asked the Secretary of State for Trade (1) how many vessels (a) under and (b) in excess of, 1,600 gross registered tons entered the pilotage area of the Forth estuary in 1981;(2) how many

The information is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what advice he is taking regarding the question of safety of navigation in the Forth estuary in his consideration of the amendments proposed by the Forth pilotage authority in respect of the issuing of pilotage certificates.

I have sought the advice of the Pilotage Commission.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will arrange public hearings in Grangemouth and other towns on the Forth estuary to hear the views of the people in these towns on the question of possible dangers arising from the amendments proposed by the Forth pilotage authority in respect of the issuing of pilotage certificates.

In the first instance that is a matter for the Pilotage Commission. I will draw the hon. Member's question to its attention.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade by what date all member countries of the European Economic Community are expected to have implemented the accounting provisions of the European Economic Community fourth directive on company regulation.

Like the United Kingdom, Denmark has already implemented the directive. All other member States are working actively to fulfil their obligations and the majority can be expected to enact the necessary legislation during the course of this year. Due to the flexibility provided for in the Companies Act 1981 the time scale under which our companies will be obliged to file accounts drawn up in conformity with the directive is likely to be similar to that for the majority of other Community companies.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade, further to his reply to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Handsworth, on 25 January, Official Report, col. 268, what information he has as to whether any countervailing and anti-dumping duties which might be imposed on steel imports by the United States Government would relate to goods actually imported after any specified date or only to contracts signed after such a date.

Anti-dumping or countervailing duties are imposed under United States law on consignments of the specified goods which are actually imported into the United States of America from the date on which a preliminary determination of dumping or subsidy is announced.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade, further to his reply to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Handsworth, on 25 January, Official Report, col. 268, what is the latest information he has as to whether the United States Department of Commerce has accepted the petitions of various United States steel manufacturers for countervailing and anti-dumping duties to be imposed on certain steel imports from the United Kingdom.

The United States Department of Commerce announced on 1 February that virtually all the petitions against imports of the United Kingdom steel products listed in the answer which I gave to the hon. Member on 29 January have been accepted for investigation. I understand that the only petition to be withdrawn is the anti-dumping petition against imports of hot-rolled sheet. The exact coverage of some of these investigations is not clear and we are awaiting fuller details.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will make a statement on his proposals for the official receiver service.

The second part of the Insolvency Law Review Committee report is still awaited; in the meantime I am further considering Government proposals.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what are the salaries and equivalent Civil Service grades of the chief executive and heads of departments of the Welsh Tourist Board.

The equivalent Civil Service grades and salaries are as follows:

Wales tourist board post	Civil service equivalent	Salary band national scales
		£
	Under-Secretary
Chief Executive		*22,812
Finance Director
Development Director		*11,827
Marketing Director	Principal	—*15,610
Publicity Director

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress has been made in European Economic Community negotiations with Barbados and similarly placed developing and former Commonwealth countries on cane sugar prices for the 1981 and 1982 crops; and whether he will make a statement.

It was agreed at the Foreign Affairs Council on 26 January that the ACP countries, including Barbados, should be offered an 8½ per cent. rather than a 7½ per cent. increase in the guaranteed price for the sugar they supply under the sugar protocol to the Lomé convention. At the same time it was agreed that the refiners of ACP sugar should be compensated for this price increase by a three-year suspension of the storage levy/ refund scheme for ACP sugar, starting from 1 July this year. A decision on the future of this scheme, which we have long regarded as an unnecessary burden on the refining industry, will be taken in the light of experience gained during this period of suspension.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will ensure that British farmers are in no way disadvantaged by any adjustment in the green pound.

The Government's policy has always been to consider the level of the green pound in the light of all relevant factors at the time. They never agree to proposals that would disadvantage British farmers.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the implications of the Oil and Gas (Enterprise) Bill in so far as it concerns the construction of new gas pipelines through agricultural land.

