asked the Minister for Trade if he will bring forward proposals to relieve airport users and air travellers of any of the cost of anti-terrorist security measures, in the light of the way that such measures are financed in respect of other methods of transport.

No.

asked the Minister for Trade what quantities of wool were imported from Argentina in 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981 and in 1982 to the most recent practicable date; what proportion of total imports of wool these figures represent.

The available information is as follows:

asked the Minister for Trade what position has been reached in the negotiations on restrictions of imports in the case of preferential suppliers of textile imports as part of the multi-fibre arrangement negotiations; and if he will make a statement.

At its meeting in Luxembourg yesterday, the Council of Ministers noted the conclusion by the Commission of new voluntary restraint arrangements with Egypt, for cotton yarn, and Spain; and instructed the Commission to continue negotiations with Cyprus, Malta, Morocco, Portugal and Tunisia. The Council decide that the Moroccan, Portuguese and Tunisian authorities should be informed of the import levels that will be applied by the Community in the absence of voluntary arrangements; and that import licensing should be introduced for certain textile and clothing products from Morocco and Tunisia. The Council also considered a proposal from the Commission for a voluntary restraint arrangement covering cotton yarn from Turkey and remitted this to officials for further consideration.

asked the Minister for Trade what alternative arrangements are being examined if the current multi-fibre arrangement negotiations fail; and if he will make a statement.

Formal negotiations on new bilateral agreements under the multi-fibre arrangement will not begin in Brussels until mid-May. It would be premature at this stage to anticipate the failure of these negotiations.

asked the Minister for Trade what safeguards are being considered to prevent outward processing arrangements by other EEC countries from undermining the inclusion of outward processing in total quotas for the United Kingdom under the multi-fibre arrangement negotiations; and if he will make a statement.

Imports into the Community under outward processing arrangements will be subject to that part of the global ceilings set aside for outward processing. Indirect imports of outward processed goods into the United Kingdom via other member States will remain subject to the provisions of article 115 if such imports threaten to undermine quotas applying to direct imports.

asked the Minister for Trade if he is satisfied with the current safety record of zinc-carbon, alkaline and button-cell batteries produced in the United Kingdom; how many accidents arising from the use or storage of such batteries have been reported to his Department over the past five years; and if he is satisfied with the forms of quality control, design and research on safety currently carried out within the industry.

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

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will make a statement about the financial affairs of the Sea Fish Industry Authority.

The Government propose to make a grant towards the costs incurred by the Sea Fish Industry Authority in administering the scheme of Government grants for the construction and improvement of fishing vessels (SI 1981/1765). The grant will be 100 per cent. of the reasonable costs incurred by the authority, up to a maximum in 1982–83 of £200,000. Payments will be subject to cash limits. Subject to Parliamentary approval of this new service, which will be sought in Supplementary Estimates, payment will be made with effect from 1 April 1982. The amount involved will be found from savings within the vote so there will be no substantive increase in the approved cash limit for 1982–83 on Class III, Vote 5. The Government propose also to provide a guarantee to the authority in respect of default of certain loans made to persons engaged in the fishing industry with Government funds, by the authority and by its predecessors the White Fish Authority and the Herring Industry Board. The reasons for, and terms of, the guarantee are set out in a Minute which was presented to Parliament today. The Sea Fish Industry Authority will make appropriate provision against potential bad debts in respect of loans it approves in the future. The authority, with the agreement of the Government, has accepted that the objective during 1982–83 should be to avoid any net increase in the total of arrears due from the authority to the Government above the total outstanding on 30 April 1982, and as soon as possible during the course of 1982–83 to initiate a programme of continuing reductions in the outstanding arrears with a view to their eventual elimination.These measures give the Sea Fish Industry Authority additional Government finance to help it meet its costs and provide it with considerable additional financial security. This new help from the Government underlines its commitment to the authority and its determination to safeguard and promote the interests of the industry.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, further to his reply dated 4 December 1981, Official Report, column 265, concerning the acreage and production of crops, whether he will give for each of the years in question (a) the normal yield of sugar beet per acre and (b) the actual sugar content of the United Kingdom harvest per tonne of beet.

