asked the Minister for Trade whether he has decided what action to take on the report of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission on roadside advertising services; and if he will make a statement.

The Director General of Fair Trading has now completed the discussions which my right hon. Friend the then Secretary of State invited him to undertake, following the publication of the commission's report on 1 July 1981, with British Posters Ltd. and its 10 member companies and with the two trade associations mentioned in the report. As a result of these discussions, British Posters Ltd. and the two trade associations have given certain undertakings to my right hon. and noble Friend.The commission found that scale and complex monopoly situations existed in favour of British Posters Ltd. and its member companies and concluded that these monopoly situations operated against the public interest.The commission noted that certain of the adverse effects on the public interest arose from the existence of British Posters Ltd. in its present form, and it was satisfied that it would not be possible to amend its constitution whilst retaining its existing membership or a broadly similar membership, without retaining the substance of these adverse effects. The commission therefore recommended that British Posters Ltd. should cease to exist and should not be reformed. My right hon. Friend the then Secretary of State accepted the recommendation, and at his request the Director General secured the following undertakings from British Posters Ltd.:

asked the Minister for Trade what is his estimate of the tonnage of British-registered tankers and cargo vessels at present laid up.

Figures published by the General Council of British Shipping show United Kingdom registered deadweight tonnage laid up for lack of employment of 131,000 dwt for dry cargo vessels and 1,643,000 dwt for tankers at 31 March 1982.

asked the Minister for Trade (1) pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Manchester, Wythenshawe, on 10 November, Official Report, c. 58, concerning the appointment and conduct of liquidators and the case of Mr. B. E. Calvert, when he expects the final report of the Insolvency Law Review Committee to be published;(2) whether the inquiries under section 165 of the Companies Act 1948 into Corporate Management Planning Ltd., referred to in the answer of 21 January to the right hon. Member for Manchester, Wythenshawe, about the case of Mr. B. E. Calvert,

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

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he has considered the gross annual variations in recent years in the incidence of cervical cancer; and if he will promote investigations to ascertain the explanation.

I regret that my reply to the hon. Member for Eccles (Mr. Carter-Jones) on 27 April 1982 gave incomplete information for 1979 and 1980.—[Vol. 22, c. 256–57.] This arose because until 1979 only one record was kept of cervical cancer cases which, unlike the Great Britain records, did not distinguish between malignant neoplasm and carcinoma in situ and details of the latter type were omitted from the table. It has now been decided to maintain records on a common basis throughout the United Kingdom. The corrected statistics are shown in the following table:

	1976	1977	1978	1979	1980
15–24	6	1	4	6	12
25–34	14	14	27	44	36
35–44	15	14	17	29	29
45–54	21	16	22	17	23
55–64	25	25	24	19	21
65–74	18	13	15	19	8
75+	8	12	12	10	7
Total	107	95	121	144	136

A number of factors affect the incidence of cases registered, and annual variations can be attributed to these. No special investigation is therefore considered necessary.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland to what extent the Government's policy towards the

Numbers of young people under 18 years of age registered as unemployed in Scotland
Year	January	April	July	October	Average
1975	Not available		21,989
1976	18,394		30,491
1977	24,411		37,960
1978	26,949		36,506	19,726

The Salmon Fisheries (Protection) (Scotland) Bill is a Private Member's measure and consultation with particular interests about the Bill's provisions is a matter for the proposers. Nevertheless, the Bill's main purpose—to ban the use of gill nets, however set, for the taking of salmon in Scottish waters—is consistent with a proposal made in the Government's discussion document issued in December 1979. The discussion document was widely published and has been the subject of extensive consultation. The need to tighten the law on the use of gill nets for catching salmon attracted considerable support from a range of salmon interests.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the average monthly total of registered unemployed in Scotland in 1970, 1974, 1978 and 1981, respectively.

The information is set out in the following table.

Year	Numbers registered as unemployed in Scotland (annual average)
1970	90,900
1974	88,400
1978	184,700
1981	307,200

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the average monthly total of youth unemployment in Scotland in each of the last seven years.

It is not possible to calculate a monthly average of youth unemployment, since before mid-1978 the unemployment register was only analysed by age twice yearly and since then the analysis has been undertaken quarterly. The following table gives the numbers of young people under 18 years of age who were registered as unemployed in Scotland in the months for which information is available. Because of the incidence of school leaving dates January and July are peak months for youth unemployment in Scotland and consequently meaningful annual averages can only be calculated for 1979 and later years.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the average monthly total of registered unemployed women in Scotland in each year since 1970.

The information is set out in the following table.

