Council's advice as soon as possible."

asked the Secretary of State for Employment, further to his letter of 18 June to the right hon. Member for Manchester, Openshaw, if he will identify the steps that have now been taken to prevent misuse by employers of the short-time working compensation scheme.

Employers are now required to sign an undertaking at the time of application that they will inform my Department if they have any intention to declare redundancies.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what definition of employee activity is used by his Department in compiling statistics.

The Department of Employment does not use the concept of an "employee activity rate". Information is normally given in the form of "economic activity rates". These are defined as the percentage of the population aged 16 and over, or any sub-group of this population, who are in the labour force, that is working or looking for work. Those working comprise the employed, excluding full-time students with part-time or vacation jobs, the self-employed and Her Majesty's Forces; those who are seeking work comprise both the registered and unregistered unemployed and those who are prevented from seeking work because of temporary sickness.Information on those serving in Her Majesty's Forces is only available for Great Britain. Civilian economic activity rates only are available for Wales, Scotland and England separately.Detailed definitions of the labour force and of economic activity rates are given in the "Guide to Official Statistics, 1980" pages 151–2.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will make a statement relating to the future of the maternity pay fund in the light of the recent diversion of income from maternity pay fund to the redundancy fund.

The division of the employment protection allocation of employers' national insurance contributions between the two funds is purely administrative, and I have power to alter the proportions directed to each fund according to their respective needs at the time. The diversion of income into the redundancy fund is a temporary measure only, and it does not change in any way the level of maternity payments made to individual employees and the rebates paid to employers. The balance in the maternity pay fund is being monitored to ensure that all demands on it will be fully met.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will make a statement on the results of his Department in achieving the Government's policy programme since he answered a similar question from the hon. Member for Melton on 4 June 1980.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give figures to show the average income of those in employment in 1980; and if he will express the average in terms of modality.

Estimates of average annual total income from employment of those in employment in 1980 are not currently available. However, the average income from employment in April 1980, as reported in the "New Earnings Survey", was:

Average weekly earnings of those in full-time employment whose pay was not affected by absence*
	£
Men aged 21 and over	124·5
Women aged 18 and over	78·8
* Multiplying average weekly earnings by 52 will not give a precise measure of the annual rate of earnings because there are frequently fluctuations in the rate of pay during a year, for example because of absence from work or the level of overtime working.

Expressing the distribution of average weekly earnings in April 1980 in bands of £10, the modal range—the range containing the highest proportion of employees—for men aged 21 and over was £100 to £109 and for women aged 18 and over from £60 to £69.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will publish the latest details for the employment areas in each of his Department's regions of the highest numbers of young people looking for work, including those fully unemployed and those on youth opportunities programmes and other schemes, expressed in figures and as a percentage of total numbers of adults and young people looking for work, including those fully unemployed and those at youth opportunities programmes and other schemes; and if he will give comparative figures for one year ago.

The information is not available except at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many 16 to 19-year-olds are unemployed in England and Wales; what is that figure expressed as a percentage of the total population in that age group; and what are the corresponding statistics for other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries.

[pursuant to his reply, 23 June 1981, c. 9]: At April 1981 there were 337,566 16 to 19-year-olds unemployed in England and Wales; this represented 10·9 per cent. of the total population in that age group, including those still in education and others not in the labour force.Corresponding data for this age group are available only for the United States, although the unemployment figures are different in coverage and concepts from those compiled here. For the fourth quarter of 1980, there were 1,553,000 unemployed in the United States aged 16 to 19, representing 7·4 per cent. of the total population in that age group; the figures for that period for England and Wales, based on the average for October 1980 and January 1981, were 374,000 and 12 per cent.For other member countries of the OECD, the available figures for young people relate to varying age groups. Unemployment figures are given in the quarterly "Labour Force Statistics", published by the OECD; population figures are given in the "Year Book of Labour Statistics 1980", published by the ILO. Copies of these publications are in the House of Commons Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will estimate the cost of maintaining 1,100 places at Bolton in the youth opportunities programme; what would be the cost of doubling the provision to meet the increase in unemployed summer school-leavers; and whether he considers that employers will be able to provide additional places to meet this increased need.

[pursuant to his reply, 29 June 1981, c. 214–15]: It is not possible to state the cost of maintaining a given number of places in the youth opportunities programme in a given locality. The cost of any given level of provision will depend on the types of schemes involved and other factors. Every effort is being made and I am confident that sufficient additional places will be forthcoming.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the cost of maintaining a youth opportunity programme of 146,000 young people.

[pursuant to his reply, 30 June 1981, c. 255]: The cost of such a programme will depend on what proportion of young people enter the various types of scheme available, and how long they stay on the programme. On present plans it is expected that during 1981–82 there will be an average of 160,000 young people on the youth opportunities programme each month. This will cost £320 million per annum at current prices.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will list in the Official Report all those independent States which have not yet signed the non-proliferation treaty.

States which have not signed, or acceded to, the non-proliferation treaty are:

• Albania.
• Algeria.
• Angola.
• Argentina.
• Bahrain.
• Bhutan.
• Brazil.
• Burma.
• Chile.
• China.
• Comoros.
• Cuba.
• Djibouti.
• Dominica.
• Equatorial Guinea.
• France.
• Guinea.
• Guyana.
• India.
• Israel.
• Kiribati.
• Malawi.
• Mauritania.
• Mozambique.
• Nauru.
• Niger.
• Oman.
• Pakistan.
• Papua New Guinea.
• Qatar.
• St. Vincent.
• Sao Tome and Principe.
• Saudi Arabia.
• Seychelles.
• Solomon Islands.
• South Africa.
• Spain.
• Tanzania.
• Uganda.
• United Arab Emirates.
• Vanuatu.
• Zambia.
• Zimbabwe.