Sugar beet yields vary from year to year and there is no generally accepted figure for normal yields. The average sugar content, not all of which can be extracted, of the beet produced in each of the years concerned was:

asked Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what, in percentage terms, is the degree of self-sufficiency which the European Economic Community has in respect of each of the following: wheat, barley, oats, maize, beef, pork, sugar, poultry, milk, butter and skimmed milk powder.

The information is as follows:

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will commission a study of the level of indebtedness of the fishing industry in order to assess the need for aid from his Department.

No. My right hon. Friend already has available to him statistics on the industry's level of indebtedness.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what representations he has received about the level of indebtedness of fishing vessel owners and agents; (2) what future arrangements he intends to make to continue aid to the fishing industry when the present arrangements cease.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to his questions on 26 April—[Vol. 22, c. 181.]

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will estimate (a) the annual operating costs, (b) the contribution made by his temporary aid provision and (c) the level of interest payments on bank and other borrowings for an average English fishing vessel of over 60 ft and under 60 ft.

Each of the two categories of vessel referred to covers such a wide range of types, sizes and ages of vessel that the estimates sought would be difficult to make and would not be meaningful.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will estimate the scale of bank and other borrowings by the fishing industry.

Lending by all commercial banks to the fishing industry totalled £86 million in mid-February 1982. In addition, loans from the Sea Fish Industry Authority stood at £13·5 million, from the Highlands and Islands Development Board at £5·4 million, and from the Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland at £3 million.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the net cost in 1982–83 of raising tax thresholds to the level of the 1982–83 (a) ordinary and (b) long-term supplementary benefit adult scale rates plus the estimated average housing costs of supplementary benefit recipients; what these levels would be; and what would be the costs if personal tax allowances were allowed against the standard rate of tax only.

Estimates for 1982–83 are as follows:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to adjust the level of oil taxation to follow as closely as possible movements in crude oil prices.

As my right hon. and learned Friend said in his Budget Statement on 9 March 1982—[Vol. 19, c. 745.]— falling oil prices reduce the revenue of oil companies but also reduce the tax they pay. More generally, it is the Government's policy that the level of North Sea taxation is related to the profitability of activity in this area.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will increase the borrowing limits of the British Steel Corporation and the British Transport Docks Board to ensure that their investment plans are not jeopardised by the cost of litigation between them.

[pursuant to his reply, 26 April 1982, c. 180]: I hope it will be possible for the two boards to resolve their dispute without the need for litigation.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 27 April.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 27 April.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 27 April.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 27 April.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 27 April.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 27 April.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 27 April.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 27 April.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 27 April.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 27 April.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 27 April.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 27 April.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 27 April.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 27 April.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 27 April.

asked the Prime Minister if the will list her official engagements for Tuesday 27 April.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 27 April.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 27 April.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 27 April.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 27 April.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 27 April.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 27 April.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 27 April.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 27 April.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 27 April.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 27 April.

This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House I shall have further meetings later today.

asked the Prime Minister if she will make a statement on the Falkland Islands.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for West Lothian (Mr. Dalyell).

asked the Prime Minister how many hon. Members she has seen on matters relating to factory closures since she last answered oral questions; and how many jobs were expected to be lost in the closures mentioned.

I have had no such meetings since 22 April.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will make a statement on the proposals of the Metropolitan Police to teach the London police certain dialects as used by certain inhabitants in the Metropolitan Police area; whether he will list the dialects to be taught; and whether these will include Gaelic, Yiddish, Glasgow, Cockney, Lancashire, Yorkshire, Geordie and other known dialects as used by the British indigenous population.

The recently expanded Metropolitan Police recruit training course provides an opportunity for recruits, 80 per cent. of whom come from outside London, to familiarise themselves with the different speaking styles and characteristics that they are likely to meet in every day contact with the public. These include regional dialects, speech defects and foreign accents. The purpose of this training is to improve communications between the police and the public by enhancing the listening skills of recruits. There is no proposal to teach dialects to the police.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Newham, North-West on 1 April, Official Report, c. 154–55, how many of the prisoners held in prison awaiting trial for periods exceeding one year were those awaiting trial for charges of murder, affray and rioting in Thornton Heath a year ago.

