asked the Prime Minister what representations she has had from the Right to Fuel organisation on the subject of hardship caused by disconnections during extreme weather conditions; what reply she is sending; if she proposes to take any action; and if she will make a statement.

The chairman, Mr. Paul Lewis, wrote to me on 13 January. He and his colleagues met Ministers from the Departments of Energy and Health and Social Services on 14 January and there was a full exchange of views on these issues. The Electricity Council also announced on 15 January that electricity boards in England and Wales were suspending disconnections for seven days. In addition, the gas and electricity industries have been asked by my hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Mr. Mellor), the Under-Secretary of State for Energy, to report back to him next month on their discussions with the consumer councils and other interested parties on possible changes to the code of practice on the payment of bills.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what was the outcome of the recent annual governing council meeting of the International Fund for Agriculture Development; and what obligations the United Kingdom has accepted as a result.

I am glad to say that the Council reached two important decisions. First, it ratified arrangements negotiated for the replenishment of its resources to cover its lending programme to the end of 1983. Under these arrangements, OECD donors will contribute $620 million and OPEC donors $450 million respectively. The United Kingdom's share, for which I shall seek parliamentary approval as early as possible, will be £12, 901, 000. The Council also decided that the fund's permanent seat should be in Rome, where it has been established only provisionally during its first four years.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will publish a table in the Official Report showing the landed price of basic foodstuffs imported from the European Economic Community Six under the common agriculture policy as a percentage of the landed price in 1970.

With the exception of dairy products, our imports of basic foodstuffs for human consumption from the original six member States of the European Economic Community were very small prior to our accession. In 1980, the landed price for butter was 590 per cent. of the 1970 price and that for cheese was 500 per cent.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will seek to amend the Food and Drugs (Scotland) Act in order to apply to Scotland the proposals contained in the Food and Drugs (Amendment) Bill at present before the House; and if he will make a statement.

We shall observe closely the progress of the Food and Drugs (Amendment) Bill and consider any appropriate action. Certain of its proposals are, however, already covered by Scottish legislation.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether he will list the countries with which Her Majesty's Government do not have diplomatic relations; and what are the reasons in each case.

Her Majesty's Government have no diplomatic relations with the following States:

The People's Republic of Albania

The Albanians have not so far been prepared to discuss the resumption of relations before the delivery to them of a sum of gold held in the Bank of England by the Tripartite Commission for the Restitution of Monetary Gold. There are, however, a number of claims against Albania or on the gold itself, and since Her Majesty's Government and the United States and French Governments are equal members of the Commission, Her Majesty's Government cannot act unilaterally to deliver the gold to Albania before there has been a generally satisfactory solution of these financial problems.

The Republic of Comoros

Since it became independent in 1975, neither Her Majesty's Government nor the Government of the Republic of Comoros have thought it necessary to establish diplomatic relations.

The Republic of Guatemala

Diplomatic relations were broken off by Guatemala on 31 July 1963 in connection with its territorial claims on Belize. Consular relations continued until broken off by Guatemala on 7 September 1981.

Cambodia

As explained to the House by my right hon. Friend the Member for Chesham and Amersham (Sir I. Gilmour) on 6 December 1979—[Vol. 975, c. 722–23.]—Her Majesty's Government ceased to recognise any Government of Cambodia in that month. Our position remains that there is no Government in Cambodia with which it would be appropriate to have diplomatic relations.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether the recent raising to ambassador level of the diplomatic representation exchanged between Her Majesty's Government and the Vatican assumes the unqualified acceptance by the Vatican of the sovereignty of the Crown throughout the United Kingdom; and whether he will make a statement.

In common with all other representatives of overseas countries accredited to the Court of St. James's the diplomatic responsibilities of the Apostolic Pro-Nuncio will cover the whole of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. This has been accepted by the Holy See.

asked the Lord Privy Seal how many requests were received in 1979, 1980 and 1981 by the consular sections of British embassies in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States for the tracing of children of British birth whose whereabouts were unknown after they had been taken out of the United Kingdom.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave on 21 December.—[Vol. 15, c.269–70.] If my hon. Friend is aware of a problem in this area, I should be grateful if he would write to me about it.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry how many development areas and special development areas have a lower unemployment rate than the Bridlington travel-to-work area.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will publish the information available to him regarding the start-up of small firms and co-operative organisations since May 1979 together with the details of the failure rate.