I have been asked to reply.I expect the proposals in the Bill to increase further the supply and use of gas in Great Britain in due course. Requirements for new pipeline transmission capacity will follow and some additional disturbance of agricultural land could arise. This will be minimised as far as possible.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if, in the light of the views of the Forestry Commission and the provisions of section 7 of the New Forest Act 1877, he intends to take steps to prevent oil exploration by drilling in the Denny Inclosure in the New Forest, planning permission for which has been applied for by Shell UK Ltd.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if, either on his own behalf or on that of the Forestry Commission, he intends to take steps, in the light of the provisions of section 7 of the New Forest Act 1877, to prevent oil exploration by drilling in the inclosures in the New Forest, planning permission for which has been applied for by Shell UK Ltd.

[pursuant to her reply, 25 January 1982, c. 288]: The Forestry Commission on my right hon. Friend's behalf has already advised the planning authority that, subject to any legal constraints, if planning permission is granted, or granted subject to conditions, the company would not be denied the necessary access and facilities to sink an exploratory borehole.Section 7 of the New Forest Act 1877 does not prevent my right hon. Friend from granting a lease or access rights in the New Forest inclosures. Section 6 of the Act permits land, which has been "inclosed" for growing timber and trees, to be laid open. Such land will no longer be appropriated to growing timber and trees but would become subject to common rights. Any lease or access right, which may be granted to Shell UK Ltd., would, however, thereupon become subject to common rights which affect the forest. Before work could proceed, it would be necessary for the company either to obtain freedom from the common rights or, with the consent of the verderers under section 19 of the New Forest Act 1949, for these rights to be transferred to other land which would have to be contiguous to the forest.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is satisfied that Shell UK Ltd. have obtained from the Forestry Commission the necessary permissions for access to and from Denny Inclosure in the New Forest, in view of the constraints placed upon access by section 7 of the New Forest Act 1877.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether any agreement has been entered into between Shell UK Ltd. and the Forestry Commission, allowing the former access to the Denny Wood Inclosure for the purpose of drilling for oil.

[pursuant to her reply, 2 February 1982, c. 72]: No permission has been granted or agreement entered into on my right hon. Friend's behalf allowing Shell UK Ltd. access to Denny Wood in order to drill for oil. The question will not arise unless the company is granted planning permission.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what recent representations he has had from the Society of Teachers Opposed to Physical Punishment with regard to severe beatings of epileptic, asthmatic and other handicapped children and the use of his powers under section 93 of the Education Act 1944, what reply he is sending; whether he proposes to take action; and if he will make a statement.

The society has sent my right hon. Friend a copy of their publication "Britain's Battered School Children" and has drawn particular attention to an incident in 1980 involving a girl aged 9, with a history of epilepsy. The Department is making further inquiries about this incident, and when these are completed I will reply to the society's letter and write to the right hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many teachers he now expects to be made redundant during 1982–83; what percentage these will constitute of the total number of teachers currently employed in the State system; and what is his latest estimate of the cost of redundancy payments.

Decisions about teacher redundancies are for the local education authorities as employers. The Government's plans make provision for an increase in the level of early retirements, in line with present trends, and for some redundancy among teachers. The number of redundancies which they make will depend on local circumstances, including the rate of natural wastage among their teachers and the scope for redeployment and early retirement. The Government's expenditure plans for 1982–83 include an additional £20 million to assist with the contraction of school teacher numbers.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what evidence he has of violence in schools; whether his Department is taking action to deal with such violence; and if he will make a statement.

The Department does not collect information on this matter. My right hon. Friend and I deplore the use of violence in schools, but responsibility for action lies primarily with local education authorities and schools.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many students receiving mandatory awards transfer their award within 14 months of the start of their original course.

This information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will publish a report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate on the effects on the education service of local authority expenditure policies in England in 1981–82.

I have decided to publish the inspectorate's report when it is ready, which I hope will be within the next few weeks.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish in the Official Report the crime figures for personal assault in Great Britain in the six months period following the disorders in April 1981; and if he will list the comparative figures for the six month period preceding those disturbances.