Information on the offences with which remand prisoners are charged is not collected centrally and could be made available only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will make provisions so that, on production of his House of Commons security pass, a Member of Parliament will be enabled to enter and examine any police station, or those within, without prior notification to those in charge at the moment of the visit.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions and for what reasons he has released from prison on parole a person found guilty of rape and manslaughter within a period of five years and eight months when the judge concerned had sentenced any such person to 12 years' imprisonment.

This information is not available in the form requested. Statistics breaking down parole recommendations by offence types and sentence lengths are published in an appendix to the annual reports of the Parole Board. The latest figures available are those given in appendix 3 to the board's report for 1980. The report for 1981 is expected to be published in June 1982.With full remission for good conduct a prisoner serving a determinate sentence will normally be released after serving two-thirds of the sentence in custody, for example eight years out of 12. Subject to serving a minimum of 12 months, he becomes eligible for consideration for earlier release on parole licence after serving not less than one-third of the sentence. Whether he should be so released is decided only after full consideration has been given to the prisoner's response to imprisonment and his likely response to supervision under licence. The Secretary of State cannot release a prisoner on parole licence except on the recommendation of the Parole Board, although he may reject a recommendation for release.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list in the Official Report the age, sex, location and length of time so far held on remand of all those prisoners who are currently on remand in custody and have been so held for over one year.

We shall reply as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made on changing inner city patrolling methods and using more home beat officers since the publication of the Scarman report.

We know chief officers of police share our view on the importance of foot patrols, and they have been able to increase them because of the improvement in the strength of the police service and by re-deploying officers formerly carrying out administrative duties. Exact figures could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has now decided whether racial prejudice should be an offence in the police discipline code, punishable by dismissal, following the recommendation of the Scarman report.

I am not yet in a position to add to the replies given to questions by my hon. Friends the Members for Macclesfield (Mr. Winterton) and Petersfield (Mr. Mates) and the hon. Member for Lambeth, Central (Mr. Tilley) on 29 January and 4 and 24 February respectively.—[Vol. 16, c. 452; Vol. 17, c. 169; Vol. 18, c. 385.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes have been made in police training procedures on racial awareness since the publication of the Scarman report.

On 19 April the Metropolitan Police, who were already taking steps to improve training before Lord Scarman reported, extended their initial recruit training course to include "human awareness" training which will seek to develop in young officers skills for dealing sensitively with all sections of the public, among them members of our racial minorities.A working party of the Police Training Council is reviewing the community relations training given to the police generally, with particular reference to race relations training as mentioned in Lord Scarman's report and the report of the racial attacks study.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made to implement the recommendation in the Scarman report that lay visitors should be allowed into police station detention areas.

We are considering how best to carry forward this recommendation in the light of the local consultations with representatives of police authorities, police forces and other interested groups that have taken place.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many additional staff will be employed to deal with the increased work load arising from the commitment to change radio frequencies at the world administrative radio conference 1979.

Authorised staffing levels in the Home Office already make some provision for work arising out of international radio conferences. The requirement resulting from the WARC 1979 to change the mobile radio services used by police forces and fire brigades to new frequency bands is an additional task but whether extra staff will need to be employed will depend on the extent of other commitments at the time.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the progress made, and time scale involved, in changing radio frequencies and equipment arising from the commitment made at the world administrative radio conference 1979.

Many of the changes to the international allocations of radio frequency bands arising out of the WARC 1979 came into effect on 1 January 1982, but in some cases—for example the extension of the upper limit of the international vhf sound broadcasting band from 100 to 108 MHz—detailed changes of frequency use will come into effect only after further international radio conferences. The extension of the vhf sound broadcasting band will necessitate moving land mobile radio systems of the United Kingdom's police and fire services to new bands by the end of 1989 and some other land mobile services used mainly by public authorities by the end of 1995. Action is being taken to effect these changes by the dates required.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many houses, on the Risley prison officers estate, Culcheth, are standing empty and how many of them have been empty for (a) less than three months, b) three to six months, (c) six to 12 months and (d) over 12 months.

There are 43 vacant houses on the Culcheth estate of which five have been vacant for less than three months, six for three to six months, eight for six to 12 months and 24 for over 12 months.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any plans to sell to the general public houses standing empty on the Risley prison officers estate, Culcheth.

