asked the Minister for Trade (1) the level of expenditure, in each European Economic Community country, of Government funds made available for the

asked the Minister for Trade whether, in view of the wide discrepancy in the charges for the same type of funeral in various parts of the country by different firms where such charges cost between £259 and £497 and where cremation can cost between £300 to £1,000, he will cause an inquiry to be made to ascertain to what extent there should be agreed minimum charges throughout the country.

No. Funeral charges were the subject of a Price Commission inquiry in 1977. The commission found no evidence to suggest that the charges or profits of funeral directors were, in general, excessive. I have no reason to believe that the position has changed since then.

Accurate direct comparisons are not practicable, since there is no common pattern of Government financial support for the promotion of tourism in the member States of the European Community. The following information should therefore be read in conjunction with the qualifying notes showing what expenditure has been taken into account in each case:

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether he will cause an investigation to be made under the Companies Act into Signal Life's gold income bonds issues and its gilt bond issues.

An official of my Department is already carrying out confidential inquiries under section 109 of the Companies Act 1967 into Signal Life Assurance Co. Ltd. and the company's affairs are also the subject of inquiries by the authorities in Gibraltar.

asked the Minister for Trade if he will introduce legislation to ensure that companies set up a separate customer account from which money could only be taken on delivery of goods or completion of service.

I am considering whether customers of mail order companies should be given any further protection as part of my study of the Cork committee report.

asked the Minister for Trade whether he will set up a Departmental investigation into the company administering the Bob Hope British Classic, Febbs Management; and if he will make a statement.

I know of no reason for doing so but will be glad to consider any information the hon. Member may have about the company.

asked the Minister for Trade when he expects the 1980 and 1981 accounts of Febbs Management to be filed at Companies House.

The 1980 and 1981 accounts for Febbs Management Ltd. have now been filed, and are available for public inspection at Companies House.

asked the Minister for Trade if he will take steps to obtain information about how much the British Airports Authority has so far spent on publicising its opposition to the North of England regional consortium's case to the Stansted airport inquiry; if he is satisfied with the propriety of such expenditure by a public body while the inquiry is proceeding; and if he will make a statement.

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

asked the Minister for Trade why his Department has agreed to a request from the Government of Kenya that the Mombasa port authority be permitted to conclude a negotiated contract for the supply of harbour tugs rather than follow the normal procedure of public open tender open to all potential United Kingdom suppliers.

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

asked the Minister for Trade if he will consider legislation to allow individuals on a mailing list to be able to ascertain where their name was obtained and have it removed if requested.

I do not propose legislation on the specific points mentioned by my hon. Friend. The Government's proposals for legislation on data protection are set out in the White Paper presented to Parliament by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department in April 1982—Cmnd. 8539.

asked the Minister for Trade, pursuant to the reply of 24 February, Offical Report, c. 381, to the hon. Member for Bury St. Edmunds, approximately what percentage of the £30·25 per hour plus travel expenses which he intends to charge for weights and measures inspectors examining weighing machines arises from each of the following categories of staff costs(a)support staff,(b)accommodation costs,(c)telephone and stationery,(d)materials and consumable stores,(e)depreciation and interest charges on fixed capital and so on, as well as a share of the general departmental overheads.

[pursuant to the reply, 29 June 1982, c.254–55]:The hourly rate for pattern examination work is made up as follows:

asked the Minister for Trade, pursuant to his answer of 29 July relating to United Kingdom steel exports, why the figures for January to March are not available.

[pursuant to the reply, 30 July 1982, c. 787]:The additional information is given below:

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what action he has taken under sections 9 to 11 of the Oil and Gas (Enterprise) Act 1982 pursuant to Statutory Instrument 1982, No. 895.

My right hon. Friend has issued directions to the British Gas Corporation requiring it to carry out certain work in preparation for the disposal of its interests in the five offshore blocks in which the Beryl A and B, Montrose, Fulmar, Hutton and North West Hutton oilfields are located. These directions (SI 1982/1131) were laid before Parliament on 6 August.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what discussions have taken place with Kaiser Aluminium of the United States of America regarding the future of the power contract for the Anglesey smelter; and what is the current position regarding the future of this contract.

The electricity supply contract for the Anglesey smelter is between the Central Electricity Generating Board and the Anglesey Aluminium Metal company. The contract is a matter for the parties to it.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what decision he has taken on the funding of objectors at the Sizewell PWR inquiry.

