asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether, in their adoption and development of policy, the education and library boards are using the same population projections as those applied and published in the interim report of the higher education review group, "The Future Structure of Teacher Education in Northern Ireland"; and if not, what is the source of the population projections used by these boards.

The school population projection published in the interim report of the review group are part of an annual series, which for practical reasons can only be produced for Northern Ireland as a whole. The education and library boards in planning school provision for their areas must therefore supplement the information on trends given in these reports with local information.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the latest position in the efforts to maintain a dock worker decasualisation scheme at Belfast harbour cross-channel docks.

I am pleased to say that, following protracted negotiations involving the Department of Manpower Services, the employers, the Belfast Harbour Commission and the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers Union, an agreement has been concluded which I hope will put decasualised working in the cross-channel docks onto a viable footing. The agreement provides inter alia for a scheme under which 56 dockers will accept severance and for improvements in working practices. A severance fund to meet any future severance requirements will be established.The total cost of the severance scheme is £266,060. This will be funded 50 per cent. by a loan made available by the Belfast harbour commissioners and repaid by levies on total payroll payable by the dock employers and 50 per cent. by a matching grant payable by the Department of Manpower Services.The labour "pool" is being maintained at a rather higher level than is currently needed pending developments on a replecement for the Belfast/Liverpool ferry service which ceased operations last month. Any losses incurred by the decasualisation scheme in consequence of this holding operation will be met by the Department up to a maximum of £30,000.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will consider introducing legislation to allow time spent in custody by a prisoner before conviction to count towards the earliest possible date of parole; and what reduction in the number of prisoners would result from such a measure.

Under section 60(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 1967 as amended, a prisoner serving a determinate sentence becomes eligible for release on licence after completing one-third of the sentence (time spent in custody before sentence is counted) or twelve months in custody after sentence, whichever is the longer. The reasons for the twelve-month minimum are explained in paragraph 54 of the Review of Parole in England and Wales, published last May. We have no plans for legislation altering the law on this point. An estimate of the reduction in the prison population which might result is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what were the total numbers for the Metropolitan Police district, for the first nine months of 1981 and the comparable period in 1980, of (a) robberies, (b) robberies in which firearms were used, (c) robberies at sub-post offices in which firearms were used and (d) firearms used in robberies at sub-post offices; what types of firearm were used at the robberies in group (d); and if he will break down the figures for robberies at which firearms were used by geographical area within the Metropolitan Police district.

We understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that the information readily available is as shown in the following table. The further details requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Offences of robbery recorded* by the Metropolitan Police, January-September 1980 and 1981
Metropolitan Police district	Number of offences
	Jan.-Sept.	Jan.-Sept.
	1980	1981†
All offences of robbery recorded	5,210	7,997
Offences of robbery in which firearms were reported to have been used by location:
Post Office	30	99
Elsewhere	483	806
Total	513	905
by District
A	4	11
B	19	14
C	23	25
D	26	28
E	41	54
F	13	27
G	18	44
H	23	40
I	2	7
J	23	25
K	36	69
L	22	68
M	21	71
N	31	25

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce measures to make it an offence to install or keep a burglar alarm without notifying the police of the names of key-holders who can report promptly to the premises concerned in the event of an alarm being sounded.

No, but the Government hope to publish shortly a code of practice, applicable throughout the United Kingdom, on audible intruder alarms. The code will include advice on the nomination of key-holders to the police.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what preparations are being made for the United Kingdom's participation in the world administrative radio conference for mobile telecommunications to be held by the International Telecommunications Union in Geneva in February 1983; and whether these preparations will include any element of public consultation.