The information available, which is derived from VAT registers and relates to births and deaths of businesses of all types in 1980, is being published on 29 January in "British Business" and will be available in the Library. Comparable information is not available for 1979 or previous years.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will give a direction to the British Steel Corporation that it should not sell steel to the Soviet Union at prices which are more advantageous than the prices which it charges to United Kingdom consumers; and if he will make a statement.

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

Young asked the Secretary of State for Defence, further to the answer of 3 March 1980, Official Report, column 52, on allegations of brutality by members of the Armed Services; how many additional investigations have been made to date; how many representations he has received on this subject from hon. Members since May 1979; and whether he will now consider taking steps to maintain a central record of cases of alleged physical assault which are dealt with at unit level without calling in the Service police.

I regret that in the time available it has not been possible to produce the information requested. I shall publish it in the Official Report as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the percentage gross domestic product spent on North Atlantic Treaty Organisation defence commitments by each of the member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation for 1978–79, 1979–80 and 1980–81.

The percentage of its gross domestic product spent on defence by the United Kingdom for the calendar years 1978, 1979 and 1980 was 4·6, 4·7 and 5·1 respectively. NATO publishes the relevant figures for its member countries each calendar year.More than 90 per cent. of the United Kingdom's defence spending is devoted to our NATO commitments. Similar information is not available for other members of the Alliance.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment by what percentage the earnings of the highest decile of non-manual men and the lowest decile of manual men, respectively, increased between 1980 and 1981, as shown by the New Earnings Survey.

15·5 and 10·9 per cent., respectively, in terms of average weekly earnings for those whose pay was not affected by absence.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will take steps to ensure that the public issue of each month's unemployment figures by his Department is carried out simultaneously, and that the figures are not issued earlier under embargo.

The monthly unemployment figures are issued at 11·30 normally on the fourth Tuesday in the month. Figures are not issued earlier under embargo.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, wherever persons who voluntarily undertake dangerous escapades have to call upon publicly financed organisations to rescue them from possible injury or loss of life, he will take whatever steps may be necessary to charge such people the cost to public funds of such rescue activities.

No. I think it is better to leave it to those authorities providing rescue services to decide, in the circumstances of each case, and where appropriate powers exist, whether it would be right to make a charge.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will exempt community health workers from taxation on car allowances, telephone allowances and laundry bills.

No. Any employee who receives an expense allowance from his or her employer which is greater than the admissible expenditure is taxable on the surplus. It would not be right to single out community health workers from among deserving groups for special tax privileges.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish a table in the Official Report showing the change in the real exchange rate between the £ sterling and the Deutschmark since the fourth quarter of 1976, using the current rate of exchange and the estimated rate of price inflation based on trend.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given him on 11 December 1981.—[Vol. 14, c.511–12.]

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish in the Official Report his letter replying to the written question of 31 July 1981, Official Report, c.691 from the hon. Member for Grimsby on corporate savings; if he will give in addition, separate figures for (a) depreciation, (b) stock appreciation and (c) the amount of corporation tax; and if he is now able to include corresponding figures for manufacturing industry.

The estimates for corporate savings have been revised since I wrote to the hon. Member on 10 November 1981. The current estimates are as follows:

Saving (Undistributed Income) after Deducing Depreciation* and Stock Appreciation
	£ million
	Industrial and commercial companies	Financial companies and institutions
1960	1, 680	137
1961	1,253	161
1962	989	155
1963	1,458	159
1964	1,708	158
1965	1,557	215
1966	1,140	246
1967	998	272
1968	1,145	288
1969	1,359	306
1970	1,067	370
1971	1,623	467
1972	2,456	557
1973	3,197	1,170
1974	1,059	1,002
1975	1,213	819
1976	3,197	1,593
1977	4,742	1,979
1978	5,675	2,002
1979	3,229	2,421
1980	1,667	2,736
*depreciation=capital consumption at current replacement cost.

Estimates of depreciation and corporation tax paid for the two sectors are as follows:

Industrial and Commercial Companies
	Depreciation* £ million	Stock appreciation £ million	Corporation tax paid† £ million
1960	800	77	564
1961	873	121	630
1962	936	110	805
1963	985	111	678
1964	1,056	181	628
1965	1,148	224	542
1966	1,247	239	625
1967	1,293	85	941
1968	1,366	475	966
1969	1,506	576	1,026
1970	1,707	863	1,330
1971	1,966	842	1,143
1972	2,230	1,075	1,036
1973	2,586	2,290	1,303
1974	3,216	4,714	2,075
1975	4,184	4,283	1,642
1976	5,227	5,266	1,395
1977	6,424	3,833	2,276
1978	7,766	3,374	2,945
1979	9,174	6,997	3,879
1980	11,190	5,049	5,537
*Capital consumption at current replacement cost.
† Corporation tax first became payable in 1967.Before that companies paid income tax and profits tax.