The Government will not be providing public funds to objectors at the inquiry. I have explained the reasons for this decision in my reply to a letter from Sir Frank Layfield, QC, the inquiry inspector, in which he set out the representations made to him in favour of funding. Copies of both letters have been placed in the Library of the House.

asked the Prime Minister (1) if the future of Hong Kong was discussed at her official meeting in Peking; and if she will make a statement;(2) if she will make a statement on her recent official visit to China;(3) what matters were discussed during her recent visit to Hong Kong;(4) if she will make a statement on her recent visit to Japan;(5) if she will make a statement on her recent visit to Hong Kong.

asked the Prime Minister whether she will make a statement on her summer visit to China and Hong Kong.

asked the Prime Minister whether she will make a statement on her recent talks in China and Hong Kong about the future of the colony.

I visited the Far East from 17–29 September. My visits to Japan and China were at the invitation of the Governments of those countries.I visited Japan from 17–22 September. I had previously attended the economic summit in Tokyo in 1979 but this was the first bilateral visit by a British Prime Minister since 1972.I met leaders of the Japanese business community, and saw the advanced robotics production of a Japanese company which has a collaboration agreement with a United Kingdom firm. I visited a United Kingdom-built nuclear power station which is still supplied with fuel and other materials by the United Kingdom.I had a series of talks with Mr. Suzuki and his Government, in which we discussed political, economic and commercial matters. We agreed that it would be desirable to expand political co-operation between the United Kingdom and Japan; to encourage collaboration in technology; and to resolve the existing problems in our bilateral trade relations. I emphasised the need for greater Japanese investment in the markets where they had important trading relationships and the need for increased Japanese imports of our goods, especially capital goods.

asked the Prime Minister if she will make a statement on her meeting in London with the Governor and the delegation of unofficial members of the Executive and Legislative Council concerning the future of Hong Kong.

I met the Governor of Hong Kong and five members of the Executive and Legislative Councils of Hong Kong on 8 September 1982. I wanted to hear at first hand their views on the climate of opinion in Hong Kong, and on the wishes of the people of Hong Kong on the future of the Territory, before my visit to China and Hong Kong at the end of September. I assured the unofficial members that in my discussions I would fully represent the views and interests of the people of Hong Kong.

asked the Prime Minister if Her Majesty's Government will introduce legislation to amalgamate all Department of Health and Social Security offices dealing with supplementary benefit claimants with the housing and social work departments of local authorities.

It would not be practicable to combine these three large and widely different functions within a single organisation.

asked the Prime Minister if Her Majesty's Government will make arrangements to amalgamate those offices of the Inland Revenue dealing with the collection of national insurance contributions with those offices of the Department of Health and Social Security dealing with national insurance benefits.

No. The disadvantages of such amalgamation would outweigh the advantages. My right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Services do, however, keep under review the procedures for consultation between the two Departments on collection and enforcement of tax and national insurance contributions.

asked the Prime Minister if she will take steps to set up a separate Ministry of Health.

No. It helps the co-ordination of policy and public expenditure to link health, personal social services and social security under the overall responsibility of one principal Secretary of State for Social Services. The organisation of his Department already provides for separate management of the different services, including the health services, under a designated Minister for Health.

asked the Prime Minister (1) if she will publish a list of all Acts of Parliament, and relevant sections thereof, which in any way give the Secretary of State default or directive powers over local authorities;(2) if she will publish a list of all Acts of Parliament, and relevant sections thereof, which give members of the public or aggrieved persons a right of appeal to the Secretary of State in respect of decisions or policies of local authorities.

The information requested is not available and its collection would entail disproportionate expense. If the hon. Member has a specific problem in mind, I suggest that he writes to the Minister responsible.

asked the Prime Minister whether the statement on 15 August made by the Under-Secretary of State for Trade, on the question of keeping shops open for 24 hours a day, represents the policy of Her Majesty's Government; and whether she will make a statement.

Her Majesty's Government accept that the shops legislation is unsatisfactory and does not correspond to modern patterns of living, and can find no ground of principle for opposing changes in the present restrictions on shopping hours.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list the dates of official visits paid by Ministers to the Falkland Islands and give details of any such visits which are planned for the future.

My hon. Friend the Member for Cirencester and Tewkesbury (Mr. Ridley) (July 1979 and November 1980) and my hon. Friend the Member for Woking (Mr. Onslow) (3–8 October 1982) have visited the Falkland Islands since we took office. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence plans to visit the Islands this month. We will naturally be considering the possibility of a Minister attending the Falkland Islands 150th anniversary celebrations next February.

asked the Prime Minister in what circumstances and under what authority Captain Barker, the commander of "Endurance", on his return to Great Britain on Friday 20 August, was barred from making any statements regarding the 12 days prior to the invasion of the Falklands Islands and his various notifications to the British Government Departments on the impending invasion.