The world administrative radio conference for mobile telecommunications is the first of a series of world International Telecommunications Union conferences that will complement the work of the world administrative radio conference, Geneva 1979. The 1983 conference will be concerned mainly with arrangements for maritime radio communications, and the use of radio for aeronautical purposes. It is not expected to have any significant impact on land-based mobile radio systems, and will not have the power to alter the frequency allocations agreed at the 1979 conference.A preparatory committee under Home Office chairmanship, which has included representations of all the major organisations with an interest in this conference, has developed a set of provisional United Kingdom proposals for the conference. Copies of these provisional proposals are obtainable from the radio regulatory department, Room 804, Home Office, Waterloo Bridge House, Waterloo Road, London SE1 8UA, and comments on them, or on any other matter falling within the scope of the conference agenda are invited and should be sent to the radio regulatory department by 31 January 1982.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish in the Official Report details of grants paid to local authorities in 1980–81 under section 11 of the Local Government Act 1966.

The table following shows the amount of grant claimed by local authorities under section 11 in respect of expenditure in 1980–81. These figures are not yet final and are subject to audit.

County Councils
Avon	1,315,344
Bedfordshire	821,368
Berkshire	923,026
Buckinghamshire	410,103
Cambridgeshire	288,865
Cleveland	89,644
Derbyshire	501,495
Gloucestershire	163,172
Hampshire	50,639
Hertfordshire	162,988
Kent	216,749
Lancashire	953,668
Leicestershire	1,504,691
Northamptonshire	*154,801
Nottinghamshire	749,303
Oxfordshire	96,443
Shropshire	6,515
Staffordshire	83,682
Suffolk	17,349
Warwickshire	416,540
West Sussex	*3,128

Districts
1Aylesbury Vale District Council	998
Birmingham, City of	2,275,781
Blackbourn Borough	12,332
Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council	311,207
Bradford, City of	2,421,449
Bristol, City of	9,693
Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council	*205,043
Coventry, City of	1,283,489
Derby City Council	275
Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council	457,290
Ipswich Borough	2,451
Kirklees Metropolitan Council	805,865
Leeds City Council	829,421
Leicester City Council	7,174
Luton Borough	3,141
Manchester, City of	1,187,5882
Northampton Borough Council	324
North Beds. Borough Council	12,242
North Herts. District Council	518
Nottingham, City of	64
Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council	466,090
Oxford, City of	2,496
Pendle District Council	8,987
Preston Borough	175
Reading Borough	10,438
Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council	376,246
Rotherham Borough	76,534
Rugby Borough	223
Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council	1,572,209
Sheffield, City of	267,612
Slough, District Council	8,208
Southampton, City of	4,222
Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council	70,287
Trafford Borough	128,946

asked the Lord Privy Seal what action the Hong Kong Government have taken in the last two years to protect non-manual employees; what further amendments are planned to the employees's compensation ordinance; and how many international labour conventions have now been applied in Hong Kong.

Since 1980 all employees have been covered by benefits including increased rates of compensation for injury and death. The Employment Ordinance has been extended to non-manual workers earning up to 6,000 Hong Kong dollars per month and to provide paid maternity leave. Further amendments to the Employees Compensation Ordinance will cover compulsory insurance and simplified compensation procedures. Forty-seven International Labour Organisation conventions have been applied in Hong Kong.

asked the Lord Privy Seal how many requests have been received by the consular department in each of the last 10 years, or other convenient period for which figures are available, for the tracing of children born in the United Kingdom who have been taken out of the United Kingdom against the wishes of their British parent; if he will list the missions abroad which have dealt with the requests; and how many cases were dealt with by each mission.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office receives many requests to trace relatives believed to be overseas, but statistics are not recorded either totally, or by category. The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Requests cover many parts of the world, but particularly the Americas, the Middle East and the Sub-continent. In most cases they are associated with requests for assistance in recovering children. Any question of the custody of such a child is a matter which can only be decided by the courts of the country where the child is present. The return of the child to a parent in this country can be pursued only through legal channels. This is the case even if a British court has made an order concerning the custody of a child, since only the overseas law can say what relevance if any may be accorded to a British court order.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will place in the Library a copy of a memorandum addressed to the Foreign Ministers and Defence Ministers of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and signed by Generals Bastian, Johan Cristi, Francesco da Costa Gomes, Georgios Konmanakos, Von Meyeofield and Nino Pasti, and Admiral Antoine Sanguinetti.

