asked the Lord Privy Seal what development aid is being given to Zimbabwe during the current year.

British development aid to Zimbabwe in the current year will be concentrated on post-war reconstruction, land resettlement, essential equipment from Britain, and various forms of technical co-operation including particularly training of Zimbabweans in Britain. It is too early to say what the precise cost will be. Zimbabwe will also be receiving increasing quantities of international aid from the total of £900 million pledged at the donors' conference in March.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he has received any invitation to participate in an international initiative concerning aid and development in the Caribbean.

We have had no formal invitation.

asked the Lord Privy Seal when he expects the British high commission in Uganda to establish what the procedures of the compensation committee, set up in 1980, will be.

Our high commissioner in Kampala has arranged to meet the compensation committee on 30 July and will seek then to establish what the committee's procedures will be.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the names of all the nationalised industries for which he is the sponsoring Minister, all the subsidiary companies of those nationalised industries and the names of all companies in which his Department, or bodies answerable to his Department, have a majority or minority interest.

The Departments for which my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer is responsible do not sponser any nationalised industries directly. Departments' holdings of shares and other securities are set out in the annual Consolidated Fund account. The Treasury has shareholdings in the following companies:

• The British Petroleum Company Limited—minority
• Cable and Wireless Limited—majority

The Treasury's minority shareholding in the British Sugar Corporation was sold on 22 July.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the target for sales of public sector assets in the current year.

The target for 1981–82 is £500 million in outturn prices.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will set out the terms on which the Kingston Building Society is to merge with the London and South of England Building Society and the arrangements under which the members of both societies are to be consulted about these terms.

The terms of the proposed merger that have been agreed between the boards of directors of the Kingston Building Society and the London and South of England Building Society are as follows:

1. Five of the present directors of the Kingston Building Society together with the solicitors of that society will form a Kingston advisory panel for a period of three years from the date of transfer.

2. The shareholders of the Kingston Building Society as at 30 June 1981 whose balances are transferred to the London and South of England Building Society will continue to receive interest at the rate of ¼ per cent. above the rate recommended by the Building Societies Association.

3. The mortgagors of the Kingston Building Society whose balances are transferred to the London and South of England Building Society will continue to pay interest at the rate recommended by the Building Societies Association.

4. Subject to the deficiencies not exceeding £500,000 the shareholders of the Kingston Building Society will receive an annual bonus of 1 per cent., calculated on the minimum balance of each account held between 30 June 1981 and the date of payment for a period of three years. The payment dates will be 31 October 1982, 1 October 1983 and 1 October 1984.

5. The members of the Kingston Building Society will be required to vote upon a resolution to transfer the engagements of the society on these terms either in person or by proxy. It is necessary for two-thirds of those who vote to be in favour of the motion of it to be passed. A similar motion will have to be passed by the members of the London and South of England Building Society unless the Registrar agrees, on application being made to him, that a resolution to like effect may be passed by the board of directors of the London and South of England Building Society.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer who will be responsible for ensuring that the ordinary members of the Kingston Building Society will suffer no financial loss as a result of any irregularities.

The responsibility for managing a building society's affairs so that the ordinary members do not suffer loss rests in general with the directors. In the Kingston Building Society, so far as can be ascertained at present, there is no question of any member suffering loss. It may, however, be relevant to mention that the Building Societies Association has recently stated that, while it has never formally committed itself to guaranteeing that no investors would ever suffer loss it is confident that, in the event of difficulties arising in a particular society, there would be a similar constructive response from other societies in the future as there has been in the past.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps have been taken by the Chief Registrar of Friendly Societies following the discovery of irregularities in the accounts of the Kingston Building Society; and if he will make a statement.

The Chief Registrar has had meetings with respresentatives of the boards of directors of both the Kingston Building Society and the London and South of England Building Society following the discovery of irregularities by the auditors of the Kingston Building Society. Whilst it appears that any resulting loss to the society will be fully covered by the amount of the Kingston Building Society's reserves, it was nevertheless agreed in principle that, in the interests of the members, a transfer of the society's engagements to the London and South of England Building Society should take place as soon as is reasonably practicable.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Chief Registrar of Friendly Societies or his staff have previously held discussions with directors of the Kingston Building Society as part of the regular series of consultations.

Yes. Staff of the Registry of Friendly Societies visited the Kingston Building Society during February 1980, as part of the series of visits to and discussions with building societies currently taking place. An assistant registrar subsequently discussed matters arising from this visit with the board of directors of the society during March 1980.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the degree of success he has had so far in achieving his target for the control of the money supply.

Recent money supply statistics have been difficult to interpret because of the effects of the Civil Service strike. Over the first four months of the current target period, however, we estimate that at an annual rate of sterling M3 growth was within the 6 per cent. to 10 per cent. target range.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the current purchasing power of the £ sterling, taking its May 1979 value as 100p.

Taking the internal purchasing power of the £ sterling as 100p in May 1979, its value in June 1981, the latest period for which information is available, was 73p.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the present level of Bank of England assistance to the money market; and what was the level on 31 March for the last four years.