The House agreed on 8 July 1982—[Vol. 149, c. 469–508]—that the Falkland Islands Review Committee should be set up to examine the events leading up to the Argentine invasion on 2 April. It would therefore have been improper for Captain Barker to have answered questions on those events at his press conference on 20 August. He was instructed accordingly on ministerial authority.

asked the Prime Minister if Her Majesty's Government will ensure the implementation of the report by ACAS which deals with the pay of those employees of the agricultural training boards whose salaries are reduced by reason of their transfer to Civil Service pay scales in 1979.

No. After studying the ACAS recommendations the Government decided that no changes were needed in the arrangements for linking the salaries of the staff of the agricultural training board with those in the Civil Service. None of the staff concerned suffered a reduction in pay.

asked the Prime Minister what is the total cost of the bodyguards and those connected with Mr. Mark Thatcher's trip to Los Angeles during the week commencing 3 October.

Personal protection in the United Kingdom is provided by the Metropolitan Police Special Branch. It is for it to decide the form the protection should take and what resources to allocate to the task. Both the form of protection and the resources deployed are directly related to the nature of the assessed threat. In the case of my son's recent trip to the United States, the police judged it necessary that he should be accompanied. The additional cost of providing protection for the visit was about £3,200.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what study he has made of the proposals for a household allowance to give tax relief to householders who incur domestic costs, details of which have been sent to him; if he will consider introducing such an allowance; and if he will make a statement.

We are not persuaded of the case for allowing owner-occupiers income tax relief for the cost of household repairs and maintenance, if that is what the hon. Gentleman has in mind.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in theOfficial Reporttables, with the same headings as table 21 part A of the Financial Statement and Budget Report 1982–83, showing for each nationalised industry the actual outturn for 1980–81 and 1981–82.

Outturn information for 1980–81 is given in table 3.3B of the public expenditure White Paper (Cmnd. 8494–II). Updated outturn information for 1981–82 will be published in the next public expenditure White Paper.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the policy of Her Majesty's Government on computerisation of payas-you-earn; and what progress has been made so far.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer annouced on 10 November 1980 that the Government had decided to go ahead with plans to computerise pay as you earn. Staff in nearly 600 offices across the country will be linked through visual display terminals on their desks to taxpayer records which will be held on one of a number of computer configurations located in 12 regional processing centres. One computer centre, at Telford in Shropshire, has already been built and the new system is being developed there. So far the project is running according to the original schedule:

Detailed design and development: until July 1983.

User acceptance testing: August 1983 to December 1983.

Progressive implementation and evaluation of the system in 14 pilot offices: January to December 1984.

Delivery and acceptance of balance of first region

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will now consider reducing the amount of stamp duty on home purchase.

A revised scale reducing the stamp duty payable on home purchase was introduced by this year's Finance Act. The new scale is expected to benefit approximately 500,000 purchasers of residential properly during the current financial year, that about 75 per cent. of those who would have paid duty under the old scale.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will make a statement giving further details of the Treasury plans to lend money to civil servants to purchase their travel tickets to and from work whether such loans will incur interest payments, whether they will be taxable; and whether he has any proposals to enable other workers to obtain the same or similar facilities either through the Treasury or the public transport companies.

Full details of the scheme, which involves advances of pay to officers who require assistance to purchase season tickets for home to office travel, are contained in paragraphs 3842 to 3850 of the Civil Service pay and conditions of service code, which is available in the Library of the House. Advances are not subject to interest but are subject to normal taxation regulations.The extension of such schemes, which are already common in both private and public sectors, is a matter for employers.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list for the last 10 years the reports of mining subsidence made to the sectional mineral valuer based at Taunton for each of the countries covered.

Information in the form requested is available only from October 1975, when the office at Taunton was established, and is set out in the following table. Previously sectional mineral valuers operating from bases in London and Cardiff reported on mining subsidence in the counties listed.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service whether he will take steps to ensure the monitoring of equal opportunity policy among employees of central Government.

As the hon. and learned Member may know, a pilot survey to establish the ethnic origin of some non-industrial Civil Service grades in Leeds took place in May. A similar survey among applicants for Civil Service posts in Leeds was held between May and September. The main part of the report on the survey will be published soon. We will need to decide how to proceed once the results of this pilot are known. In addition a joint review group has recently been considering employment opportunities for women in the Civil Service and its report is due to be published shortly.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service whether, pursuant to his replies,Official Report,of 8 July, c.197and 29 July, c. 674,regarding the proven maladministration of several civil servants who were criticised by the official tribunal of inquiry into the Crown Agents, he will give the reasons why none of these was deprived of pension rights and why none had any specific disciplinary action taken against him; and whether he will review the matter.