Quarterly figures of offences of violence against the person and of robbery recorded by the police in England and Wales are published in quarterly Home Office statistical bulletins, which are placed in the Library of the House. The latest issue—No. 27/81—gives figures up to the third quarter of 1981—table 1. Seasonal variations may affect changes between successive quarters and figures should be compared with the corresponding period of the previous year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the prison population of England and Wales on 30 June 1981; and what was the average daily prison population in 1981.

The total population of Prison Department establishments in England and Wales on 30 June 1981 was 44,500. The provisional figure for the average daily population in 1981 is 43,300.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will give for 1980 and 1981 the number of persons found guilty and sentenced for the offence of rape; how many had custodial sentences; how many did not receive such sentences; and in the latter cases what were the penalties imposed.

Information for 1980 is published in table S1.1(A) of volume 1 (Page 12) and table S2.1(A) of volume 2, page 10, of the supplementary tables to "Criminal statistics, England and Wales, 1980", copies of which have been placed in the Library of the House; the figures include some offences other than under section 1 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956, including offences of aiding and abetting and attempts.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has received arty representations about improper use of the police national computer by hotel companies in London.

No.

asked the Prime Minister if she will make an offer of asylum in the United Kingdom to the seven members of the Vashchenco and Chmyknalov families who have for three and a half years been in refuge in the United States embassy in Moscow.

While it is unlikely that the Soviet authorities would react any more favourably to a request for the two families to travel to Britain than to the United States, where the United States Administration have already said they may settle, we would nevertheless be willing to receive them here if they so wished. The British Government continue to hope that direct negotiation between the United States and Soviet Union will secure their early departure.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will publish a comparison for domestic and commercial gas prices between the United Kingdom and other European Economic Community countries as at 1 January 1982.

The latest available gas price data, based on an informal survey conducted among the gas undertakings in certain European cities, are as follows and relate to tariffs in force on 1 July 1981; they are inclusive of taxes. Prices for Ireland and Luxembourg are not available.In making international price comparisons it must be borne in mind that difficulties can arise in times of changing prices and exchange rate fluctuations. There can, moreover, be a wide range of prices within countries and differences in the methods of collecting data may not always provide comparable figures.

	pence/therm*
	Domestic	Commercial
Annual Consumption	400 therms	10,000 therms
Brussels	51·5	38·8
Copenhagen†	79·7	74·6
Paris	65·3	41·4
Dusseldorf	50·2	41·4
Manchester	31·6	27·5
Turin	32·8	36·5
Amsterdam	30·4	27·5

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement about the proposed further feasibility study into the design and economics of a barrage across the Severn estuary taking into consideration the possible social and environmental impact of such a project.

The Government will be considering the recommendations of the Severn barrage committee, taking into account the comments being received from interested parties during the period of public consultation.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will estimate the total amount of plutonium contained in all Great Britain's magnox reactors, including Calder Hall and Chapelcross, at 31 September 1981.

On 30 September the United Kingdom civil magnox reactors contained about 8½ tonnes of civil grade plutonium. This is an integral part of the fuel resulting from irradiation in the reactor and constitutes 0.15 per cent. of the total magnox fuel mass. This level is constant at current levels of irradiation.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make an estimate of the total cost of putting all electricity cables underground.

The information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, the my hon. Friend will be aware that the Secretary of State has initiated a review of the technical standards applying to overhead lines.—[Vol. 15, c. 306.] The review is considering carefully the main causes of recent difficulties with a view to taking any reasonably practical steps to prevent recurrences.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the current percentage rates of unemployment in Austria, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland, respectively.

The unemployment rates for November 1981, the latest available common date for the countries requested, are as follows. The rates for different countries are not directly comparable because of differences in concepts and coverage.

	November
	1981
Austria*	3·2
Norway*	1·5
Sweden†	3·0
Switzerland*	0·2

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the latest unemployment figures for (a) adults and (b) young persons in (i) Birmingham and (ii) the West Midlands.

