asked the Minister for Trade whether he will make a statement about the use of Aldergove airport by Aer Lingus.

At present Aer Lingus provides a scheduled air service between Belfast and Dublin, operated on its behalf by the Irish company Avair. Additional rights for Aer Lingus operations to and from Belfast were requested by the aeronautical authorities of the Repubic of Ireland during air services discussions which took place last month in Dublin and London. In return for Irish agreement that Dan Air should start new services from Gatwick to Dublin and Shannon, we agreed to permit Aer Lingus to operate up to three round-trip services a week through Belfast to Amsterdam, Brussels or Dusseldorf. Aer Lingus will be required to originate or terminate these services in the Republic of Ireland. No United Kingdom airline has shown a recent interest in introducing a service to these European points on direct flights from Belfast, and if the Irish authorities secure the the necessary rights from the destination countries the new services which can be started will clearly benefit the travelling public in Northern Ireland.In the same discussions Aer Lingus was granted rights for services between London and Strasbourg and recieved approval for a programme of charter flights for pilgrims between Belfast and Lourdes.

asked the Minister for Trade on what date the holding company of Sunsaver Camping Holidays ceased to trade; and what is the name and address of the liquidator.

I understand that Trailwinds Ltd, which formerly traded as Sunsaver Camping Holidays, stopped trading on or about 26 April 1982 and on 10 May 1982 passed a resolution for voluntary winding-up, appointing Mr. P. W. J. Hartigan of Messrs Booth White and Co, 1 Wardrobe Place, Carter Lane, St Pauls, London EC4V 5AJ as liquidator.

asked the Minister for Trade when Her Majesty's Government expect the report of the inquiry into the proposed development of London's third airport at Stansted in Essex will be submitted; and when a decision on this proposal is anticipated.

The inquiry is unlikely to be completed until well into 1983, and it is not possible at this stage to anticipate when the inspector will be able to submit his report. The Government will reach their decisions as soon as possible thereafter.

asked the Minister for Trade if he is satisfied with the present organisation of the Coast Guard and search and rescue facilities in the Solent area.

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

asked the Minister for Trade whether he will consider revising the Price Marking (Bargain Offers) Order 1979 by means of section 11 of the Trade Descriptions Act 1968.

I am urgently considering the report of the Director General of Fair Trading on his review of the Price Marking (Bargain Offers) Order 1979.

asked the Minister for Trade if he will consider amending the Trade Descriptions Act 1968 in accordance with recommendations made by the review undertaken by the Director General of Fair Trading and others in 1974.

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

asked the right hon. Member for Middlesbrough, as representing the House of Commons Commission, on what date he now expects the annual report of the House of Commons Commission to be published.

The Commission hopes to publish the annual report for 1981–82 in the near future.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Chief Constable of Merseyside as to the number of officers within his force who have been available for operational duties over the last 12 months.

Since April 1981, the strength of the Merseyside police has increased by 34 officers, to 4,631 at the end of March 1982. All officers are regarded as available for deployment on operational duties, unless they are absent, for example, by reason of sickness.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to remedy the problems identified at High Point prison in Suffolk by the Chief Inspector of Prisons; and, in particular, if he will now ensure that there is enough work to occupy the time and skills of the inmates, that the numbers and grades of industrial staff are no more than commensurate with the size and purposes of the prison, and that the deficiencies noted by the inspector in physical education facilities are made good, whenever practicable, by the use of prison labour.

The action I am taking on the formal recommendations by Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons in his report on Her Majesty's prison High Point is set out in the statement which accompanied the publication of the report. My noble Friend is writing to my hon. Friend on the detailed points he has raised.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will dismiss the governor of the Sudbury open prison, near Derby.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Basildon of 17 May, Official Report, c. 13, what was the level of staffing of International Social Service of Great Britain in each of the past five financial years concerned with the administration of the Government's repatriation scheme; and what was the proportion of the sums paid by his Department to the service for the purpose of paying salaries in each year.

In each of the last five years, two social workers, one receptionist and one typist have been employed full-time by International Social Service of Great Britain on work connected with its administration of the repatriation scheme under section 29 of the Immigration Act 1971. In addition, over the same period, a proportion of the time of the director of ISS, the director's secretary and an accountant has been spent on this work. Since 1980 a full-time administrator and since 1982 a part-time administrative assistant have also been employed on this work.I understand from ISS that the amount spent on salaries in each of the last five years is as follows:

	£
1977–78	22,030
1978–79	21,601
1979–80	25,980
1980–81	29,305
1981–82	*
* Not yet available

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Basildon of 17 May, Official Report, c. 13, (1) what was the proportion of the sums paid by his Department to International Social Service of Great Britain in each of the past five financial years which was used for the service's costs of administration;(2) what was the proportion of the sums paid by his Department to International Social Service of Great Britain in each of the past five financial years that was paid directly to those seeking assistance under the repatriation scheme or on their behalf; and, of the moneys paid directly

to those seeking assistance, how much was paid, respectively, for the purposes of

In the last five financial years the following sums were paid to International Social Service of Great Britain in connection with its operation of the repatriation scheme under section 29 of the Immigration Act 1971.

(a) In respect of administration expenses:
	£
1977–78	32,674
1978–79	33,860
1979–80	38,361
1980–81	*42,209
1981–82	†54,209
* For accounting reasons the sum of these figures differs from the corresponding figure in the reply given to my hon. Friend on 17 May.
† Subject to audit. The breakdown of the repatriation expenses is not yet available.