Financial Companies and Institutions*
	Depreciation† £ million	Corporation tax paid‡ £ million
1960	11	169
1961	13	206
1962	15	196
1963	17	203
1964	19	187
1965	23	217
1966	27	210
1967	31	238
1968	37	290
1969	47	271
1970	61	298
1971	80	356
1972	103	427
1973	141	470
1974	197	669
1975	268	644
1976	341	812
1977	426	819
1978	538	963
1979	697	980
1980	947	914
*Financial companies stock appreciation is negligible.
† Capital consumption at current replacement cost.
‡ Corporation tax first became payable in 1967. Before that companies paid income tax and profits tax.

Data are not collected to allow estimates of the corporate saving of manufacturing industries to be made.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give figures to show the gross domestic product for the United Kingdom continental shelf.

The figures requested can be found in table 1 of the appendix to the article "Regional Accounts 1980", published in Economic Trends, November 1981, a copy of which is in the Library.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what negotiations he has had with representatives of the International Monetary Fund with regard to outstanding and future loans to Poland; and if he will make a statement.

[pursuant to his reply, 27 January 1982, c.353]: None. The fund, however, has been represented as an observer at certain negotiations concerning Poland's debts involving the 16 major Western creditor countries.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the greatest length of time for which cases before the social security commissioners presently awaiting submission from the supplementary benefit officer have been awaiting such a submission.

The greatest length of time for a case awaiting submission to the Social Security Commissioner from the supplementary benefit officer is seven months. However, with effect from 15 February 1982, an amendment to the supplementary benefit and family income supplement appeals rules will require observations on an appeal to the commissioner by any party to the proceedings before the tribunal to be made within 28 days or within such further time as the commissioner may for special reasons allow.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, of those cases before the social security commissioner, presently awaiting a submission from the insurance officer, what is the length of time which the longest has been waiting for a submission.

The greatest length of time for a case awaiting submission to the social security commissioner from the insurance officer is 14 months. The preparation of a submission has been subject to delays outside the control of the insurance officer.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many staff are engaged in preparing submissions on behalf of the insurance officer to the social security commissioners; and how many cases are awaiting such submissions compared with the position five years ago.

Fifteen staff are currently employed as insurance officers preparing submissions to the social security commissioners. Not all are employed on these duties full-time. At the end of 1976 there were 532 appeals to the commissioner awaiting the preparation of a submission; at the end of last year the number was 380.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people have taken advantage of the opportunity to go on full rate benefits after 60 years of age since last November.

I assume that the hon. Member is referring to the extension of the long term rate of supplementary benefit after 12 months to unemployed men over 60 who choose no longer to register for work. It is estimated that about 26, 000 men had opted for the long term rate by mid-January 1982.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what are the latest available figures for the rate at which appeals to supplementary benefit appeal tribunals are superseded; and what are the comparable rates for each of the last three years.

The number of appeals to supplementary benefit appeal tribunals which were superseded in the latest year and previous three years, as a percentage of the total number of appeals lodged, is as follows:

• 1978: — 28 per cent.
• 1979: — 29 per cent.
• 1980: — 29 per cent.
• 1981: — 31 per cent.—First nine months only available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if the 21-hour provision mentioned in paragraph 7(2) of the Supplementary Benefit Conditions of Entitlement Regulations includes time for lunch breaks and private study; and if he will make a statement.

[pursuant to her reply, 25 January 1982, c.284]: As I explained to the hon. Member in reply to his question on 25 November—[Vol. 13, c.415–16]—revised guidance on this regulation is shortly to be issued by the chief supplementary benefit officer. I understand that this will advise that the reference to 21 hours in the regulation should be interpreted as including all the time spent on the course; that is, hours of attendance at the establishment—including lunch breaks—project work and private study.However, I am keeping the detailed provisions of these regulations under review, in the light of experience of the working of the revised supplementary benefits scheme.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many patients have been transferred from the Alexandra private hospital at Cheadle since it opened to National Health Service patients (a) as emergencies and (b) in the course of treatment.

Information on the transfer of patients between specific hospitals is not available centrally. If the hon. Member has any particular cases in mind, he may like to pursue the matter with Stockport area health authority.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he has issued guidance to health authorities on the procedures to be followed when patients are transferred from private hospitals to National Health Service hospitals in the course of treatment.