Numbers of females registered as unemployed in Scotland
Year	(annual average)
1970	17,200
1971	24,300
1972	29,100
1973	21,000
1974	17,500
1975	28,400
1976	43,000
1977	57,100
1978	61,000
1979	62,800
1980	78,600
1981	99,000

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the total expenditure on law, order and protective services in Scotland, at constant 1979 prices in each of the last five years; and what are the projected estimates for 1982–83 and 1983–84.

The information is as follows:

Year	£ million (at cash prices)
1977–78	170
1978–79	192
1979–80	243
1980–81	302
1981–82	*345
1982–83	*403
1983–84	*440

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will take steps to require each local education authority to maintain and publish regularly registers of violent assaults by pupils or parents against teachers; and if he will provide a working definition of an assault for this purpose.

The incidence and nature of assaults on teachers are rightly matters of concern for local education authorities. My right hon. Friend has no power to make a requirement on the lines proposed.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the current average pupil to teacher ratio in State primary schools; and how this compares for every year since 1970.

Pupil-teacher ratios within maintained primary schools in England for each year from 1970 to 1981 are as follows. The ratio for 1982 will not be available until the Autumn.

January	Pupil-teacher ratio within maintained primary schools*
1970	27·5
1971	27·0
1972	26·2
1973	25·5
1974	24·9
1975	24·2
1976	24·0
1977	23·9
1978	23·6
1979	23·1
1989	22·7
1981	22·6
* From January 1971 qualified teachers only.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service whether any talks are taking place between her Department and the Civil Service unions on the setting up of a survey to determine whether there is sexual harassment, male and female, at places of work within Government Departments; and what would be the cost of such survey.

No. A joint review group of management and trade unions is presently considering all aspects of the employment of women in the Civil Service, and the trade unions have suggested that the question of sexual harassment should be considered as a possible problem.

asked the Lord President of the Council if he will make a statement on the salaries of hon. Members.

The Top Salaries Review Body has not been asked to make recommendations this year on the pay of Members of Parliament and it is necessary to come to a conclusion about the right levels of salary for 1982. The Government therefore propose that the House should accept an increase of 4 per cent. in pay, and in the allowances payable to MPs for secretarial assistance, in line with the pay factor included in Estimates.The pay and allowances of Ministers have broadly followed the pattern of increases accepted by the House in recent years. We intend to propose, therefore, at the appropriate time, that the pay and allowances of Ministers should be increased by the same 4 per cent. pay factor as we recommend to the House for the pay of Members of Parliament.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will instigate inquiries into the incidence of cancer among people living along the Welsh coastline, following the recent report by the Political Ecology Research Group suggesting an increase in the incidence of cancer along the Irish Sea coast as a result of the dumping of plutonium waste in the sea at Windscale; and if he will make a statement.

No. As the report itself states, any increased incidence of cancer from this cause would not be detectable amongst a background of high cancer rates generally.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list all those individuals and organisations he has consulted about the Scarman report's recommendation that lay visitors be allowed into police station detention areas.

Preliminary consultations have taken place with all chief police officers and police authorities in England and Wales. In addition, we have noted the views expressed on this matter by individuals and organisations whom Home Office officials met in the course of recent visits to a number of police force areas to discuss Lord Scarman's recommendations for local liaison committees.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the reply of the Solicitor-General to the hon. Member for Newham, North-West (Mr. Lewis) on 26 April, Official Report, c. 175, if he will introduce legislation to provide for jury panels to reflect the racial mix of the area of the court's jurisdiction.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will cause an investigation to be made to ascertain how and why Independent Television was allowed to make a film at Her Majesty's prison Wormwood Scrubs, shown on Sunday 2 May on the "South Bank Show", in which prisoners serving life sentences for murder were enabled to take part with professional actresses in sexually titillating scenes; and whether he will prevent such actions in the future, especially in the top security wings of prisons.

No. We are satisfied that the action taken in granting facilities to the television company was in accordance with our policy on these matters; and that the work of the stage class in D Wing, of which this production formed part, is valuable and should continue.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department in what instrument he has set out and publicised the conditions under which he exercises his power under section 3(3) of the Post Office Act 1969.

It has been found necessary to provide general guidance on the circumstances in which wireless telegraphy licence fees may be refunded under section 3(3) of the Post Office Act 1969 only in relation to television licences. The circumstances are set out on the back of the television licence form.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many application forms for British citizenship were in stock on 31 March.

About 158,000.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give a breakdown on a monthly basis for the last year for which information is available of the number of applicants for British citizenship and the number who were successful.