The superannuation benefits of retired civil servants may be forfeited in whole or in part only if they are convicted of certain offences. Since all witnesses before the tribunal were granted immunity from criminal proceedings, there can be no conviction and consequently the possibility of forfeiture does not arise. Disciplinary action was not appropriate since all the civil servants criticised had retired, or were about to do so, at the time the report was published.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service whether, in view of the regularity with which disclosures are made of maladministration, neglect and failures upon the part of civil servants generally and in particular in the most senior posts, he will change the conditions of their employment to enable them to be dismissed from their employment for such lapses and neglects in a similar manner to other publicly and privately employed persons.

As the present terms and conditions of service of civil servants already provide for dismissal where this is judged appropriate no change is needed.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service if he will now make a statement on the response to the report of the Treasury and Civil Service Committee on efficiency and effectiveness in the Civil Service.

The Government's observations on the third report from the Treasury and Civil Service Committee (Session 1981–82, H.C. 236) were published and laid before Parliament on 28 September 1982 as a White Paper (Cmnd. 8616). Copies have been placed in the Library of the House. The Government accept, totally or with some reservations, 20 of the Committee's 26 recommendations and welcomes the report as a timely and valuable contribution to promoting greater efficiency and effectiveness in the Civil Service.

asked the Attorney-General what is his policy on the duty of counsel for the prosecution to ensure that the victim of an alleged assault by the defendant has been fully consulted before counsel consents to offer no evidence upon the defendant agreeing to be bound over to keep the peace.

Subject to the views of his instructing solicitor, and in certain circumstances those of the court, responsibility for the prosecution rests with counsel. Nevertheless, in such a case as is referred to by the right hon. and learned Member, the victim should, in my view, normally be consulted first in order to ascertain his view as to the proposed course of action.

asked the Attorney-General on what date he received an official communication from the Coroners' Society concerning the legal costs incurred by Mr. Philip Gill the West Yorkshire coroner in the series of actions relating to the inquest on Helen Smith; what was the nature of this approach; and what was his reply.

I have received no such approach from the Coroners' Society.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry whether he will arrange for an exhibition relating to information technology at Westminster to be displayed in the Upper Waiting Hall during the week beginning 29 November.

Yes. Arrangements have been made for such an exhibition in the Upper Waiting Hall to take place from Monday 29 November to Friday 3 December 1982.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will make a further statement on his proposals for the future of British Telecom.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what would be the estimated cost of extending the micros in schools scheme to allow schools to purchase up to six BBC microcomputers instead of one RML 380Z.

The estimated extra cost of allowing schools to purchase up to six BBC microcomputers under the micros in schools scheme for secondary schools is £2 million. The scheme is designed to enable every secondary school to obtain one microcomputer package chosen from two options, with 50 per cent. support from the Department of Industry.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry whether he has any proposals to extend the micros in schools scheme to allow schools to vary their purchases within the specified range of equipment but up to the cost of the most expensive machine currently allowed.

There are no proposals to change the present micros in schools scheme for secondary schools to allow schools to vary their purchases. Each secondary school may select one of the two packages on offer. To date more than 95 per cent. of secondary schools have participated in this successful scheme which is due to close for applications at the end of 1982. The two available packages were selected to meet educational needs and deliberately include a more and a less expensive package to cater for variations and the availability of funds to schools. The scheme as it stands is successfully meeting these requirements within the public funds available.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what are the latest figures available for the number of Welshspeakers in and out of Wales; what steps he is taking to stimulate the use of the Welsh language; and if he will make a statement.

According to the 1981 census there were 508,207 Welsh speakers aged 3 and over in Wales on census night. No figures are available for Welsh speakers outside Wales.To date, £2,366,750 has been earmarked in 1982–83 by my right hon. Friend to assist positive and constructive activities designed to foster the use of the Welsh language. I recently invited those with an interest in the Welsh language to let me have their suggestions as to how best the Government's future financial support for the language might be applied.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he is satisfied with the progress towards profitability of British Leyland.

Yes. As Sir Michael Edwardes stated at the announcement of BL's half-yearly results, the company is on target to achieve its forecast trading profit and cash flow levels for 1982 and 1983 and aims to approach break-even at the trading level in 1983.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what value and proportion of the United Kingdom total of grants from the European Economic Community regional funds in the years 1979–80 and 1981 have been received for each of the regions of the United Kingdom.