At 8 October 1981, the latest date for which information is available, there were 104,478 people aged 18 years and over and 11,248 aged under 18 years registered as unemployed in the Birmingham travel-to-work area. The corresponding figures for the West Midlands region were 316,802 aged 18 years and over and 32,916 aged under 18.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many unemployed people have found employment within six months in each of the last 10 years.

As statistics on the total length of time an individual spends on the register as unemployed are not available, it is not possible to provide the information requested. However, over the past 10 years an average of 260,000 to 330,000 people in Great Britain left the register at employment offices each month. Although the statistics do not distinguish the reasons why people leave the register, a survey conducted in 1976 estimated that the great majority—80 per cent.—left for work.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish a table giving the number of unemployed in each of the last five years, together with the number of those unemployed for more than 12 months in each year, and the proportion of the latter to the former.

The numbers unemployed for more than 12 months are available quarterly in January, April, July and October and the following table gives the information for Great Britain for the period specified.

1977	Total unemployed	Unemployed for over 52 weeks
	Number	Number	As a percentage of total unemployed
January	1,390,218	284,317	20·5
April	1,335,635	296,276	22·2
July	1,553,466	307,053	19·8
October	1,456,583	324,284	22·3
1978
January	1,484,687	333,917	22·5
April	1,387,484	332,311	24
July	1,512,487	328,372	21·7
October	1,364,907	333,078	24·4
1979
January	1,391,220	334,800	24·1
April	1,279,808	346,795	27·1
July	1,392,021	340,543	24·5
October	1,302,827	337,033	25·9
1980
January	1,404,389	335,128	23·9

Unemployed by age and duration at October 981
Cleveland
	Males				Females
Duration in weeks	Under 25	25–54	55+	All	Under 25	25–54	55+	A11
2 or less	604	826	214	1,644	449	247	15	711
Over 2 and up to 4 weeks	714	720	211	1,645	619	260	12	891
Over 4 and up to 8 weeks	1,518	1,273	281	3,072	1,246	416	29	1,691
Over 8 and up to 13 weeks	1,163	1,269	395	2,827	845	403	31	1,279
Over 13 and up to 26 weeks	2,207	2,476	1,136	5,819	1,705	891	68	2,664
Over 26 and up to 52 weeks	2,627	4,127	2,102	8,856	1,611	1,289	175	3,075
Over 52 and up to 104 weeks	2,647	4,317	1,559	8,523	1,244	994	130	2,368
Over 104 weeks and up to 156 weeks	630	1,363	543	2,536	247	205	48	500
Over 156 weeks	210	1,710	971	2,891	108	220	107	435
Total	12,320	18,081	7,412	37,813	8,074	4,925	615	13,614

Cumbria
	Males				Females
Duration in weeks	Under 25	25–54	55+	All	Under 25	25–54	55+	All
2 or less	339	343	110	792	307	202	11	520
Over 2 and up to 4 weeks	386	370	115	871	383	201	16	600
Over 4 and up to 8 weeks	806	745	269	1,820	748	297	34	1,079
Over 8 and up to 13 weeks	623	707	218	1,548	565	286	26	877
Over 13 and up to 26 weeks	1,011	978	348	2,337	1,002	570	56	1,628
Over 26 and up to 52 weeks	873	1,379	848	3,100	789	943	99	1,831
Over 52 and up to 104 weeks	731	1,334	694	2,759	476	539	93	1,108
Over 104 and up to 156 weeks	95	298	187	580	67	118	30	215
Over 156 weeks	30	325	389	744	24	115	68	207
Total	4,894	6,479	3,178	14,551	4,361	3,271	433	8,065