(b) In respect of repatriation expenses:
	Fares	Baggage‡	Total
	£	£	£
1977–78	31,665	14,843	46,508
1978–79	45,044	20,489	65,533
1979–80	44,365	17,626	61,991
1980–81	56,689	17,571	*74,260
1981–82	n/a	n/a	†134,734
* For accounting reasons the sum of these figures differs from the corresponding figure in the reply given to my hon. Friend on 17 May.
† Subject to audit. The breakdown of the repatriation expenses is not yet available.
‡ And other incidental expenses.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what investigations are being carried out into allegations that a leaflet of racial insults is being given to black inmates in Strangeways prison and Wymott prison; and if he will make a statement.

The Prison Department is making urgent inquiries into these allegations.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the letter sent by his Department to chief constables urging positive discrimination in favour of members of the ethnic minorities wanting to join the police.

The Select Committee on Home Affairs recommended that vigorous steps should be taken to recruit ethnic minority police officers and Lord Scarman recommended that an urgent study should be conducted of ways in which this might be done. The study group set up by the Department expects to complete its work during the summer. Meanwhile, as most police forces outside London are at or near full strength, we are anxious that good quality candidates from the ethnic minorities should not be turned away solely because there are no vacancies. The Association of Chief Police Officers was informed in March that we should be prepared to consider requests from police authorities to hold supernumerary ethnic minority recruits to whom an early appointment could not otherwise be offered. So far, no such request has been received. This arrangement is similar to that for former police cadets.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) pursuant to his reply of 14 May, Official Report, c. 332, to the hon. Member for Basildon whether he proposes to introduce legislation to require that all deaths of patients detained in secure hospitals under the Mental Health Act 1959 should be reported to the coroner and that inquests should be held with a jury on all such deaths; and if he will make a statement;(2) pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Basildon of 14 May,

My right hon. Friend intends to bring forward proposals to give effect to these changes when a suitable opportunity for legislation occurs, but we are not yet in a position to say when this will be. These proposals would include a requirement that the deaths of all persons in legal custody should be reported to the coroner whatever the place of detention. Meanwhile, the desirability of such deaths being reported, and of inquests with a jury being held on them has already been drawn to the attention of coroners and the police.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he will take to expedite the hearing of the appeal of Mr. S. P. Teoh against deportation from the United Kingdom, considering that he has been waiting five months for the appellate hearing, that the delay is causing him considerable financial hardship and distress and that he was born in the British Straits Settlements, but the Malaysian authorities will not return his passport to him.

Mr. Teoh has lodged an appeal against the refusal to revoke or vary his leave to remain in the United Kingdom. The Home Office submitted the explanatory statement to the independent appellate authority on 25 March with a request for an early hearing. The appellate authority has arranged for the case to be heard in Bristol on 17 June.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to come to a decision about the future funding of police cadets at Hendon police training college; and if he will make a statement.

My officials are shortly to meet representatives of the Brent and Barnet borough councils and the Metropolitan Police to discuss this matter. I shall write to the right hon. Member as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) men and (b) women lie has appointed to public bodies in the past year; and what is the total number of men and women appointed by his Department to serve on public bodies.

A total of 364 men and 153 women were appointed in the course of 1981 to the public bodies for which the Home Office is responsible. Their total membership on 31 December 1981 was 2,230 men and 970 women.In certain cases the appointments are made on my advice by Her Majesty the Queen or my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister; or by other Ministers with whom I share responsibility for a particular body.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the latest European Economic proposals for agricultural price increases in terms of £ sterling, the amount of the increase, the United Kingdom consumption of each of the products in question, and the total cost to the consumer in each case assuming that the return to the farmer goes up by the whole of the increase and that not less than this amount is passed on to consumers.

I refer the hon. Member to the statement I made on 19 May. I shall shortly be placing a note giving further details of the settlement in the Library. My right hon. Friend provided information on United Kingdom consumption of various products in a reply which he gave to the hon. Member on 8 December 1981—[Vol. 14, c. 366.]. As regards the cost to the consumer, market conditions and the nature of support arrangements mean that the assumptions proposed by the hon. Member are not realistic. I indicated in my statement that the effect of the settlement on the retail price index over a full year will be a quarter of 1 per cent. and on the food price index over a full year 1¼ per cent., and that the consumer benefit of the beef premium scheme, sheepmeat regime and the continuation of the butter subsidy will be worth some hundreds of millions of pounds, depending on the market situation.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what will be the likely effect on the retail price index of the European Economic Community Council of Ministers voting over the common agricultural policy farm prices.

I refer the hon. Member to the statement I made on 19 May.

asked the Prime Minister if, in the intended independent investigation into all matters connected with and leading up to the eventual military activities in the South Atlantic, related events up to 20 years before the invasion of the Falkland Islands may be included.

I told the House on 8 April that we would consult on the form of a review or inquiry. I shall bear in mind the hon. Gentleman's suggestion.

asked the Prime Minister whether she will ensure that no further talks take place with the Government of the Republic of Ireland concerning any matter, and that, in particular, there will be no further discussions of an all-Ireland nature while the Irish Government maintain their policy of neutrality during the present conflict with the Republic of Argentina over the Falkland Islands; and if she will make a statement.

