asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Government have any plans to introduce any tax advantages for worker co-operatives, such as exist in France and Italy.

Societies registered under the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1965 enjoy certain tax advantages similar to those in France and Italy. For example, such societies pay corporation tax at the lower rate of 40 per cent., do not pay advance corporation tax and are allowed to deduct payment of dividend on co-operative shares before calculating taxable income.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether there are any non-official bodies to which Her Majesty's Treasury directly makes grants.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was paid in subscription to the Customs Co-operation Council in the last financial year.

£143,342 in the year 1981–82.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the estates of those killed on active service in the Falkland Islands dispute will be subject to capital transfer tax.

No. Their estates will be exempt from CTT under paragraph 1 of schedule 7 to the Finance Act 1975.

asked the Attorney-General if he will list all those cases where the European Court of Human Rights has ruled against Her Majesty's Government; and what are the comparable figures for other members of the Council of Europe.

[pursuant to his reply, 18 May 1982, c. 57]: The following are the cases against the United Kingdom in which the European Court of Human Rights has found that a violation of the European Convention of Human Rights took place:

• The Golder case
• The case of Ireland v the United Kingdom
• The Tyrer case
• The Sunday Times case
• The case of Young, James and Webster
• The Dudgeon case
• The case of "X" (a mental health patient)
• The Campbell and Cosans case

Findings of contravention of the convention by other countries have been made by the court as follows:

Country	Number
Austria	3
Belgium	5
Federal Republic of Germany	2
Italy	2
Netherlands	2
Republic of Ireland	1

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if, in view of the fact that Gainsborough bridge over the Trent is the internationally recognised limit of navigable waters in the Trent, he will revise his Department's view that Walkerith ferry is the limit of tidal influence in the river rather than Gainsborough bridge;(2) what reply he has sent to a formal request, on behalf of the Severn-Trent water authority, for a review of the sea defence limit on the River Trent.

The demarcation point on a river for the purpose of determining eligibility for supplementary land drainage grant is the point at which the tide ceases to be the dominant influence affecting flooding. The present demarcation point on the River Trent, at Walkerith ferry, was agreed with the predecessor to the Severn-Trent water authority in 1954. The authority has asked for the point to be reviewed, but has not yet submitted any convincing evidence in support of a change. My Department will shortly invite it to submit such evidence so that its request may be fully considered.The limit of navigable water is not necessarily a relevant factor in determining tidal flood risk.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the other bodies which receive finance from his Department to which he referred in his reply to the hon. Member for Rugby, Official Report, 10 May, c. 179; and how much was paid to each in the last financial year.

As a spending Department my Ministry makes payments to a great number and variety of bodies and organisations—for example, farming co-operatives; private companies; producer organisations such as the agricultural marketing boards; local government sector bodies and so on—as well as to the non-departmental public bodies referred to in my reply to the hon. Member of 10 May. A comprehensive list of these other bodies and organisations and the sums involved could not be produced without disproportionate cost.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many offences under the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act involving salmon poaching have been dealt with by the courts in North Yorkshire in the last 12 months; if he will list offences concerned and the penalties imposed: and in how many cases the penalty imposed was the maximum for the offence.

I understand from the Yorkshire water authority that in the year ending 31 May 1982, 23 offences involving salmon poaching were dealt with by the courts in North Yorkshire. The types of offence and penalties imposed were as follows:

Type of offence	Number of offences	Penalty imposed (fines)
Using or intending to use an unlicensed net for fishing for salmon or migratory trout	5	£25; £25; £50; £100; £100
Fishing for or taking salmon or migratory trout during the close season	6	£20; £20; £50; £50; £100; £100
Possession or use of a light for taking salmon or migratory trout	4	£30; £30; £50; £75
Possession or use of a gaff	5	£30; £30; £30; £50;£75
Fishing in a prohibited area	2	£40; £40
Carrying an unlicenced net in a boat	1	£25

In none of these cases was the penalty imposed the maximum for the offence.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many illegal fishing nets have been discovered on the River Esk, North Yorkshire, and other rivers in that region during the last five years.

I understand that the numbers of illegal nets found by the Yorkshire water authority on the River Esk in each of the last five years are as follows: 1977, 40; 1978, 80; 1979, 100; 1980, 157; 1981, 180. No illegal nets were discovered in any of the other rivers covered by the Yorkshire water authority in the period 1977–81.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many illegal fishing nets have been discovered in each of the water authority regions during the last 12 months.

This information is not currently available to me. However, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales and I are asking each of the water authorities for details and I shall write to the right hon. Member as soon as possible with the information.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has any proposals in mind to check the illegal netting of salmon and trout in the rivers of England and Wales; and if he will make a statement.