No, I do not see that this is necessary.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether the Buckinghamshire overlap in the East Berkshire health authority will remain with the East Berkshire health authority.

Yes. The decision that the "South Buckinghamshire overlap area" should formally become part of the East Berkshire health authority is contained in the National Health Service Determination of Districts Orders 1981, which were laid before Parliament on 15 January 1982.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many forms have been printed which now have to be signed by surgeons who terminate pregnancies which no longer require an indication of social circumstances; what was the cost; what quantity of the previous forms were withdrawn; and if he will make a statement.

A total of 515, 650 revised abortion notification forms—HSA4—have been printed at a cost of approximately £5, 500—excluding VAT. 14, 454 of the superseded forms—HSA3—just over one month's supply—were destroyed.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give the figure at which the retirement pension would now be if it took account of (a) the full increase in the retail price index between November 1978 and January 1982 and (b) the full increase in the average wage between November 1978 and January 1982.

The latest available average earnings figure is the provisional new series index figure for November 1981, and the latest retail price index figure is for December 1981. Using those figures the November 1978 rate of retirement pension at the standard basic rate for a single person would at December 1981 price levels be worth £29·74. If the pension rate had risen in line with average earnings to November 1981 the equivalent current worth would be £30·73.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he keeps under regular review statutory provisions touching on the responsibilities of his Department passed by Parliament but not yet brought into effect.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any evidence of vigilante groups operating in east London and in other inner city areas; if he will seek to proscribe the East London Workers against Racism vigilante group; and if he will make a statement.

I am opposed to the formation of so-called "vigilante groups", whether in London or elsewhere. If such groups act in breach of the criminal law, the police will take appropriate action. I have no power to proscribe such organisations.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is yet able to make a decision on the recommendation in the Scarman report that there should be a separate offence under the police discipline code of racial prejudice; and if he will make a statement.

I am still considering this recommendation which was discussed at a meeting of the Police Advisory Board for England and Wales on 26 January.

asked the Secretary of Slate for the Home Department what proportion of applications for permanent settlement in the United Kingdom from citizens of the New Commonwealth and Pakistan has been accepted in each of the last 11 years; and if he will express this proportion in terms of total numbers and as a percentage.

The only information readily available relates to applications for entry clearance for immediate settlement from people in the Indian Subcontinent since the beginning of 1977. The number of grants and refusals of such entry clearances is published annually in the Command Paper "Control of Immigration: Statistics"—table 6 of the latest issue for 1980, Cmnd. 8199, published in May 1981. This table shows that during 1980, 30 per cent. of the applications dealt with were refused.

asked the Secretary of Slate for the Home Department if he has any plans to review the current immigration rules.

We are at present considering what changes in the rules will be required when, as we hope, the British Nationality Act 1981 is brought into force on 1 January next year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will now introduce a quota system in order to control effectively all future immigration into the United Kingdom.

Immigration for settlement is already tightly and effectively controlled in accordance with the revised immigration rules laid before Parliament in February 1980. The Government believe that proposals for a quota system would depend upon the introduction of a register. We do not foresee the opportunity for legislation on these matters arising in the near future though it remains our intention to assess more accurately the scale of potential immigration for settlement.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what representations he has received from members of the ethnic minorities concerning the current levels of immigration from the New Commonwealth and Pakistan; and if he will make a statement;(2) what representations he has received from members of the indigenous population concerning the current levels of immigration from the New Commonwealth and Pakistan; and if he will make a statement.

We receive representations urging both the tightening and the relaxation of the control of immigration.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people from each country of the New Commonwealth and Pakistan are currently seeking to enter the United Kingdom for the purpose of permanent settlement; and if he will make a statement.

The only information which is readily available relates to those applying in the Indian Subcontinent. The numbers of applications for entry clearance for immediate settlement and the numbers awaiting a decision are published quarterly in Home Office Statistical Bulletins—tables 5 and 6 of the latest issue No. 26/81 published on 24 November 1981—which are placed in the Library of the House. In addition there were on 30 September 1981 about 4, 800 United Kingdom passport holders in India whose applications for special vouchers awaited processing.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to revise the criminal injuries compensation scheme so as to ensure that victims of crimes are not penalised, when assessing compensation, by having committed an offence of a minor kind, or when the offence has been expunged from the victim's record, and in particular when the offence in either case is one of an unconnected nature.

