asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he intends to publish final details of the membership of the co-ordinating working party for Northern Ireland higher education and its terms of reference; and whether its reports will be published.

Comments have now been received from the institutions and other interests concerned on the proposals set out in the consultative paper on planning and co-ordination arrangements—a copy of which was placed in the Library of the House on 18 January 1983. These comments have been carefully considered and they have also been discussed with the University Grants Committee.The aim of the proposals was to provide for the continued involvement of the University Grants Committee in advising the Department of Education (Northern Ireland) on the funding and development of the Northern Ireland universities, thus reflecting their role as a part of the United Kingdom university system: while also providing greater scope than hitherto for the involvement of Northern Ireland social and economic interests. It was also intended to secure appropriate input from public sector higher education interests, in recognition of the wide range of work that will be carried on in the new institution which will be formed by the merger of the Ulster polytechnic and new university of Ulster. Having considered the comments received the Government have concluded that arrangements of the sort set out in the consultative paper should be introduced, but there will be modifications in detail so as to allow a larger input from Northern Ireland interests, the need for which was stressed in many of the comments received.I am grateful to the UGC for its willingness to cooperate fully and so flexibly in establishing these new arrangements. The new arrangements do not affect the continuing direct responsibility of the Government for the funding of the Northern Ireland universities, nor do they alter the principle that the Government's decisions on this funding are reached only after advice has been received from the UGC, so that we will continue to enjoy the benefit of its academic and financial expertise. However, there will be a significant change in the way in which the UGC's advice will be formulated, in that the UGC for this purpose will establish a special working party on Northern Ireland, with the following terms of reference:

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) where the administrative centre of the proposed university institution in Northern Ireland will be based;(2) pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Lewisham, West of 10 March 1983,

No decision has yet been taken to designate any of the campuses as the administrative centre of the new institution. The new university institution will be based on four campuses at Coleraine, Magee, Jordanstown, and the college of art in Belfast. The new institution may possibly provide part-time courses at out-centres in the Province, as the Ulster polytechnic already does.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if civilians employed in military catering establishments are covered by a wages council, or if their terms and conditions of employment are determined in accordance with Civil Service agreements.

The pay and conditions of service of civilians employed direct by the Ministry of Defence in military catering establishments are determined in accordance with normal Civil Service arrangements. Where catering services are provided by outside contractors those contractors are responsible for the pay and conditions of their staff.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish the findings of the inquiry into the reason for the most recent trainer aircraft accident over Lake Thirlmere.

In accordance with normal practice, a military aircraft accident summary containing the main findings of the board of inquiry will be published when investigations are complete.

asked the Lord President of the Council if he will make a statement on the motor mileage allowance payable to hon. Members.

The rate of motor mileage allowance payable to hon. Members is automatically linked to that paid to civil servants, in accordance with the resolution of the House dated 22 July 1975. This resolution followed a recommendation made by the Top Salaries Review Body in its seventh report. The arrangements affecting motor mileage allowance in the Civil Service are currently under review following a Rayner scrutiny of delegated authority to Government Departments, carried out in 1981, and the Government have therefore asked the TSRB to consider the implications this will have for the arrangements applicable to hon. Members.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is satisfied with the operation of paragraph 8 of schedule 2 to the Independent Broadcasting Act 1981 in so far as it may restrict advertisers from advocating the purchase of British goods.

Paragraph 8 of schedule 2 to the Broadcasting Act 1981 prohibits the broadcasting on ITV and ILR of any advertisement

"which is directed towards any religious or political end".

The interpretation of this and other provisions in schedule 2 is primarily the responsibility of the IBA. I understand from the authority that there is no question of this provision imposing any restrictions on the advertising of British goods as such; the difficulty in a recent case arose not because the advertisement in question advocated the purchase of British goods, but because of the way in which the advertisement approached its theme.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Basildon of 22 March, if he will make a statement on the increases in offences of robbery and other violent thefts committed by coloured people in the Metropolitan police district and, in particular, in the police districts of (a) Lambeth, (b) Waltham Forest, (c) Islington, (d) Lewisham and Bromley, (e) Wandsworth, (f) Camden and (g) Richmond and Hounslow;(2) if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis concerning the reasons for, and the police response to, the increases of offences of robbery and other violent theft committed by coloured people in the Metropolitan police district; if he will meet the Commissioner to discuss the problem as soon as possible; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend condemns those responsible for such crimes whoever they are and he knows the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis shares his view. He has already taken vigorous measures to combat street robberies in London and the early signs are that these are beginning to prove successful. My right hon. Friend is in regular contact with the Commissioner about all aspects of the policing of the metropolis.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received on changing the way in which maintenance is taxed; and whether he has any plans to review procedures.

I have had representations to the effect that the payer should no longer be allowed tax relief on payments made and that the payments should no longer be taxable in the hands of the recipient.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Finance Bill will be published.