I have nothing further to add at this stage to the reply I gave to the right hon. Member's question on 4 May.—[Vol. 23, c. 59.]

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many letters he has received as a result of the day of protest against the use of nylon monofilament gill nets; and if he will make a statement.

I have received about 6,500 letters. I refer the right hon. Member to the very full reply which I gave to his questions on 14 June 1982.—[Vol. 25, c. 210.]

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will list the non-official bodies to which his Department provided assistance in the last financial year; and how much was paid to each.

My Department provided assistance to the following non-official bodies last financial year:

	£
Anglo-German Foundation	125,000
North of England Development Council	230,000
North-West Industrial Development Association	129.000
Yorkshire and Humberside Development Association	65,000
Devon and Cornwall Development Bureau	55,000
Engineering Council	250,000
Industrial Common Ownership Movement	88,000
Industrial Common Ownership Fund
Scottish Co-operative Development
Committee
Institute of Patentees and Inventors	6,000
Clothing Industry Productivity Resources	82,000
Fellowship of Engineering	16,000

In addition, my Department provided through its industry education unit a total of £1,182,000 in support of educational projects carried out by some 500 organisations. Many of these were non-official bodies but details could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry when he expects to reach a decision on Government funding for the Airbus A320.

I have nothing to add to the answer given on 1 April to the hon. Member for Whitehaven (Dr. Cunningham).

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what special studies are being made of the training of girls in the 16 to 19 years age group for skilled work in industry.

Several studies and pilot initiatives are under way which examine issues related to training for girls in this age group. A project funded by the Department of Employment in co-operation with the engineering ITB is investigating the experience of girls on operator training schemes and girls undertaking technician's training. The Manpower Services Commission is funding an action research project to examine ways of widening opportunities for girls within the youth opportunities programme. Some further studies are being supported by the Social Science Research Council and the Equal Opportunities Commission.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people were in employment in each of the employment areas in the Leek parliamentary constituency on the most recent date for which figures are available; and how this compares with the figure in 1973.

The most recent figures are from the June 1978 census of employment. Censuses were not taken in 1979 and 1980 and the results of the September 1981 census are not yet available.The information requested is as follows:

Numbers in employment Employment Office area	June 1973	June 1978
Leek	13,148	13,042
Biddulph	3,873	4,017
Cheadle	6,051	5,369
Kidsgrove	12,253	9,067

The figures for 1973 and 1978 are for slightly different areas. In 1978 postcodes were used for the first time to allocate figures to employment office areas. Resulting changes were mainly small but some 2,500 employees previously counted in Kidsgrove were included in an employment office area outside the constituency.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people were in full-time employment in the United Kingdom on 1 January in each of the past 10 years.

Comprehensive information on the number of full-time employees in the United Kingdom during this period is available only from the censuses of employment which were conducted each June from 1971 to 1978. Up-to-date quarterly estimates of the numbers of females in full-time employment in Great Britain are published regularly in Employment Gazette but the quarterly estimates for males and for Northern Ireland do not distinguish between full and part-time employees.The following table gives the census data for 1971 to 1978 together with provisional estimates of total employment for later years.

Employees in employment: United Kingdom
thousand
	Total	of which full-time
June
1971	22,122	18,732
1972	22,121	18,593
1973	22,664	18,779
1974	22,789	18,612
1975	22,710	18,386
1976	22,543	18,179
1977	22,619	18,236
1978	22,757	18,285

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the present percentage level of unemployment in Aldridge, Brownhills, Cannock, Lichfield, Rugeley, Walsall and Willenhall.

The areas are the component parts of the Walsall travel-to-work area for which the rate at 10 June was 17·4 per cent. Unemployment rates are calculated for complete travel-to-work areas and not separately for their constituent parts.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the percentage increase in male and female unemployment in the United Kingdom and Wales, respectively, from 1979 to 1982.

Between June 1979 and June 1982 the numbers of males and females registered as unemployed in the United Kingdom increased by 135 and 112 per cent., respectively. The corresponding increases for Wales were 118 and 86 per cent.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the total number of applications for licences to operate employment agencies since the Employment Agencies Act 1973 came into force on 1 July 1976 to date.

At 31 March 1982 the total number of applications received under the Employment Agencies Act 1973 was 13,715.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what was the total number of fresh claims at unemployment benefit offices during the pilot trial of work availability.

A total of 39,334 claims were aken at the unemployment benefit offices involved in running the pilot exercise on the initial availability test.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many prosecutions for breach of section 6 of the Health and Safety and Work etc. Act 1974 in relation to the provision of safety information, testing and research on imported goods were undertaken in 1981 and 1982 to the most recent available date.