I share the disappointment felt by many hon. Members at the attitudg adopted by the Irish Government over European Community sanctions against Argentina. Nevertheless, I do not believe it would be to our advantage to discontinue talks on issues of interest to the United Kingdom.I do not understand my hon. Friend's reference to further discussions of an all-Ireland nature. If by that he means discussions affecting the constitutional position of Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom, I can assure him that there have been and are no such talks.

asked the Prime Minister whether she plans to have consultations with Heads of other European Economic Community Governments regarding the abandoning of the Luxembourg convention and its consequences for the United Kingdom; and if she will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs is meeting the other Foreign Ministers of the European Community in Brussels today and tomorrow. He will take up with them the way in which the Luxembourg compromise was set aside at last week's Agriculture Council, and the very serious implications of that development. The House will have an opportunity to debate the matter on Wednesday.

asked the Prime Minister if Her Majesty's Government will end all payments of public funds to the Government of the Republic of Zimbabwe.

No.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish a table showing the value of commercial bills issued by Argentine entities that are held by British banks and are still outstanding and whether any instructions have been issued.

The Treasury's directions issued on 4 April under the Emergency Laws (Re-enactments and Repeals) Act 1964 had the effect inter alia of preventing the acceptance of new bills of exchange drawn by Argentine residents from that date, and so cut off Argentine entities from this source of credit. This was emphasised in the Bank of England's notice EL1, issued on 13 April. Bills drawn by Argentine residents and accepted before 3 April have, of course, yet to mature and some can still be found in the market. However, banks whose bills are eligible for discount at the Bank of England have withdrawn from the market bills drawn by Argentine residents.Given that in every case the Argentine drawer has already gained the full benefit from the acceptance of these pre-3 April bills, the United Kingdom authorities permit the use of blocked Argentine funds, where available, to honour these bills on maturity. The United Kingdom acceptor is, of course, bound to pay the bill on maturity if the Argentine drawer does not do so, for whatever reason. The authorities' practice is set out in the Bank of England's notice EL1. Figures for the total value of claims of United Kingdom banks—including the United Kingdom offices of foreign banks—on Argentina, in sterling and foreign currency, in form of bills drawn on promissory notes issued by Argentine residents and acceptances given on behalf of Argentine residents are as follows:

	£ million
	End December 1981	End March 1982
Sterling claims	97	99
Foreign currency claims	76	77
	173	176

The comparable figures for British banks excluding the United Kingdom offices of foreign banks are:

	£ million
	End December 1981	End March 1982
Sterling claims	95	88
Foreign currency claims	38	42
	133	130

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the costs of road, rail, and air travel, respectively, incurred by Departments of Government in the year 1981, excluding subsistence due in each case.

Separate records of travel costs are not kept but it is estimated that Civil Service duty travel in the United Kingdom and overseas cost Departments about £115 million in 1981–82. Of this it is estimated that about £80 million was on road travel, about £10 million on rail travel and about £25 million on air travel. Public transport is used wherever practicable.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if, pursuant to the answer on 13 May 1982 to the right hon. Member for Heywood and Royton, Official Report, c. 936, concerning the public sector borrowing requirement, he will now make a statement on the investigations into the reasons why the monitoring of public expenditure did not disclose so large a change in such a short time;(2) whether the public sector borrowing requirement forecast for 1982–83 assumed that the Contingency Reserve in his public expenditure plans would be spent; whether his latest information indicates there will be a further substantial shortfall similar to that in 1981–82; if so, whether he is proposing to take action to prevent such a shortfall; and if he will make a statement.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has any plans to change the Treasury model.

No. Neither I nor any other Minister is involved in any way in the design or operation of the Treasury model. The model is regularly updated in the light of empirical research solely on the basis of the professional judgment of Treasury economists.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will introduce new fiscal measures in order to reduce the energy costs that the steel and chemical industries have to bear.

I have no plans to take any fiscal action beyond those measures announced in my recent Budget.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the United Kingdom monthly net contribution to the European Economic Community, excluding rebates, for each month since January 1979, listing alongside under headings 1979, 1980, 1981 and 1982 rebates repaid in each month, such rebate being entered under the heading appropriate to the year to which the rebate referred, and with sub-totals entered under each column at each year end.

I shall let my hon. Friend have a reply as soon as possible.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the reply of the Financial Secretary, 13 May, Official Report, c. 939, in what way the maintenance of the real value of the retirement pension and other benefits has worsened the poverty trap.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make an estimate of the consequences for the expenditure and receipt of funds to the United Kingdom Treasury if the common agricultural policy was replaced with a system of agricultural support whereby levies were retained at present levels but the revenue was collected and retained by the United Kingdom Government.

[pursuant to his reply, 20 May, c. 157–8]: The consequences are estimated to be:

	mecu	£*
(a) loss of receipts from CAP in 1982	-1,300	-680
(b) levies retained	+617	+323
(c) net loss to the United Kingdom	-683	-357
* £1 = 1·9118 ecu.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will order the Health and Safety Executive to undertake a comprehensive review of the collection of information and statistics on industrial diseases and accidents at work; and if he will make a statement.

The Health and Safety Executive is already undertaking such a review as part of a Rayner scrutiny into the supply and use of information on industrial accidents and diseases. I understand that the scrutiny is now at an advanced stage.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many building workers were unemployed in August 1979 as compared with August 1980.