Yes. Hon. Members may be interested to note that the signatories are associated with the organisation "Generals for Peace" and that several of them are members of the World Peace Council, which is a disguised instrument of Soviet foreign policy.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will list in the Official Report the main points on which member States at the Madrid conference have reached agreement, and indicate briefly those matters which still remain to be resolved.

Provisional agreements have been reached at the Madrid review meeting in the areas of human contacts, family reunification, information, and economic exchanges. There is no agreement as yet on a number of Western proposals in the field of human rights, human contacts, and information; nor on the French proposal for a conference on disarmament in Europe. It will not be possible to assess the 'prospects for a substantive outcome to the meeting until all the elements under discussion can be considered as a whole.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what steps Her Majesty's Government are taking to ratify the United Nations convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women.

We are in the process of confirming that we can ratify in respect of the United Kingdom. We must then consult the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and the Dependent Territories in detail to establish whether they wish our ratification to cover them.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will make a statement concerning Her Majesty's Government's intentions concerning the appointment of an ambassador to Nicaragua.

Our ambassador in San Jose is accredited as ambassador to Nicaragua.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will take steps to serve on the South African Government notice of the cessation of flights between South Africa and the United Kingdom, in view of the breach by the South African Government of the Hague convention on hijacking which is now apparent.

Of the 44 men who arrived in Durban on the Air India aircraft from the Seychelles, five have been charged provisionally with kidnapping and are to appear in court on 7 January. The South African Minister of Justice stated publicly on 5 December that charges could still be brought against the remaining 39, and different or additional charges against the five. In the circumstances, and while further legal inquiries are being made, consideration of action in the context of the 1978 Bonn Declaration relating to the Hague convention on hijacking would not be appropriate.

asked the Lord Privy Seal why he decided to sever air links with Afghanistan.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply my right hon. Friend gave on 30 November to my hon. Friend the Member for Reigate (Mr. Gardiner).

asked the Secretary of State for Industry to what extent the British Steel Corporation has installed capacity to deal with the requirement for the manufacture of underwater North Sea pipeline for the transmission of oil and natural gas.

As a result of capital expenditure in recent years, the BSC has the steel making, casting, rolling and pipe-forming capability to meet a wide range of quality and sizes of pipeline required for the transmission of oil and natural gas.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will give figures for the sales of matches and mechanical lighters in the United Kingdom in the last five years and to the latest available date in 1981.

For matches and mechanical lighters the only information available relates to the quantity on which excise duty has been paid. For matches the figures are given in table 9.5 of the Monthly Digest of Statistics, a copy of which is available in the House of Commons Library. Comparable figures for the total number of lighters including both imported and home-produced is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what was the total financial assistance given by Her Majesty's Government to Consolidated Bathurst of Canada for the purpose of enabling the Bowater paper mill at Ellesmere Port to be reopened; what proportion of this finance is to be used in the rebuilding of the existing paper machines and establishing a de-inking plant; and whether any condition has been imposed regarding the use of this finance to buy British machines.

Discussions about and applications for selective assistance are a matter of commercial confidence between the Department and the company concerned. Under arrangements announced by the then Secretary of State for Industry in July 1974, details of the total selective financial assistance committed to any individual project are published in "British Business" after the first payment of grant has been made.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry whether it is his policy to apply the criteria for selective financial assistance under section 7 of the Industry Act more generously in steel closure areas than in other areas which have equal or higher unemployment levels.

I will reply to the right hon. Member as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry whether, in view of the urgent need to secure greater investment of Europeans funds in areas of high unemployment, he will seek to relax the strict criteria of section 7 of the Industry Act which are applied to the exchange risk guarantee scheme for loans from the European Investment Bank and the European Coal and Steel Community.