We have no plans to limit the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board's general discretion under the scheme to take account of an applicant's character and way of life in considering eligibility for compensation from public funds. The board's approach to the exercise of this discretion is explained in its seventeenth report—Cmnd. 8401, page 62, paragraph K. An applicant who is dissatisfied with a decision on the amount of compensation by a single member of the board—for example, because of the way in which this discretion has been exercised—is entitled to a hearing of his or her case before three other members.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the cases of Ian Brady and Myra Hindley have recently been considered by the joint Home Office-Parole Board committee; and if he will make a statement.

Since 1973, the timing of the first formal review by the Parole Board of the case of any prisoner serving a sentence of life imprisonment has been fixed in consultation with the board. A joint committee, consisting of senior representatives of the board and the Home Office, makes recommendations to the Home Secretary on this matter. He is not obliged to accept the committee's advice. Nor is he bound to accept a recommendation from the Parole Board that a prisoner should be released. The decision whether or not a particular life sentence prisoner should be released on licence rests solely with the Secretary of State; but he cannot order the release of such a prisoner unless he has received a favourable recommendation from the Parole Board and before doing so he is also required to consult the Lord Chief Justice and, if he is available, the trial judge.Ian Brady and Myra Hindley are both serving sentences of life imprisonment for murder imposed in May 1966. The joint committee has recently again considered the cases of both these prisoners. It has again decided to make no recommendation that a date should be fixed for either prisoner to be considered by a local review committee, which is the essential preliminary to a formal review by the Parole Board. Instead, it has recommmended that it should itself be invited to look again at the cases of both prisoners in another three years. After careful consideration, I have decided to accept the committee's advice. My decision means that, barring any unforeseen developments in the meantime, nothing will be done to initiate a formal review of the case of either prisoner before it is considered again by the joint committee in January 1985.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the amount of public expenditure on kidney research during 1979, 1980 and to the latest available date in 1981; and if he will now allocate additional funds for research in this area.

The figures for the last three financial years of actual expenditure on research directly relevant to kidney and urinary tract diseases by the Medical Research Council—MRC—and on kidney research and development by the Department of Health and Social Security are as follows:

	1978–79 £	1979–80 £	1980–81 £
MRC	365, 000	584, 000	640, 000
DHSS	231, 700	427, 400	559, 200

Funds were not allocated to kidney research in these years by the universities, using money from the block grants made available through the University Grants Committee for teaching and research.It is for the MRC to decide the apportionment of its grant-in-aid from my Department's science budget. The MRC is always prepared to consider support for scientifically sound research proposals.I understand that the health departments regularly review their research priorities.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many students, full and part-time, studied in polytechnics in each of the last five years; how many lecturers and employees there were; and what was the cost of their wages and salaries in each year.

The table following shows the information requested for the polytechnics in England and Wales. Statistics of numbers of employees other than teaching staff are not collected by the Department; estimates of these have been collected and published in the past by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy in its annual volume "Education Statistics Estimates", copies of which are in the Library.

	1976	1977	1978	1979	1980
Student enrolments (thousands)*
Full-time and sandwich	113·5	118·0	120·1	120·4	124·6
Part-time	79·2	82·3	85·9	84·4	83·4

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish a table showing the staff to pupil ratio in both primary and secondary schools in each of the last 10 years; and how many teachers will be required in each of the next five years to retain the same ratio as at the latest convenient date.

The pupil-teacher ratios for England for each of the last 10 years are as follows:

Pupils per qualified teacher within maintained schools
At January of each year	Primary	Secondary
1972	26·2	17·6
1973	25·5	17·1
1974	24·9	17·5
1975	24·2	17·2
1976	24·0	17·0
1977	23·9	17·0
1978	23·6	16·9
1979	23·1	16·7
1980	22·7	16·6
1981	22·6	16·6

The 1981 ratios were achieved within a total teacher force for nursery, primary and secondary schools of 429, 000 full-time-equivalent staff. The teacher numbers required to hold the January 1981 ratios steady over the following five years, including the small number of staff not counted in the pupil-teacher ratios, are projected—to the nearest thousand—as 418, 000 in 1982, 406, 000 in 1983, 394, 000 in 1984, 385, 000 in 1985 and 377, 000 in 1986.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the average pupil-teacher ratio for each local education authority within the West Yorkshire metropolitan county council and the Greater Manchester metropolitan council; and how these figures compare with the average pupil-teacher ratio for schools in England as a whole.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 21 January 1982 to my hon. Friend the Member for Lichfield and Tamworth (Mr. Heddle).