Durham
	Males				Females
Duration in weeks	Under 25	25–54	55+	All	Under 25	25–54	55+	All
2 or less	524	624	118	1,266	403	229	19	651
Over 2 and up to 4 weeks	567	549	109	1,225	502	233	12	747
Over 4 and up to 8 weeks	1,273	976	240	2,489	1,230	383	32	1,645
Over 8 and up to 13 weeks	828	891	326	2,045	740	410	20	1,170
Over 13 and up to 26 weeks	1,729	1,994	770	4,493	1,288	987	83	2,358
Over 26 and up to 52 weeks	1,941	3,393	1,606	6,940	1,249	1,463	139	2,851
Over 52 and up to 104 weeks	1,532	2,732	985	5,249	772	941	115	1,828

1977	Total unemployed	Unemployed for over 52 weeks
	Number	Number	As a percentage of total unemployed
April	1,454,662	333,869	23·0
July	1,811,947	343,497	19·0
October	1,972,982	378,559	19·2
1981
January	2,320,473	430,260	18·5
April	2,426,271	488,558	20·1
July	2,743,993	593,882	21·6
October	2,876,420	746,604	26·0

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the most recent unemployment figures for each Northern region county and travel-to-work area, categorized by sex and age, and duration of unemployment.

[pursuant to the reply, 27 January 1982, c. 362]. The following table gives information at October 1981, the latest date for which it is available, for counties in the Northern region and for the North Tyne, South Tyne and Teesside travel-to-work areas. Corresponding figures for other travel-to-work areas in the region could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many accidents have occurred in Cornwall due to the danger created by the failure to fence either mines or quarries in the area.

No accidents resulting from the failure to provide adequate fencing at working mines or quarries have been reported to the Health and Safety Executive for at least the past five years.Before 1 January 1981, only accidents resulting in death of or serious bodily injury to employed persons were required to be reported to the executive. Since then there has been a statutory requirement for the notification of all accidents at workplaces, apart from those resulting in no injury or only minor injury.In relation to abandoned mines and quarries, I refer to the answer given to my hon. Friend by the Under-Secretary of State for the Environment on 26 January 1982.—[Vol. 16, c. 319.]

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of redundancies in Derbyshire during the last 12 months has been from the manufacturing sector.

There are no comprehensive statistics of redundancies. Of those redundancies reported to the Manpower Services Commission as due to occur in 1981 in Derbyshire, 76.5 per cent. related to manufacturing industries. This figure, which is provisional, may be affected by the coverage of the data which is restricted to those redundancies occurring in groups of 10 or more employees.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the current rate of unemployment in Derbyshire; and what is the rate of increase over the year compared with the national increase.

At January 1982 the provisional rate of unemployment in Derbyshire was 10.5 per cent. Between January 1981 and January 1982 the numbers registered as unemployed in Derbyshire increased by 31.4 per cent. compared with an increase of 26.9 per cent. in the United Kingdom.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many licences to store petroleum spirit are issued annually under the terms of the Petroleum (Regulations) Acts 1928 and 1936; and if he will review both the level of the licence fee and the continuation of the licensing system.

Licences to store petroleum sprit are issued by local authorities, including harbour authorities. No record of the number of licences issued annually is held centrally, but it has been estimated that there are between 70,000 and 75,000 premises—excluding harbours—in England and Wales where petroleum licences are in force. No figures are available for Scotland, nor is an accurate estimate available for port authorities.The level of licence fees was last reviewed in 1981. Future reviews will take place annually.The Health and Safety Commission is reviewing all current legislation on the storage and use of highly flammable liquids. One of the issues under consideration is the continuation of the system of licensing petroleum.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the total number of women in the work force; how many women are registered as unemployed; and what proportion this represents of total women workers for each year since 1977.

In June 1981 there were 10,086,000 women in the working population in the United Kingdom, including 763,000 registered as unemployed.Unemployment rates for women for each June since 1977 are as follows:

	Per cent
1977	4·1
1978	4·3
1979	4·2
1980	5·3
1981	7·7

The unemployment rate is calculated by expressing the unemployed as a percentage of all employees —both in employment and unemployed. This differs from the working population, which in addition to employees includes the self-employed and members of Her Majesty's Forces.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many apprentices were made redundant in the Birmingham area in the last 12 months.