The information for 1981 is as follows:

	Number of applications	Certificates issued
January	6,353	2,565
February	6,341	2,371
March	8,246	4,572
April	8,780	2,020
May	7,389	2,831
June	5,017	3,129
July	4,768	4,737
August	4,070	4,669
September	4,760	5,170
October	4,919	7,396
November	4,709	5,740
December	4,740	4,136
Total	70,092	49,336

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent complaints he has had about the difficulty experienced by people wishing to re-enter the United Kingdom after previously being given leave to stay for an unlimited period; and what steps he has taken.

Following our review of policy on returning residents, we announced last December certain changes designed to overcome some of the difficulties experienced by such people. We are not aware of any recent general complaints on this subject; complaints about individual cases are considered on their merits.

asked the Prime Minister if she has any further statement to make about the report of the Top Salaries Review Body.

I informed the House last week that the Government were considering the report of the Top Salaries Review Body on the pay of the higher Civil Service, senior officers of the Armed Forces and the judiciary. I am now able to announce our decisions.The report recommends increases in the pay of the higher Civil Service and senior officers of the Armed Forces averaging 13 per cent., and for the judiciary 20 per cent., above the levels recommended as appropriate at 1 April 1980.Because the 1980 recommendations have, for the most part, not been fully implemented, the recommended increases over the salaries currently in payment are somewhat larger: 19·4 per cent. for the Civil Service and the Armed Forces and 24·3 per cent. for the judiciary. In its report the TSRB argues cogently that substantial increases in the salaries of these groups are now justified. The Government agree. It is in the national interest to ensure an adequate supply of candidates of sufficient calibre for appointment to judicial office and to provide an adequate career structure and suitable differentials in the higher reaches of the Civil Service and the Armed Forces. The House will remember that, after many years of restraint, the pay of these groups is still on average 5 per cent. below the levels considered appropriate as long ago

Top Salaries Review Body Groups: Schedule of New Salaries
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	Current salary	TSRB recommendation for 1 April 1980	TSRB recommendation for 1 April 1982	New salary	Percentage increase over current salary	Percentage increase over TSRB 1980	Number in group
	£	£	£
a. Senior grades of the higher Civil Service
Permanent Secretary to the Treasury	35,845	37,000	45,000	42,000	17	14	2
Secretary to the Cabinet
Permanent Secretary	33,170	34,000	40,000	37,750	14	11	22
Second Permanent Secretary	30,495	31,000	37,000	35,000	15	13	16
Deputy Secretary	26,215	27,000	32,000	30,250	15	12	141
Under Secretary	21,935	23,500	26,000	25,000	14	6	524
b. Senior officers in the Armed Forces

asked the Prime Minister, in view of the fact that the Argentine Government have been condemned by the United Nations for having committed unprovoked aggression and are still refusing to implement United Nations decisions, what guarantees Her Majesty's Government consider necessary to ensure that, even if the Argentine Government promise withdrawal and the establishment of the status quo, this action will actually be taken.

The Government regard it as of the greatest importance that any ceasefire arrangements or agreement in settlement of the dispute should contain satisfactory provisions for ensuring that what has been agreed is implemented in full.

asked the Prime Minister what has been the total cost of the Falklands operation so far.

It is not possible at this stage to give an accurate assessment of the total cost of the Falklands operation. However, the extra costs so far represent a small proportion of total public expenditure, and can and will be financed without departing from the Government's economic strategy.

asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, further to his reply dated 20 April, Official Report, c. 65–66, concerning the reduction in the real incomes of farmers since 1970, if he will publish a table in the Official Report in terms of persons or holdings or otherwise showing farming income for different sectors and in particular the returns on cereals, milk and livestock products.

The figures I gave in reply to the hon. Member's previous question were derived from the output, input and income tables of successive annual review of agriculture White Papers. These do not apportion farming income between individual sectors, and it is not therefore possible to provide comparable information on the lines requested. Information on the average net income of different types of farm is however given in paragraphs 11–13 and in table 24 of the "Annual Review of Agriculture 1982" White Paper, Cmnd. 8491.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, further to the reply of 20 April, Official Report, c. 62, showing the change in the real incomes of farmers since 1970, whether and to what extent the figures represent a change in the actual standards of living of farmers in terms of disposable incomes; whether he collects figures of incomes in a form which enables them to be classified by income groups; and whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the distribution of farm incomes on the same or as near the same basis as given by the hon. Member for Cirencester and Tewkesbury (Mr. Ridley) in his reply of 8 March, Official Report, c. 299–300.

