asked the Attorney-General whether the Government will take steps to ensure that lawyers undertaking legally aided work are paid as the work is done.

The Government have decided to institute a scheme that will provide a measure of improvement in the existing arrangements by enabling payments on account to be made in cases that have been running for nearly two years or longer. The scheme will operate only for the present financial year and claims will have, therefore, to be made promptly. Further discussions will be held about longer term arrangements, in association with a consideration of ways of improving control of the cost of civil legal aid. I shall be personally responsible for the discussions and associated work. No new expenditure overall is required for this scheme because expenditure will simply be brought forward into 1982–83 from future years. It is the Government's intention to submit a spring Supplementary Estimate for approval. The sum will be charged to the Contingency Reserve and will thus not add to public expenditure.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if Her Majesty's Government will take steps to remind dog owners of the damage dogs can do by sheep worrying at the time of year when most ewes are pregnant.

Appropriate publicity was issued on 7 January, in line with customary seasonal practice.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the organisations which have responded to his consultation paper on the review of inland and coastal fisheries in England and Wales; when he is likely to complete his consultations; what part the salmon sales group has played in these discussions; and if he will make a statement.

We have completed our consultations on the review of inland and coastal fisheries in England and Wales. The organisations which responded to our consultation paper are as follows:

• Amble Seine Net and Keel Boat Association.
• Annan Fishermens Association.
• Aquacultural Insurance Service Ltd.
• Aquarists' Rendezvous.
• Association of County Councils.
• Association of Scottish District Salmon Fishery Boards.
• Association of Sea Fisheries Committees of England and Wales.
• Atlantic Salmon Trust.
• Bedworth Ex-Servicemen's Social Club and Institute.
• Bishop Auckland and District Angling Club.
• Blair, Cadell and MacMillan.
• Blyth Federation of Inshore Fishermen.
• British Ecological Society
• British Field Sports Society.
• British Koi-Keepers' Society
• British Transport Docks Board, Southampton.
• British Veterinary Association.
• Burnham-On-Sea Boat Owners Association.
• Commercial Fisheries Association.
• Cornwall Sea Fisheries Committee.
• Council for Environmental Conservation.
• Country Landowners Association.
• Cromer Inshore Angling Club.
• Cumbria Sea Fisheries Committee.
• D and M Tropicals.
• Darent Valley Anglers Consultative Association.
• Darlington Brown Trout Angling Association.
• Dart Fisheries Preservation Society.
• Dartford Ramblers Sea Anglers' Association.
• Devon Avon Riparian and Fishery Owners' Association.
• Devon Sea Fisheries Committee.
• Dorset and Avon FAC.
• Dover District Council.
• Eagle and Child Sea Angling Club.
• Eastern Sea Fisheries Joint Committee.
• Eel Producers Association.
• Fisheries Angling Club, West Hyde.
• Fisheries Organisation Society Ltd.
• Gosport Cruising Club.
• Great Ouse Fishery Consultative Association.
• Hayes and Harlington Angling Society.
• Hornsea Sea Angling Club.
• Institute of Fisheries Management.
• Lancashire and Western Sea Fisheries Joint Committee.
• Liskeard and District Angling Club.
• Lowestoft Small Boats Association.
• Lyn Riparian Owners' Association.
• Metropolitan Police Angling Society.
• Morecambe Bay Angling Club.
• Mudeford and District Fishermen's Association Ltd.
• National Anglers' Council.
• National Farmers' Union.
• National Federation of Anglers.
• National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations.
• National Water Council.
• Nature Conservancy Council.
• North Eastern Sea Fisheries Committee.
• North West Association of Sea Angling Clubs.
• Northern Federation of Sea Angling Societies.
• Northumbrian Water Authority.
• North West Water Authority.
• Nottingham Piscatorial Society.
• Nuffield Foundation.
• Ornamental Fish International Wholesalers Organisation.
• Pet Fish Distributors Association of Great Britain.
• Pet Trade Association Ltd.
• Pike Anglers of Great Britain.
• Plymouth Fishermens Protection Society.
• Polytechnic of Central London.
• Port of London Authority.
• Preston Park Angling Club.
• Redcar Fishermans Society.
• River Exe Riparian Owners Association.
• River Eden and District Fisheries Association.
• Rivers Taw and Torridge Riparian Owners and Fishermens Associations.
• Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
• Salmon Net Fishing Association.
• Salmon and Trout Association.
• Scarborough and Bridlington Fish Producers' Organisation Ltd.
• Scottish Landowners' Federation.
• Scottish Salmon Angling Federation.
• Sea Anglers Royal Naval Association.
• Shellfish Association of Great Britain.
• South West Water Authority.
• Severn Fisheries Consultative Council.
• South and West Cumberland Fisheries Association.
• Sussex Anglers Consultative Association.
• Tamar and Tributaries Fisheries Association.
• Teign Fishermen and Watermen's Association.
• Test and Itchen Fishing Association Ltd.
• Tri-Lakes Ltd.
• Underwater Conservation Society.
• Upper Itchen Valley Society.
• Wadebridge and District Angling Association.
• Whitby Coblemens Association.
• World Wildlife Fund.
• Wye Salmon Fishery Owners Association.
• Yorkshire Fisheries Consultative Association
• Yorkshire Salmon Netsmans' Association.
• Yorkshire Water Authority.
• Wear and Tees Salmon and Trout Netsmens Association.
• Welsh Water Authority.