It is not possible to define "assistance" precisely in this context, but details of the bank's operations in the money market are contained in the bank's annual report. The report for the year to end-February 1981 was published today and contains information up to that date. For operational reasons it is not the practice to provide information on the size of the bank's recent operations, but the level of these operations is broadly intended to offset daily cash flows between the Bank of England and the money markets.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why he believes that the manufacturing sector is more important to the health of the economy than the service sector.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the estimated annual cost to the Exchequer of introducing a graduated scheme of corporation tax, without marginal rate penalty, for all unquoted United Kingdom resident trading companies on the basis of the bands of taxable profits and reduced rates of tax set out in the proposed new clause 22 to the Finance Bill.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the rate of value added tax now applicable on hotel accommodation in each of the other nine European Economic Community countries.Mr. Peter Rees [

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether, in view of the deep concern felt by the general public at the costs, waste of money and failure of the broadcasting of parliamentary proceedings, he will recommend to the House that these broadcasts shall cease, and revert to the practices previous to the present direct broadcasts.

Any such assessment would, in the first instance, be a matter for consideration by the Select Committee on Sound Broadcasting.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he will give at the latest most convenient stated date the financial payments from public funds made per annum or cumulatively to date to the various political parties represented in the House.

Financial assistance payments made to opposition parties to date in respect of the period 4 May 1979 to 30 June 1981, together with current maximum annual sums payable, are as follows:

	Payments in respect of period 4 May 1979 to 30 June 1981	Maximum annual sums payable (effective from 1 July 1980)
Labour Party	512,198·00	290,000·00
Liberal Party	86,737·57	52,107·83
Scottish National Party	11,282·38	6,777·93
Plaid Cymru	2,126·22	3,199·35
Ulster Unionist Party	12,084·00	7,261·10
Ulster Democratic Unionist Party	5,940·79	3,568·95
Totals	630,368·96	362,915·16

No other party at present represented in the House qualifies for financial assistance under the terms of the resolution of the House of 20 March 1975, 13 February 1978 and 12 November 1980.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he will again draw to the attention of hon. Members and staff that the limited number of car parking spaces set aside for the physically disabled should not be used by others.

I have asked the authorities of the House to remind others who park their cars in Star Chamber Court not to use the spaces reserved for the disabled.In addition, the hon. Member will be glad to know that Mr. Speaker has agreed to a resolution from the Services Committee that two further car parking spaces should be allocated in Star Court for the disabled, specifically for wheelchair users. These extra spaces will be marked out as soon as possible.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is the purpose of the small unit wrapped in red insulating material contained within the earpieces of some of the telephones installed in the Palace of Westminster.

The unit in question is a rectifier element. Its purpose is to eliminate acoustic shock.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, in view of recent happenings, he is satisfied that the police are adequately carrying out their duties in guarding Buckingham Palace.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether compensation for unnecessary damages by the police is paid by the police or from public funds; and, if the latter, by what machinery.

Under section 48 of the Police Act, the chief officer of police is liable for wrongful acts committed by constables in the performance of their duties. Any damage awarded by a court, or any settlement of a claim approved by the police authority, may be paid out of he police fund.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many places there are currently in dispersal prisons (a) for all prisoners and (b) for category A prisoners; how many prisoners were actually accommodated in dispersal prisons at the most recent convenient date; and how many of these were category A prisoners.

On 21 July 1981 there were about 2,450 places in dispersal prisons; separate accommodation is not generally allocated to category A prisoners. The population was 2,287 prisoners, of whom 271 were in category A.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why it is considered necessary to build a further dispersal prison at Full Sutton when there are unoccupied places in the existing dispersal prisons.

Unoccupied places in existing dispersal prisons arise from various reasons such as building work but not from a lack of suitable prisoners for the places. Successive Governments have considered that nine dispersal prisons are needed to hold long-term category A and category B prisoners. Full Sutton will be the ninth.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to proscribe the Palestine Liberation Organisation as a terrorist organisation.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what criteria he seeks the proscription of terrorist organisations.

Under section 1(3) of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1976, I may proscribe in Great Britain any organisation which appears to me to be concerned in terrorism occurring in the United Kingdom and connected with Northern Irish affairs, or in promoting or encouraging it.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects settlement to take place of claims made to the Metropolitan Police in respect of riot damages for the disturbances in Brixton over the weekend of 10 and 11 April 1981.

The receiver for the Metropolitan Police district has already made some payments, and is anxious to settle claims as soon as they have been established under the Act.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will state the average weekly cost of public funds of detaining one person in a prison department establishment.

The average weekly cost of maintaining a person in custody in 1979–80, the latest year for which figures are available, was £136.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has made any estimate of the percentage of the British population who would survive a full-scale nuclear war.

The number of survivors would depend upon the weight and pattern of any nuclear attack and on the precautions taken beforehand.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether on any occasion he has received approaches from the Irish Catholic bishops and the Irish Commission for Justice and Peace for improvements to be made in prison life.