The figures which I gave in my previous reply to the hon. Member were based on the farming income figure in successive annual review of agriculture White Papers. The farming income calculation does not measure the disposable income of individual farmers and it follows that the figures may not represent changes in actual standards of living. Nor does the calculation permit classification by income groups. Information is however available from the farm management surveys about the distribution of full-time farms according to the level of net farm income as defined in the surveys. The latest published analyses are given, for England, in table 3 "Farm Management Survey in England, Supplementary Analyses 1979/80"; for Scotland in table 3 of "Farm Accounts 1979/80 and 1980/81, Analysis by type and size for full time farm businesses"; and for Northern Ireland in table 5 of "Farm Accounts Northern Ireland 1979/80 and 1980/81". Copies of these documents are in the Library of the House.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) whether he is satisfied that the European Economic Community Commission will be able to police the arrangements for the disposal of alcohol distilled from wine resulting from the 1982 exceptional distillation operation, in view of the problems encountered in similar operations;

The undertakings made by the Council and Commission in connection with the exceptional distillation under regulation 701/82 were designed to protect the markets for ethyl alcohol, of which the United Kingdom is a major producer, and were included at my request. No such safeguards applied to previous distillations. I am satisfied with the legal framework and administrative procedures for applying these safeguards.Safeguards appropriate to future distillations are still under discussion in Brussels in the context of the reform of the wine regime.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the assessment of his Department of the effect of radioactive discharges from the Windscale plant of British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. on radioactivity levels of the sea along the coast of Northern Wales.

A marine monitoring programme of radioactive discharges is undertaken by my Department and by the site operators. I am satisfied that no group of individuals living along the coast of North Wales is currently exposed to more than a small fraction of the radiation dose limit recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection as a result of discharges from Sellafield—formerly Windscale—and the nuclear power station at Wylfa.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, in view of the high precentage of fish oil being used in margarine, if he will take steps to provide for the ingredients on a package of margarine to be identified on the packaging; and if he will make a statement.

We shall be reviewing the regulations governing the composition and labelling of margarine in the light of the recently published report of the food standards committee on margarine and other table spreads. I shall bear in mind the point my hon. Friend has made.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, further to his answer of 2 April, Official Report c. 210, if he has now obtained from the Commission the information in relation to the amount of food, fish and wine which was destroyed or otherwise disposed of by each of the other member States of the European Economic Community in 1981; and if he will publish the figures in the Official Report.

	Butter		Cheese
Year	Tonnes	Percentage of total United Kingdom supply	Tonnes	Percentage of total United Kingdom supply
1971	146,700	30·9	71,408	19·0
1972	117,700	24·8	64,315	16·5
1973	130,895	25·9	47,344	11·7
1974	117,358	20·9	16,600	4·0
1975	110,790	18·4	30,300	6·6
1976	130,980	22·9	30,600	6·8
1977	137,713	24·6	13,200	3·1
1978	125,000	21·1	2,076	0·5
1979	119,503	22·3	101	0·03
1980	107,971	22·9	7,149	1·6

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the outcome of the Council of Agriculture Ministers meeting in Brussels on 10–11 May; and if he will make a statement.

I refer my hon. Friend to the statement which I made in the House earlier today.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the harmonisation agreements that have been established between the United Kingdom and the EEC, collectively and individually, since the United Kingdom signed the Treaty of Accession.

All European Community harmonisation measures are published in the Official Journal of the European Communities. The largest group of agreements are those directives, adopted under article 100 of the Treaty, which are intended to eliminate technical barriers to Trade. Parliament, through the scrutiny procedure, is given an opportunity to study such directives before their adoption. All such directives are listed in the 23 April 1982 edition of British Business, published by the Departments of Trade and Industry. I am sending a copy to the right hon. Gentleman, marked to indicate the directives already adopted.

The information has not yet been obtained from the Commission.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much (a) butter and (b) cheese were imported into the United Kingdom from New Zealand for each of the past 10 years; and what percentage these imports constitute of total United Kingdom supply, including domestic production.

The quantities of butter and cheese imported into the United Kingdom from New Zealand as recorded by Her Majesty's Customs and Excuse during the period 1971–1980 and the percentages the se imports represented of total supply were as follows:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will increase the number of civil servants in the Land Registry.

Provision has been made for the number of civil servants in the Land Registry to increase by 255 in 1982–83.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of the input costs of (a) manufacturing, (b) industrial output other than minimum list heading 104 and (c) goods and services is accounted for by (i) goods and services supplied by the nationalised industries other than the British National Oil Corporation and (ii) the public sector generally.