I am now considering the recommendations that have been put to me.The salmon sales group was set up, as a result of discussions on our consultation paper, by the National Water Council in conjunction with other interested organisations. As I informed the right hon. Member in my reply of 21 December 1982—[Vol. 34, c.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what prosecutions are currently being undertaken which arise from the substitution of prime beef on which European Economic Community subsidies for exports are being paid by inferior meat.

Inquiries are proceeding into the suspected misdescription of other types of meat as beef for the purpose of obtaining export refunds, but it is too early to say whether prosecutions will result.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what were the total payments made to United Kingdom butchers selling beef to non-European Community markets in 1981 and 1982; what scrutiny is made of these payments and the quality of the meat subject to subsidy; and if he will make a statement.

Export refunds on beef and veal amounted to £49·4 million in 1981 and £42·1 million in 1982. It is not possible to specify the proportions paid to butchers. Payments are made irrespective of quality, on certification by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise that the meat has been correctly described.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the average bacteria count in United Kingdom-produced milk compared with other European Community countries.

There are no harmonised Community arrangements for testing milk and the Commission does not collect information for the member states. In the United Kingdom data collected recently by the milk marketing boards indicate that over 97 per cent. of milk produced has a bacterial count of less than 100,000 per millilitre. I understand that in France only 75 per cent. of milk reached this standard in 1981.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Hazel Grove on 25 November 1982, Official Report, c. 67, when he expects to make a statement on the recommendations of the review of the legal basis of further education.

It is taking a little longer than expected to reach conclusions on this matter. My right hon. Friend hopes that his statement will not be long delayed, but he cannot yet give a date.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether any of the financial assistance Nimslo was offered to develop the 3D camera at Timex, Dundee, was taken up.

None of the regional selective assistance offered under section 7 of the Industry Act 1972 to Nimslo to develop the 3D camera at Timex Dundee, has been taken up.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will release the updated forecast of the increase in gas heating sales accruing from gas bought from Kinsale, Ireland, to Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

It is estimated that sales of gas for domestic heating purposes in Northern Ireland will increase to some 68 million therms per annum in the event of natural gas becoming available from the Kinsale field in the Republic of Ireland. No estimate is available of the increased usage of gas for non-domestic heating purposes.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when Her Majesty's Government intend to conclude an agreement with the Government of the Republic of Ireland for the piping of natural gas to Northern Ireland.

Negotiations are at an advanced stage with the Government of the Republic of Ireland about terms on which natural gas might be made available to Northern Ireland. It is not possible to forecast precisely when these negotiations will be completed.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many tonnes of domestic coal were sold in Northern Ireland in 1979, 1980, 1981 and to the nearest available date in 1982.

Consumption of domestic coal, including smokeless fuel, in Northern Ireland in 1979, 1980, 1981 and 1982 is as follows:

Year	Thousand tonnes
1979	1,000
1980	800
1981	850
1982	*912
* Estimated.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will release the forecast figures for coal sales in Northern Ireland to 1998.

The Government have no forecasts of sales of coal in Northern Ireland to 1998.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the amount of the Government's annual subsidy to (a) the gas industry, (b) the electricity industry and (c) the coal industry in Northern Ireland in 1979, 1980, 1981 and to the nearest available date in 1982.

Financial support paid to the towns gas industry and the electricity industry in Northern Ireland has been as follows:

Financial year	Gas industry	Electricity industry
	£ million	£ million
1979–80	5·20	20·00
1980–81	9·08	38·00
1981–82	10·02	67·70
1982–83*	10·50	59·80
* Estimated.

Government financial support for the National Coal Board is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy. No subsidies specifically in respect of its activities in Northern Ireland have been paid to the National Coal Board, but Northern Ireland consumers must be presumed to have benefited from the deficit and operating grants paid to the National Coal Board for the three years 1979–80 to 1981–82 totalling £819 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales when he will announce his urban development grant allocations for 1983–84.

The applications for urban development grant for 1983–84 are under consideration, and I shall make an announcement as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what is his estimate of the number of men who have left the work force in Wales over the period 1975 to 1981, as reflected by the European Community labour force surveys.

The European Community labour force survey—LFS—is a sample survey of private households carried out every two years covering about 5,000 households in Wales—or about 0·5 per cent. Estimates based on this survey are therefore likely to be subject to sampling error. The LFS does not directly provide information on the total number of men who have left the labour force in Wales between 1975 and 1981. However, mid-year estimates of the civilian labour force based on information from the LFS suggest that between 1975 and 1981 the male labour force in Wales fell from 777,000 to 763,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will introduce legislation to provide for the repayment of rates which have been paid on the basis of an erroneous rateable value, for a period going back prior to 1 April of that year in which the reassessment of rateable value was made.

Rating legislation already provides for repayment of rates in certain circumstances for rate periods prior to the 1 April of the year in which the proposal for a reassessment of rateable value is made. If the hon. Member has a case in mind, I would be pleased to offer further advice on receipt of more detailed information.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many times he has met the chairman of the British Steel Corporation in his official capacity; on what dates; and if he will make a statement.