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information he has as to the percentage of passes achieved by pupils sitting O and A-level examinations in (a) sixth form colleges, (b) sixth forms in comprehensive schools and (c) sixth forms in grammar schools for the last year for which figures are available; and, in each case, what percentages of each A-level grade were obtained.

The A-level pass rates for English school leavers in 1979–80 from sixth form colleges, comprehensive schools for pupils up to age 18, and from grammar schools were as follows:

	A-level pass rate per cent
Sixth form colleges	76
Comprehensive schools up to 18	72
Grammar schools	79

These rates include the best result achieved in each subject attempted by the time of leaving school. No information is readily available on O-level results achieved in the sixth form, nor on the percentages obtaining each A-level grade.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will take steps to publicise more widely the national engineering scholarships, in view of the relatively few secondary schools that are drawing the existence of these scholarships to the attention of suitably qualified and interested young men and women.

Information about the national engineering scholarships is already distributed widely. A variety of material publicising the competition is sent each year to all secondary schools, further education institutions, universities, the schools liaison service and the engineering careers information service, as well as to principal careers officers and chief librarians. As the number of applications for scholarships has increased fivefold since the scheme was introduced in 1978 and the competition is keen, we do not believe that further publicity is required.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the number of centres in the United Kingdom, apart from the Animal Breeding Research Organisation, engaged in genetic research directed towards the improvement of farm animals

Apart from the Animal Breeding Research Organisation, the following centres in the United Kingdom are engaged in genetic research directed towards the improvement of farm animals, including poultry:

• Funded by the Agricultural Research Council
  • Houghton Poultry Research Station
  • Institute of Animal Physiology
  • Institute for Research on Animal Diseases
  • Poultry Research Centre

In addition, the neuropathogenesis unit, jointly funded by the Agricultural and Medical Research Councils, carries out work in this area.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish in the Official Report the names of schools within each local education authority covered by the area of West Yorkshire metropolitan county council and Greater Manchester metropolitan county council which are participating in the assisted places scheme; and if he will specify the number of assisted places available for each school.

The information is as follows:

Assisted Places available each year
LEA	School	Number
West Yorkshire
Bradford	Bradford Grammar School	301
	Bradford Girls Grammar School	10
Calderdale
Kirklees	Batley Grammar School	45
Leeds	Leeds Grammar School	55
	Leeds Girls High School	30
	Woodhouse Grove School	23
Wakefield	Queen Elizabeth Grammar School	25
	Wakefield High School	25
Greater Manchester
Bolton	Bolton School (Boys Division)	43
	Bolton School (Girls Division)	43
Bury	Bury Grammar School (Boys)	40
	Bury Grammar School (Girls)	40
Manchester	Manchester Grammar School	45
	William Hulme's Grammar School	30
	St. Bede's College	35
	Manchester High School	30
	Withington Girls' School	21
Oldham	Hulme Grammar School (Boys)	35
	Hulme Grammar School (Girls)	35
Rochdale
Salford
Stockport	Stockport Grammar School	40
	Cheadle Hulme School	25
Tameside
Trafford	St. Ambrose College	35
	Loreto Convent	18
Wigan

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish in the Official Report the number of primary schools in each local education authority covered by the West Yorkshire metropolitan county council area which have 50 pupils or fewer.

In January 1981, the number of maintained primary schools with 50 or fewer full-time pupils in each education authority in the West Yorkshire metropolitan county area was as follows:

	Number
Bradford	4
Calderdale	3
Kirklees	12
Leeds	6
Wakefield	4

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will publish in the Official Report the cash limits to be followed by local authority schools, other than voluntary aided or special agreement, in seeking emergency repairs; and whether prior consent of his Department for repairs over £100 is required.

It is for local authorities to decide the level of expenditure on repair work at county and voluntary controlled schools. The prior approval of the Department is not required.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many requests he has received from voluntary aided and special agreement schools for emergency repairs over £100 in £50 bands to £5, 000; and how many requests were granted and how many refused.

The Department has so far received about 100 requests for approval for emergency repairs at voluntary aided and special agreement schools costing between £100 and £5, 000, all of which have received approval to be carried out immediately. The total cost amounts to about £20, 000.In addition, 235 applications, representing work to the value of £305, 571, have been received for repairs—excluding emergency repairs—costing between £100 and £5, 000 and minor capital works costing between £100 and £2, 500. Work totalling £217, 529 has been approved for an immediate start; the remaining work has been approved for a start over the period March to July.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will review the limit of £100 on emergency repairs which may be made without his approval at voluntary aided and special agreement schools; and if he will make a statement.