Complete figures are not available, but the Manpower Services Commission estimates that about 500 apprentices were made redundant in the Birmingham travel-to-work area in 1981.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the number at December 1981 of foreign entertainment performers allowed to come and work in Greater London and the United Kingdom, respectively, by being granted work permits.

I regret that the information is not available except at disproportionate cost. I cannot provide figures any more helpful than those which I gave on 26 January.—[Vol. 16, c. 328–29.]

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will take steps to include representation for Northern Ireland in making appointments to the European Advisory Committee on Equal Opportunities.

Her Majesty's Government along with Governments of other member States in the Community are not responsible for making appointments to the European Advisory Committee on Equal Opportunities, which has been set up by the European Commission for the Commission's own purposes. However, we have drawn to the attention of the Commission the fact that Northern Ireland is not represented on its advisory body.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many staff were employed by local unemployment benefit offices in 1979; what was the ratio between the numbers of staff and claimants at that time; what are the similar figures for the last available date; and if he will break the figures down to give the information for each region.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many staff will be saved by the introduction of voluntary registration for unemployed claimants.

It is estimated that voluntary registration will produce a net saving of 1,350 staff in the Department of Employment group—1,300 in jobcentres and 50 in unemployment benefit offices. That saving is achieved after allowing for the additional 250 staff to be allocated in jobcentres to provide help and guidance to long-term unemployed people. 750 of the 1,350 staff to be saved will be counted towards savings which the employment service was already committed to make by 1984; and the figure of 600 given in the explanatory and financial memorandum to the Social Security and Housing Benefits Bill represents the further manpower savings in the Department of Employment group which voluntary registration makes possible. There will also be an associated increase of 50 staff in the Department of Health and Social Security to provide additional unemployment review officers.

asked the Attorney-General what prosecutions are liable to result as a consequence of the report prepared by the Director of Public Prosecutions on alleged corruption and malpractices upon the part of councillors and officials of the London borough of Newham; and when these are likely.

A police report is being considered by The Director of Public Prosecutions, who will shortly be communicating his decision to the Commissioner.

asked the Attorney-General how many criminal cases committed by magistrates' courts in the county of Clwyd and due for hearing at the Mold Crown court were transferred to the Chester Crown court for trial during the year 1981; and what were the reasons for those transfers.

During 1981, 105 cases committed for trial and 20 cases committed for sentence or involving deferred sentences were transferred from the Mold Crown court to the Chester Crown court. These transfers took place in order to provide an earlier hearing date.

asked the Attorney-General how many criminal cases committed by magistrates' courts in the county of Chester and due for hearing at the Chester Crown court were transferred to the Mold Crown court for trial during the year 1981; and what were the reasons for those transfers.

During 1981, 164 cases committed for trial and 31 cases committed for sentence or involving a deferred sentence were transferred from Chester Crown court to Mold Crown court. These transfers took place in order to provide an earlier hearing date.

asked the Attorney-General whether he will ensure that henceforth, save in the most exceptional circumstances, all Crown court cases arising within the county of Clwyd will be tried at the Mold Crown court and all those arising within the county of Chester at Crown courts within that county.

It would not be in the best interests of the administration of justice to do so. The close proximity of the Chester and Mold Crown court centres makes it possible for some cases to be dealt with more expeditiously by transfer from one centre to another. Cases are normally transferred with the consent of the parties and it is open to any party to object to a proposed transfer.

asked the Attorney-General if he will introduce legislation to ensure that, where a person sues another for tort and the action fails, the defendant shall be entirely free of any consequential financial burden, particularly in cases where (a) the tort is not subject to legal aid, such as in libel cases, and (b) the unsuccessful plaintiff is in receipt of supplementary or invalidity benefit; and if he will make a statement.