Since mid-1979 I have had numerous meetings and discussions with the chairman so as to keep in closest touch with him on issues affecting the steel industry in Wales.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what is his estimate of the number of jobs in the pipeline for the counties of Gwynedd and Clwyd; and if he will make a statement.

Latest estimates give figures of 250 and 3,500 for Gwynedd and Clwyd, respectively. These relate only to manufacturing jobs which are expected over the next three to four years from projects for which offers of selective financial assistance have been accepted or which have been allocated Government financed factory space.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales whether any further changes are to be made to Welsh Office cash limits during the remainder of 1982–83.

Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimates, there will be an increase of £180,000 to £24,404,000 in the revised cash limit announced on 21 December 1982 for class XVI, Vote 7.—[Vol. 34, c. 500–504.] The reason for the increase is to meet in part the cost of the 1982 Civil Service pay award announced by the Prime Minister on 6 May 1982—[Vol. 23, c. 109–111.] A corresponding reduction to £670,791,000 will be made in the cash limit for class XVI, Vote 1. There will be no increase in public expenditure. The net additional provision in class XVI, Vote 7, to be sought by way of Supplementary Estimate will amount to £101,000 after taking account of the £79,000 reduction in national insurance surcharge, details of which were announced in December.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what has been the cost to central Government of all the plans and traffic studies for the A46 Newark bypass since 1964.

A total of £1,122,000 has been spent on consultants' fees and other research costs since consultants were first appointed in 1972. It is not possible to identify the costs of the Department's in-house resources attributable to the scheme since preparation began in 1971. The scheme is estimated to cost £22 million at February 1982 prices.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on his Department's proposals on the problems created by proposals to moor liquid petroleum tankers offshore, but outwith the control of offshore or onshore authorities.

The working party has completed its work, and the Government Departments concerned are considering its recommendations. My right hon. Friend hopes to be able to make an announcement soon.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will set out the rules governing the commissioning of work by committees of inquiry set up by Her Majesty's Government from outside consultants in cases where members of such committees have a personal financial interest in such consultants; and whether these arrangements applied to the Serpell inquiry into the finances of British Rail;(2) whether outside consultants were appointed by the Serpell Committee; if so, who they were; and what they cost.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave yesterday to the right hon. Member for Barrow-in-Furness (Mr. Booth).

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what was the cost of the Serpell inquiry.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave yesterday to the hon. Member for Aberdeen, North (Mr. Hughes).

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what were the fees paid to each member of the Serpell inquiry.

Sir David Serpell received a retainer of £6,287. Other members received no fees for their work on the committee. Normal consultancy fees were paid to their firms for the work undertaken by Mr. Butler and Mr. Goldstein when leading the studies undertaken on behalf of the committee.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish the study output material mentioned in paragraph 3.46 of the minority report from Mr. Goldstein on the review of railway finances.

I am arranging for copies to be placed in the Library of the House. Members of the public can obtain copies from my Department, subject to a charge to cover reproduction costs.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will introduce legislation to allow local authorities who object to the passage of nuclear waste through their boundaries to prevent this from occurring.

No. There is no case for any such legislation as public safety is fully secured by the present arrangements.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Hazel Grove on 15 December, Official Report, c. 165, if he will make a statement on the preliminary discussion of the ideas for greater co-operation between embassies of the Ten in third countries.

Discussions among the Ten on this subject are continuing. They have not yet reached the point where anything can be added to my right hon. Friend's reply of 15 December, but we hope that we shall succeed in defining a number of areas where co-operation among the embassies of the Ten in third countries can profitably be strenghtened.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations have been made by Her Majesty's Government to the Portuguese Government about their failure to provide adequate information about the circumstances surrounding the death of Miss Beverley Cooper, a constituent of the hon. Member for Brighouse and Spenborough; and if any explanation has been provided about the apparent discrepancy between their initial report that Miss Cooper died of natural causes and more recent information that her death may have resulted from carbon monoxide poisoning.

The British embassy in Lisbon has made representations to the Portuguese authorities about the circumstances surrounding the deaths of certain British tourists, including Miss Beverley Cooper. An inspector from the Portuguese Department of Tourism is currently conducting an investigation in the Algarve.The cause of Miss Cooper's death has still not been established. The west Yorkshire coroner is examining her body and exports to complete his report in the very near future.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will place in the Vote Office a revised memorandum relating to the proposed European Act, updating that deposited in January 1982, together with the latest edition of the draft text.

No. A revised text of the proposals was deposited with an explanatory memorandum in June 1982. The House debated the revised text on 17 June.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the four-power agreements on Berlin are working properly; and if he will make a statement.

The continuing existence of the four-power wartime and post-war agreements and decisions on Berlin was provided for in the quadripartite agreement of September 1971. This has brought considerable benefits to the people of Berlin and has served to reaffirm allied rights and responsibilities in the city as a whole. As a result, it has been broadly successful in its fundamental objective of creating stability in Berlin, which has reduced the potential for East-West confrontation over the city.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will inititate a full public inquiry into the way in which a Government contract to build prefabricated homes on the Falkland Islands was awarded to the firm of James Brewster Associates Ltd. in view of that firm's having filed no accounts for periods since December 1979.