Information about prosecutions under section 6 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 for the period January 1981 to May 1982 is only currently available for Her Majesty's Factory Inspectorate, which laid 28 informations under section 6. It is impossible to say, without disproportionate cost, how many of these were in relation to the provision of safety information, testing and research on imported goods.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many young persons are registered as unemployed in Keighley travel-to-work area; and what percentage increase this represents over May 1979.

At April 1982, the latest date for which the quarterly analysis by age is available, there were 268 young people under 20 years of age registered as unemployed at the Keighley employment office. This represented an increase of 162·7 per cent. since April 1979. The figures do not include young people registered at the Keighley branch careers office, who are included in the age analysis for Bradford. These numbered 59 at April 1979 and 184 at April 1982 and it is likely that most would be under 20 years of age. Easter school leavers are included in the figures for April 1982 but not for April 1979.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many jobs are currently supported by the temporary short-time working compensation scheme in the Keighley travel-to-work area.

The number of potentially redundant jobs for which reimbursement for support was claimed under the temporary short-time working compensation scheme in May 1982 in the Keighley travel-to-work area was 152.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many redundancies are currently reported to take place in July and August in the Keighley travel-to-work area.

There are no comprehensive statistics of redundancies. The provisional number of redundancies, in groups of 10 or more employees, reported to the Manpower Services Commission as due to occur in the Keighley travel-to-work area in July 1982 is 40. There have been no redundancies recorded as due to occur in August 1982.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many (a) adult males and (b) adult females have been unemployed for up to six months, up to 12 months, 12 months to 24 months, and over 24 months in the Keighley travel-to-work area.

The following table gives the numbers of males and females aged 18 years and over registered as unemployed at the Keighley employment office who, at 15 April, had been on the register for the lengths of time specified. The figures do not include some young people registered at the Keighley branch careers office, who appear in the age and duration analysis for Bradford.

Duration in weeks	Male	Female
Up to 26 weeks	991	530
Over 26 and up to 52 weeks	570	250
Over 52 and up to 104 weeks	712	210
Over 104 weeks	240	76

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the percentage increase in unemployment in the Keighley travel-to-work area since May 1979.

Between May 1979 and June 1982 the numbers registered as unemployed in the Keighley employment office area increased by 181 per cent. The figures on which the increase is based include school leavers and are not seasonally adjusted.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will reconsider the cutbacks made in Manpower Services Commission support for schemes jointly funded with urban programme in view of their overall effect on the financing of urban programme schemes, or if he will make extra finance available through the community enterprise programme for these schemes to proceed.

My right hon. Friend announced on 15 December 1981 an expansion of the community enterprise programme in 1982–83 from 25,000 to 30,000 places.— [Vol. 15, c. 153.] I am not aware of any particular cutbacks affecting schemes jointly funded by the Manpower Services Commission and the urban programme.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many employees have made use of the Job Release Act 1977 since its introduction in total and under each of the various changes made in its operation since then.

Since job release was introduced in January 1977 a total of 191,058 people have made use of the scheme. The attached schedule shows those who have participated according to the various changes in the scheme.

Dates of change	Number of approved applications between dates
3 January 1977	(1)
1 July 1977	16,786 (2)
1 April 1978	7,722 (3)
1 May 1979	27,514 (4)
6 April 1980	66,293 (5)
1 November 1981	39,120 (6)
1 February 1982	13,284 (7)
1 June 1982	20,339 (8)
Total	191,058

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the percentage loss of jobs between 1979 and 1982 for each region in the United Kingdom.

The following table gives, by region, percentage decreases in the number of employees in employment between December 1979 and December 1981, the latest date for which provisional quarterly estimates are available.

	Percentage decrease
South-East	7·2
East Anglia	8·3
South-West	6·2
West Midlands	12·3
East Midlands	8·4
Yorkshire and Humberside	9·8
North-West	10·3
North	11·0
Wales	12·0
Scotland	8·7
Northern Ireland	9·2

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing (a) the levels of ethnic minority unemployment on a region-by-region basis, (b) the estimated working population on the same basis and (c) if he will express (a) as a percentage of (b) in each case at the latest convenient date for which figures are available.

[pursuant to his reply, 17 June 1982, c. 320]: Information on the ethnic origin of those within the working population is not available.Estimates, for the second quarter of 1981, of the numbers of economically active persons of non-white origin and of these the numbers and proportions out of employment are attached.