Exhange risk cover is a form of section 7 assistance in the same way as cash grants and the published criteria therefore normally apply. However, we have introduced a more relaxed and streamlined appraisal procedure for loans of £50,000 or less where exchange risk cover is the only form of assistance sought. In these cases the appraisal focuses solely on the viability and employment benefits of the project. No further relaxations are planned at present.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will indicate the number and value of applications for job creation grants under the office and service industries scheme which have been approved for firms in the Barnsley travel-to-work area since August 1979, together with the number of jobs involved.

No offers of assistance have been made to firms in the Barnsley travel-to-work area since August 1979 in respect of job creation grants under the office and service industries scheme.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry how many applications have been received under the coal-fired boiler scheme in South Yorkshire and Barnsley and district; how many have been approved; and what annual tonnage of coal is expected to be used by firms which have received approval.

One application for grant under the coal-fired boiler scheme has so far been received from a company in South Yorkshire. This application is under consieration. There have been no applications to date from companies in Barnsley and district.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what has been the change in percentage terms in manufacturing output since 1973 of the United Kingdom, France and Western Germany.

Between 1973 and the three months to August 1981, the latest period for which figures for all three countries are available, manufacturing output increased by 4 per cent. in France and by 5 per cent. in West Germany, and fell by some 17 per cent. in the United Kingdom. Manufacturing output in the United Kingdom however rose by 1½ per cent. in the latest three months, to October 1981.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will list, for the last financial year for which figures are available, the total amounts of industrial development assistance paid from central Government funds to Scotland, Wales, Merseyside and the South-West assisted area, respectively, both in total and per head of the insured population; and if he will identify the amounts and proportions of these figures received from the European regional fund.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will publish in the Official Report(a) the percentage of employees who have taken up the offer of shares in British Aerospace, (b) the average value of the shares and (c) the number of employees who have purchased shares in British Aerospace on a plant by plant basis.

Details are as follows:

(a) Some 58,800 British Aerospace employees, representing 74 per cent. of total employees and 89 per cent. of those eligible, elected to participate in the British Aerospace employee share ownership scheme taking up the offer of 33 free shares each. Of these some 27,200 (41 per cent. of those eligible) also applied for shares under matching arrangements where for every investment share purchased one free share was allocated. These figures do not include shares purchased by employees other than through the employee share ownership scheme.

(b) The average value, at the offer price of £1·50 per share, of shares held by all employees participating in the scheme was £160.

(c) Information in the form requested is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will give an investment grant to Courtaulds Active Fabrics, Halstead.

Applications for selective assistance are dealt with in confidence, and I cannot comment on individual cases.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade (1) what is the European Economic Community tariff on imports of machine-made synthetic fibre carpets; whether and to what extent this is expected to be reduced under international agreements; how it compares with the level of the United Kingdom tariff before United Kingdom entry into the Common Market; and whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the square yardage and value of imports and exports of such carpets between the United Kingdom and the European Economic Community and between the United Kingdom and non-European Economic Community countries since 1970 and for September 1981, grossed up at an annual rate(2) what is the European Economic Community tariff on machine-made wool carpets; whether and to what extent this is expected to be reduced under international agreements; how it compares with the level of the United Kingdom tariff before United Kingdom entry into the Common Market; and whether he will publish in the

The tariff information relating to wool carpets and synthetic fibre carpets is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what is the European Economic Community tariff on imports of the principal electronic components: whether and to what extent this is expected to be reduced under international agreements; how it compares with the

	Common customs tariff rates		United Kingdom rates before accession to the European Community †
Description	Present (per cent.)	Future (per cent.) *
Fixed capacitors, other than electrolytic	6·5	4·9	12·5
Other capacitors	7	7	12·5
Resistors	7·3	5·3	17
Printed circuity bords (plain boards)	9·1	6·2	12·5
Diodes, transistors and similar semi-conductor devices, light emitting diodes; electronic microcircuits	17	17	20
* Under the Tokyo round of GATT multilateral trade negotiations the duties are due to be reduced in annual stages to the levels shown at 1 January 1987.
† Rates in force at 1 January 1972.