The numbers of people registered as unemployed in the United Kingdom who last worked in the construction industry were 152,543 at August 1979 and 226,480 at August 1980.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many young people in Manchester have never had a job since leaving school.

At 15 April there were 3,848 registered unemployed young people under 18 years of age in the Manchester travel-to-work area who had not entered employment since completing full-time education.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many redundancies in Manchester have been notified to the Manpower Services Commission since May 1979; and how many firms were involved.

There are no comprehensive statistics of redundancies. The number of redundancies, in groups of 10 or more, reported to the Manpower Services Commission as due to occur in the city of Manchester between May 1979 and March 1982 inclusive, is 20,362, including provisional figures for March 1982.The number of firms in which these redundancies occurred is not available except at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what facilities are available in Great Britain for the investigation of the effects of chemicals on the foetuses of female workers who come into contact with them through their work.

The Health and Safety Executive's employment medical advisory service is responsible for investigating cases in which any occupational agents—including chemical agents—are suspected of causing harm to the unborn foetuses of female workers. Where such investigation involved examination of, or tests on, the foetus itself, EMAS would rely on the specialist facilities available in hospitals, university medical departments and research units and would liaise closely with such bodies. In addition, manufacturers, importers and suppliers of any substance for use at work, together with employers who use such substances, have a general duty, under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, to ensure that the substance is safe and without risks to health when properly used. In pursuance of this duty a variety of research facilities are used by the employers, manufacturers and so on concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what representations he has received seeking provision for disabled school leavers in relation to the proposals"in the White Paper "A New Training Initiative"; what replies he has sent; what action he is taking; and if he will make a statement.

I have received a number of representations about the provision for disabled young people in the new youth training scheme, including those from representatives of the Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation whom I met recently. I also note that the report of this House's Employment Committee recommends that 18-year-olds with special needs be included within the scope of the new scheme from its start.The Government's White Paper makes it clear that the new scheme will encourage and promote the participation of all handicapped young people who can benefit from it, and the report of the Manpower Services Commission's task group also refers to meeting the special needs of the disabled. I am at present considering the task group's report and will announce the Government's conclusions as soon as possible this summer.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what action his Department is taking to assist those unemployed in consequence of the closure of Stowells of Chelsea in Hatfield.

The Manpower Services Commission will do all it can to help redundant workers find new jobs through its placement and training services. I understand that the manager of the Hatfield jobcentre will be visiting the firm this week to discuss the situation.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether, in view of the decision of the Manpower Services Commission in October 1981 to fund the House of Lambeth project to expand from 31 to 40 places and the likely waste of capital already committed to the project if funding ends, he will reconsider the extent to which the project meets the community benefit criterion of the community enterprise programme with a view to continuing funding.

I understand that officials of the Manpower Services Commission have discussed the difficulties facing the House of Lambeth with the scheme sponsors and that the Manpower Services Commission is content to continue funding for such parts of the scheme as might meet the existing community enterprise programme criteria.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what interpretation of the word "economic" in the Manpower Services Commission handbook provision, that schemes should contribute to or provide economic benefits for the community, is used for the purpose of assessing community enterprise programme shemes.

The term "economic benefits to the community", like the term "community benefit", is deliberately not defined in the community enterprise programme handbook. Projects put forward by sponsors are considered individually by the Manpower Services Commission with the guidance of local special programmes area boards. They will judge whether or not projects are of economic benefit to the community in the light of local needs or circumstances.In making this judgment it is clearly necessary to avoid breaching the other essential qualifying criteria for CEP schemes—particularly that projects should not put real jobs at risk.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he has required the Manpower Services Commission to reinterpret the guidelines for projects funded by the community enterprise programmes.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment on what grounds the Manpower Services Commission has decided that the House of Lambeth enterprise previously funded by it to the extent of some £¼ million now fails to meet the community benefit criterion of the community enterprise programme and for that reason is not regarded as refundable.

The House of Lambeth scheme was outside the community benefit criterion of the community enterprise programme when the decision to renew funding was taken. The Manpower Services Commission has told the sponsor it will not be able to renew the funding of this scheme as it is presently constituted but that it could do so if the scheme is brought within the CEP criterion. In taking this decision MSC is taking the earliest opportunity to rectify the position.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he has required the Manpower Services Commission to reduce funding of community enterprise programme projects.

No. The Government have made available additional resources under the community enterprise programme to support an additional 5,000 places during 1982–83.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what has been (a) the increase or decrease in the number of those unemployed by standard industrial classification order in the latest available year in Great Britain, and (b) the increase in average earnings by standard classification order in the same year; and if he will evaluate the rank correlation coefficient between (a) and (b) and its level of significance.

The information necessary to calculate these figures is readily available and can be found in the Employment Gazette, copies of which are available in the Library. The unemployment figures for

Unemployed for over 52 weeks
	Males		All (males and females)
Age	Number	As a percentage of total for all ages	Number	As a percentage of total for all ages
Under 18	4,594	0·7	8,046	1·0
18	11,495	1·7	18,549	2·2
19	23,560	3·5	35,839	4·3
20–24	108,111	16·1	149,364	17·8
25–29	81,773	12·2	102,840	12·2
30–34	71,121	10·6	84,826	10·1
35–44	104,290	15·6	125,338	14·9
45–49	47,216	7·0	59,930	7·1
50–54	53,568	8·0	69,941	8·3
55–59	67,045	10·0	87,173	10·4
60 and over	97,349	14·5	98,404	11·7
Total, all ages	670,122	100·0	840,250	100·0

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether the Arts Council is a full member or a corresponding member of the Visiting Orchestras Consultative Association; and whether the representative of the Arts Council on the executive committee is entitled to vote in its proceedings.