No. It would not be appropriate to provide an indemnity from public funds in these circumstances. The existing law contains adequate safeguards against frivolous and vexatious actions.

asked the Attorney-General when he intends to bring into force the extension of legal aid to the parents in child care cases, as provided for in section 65 of the Children Act 1975.

I have been asked to reply. Section 65 of the Children Act 1975 is already in force, but its effect is limited until section 64 is full implemented. We hope to implement section 64 in fully as soon as the necessary resources become available.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) why De Lorean cars are not being sold on the United Kingdom market;(2) whether DeLorean has any intention of marketing its cars within the United Kingdom;(3) whether he will instruct Coopers and Lybrand to investigate the prospects for distribution of De Lorean cars within the United Kingdom;(4) whether any estimate of the potential market for De Lorean cars within the United Kingdom has been made.

I understand that the company is not able to sell the DMC/12 car in the United Kingdom because the company has not yet completed its right-hand drive specification, nor has it obtained national type approval for Great Britain. However, I understand that the company has made a preliminary estimate of the potential United Kingdom demand with the object of marketing the car once the specification work has been completed and the necessary national type approval obtained.Coopers and Lybrand, as part of their assessment of the De Lorean companies' prospects, will be looking at the potential of markets outside North America, including the United Kingdom.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the cost of wages and salaries in the Civil Service in each of the last five years, distinguishing between increases paid by annual increments and those paid through negotiated settlements.

The provision made in the Supply Estimates for the pay cost of staff of central Government Departments in each year since 1977–78 is as follows:

	£million
1977–78	3,065
1978–79	3,266

	£million
1979–80	3,744
1980–81	4,627
1981–82	5,002

The changes from one year to the next include changes in pay rates, grade structure, overtime working, employers' national insurance contributions and staff numbers. The net cost of increments over the period is very small. Generally, when numbers are increasing the incremental system decreases the average wage bill, but when numbers are falling the average wage bill increases—for instance, by about 0.5 per cent. in 1980–81. Precise figures could not be provided without disproportionate cost.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why Crown employees are not covered by the statutory provisions relating to redundancies.

Crown Servants are excluded from the redundancy provisions of the Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act 1978 because they have occupational redundancy terms which provide no less favourable treatment.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the current rate of inflation.

The latest figure for the annual rate of increase in the RPI is for the 12 months to December 1981 when the increase was 12 per cent.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will ensure that all the routine documents used in transactions between value added tax offices and the general public in Wales are available in a bilingual form.

Customs and excise already print some VAT forms in the Welsh language. All letters received in Welsh are answered in Welsh, and Welsh-speaking officers are available to visit, advise and assist any persons who prefer to communicate in the Welsh language.Experience has shown that existing facilities are adequate for dealing with Welsh-speaking persons without adding to the range of Welsh language forms at present available.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence why the Ministry of Defence, unlike other operational headquarters, does not fly its flags seven days a week.

For ceremonial purposes, the Ministry of Defence is categorised as a Government building and not as an operational headquarters. Like other Government buildings, it observes full flag dressing for appointed flag days whenever they fall. In addition, the Union flag, the three Service ensigns, and the combined Services flag are flown during the normal working week.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry on how many occasions in the 12 months any aspect of regional fund assistance has been discussed in any Council of Ministers.

No aspects of regional fund assistance have been discussed in any Council of Ministers during the last 12 months.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what examination is currently being undertaken by his Department in order to reduce the amount of waste such as non-returnable soft drink bottles; whether any body is proposed to replace the Waste Management Advisory Committee; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Member to my reply of 23 October 1981 to the hon. Member for West Lothian (Mr. Dalyell).—[Vol. 10, c. 193–4]. As a further example, following the detailed examination by a working party of the Waste Management Advisory Council of the subject of returnable and non-returnable beverage containers, the recommendations in its report are now being followed up on a voluntary basis by the industries concerned.

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.