The information about trade in these products is shown as follows. The figures for September 1981 are given but these are not converted to an annual basis since this would be entirely speculative.

The tariff information in respect of representative examples of electronic components is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Trade when he expects the Insolvency Law Review Committee to report upon whether company liquidations should be subject to regulation.

The final report of the insolvency law review committee under the chairmanship of Sir Kenneth Cork is expected early next year and will be published. The question of the extent to which regulation is necessary in voluntary liquidations has been given much attention by the committee. In the light of such recommendations as the committee may make and the ensuing public debate, the Government will be better able to determine what steps are necessary and desirable.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether the import deposit scheme operated by Italy against British footwear is now at an end; and what was the justification used by the Italians.

The Italian deposit requirement, introduced in May this year, is being reduced by stages and will end on 1 March 1982. It applies not only to British footwear but to a wide range of imports from all sources. In introducing the measure the Italian Government appealed to article 109 of the Treaty of Rome, which allows member States to take certain measures where a sudden crisis in the balance of payments occurs.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade how many trainees are now on the trainee register of the Hearing Aid Council; and, of these, how many registered in each year.

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will authorise Britannia Airways to operate the 30 weekend flights from Gatwick to Jersey in 1982 already approved by the Civil Aviation Authority; and if he will make a statement.

No authorisation from the Secretary of State is required. However, the Jersey authorities have asked the Secretary of State to use his power of direction to prevent Britannia Airways from operating flights from Gatwick to Jersey. This submission is under consideration and it would not be appropriate for me to comment further at this stage.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what is the current United Kingdom deficit in manufactures as a proportion of total trade with Denmark, the Benelux countries, France, Greece, West Germany, Italy, the Republic of Ireland, the European Economic Community as a whole, the United States of America and Japan, respectively.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what information he has received about defective electrical Christmas tree decorations imported from Taiwan; and what action he is taking to publicise the danger to the public.

In the last few days oral reports have been received from three local trading standards departments that certain Christmas tree lighting sets on the market manufactured in France, Taiwan and Hong Kong may contravene the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1975. I understand from two of the local authorities that sets are now to be tested to see whether they comply with the regulations. The other local authority has sent samples to my Department for investigation. A warning is being issued today to the public to take care when buying and using all Christmas tree lights.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he is satisfied with the regulations intended to protect the public from the fire dangers of polyurethane foam-filled furniture; and whether he is giving any consideration to making these more stringent.

[pursuant to his reply, 18 December 1981, c. 261]: I refer the hon. Member to the replies given to the right hon. Member for Manchester, Wythenshawe (Mr.

Average gross weekly earnings of full-time employees under 21 whose pay in the survey period was not affected by absence as percentage of the corresponding figure for those aged 21 and over
	Ages*
April	Under 21	18 to 20	Under 18	16	17	18	19	20
MALES
1970‡	†47	56	31	—	—	—	—	—
1971‡	†45	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1972‡	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1973‡	‡46	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1974‡	53	60	38	—	—	—	—	—
1975	55	62	41	36	44	53	62	70
1976	54	61	39	34	41	52	60	69
1977‡	55	61	40	—	—	—	—	—
1978	55	61	40	35	43	54	61	69
1979	54	61	40	35	43	54	61	68
1980	54	61	39	34	42	53	60	68
1981	53	59	39	34	41	50	59	65
FEMALES
1970	†63	71	49	—	—	—	—	—

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the net cost to public funds of maintaining a young person on a youth opportunities programme compared with the net cost to public funds of maintaining that same person if unemployed, taking into account administration costs, benefits paid out and loss of revenue by way of income tax, national insurance contributions and the cost of "second round" benefits such as indirect tax receipts.