I refer the hon. Member to the 1974 input-output tables for the United Kingdom—Business Monitor-PA 1044—where a breakdown of input purchases by industry is given.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the meeting of the European Community Finance Council in Brussels on 11 May.

The Budget Council met on 11 May; I represented the United Kingdom. The Council considered and agreed the position it should adopt in discussions with the European Parliament on the classification of expenditure and certain other aspects of the budgetary procedure. The objective of the present discussions is to reach agreement on procedures, which should pave the way for finding an agreed solution to the 1982 budget dispute and avoid disagreements occurring in the future over the adoption of the Community budget.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of (a) employer's and (b) employee's national insurance contributions, less the pension element, is contributed by the public sector.

I have been asked to reply.The best estimate using 1979–80 data—the latest available—is that 30 per cent. respectively of the revenue from

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were the annual administration costs of the Development Land Tax Office in each of the last three years.

[pursuant to his reply, 11 May 1982, c. 214]: The latest estimates of these costs for the years 1979–80 to 1981–82 are:

	£ million
1979–80	1·261
1980–81	1·319
1981–82	1·304

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of the yield from development land tax in 1980–82 was attributable to deemed disposals; and what was the yield from actual disposals.

[pursuant to his reply, 11 May 1982, c. 214]: I regret that the information on which to base a more precise estimate is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. The proportion attributable to deemed disposals is probably of the order of 20 per cent.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the expected total yield from development land tax in the finacial years (a) 1981–82 and (b) 1982–83.

[pursuant to his reply, 11 May 1982, c. 214]: The figures are as follows:

(a) £39 million (outturn)

(b) £40 million (forecast)

These figures exclude net of tax benefit to local authorities, for which receipts in 1981–82 were £1·5 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support has been given by Her Majesty's Government towards the building of a rehabilitation centre for limbless ex-Servicemen in Zimbabwe; how much money has been allocated to the project; what representations he has received from the British Limbless Ex-Servicemen's Association on the matter; and if he will make a statement.

The British Limbless Ex-Servicemen's Association made a number of representations last year on the need for assistance to the limbless in Zimabawe.The Zimbabwe Government have not asked us for financial support for a rehabilitation centre. However, they did ask us last year to consider the need for a chief orthopaedic technician for the Parirenyatwa hospital in Harare and, at the same time, to assess a proposal from the Zimbabwe Ministry of Health for the construction of a national rehabilitation centre.The expert's report recommended that as the Zimbabwe Ministry of Labour and Social Services was already constructing a new rehabilitation centre—at an estimated cost of $ (Zimbabwe) 6 million—it would be appropriate for the Ministry of Health to colloborate with this project rather than to build a second centre. The requirement for a chief orthopaedic technician was confirmed and a suitable candidate is being sought for appointment under our technical co-operation arrangements.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy, in the light of the report by Professor Wilson of Salford university, whether his Department has any plans for constructing small-scale hydroelectric generating plants in Wales; what locations are under consideration; what system of control would be developed for them; and what would be the distribution plans for any electricity thus produced.

The Department has no plans for constructing small-scale hydroelectric generating plant in Wales, this being the responsibility of individual site owners or the electricity board.However, following the publication of the Salford university report to establish the practical potential of low head hydro in Wales, Salford university was asked by the Department to carry out a further study. The object of this study is to identify specific schemes in England and Wales to establish their economics and their suitability for the demonstration of the latest technology. This work is still in progress.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will estimate the percentage of heat that a house in Glasgow requires to maintain it at a comfortable temperature compared with an identical house in Dumfries, taking into account air temperature, wind exposure, rain and sunshine.

It is estimated that a house in Glasgow requires 103 per cent. of the heating energy of a similar house in Dumfries which is similarly sited and heated to the same standard after taking account of differences in air temperature, wind exposure, rain and sunshine.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list the North Sea development approvals between Hutton in August 1980 and Central Cormorant in April 1982; and whether the rate of approvals reflects any change in Her Majesty's Government's depletion policy.

The last new development programme to 'be approved was that for Hutton in August 1980. Drainage of the central area of the Cormorant reservoir through an underwater manifold centre is part of the development programme of the South Cormorant field which commenced operations in December 1979. Depletion policy remains as set out in the statement by the then Secretary of State for Energy on 23 July 1980.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what information he has received from the French authorities about the recent malfunction of their experimental nuclear reactor at Marcoule involving sodium leakage.