[pursuant to his reply, 30 July 1982, Vol. 28, c. 793]:The following table shows the amounts and percentages of aid from the quota section of the European regional development fund allocated in respect of each region of the United Kingdom in the years 1979 to 1981.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many (a)men and (b)women in Wales, West Glamorgan and Swansea (i) are unemployed (ii) and have been unemployed for at least 12 months.

The latest available information covering the question on a consistent basis relates to 8 July 1982 and is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many young people are unemployed in Wales, West Glamorgan and Swansea; and what were the comparative figures for May 1979.

On 8 July 1982, the latest date for which information is currently available, the numbers of unemployed people aged under 25 years were 70,277, 10,649 and 3,609 respectively; in July 1979 the comparable figures were 42,048, 6,421 and 2,378 respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales whether at current levels of expenditure there will be an underspend on housing investment by Welsh local authorities in 1982–83.

Judging by the information so far available, including local authority returns for the first quarter of 1982–83, it seems possible that housing investment allocations will be spent but that a significant part of the prescribed proportions of capital receipts available to local authorities for housing capital investment will not.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he collects information on the number of medical practitioners offering homoeopathic treatment through the National Health Service; and if he will provide a breakdown of such information by health board.

Information is collected annually on the number of such doctors working in hospitals. The latest available information relates to the position at 30 September 1981 when there were two consultants, four registrars and two senior house officers providing homoeopathic treatment at the Glasgow homoeopathic hospital within Greater Glasgow health board. No other health board has hospital medical staff providing homoeopathic treatment.There is no information available on the number of general medical practitioners who offer homoeopathic treatment, although it is known that some do.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people are on the waiting list in Tayside and Scotland for homoeopathic treatment under the National Health Service.

There are no facilities for the provision of homoeopathic treatment under the National

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will provide a breakdown of deaths from non-respiratory cancer in the latest year for which figures are available for men and women respectively, in both Dundee and Scotland for the following categories(a) urinary, (b) digestive, (c) lymphatic and leukaemia,(d) genital (e)mouth and throat, and (f) other.

The readily available information is given in the following table. The groupings used are those defined in the international classification of diseases, injuries and causes of death ninth revision.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a table for 1960, 1965, 1970, 1975, 1980 and the latest date available for (a) deaths from all cancer and (b) lung cancer deaths for men and women, respectively, in the age groups (i) 45 to 54 years and (ii) 55 to 64 years in both Dundee and Scotland.

The readily available information is given in the following table. Figures for 1960 and 1965 are not available in the detail requested: a broader grouping has therefore been used.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what have been the vaccination take-up rates in each year since 1970 for (a)whooping cough, (b) measles, (c) polio, (d) diphtheria and (e) tetanus vaccine.

The information is set out in the following table.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the statistical risk per 100,000 immunisations of brain damage associated with whooping cough vaccine.

I am advised that the risk of an apparently normal infant suffering a severe neurological reaction following vaccination against whooping cough is about 1 in 110,000 immunisations; and that the risk of such vaccination resulting in permanent brain damage is about 1 in 310,000 immunisations.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the number of (a) nursery teachers and (b) nursery nurses .and helpers registered as unemployed in (a) Dundee, (b) Tayside and (c) Scotland.

[pursuant to his reply, 29 July 1982, c. 611]: Information is not available in the precise form requested. The table below gives the numbers of unemployed people who were registered for employment as nursery teachers in the areas specified on 10 June 1982, the latest date for which information is available. Separate information is not available on the numbers of unemployed nursery nurses and nursery assistants.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment, further to the reply to the hon. Member for Newham, North-West (Mr. Lewis) Official Report, 25 May, c. 275, what is his estimate of the total sums involved in the case of police and nurses in each of the last three years.

The following table shows the annual basic salary scales of a selection of the main nursing grades employed in the National Health Service, as at 1 April 1980 and 1 April 1981, and as proposed under the current offer. The scales shown take no account of additional amounts paid to many nursing grades who work unsocial hours, hours in excess of 37½ per week, on psychiatric or geriatric duties, or in the London weighting area. Information on the basic pay of police officers was provided on 13 July by my hon. and learned Friend the Minister of State, Home Office, in reply to the hon. Member for Oldham, West (Mr. Meacher).-[Vol. 27, c. 325–8.]

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will give his approval to the Commission for Racial Equality's code of conduct in employment.

My right hon. Friend still has the matter under consideration in the light of the report by the Select Committee on Employment and will give a decision as soon as he can.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment why he granted a work permit to Vijay Amritraj, a professional tennis player, to work as an actor in the film "Octopussy" to be made at Pinewood film studios, in view of the opposition to this from the trade union Equity and the large numbers of unemployed resident British people able to undertake this appointment.