The net cost of a young person on the youth opportunities programme is not comparable with the cost of maintaining that same person if unemployed, because a trainee on the programme is not the equivalent of a young person in regular employment, and trainees pay no National Insurance contributions or taxes.The net cost to public funds per entrant to the youth opportunities programme in the financial year 1980–1 has been estimated by the Manpower Services Commission at £515. This takes account of the savings in social security and unemployment benefits which would have been paid to participants taken off the unemployment register by the programme; the returns to the Exchequer of taxes and national insurance contributions paid by the adult staff on the programme; and the increased indirect taxes resulting from the higher expeniture of participants and from the non-wage expenditure on the programme.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether, following his answer to the hon. Member for York (Mr. Lyon) on 13 July 1981, he will now publish the table on young persons' wages including data for 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1981; and whether he will provide an estimate of the degree to which the alteration of the school leaving age in 1973 affected the series.

The following table sets out the available information.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what was the ratio of juvenile to adult, men and women, weekly earnings in manual occupations at 1945 and in each subsequent year thereafter; and what were the effects of the changes in the school leaving ages in 1947 and 1973.

The following table sets out the available information in respect of the relative earnings of males aged under 21 and females aged under 18.The effect of raising the school leaving age in 1947 cannot be estimated precisely, but is thought to account for most of the increase in the percentages shown in the table between 1947 and 1948. The increase in the school leaving age in 1973 is estimated to have increased the relative earnings of males aged under 21 and females aged under 18 by four to six percentage points.

Average gross weekly earnings of full-time "juvenile" employees (males aged under 21, females aged under 18) as a percentage of the corresponding figures for other employees
	Males		Females
	Manual workers inquiry*	New Earnings Survey‡	Manual workers inquiry*	New Earnings Survey‡
1945 July	38	—	†56	—
1946 October	39	—	59	—
1947 October	40	—	63	—
1948 October	43	—	67	—
1949 October	42	—	66	—
1950 October	42	—	65	—
1951 October	42	—	64	—
1952 October	42	—	63	—
1953 October	42	—	63	—
1954 October	42	—	64	—
1955 October	42	—	66	—
1956 October	43	—	66	—
1957 October	43	—	66	—

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he is satisfied that enough has been done to make people aware of the health risks from working with photo-copying machines.

The Health and Safety Executive does not consider that any significant health risk arises from the use of photo-copying machines under normal operating conditions, but the employment medical advisory service monitors the evidence relating to photo-copying as it becomes available.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he has any plans to investigate the cost-effectiveness of the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service; and when he last did so.

The operating costs of ACAS are subject to regular close scrutiny and control by my Department. In ACAS, as in Government Departments, staffing requirements are under constant review. My Department plays a full part in that. Research into the effectiveness of the advisory activities is being carried out by Manchester Business School.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many persons now unemployed in the Birkenhead travel-to-work area have been without work for one, two and three years respectively.

The following table gives the numbers of unemployed people in the Birkenhead travel-to-work area who at 8 October had been on the register for the lengths of time specified.

Duration in weeks	Numbers
Over 52 and up to 104 weeks	5,510
Over 104 and up to 156 weeks	1,555
Over 156 weeks	2,318

Employees in employment in the Barnsley travel-to-work area at June each year
(Thousands)
Industry and Standard industrial classification	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978
Clothing (MLH441–MLH449)	2·9	3·1	3·3	3·3	3·0	3·4	4·0	3·8
Bricks, pottery, glass, cement, etc. (Order XVI)	5·5	5·6	5·7	5·4	5·0	4·8	4·6	3·3
Engineering (Orders VII, VIII and IX)	2·8	2·6	2·6	2·8	2·8	2·7	2·6	2·7
Coalmining (MLH 101)	1·9	1·8	1·9	1·8	1·8	1·8	1·8	1·8