No. The contract to supply and erect prefabricated houses in the Falkland Islands was awarded to James Brewster Associates Ltd. following careful and thorough evaluation of tenders in accordance with the conditions specified in the tender documents.Filing of accounts is a matter for my right hon. and noble Friend the Secretary of State for Trade.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many work permits were issued by his Department in 1973, 1979 and 1982.

Some 25,105 work permits were issued in 1973 and 14,442 in 1979. In addition, 7,734 overseas nationals already in the United Kingdom for some other purpose were given permission to work here in 1973 and 3,551 in 1979.Figures for 1982 are not yet available, but figures for 1981, to be published shortly, show that 11,803 permits were issued and 960 permissions given.The figures do not include approvals under the training and work experience scheme or its predecessors, the Commonwealth training and student employment schemes. Also excluded are approvals given to overseas students to take employment during vacations or in their spare time.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he has yet received from the Manpower Services Commission a report on the outcome of the review that the commission has been conducting into the operation of skillcentres.

The Government have endorsed the Manpower Services Commission's proposal that it should implement the main recommendations of its recent review of skillcentres. Copies of the report of the review are being distributed to those who were consulted in the course of the review, and copies have also been placed in the Library.The principal recommendations involve changes which will improve the way skillcentres are managed and organised. By April 1983 the main framework of a separate skillcentre organisation, to be called the skillcentre training agency, will be established within the commission. The agency will put its operations by stages on to a full trading account basis by April 1984.We believe that the new arrangements will pose a challenge for skillcentre staff at all levels, but that, if the review's recommendations are pursued vigorously, then skillcentres can have a secure and continuing place as important providers of training.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether, in view of the various resports envisaging the decline in Great Britain's offshore oil supplies, he will take steps to increase coal production in Great Britain.

It is for the National Coal Board to assess its opportunities in the market place taking account of the Board's competitive position.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what payments were made to the British National Oil Corporation in connection with the termination of its link with the national oil account.

As my right hon. Friend foreshadowed in the debate on 14 December 1982 on the BNOC (Borrowing Powers) Order 1982 a payment from the National Oil Account under section 40(3)(a) of the Petroleum and Submarine Pipe-lines Act 1975 of £36,868,000 was made to the British National Oil Corporation on 29th December 1982, in the course of establishing in place of the link with the National Oil Account the new financial structure of the Corporation. The payment included a sum of £6,868,000, sufficient to cover, with a small margin, the Corporation's estimated net liabilities outstanding on 31st December. To the extent that this figure exceeds the actual liabilities, I have determined that the Corporation will assume a commencing debt equal to any excess. The debt will be repaid as soon as audited figures are available. The remaining £30 million was paid to the Corporation to enable it to purchase certain securities as financial reserves in support of its oil trading activities.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what agreements have now been reached for the recovery of the costs of facilities at the Queen Elizabeth military hospital, Woolwich, which are made available to National Health Service patients; what issues remain to be settled; and what are the estimated annual sums involved.

The cost incurred at this hospital for the clinical assessment of ex-Far Eastern prisoners of war are recovered from the Department of Health and Social Security and amounted to £120,000 m 1981–82. No other charge is currently made for the use of facilities at the Queen Elizabeth military hospital by National Health Service patients, but the Ministry of Defence has been examining the recovery from the local health authority of the cost of certain specialised services made available for NHS patients. It has been necessary to undertake special arrangements for the retrieval of detailed information in a form acceptable to the local health authority. Negotiations have not yet been concluded, and it is not therefore possible to estimate the finance involved.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) service men, (b) service dependants and (c) National Health Service patients received inpatient treatment at the Queen Elizabeth military hospital, Woolwich, during each of the quarters ended 31 December 1981, 31 March, 30 June and 30 September 1982.

The numbers of those receiving inpatient treatment at the Queen Elizabeth military hospital, Woolwich, were as follows:

Quarter ended	Service men	Service dependants	NHS patients
31 December 1981	944	223	657
31 March 1982	1,040	288	800
30 June 1982	854	398	706
30 September 1982	836	272	703

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what was the overall bed occupancy rate at Queen Elizabeth military hospital, Woolwich, for the quarters ended 31 December 1981, 31 March, 30 June and 30 September 1982.

The overall percentage rate of available bed occupancy at the Queen Elizabeth military hospital, Woolwich, is as follows:

Quarter ended	Beds occupied Per cent.
31st December 1981	71·3
31st March 1982	77·7
30th June 1982	68·0
30th September 1982	71·6

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the estimated annual running cost of Queen Elizabeth military hospital, Woolwich, for 1982–83 and the estimated cost of inpatient stay for (a) an average service man, and (b) an average civilian patient.

The estimated running cost of the Queen Elizabeth military hospital, Woolwich, in 1982–83 is 14·2 million at current prices. The estimated average cost of a service inpatient's stay is £1,321 and for a civilian patient £944.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if it is his policy that all officially provided cars for defence attaches and defence advisers are made in the United Kingdom.

The Department buys British cars whenever possible. Foreign cars are sometimes provided where this is necessary because of local repair facilities or the need to meet particular local requirements.

asked the Prime Minister what was the United Kingdom's expenditure on the intelligence community in Buenos Aires between March 1981 and March 1982; and how many personnel were involved.