The Department is planning to sell on the open market 27 surplus quarters at Risley, 20 of which are at Culcheth.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why houses are standing empty on the Risley prison officers estate, Culcheth.

Since 1979 prison officers have been given considerably more freedom of choice than hitherto between occupying official quarters or providing their own accommodation and drawing housing allowance. This has led to a surplus of quarters at Risley. Those not required for long-term retention will be sold.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any plans to allow Wallington borough council to offer to citizens on their housing waiting list houses which are currently standing empty on the Risley prison officers estate, Culcheth.

The Department's policy is to dispose of surplus houses by sale on the open market. There are no special arrangements to make them available to local authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he has any plans to allow prison officers serving at Risley remand centre to purchase houses they are currently renting from his Department on the prison officers estate, Culcheth;(2) what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government towards the sale of prison officers' houses to their occupants.

It is the policy to retain quarters required for future use as prison housing, and to put surplus quarters up for sale on the open market. Prison officers wishing to purchase the quarters they occupy, provided those quarters are not earmarked for long-term retention, may do so at current market value. Officers occupy quarters as part of their conditions of service and do not pay rent.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will arrange for his Department to study the recent report published by the Department of the Environment on homeless persons, with a view to establishing a policy on the social and medical problems highlighted in that report.

The report "Single and Homeless"^*, which is based on work undertaken by researchers and was published by the Department of the Environment on 8 March, has been studied with interest by the Department.There does not, however, appear to be any need to review established policies. The provision of health care and personal social services for the homeless is the responsibility of health and local authorities within the available resources. Guidance has already been issued to these authorities regarding the needs of the single homeless. The report confirms the crucial importance of close liaison between local agencies, already emphasised in "Care in Action"†—the handbook setting out the Government's main policies and priorities for the health and personal social services—and in the code of guidance‡ issued under the Housing (Homeless Persons) Act 1977. The nature of local arrangements for co-operation, apart from certain statutory requirements, is a matter for local decision.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if, in view of the increase of over 40 per cent. in new drug addicts, he intends to make available additional resources for treatment and rehabilitation of drug dependent persons; and if he will make a statement.

The priority to be given to the provision of treatment and rehabilitation services for drug misusers is in accordance with the policy set out in "Care in Action" (a handbook of Policies and Priorities for the Health and Personal Social Services in England, published by DHSS 1981, price £3·30), a matter for health and local authorities to determine in the light of local needs and circumstances.The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs is engaged on a comprehensive review of treatment and rehabilitation services in the United Kingdom. The Council's report is expected to be completed by the end of the year. Its recommendations and any resource implications will then be considered by the Ministers concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish in the Official Report a list of grants made by his Department for the treatment and rehabilitation of drug dependents with the names of the recipients, in each of the following years: (a) 1970, (b) 1975, (c) 1980 and (d) 1981.

The following grants were paid under section 64 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968:

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many general practitioner (a) trainers and (b) trainees there are in each health region in England under the vocational training scheme; and how many in each group are women.

The attached table shows the number of general practitioners approved to act as trainers and the number of general practitioner trainees in each health region at 10 October 1981 with a breakdown, in the case of the trainees, showing how many are women. A similar breakdown in respect of trainers could only be produced at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will set up an investigation into the possibility of establishing a salaried general practice service, an essential part of planned primary care, and as a method of levelling out any inequalities in general practitioner provision, especially in some inner city and remote rural areas, giving full consideration to variations in experience and training.

I do not consider a salaried service to be essential to the planning of primary care, nor to the adequate provision of general medical services in inner city or remote rural areas. In exceptional circumstances my right hon. Friend has power to enable district health authorities to make special arrangements to provide general medical services if he considers it necessary to secure an adequate service in any area, and these arrangements could include the provision of salaried services.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the number of male persons over the age of 60 years who are drawing the long term scale rate of supplementary benefit and yet who are not registering for employment in Cumbria and in the United Kingdom as a whole.

I assume that the hon. Member is referring to unemployed men aged 60 and over who choose no longer to register for work and so qualify for the long term rate of supplementary benefit. It is estimated that by February 1982 about 200^* men in Cumbria had opted for the longer term rate and about 27,000^* in Great Britain. I regret that information is not available for the United Kingdom as a whole.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what would be the cost, at 1982–83 benefit rates, of extending the long-term supplementary benefit rate to the unemployed.