[pursuant to his reply, 10 May, c. 171]: The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority has been advised by the French authorities that there was an incident at their experimental nuclear reactor at Marcoule, called Phenix, which started with a small leak of steam from a reheater tube of one of the three secondary sodium cooling circuits. It was detected by instruments installed for this purpose. The reactor was shut down. Some 24 hours later there was a small leak of sodium into the steam side causing a minor fire which was rapidly extinguished. Substantial provision is made in the design of the Phenix reactor for dealing with leaks of steam or water into the sodium. Any damage to the plant is thought to have been confined to the affected steam generator unit. The French authorities have emphasised that there have been no significant external effects of this leak.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what public information films he has produced for the purpose of advising householders of their rights to buy council houses or to qualify for grant aid for home improvements so far have not been seen on television because of blacking by members of the Association of Cinematograph, Television and Allied Technicians.

Showings of a television advertisement for the Department's "Right to Buy" booklet have been partially affected by the industrial action to which my hon. Friend refers. Publicity for the new rates of home improvement grant announced by my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his Budget Statement will be by way of newspaper rather than television advertisements.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table showing for each water authority the percentage increase in charges for domestic water consumers between 1973–74 and the present financial year.

The following table shows the percentage increase in the average households bill for water services for the period from 1974–75 to 1982–83.

Percentage increase
Authority	per cent.
North-West	251·3
Northumbrian	300·4
Severn-Trent	239·7
Yorkshire	302·8
Anglian	230·9
Thames	252·7
Southern	186·0
Wessex	250·9
South-West	233·0
Welsh	246·1

Information before 1974–75 is not available on a comparable basis. The average household bill for water services includes charges for water supply, sewerage and environmental services.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many council houses have been sold so far by each housing authority on Merseyside and by West Lancashire district council.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State to my hon. Friend the Member for Paddington (Mr. Wheeler) on 6 April 1982.—[Vol. 21, c. 321.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many applications to purchase local authority elderly persons dwellings have been referred to him for determination under schedule 1 to the Housing Act 1980; in how many of these the right-to-buy has been granted; in how many cases the right-to-buy has been refused; and how many cases are still outstanding.

As at 30 April 1982 the Department had received 1,739 applications from landlords under this provision. The breakdown is as follows:

Applications submitted out of time	183
No decision required (following withdrawal of either party)	358
Dwellings excluded from the right-to-buy	68
Dwellings included in the right-to-buy	357
Applications still under consideration	273
	1,739

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how much money he proposes to allocate during the current financial year to the Nature Conservancy Council for compensation payments in connection with the establishment of sites of special scientific interest in England and Wales.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to the hon. Member for Stockport, North (Mr. Bennett) on 17 February.—[Vol. 18, c. 279.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how much money he proposes to allocate during the current financial year to the Countryside Commission for management agreements.

Subject to the approval of Parliament, the Countryside Commission's grant-in-aid for the current financial year will amount to £10·834 million. The grant-in-aid will cover the whole range of the commission's activities and no part of it has been specially allocated for purposes related to management agreements.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will arrange for an exhibition relating to achitectural competitions to be displayed in the Upper Waiting Hall.

I understand that arrangements have been made with the House authorities for the exhibition to be held in the Upper Waiting Hall from 17 to 21 May.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the criteria and allocation of the additional urban programme money for each authority of the £70 million announced at the beginning of April.

Guidance notes on the new arrangements will be issued soon. Bids for assistance will be competitive against the total resources available. I hope to make decisions on the bids received within three months of the closing date for applications, due in September.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the criteria on which urban programme money is allocated between programme and partnership authorities and urban development corporations and other authorities designated under the Inner Urban Areas Act 1978.

There are no simple criteria on which we base resource allocations to local authorities under the urban programme, but we take account of such factors as the scale, concentration and nature of the problems in the areas concerned, the quality of authorities' proposals for tackling those problems, and their performance in previous years. Resources for urban development corporations, which do not form part of the urban programme, are allocated separately taking account of the corporations' proposals for dealing with the severe problems they face in securing the regeneration of their areas.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress is being made with his Department's priority estates project.

My Department has today published "Priority Estates Project 1982: a summary of aims and progress". This very valuable report by Anne Power, one of the Department's consultants for this project, describes how three difficult to let estates in Bolton, Hackney and Lambeth are being turned round and made much more acceptable to tenants. The report is being made available to all local authorities and copies have been placed in the Library. I hope it will be widely read and acted upon.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what planning consents were required and obtained by the Greater London Council to display announcements from the roof of county hall.

As far as I know, no planning consent was sought or obtained for this purpose, but it would be for the Greater London Council in the first instance to decide whether consent was needed and it has powers to grant itself permission.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many appeals were made to him in 1981 from each district council area in the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire against planning refusals; in how many of these cases refusal was upheld by him; in how many instances the decision was reversed; and in how many instances the appeals were (a) withdrawn or (b) remained undecided.