There have been no approaches about general improvements in recent months.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many copies have been sold of the booklet "Protect and Survive" to date.

Approximately 81,000.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many representations he has received on the booklet "Protect and Survive"; and if he will name them.

My right hon. Friend has received a great many letters from the general public and others about protection from the effects of nuclear weapons. Those which included comment about the booklet "Protect and Survive" could be separately identified only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what contribution he expects to make to the cost of the repair and renovation of the magistrates' court held at Drapers Hall, Coventry;(2) what contribution he expects to make towards the cost of making Wheatley Street School, Coventry, available as a magistrates' court.

Magistrates' courts grant will be payable at the usual rate of 80 per cent. of the appropriate expenditure, but because of an outstanding application for listed building grant the precise amount payable by my Department cannot yet be identified. My Department has so informed the providing authority, the city of Coventry council.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress is being made to obtain a suitable site in South London for a new local prison with a secure Crown court; what, if any, are the causes of delay; and when he expects to make an announcement.

A suitable site for a local prison exists on Ministry of Defence land known as Woolwich Arsenal East in the London borough of Greenwich. There is also space for courts if the Lord Chancellor's Department decides to have them built. A formal notice of proposed development for the prison under Department of the Environment circular 7/77 was sent to the local planning authority on 21 July 1981. A non-statutory local public inquiry seems likely to consider objections to the site's use for prison purposes. There is as yet no delay and 1986 is the earliest year in which construction could begin.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research is being undertaken into the feasibility of introducing an automatic tracing system for telephone calls; and if he will make a statement.

A study is being undertaken, at the request of my Department, by British Telecom into the feasibility of identifying automatically the telephone numbers of those calling for assistance from the police and fire services. The purpose of this study is to see whether, by speedier identification of the location of the caller, the police and fire services will be able to respond more rapidly; and also to assist the services to deal more effectively with malicious and hoax calls. This study, which has to be conducted against the background of impending changes in the public switched telephone network resulting from the introduction of system X, has not yet been completed. In the interim, a limited local facility is available on request to police and fire services, which indicates automatically the identity of public telephone boxes from which an emergency call is made.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any disciplinary action has been taken by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis in the light of the finding over four months ago of the Bloomsbury and Marylebone county court that two police sergeants attached to Hampstead police station on 6 November 1977 falsely imprisoned and maliciously prosecuted Mr. Trevor Rhone and that they subsequently lied to the magistrates, the investigating officer and the county court.

I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that the report of the further investigation carried out following the county court proceedings has been submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions, who has concluded that the evidence is not sufficient to justify criminal proceedings against the officers concerned. The question of disciplinary proceedings is now being considered by the Commissioner.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when a starting date for citizens band radio will be announced.

I have nothing to add at this stage to my reply to a question from my hon. Friend, the Member for Haltemprice (Sir P. Wall) on 24 June 1981.—[Vol. 7, c. 104.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will list in the Official Report the number of persons (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted for offences under the following laws in each of the last five years: (i) section 4 of the Vagrancy Act 1824, (ii) section 28 of the Town Police Clauses Act 1847, (iii) section 54

Defendants proceeded against and found guilty of offences under various Acts
England and Wales	Number of defendants
Act and section	Proceeded against			Found guilty
	1977*	1978*	1979	1977*	1978*	1979
Vagrancy Act 1824, section 4
Indecent exposure in any place or public resort with intent to insult any female	2,139	2,128	2,042	1,916	1,875	1,792
Other	4,999	5,119	4,861	4,238	4,354	3,835
Town Police Clauses Act 1847, section 28
Indecently exposing the person	380	393	465	365	359	419
Offences in relation to dogs	49	55	41	43	45	30
Nuisances etc. in streets relating to horse-drawn vehicles	6	7	5	5	7	4
Metropolitan Police Act 1839, section 54
Repairing or cleaning vehicle on roadway	†36	†34	51	†33	†31	40
Public Order Act 1936 and Public Meetings Act 1908	20,159	22,667	26,968	17,243	19,536	23,066
* Except where indicated the information for 1977 and 1978 is adjusted to make it comparable with that for 1979.
† Unadjusted figures; adjusted figures comparable with those for 1979 are not available.

asked the Prime Minister if it is intended that lengthy visits by Ministers will be made to other areas where disturbances have recently taken place.

I shall await a report from my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment before deciding what further action to take in relation to other areas where disturbances have recently taken place.

asked the Prime Minister if it is intended for the Secretary of State for the Environment to make lengthy visits to places other than Liverpool; if so, if she will state the areas concerned and the proposed duration of the visits; and if she will make a statement.

I shall consider the next steps when my right hon. Friend has reported on his visit to Liverpool.Mr. Winnick asked the Prime Minister what are the reasons for the Secretary of State for the Environment's of the Metropolitan Police Act 1839 and (iv) section 5 of the Public Order Act 1936; and how many prosecutions were brought against individuals accused of nudity in public by private prosecution and how many convictions resulted.