This is a major production wholly financed from abroad. It does not have to be made in this country and will create many jobs for resident labour, including members of Equity. It has to succeed internationally if costs are to be recovered.Mr. Vijay Amritraj, as well as being a professional tennis player, is also a member of the Screen Actors' Guild of the United States. His unique combination of talents was considered to be potentially worth a great deal of money to the production company in advertising and in increased revenue from box-office.In all these circumstances it would have been unreasonable to withhold permission. I also understand that, after discussion between Equity and the production company, a compromise was reached following which Equity withdrew its opposition to Mr. Amritraj's appearance in the film.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the total number and value of the grants made in England as a whole under the 1981–82 recruitment grant scheme of the road transport industry training board to applicants from Cornwall.

In 1981–82, six grants to the total value of £12,000 were made under the road transport industry training board's recruitment grant scheme to applicants from Cornwall.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether the Careers Service will be represented on the new youth training board; and whether he will make a statement.

Yes. A representative of the Careers Service has been invited to serve on the new youth training board.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will publish in the Official Report as much detailed information as may be readily available giving at the latest and most convenient stated date the numbers of trade union appointments to non-departmental public bodies and Government appointed committees, including the National Economic Development Council, and, for the longest stated period of time, the amounts of salaries, fees and expenses paid to these appointed delegates.

I will write to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give details of any research sponsored by his Department into urea-formaldehyde foam and its effect on health.

I am advised by the chairman of the Health and Safety Commission that the Health and Safety Executive is not sponsoring any research into urea-formaldehyde foam and its effects on health. Since this material is used in buildings this is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment, and I understand that his Department is sponsoring certain work.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish in the Official Report the latest available numbers of unemployed persons in the Birmingham travel-to-work area, showing numbers of (a) school leavers, (b) persons under 25 years, (c) persons 25

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many persons are registered for jobs at the Northfield jobcentre, Birmingham B31, at the latest convenient date; and how this figure compares with three years ago.

There were 10,289 people registered as looking for jobs at Northfield jobcentre on 9 September 1982, the latest date for which figures are available. This compares with 3,986 so registered on 13 September 1979.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) if he is satisfied with the remedies individuals have available to them if they are expelled by their trade unions for refusing to take industrial action;(2) what representation he has received alleging that individuals were compelled to strike in support of Health Service workers on the "Day of Action" on 22 September 1982 by threats or intimidation from their trade union officials; and whether he is giving consideration to further amendment of the law.

My Department has now received some 50 separate complaints in writing concerning both individuals and groups of employees outside the Health Service who were compelled to take industrial action on 22 September by threats from their trade unions that disciplinary action, including expulsion, would be taken against anyone refusing to strike. In none of these cases were the employees involved allowed to vote by their union on whether to take industrial action or not. to 55 years, (d) persons over 55 years, (e) minority groups, (f) males, (g) females and (h) disabled persons; and if he will give a comparable figure for 1979.

The following table gives the information for the Birmingham travel-to-work area at the latest available dates and for the corresponding months in 1979.The Government utterly condemn flagrant attempts of this kind by trade unions to compel individual members to take industrial action against their will.Under the Employment Act 1980 every employee working in a closed shop has the right not to be unreasonably expelled by his trade union. In deciding whether a member has been unreasonably expelled an industrial tribunal must take into account guidance in the code of practice on the closed shop which says that unions should not fine or expel members who refuse to take strike action in certain defined circumstances, for example because no secret ballot has been held.Where a tribunal finds that a member has been unreasonably expelled from his trade union it may subsequently order the union concerned to pay hint compensation.The current Employment Bill will strengthen the protection in the 1980 Act by making it unfair to dismiss an employee for non-membership of a trade union in a closed shop if a tribunal has found him to have been unreasonably expelled from his union.In addition we are now considering whether the provisions of the closed shop code of practice on circumstances where unions should not discipline members who refuse to strike should be strengthened in the light of recent events.

asked the right hon. Member for Middlesbrough, as representing the House of Commons Commission, if the Commission will now consider authorising hon. Members to travel first class when travelling by air on parliamentary business on journeys that take seven hours or more.

No.

asked the Lord President of the Council if he will take steps to initiate a study of the potential demands for creche facilities for children under 5 years of age whose parents are working at the Houses of Parliament; and if he will make a statement.