Traditionally the chairmanship of the association and its executive committee has been filled by a representative from the Arts Council. I understand that this representative is known as a corresponding member of the association and is entitled to vote at proceedings of the executive committee.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what provisions is made in the composition of the Visiting Orchestras Consultative Association for a representation of the opinions of music critics and of concert audiences; and if he is satisfied with the present composition of the executive committee.

No specific provision is made in the composition of the Visiting Orchestras Consultative Association for a representation which will reflect the opinions of music critics and of concert audiences. However, the membership of the association, which includes promoters, opera managers and local authorities, constitutes a strong representation of collective experience gathered over many years, which is well familiar with the attitudes and opinions of music critics and the preferences of concert audiences.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will provide a numerical and percentage breakdown of those unemployed in England and Wales for one year or over by age group for (a) males and (b) both sexes.

The following is the information at 15 April.Although I am satisfied that the executive committee and the association it serves reflects a wealth of artistic judgment and experience, I am always open to suggestions for improvements in the composition of these bodies.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what consideration his Department's Welsh language division gives to the needs of Welsh speakers who live outside the United Kingdom.

None.

asked the Secretary of Slate for Wales when he is going to announce the conclusions of the current year's annual price review; and if he will make a statement.

The results of the Annual Review of Agriculture for 1982 are contained in the White Paper—Cmnd. 8491—published on 17 February 1982. The guaranteed prices for wool and potatoes were announced on 23 March 1982. As to the CAP price settlement, I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on 19 May.—[Vol. 24, c. 352–354.]

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what information he has as to the passenger cost per mile of public bus transport in the county of Powys.

None. Information on the number of passengers carried per vehicle mile is not collected by my right hon. Friend and is not required for the calculation of revenue support by the county council. I understand however, that during 1980–81 the average vehicle operating cost per mile in Powys was 68·7p

Identifiable grants and loans from the European Community†
£ million (Commitments)‡
Year	European Regional Development Fund	European¶ Investment Bank	European Coal and Steel Community	European Social Fund	Total
1978	1·85	22·95	—	0·14	24·94
1979	3·43	105·82	—	—	109·25
1980	0·96	—	—	—	0·96
1981	1·21	—	0·07	0·03	1·31
1982║	—	—	—	—	—
Total	7·45	128·77	0·07	0·17	136·46

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the members of the Welsh Hospital Advisory Service and describe its activities and responsibilities; and if he will consider publishing its reports and recommendations.

The terms of reference of the NHS Health Advisory Service are set out in Welsh health circular WHC(76)19, a copy of which is in the Library of the House. There is no separate Welsh HAS.Members of the teams are selected by the director from professionally qualified persons who have recognised expertise within the field under review.HAS reports are made available to the Welsh Office and to the district health authorities and local authorities directly concerned. The HAS, after consultation with the DHA, provides a summary of the report on health matters for the community health council.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish in the Official Report a list for each

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what was the value at constant prices of European Community aid for those rural areas of Wales outside the boundaries of the Development Board for Rural Wales for each year between 1978 and 1982.

Details of European Community commitment of identifiable grants and loans to the rural areas of Wales outside the boundaries of the Development Board for Rural Wales area^* in the period January 1978 to March 1982 are as follows:county in Wales of those units administered by social services departments which are exclusively for the care of psychogeriatric cases.

The list given below is of those units providing residential accommodation exclusively for the use of the elderly mentally infirm:—

• Clwyd—Erddig, Erddig Road, Wrexham.
• Dyfed—Prendergast House, Stoke Avenue, Haverfordwest.
• Gwynedd—Plas Hedd, Maesgeirchen, Bangor.
• Mid-Glamorgan—Gladlys, Maelgwyn Terrace, Aberdare. Llanerch, New Inn Road, Merthyr Mawr.
• West Glamorgan—Gorffwysfa Home for the Aged, Bryncoch, Neath.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government towards awarding public purchasing contracts for steel to private steel manufacturers.

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

asked the Attorney-General whether he expects to introduce legislation to implement recommendations 46(5) and (6) of the Law Commission report No. 112.

asked the Attorney-General if it is Her Majesty's Government's intention to bring forward legislation in the next Session of Parliament to amend the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 in accordance with the recommendations summarised in paragraph 46(5) and (6) of Law Commission report No. 112.

I refer the hon. Members to my reply to the hon. Member for Southampton, Test (Mr. Hill) on 13 May.—[Vol. 23, c. 311.]

asked the Attorney-General, for the longest and most convenient stated period, how many persons who have refused invitations to become judges have given as their reasons the pay and pensions conditions attached to the appointments.