I regret that the information required is not readily available. Intake figures are only available by county. They are as follows, for 1981:—

Berkshire	459
Buckinghamshire	315
Oxfordshire	305

I can provide national statistics only in answer to the other parts of the question as follows:—

Appeals received, withdrawn and decided, 1981
	Number
Appeals in hand 1 January	8,746
Received	16,637
Withdrawn	3,305
Decided	14,451
In hand 31 December	7,627
Local Authority decision reversed	33 per cent.

There is no direct relationship between appeals received, withdrawn and decided because of the time lapse.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what financial support was given to the air pollution division at the Warren Spring laboratory for each of the last three years at constant prices; and what is the value of the contract for 1982–83.

[pursuant to his answer, 10 May1982]: The payments by DOE for air pollution work at Warren Spring laboratory were as follows:

£ million
	Cash terms	at 1981–82 prices
1979–80	1·05	*1·6
1980–81	1·3	1·42
1981–82	1·37	1·37

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give details of any discussions in which his Department is participating at present taking place in Europe on the question of reducing air pollution.

[pursuant to his reply, 11 May 1982]: My Department is currently engaged in discussions within the European Community on proposals for:A directive for air quality standards for leadA decision on the exchange of information on air pollutionA decision regarding chlorofluorocarbons in the environmentIt is also participating in the discussions of an ad hoc working group on air pollution from motor vehicles. In the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe my Department is involved in discussions on the long range transmission of air pollution.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether his Department is supporting the application by Bradford council for EEC regional fund assistance towards the photographic museum to be established in Bradford; and if he will make a statement.

[pursuant to his answer, 6 May 1982, c. 115]: We have not so far felt able to put this project forward because we have had other projects of higher priority, bearing in mind the criteria governing the funds operation. But we shall look at it again, in the context of fresh applications to be made to the Commission.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services why he has rejected the advice of the Committee on Safety of Medicines to approve Depo-Provera for contraceptive use; and if he will make a statement.

The licensing authority has given very careful consideration to the advice of the Committee on Safety of Medicines that Depo-Provera should be licensed as a long-term contraceptive. The authority, however, is of the view that in these circumstances the risk of using Depo-Provera appears to outweigh the benefit from such use. It considers that it is particularly important that, in a case such as this, the risk/benefit ratio should be clearly favourable. The committee's recommendation, on the other hand, had been a very guarded one. It had also advised that the administration of the drug should be restricted to a group of women many of whom would have difficulty in giving informed consent to their treatment.The licensing authority therefore proposes to refuse the licence application. The company however has the right to make representations in writing or at a hearing before a person appointed for the purpose by the licensing authority in respect of this proposal.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list in the Official Report for each of his Department's local offices serving the Ormskirk constituency the current number of non-pensioner and pensioner claimants; and if he will give comparable figures for 1979, 1980 and 1981.

The information requested is as follows:

Number of non-pensioner and pensioner claimants at offices dealing with the Ormskirk constituency
Office	16 March 1982	17 March 1981	18 March 1980	20 March 1979
Supplementary Benefits Office
Bootle AO
Non-pensioners	8,982	7,638	6,039	6,336
Pensioners	5,023	5,202	5,199	5,188
Crosby ILO
Non-pensioners	5,504	4,302	3,370	3,344
Pensioners	3,437	3,402	3,337	3,347
Kirkby ILO
Non-pensioners	8,451	6,192	5,309	5,391
Pensioners	2,348	1,748	1,699	1,714
St. Helens ILO
Non-pensioners	9,176	7,112	5,318	5,431
Pensioners	5,777	5,633	5,724	5,834
Skelmersdale ILO
Non-pensioners	5,560	4,180	3,393	3,303
Pensioners	2,507	2,441	2,499	2,442
Contributory Benefits Office
Bootle NIO
Non-pensioners	2,399	3,028	3,373	4,634
Pensioners	340	338	359	380
Crosby ILO
Non-pensioners	1,140	1,165	1,533	2,027
Pensioners	226	118	244	209
Kirkby ILO
Non-pensioners	1,278	1,213	1,582	2,277
Pensioners	155	113	108	115
St. Helens ILO
Non-pensioners	3,551	3,946	5,108	5,978
Pensioners	569	582	572	609
Skelmersdale ILO
Non-pensioners	1,453	1,516	1,722	2,342
Pensioners	204	188	231	236

Figures for supplementary benefits are the number of cases in action on the dates shown. Figures for contributory benefits are the number of claims received in the four week period ended on the date shown.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many sports grounds and playing fields were sold as surplus to requirements by the National Health Service in the last year.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is in a position to publish any investigations carried out by Sir Derek Rayner into the efficiency of the working and financing of family practitioner committees.