As the hon. Member will be aware, there is very great pressure on accommodation within the precincts caused by the needs of Members in connection with their parliamentary duties. In due course the Services Committee will consider the competing claims for the use of any new parliamentary accommodation which may become available.In the meantime, I understand that official assistance is being given to the trade union side of the House of Commons Whitley Committee, which, in conjunction with representatives of Members' secretaries, is attempting to establish the need for and demand for creche facilities.

asked the Lord President of the Council, in view of the fact that the present redundancy payment scheme applicable to hon. Members is inferior to almost all other types of redundancy schemes operated in nationalised, public and private industry, whether he will take whatever action may prove necessary for consideration of a Members of Parliament redundancy scheme being put on a similar basis to other national schemes.

The present arrangements for severance pay for hon. Members were approved by the House on 4 March 1980. They are currently under review as part of the examination of parliamentary pay and allowances which the Government have asked the Review Body on Top Salaries to undertake. When the review body's recommendations have been received, the Government will bring forward proposals to the House.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will make a statement on the Government's intentions regarding the proposals to increase police pay by 10·3 per cent. and whether any increased pay will be tied to increased productivity and efficiency as with increases awarded to other public servants.

My right hon. Friend announced on 6 August that he had accepted the police negotiating board's recommendation that police pay should be increased by 10·3 per cent. At the same time, he said he had decided that the pension contributions for all ranks should be increased. The net increase in police pay was therefore 5·6 per cent. Chief officers are constantly seeking ways to improve the efficiency of their forces and my right hon. Friend has asked Her Majesty's inspectors of constabulary to promote good practice and improvements in the effective use of resources. But it would not be appropriate to link such changes with national pay scales.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the occasions, stating the cases concerned, in which the Metropolitan Police have taken responsibility for the legal costs of individual policemen in actions for defamation in each of the last 10 years; which actions came to trial; and which were settled out of court.

Precise information for the whole of the period in question is not readily available. The information available is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what instructions are given to the Metropolitan Police as to the way individual officers should describe themselves when charged with a criminal offence.

No specific instructions have been issued but officers are expected to describe themselves accurately. I understand that in the case reported in The Times on30 July 1982 the officer concerned was described on the original charge sheet as a police officer and not as a civil servant, as reported.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will make a statement on the progress being made by the Policy Studies Institute's research organisation into police and public relations, including alleged corruption, in the Metropolitan Police force; whether this study, authorised by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis in June 1980, is receiving the help and assistance of all sections of the Metropolitan Police; and when he expects its report to be published.

We understand that the study of the relationship between .the Metropolitan Police and the community it serves, which is being conducted by the Policy Studies Institute, at the request of the Metropolitan Police, is making progress. A large number of police officers throughout the force have co-operated with the study, which has the support of the police staff associations. The publication of the report is a matter for the Policy Studies Institute, in consultation with the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, in view of the amount of damage caused by soccer hooligans in previous seasons, he will call a conference of police authorities and football organisations with a view to finding a satisfactory way of dealing with these occurrences; and if he will make a statement.

No. My hon. Friend the Minister with responsibility for sport recently announced that the liaison group which was so successful in preventing trouble during the World Cup will be re-convened to study the problems of football hooliganism under the chairmanship of Mr. Bert Millichip, chairman of the Football Association. Officials from my Department will play an active part on the group.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the chief constable of Merseyside concerning the incidents which took place in Toxteth on the evening of Thursday 29 July; and if he will make a statement.

We understand from the chief constable that during the course of the evening there was a large number of incidents, many of a minor nature, in the Toxteth area. There were intermittent skirmishes between police officers and disorderly youths. Officers wearing protective clothing successfully dispersed groups of these youths as they formed. In the course of four hours there were three fires at premises on the edge of the area, which appeared to be cases of arson. A petrol bomb failed to ignite fully at a betting office but caused smoke damage; the door and window frame of a greengrocer's shop were damaged by rubbish burnt at the rear of the building; and an unoccupied block of flats was damaged by smoke from rubbish ignited in it.Three people were arrested for, and have been convicted of, offences related to the incidents in the evening, two for using threatening behaviour and one for being drunk and disorderly. One police officer incurred minor injuries when the windscreen of his car was broken by a stone.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes have been made in the contributions of the London boroughs of Brent and Barnet towards the costs of the Metropolitan Police College of Hendon; and for what reasons.

The cost of teachers employed at the police cadet school at Hendon was formerly met jointly by the London boroughs of Brent and Barnet. Under a new arrangement agreed for the financial year 1982–83 about 90 per cent. of the cost will be met by the Metropolitan Police, the remainder being met from block grant payable to Barnet. This arrangement, which is to be reviewed at the end of the year, has been introduced because the two councils declined to continue with the previous, longstanding arrangement.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will seek to establish machinery to monitor equal opportunity clauses in contracts between Government Departments and their suppliers.