It is not possible to ascertain with any precision how many otherwise eligible persons have been deterred from applying for judicial office, or how many such persons to whom office has been offered

	Ordinary Scale Rate		*Long-term Scale Rate
	(September 1971 = 100)		(October 1973 = 100)
Year	Single householder	General RPI	Single householder	General RPI
September 1971	100	100	—	—
October 1972	112·9	108·5	—	—
October 1973	123·3	119·2	100	100
July 1974	144·8	135·3	127·6	113·5
April 1975†	165·5	159·2	147·2	133·6
November 1975†	187·9	177·9	168·1	149·2
November 1976	219·0	204·5	192·6	171·5
November 1977	250·0	231·2	219·6	193·9
November 1978	268·1	249·8	244·2	209·5
November 1979	315·5	293·2	290·8	246·9
November 1980	367·2	338·1	333·1	283·6
November 1981	400·9	378·6	363·2	317·5

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many National Health Service hospitals have been constructed using urea formaldehyde insulation during the last 10 years.

I regret that information of this kind is not centrally available and could not be obtained without disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people received home help services in 1979, 1980 and 1981.

asked the Attorney-General in what circumstances persons with large capital assets may be granted legal aid.

There is no fixed upper capital limit for criminal legal aid and it is for each court to decide whether a defendant needs assistance in meeting the likely costs of his defence. In civil legal aid, there is an upper capital limit, and where the applicant's capital exceeds this limit, legal aid may be refused if it appears that he could afford to proceed without legal aid.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, taking 1 January 1972 as 100, if he will publish an index showing the movement of the level of supplementary benefit against the retail price index in each of the last 10 years and to the latest convenient date.

Information relating to the uprating dates since September 1971 is given in the following table:

The number for the years to 31 March 1979 and 31 March 1980 in England were 730,278 and 743,517 respectively. Comparable figures were not collected for the year ending 31 March 1981.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he has studied the recent report in The Lancet demonstrating that even at low levels, lead significantly impairs intelligence: and if he will make a statement.

I have read a recent letter in The Lancet from Professor Blair and colleagues which reports the effect of relatively low levels of lead on an aspect of brain chemistry. It does not however report directly on the relationship between lead and intelligence.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he has studied the report on lead levels in blood in the Piedmont region of Italy; and if he will make a statement.

I understand that the report is not yet complete.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many representations he has received from medically qualified bodies or individuals on lead as an additive to petrol since he took office; and, of these, how many have been in favour of the retention of lead as an additive.

Two letters have been received from medically qualified individuals, neither of which favoured the retention of lead as an additive to petrol.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what sources of additional funding for the National Health Service, outwith Treasury funding through general taxation, he is presently considering.

The working party set up to explore ways of financing health care in order to improve standards looked at a wide range of possibilities. We are now considering the report of the working party.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he has given consideration to making available to workers in the National Health Service, National Health Service benefits free of charge; and what he estimates this would cost.

Dental, optical and pharmceutical—prescriptions—services are the only ones where patients pay a charge as a contribution towards the cost of the service. Help with these charges, or exemption from them, is available to everybody who qualifies on medical, financial or age grounds, each service applying any or all of these criteria. I would, therefore, be unreasonable to grant blanket exemption from charges to any group without regard to these considerations. Information is not available on the take-up of chargeable benefits by NHS staff to enable any estimate of cost to be made.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the estimated annual cost to the National Health Service of doctors' residences.

I regret that this information is not available centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will estimate the annual revenue that would be available to the National Health Service if a charge of £10 per patient per week levied to cover the costs of food and beverage for patients in hospital;(2) if he will consider introducing subsistence charges in National Health Service hospitals to a maximum of £10 per patient per week with appropriate hardship exemptions; and if he will make a statement.

As we have said on a number of occasions, the Government have no plans to introduce a board and lodging charge for hospital in-patients. This was reaffirmed on 22 October last by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department when replying on behalf of my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to a question from the hon. Member for Fife, Central (Mr. Hamilton.)—[Vol. 10, c. 418.]In the absence of any specific plans for such a charge, I am unable to estimate the net income it would yield since this would be significantly affected by collection and exemption arrangements.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if it is his policy to restrict wage increases to staff in the National Health Service within the current budget; and how that budget is fixed.

Pay negotiations in the NHS are conducted by the Whitley Councils, whose management sides take full account of the available funding in framing offers.My right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in his statement on public expenditure last autumn that expenditure plans for 1982–83 included a 4 per cent. pay factor for the public services. Subsequently the Government decided to make additional money available for increasing the pay of specific groups of Health Service staff responsible for the direct care and treatment of patients. The overall pay factor for the hospital and community health services is now 5½ per cent., although the total pay bill will rise by more than that if planned increases in staff numbers to provide improved patient services go ahead.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what representations he has received seeking amendment of the Child Care Act 1980 to ensure that decisions to restrict children's liberties should be the subject of a judicial review; and what consideration he is giving to them.

Suggestions to this effect have been made from time to time, notably in the recent report by the parliamentary all-party penal affairs group "Young Offenders—A Strategy for the Future", and that by the children's legal centre "Locked Up in Care". Such recommendations will be taken into account when revision of the regulations governing community homes for children is put in hand following the passage of the Criminal Justice Bill currently before Parliament.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many secure places outside borstals and detention centres there are for children; what were the numbers for each year since 1970; and how many are projected for 1984.

There are at present in England and Wales some 526 secure places for young people, including those in the youth treatment centres and single separation rooms in community homes. The projected number for 1984 is 603.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, of the children currently held in secure places outside borstals and detention centres, how many have been there (a) under three months, (b) from three to six months, (c) from six months to a year, (d) from one to two years and (e) over two years.