	Economically active	Out of employment	Out of employment as a proportion of economically active
	(Thousands)	(Thousands)	(Per cent.)
North-West	66	14	21
South-East	511	68	13
East Midlands	75	14	18
West Midlands	149	35	24
Yorkshire and Humberside	58	14	23

These estimates are based on preliminary results from the 1981 labour force survey. The sample numbers in this survey are too small to produce reliable estimates for other regions.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the non-official bodies to which his Department gave grants in the last financial year; and how much was paid to each.

The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list the non-official bodies to which his Department made grants in the last financial year; and how much was paid to each.

Estimated payments of grants in the 1981–82 financial year are as follows:

	£000
The British National Committee of the World Energy Conference	3
The Watt Committee	2
The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (Net)	205,404
The National Coal Board	337,361
The Central Electricity Generating Board	8,620

The Department, acting as agent for the European Community, also makes payments to the gas and electricity industries from the European regional development fund.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy how much was paid by his Department to (a) the International Atomic Energy Agency, (b) the Nuclear Energy Agency, (c) the International Energy Agency and (d) any other international organisation, in the last financial year.

Estimated payments, including subscriptions and contributions to projects for the 1981–82 financial year, are as follows:

	£000
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)	2657
The Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA)	136
The International Energy Agency (IEA)	5425

The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority contributed £5,052,000 towards the joint European Torus sited at Culham and £94,000 towards the NEA data bank in France. These costs were met from part A of Class IV, Vote 7: Scientific and Technical Assistance: Nuclear Energy.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is yet in a position to issue revised guidelines to the police about the conduct of inquiries into alleged rape offences.

No, but I continue to have this difficult and sensitive matter under active consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the entry conditions that apply to male fiancés arriving in the United Kingdom from the Indian sub-continent; and if he will consider amending the rules regarding permission for indefinite stay.

Provided he meets the requirements of paragraph 52 of the Immigration Rules—HC 394; 1978–80—a fiancé will normally be admitted to the United Kingdom for three months, with a prohibition on his taking employment. We have no plans to amend the rules regarding permission for indefinite stay for men who enter as fiancés.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women have registered for citizenship as a result of marriage to citizens of the United Kingdom for the years (a) 1980 and (b) 1981.

The number of women registered under section 6(2) of the British Nationality Act 1948 on the strength of their marriage to citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies is as follows:

	1980	1981
Number registered in the United Kingdom	6,219	12,315
Number registered overseas	3,576	*3,091
* This figure is not final as some overseas figures are not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the specific grants paid to local authorities in the last financial year by his Department; and for what purposes they were made.

The amounts paid and the services concerned are as follows:

	£ million
Police	990·7
Magistrates' courts	101·5
Probation and after-care	89·6
Civil Defence	6·2
Grants under section 11 Local Government Act 1966	52·4

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the non-official bodies to which his Department made grants in the last financial year; and how much was paid to each.

The information is as follows:

	£
National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders	420,000
International Social Service of Great Britain
(1) Grants towards expenses of persons leaving United Kingdom	134,734
(2) Grant towards running costs	54,209
National Marriage Guidance Council	704,000
Catholic Marriage Advisory Council	91,000

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the international organisations to which his Department made grants in the last financial year; and how much was paid to each.

The information is as follows:

	£
International Criminal Police Organisation	211,515
United Nations Fund for Drug Abuse Control	50,000
European Drugs Co·operation Group	14,240

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation to give coroners power to hold inquests into the deaths of United Kingdom citizens abroad without the costs of such inquests falling on local authorities; and if he will make a statement.

On 2 April, 1982 the Divisional Court decided, in the case of Regina v. Her Majesty's Coroner for the Eastern District of the Metropolitan County of West Yorkshire, ex parte Ronald Smith—which concerned the death of Miss Helen Smith on 20 May 1979 in Jeddah—that a coroner has no jurisdiction to investigate a sudden, violent or suspicious death occurring abroad, notwithstanding the fact that the body has been brought into the area for which he acts. This decision is the subject of a current application to the Court of Appeal and it would not be appropriate for me to make any comment while these proceedings are still before the courts.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will introduce new regulations to reduce the minimum distances between home and school over which local authorities are responsible for providing transport to enable pupils to attend school.

This is not a matter for regulations under the present law. Section 55 of the Education Act 1944 requires and empowers local education authorities to provide free transport for journeys between home and school only where they consider this necessary.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he has any proposals for varying the distances over which primary and secondary school pupils, respectively, have a statutory right to free transport.

The Government have no plans to amend section 55(1) of the Education Act 1944 under which pupils are entitled to free school transport on grounds of necessity. Necessity may involve factors other than distance.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he is satisfied that the current regulations on school premises are acceptable and necessary.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many nursery school places are available in England and Wales in 1982–83; and how this compares with 1981–82.