My right hon. Friend has at present no plans to do so.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why it took him until 26 August to reply to the hon. Member for Newham, North-West's letter of 30 July regarding Miss R. B. of Stratford E15 request for entry into Great Britain of her fiancé; and what was contained in this letter (Ref. No. B387121) other than that he should apply in Bangladesh which could not have been conveyed to the hon. Member earlier.

The hon. Member's letter reached me on 2 August. In order to give as helpful a reply as possible, the entry clearance officer in Dacca was asked whether any application had been received from Miss R. B.'s fianc". A final reply was despatched to the hon. Member on 26 August, which does not seem to me unreasonable

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why it took until 1 September for his Assistant Private Secretary to write to the hon. Member for Newham, North-West in reply to his letter of 12 July regarding a deportation order (Ref. 058868/8(S)); in view of the fact that this letter only stated inquiries were being made, why an earlier reply along these lines was not sent; why reference was made to a reply having been sent earlier to the Member's letter of 24 June, when this latter reply was dated 23 March; and whether he will expedite replies to correspondents generally and to hon. Members in particular.

The hon. Member's letter of 12 July was received simultaneously with representations from other hon. Members. The delay in sending an interim reply, which I regret, was due to the pressure of work and the need to decide what further action to take in this particular case. The hon. Member himself asked for a copy of my final reply of 23 March to his letter of 24 June 1981. We are satisfied that, as far as the proper consideration of cases will allow, every effort is made to reply promptly to all correspondence and to hon. Members in particular.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why it took him until 26 August to reply to the hon. Member for Newham, North-West's letter of 9 August regarding alleged preferential treatment upon the part of the police in their appointments in Derbyshire, as made by his constituent Mr. D. J. Hands; what was contained in this letter which could not have been sent earlier; and whether he wil.1 expedite his replies to correspondence in the future.

Correspondence is dealt with as quickly as possible. There was no unnecessary delay in this case.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why it took his Department until 20 August to send to the hon. Member for Newham, North-West his letter dated 19 August informing the hon. Member that his letter of 9 August was being referred to the chief constable of Norfolk for attention; what was contained in this letter which could not have been notified earlier; and whether he will expedite replies in general to ensure that it does not take three weeks to advise correspondents, including hon. Members, that the matter raised is receiving attention or being passed to someone else for attention.

The hon. Member's letter was received on 10 August and within two days a letter of acknowledgement was sent. The purpose of the letter of 19 August (a further seven days later) was to explain that a police report would be needed before a full reply could be sent, and I believe that most hon. Members find such interim replies helpful.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will make a statement on the wrongful suspension of police constable Keith Manktelow for five years; what compensation he intends paying to this man in addition to his reinstatement and arrears of pay whether such compensation will take account of the pain, distress and mental anguish caused to this policeman; and what action has been or will be taken against those responsible for the miscarriage of justice.

Mr. Manktelow has in the normal way received back pay for the period between his final dismissal from and his subsequent reinstatement in the Metropolitan Police. Whilst the delays are naturally to be regretted, I am satisfied after careful review of all the circumstances that there are no grounds for taking any further action in respect of them or of the original disciplinary decisions. They were throughout taken in good faith and in accordance with the relevant statutory provisions.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many sessions at the dental clinic at Brixton prison should have been held in August; and how many sessions were cancelled.

Eight sessions of the dental clinic at Brixton prison were scheduled for August. None was cancelled.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether there is any restriction on a dentist taking his own equipment into a prison to treat a prisoner if the equipment is necessary for such treatment in the clinical judgment of the dentist.

There is no objection in principle to a dentist who works in a Prison Department establishment bringing in any piece of equipment which he considers to be clinically necessary.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department in which London boroughs police liaison committees have been established along the guidelines he has issued.

Consultative groups, reflecting the guidelines which I issued in June, are now operating in the London boroughs of Enfield, Hounslow, Kingston upon Thames, Lambeth, Wandsworth and Westminster. Agreement in principle to set up similar groups has already been reached in 13 other boroughs or districts. Discussions are continuing in the other areas.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he now intends to introduce a Bill to provide data protection in accordance with the European convention.

Legislation will be introduced as soon as practicable.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will introduce amending legislation making it a criminal offence for anyone found to have entered any premises which he does not own or have legal tenancy; and that, whether or not he consumes food and drink belonging to the legal and lawful occupier, he will be guilty of the offence of being on the premises without authorisation.