[pursuant to his reply, 20 July, c. 6]: The information available centrally for 1977 to 1979 is given in the following table; comparable figures for 1975 and 1976 are not available. Information is separately available for only some of the subsections of section 28 of the Town Police Clauses Act 1847 and of section 54 of the Metropolitan Police Act 1839. Our records for 1977–79 do not separately identify offences under section 5 of the Public Order Act 1936 from offences under other sections of the Act or under the Public Meetings Act 1908. Information on some subsections of section 4 of the Vagrancy Act is published in the "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales"—offence classifications 139, 182, 183, 185 and 186 in table 1(a) of the volume for 1979, Cmnd. 8098. Information on private prosecutions is not available on a reliable basis.visit to Liverpool; for how long he will be there; what report will be made to the House arising from his visit; and what assessments will be made on the visit.

I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary on 16 July during the debate on civil disorders in Great Britain.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing for each of the last 10 years, imports and exports to Commonwealth countries, to the European Economic. Community and to the rest of the world.

Yes. During the period in question, as is well known, trade with the rest of the European Community has greatly increased in relative importance and that with the Commonwealth has declined.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he is satisfied with the progress towards privatisation of British Airways services.

No. But it remains the Government's firm intention to privatise British Airways as soon as practicable.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he is now satisfied with action taken by foreign Governments to prevent counterfeiting of United Kingdom products.

We work hard to ensure that foreign authorities are aware of the danger to all concerned that counterfeiting represents, we urge those authorities to afford British companies the greatest possible protection for their patents and trade marks, and we back up British companies in pursuing cases where patents and trade marks are infringed. I believe that these efforts are having some effect; but I shall not be satisfied until the practice has been brought effectively under control.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he proposes any new initiatives to improve the competitiveness of shipping rates from United Kingdom ports.

As my hon. Friend knows, my Department has been investigating in detail the causes of freight rate disparities as between the United Kingdom and the Continent. The Government believes there is scope for shippers to make more use of their bargaining power. Ministers are considering whether there is any scope for remedial action by the Government.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what was the total number of imported secondhand Japanese cars for the last three years and up to the latest available date in 1981.

The number of secondhand cars recorded as being imported from Japan during the last three years and to the latest available date in 1981 were as follows:

1978	81
1979	202
1980	329
1981	21
(January)

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether he intends to make any further referrals to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission under section 11 of the Competition Act 1980.

As I informed the House on 24 July, my right hon. Friend intends to refer a number of public sector bus undertakings to the commission. The undertakings to be included in the investigation are City of Cardiff Transport, West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive, and two National Bus Company subsidiaries, Bristol Omnibus Company—including Cheltenham District Traction Company—and Trent Motor Traction Company. The terms of reference, which will be announced shortly, will cover the principal aspects of the undertakings' efficiency in supply stage carriage services, including the use of manpower, maintenance procedures and investment planning. The commission will also be asked to consider whether any of the undertakings is in any way abusing a monopoly situation.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will seek to require value added tax inclusive pricing for hotels and restaurants.

As I told my hon. Friend the Member for Romford (Mr. Neubert) on 23 July, I propose to make an order under the Prices Act 1974 which will require all but the smallest hotels and restaurants when quoting prices for meals and accommodation to quote the fully inclusive price and to indicate where this is the case that the quoted price includes a service charge. The order will allow other traders to quote a price other than the fully inclusive price for goods or services provided they quote also the amount in money terms of any VAT, other tax or charge payable in addition to the quoted price.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he intends to take further action in the near future to promote the entry of the United Kingdom insurance industry into the European market within the member States of the Community.

Yes. The Government intend to continue to press for adoption of the draft non-life insurance services directive.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade when he intends to publish the report of the committee of inquiry on company insolvency law; and if he will make a statement.

Referring to the insolvency law review committee, of which Sir Kenneth Cork is chairman, I have so far only received the first part of the committee's report. As soon as I have the remainder, I shall arrange to publish the complete report. In the light of the public debate which will follow that publication and the valuable discussions about last year's Green Paper on bankruptcy which my Department has had with many interested bodies, the Government will consider their future policy on this matter.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade how many trade missions from the United Kingdom have visited Zaire in the past two years.

No missions supported by the British Overseas Trade Board have been made to Zaire in the last two years.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade how many representations he has received following his announcement of the decision to require the British Gas Corporation to cease retailing domestic gas appliances and to dispose of its showrooms.

My right hon. Friend has received 246 representations on the Government's decision expressing differing points of view.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what proposals he has for reducing the paperwork required for exports to the European Economic Community.

There are no immediate proposals for such a reduction. The Government welcome the work of the commission in this area and are always prepared to consider favourably practical proposals for reductions in paperwork. My Department, through the British Overseas Trade Board, fully supports the trade facilitation work of the Simplification of International Trade Procedures Board.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what has been the United. Kingdom's average annual deficit or surplus in trade in textiles with (a) the rest of the European Economic Community and (b) the United States of America in the latest available year.