The numbers of full-time and part-time pupils under five years in maintained nursery schools and in nursery classes in maintained primary schools in England are projected to be 224,000 in January 1982 and increasing to 226,000 in January 1983. Information for schools in Wales is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what estimate his Department has made of the numbers of academic and non-academic staff who will be made redundant in 1982–83 as a result of reductions in grants to universities.

We do not yet know how many redundancies will be required because we do not yet know the extent of early retirements and of savings in non-staff areas.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will seek ways of making available additional finance for the provision of nursery education in cities, such as Leicester, with high unemployment.

The resources available for nursery education are constrained by what the country can afford but, when making allocations for local authority capital expenditure, account is taken of nursery education projects which would provide for children with educational and social disadvantage. Any proposals for Leicester would be considered on this basis.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many overseas students were enrolled in British universities for each of the years 1969–70, 1973–74, 1977–78 and 1981–82; and what are the provisional figures for 1982–83.

The numbers of overseas students—including those from other EC countries—enrolled in universities in Great Britain for the years 1969–70, 1973–74 and 1977–78 were 16,544, 24,708 and 35,191, respectively. The provisional figure for 1981–82 was 30,400. No information is yet available for 1982–83.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on overseas student fees.

Recommended fees for overseas students in 1982–83 were announced by my right hon. Friend on 10 March in reply to my hon. Friend the Member for The Wrekin (Mr. Hawksley). More generally, the Government have welcomed the study of options for overseas students' fees published by the Overseas Students Trust on 6 June and are giving further consideration to its proposals.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what reduction in the number of overseas students in the United Kingdom he estimates has been brought about by his proposals on fees.

Full cost fees for overseas students were introduced for those starting their course in 1980–81. In that year the number of new students was about 9,500 fewer than in the previous year, and provisional figures show a further fall of 5,400 in 1981–82. The decreases were not necessarily solely due to the introduction of full cost fees, the effect of which cannot be separately identified.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the total number of students from the United Kingdom and overseas, respectively, on the books of the technological universities of Aston, Bradford, Brunel, Heriot-Watt and Salford, for the academic years 1979–80, 1980–81 and 1981–82; and, for each of these years, what are the total numbers, United Kingdom and overseas, commencing study at these institutions.

The information is as follows. It should be noted that in the table students from the European Community are included with home students from 1980–81 when they became available to the home rate of fee.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will investigate the feasibility of charging students from Commonwealth countries the same reduced university fees as are automatically provided to students from Common Market countries and from France's overseas territories; and if he will make a statement.

Charging university students from the Commonwealth the home rate of tuition fee, which is paid by EC students, would cost an estimated £47 million a year on the basis of 1980 figures and prices and has had to be ruled out on grounds of expense.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will now publish guidelines setting out the extent to which Her Majesty's Inspectors of Schools are independent of him and the extent to which they are subject to his directions.

The policy statement which, following the Rayner scrutiny of Her Majesty's Inspectorate, I intend to publish later this year will, among other matters, set out the relationship of HMI to the Secretary of State for Education and Science.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the total cost of funding per student in universities and polytechnics, respectively; and how much of each of those sums is research funding.

In the financial year 1979–80, the latest year for which comparable information is available, current expenditure amounted to about £2,500 per advanced level student in the polytechnics and £3,200 in the universities. These figures exclude externally funded research, but include internally funded research, which is not separately quantifiable. They reflect the differing range of subjects in the two types of institution, including, for example, the concentration of higher-cost subjects, such as medicine and veterinary science, in the universities.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received about the level and non-mandatory nature of many student grants; and if he will make a statement.

Since the main rates of student grant for the academic year 1982–83 were announced on 2 December 1981, my right hon. Friend has received more than 1,000 representations from hon. Members, interested bodies, individual students and members of the public about the level of student grants. A substantial number of these also mentioned the discretionary nature of many student grants.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what estimate he has made of pupil to teacher ratios in primary and secondary schools in the next five years.

The overall pupil to teacher ratios for nursery, primary and secondary schools in England for January 1983, 1984 and 1985, consistent with the Government's cash plans given in Cmnd. 8494, are 18.6, 18.7 and 18.7, respectively. The Department does not forecast ratios for primary and secondary schools separately, because it is for local authorities to decide how best to deploy their teachers between age groups.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many schemes of tertiary education have been submitted to his Department; and how many have been accepted.

Details of all proposals involving the creation of tertiary colleges, made under the Education Act 1944, could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Details in respect of the Education Act 1980 are as follows:

Approved	3
Rejected	1
Under consideration	4

Of the approvals, one was to enable a sixth form college to become a tertiary college.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he has yet made a decision on education reorganisation in Rossendale.