It would cost £300 million at average 1982–83 benefit rates to extend the long-term rates of supplementary benefit to unemployed people after a year in receipt of the ordinary rate.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people have been refused supplementary benefit because under the regulations made under the Social Security Act 1980 their immigration status made them ineligible.

The records kept of supplementary benefit claims disallowed do not include details of the reasons for disallowance and the information requested is therefore not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many persons in Glasgow are currently claiming supplementary benefit; how this compares with the previous year; and how many in each case are pensioners.

Information is not available in the form requested. However, estimates of the number of people receiving benefit from the local offices in Glasgow, with the exception of the Cumbernauld Office, are given in the following table. These offices may also deal with people who live outside Glasgow.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether, in light of the comments published under the title "Sodium Valproate Reassessed" in Volume 19, No. 24 of the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin, he has issued any revised guidelines to doctors within the National Health Service concerning the use of the thug Epilim.

The product data sheet for sodium valproate (Epilim), which is made available to all medical practitioners, was amended last year to include warnings of the serious adverse effects which were subsequently referred to in the article in Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin. The changes in the data sheet were drawn to doctors' attention by the Committee on Safety of Medicines in "Current Problems No. 6" (July 1981), a copy of which is in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) whether, in assessing entitlement to free prescriptions on the grounds of low income, account is taken of any charges for a home help; and if he will make a statement;(2) whether, in assessing entitlement to free prescriptions on the grounds of low income, account is taken of telephone rental payments by people who need a telephone because of their disability; and if he will make a statement;(3) whether, in assessing entitlement to free prescriptions on the grounds of low income account is taken of eligibility for additional payments, for example heating, had the individual been on supplementary benefit; and if he will make a statement.

Assessments for exemption from payment of prescription charges broadly follow supplementary benefit procedures. These take into account extra heating needs in certain circumstances, but make no provision for telephone charges or local authority home helps in view of the local authorities' power to meet such expenses. Provision can, however, be made for private domestic assistance in certain circumstances.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many cases of cervical cancer there

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the percentage and number of infants born with congenital malformations for the past five years; how many stillbirths, first week, first month and first year deaths of these infants there were; and if he will make a statement.

The available information is shown in the following tables.

The latest readily available information is as follows. Data for the requested age groups could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.The figures are the the numbers of deaths registered with congenital anomaly as underlying cause and do not include deaths of congenitally malformed babies from other causes. There is no link between the notification of congenital anomalies and the particulars entered at death registration and it should not be assumed that all the babies whose deaths appear in this table have been notified as having congenital malformations.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, pursuant to the reply to the right hon. Member for Manchester, Wythenshawe on 8 April, Official Report, c. 439, when he expects to be able to make available the statistics on services to disabled people by local authorities in their final printed form.

The bound tables should be available by the end of May.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will estimate the cost of extending cervical cytology screening of all women from the age of 18 years in England, with recall every three years; and if he will make a statement.

The information requested is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will take steps to ensure that local pharmaceutical on-call services are available and not diminished through the present level of pay for call-out.