In the period February 1980 to January 1981, the United Kingdom had crude deficits in trade in textiles of £143 million with the rest of the European Community and of £106 million with the United States of America.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what discussions have taken place between his Department and General Motors or its United Kingdom subsidiaries so far in 1981; and if he will list the subjects discussed.

With the exception of a routine visit in connection with Government export services, there have been no discussions between the Department and General Motors or its United Kingdom subsidiaries so far in 1981.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade (1) what was the increase in value of exports of textile products from the United Kingdom expressed as a percentage of the 1980 figure for the first six months of 1981; and what was the percentage increase on 1980 for volume in the same period;(2) what was the increase in value of exports of textile products from the United Kingdom expressed as a percentage for the months April, May and June 1981 in comparison with the same three months in 1980; and by what percentage the volume exported in the three months had risen or fallen on the figure for the three months in 1980;(3) what was the rise or fall in the value of textile and clothing products imported into the United Kingdom, expressed as a percentage, in April, May and June 1981 as compared with those months in 1980; and by what percentage the volume rose or fell in the same quarter of 1981 as compared with the same period in 1980;(4) what was the increase in value of exports of clothing products from the United Kingdom expressed as a percentage on the 1980 figure, for the first six months of 1981; and what was the percentage increase on 1980 for volume in the same period.

I regret that, owing to the effects of the Civil Service pay dispute, this information is not available for months later than January 1981.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will take steps to ensure that the matter of supply of car radios is included in the Monopolies and Mergers Commission's consideration of the supply of car parts.

Following a reference by the Director General of Fair Trading in November 1980, the Monopolies and Mergers Commission is now well advanced in considering the exclusivity requirements applied to the supply of motor car parts for resale, principally by motor car manufacturers under the vehicle franchise system. I understand that the commission has not considered it necessary to take into account the supply of accessories such as car radios to reach conclusions as to the effect on the public interest of these exclusivity requirements.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade how many tonnes of scrap metal have been exported to (a) the Middle East, (b) India, (c) Japan and (d) other countries in each of the last five years; and what is the annual value of this trade.

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

asked the Attorney-General, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Jarrow on 12 May, Official Report, c. 23, and 22 May on nominations for magistrates and appointments, if he will provide a breakdown by sex, occupation and residence of those who applied and who were not appointed.

Of the candidates in respect of whom recommendations were received by the advisory committee in the years 1978, 1979, and 1980, 21 men and 10 women were not appointed. Seven live in Jarrow, 14 in South Shields, four in Cleadon, one in Boldon Colliery, two in East Boldon, one in North Shields, one in Newcastle and one in Sunderland. They had 23 different occupations.

asked the Attorney-General whether, before agreeing to join in their action against Bethell and others, he sought guarantees that Barrs and others could meet the costs of the case.

Yes.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much is spent annually on stationery in the Houses of Parliament.

I have been asked to reply.Just under £292,000 over the last 12 months.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service whether she will give a detailed list of the various computers in the various Government and public offices; what these cost on installation and on daily or annual upkeep; to what extent savings in costs and manpower were envisaged when purchasing; to what extent these savings have in fact been effected; and whether she will make a statement.

I can answer only for central Government Departments, which use more than 650 large and medium-sized computers for administrative and scientific purposes. Details of these are published annually with the May edition of "Management Services in Government", a copy of which is available in the House of Commons Library. In addition, some 500 microcomputers are used in Government offices. In 1980–81, the Government spent £23 million on the maintenance of computers and £51 million on the purchase of new computer systems and related equipment. Detailed information on the purchase and maintenance costs of each system could be provided only at disproportionate cost and, in any event, is commercially confidential. Potential savings in costs and manpower are important factors in considering whether the expenditure on each purchase is justified. Many such savings have been achieved and, as indicated by the examples in paragraph 32 of the recent White Paper, Cmnd 8293, the use of computers continues to play a vital part in the Government's efforts to improve the efficiency of the Civil Service.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will list the Scottish grant-aided and independent schools undertaking the education of children of staff for which his Department is responsible in the latest year.

The names of the Scottish independent and grant-aided schools which will be attended in the coming academic year by children of members of the Diplomatic Service and of staff of the Overseas Development Administration are set out in the following list.The information is not readily available for the technical co-operation personnel of the Overseas Development Administration and could not be provided without disproportionate cost.

asked the Lord Privy Seal (1) if the grant of £30,000 to the European Movement for 1981–82 was volunteered by his Department or whether it was given in response to a request;(2) why he agreed that the expenditure of the £30,000 grant to the European Movement for its educational programme should not be accounted for in detail to the Comptroller and Auditor General;(3) why he agreed that any balance of the £30,000 grant to the European Movement which is not expended on the movement's educational programme should not be liable to surrender to the Consolidated Fund;(4) whether Her Majesty's Government support the aims of the European Movement;(5) if he will publish details of the educational programme which the European Movement is to conduct with the £30,000 grant which he has given to the movement in respect of 1981–82; and if, in particular, the programme wall include press advertisements;(6) whether he made any inquiries into the grants and payments made by the European Economic Community to the European Movement before he agreed to provide it with a grant of £30,000 for 1981–82;(7) whether he made any inquiries into the financial position of European Movement Ltd. and European Movement (Investments) Ltd. before awarding them a grant.