It is for the Lancashire local education authority, in consultation with the governors of voluntary aided and special agreement schools, to consider the future pattern they wish to adopt for education in the Rossendale district and, if necessary, to publish proposals under sections 12 to 16 of the Education Act 1980. No such have so far been published; any which are, and which fall to my right hon. Friend to decide, will be considered on their individual merits in the light of the educational interests of the pupils concerned, local circumstances including any objections, and the financial factors involved.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information is available to him as to the number of women accepted into universities in each of the past five years.

Figures published by the Universities Central Council on admissions for the five years 1977 to 1981 inclusive, show the numbers of women candidates accepted for entry to first degree courses at those universities which participate in the scheme as 28,200, 30,000, 32,000, 33,700 and 32,400, respectively.Acceptance figures are not directly comparable with the new entrant figures published annually in Volume 6 of "Statistics of Education", because not all candidates apply through the Council. Three of the Scottish universities do not participate fully in the scheme and postgraduate students are not covered.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will set out the statutory powers of local authorities to prevent corporal punishment in schools.

The Education Acts do not confer any specific powers on local education authorities in relation to the use or abolition of corporal punishment in schools.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he is satisfied that there is sufficient vocational training in secondary schools to enable non-academic young people obtain practical jobs.

The Government believe that schools should do all that they can to prepare their pupils for adult and working life, although it is not the schools' role to provide vocational training for specific jobs. My right hon. Friend has emphasised the case for a greater practical slant in the last years of compulsory education. Furthermore, the Government have recently published proposals for a new pre-vocational education qualification at 17 plus. These are designed to cater for those young people who wish to remain in full-time education but who have set their sights on employment rather than higher education, and have not yet formed a clear view of the kind of job they might tackle.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on special access courses leading to entry into higher education.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to his questions on 8 June 1982.—[Vol. 25, c. 91.]

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what progress has been made with the proposal for records of achievement to be available for each school leaver.

My right hon. Friend is still considering the many issues that would need to be resolved before the introduction of records of achievement for school leavers.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he proposes to take new initiatives to encourage greater community use of educational sports facilities in response to the recommendation contained in the Sports Council's report "Sport in the community: the next ten years".

My right hon. Friend endorses the encouragement given by his predecessors for the community use of maintained educational premises, including sports facilities, and would hope to see this increased so far as practicable within the resources available to local education authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the proposed membership of the new School Curriculum Development Council.

The Government's proposals for the establishment of a School Curriculum Development Council are the subject of discussion with the local authority associations and others. Membership is one of the subjects being covered in our discussions.At this stage, I have nothing to add to the statement made to the House by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Science on 22 April.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps he intends to take to rectify the educational deficiencies that he considers prevent a proportion of the school population from gaining any real benefit from full-time education.

The Government are concerned that schools should prepare all pupils effectively for adult life, and my right hon. Friend has drawn attention to the case for a more practical slant in the school curriculum, especially in the last years of compulsory education. We are considering what further steps we can take to encourage developments of this kind. We have also recently published proposals for a new pre-vocational qualification at 17-plus, designed for those pupils who wish to remain in full-time education but who have set their sights on employment rather than higher education and have not yet decided what kind of job they might tackle.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the progress of the assisted places scheme.

More than 4,200 pupils are already benefiting from the assisted places scheme which is nearing the end of its first year of operation. More than two-thirds of these pupils are from families with below average incomes. A further 5,600 assisted places are available from September and the 220 independent schools participating in the scheme are currently selecting children for these.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what are the latest available figures for expenditure by local authorities in support of non-handicap pupils at schools eligible for assistance under the assisted places scheme.

The information requested is not collected by my Department.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he is in a position to make a statement on his policy towards the introduction of loans for students in further and higher education.

Not yet. My right hon. Friend's consideration of the possibilities is continuing.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what advice is given by his Department to local education authorities about the level of provision of school sixth forms.

The Department's circular 4/82 and paragraph 13 of the circular 2/81 contain the most recent advice. Copies are available in the Library of the House.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether, following publication of his Department's consultative paper "Science Education in Schools", he expects to be able to give any guidance on teaching science in primary schools before the beginning of the autumn term; and if he will make a statement.

Comments on the consultative paper "Science Education in Schools" have been requested by 30 July. These will need to be considered before firm guidance can be given, and I do not expect that this can be done before the beginning of the autumn term.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is his policy towards the reduction or closure of voluntary schools in the face of falling school rolls.