Discussions are continuing with representatives of the voluntary bodies at national level on all aspects of expenditure by voluntary aided and special agreement schools on repairs to their school buildings, including the limit of £100 on emergency work.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what has delayed his decision on the section 12 notices submitted to him by Surrey county council relating to the Queen Elizabeth II and Shearwater schools in Woking; and if he will now make a statement.

The authority's proposals for these schools raise important and complex issues which have required careful and detailed consideration. My right hon. Friend is aware that his decision is needed urgently and expects to announce it shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information he has as to the number of violent attacks on teachers in maintained schools which took place during each of the last five years; and whether he is able to subdivide these by local education authority.

My right hon. Friend deplores violence of any kind towards teachers. However, the Department has not collected detailed information about such cases.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he has issued any guidance to local education authorities as to policy towards prosecution for assault on teachers in cases where the police are not called.

My right hon. Friend deplores violence of any kind towards teachers. It is, however, for local education authorities and schools to decide how to deal with such cases.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will consider introducing a special new town factor in assessing future rate support grant.

I shall be reviewing the grant-related expenditure position of the new towns and other areas of population growth this year in the light of the information from the 1981 census.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the progress of negotiations with the tobacco industry on a voluntary agreement concerning sponsorship of sport by that industry.

Officials of my Department and of the Department of Health and Social Services have met the tobacco industry on a number of occasions over past months to discuss such a new agreement. A great deal of progress has been made.A further meeting planned for yesterday, 28 January, was postponed by mutual agreement because of travel difficulties due to the rail dispute. This meeting is being rearranged for early February. I hope shortly to be in a position to make a further announcement.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will consult the relevant local authorities before taking any steps to establish agencies to deal with derelict areas and especially areas that are covered by colliery spoil.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment, in view of potential energy savings and remedying of dampness that can result from domestic insulation measures, if he will make a special financial allocation to local authorities so that they are able systematically to undertake insulation work in dwellings which they own.

Within the annual block capital expenditure allocations, local authorities, with their local knowledge, are now free to decide the priority they wish to give to insulation work to improve the energy efficiency and remedy dampness in dwellings which they own.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he plans to take as a result of his Department's insulation homes research programme.

The findings of the Department's "Better Insulated House Programme" have been used as evidence to support the higher standards of insulation required under the revisions to the building regulations to be brought into brought into force on 1 April this year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his reply to the right hon. Member for Brent, East on 22 January, Official Report, c. 202, if he will now consult the Holocaust Foundation, representatives of political parties and hon. Members regarding the possibility of Her Majesty's Government erecting a memorial in London to all the victims of concentration camps.

I am discussing with the Board of Deputies of British Jews the possibility of the Government making a site available to it for commemorating the holocaust. If other people wished to register an interest in that possibility, they might like to get in touch with the Board of Deputies.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will have a model of the proposed new building in Great Sanctuary made and available for inspection by hon. Members before its design is settled irrevocably.

The architect's model of the proposed international conference centre, Broad Sanctuary, was displayed in the Upper Waiting Hall from 28 to 31 October 1980. As my right hon. Friend announced to the House on 2 July 1981—[Vol. 7, c. 466]—work on the superstructure is due to start in April to the design agreed with Westminster city council and which was welcomed by the Royal Fine Art Commission. If any hon. Members wish to see the model again, I will make the necessary arrangements.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the average increase in the rents of council house tenants since May 1979; what percentage this represents; and if he will seek to impose a moratorium on council house rents for the whole of the current year.

[pursuant to his reply, 26 January 1982, c.320]: The average rent paid—before deducting rent rebate or the rent element of supplementary benefit—by local authority tenants in England and Wales, excluding new towns, in April 1979 is estimated at £6·40 per dwelling per week. the latest comparable figure for October 1981 is provisionally estimated at £11·54. The increase is thus 80 per cent. These figures are derived from returns made by local authorities to CIPFA, and to the Department in claiming housing subsidy. The April 1979 figure has already been published in "Housing and Construction Statistics, No 32".The Government do not propose any change in policy during 1982 when the levels of council house rents will be determined by each local authority in the light of the determinations of reckonable income announced by my right hon. Friend in the House on 15 December 1980 and 21 December 1981.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade how many searches were undertaken at the companies registration offices in London and Cardiff, respectively, during the following five day periods of (a) 2 to 6 March 1981 and (b) 7 to 11 December 1981 by the general public on white search tickets.