As announced on 8 March—[Vol. 19, c. 334–6]—the Government have approved specific additional funding for the introduction of an emergency duty agreement for hospital pharmacists. The Pharmaceutical Whitley council—the body responsible for negotiating pay and conditions of service for this staff group—has had some discussion of the form and content of an agreement. The availability of local pharmaceutical on-call services is the responsibility of health authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) whether there has been liaison between his Department and the Netherlands national adverse reaction monitoring centre and the Netherlands Ministry of Health regarding the drug triazolam (Halcion); whether the Committee on Safety of Medicines has been given details of the adverse reaction reports which led to the banning of Halcion in the Netherlands; whether the Committee on Safety of Medicines has been told of the proportion of cases, for which there was an adverse reaction report, which involved dosage at levels recommended in Great Britain; and, if so, what was the proportion;(2) how often and in what way the Committee on Safety of Medicines has given advice regarding dosage levels for the drug triazolam (Halcion);(3) if he will make a statement regarding the Committee on Safety of Medicines view of the balance of risk and advantage involved in the use of the drug triazolam (Halcion);(4) for how long the drug triazolam (Halcion) has been available on the British market; how many yellow card adverse reaction reports have been received by the Committee on Safety of Medicines during this period; whether there is any evidence of a higher notification rate for this drug than for other comparable hypnotics; and what type of adverse reactions possibly due to the drug have been reported;(5) whether the Committee on Safety of Medicines has consulted with the American Food and Drug Association regarding the balance of risk and advantage involved in the use of the drug triazolam (Halcion); and whether the drug is available on the American market;(6) whether the Committee on Safety of Medicines has received any reports of adverse reactions following withdrawal of the drug triazolam (Halcion);(7) what response there was to the request by the Committee on Safety of Medicnes in the February 1981 edition of "Current Problems" for doctors to inform it of suspected adverse reaction to triazolam (Halcion) and to other benzodiazepines;(8) whether the Committee on Safety of Medicines has made a specific study of the drug triazolam (Halcion); if so, what research studies were considered; what was the number of cases and controls in each study; and what was the conclusion of the studies.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether his Department is carrying out or sponsoring any research into morning-after contraception; and what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government towards the development of such contraception.

The Department is sponsoring no research on post-coital methods of contraception. The choice of medical contraception method is a matter for clinical judgment.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many persons in Glasgow have exhausted their right to unemployment benefit; and what percentage of the unemployed they represent.

At February 1982 there were 29,800 unemployed claimants at the 18 unemployment benefit offices in the Glasgow area who had exhausted their entitlement to unemployment benefit. This was 38·9 per cent. of the total number of unemployed claimants in chat area.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many sales of National Health Service property there have been between April 1979 and April 1982 in the West Midlands regional health authority; and if he will list the properties sold, the price paid for each and the buyer's name.

This information is not available centrally. I have asked the regional health authority for details and I shall let the hon. Member have a reply as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy, following his direction to the British Gas Corporation under section 7 of the Gas Act 1972 to dispose of the corporation's holding in the Wytch Farm oilfield, what timetable was established for disposal and what method of sale was prescribed; and whether his direction has yet been complied with.

The British Gas Corporation (Disposal of Wytch Farm Oilfield Interests) Direction 1981 does not set out either a timetable or a method of disposal. The conduct of the disposal is a matter for British Gas, which has a statutory duty to give effect to the direction, although the Government naturally expect to be consulted on such questions as method and timing. The Government initially, hoped that the disposal would be completed by the end of the financial year 1981–82, but subsequently accepted the corporation's advice that it could not complete the disposal within this time scale. The Government's view remains that the disposal must be completed as quickly as possible, consistent with achieving a fair price, and they have therefore not sought to impose a rigid deadline on the corporation.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he has any plans to up-date the Coal-Mining (Subsidence) Act 1957.

I have no present plans to do so, though the Government are studying carefully the recommendations of the commission on energy and the environment relating to subsidence.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will estimate the prices paid by manufacturers in the glass industry for gas and oil in each of the member countries of the European Economic Community.

The price of oil and gas specifically to the glass industry is not available. Latest available information on gas prices to large industrial consumers in the European Community was recently given in reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Hallam (Mr. Osborn)—[Vol. 19, c. 291.] The following table shows the price of heavy fuel oil for deliveries of 24 tonnes per annum or 2 tonnes a month and is based on an informal survey conducted for the European Commission on 19 April. In making international 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 method of collecting data may not always provide comparable figures.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what advice he has received from the Advisory Council on Research and Development for Fuel and Power on his renewable energy programmes.

I have placed a summary of ACORD's main conclusions and recommendations, following its meeting on 19 March, in the Libraries of both Houses. My right hon. Friend is considering these recommendations together with other representations received by the Department and will announce decisions on the future programme in the course of the next few weeks.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what is the productive capacity for the manufacture of passenger motor cars by British Leyland now and in 1972 and 1977; and what are the actual figures of (a) output and (b) exports for those dates.