While my right hon. Friend believes that, as is appropriate to the needs of each area, a balance between the county and voluntary sectors should be sustained, having regard to such factors as parental choice, he recognises that the compelling educational and financial arguments for taking surplus places out of use apply as much to voluntary as to county schools. He looks to voluntary bodies to play their part, alongside and in consultation with local education authorities, in the rationalisation of the school system required by declining pupil numbers; and he considers all statutory proposals to that end on their merits.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will introduce measures to remove the right of student unions to spend funds allocated to them from public money in the advancing of political ends.

This is a matter to be locally determined by parent institutions and local authorities in relation to the responsibilities and resources they entrust to student unions.Such arrangements might cover support for common services such as student clubs, including even-handed support for student political clubs. Officers of unions who incurred expenditure for political purposes not properly covered by the rules of their institution might well be personally liable.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what reductions he expects to be made in class sizes in schools during 1982 and 1983.

In January 1981, the latest date for which we have information, average class sizes in England were 25·5 for primary schools and 21·5 for secondary schools. These are the lowest so far recorded. The teacher numbers provided for in the Government's expenditure plans do not allow for a further reduction in class sizes in 1982 and 1983. However, the deployment of teaching staff among classes and on other duties is at the discretion of local education authorities and head teachers.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many students were on engineering and technology courses at universities and colleges in Great Britain in the years 1979–80 and 1980–81; and what is the projected number for 1983–84.

The numbers of full-time home and European Community students on engineering and technology courses in the universities of Great Britain were 32,600 in 1979–80 and 34,200 in 1980–81. The University Grants Committee in its July 1981 letter to universities set student number targets for such students to be attained by 1983–84 or 1984–85. Some overall variations to the target have been agreed by the UGC in its letter to universities of 20 May 1982. In its planning assumptions, the committee assumed, for the purposes of grant distribution, that students on engineering and technology courses alone would increase by 2 per cent. from 1979–80, compared with a reduction of 5 per cent. for all students. No similar projections are available in respect of overseas students in the universities other than those from the European Community.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether the proposed new 17-plus examination would be intended to run alongside existing A-level examinations or to replace them altogether; what, if any, difference in content there would be in the new examinations compared with A-levels; and if he will make a statement.

Following consideration of comments received on the proposals in the consultation paper "Examinations 16–18" for a new pre-vocational examination, the Government announced on 20 May plans for a new range of courses to be followed by young people in the first year of post-compulsory education who have set their sights on employment rather than on higher education. These courses will give a vocational bias to a balanced coherent programme of general education and will no way replace or compete with the courses leading to single subject A-level examinations which are intended for a completely different group of young people.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many students are at present attending classes in the adult literacy scheme; and what were the figures for the previous two years.

Information collected by the adult literacy and basic skills unit indicates that 89,571 students participating in adult basic skills provision were receiving tuition in literacy in 1981–82, compared to 78,122 in 1980–81. For 1979–80, information collected by its predecessor, the adult literacy unit, indicates that there were 69,957 adults participating in literacy provision.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will seek to ensure that mentally and physically handicapped children receive improvements in the type of education that will benefit them most, particularly amongst the age group between 16 and 19 years.

The new assessment procedures which will follow the implementation of the Education Act 1981 should help to ensure the best possible match between a pupil's special educational needs and the provision to meet these needs. They will also help to ensure that attention is given to the preparation of young people for the transition to adult life in their final years at school.The Government have also emphasised in the White Paper "Special Needs in Education"—Cmnd. 7996—presented to Parliament in August 1980, the need for the handicapped of this age to have the widest possible choice of avenues for continued education and training in accordance with their aptitudes whether at school, in further education or elsewhere; and for local authorities and others to co-operate closely to this end.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will consider changing the rules for pupils leaving school after they reach the statutory age in order to spread more evenly throughout the year the task of finding employment for school leavers.

My right hon. Friend believes that the present law offers a balance between employment and education interests, and enables those pupils over the school leaving age to decide, in the light of existing employment opportunities, the extent to which they wish to acquire further qualifications or skills.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many children with congenital cytomegalovirus have required special schooling in each of the past 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Children requiring special educational treatment are classified on the basis of statutory categories of handicap. I regret that information is not available on the number of children in special schools whose handicap was caused by congenital cytomegalovirus.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether his Department gives guidance to special schools on the management of cytomegalovirus-damaged children; and if he will make a statement.

The degree and nature of the impairments suffered by cytomegalovirus-damaged children vary, and it must therefore be for the school doctor and other professional advisers to advise schools on the management of individual children in the circumstances of each case.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what progress is being made to develop a vaccine against cytomegalovirus; where this research is being undertaken; and if he will make a statement.