Of the 33 children currently accommodated in fully secure places in youth treatment centres, the information is as follows:

less than 3 months	9
3 to 6 months	4
6 months to 1 year	11
1 to 2 years	9

None have been in security for more than two years.Information about children in secure accommodation in local authority community homes is not held centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if his Department collects information on the number of people with the following conditions of defective colour vision: protanopia, deuteranopia, protanomalous, deutranomalous and tritans.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what price is paid by BUPA, or any other organisation, for blood obtained from the national blood transfusion service.

No charge is or will be made for blood supplied by the national blood transfusion service to anyone. I am considering whether charges might be introduced for the costs of handling blood supplied to non-NHS hospitals but not for the blood itself.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how much blood has been supplied for each year from 1974 onwards from the national blood transfusion service and to whom; and what financial sums have been received each year.

The number of units of blood supplied to hospitals in England and Wales by the national blood transfusion service from 1974 to 1980—the latest year for which figures are available—is as follows:

Year	Number
1974	1,488,179
1975	1,515,294
1976	1,582,024
1977	1,624,199
1978	1,663,219
1979	1,705,190
1980	1,793,172

More detailed information is not available centrally.The blood was supplied free of charge.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish in the Official Report the letter sent by the Minister for Social Security to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Perry Barr, dated 5 May, regarding the 5 per cent. cut in industrial injury benefit.

Following is the text of the letter which I sent to the hon. Member on 5 May:

During the debate on Clause 29 of the Finance Bill on 26 April you referred to my statement about the restoration of the five per cent. abatement on injury benefit, made during the Committee Stage of the Social Security and Housing Benefits Bill on 9 February, when I said that the position remained that ''the abatement will be restored as soon as the benefits are brought into tax".

I do not think you can have been in any doubt, from all that Ministers have said on this matter, including my reply to your Parliamentary Question on 22 December 1981 and my speech at Report Stage of the Bill on 18 March last, that it is only in the case of invalidity benefit that the Government has given an undertaking to restore the abatement when the benefit is brought into tax. In the case of all other benefits, the commitment is to consider the restoration of the abatement when the benefit is brought into tax. I had in mind invalidity benefit when I said injury benefit and stated "the position remains as enunciated by the Chancellor of the Exchequer" which of itself made it clear I was not enunciating anything new.

I should however have written to you before now to set the record straight; and for this oversight I apologise.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a detailed statement on the revised estimate of the take-up of family income supplement referred to on page 253 of the "Social Security Statistics 1981."

A detailed statement was made in "The Take-up of Family Income Supplement: Note on the Estimate Derived from the Family Finances Survey", to which I referred in my reply to the hon. Member on 7 April—[Vol. 21, c. 396–97.]

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many householders to date have received extra help with heating bills due to the severe winter; what is the total amount involved and how much per householder on average this represents; and if he will break the figures down to show the category of claimant concerned.

The latest available information is set out in the following table. It is not possible to break the figures down to differentiate the various categories of claimant but they are analysed by DHSS region. The figures were collected as part of a special exercise which will be completed this month. I shall publish the final totals in the Official Report in due course.

Number and amount of supplementary benefit single payments awarded for fuel costs in the period 16 January 1982 to 13 April 1982
DHSS Region	Total number of payments	Total amount paid	Average payment
		£	£
Northern	18,004	179,993	10·00
Yorkshire and Humberside	20,739	268,705	12·96
East Midlands and East Anglia	17,361	238,263	13·72
London, North	13,764	177,811	12·92
London, South	11,865	120,240	10·13
London, West	8,904	115,558	12·98
South-Western	12,804	181,257	14·16
Wales	16,601	193,094	11·63
West Midlands	31,363	391,058	12·47
NW (Manchester)	15,127	175,387	11·59
Merseyside	18,692	228,425	12·22
Scotland	47,659	717,456	15·05
Great Britain	232,883	2,987,247	12·83

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what criteria are currently used to determine whether a housing estate can be designated as hard to heat so allowing heating additions to be made to supplementary benefit householder claimants living there; if he is reviewing the criteria; and if he will make a statement;(2) what guidance is issued to local benefit officers on the amount of heating additions to be given to supplementary benefit householder claimants living on housing estates that are designated as hard to heat.

Following the approach of the former Supplementary Benefits Commission in determining whether an estate heating system is disproportionately expensive to run, we look at each case on its merits; the essential test is whether the heating system itself is inherently expensive. The amount of heating addition payable is calculated by the benefit officer, in accordance with paragraph 5 of schedule 3 to the Supplementary Benefit (Requirements) Regulations 1980—SI 1980 No. 1299—with reference to the estimated necessary weekly expenditure on the heating of the home and the notional amount for heating deducted from an inclusive rent in recognition of the provision in the scale rates for normal fuel needs.We have, however, been considering whether a more specific policy is needed and have made proposals for an amendment to the regulations which is now being considered by the Social Security Advisory Committee. As indicated in my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Somerset, North (Mr. Dean) on 10 May—[Vol. 23, c.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what progress he is making in his inquiries into the provision of home helps by Kent county council following representations from the Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation; and if he will make a statement.

The Department is awaiting a response from the chief executive of the council. A full reply will be sent to RADAR when the inquiries have been completed.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what tonnage of spent nuclear fuel elements has been stockpiled by the Central Electricity Generating Board from the nuclear power programme and awaits reprocessing at Sellafield, Cumbria.