The grant was made in response to a request from the European Movement and on the basis of information provided about the movement's resources, income and needs. Her Majesty's Government support the European Movement's aim of promoting public understanding of and debate on matters of European Community interest. This is consistent with the Government's concern that the facts about our membership should be made known. It is for the European Movement itself to decide how best to publicise its programme. The grant has been provided in accordance with the principles of Government accounting relating to grants of this kind. As the supplementary estimates make clear, the movement's books will be open for inspection by the Comptroller and Auditor General. The Government are satisfied that the money will be spent on the purposes for which it is intended.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if, having regard to the fact that the European Economic Community Commission, the European Parliament and the European Movement, all of which are financed in part from public funds, are engaged in programmes to explain the benefits of European Economic Community membership, he will, in the interests of economy, take steps to ensure that their campaigns do not involve duplication.

The Government are concerned to ensure that the facts about our membership of the European Community are widely available and welcome every effort to set them before the public. It is for the organisations themselves to decide how best to present the facts.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will now set out the obstacles, political, economic or social, which stand in the way of an early implementation of the provisions of the 1979 Lisbon agreement which relate to the opening of the frontier between Gibraltar and Spain.

Preparations on our side were completed by 1 June 1980 for implementation of the agreement concluded in April 1980. It is not for me to give the reasons for delay on the Spanish side.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if, in the context of the European peace initiative in the Middle East, he will request the United Nations authorities to provide Her Majesty's Government with the reports made to the Secretary General by UNIFIL from Southern Lebanon; and if he will make these reports available to hon. Members.

Her Majesty's Government are not aware of published reports by UNIFIL to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. However, the Secretary-General makes a report on the force every six months and I have arranged for a copy of the latest report, of 15 June 1981, to be placed in the Library of the House.

asked the Lord Privy Seal (1) if agreement has yet been reached on the Soviet embassy's proposed development of sites in the Royal borough of Kensington and Chelsea;(2) is he will make a statement in regard to his proposals for the future use of the north-east corner of Kensington Palace gardens.

We have for some time been discussing with the Soviet Government the reciprocal provision of embassy sites in London and Moscow. In Moscow we are considering sites for our embassy offices and staff accommodation. In London the Russians wish to put offices and some staff accommodation on No. 1 to 7, Kensington Palace Gardens, with recreational facilities and additional staff accommodation on another site, retaining their existing residence at 13 Kensington Palace Gardens. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office informed the Soviet Ambassador on 24 July that the former Ministry of Defence site in Warwick Road, on which the Property Services Agency has a lien, may be developed for staff residences and amenities. The Kensington Palace Gardens sites are owned by the Crown Estate Commissioners. The normal planning procedures will of course need to be observed.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what arrangements have been made for the independence of Belize.

I had useful discussions with the Premier of Belize, the Hon. George Price during his visit to London from 19–23 July. As a result, the Governments of Great Britain to Belize agreed that Independence Day should be 21 September 1981.We also had talks on defence arrangements for Belize after independence, and agreed the following statement:

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what is his estimate of the average percentage increase in council house rents in Wales during the past 12 months.

On the basis of local authority returns, the average unrebated council house rent in Wales in 1981–82, exclusive of rates, is estimated to be about 41 per cent. higher than the comparable rent in 1980–81.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales whether he is satisfied that all proper measures are being taken to minimise bacterial and heavy metal pollution in Swansea Bay.

The Welsh Water Authority controls the standard of sewage and industrial effluents discharged into Swansea Bay and carries out regular monitoring of the quality of the water to ensure that such pollution as is present does not present a public health hazard. In addition, the Welsh Office and the Welsh Water Authority are currently sponsoring research into other possible sources of pollution, particularly airborne toxic metals.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the local authorities which started to build (a) wheelchair housing and (b) mobility housing in 1980.

"Wheelchair" housing was started in 1980 in Blaenau Gwent, Cardiff, Carmarthen, Lliw Valley, Newport and Rhymney Valley; during this period starts were made on "mobility" dwellings in Cardiff and Lliw Valley.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many units of (a) wheelchair housing and (b) mobility housing were started, respectively, by local authorities and new towns and by housing associations in each quarter of 1979 and 1980 and the first quarter of 1981; and if he will state in each case the percentage difference from the equivalent quarter of the preceding year.

The information given in the following table refers to local authorities and new towns. The numbers involved are too small to make percentage differences statistically meaningful. Information relating to housing associations' wheelchair and mobility housing is not collected centrally.