As I said in my statement in the House on 18 January, the Government accepted that the references to intelligence matters in the report of the Falkland Islands review committee were necessary for a full understanding of the issues on which the committee was asked to report. That does not, however, invalidate the general rule that such matters should not generally be divulged. I do not, therefore, intend to depart from my practice, following the practice of my predecessors, not to answer questions on security and intelligence matters.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Norfolk, North dated 22 December 1982, if he will state why the estimated cost of using consultants for (a) the four-yearly total remuneration survey and (b) the intermediate survey cannot be realistically estimated at this stage.

The cost of using consultants would depend critically on the size of the job they were asked to do. This would in turn depend on such factors as the number of Civil Service and outside jobs which would need to be evaluated to provide reliable samples, the frequency with which the samples would have to be updated, and the extent to which work has to be carried out by the consultants themselves. It is not possible, at this stage, to predict the outcome of discussions on these matters.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received regarding the level of luncheon vouchers eligible for tax relief; and if he will make a statement.

Very few representations have been received in the past year. The concession is reviewed from time to time.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received urging tax relief on railway and coach annual season tickets; and if he will make a statement.

Very few representations have been received in the past year. I do not think it would be right to give tax relief for this type of personal expenditure.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer which members of the European Council have indicated that they do not accept Her Majesty's Government's policy of seeking a lasting solution to the problem of United Kingdom budgetary imbalances and implementing such a solution as soon as possible.

I believe that all member states would like to see an early and lasting solution. The differences of view concern the nature of the solution.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will introduce legislation in the Finance Bill to deal with offshore roll-up funds.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to report the results of his working party on free ports.

[pursuant to his reply,20 January 1983, c. 182]: The working party has a substantial programme of work. Nevertheless, I hope that it will be able to report in the near future.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were the main reasons for the number of Inland Revenue staff actually employed falling below the authorised staff numbers in 1982.

[pursuant to his reply, 20 January 1983, c. 182]: There were two main reasons for this slight shortfall. First, work loads in certain areas fell at a somewhat faster rate than estimated. Second, some difficulties were experienced in filling vacancies in certain grades.The situation has now changed, and the gap—never much over 1 per cent—was reduced by 1 January 1983 to about 0.6 per cent. of the Department's staff.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the average monthly shortfall between the Inland Revenue authorised staff numbers and the number actually in post over the period 1 May 1982 to 31 December 1982; and what was the average monthly saving on the salaries bill as a result of any shortfall.

[pursuant to his reply, 20 January 1983, c. 182]: About 720 and £400,000.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will give the reasons why Mr. M. R. No. B58586 a self-confessed illegal immigrant now in the deport block at the Ashford remand centre has been so remanded for the past 12 weeks; why his personal clothing has been confiscated; and whether he will arrange for this man to be charged forthwith or deported and not kept under restraint and have his personal property restored to him.

A deportation order was made against Mr. Moses Richards on 3 December and he was due to be deported on 7 January. These arrangements were cancelled when the hon. Member's letter on 23 December was received. Inquiries into the ownership of the property claimed by Mr. Richards are proceeding and I shall write to the hon. Member when these have been completed. Meanwhile, Mr. Richards has asked to be returned to his home country, and arrangements for his removal will be resumed.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received about the need to amend the Firearms Act 1968 in order to tighten controls over the purchase of shotguns; and what response he has made.

The few that we have received have in the main pressed for shotguns to be made subject to similar controls under the Firearms Act 1968 as rifles and pistols. We have replied that we are not persuaded that stricter controls would have any significant effect on the level of crime and that we have no plans at present to introduce amending legislation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, in view of the fact that at Parkhurst prison, a top security establishment, prisoners are allowed to use and have in their possession Stanley knives, how many other prisons permit this; and whether, in view of the danger that can occur to the prison staff and other occupants, as shown by the incident in January 1983 at Parkhurst prison, he will take steps to stop this practice forthwith.

Subject to the discretion of local management, each prisoner at a dispersal prison is permitted to possess a small knife for hobby use, such knives being held by staff and issued on request. At other establishments in England and Wales similar arrangements apply. At present there are no plans to withdraw this privilege, but the matter is being reviewed in the light of the incident at Parkhurst.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has made any decision on the proposal for a pilot project to test the practical implications of an extension of the probationer district training centre course from 10 to 16 weeks to be conducted at the Bruche training centre.

The proposal that there should be a 16 weeks pilot initial training course at Bruche police training centre was considered by the Police Training Council, which advises my right hon. Friend on police training matters, at its meeting on 27 October last. The general view of the council—which we endorse—was that it would be preferable for the council's working party on probationer training to proceed quickly with its work of producing a good standard course which could be introduced nationally for the recruits of all provincial forces.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Union of Soviet Socialist Republics nationals have applied for British nationality in each of the last 10 years.

No record is maintained of applicants for citizenship according to their nationality. The numbers and nationalities of those to whom certificates of naturalisation or registration as a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies have been granted each year are published in the annual Command Paper "Tables of Persons acquiring Citizenship of the United Kingdom and Colonies".

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is satisfied that conditions for young prisoners at Birmingham prison satisfy rule 3 of the European standard minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners.

We accept that the conditions in which young offenders have to be held at Birmingham are unsatisfactory, but, since other young prisoner establishments are also full, to remove young prisoners from Birmingham would merely worsen overcrowding elsewhere. The situation will, however, improve as the effects are felt on the prison system of Government plans for building and maintenance of prisons and for the provision of additional staff.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects the Jellicoe inquiry into the Prevention of Terrorism Act to be completed.