The information on output and exports, drawn from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders' publication "The Motor Industry of Great Britain" and from BL, is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if it is the policy of Her Majesty's Government to grant financial assistance to companies wishing to move existing production, administrative or technical facilities to the various development areas when such relocation is certain to produce a reduction in employment within such companies.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Industry (1) what discussions he has had with the North of England Economic Development Council about the level of Government funding; and if he will make a statement;(2) if he will increase the level of Government grant to the North of England Development Council to £644,000 for 1981–82 and to £1,102,000 for 1982–83.

My hon. Friend the Minister for Industry had a useful meeting on 1 April with the North of England Development Council, with the chairman and director, along with representatives of the otherEnglish regional development bodies. The question of the future level of grant to the four bodies is now under consideration, and we hope to reach a decision soon.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if, in view of his policy of improving efficiency in the Post Office, he will issue a directive to the Post Office on the subject of the number of deliveries of post made to addresses in any single day in order to avoid discrimination against certain consumers in particular geographical areas who at present receive only one delivery.

[pursuant to his reply, 22 April 1982, c. 130]: I understand that only a small fraction—about one-eighth—of all mail is carried in the second delivery. The cost of such delivery is therefore already disproportionately high in relation to the volume carried. In the light of the Government's objective that the Post Office should continue to reduce its costs, most recently expressed in the announcement by my right hon, Friend the Secrtary of State of a new performance aim for the Post Office—[Vol. 18, c. 445]—I am not convinced that to do as my hon. Friend suggests would increase Post Office efficiency.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what total amount has been spent in the past year by the Manpower Services Commission through its youth opportunities programme towards drama groups and similar undertakings.

Expenditure information about youth opportunities programme schemes involving drama groups is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. I have recently asked for a report on these schemes and I shall write to my hon. Friend when I have that information.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will set out the number of recorded farm accidents in each of the past three years and indicate those relating to children.

In Great Britain there were 72, 94 and 71 fatal farm accidents in 1978, 1979 and 1980 respectively of which 16, 24 and 10 were to children. In the same years there were 4,5529, 4,024 and 4,224 non-fatal accidents to farm employees reported, but details of non-fatal accidents to children are not available.The number of farm accidents recorded for 1981 is in the final stage of preparation and will be available shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on his reasons for not funding schemes, for the long-term unemployed, proposed by the voluntary organisations and referred to by the Prime Minister on 27 July, Official Report, c. 836; how much of the £12 million announced by the Prime Minister has not been allocated; and if he proposes changes in his Department's policy on this matter.

I refer the hon. Member to the replies given by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, to the hon. Member for South Ayrshire (Mr. Foulkes) on 4 February 1982—[Vol. 17, c. 181–2]—and 9 February 1982—[Vol. 17, c. 316.]

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the latest unemployment figures in (a) the Greater London area, (b) the Kilburn employment office area, (c) the Wembley employment office area and (d) the Willesden employment office area; if he will give the average period of unemployment and the age breakdown in each case; and what were the figures in May 1979.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the figures for the number of redundancies which have been reported to the Manpower Services Commission involving firms in (a) the Greater London area and (b) the Brent travel-to-work area from October 1981 to the latest available date, and since May 1979.

The numbers of redundancies, in groups of 10 or more employees, reported to the Manpower Services Commission as due to occur in the specified areas since October 1981 and since May 1979 are as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many staff are engaged on unemployment benefit work in Glasgow at present; and how this number compares with May 1979.

There are 644 staff engaged on unemployment benefit work in Glasgow at present compared with 518 in May 1979.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what aid has been given for the development of fishing in the waters round the Falkland Islands and their dependencies; and what finance has been made available for commercial fishing on an experimental basis in each of the last 10 years.

The White Fish Authority's desk study report commissioned by the Government, was completed in early 1980 and was discussed soon afterwards with representatives of the United Kingdom fishing industry. Although confirming that there were large stocks of fish in the waters around the Falklands and their dependencies, the report made clear that much of the fish was of poor quality and that there was unlikely to be much profit in marketing it in the United Kingdom. British fishing companies have to date shown little interest in fishing in Falklands waters. No other aid or finance has been made available.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the dispute over the Falkland Islands dependencies has been referred to the International Court of Justice; and whether the Argentine was prepared to submit to the court's jurisdiction.