The figures requested are as follows:

	2 to 6 March 1981	7 to 11 December 1981
London	25, 167	5, 325
Cardiff	3, 005	749

asked the Secretary of State for Trade how many searches were undertaken at the companies registration offices in London and Cardiff, respectively, during the following five day periods of (a) 2 to 6 March 1981 and (b) 7 to 11 December 1981 by agents on red search tickets.

The figures requested are as follows:

	2 to 6 March 1981	7 to 11 December 1981
London	34, 218	23, 909
Cardiff	6, 914	5, 742

asked the Secretary of State for Trade how many company search requests were waiting to be processed at the end of the Civil Service strike in the summer of 1981; of these, how many had been placed by (a) agents and (b) the general public; and how many in each case were carried out on (i) 5p search tickets and (ii) £1 search tickets.

A total of 298, 669 search applications were awaiting processing when it recommenced on 21 August. Excluding those made by Government Departments, the following had been made by agents and the general public at 5p or £1 respectively:

	5p	£1	Total
Agents	134, 828	76, 873	211, 701
Public	48, 440	12, 595	61, 035
Total	183, 268	89, 468	272, 736

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what progress has been made towards introducing a partial search service at the companies registration offices of the type referred to in the Minister's speech to the Fifth Standing Committee on Statutory Instruments &c. on 10 December 1980.

Users of the services provided by the companies registration offices in England and Wales have been informed that changes are to be made in the structure of the microfiche records of companies to enable searchers to be offered a partial record comprising the most recent annual return and accounts only, together with any subsequent amendments to the detail contained therein. This can only be achieved, however, over a period of some years, and I cannot anticipate at present when this facility will be available on a general basis. For the time being, the Directory of Companies, now on free display at the search rooms in London and Cardiff, provides basic company information sufficient to satisfy completely some searches.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade on how many occasions Civil Aviation Authority decisions concerning matters relating to route licences have been overruled by Government directive.

The Secretary of State for Trade has reversed air transport licensing decisions of the Civil Aviation Authority on four occasions as a result of appeals to him by airlines. On four other occasions, also following appeals, the authority has been directed to rehear cases. The Secretary of State has also on six occasions issued directions to the authority under section 4 of the Civil Aviation Act 1971 not to hear applications, but in no case has this involved overturning a decision of the authority.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if, further to his reply to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Handsworth, on 25 January, he will list in the Official Report those steel products on which various United States of America steel manufacturers have petitioned for countervailing and anti-dumping duties to be imposed.

We have now received a copy of the petitions. The United Kingdom steel products which are the subject of petitions for both anti-dumping and countervailing duties are as follows:

• Structurals
• Hot-rolled sheet, coil, band and strip
• Cold-rolled sheet, coil and strip
• Carbon plate
• Galvanised sheet

In addition, the following products are the subject of petitions for countervailing duties only:

asked the Secretary of State for Trade how much steel was exported to the Soviet Union from the United Kingdom in the most recent annual period for which figures are available; and what were the comparable figures in each of the previous five years.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Trade (1) if he will place in the Library the full text of Her Majesty's Government's agreement with the People's Republic of China on footwear quotas;(2) if he will give details of imports of footwear from Poland and the Comecon trading bloc over the last five years.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will give details of imports of footwear from the People's Republic of China over the last five years.

Details of imports from China under division 85—Footwear—are given in table II—currently on page 28—of the Overseas Trade Statistics of the United Kingdom, copies of which are in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will place in the Library a full copy of Her Majesty's Government's arrangements with the Government of Poland and the Governments of the Comecon countries on footwear quotas from Poland and the Comecon trading bloc

The European Commission negotiates annually voluntary restraint arrangements for exports of leather footwear by Poland, Czechoslovakia and Romania. I have placed details of the restraint levels during 1981 in the Library of each House. The same levels will apply to Czechoslovakia and Romania in 1982; the Commission's negotiations with Poland have not been completed.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what has been the total established strength of the coastguard and auxiliaries, respectively, for each year since 1970.

[pursuant to his reply, 28 January 1982, c.406]: For the established size of coastguard manpower I refer the hon. Member to my reply to him of 28 January 1982.The numbers of coastguard auxiliaries in each year since 1970 were as follows:

	Number
1971	6,742
1972	n/a
1973	7,653
1974	7,949
1975	8,399
1976	8,755
1977	8,800
1978	8,844
1979	8,955
1980	9,059
1981	9,055

The figures for 1971 and 1973–78 were at 31 March; the figures for 1979–81 were at 31 December. Prior to 1973 numbers were recorded only in alternate years; hence there is no record for 1972.