Lord Jellicoe gave my right hon. Friend his report on 12 January. Arrangements are being made for it to be published as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners are currently being held in police and court cells; and what was the total on the night of 17 January.

On the night of 20 January 63 prisoners were held in police custody. The corresponding figure for the night of 17 January was 92.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list in the Official Report for each police authority in England and Wales both the establishment and actual numbers of special constables.

The number of special constables is within the discretion of the chief officer of police, in consultation with the police authority. Forces are encouraged to enrol as many special constables as they can usefully train and deploy.The strength of the special constabulary of each force in England and Wales at 30 June 1982, the latest date for which information is available was as follows:

Police force	Number of special constables
Avon and Somerset	530
Bedfordshire	183
Cambridgeshire	230
Cheshire	237
Cleveland	154
Cumbria	249
Derbyshire	341
Devon and Cornwall	824
Dorset	233
Durham	117
Dyfed Powys	109
Essex	371
Gloucestershire	200
Greater Manchester	379
Gwent	187
Hampshire	404
Hertfordshire	243
Humberside	253
Kent	524
Lancashire	371
Leicestershire	241
Lincolnshire	366
Merseyside	435
Norfolk	224
Northamptonshire	164
Northumbria	556
North Wales	175
North Yorkshire	318
Nottinghamshire	402
South Wales	202
South Yorkshire	252
Staffordshire	421
Suffolk	334
Surrey	230
Sussex	486
Thames Valley	496
Warwickshire	295
West Mercia	417
West Midlands	801
West Yorkshire	428
Wiltshire	201
City of London	69
Metropolitan	1,593

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people in England and Wales now hold shotgun certificates; and how this compares with the position (a) five years and (b) 10 years previously.

Information of this kind was collected centrally on an irregular basis only before 1979 and the figures for 1982 are not yet available. The available information which is nearest to that requested is as follows:

Number of Shotgun Certificates on Issue in England and Wales as at 31st December
Year	Number
1981	785,225
1974	766,952
1971	715,453

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the cost of a shotgun certificate was fixed at its present level of £12; and what increase would be required to compensate for the fall in the value of money in the intervening years.

The present fee levels came into effect of 1 July 1980. An increase of 22·73 per cent. would be required to compensate for the change in the value of money since then, as measured by the retail prices index. This would raise the fee for the issue of a shotgun certificate to £14·73.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the chief constable of west Yorkshire as to the number of occasions on which firearms were issued to police officers in west Yorkshire, for purposes other than training and practice, in each of the past five years; and on how many occasions in each of these years shots were fired by those officers in the course of those duties.

In the five years from 1977 to 1981, firearms were issued on 216, 179, 236, 277 and 219 occasions, respectively. Figures for 1982 are not yet available. Shots were fired on only one occasion, in 1980. These figures exclude those occasions on which firearms were issued for the destruction of animals.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the chief constable of west Yorkshire as to the number of police officers in the west Yorkshire force who are trained in firearms and eligible for authorisation with firearms; and what percentage of that police force was so trained and eligible as at an appropriate date in each of the last five years.

I understand that at present 465 officers of the west Yorkshire constabulary, out of a total force strength of 5,154, have been trained in the use of firearms and are authorised to carry them should the necessity arise. This is about 9 per cent. Comparable figures for the past five years are not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many handguns and other firearms are held by each of the police forces in England and Wales; on how many occasions the issue of those firearms was authorised other than for practice or training purposes in the latest available year for each police force; on how many occasions the firearms were used in each case; and how many injuries were caused as a consequence.

Figures are not held centrally of the number of handguns and other firearms held by each police force. The number of occasions on which firearms were issued to police officers and the number of occasions on which shots were fired, other than for practice or training purposes, during 1981, is as follows:

Police force	Occasions firearms issued	Occasions on which shots fired
Avon and Somerset	150	—
Bedfordshire	228	—
Cambridgeshire	25	—
Cheshire	43	—
Cleveland	9	—
City of London	535	—
Cumbria	407	—
Derbyshire	26	—
Devon and Cornwall	55	*2
Dorset	61	—
Durham	33	—
Essex	80	*1
Gloucestershire	118	—
Greater Manchester	1,427	*1
Hampshire	122	*1
Hertfordshire	63	*1
Humberside	87	—
Kent	132	—
Lancashire	64	*6
Leicester	92	—
Lincolnshire	24	*4
Merseyside	186	1
Metropolitan	†4,983	2
Norfolk	39	*2
Northamptonshire	542	—
Northumbria	59	*2
North Yorkshire	62	*1
Nottinghamshire	34	*1
South Yorkshire	107	*5
Staffordshire	30	*1
Suffolk	53	*2
Surrey	260	—
Sussex	171	*1
Thames Valley	323	—
Warwickshire	28	—
West Mercia	111	*1
West Midlands	130	—
West Yorkshire	219	—
Wiltshire	87	*3
Dyfed Powys	11	—
Gwent	5	—
North Wales	28	—
South Wales	237	*1
TOTAL	11,486	39
* occasions on which firearms were used soley for the destruction of animals.
† excludes occasions on which firearms were issued for protection purposes.