No. The start of this study was unavoidably delayed and so far only preliminary work has been undertaken.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if his Department will investigate the procedure by which consultants recall their patients for review in order to increase selectivity and consequently enable patients on waiting lists for first appointments to be seen appreciably sooner, so reducing waiting time.

Decisions about follow-up appointments are for the clinical judgment of the doctor concerned. I am not convinced that an investigation by the Department is justified, though we are always ready to consider specific evidence about ways in which performance can be improved.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) in view of the fact that over half of the patients who develop renal failure are over 55 years of age, if he will provide more resources so that a greater percentage of people of this age can be given modern treatments;(2) if he is satisfied with the present management of end-stage renal failure in the United Kingdom in view of the fact that only five-eights of such patients receive transplants or renal dialysis; if he is satisfied with the number and distribution of renal units; and if he will seek to provide more funds and facilities.

The annual number of patients starting treatment for chronic renal failure in the United Kingdom has increased steadily, but there are still not sufficient facilities to meet all the estimated needs. Most of the shortfall is in the older age groups, though in the past few years the number of older patients accepted has increased appreciably. I am not satisfied with the present level of services, but the priority to be given to expanding them is primarily for health authorities to judge. The number of transplants is constrained mainly by the supply of donor kidneys and we are continuing our efforts to improve this. As regards additional resources, I refer the hon. Member to the reply he received from my hon. Friend the Member for Reading, South (Dr. Vaughan) on 3 February 1982.—[Vol. 17, c. 159.]

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he has studied the report by the Irish Medical Association that medical school intake should be halved and that every EEC country was over-producing medical graduates; and if he will reconsider the rate of medical student entry in the United Kingdom.

I am not aware of a report such as that to which the hon. Member refers but I would not accept that the United Kingdom is over-producing medical graduates.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if, in view of the fact that the St. Helens and Knowsley community health council serves two metropolitan district councils, he will increase the size of its membership.

The size of community health councils is for regional health authorities to determine in line with the guidance we issue. I understand the St. Helens and Knowsley district councils will each appoint four members to the community health council covering their districts, which will have 20 members in all.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many bust enlargement operations were performed for National Health Service patients during each of the most recent five years for which figures are available.

This information is not collected centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many mobility allowance cases have been approved in (a) England and Wales and (b) Scotland under the criteria of regulation 3(1)(b) of the Mobility Allowance Regulations 1975.

This information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether there have been any studies carried out within the Health Service on the training to be given to medical staff in the emotional care of the terminally ill, similar to those existing with the hospice movement.

I am not aware of any studies made within the National Health Service, but the publication in 1980 of the report of the Standing Medical Advisory Committee's working group on terminal care has stimulated attention to the needs of the dying and their families. It recommended that the training of doctors and nurses should place greater emphasis on the care of such patients, including the emotional aspects. A range of training opportunities is available in this field.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish his Department's report on effective prescribing.

My right hon. Friend is still considering the report produced by the informal working group on effective prescribing.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what would be the net additional cost in 1982–83 of raising child benefit to £11·70 per week per child (a) if the benefit were subject to tax at the basic rate and (b) if the benefit were subject to tax at each taxpayer's top rate.

(a) £1·3 billion

(b) £1·2 billion

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will amend regulation 19 of the Social Security Act 1975 in order to recognise the predicament of unemployed people in areas with seasonal work, and to ensure that genuinely unemployed people do not lose unemployment benefit in winter by virtue of their taking up seasonal jobs in the summer.

My right hon. Friend is satisfied that additional conditions for receipt of unemployment benefit by seasonal workers are necessary to ensure that benefit is not paid to those seasonal workers who are not in employment during their off-seasons. The National Insurance Advisory Committee considered the seasonal worker rules and concluded, in 1977, that additional conditions were still neeeded for that purpose and that it was not possible to distinguish between those who deliberately adopt a seasonal pattern of work and others who become seasonal workers while still trying to obtain regular employment. The committee recommended, however, certain changes in the rules. The last Administration did not implement them because of the cost involved and, with the need to make savings in social security expenditure, we have had to postpone a decision about their implementation.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the latest number of recipients of supplementary pension or allowance and family income supplement; what is the estimated number of their dependants; how many persons would be entitled to claim certificates of exemption on income grounds from prescription charges; and how many have claimed certificates of exemption on grounds of low income for ophthalmic or dental treatment.