The Finance Bill will be published on Wednesday 30 March.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many charities are exempted from payment of the national insurance surcharge.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, further to his statement of 19 July 1982 concerning value added tax zero rated alteration services supplied by the construction industry, Official Report, Vol. 28, c. 43–44, he will make a statement on the judgment of the Court of Appeal in the case of Commissioners of Customs and Excise v. Viva Gas Appliances Ltd.

Judgment was given for the commissioners on 22 March and is now being carefully considered.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received about the new partial exemption de minimis rules for value added tax purposes; and if he will make a statement.

Yes. The new rules, which were made in the VAT (General) (Amendment) Regulations 1983 (S.I. 1983, 295) were designated by the Commissioners of Customs and Excise to

(a) revalorise the existing de minimis monetary limits for smaller businesses which were last reviewed in 1978; and

(b) impose new monetary ceilings in order to ensure that the de minimis rules do not continue to be used for the recovery of substantial amounts of input tax in respect of exempt activities in a way for which the rules were never designed.

I have received a number of representations about the need for consultation regarding the impact of these new monetary ceilings on the larger partly exempt traders. In the light of these representations I have asked the commissioners to withdraw the provision for these ceilings so that consultations can first take place. The rest of the statutory instrument, including that which relates to revalorisation, is not affected.The commissioners will be laying the necessary amendments to regulation 27(2) and 27(3) forthwith.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, in the light of decisions announced in his Budget statement, he will revise the figure of £180 million estimated savings in the social security budget in the part-year 1983–84, given in his autumn economic statement, paragraph 2.25.

[pursuant to his reply, 24 March 1983, c. 496]: The effect on the social security programme of the decision to revert to the historic method for uprating social security benefits will not be known until after the rate of inflation between May 1982 and May 1983 is published in June. Other decisions announced in the Budget will increase the social security programme by about £120 million, the cost of which will be met from the contingency reserve.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many Vietnamese refugees are currently in Hong Kong.

On 23 March 1983 there were 12,395 Vietnamese refugees in Hong Kong.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will co-ordinate a European response to the problems of Vietnamese refugees in order to ensure an equal distribution of refugees between European states.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is normally responsible for the resettlement of Vietnamese refugees. He takes into account a number of factors including the preferences of the refugees, historical and cultural ties and language, and family connections as well as the readiness of recipient countries to admit refugees for resettlement. Their distribution throughout Europe is therefore unlikely to be equal though, as stated in my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Hazel Grove (Mr. Arnold) on 21 March—[Vol. 39, c. 345]—there have been significant and welcome contributions by many countries to the sharing of this international responsibility.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what level of financial assistance was provided to El Salvador in 1980, 1981 and 1982, respectively.

No capital aid has been provided to E1 Salvador during 1980–82, but finance has been provided through the bilateral technical co-operation programme as follows:

1980	£265,000
1981	£41,000
1982	£2,500 approximately

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will now take steps to ban all financial assistance to E1 Salvador; and if he will make a statement.

We have no bilateral or military assistance programme in E1 Salvador. However we believe it right to continue to contribute through the international charitable organisations to the relief of urgent human need, in E1 Salvador as elsewhere.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will now discontinue granting export licences to firms selling military arms and equipment to Indonesia; and if he will make a statement.

No. I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Wood Green (Mr. Race) on 3 February.—[Vol. 36, c. 171–2.]

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many officially recognised sports and leisure centres open to the public there are in Wales at the present; and how many are in the course of construction.

The Sports Council for Wales operates the national sports centre for Wales in Cardiff and the national outdoor pursuits centre for Wales at Plas-y-Deri, Llanfairisgaer, where the main construction work is now completed and full operations are planned to start in May. Seventy-seven sports and leisure centres are operated by local authorities, of which forty-three are joint provision centres used jointly by schools and local communities. The Sports Council has no further centres under construction. Information on local authority centres under construction or planned is not held centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has recently received from the Farmers Union of Wales concerning progress on the marginal land scheme; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend met leaders of the Farmers Union of Wales on Wednesday 23 March, when this issue was raised. He was able to assure them that the European Commission is actively pursuing the matter.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will break down the scheduled drawdown of the loan that the Commonwealth Development Corporation intends to make to NGPI, Agusan del Sur Province in the Philippines, after June 1983; what proportion of the loan will be paid in June; and what sums will be paid subsequently providing the safeguards introduced at his request have been satisfactorily implemented.

I am informed by the Commonwealth Development Corporation that the drawdown of the loan £6·4 million to NGPI will depend on the rate at which expenditure is incurred. It expects that about one-third of the loan, in respect of expenditure already incurred, will be issued before June 1983; the balance is expected to be disbursed over a period of two and a half years providing the loan conditions are satisfactorily observed.

asked the Prime Minister if she will make it Her Majesty's Government's policy not to compel an area health authority to refuse an in-house tender if that tender is lower than private tenders received.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Services has already made a statement to this effect on 17 February 1983—Vol 37, c.484–93, and c. 490 in particular.

asked the Prime Minister whether Her Majesty's Government will ensure that any increase in part-time teachers and a resultant increase in full-time equivalent numbers will not attract penalties in terms of witholding grant from the Vote of the Department of the Environment.