[pursuant to the reply, 8 April 1982, c. 481]: Argentina has shown no interest in referring the issue of sovereignty over the Falkland Islands to the International Court of Justice and the British Government have never proposed it. That is the position as concerns the Falkland Islands themselves.However, in December 1947, April 1951 and February 1953, the United Kingdom invited Argentina to submit to the International Court of Justice the dispute about sovereignty over the Falkland Islands Dependencies as then constituted. Argentina declined those invitations. Similar invitations were addressed to Chile, but they also were declined. Consequently no reference of these disputes to the court was made following these initiatives.On 4 May 1955, Her Majesty's Government submitted to the International Court of Justice an application instituting proceedings against Argentina concerning sovereignty over the islands and territories which then comprised the Falkland Islands Dependencies, namely the islands and territories which since 1962 have been constituted as the Falkland Islands Dependencies—South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands—and the British Antarctic Territory. A similar application was submitted to the court instituting proceedings against Chile concerning sovereignty over the South Shetland Islands and Graham Land, which at that time formed part of the Falkland Islands Dependencies but which now form part of the British Antarctic Territory. The Government of Argentina and the Government of Chile did not accept the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice for the purposes of Her Majesty's Government's applications and the court, by its orders of 16 March 1956, ordered the cases to be removed from the court's list.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many milk producers there were in Wales in (a) 1971 and (b) 1981.

The numbers were 14,613 and 7,566 respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will re-examine the conditions under which double glazing may be provided at public expense for, and monetary compensation may be paid to, the residents of Colwyn Bay and other places who have been subjected to nuisance and annoyance, and otherwise adversely affected, by construction work on the North Wales expressway, with a view to expanding the scope of such provision and compensation.

The compensation code and noise insulation provisions for people whose homes are affected by public works were improved and extended by the Land Compensation Act 1973. In providing noise insulation the Department has to operate within the terms of the Noise Insulation Regulations 1975 which were made under Section 20 of the Land Compensation Act 1973. Under these provisions the Department has offered insulation to 348 properties affected by stage 1 of the Colcon road scheme and 304 households have accepted. The cost of providing this insulation to eligible properties has been over £200,000. There are no proposals for the Department further to extend eligibility for compensation and noise insulation beyond the provisions of the Land Compensation Act 1973.However, the Department is currently examining the possibility of providing barriers to mitigate against the effect of construction noise in certain locations.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what are the most recent numbers of registered unemployed women in Wales by counties; what were the figures for the same date in 1979; and what are the respective increases in percentage terms.

The following table gives the number of females registered as unemployed on 11 March 1982 and 8 March 1979.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what is the proportion of young people in Wales who find full-time jobs on completion of youth opportunities programme courses at the latest available date; and what was the comparative figure for May 1979.

A survey carried out by the Manpower Services Commission in September 1981 indicated that about 40 per cent. of entrants to work experience schemes found full-time jobs. Comparable figures for 1979 are not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will estimate how many jobs in Wales are dependent upon the United Kingdom's membership of the European Economic Community; and if he will make a statement.

It is not possible to estimate the number of jobs dependent on our membership of the European Community. However, like the rest of the United Kingdom, Wales benefits from access to a free trade market of 270 million people and the level of United Kingdom trade with our Community partners which has increased to 43 per cent. of our total trade compared with 30 per cent. prior to our membership. There is also clear evidence that Community membership is a significant factor in attracting inward investment, and hence new jobs to Wales.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many cases of cervical cancer there were in Wales for the last five years in women of the following age groups: 18–24, 24–28, 28–32, 32–36, 36–40, 40–44, 44–48, 48–52 and 52–56 years; and if he will make a statement.

The numbers of new cases of cervical cancer registered, for Welsh residents, in the last five years are as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will estimate the cost of extending cervical cytology screening of all women from the age of 18 years in Wales, with recall every three years; and if he will make a statement.

The information requested is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what has been the percentage of expenditure by the Welsh Development Agency for each year since 1976–77 on (a) industrial investment, (b) advisory services, (c) promotion and publicity, (d) the small business unit, (e) industrial sites, premises and infrastructure and (f) land reclamation and environmental improvement, respectively;(2) if he will list the firms in which the Welsh Development Agency has investments; and what is the total amount and nature of each of those investments;