There was an incident in 1981 in which personal injuries were sustained as a result of the use by the Merseyside police of CS cartridges during an incident of serious public disorder. Otherwise, no person suffered injury during 1981 as a result of police use of firearms.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, further to his statement in the House on 17 January, Official Report, c. 126, if chief constables in England and Wales are obliged to put before their police authorities the rules governing the issue of firearms to and their use by police officers; if the police authorities have a right to insist upon the submission of such rules to them; and if the police authorities have the right to change such rules.

My response on this point was about the Metropolitan police, and I am sorry if this has led to misunderstanding. The general orders for the Metropolitan police are subject to my approval as police authority to the extent required by section 5 of the Metropolitan Police Act 1829. There is no similar requirement for forces established under the Police Act 1964. Force orders are made by the chief constable. A police authority can, of course, call for a report on the policy followed by the chief constable and discuss it with him, but decisions on the issue and the use of firearms are for the chief constable.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any correlation can be established between the disturbances in July and August 1981 and the incidence of armed robberies in that year.

[pursuant to his reply, 9 December, c. 580]: The statistics available do not show such a correlation. I shall write to my hon. Friend, setting out the detailed figures.

asked the Minister for Trade if he has any plans to assist the printing industry.

Printers can apply for assistance under various Government schemes to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of British industry, and many have done so. The Government also assist the industry by negotiating duty-free quotas for certain imported printing papers; pressing to remove non-tariff barriers to trade imposed by other countries; and trying to reduce the problems in certain overseas markets of pirate printing. In this connection we are giving special attention to the problems of counterfeiting generally. The Government have received an application to establish a scheme of assistance under the Industry Act to help the book production sector of the industry. This is being considered.

asked the Minister for Trade when he last met the employers and the trade unions involved in the printing industry.

I have met employers in the course of the past year and I intend to meet both trade union and employer representatives on the NEDC printing industries sector working party very shortly.

asked the Minister for Trade if he will meet the Director General of Fair Trading to discuss the question of travel agents discounting tour operators' recommended prices following the judgment of the restrictive practices court on 20 December 1982; and if he will make a statement.

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

asked the Minister for Trade if he has yet published the details of the bilateral agreements reached under the multi-fibre arrangement in 1982; if he will publish in the Official Report a summary of the quota levels to be permitted for imports of textiles and clothing in 1986 compared with the actual level of imports in 1982 for each of the group 1 products and for the main group 2 products; if he will express the 1986 figure as a percentage of the 1982 figure; and if he will make a statement.

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

asked the Minister for Trade (1) if he will publish a table showing the size of the United Kingdom registered merchant fleet expressed in thousands dead weight tonnes and in numbers for each year since 1960 categorised into (a) passenger vessels, (b) cargo liners, (c) container vessels, (d) tramps, (e) bulk carriers, (f) tankers and (g) others;(2) for each year since 1960 how many United Kingdom registered merchant vessels, involving what dead weight tonnage, left the United Kingdom flag and re-registered under the flags of other nations; and what were the national flags involved;(3) if he will publish a table for the latest available date of the United Kingdom registered merchant fleet, classified by types

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

asked the Minister for Trade, for each year since 1960, what was the weight-distance, expressed in thousand million tonne-miles carried, of United Kingdom imports and of United Kingdom exports, distinguishing, if possible, between trade in oil and in non-oil products.

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

asked the Minister for Trade what was the level of fixed capital expenditure in the United Kingdom shipping industry in 1981 and 1982 at current prices and at 1975 prices seasonally adjusted.

The latest available information, up to the third quarter of 1982, is published in British Business, 24 December 1982. Expenditure at current prices is given in table 4 on page 770 and at 1975 prices seasonally adjusted in table 1 on page 768.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how many alcohol treatment units there are within the National Health Service; and in which hospitals they are situated;(2) how many National Health Service hospitals provide facilities of some kind for the treatment of alcohol misusers.

At December 1980 NHS returns indicated there were 28 units in England providing inpatient facilities specifically for alcohol problems, located at the hospitals given in the following table.However, the present needs of alcohol misusers vary considerably and most NHS hospitals provide treatment appropriate to their range of needs.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what information he has as to the expenditure per head on health care and proportion of gross national product spent on health services of (a) the United States of America, (b) Australia, (c) Canada, (d) Germany, (e) Denmark, (f) France, (g) Belgium, (h) Holland and (i) Italy; and what is the latest figure for expenditure per head in the United Kingdom.

Differences between the health care and health financing systems of the countries referred to mean that no precise comparisons can be made.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what recent representations he has received urging the abolition of the national insurance levy on self-employed earnings; and if he will make a statement.

If, as I assume, my hon. Friend refers to class 4 national insurance contributions, I have received 11 letters in the last six months urging their abolition. During our review of the self-employed in national insurance only one of the 16 organisations and 17 of the 63 individuals who made representations suggested abolishing class 4 contributions. These contributions go into the national insurance fund to help finance benefit expenditure, and doing away with them would mean much higher class 2 contributions, which would bear most heavily on self-employed people with small earnings.

asked the Secretary of Slate for Social Services if he will make a statement on the progress in devising new funding arrangements for supra-regional health services.