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the number of persons currently registered as unemployed in the South-West assisted area, the South-West region, Merseyside, Wales, Scotland and the United Kingdom, and the percentage these figures represent of the total labour force; and what are the corresponding figures for January 1972, 1975, 1978 and 1980.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many people were employed in clothing companies in the Barnsley tavel-to-work area for each year for which figures are available from 1964 until the present time;(2) how many people were employed in glass companies in the Barnsley tavel-to-work area for each year for which figures are available from 1964 to the present time;(3) how many people were employed in engineering companies in the Barnsley tavel-to-work area for each year for which figures are available from 1964 until the present time;(4) how many people were employed in the coal industry in the Barnsley tavel-to-work area for each year for which figures are available from 1964 to the present time.

Statistics of the numbers of employees in local areas are available from censuses of employment conducted annually from 1971 to 1978. Censuses were not taken in 1979 and 1980. Employment information for 1981 is currently being collected. Figures for years before 1971 could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.Information for glass companies alone cannot be given without indirectly disclosing confidential information relating to individual undertakings. The following table therefore includes figures for a broader group of industries comprising the manufacture of glass, bricks, fireclay and refractory goods, pottery, cement abrasives and other building materials.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he has given his approval to the Health and Safety Commission's plan of work for 1981–82 and onwards.

I have given approval on behalf of myself and my colleagues to the Commission's plan of work on the understanding that the commission will take fully into account a number of comments that we have made in preparing its next plan, which I have asked to be submitted in the autumn of 1982. This approval is of course subject to the availability of resources.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the meeting of the European Community Council of Ministers on Labour and Social Affairs, which he chaired on 8 December.

On behalf of the United Kingdom Presidency, I chaired a meeting of the Council of Ministers (Labour and Social Affairs) on 8 December 1981. The Government were represented by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State, Department of Employment and my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Social Security.The Council adopted an amending regulation extending certain social security arrangements to self-employed migrant workers and their families. The amendment will assist the free movement of labour in the Community. An important feature of the amendment is that it will enable self-employed persons to receive urgent medical care if they fall ill when visiting another member state on the same basis as insured nationals of that state. Proposals dealing with other aspects of benefits for migrant workers were,also considered and remitted to officials for further discussion.The Council considered a Commission communication on the social integration of disabled people and agreed a resolution of the Council and member States within the Council broadly endorsing the Commission's proposals. As a result the Commission, in consultation with member States, will be developing proposals for a number of experimental projects concentrating on the improved coordination at local level of services for disabled people.The Commission will continue its programme of pilot projects on the rehabilitation and housing of disabled people. It will also devote resources to the pooling and dissemination of information from these projects and other sources within the Community which is likely to be of value for those concerned with services for disabled people.The Council had a useful discussion on a proposed directive concerning the protection of workers from lead. The main outstanding difficulties were significantly narrowed down, and I hope that this will make it possible finally to agree the directive in the near future.The Council discussed the forthcoming review of the European social fund, with the object of identifying the main themes which the review should take into consideration. It was agreed that the limited resources of the social fund should be directed to the most serious problems which it was capable of assisting. Top priority should be given to meet the needs of young people without jobs by support for vocational training and other appropriate measures. There was a general welcome for the Commission's proposal that the fund should promote a more medium term strategy designed to provide a more satisfactory vocational and educational priority for all young people moving from compulsory full-time schooling to entry into the labour market.The discussion also covered the basis for the future regional allocation of fund aid; the response of the fund to needs and opportunities arising from the introduction of new technology; and the role of the fund in supporting innovatory and demonstration projects. There was also a general welcome for the Commission's proposals to simplify the mechanisms of the fund.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what use the Health and Safety Executive makes of British Standards.