Number of units started by local authorities and new towns in Wales
	"Mobility" dwellings	"Wheelchair" dwellings
1979
1st quarter	1	3
2nd quarter	2	2
3rd quarter	1	3
4th quarter	—	5
1980
1st quarter	8	2
2nd quarter	8	3
3rd quarter	3	2
4th quarter	—	4
1981
1st quarter	—	—

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many (a) improvement grants and (b) intermediate grants were made for the adaptation of houses by disabled people in 1980.

169 and 38 respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many houses owned by housing authorities were adapted to meet the needs of disabled occupants in 1980.

This information is not collected centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales whether he has any proposals for improving the efficiency of the Welsh Water Authority.

I am today issuing a consultation paper proposing a reduction in the membership of the Welsh Water Authority. This reduction would be achieved mainly by providing that the local authorities would no longer nominate members to the WWA. New arrangements would have to be made to ensure a proper relationship with consumers and local authorities.I should like to pay tribute to the work done by the WWA, and in particular by the authority's chairman, Mr. Haydn Rees, and his predecessor, the late Lord Brecon. But I believe that a smaller authority would be more suitable for the running of this major industrial enterprise.A copy of my consultation paper is being placed in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what was the total expenditure on the National Coal Board on capital and current account for the past 10 years and, in each case, what was the amount derived from the National Coal Board's own resources, excluding for the purposes of these calculations all Government subsidies.

For the total expenditure of the National Coal Board on capital and current account for the past 10 years, I refer the hon. Member to the board's annual report and accounts.The board's internal resources, before taking account of Government grants, in each of the last 10 years, were as follows:

	£ million
1979–80	-74·2
1978–79	-58·3
1977–78	58·9
1976–77	70·6
1975–76	122·4*
1974–75	2·4
1973–74	-193·6†
1972–73	-11·2†
1971–72	-78·7†
1970–71	57·8
* inclusive of £55·2m special credit from disposal of the NCB's North Sea interests
† the figures for these years are exclusive of further Government grants, as follows (figures in £m):

	1973–74	1972–73	1971–72
To meet revenue deficiencies	130·7	174·6	100·0
To meet fixed asset write-offs	—	275·0	—
Total	130·7	449·6	100·0

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what he estimates will be the cost to the National Coal Board in each year prior to production of proceeding with the Vale of Belvoir development.

This is a matter for the National Coal Board.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy how he proposes to allocate the grants totalling £244 million available under the Coal Industry (Limits on Grants) Order 1981; and by what date he expects it will he fully expended.

The draft Coal Industry (Limit on Grants) Order 1981 would, by increasing the limit on the aggregate amount of relevant grants from £525 million to £590 million, make available a maximum margin of £243 million over the £347 million which had been paid at 31 March 1981. The grants will continue to be paid under the provisions of the Coal Industry Acts 1973, 1977 and 1980. The amounts which my right hon. Friend intends to pay, subject to the approval of the House, in respect of individual non-social grants, are set out in the Estimates and Supplementary Estimate.I expect that the new limit, if approved, would be reached early in the second half of this financial year. My right hon. Friend announced on 16 June his intention of introducing legislation which would, inter alia, make provision for continuing grant support to the board's operations and revenues.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether British Nuclear Fuels Ltd.'s Capenhurst works has recently been, or is currently being, expanded or altered to increase production; and if so, for what purpose.

Work is continuing on the proposed naval fuel plant announced by Ministers in 1980 but has been slowed down to reduce costs in the short term.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will publish in the Official Report a revised version of his Department's contributions to table 2.4 in "The Government's Expenditure Plans 1981–82 to 1983–84", Cmnd. 8175, in respect of the year 1981–82 arising from new expenditure commitments undertaken since table 2.4 was compiled.

The only additional expenditure commitment to affect table 2.4 is the increase in the amount available for support for the nationalised industries—item 4.4. As I announced in the House of Commons on 16 June 1981, the National Coal Board's external financing limit of £886 million for 1981–82 has been raised to £1,117 million. Within this revised limit, and subject to the necessary legislation and approval of Supplementary Estimates, grants to the board will be increased by about £300 million, of which approval for an increase of £70 million has already been sought by a Supplementary Estimate for Class IV, Vote 5.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what arrangements will be made for elderly people who require advice and assistance with payment of bills when these services are no longer available from gas showrooms.

I have nothing further to add at this stage to what my right hon. Friend the Minister for Consumer Affairs told the House in her statement of 8 July. No solution that generally inconvenienced consumers would be acceptable to the Government. She also made clear the Government's wish that the British Gas Corporation should maintain some consumer contact points.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science, in view of the fact that full facilities exist on the Charterhouse site for the accommodation of a joint London hospital and St. Bartholomew's hospital preclinical medical school offering 200 student places as well as 50 dental student places, at a cost of £1·8 million, if he will inform the University Grants Committee that in times of financial stringency he is unwilling to accept its advice to authorise the spending of over £15 million on providing a similar number of student places on another site.

The University Grants Committee has not advised the authorisation of any expenditure on the provision of a joint pre-clinical medical school for the London and St. Bartholomew's hospitals.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received from universities, university staff and the general public regarding the recent proposed implementation by the University Grants Committee of his reduction in the amount available for universities next year; if he will publish in the Official Report an analysis of these representations; and if he will make a statement.