[pursuant to his reply, 29 January 1982, c. 445]: My right hon. Friend does not consider that it would be appropriate to use his powers of direction to intervene in management decisions on export marketing and pricing, and he is not aware of any cause for concern over the British Steel Corporation's exports to the Soviet Union.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what was the total extra cost to his Department of its contributions to the International Year of Disabled People.

[pursuant to his reply, 1 February 1982, c. 128]: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given to the question asked by my hon. Friend the Member for Eastleigh (Sir D. Price) on 18 January—[Vol. 16, c. 32–3.]. It is not possible to put a precise value on this contribution to date, and some additional cost may be incurred in 1982 as a consequence of initiatives taken during the year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what increase he either recommends should be added, or he estimates will be added, to council house rents, over and above the £2.50 consequent upon the local contribution differential in consequence of the housing costs which are not reckonable for housing subsidy.

My right hon. Friend has made no such recommendation or estimate. It is for individual local authorities to decide their rent levels for 1982–83 in the light of their own estimates of housing revenue expenditure. As my right hon. Friend made clear in his statement on 21 December 1981—[Vol. 15, c. 326–327]—he expects these decisions to lead to an increase in the average rent of £2.50 per dwelling per week in 1982–83.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the average payment per domestic hereditament on police services in (a) England and Wales, other than London, (b) the Metropolitan Police district and (c) the City of London, respectively, excluding rate support grant and police grant.

Rate support grants are paid in support of local authority services generally. It is not therefore possible to identify the amount of grant, or the average domestic rate bill, attributable to police services. Comparisons of expenditure on police services are contained in "Local Government Comparative Statistics 1981" published by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any evidence that people are discouraged from making planning applications to build nuclear shelters because of the publicity given to such applications; and if he will seek to amend the requirements contained in planning regulations to enable persons wishing to build nuclear shelters to avoid such publicity.

Four letters have been received complaining about lack of confidentiality for applications to build nuclear fall-out shelters. I do not think it would be justifiable to exempt such applications from entry into the registers of planning applications kept for inspection by the public. However, the construction of domestic shelters in the grounds of houses will not always require planning permission as they will frequently fall within the limits of development permitted by the town and country planning general development order.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his policy with regard to the provision of refuges for battered women; whether one refuge place per family per 10,000 population is the criterion he uses in providing funds to local authorities; and if he will make a statement.

It is for individual local authorities to make their own assessment of housing needs in their areas and take decisions on how to use the resources available to them through the housing investment programme. This includes decisions as to what provision is necessary for refuges for battered women.In addition to what local authorities themselves provide, funds from the Department's urban aid programme provide assistance to some voluntary groups operating refuges in major towns. No rigid place per population criterion is applied.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to implement the next revaluation of domestic property; whether any such revaluation will be retrospective so far as increases in rates due to the installation of central heating; and if he will make a statement.

The Government has no present plans for a revaluation of domestic property. A Green Paper, "Alternatives to Domestic Rates", Cmnd. 8449, was published on 16 December 1981. Responses to that paper have been invited by 31 March 1982.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will restructure the block grant formula in such a way as to include within the grant-related expenditure assessment a sum to cover fully such retirement pensioner travel concessions as are granted by local authorities within agreed limits and which would not incur penalties for overspending; and if he will make a statement.

Authorities' grant-related expenditure assessments currently include an amount for concessionary fare schemes for the elderly which is proportional to the numbers of elderly people in their areas. These amounts are limited overall to the provision for these schemes in the Government's expenditure plans. It is for local authorities to determine their own expenditure priorities. It would not be appropriate to seek to influence their determinations by giving such schemes a special position in relation to authorities' overall expenditure targets.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many public inquiries, in addition to the present inquiry into the application by Shell UK Ltd. to drill for oil in the Denny Wood Inclosure in the New Forest, he has authorised where the applicant, if successful, would not have been able to implement his object without amending legislation.

I am not aware of any planning inquiries—including the present one—that have been authorised in circumstances where legislation would have been necessary to enable the development to proceed if planning permission were granted.