In 1983–84 we intend to introduce arrangements by which the financial allocations to certain important services which need to be planned on a national rather than a regional scale will be determined centrally and identified separately from the normal allocations of the health authorities concerned. As part of these arrangements we intend to establish a forum, comprising representatives of health authorities and the medical profession, to advise us on the claims of particular services for supra-regional funding and the level of funding they should receive. The new arrangements would begin with four services which have already been recognised, following consultation in 1979 between the Department and the medical profession, as falling into the supra-regional category. These are paediatric renal dialysis and transplantation, spinal services, the management of chorioncarcinoma and the national poisons information service. Any proposals for extending the arrangements to other services performing a supra-regional function would be referred initially to the advisory forum. The first additional service which I will ask the forum to consider will be bone marrow transplantation, in the light of the recent report on this subject by the working party under the chairmanship of Sir Douglas Black.The principle of these new arrangements has now been agreed with regional health authorities, and our proposals are to be discussed with the medical profession at a meeting between the Department and the joint consultants committee later this month.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether it is the practice of his Department, on discovering that a supplementary benefit claimant should have been receiving an additional requirement, to pay the amount of the additional requirement from (a) the date on which the facts giving rise to the additional requirement arose or (b) the date on which those facts are brought to the Department's attention.

When new facts come to light which show that there is entitlement to an additional requirement, arrears are payable for a period of up to 52 weeks before the new facts come to light if the conditions of entitlement were satisfied during that period.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when the "S Manual" will be published.

I hope that the "S Manual" will be published in June this year.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services why elastic stockings supplied on prescription in National Health Service hospitals are imported from Switzerland; and what alternative British supplies are available.

Imported elastic stockings with particular graduated compression values have been prescribed in a small proportion of cases. I am glad to say that stockings of British manufacture, with the same compression values as some of the imported products, are now available, and the Department will be providing details to health authorities next week.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry (1) if he will issue a directive to the Post Office to maintain the numbers of main post offices and sub-post offices at their present levels;(2) if he will issue a directive to the Post Office to maintain the numbers of main post offices and sub-post offices at their present levels.

No. The Post Office must be allowed flexibility to deal with modest changes in the number and distribution of post offices and sub-post offices.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will ensure that the European Community develops a proper scrap and build programme to aid the British shipbuilding industry.

No. The Government do not believe that a scrap and build scheme would be more cost effective than existing measures of support. The Government are opposed to adding scrap and build to existing subsidies: This would run counter to the policy of reducing state aids.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry how many companies in Great Britain produce dense sodium carbonate.

There is one such company.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry whether, in view of the fact that main contractors of telecommunication equipment who are suppliers of large PABXs, over 100 lines, will be permitted to be the maintainers from 1 July 1983, he can state when the relevant rules will be published; and whether customers will have freedom of choice with regard to maintenance from the liberalisation date, no matter when the equipment was installed and connected to the public services telephone network.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what was the gross registered tonnage of new ships delivered from (a) United Kingdom shipyards and (b) overseas shipyards to the United Kingdom-owned and to the United Kingdom-registered merchant fleet in 1980, 1981 and 1982.

The available information is as follows:

Merchant ships (100 gross registered tonnes and over-completed for United Kingdom registration
'000GRT
	1980	1981	1982
(Q1-Q3)
Completed in:
United Kingdom shipyards	198	116	231
Overseas shipyards	286	474	260

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many persons visited or used the facilities of national parks in 1979, 1980, 1981 and to the nearest available date in 1982;(2) how many persons have visited or used the facilities of the Peak District national park in each year from 1971 to 1981.

It has been estimated that about 80 million people visit the national parks in England and Wales each year, of whom some 15 million go to the Peak district mostly on day trips. No more accurate figures on an annual basis are available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many district, borough and county councils have instigated independent assessments of their efficiency; which they are; and what have been the consequences.

I regret that comprehensive information of this nature is not available centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment which bodies he has now approved to make lettings under the assured tenancies scheme; and whether he will make a statement about the progress of this scheme.

Approval has now been given to 38 bodies to carry out new building for rent for letting as assured tenancies under section 56 of the Housing Act 1980. Orders for the approval of a further 19 bodies have been, or will shortly be, laid before the House. A further 22 applications for approval are currently under consideration.The bodies approved to date range from major builders and financial institutions to smaller local builders and development companies. Although most of the approved bodies are companies, they include one housing association and one partnership. The introduction of capital allowances for assured tenancies under the Finance Act 1982 has resulted in a significant increase in the number of applications for approval. The 57 bodies that have already been approved, or that are, or shortly will be, the subject of orders for approval before the House, are as on the following list.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if, pursuant to his reply of 22 October, Official Report., c. 249, he has appointed any local authority representatives to his radioactive waste management advisory committee.

No further appointments have been made to the committee in the intervening period.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish by each local authority the number of council houses that have been sold to their tenants; and if he will also list comparable information on the number of sales so far covered by a building society mortgage rather than one from the local authority.

I shall answer this question shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish details of the criteria recently used to change the estimate of unfit properties given in the 1976 English house condition survey.

An explanation of the reassessment of fitness is contained in section 3 of appendix II of "Housing Survey Report No. 12: English House Conditions Survey 1981, Part I, Report of the Physical Condition", a copy of which is already in the House of Commons Library.