The allocation of grant to universities by the University Grants Committee has been the subject of over 400 letters from hon. Members forwarding letters they have received and of over 250 letters from universities, university staff and others. Many of the letters are in a standard or duplicated form.By a long-standing convention which the Government intend to maintain, the allocation of grant to individual universities by the University Grants Committee is not subject to ministerial intervention.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) if he will confirm or correct the statement made by the Under-Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam (Mr. Macfarlane) Official Report, 14 July, c. 961 on the frequent publication by the Government of figures of the estimated saving to the Exchequer of public schools;(2) whether he will list in the

I referred on 14 July to the publication of figures of both the estimated savings and the estimated cost to the Government of pupils entering independent education. Instances of this include answers to the hon. Member for Bedwellty (Mr. Kinnock) by my hon. Friends the Under-Secretary of State for Education and Science on 5 February 1980—[c. 150]—the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Under-Secretary of State for Defence on 3 July 1980—[c. 697 and 701]—and by my right hon. and learned Friend on 3 and 21 July 1980—[c. 722 and 43]. The record of the latter answer contains an error: the recurrent cost of educating children from the independent sector in maintained schools should have been quoted as £300 million per year, at 1979 survey prices.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will provide figures for each financial year since 1979–80 giving the estimated savings to public funds of successively greater numbers entering independent schools.

Statistics of pupils in independent schools in the academic year 1980–81 are not yet available. It is thus not possible to provide a realistic estimate of savings in financial years after 1979–80.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many places there were on the third and fourth year bachelor of education courses in 1978, 1979 and 1980; how many of these places were filled, and what are the estimates for the courses beginning in the current year.

Targets for first-year enrolments on three and four year initial teacher training courses in England and Wales covering both bachelor of education degrees and certificates in education for the academic years 1978–79 and 1979–80, and bachelor of education courses alone in 1980–81, were 9,500, 9,450 and 9,450 respectively. Actual enrolments for the two earlier years were as follows:

	1978–79	1979–80
Bachelor of Education	6,300	6,450
Certificate in Education	2,650	2,300
Total	8,950	8,750

Final figures are as yet not available for enrolments in 1980–81 but early indications suggest that first year enrolments were about 40 per cent. below the target. Applications for courses beginning in the autumn of 1981 are running at about the same level as in 1980. In 1980–81 entry to certificate courses was phased out and the targets for that and subsequent years reflect this.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what are his plans for the level of the 1982 intake of postgraduate teacher training courses.

During the 1977 reorganisation of the teacher training system it was decided that entry to postgraduate and other one-year teacher training courses should total about 10,000 students annually from 1981 onwards. My right hon. and learned Friend expects to receive advice shortly from the advisory committee on the supply and education of teachers on whether it is desirable to reconsider that target.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many jobs he estimates will be available for newly qualified teachers in 1981–82; how such an estimate is arrived at; and how many newly qualified teachers he estimates will be looking for jobs.

On the current hypotheses about the level of wastage from teaching, about 11,000 vacancies for full-time teachers at maintained schools in England would be consistent with a reduction in the total stock of teachers from the January 1981 level to that envisaged in Cmnd. 8175 for 1981–82. The actual number of vacancies, and the

England and Wales
	1976–77	1977–78	1978–79	1979–80
Estimated numbers qualifying	38,000	34,000	28,000	21,000
Percentage of those for whom information is available who are known to have obtained a post in the United Kingdom or to be seeking one	88·2	88·3	87·8	87·3

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the number of young persons (a) male and (b) female seeking employment for the first time in each year from 1971 to 1981.

The numbers of school leavers in England seeking employment are given below. Comparable figures for young persons leaving further education are not available.

School leavers seeking employment*
England
	Males (000s)	Females (000s)	Total† (000s)
1970–71	240	214	453
1971–72	253	223	476
1972–73	150	120	270
1973–74	273	241	514
1974–75	273	239	512
1975–76	279	242	520
1976–77	297	258	554
1977–78	306	262	567
1978–79	312	268	580
1979–80	315	267	582
* Including temporary employment pending entry into full-time further education and destinations not known.
† Due to rounding the components may not add up exactly to the full total shown.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received from the Confederation for the Advancement of State Education about education in Surrey; and what reply he has given.

My right hon. and learned Friend has received a letter dated 17 July from the South-West Surrey association of the Confederation for the Advancement of State Education. This alleges that the Surrey local education authority are in default of their statutory duties under the Education Acts and are acting unreasonably in pursuing policies which result in such default. A reply has been sent saying that these complaints will be investigated.

asked the Secretary of state for Education and Science how many teachers have qualified in each of the last five years; and what percentage of these in each year subsequently applied for teaching posts.

The number of applications for teaching posts is not recorded centrally; the available information is shown in the following table. Information for 1975–76 is not comparable with later years.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what research is being carried out by the Medical Research Council on the treatment of raised blood pressure; and when the results are expected.