The Health and Safety Executive makes extensive use of British Standards and is contributing positively to the work of the British Standards Institution through its representation on more than 450 standards and technical committees. Thirteen sets of regulations administered by the HSE quote British Standards formally and in a further 105 cases there are explicit but less formal references to British Standards in guidance material published by the HSE. I am arranging for a comprehensive list to be placed in the Library

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people were on job creation schemes in the constituency of Bassetlaw in Coacher 1981 as compared to January 1979.

I regret that the statistics are not available for January 1979. The October 1981 figures are:

	Number
Temporary short-time working compensation scheme	*125
Youth opportunities programme	†1,070
Job release scheme	*105
Community enterprise programme	‡370
* Statistics are for the Worksop and Retford employment office areas.
† Statistics are for entrants in the period April-October 1981.
‡ Statistics are for the area covered by the Manpower Services Commission's special programmes Nottingham 2 area office. This office administers an area larger than the Bassetlaw constituency.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the latest number of people registered as unemployed living in the constituency of Bassetlaw in October 1981; and what was the comparable figure for January 1979.

Unemployment statistics are not available for parliamentary constituencies. However, for the area covered by the Retford and Worksop employment offices, which approximate most closely to the Bassetlaw constituency, there were 4,641 people registered as unemployed at October 1981 and 2,238 at January 1979. The figures include school leavers and are not seasonally adjusted.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what arrangements have so far been made to promote training and to look after the interests of trainees when the ceramics, glass and mineral products industrial training board has ceased to operate.

We have received proposals for voluntary training arrangements from a number of organisations including the Glass Manufacturers Federation, the British Ceramics Manufacturers Federation, the Cement Makers Federation, the British Quarrying and Slag Federation, the Sand and Gravel Association, the China Clay Association and the National Federation of Clay Industries.I have asked the organisations to start their proposed arrangements as soon as possible. We propose to bring the brick and precast concrete industries into the scope of the construction industry training board. We have asked the Manpower Services Commission to take forward the process of abolishing the board in parallel with action to establish or develop voluntary arrangements so as to bring about an orderly transition.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many 16 and 17-year-olds would have been registered unemployed each month since April 1978 if the special programmes had not been introduced.

[pursuant to his reply, 17 December 1981,c. 196]: I regret that this information is not available. The numbers of young people on the Youth Opportunities Programme are not collected by age, and include some 18 year olds. The national filled place total for the end of October 1981 was 269,400. It is not known how many 16 and 17-year-olds benefit from other special employment schemes such as the job release scheme and the temporary short-time working compensation scheme.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement on North Sea safety with regard to recent incidents affecting rigs and platforms.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he is satisfied with safety precautions on United Kingdom installations in the North Sea and foreign-owned installations employing United Kingdom operatives.

I am satisfied that safety precautions on installations in British waters are adequate and foreign owned installations are subject to our same safety controls.Recently the floating production platform Transworld 58 broke from its moorings. More recently, the Borgland Dolphin, an accommodation unit, was taken off station for repairs to a crack found during routine inspection. In neither case was there any loss of life or injury. Both incidents are being investigated.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what conditions he is imposing to prevent British civil plutonium, sold to the United States of America for peaceful research purposes being substituted for United States domestic plutonium thus enabling the latter to be cleaned and enriched for military use in contravention of the International Atomic Agency safeguards.

I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to my hon. Friend the Member for Falmouth and Cambourne (Mr. Mudd) on 19 October, and to the hon. Member for Salford, East (Mr. Allaun) on 26 October.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what progress has been made since 23 November on the development of a gas-gathering system from the North Sea oilfields to the United Kingdom.

The producer companies have continued to work on their schemes.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy why he has cancelled the reverse field pinch fusion experiment at Culham.

The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority is spending substantial sums on research and development in the nuclear field across a very wide range of important programmes but funds are not unlimited and the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority is unable to meet the cost of the RFX experiment at Culham within the funds now available for its research and development programme.