Research is continuing in various centres on the possible development of a cytomegalovirus—CMV—vaccine. The trial at St. George's hospital medical school and King's college hospital of a potential CMV vaccine on a small number of renal transplant patients is still in progress, but I understand that no definite conclusions can yet be drawn.Epidemiological studies on CMV infection in pregnancy are continuing both at St. Bartholomew's hospital and at the Charing Cross hospital medical school. These studies aim to provide further information on the risk of acquiring infection in pregnancy in various subgroups of the population, and to determine the incidence of congenital infection and its significance as a cause of mental and physical handicap. Such information is essential in considering the feasibility and desirability of prevention by means of a vaccine. In addition, a study at the University of Edinburgh medical school, to detect an antibody to CMV, is being supported by the Scottish Home and Health Department.The Medical Research Council is carrying out studies of the molecular biology of CMV at its virology unit, Glasgow, and is giving grant support to basic studies on the structure of the virus at the centre for applied microbiology and research. This research could be of considerable relevance to the development of a vaccine as well as a diagnostic procedure for human infection.Through its sub-committee on cytomegalovirus, the committee on the development of vaccines and immunisation procedures—set up jointly by the MRC, the Health Departments and the Public Health Laboratory Service—maintains a regular review of progress in the CMV field.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science, pursuant to his replies to the hon. Member for Wolverhampton, North-East on 16 July 1981, Official Report, c. 479, 20 October 1981, Official Report, c. 109, 22 January, Official Report, c. 195 and 30 March 1982, Official Report, c. 75–76, when he will bring forward proposals to charge independent schools for membership of the national teachers' pension fund.

My right hon. Friend has the matter under consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether any estimate has been made of the number of education authorities offering residential accommodation for handicapped students attending special education courses in their areas for each year since 1970.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether any estimate has been made of the number of education authorities ensuring access to sixth forms and sixth form colleges for pupils in special schools for the disabled without these facilities for each year since 1970.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what would be the additional cost of providing honours options in CNAA surveying degrees as apart from unclassified degrees in the English colleges which at present offer unclassified degrees in the various surveying disciplines;(2) what criteria were used to justify the establishment of CNAA honours degree courses in building surveying, estate management and quantity surveying in the various institutions referred to in the fourth paragraph of his letter to the hon. Member for Dundee, East of 7 May;(3) what led him to conclude in his letter to the hon. Member for Dundee, East of 7 May that previously there had been no evidence of employer-led demand to warrant the introduction of further honours degrees.

I shall write to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects to complete his consultations following his publication relating to a proposed new qualification at 17 years.

The document published on 20 May announced the Government's decision to establish a new national qualification at 17-plus: the Certificate of Pre-Vocational Education—CPVE. We are now consulting the examining and validating bodies and the local authority associations with a view to establishing a consortium to establish and run this new qualification. I am aiming to complete these consultations by the early autumn.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he intends to bring the remaining provisions of the Education Act 1981 into force.

The Secretary of State's intention is that the remaining provisions of the Education Act 1981 will be brought into force on 1 January 1983. The necessary commencement order will be laid before Parliament in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many consultants who have special interest in elderly people suffering from senile dementia are available in the Strathclyde region; and what hospitals or clinics have units to specialise in this type of illness.

Patients suffering from senile dementia may be treated by consultants in psychiatry, geriatrics or general medicine, and there is no central record of the number of consultants who have special interest in it. Most psychiatric hospitals cater for this type of patient.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the shortfall of geriatric beds in each of the area health authorities of Stathclyde region since January 1981.

Three of the four health boards in Strathclyde had more geriatric beds in June 1981—the latest date for which population figures are available—that were required to meet the recommended level of provision of 40 beds per 1,000 persons aged over 75, set out in the report "Scottish Health Authorities Priorities for the Eighties" published in December 1980. In Ayrshire and Arran there was a shortfall of 125 beds. Since January 1981 there has been no significant variation in the geriatric bed complements in these health board areas.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the amounts of unpaid bills or amounts owed by private patients in each Scottish local health authority at the latest available date; and what steps are taken to recover these amounts.

This information is not available centrally. Health boards vigorously pursue debtors for the payment of outstanding bills. We have asked boards to obtain deposits from private patients before treatment to avoid bad debts.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will estimate the cost of a comprehensive loft and house insulation programme for Glasgow.

It seems unlikely that it would be possible to provide a realistic figure without very detailed survey work, and I do not think that it would be appropriate for me to try.Glasgow district council's housing plan contains certain estimates of projected expenditure on rewiring and insulation of dwellings in its ownership. If the hon. Member wants more information, he may care to refer to the district council.