I am advised that the following quantities of CEGB irradiated fuel elements are stored and await reprocessing by BNFL at Sellafield:

(a) Stored at CEGB nuclear power stations

• Magnox—1,100 tonnes
• AGR—25 tonnes

(b) Stored at Sellafield

• Magnox—300 tonnes
• AGR—110 tonnes

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what has been (a) the average annual price of uranium over the past decade and (b) the annual consumption of the oxide on a global basis.

(a) The bulk of uranium consumed by utilities in the World Outside Communist Areas is purchased under long-term supply contracts. Prices vary widely between contracts and are influenced by the timing, size and nature of the contractual commitments involved. The prices paid under these contracts are usually regarded as commercially confidential.Prices for spot or near-term sales of uranium are more widely available. The following table lists annual averages of monthly prices in the spot market as estimated by the US firm NUEXCO:

Year	NUEXCO exchange value* $ per Lb U3 O8
1972	6·0
1973	6·4
1974	11·0
1975	23·7
1976	39·7
1977	42·2
1978	43·2
1979	42·6
1980	31·8
1981	24·2
* The exchange value is NUEXCO's judgment of the price at which transactions for significant quantities of natural uranium concentrates could be concluded as of the last day of the month.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what is his latest estimate of the cost of each pressurised water reactor of the type proposed for Sizewell at current prices.

I am advised by the CEGB that at current prices the estimated cost of the PWR power station proposed for Sizewell B is £1,223 million, including initial fuel.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what is the estimated area of the United Kingdom's continental shelf as currently defined designated for oil and gas exploration and development.

Approximately 643,250 sq. km.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what representations he has received from industries which are heavy energy users regarding the efficacy of the financial arrangements he announced in the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Budget speech.

I have received little correspondence on this particular matter, but such representations as I have received from industrial heavy energy users have generally welcomed the new measures which were announced by my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his Budget statement.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether he will set up an independent inquiry to which both the Central Electricitiy Generating Board and the major industrial energy consumers could give evidence as to ways and means of achieving more equivalent energy prices in the United Kingdom compared with its major overseas competitors.

As I indicated earlier this year, I am considering the Electricity Council's review of the Central Electricity Board's bulk supply tariff, and have invited representations on it from industrial consumers and others. A number of representations from major industrial energy consumers have been received.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what monitoring is to be carried out on the effect of the changes to the gas and electricity boards' codes of practice.

As I announced to the House on 29 March, monitoring of these changes is to be carried out by the Electricity and National Gas Consumers' Councils.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what representations he has had from the National Right to Fuel Campaign on the proposed changes to the gas and electricity boards' code of practice as it relates to large accumulated debts; if he will give details of these; and if he will make a statement.

The chairman of the campaign wrote to me on 8 April welcoming as encouraging the advances made by the industries in the changes they were making to their code. He raised some detailed points about the implementation and monitoring of these changes. I have asked the industries and the Electricity and National Gas Consumers' Councils to consider these points.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what is the reason for the delay by his Department in acting on the report received by it on 23 October 1981 from the North Thames Gas Board on the gas explosion in Richbell House, Boswell Street, London WC1, on 6 October 1981.

My Department does not take action to prosecute under the gas safety regulations whilst the police are considering a prosecution themselves. My Department did not learn of the police decision in the case of the Richbell House explosion until 27 April 1982.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what is the mileage per gallon for averaged-sized cars in unleaded vehicles; and how this compares with the performance of such vehicles using leaded petrol.

I have been asked to reply.An average size car with a 1600 cc high compression engine using leaded high octane fuel will do about 32 miles to the gallon. A similar car with a low compression engine of similar performance and designed to run on unleaded low octane fuel will do about 30 miles to the gallon, an increase in fuel consumption of about 6 per cent.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland why the Scottish joint negotiating committee for teaching staff in school education discriminates between first, second and third class higher degrees from the Council for National Academic Awards for the payment of salaries in Scottish secondary schools; and why no distinction is made between university degrees in Scotland.

Statutory responsibility for all matters affecting the renumeration of teachers in Scotland rests with the joint negotiating committee for teaching staff in school education. It would be inappropriate for me to comment on the reasons for decisions by that committee.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many teachers within each of the Scottish regional authorities holding an honours degree are paid at the ordinary graduate level rate.

This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the numbers of terminations, still births and perinatal deaths in the Ayrshire and Arran health district for the years 1980 and 1981.

The information is given in the following table.

Ayrshire and Arran Health Board Area
	1980	1981*
Terminations	586	595
Still Births	53	22
Perinatal Deaths	96	59
* provisional.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the number of live births to women who were unmarried in the Ayrshire and Arran health district for the years 1980 and 1981.

The information is not readily available in precisely the form requested. There were 547 illegitimate live births in the Ayrshire and Arran health board area in 1980. The corresponding figure for 1981, which is provisional, is 600.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will reduce the 1982 freezer trawlers' sectoral quota and correspondingly increase the allocation to the rest of the United Kingdom pelagic fleet.

The freezer trawlers' sectoral quotas of mackerel and herring for 1982 have been set with the aim of maintaining a fair balance between this and other sectors of the fleet. The quota shares to be allocated to the various sectors of the industry in future will be the subject of a thorough review before the 1983 season.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has studied the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea recommendations for herring fisheries in the north North Sea, the Shetlands, the south North Sea and the west coast fisheries; and if, in view of the concern which has been expressed by the leaders of the Scottish fishing industry regarding these recommendations, he will make a statement.