The Government would expect local education authorities to accommodate expenditure on part-time teachers within their existing expenditure guidance. However, it is open to them to make representations to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment for a particular type of expenditure to be disregarded in assessing grant abatement.

[pursuant to her oral reply, 3 February 1983, c. 418]: One subject which will be discussed at Williamsburg is the report of the working group on technology set up after the economic summit held last year at Versailles.The working group was asked to report on the opportunities and challenges presented by modern developments in science and technology. It consisted of officials of Governments and of the European Commission. It met for the first time on 20 August 1982 and completed its work on 26 January 1983. Its report entitled "Technology, Growth and Employment" is contained in a Command Paper (Cmnd. 8818) which is laid before the House today and is being published simultaneously in other countries concerned.The report considers the part played by technology in stimulating economic growth and employment. It mentions the history of technology in influencing social and industrial life, and identifies areas where significant benefits have arisen.The report recognises that in spite of these benefits the application of technology may sometimes be resisted by the public. It considers this issue, and suggests further studies to improve understanding and thus derive the greatest advantage for society.The report discusses the role of Governments and of the private and public sectors of industry in stimulating technological developments and economic growth. It points out that technology is becoming increasingly pervasive in the world economy and in society and that there is a need for Governments to be aware of the influence of science and technology on their policies in both a national and international environment.The report concludes that there is increasing scope for countries to collaborate in scientific and technological programmes, with mutual benefit to those taking part. It proposes a number of co-operative projects in various fields.I believe that the report is a valuable commentary on the important role of science and technology in the major economic and social issues which we face in the world today. It contains a number of interesting ideas and proposals which we shall want to examine more closely both nationally and in the appropriate international fora. I am looking forward to discussing the report at the next economic summit in Williamsburg, United States of America in May this year.

asked the Prime Minister whether, in view of the use by the Forestry Commission of timber imported from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics for repair work on camps owned by the commission, Her Majesty's Government will make it their policy that publicly-funded bodies should not use such timber for any purpose when home-produced timber is available.

At present some 90 per cent. of our wood and wood product requirements come from abroad and it would be unreasonable in these circumstances to place restrictions on the use of imported timber. In recent years the market share of British sawn timber has in fact increased as the supply has expanded.

asked the Prime Minister if Her Majesty's Government will seek assurances from the United States Government that Spacelab will be used only for peaceful purposes, in particular with respect to (a) the use of (i) hardware for scientific experiments to be granted to the United States air force and (ii) prototypes that might eventually be used under military operational conditions and (b) the training of military astronauts.

The agreement between the United States and European Governments on Spacelab already obliges the United States Government

"to use the first Spacelab developed in Europe as an element integrated with the Space Shuttle system for the peaceful exploration and use of outer space",

and on all parties for

"the use of the Space Shuttle and Spacelab systems for peaceful purposes".

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will estimate the amount of imported food which could be produced in the United Kingdom.

As part of the self-sufficiency calculations, it has been estimated that imports of food for human consumption in 1982 amounted to about £6·3 billion, with corresponding exports being about £2·3 billion. About £3·5 billion of the total import bill was in respect of foods which can be produced commercially in the United Kingdom.

asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) whether he is considering any new method of destroying infected badgers following the recent meeting of the consultative panel on the subject;(2) what methods are presently being used to catch badgers suspected of spreading tuberculoses; and if he will make a statement.

Following the decision taken last year by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales and myself to suspend the use of gassing as a means of badger control, the consultative panel on badgers and tuberculosis, after urgent consideration, advised that live trapping was a practicable and humane means of control. It emphasised that trapping would allow the collection of more scientific data. Its advice was accepted.Organisations which have shown an interest in this problem were also invited to give their views on future methods of controlling tuberculosis in badgers. The consultative panel has now had the opportunity to consider the views submitted and have concluded that, provided it was kept under constant review, live trapping should continue to be the main method of badger control. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales and I have considered this further advice and have also accepted it.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what replies he has made to the communication on compensation for fishermen from the British Fishermen's Association.

The chairman of the British Fishermans Association sent me a copy of a letter he wrote to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment. My right hon. Friend has replied to that letter. I have written to the chairman of the association asking to be kept in touch with further developments on the matter.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has completed his spring review of liquid milk prices.

I have now reviewed the level of liquid milk prices in the light of the latest information available on costs and conditions in the dairy industry in consultation with representatives of milk producers and the dairy trade. I have decided to make no changes in the current maximum retail or wholesale prices on 1 April. These prices will be further reviewed in the autumn in the usual way.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will announce the guaranteed price for wool for 1983–84.

The guaranteed price for wool will remain at its present level of 115p per kg for the marketing year beginning on 1 May 1983. In reaching this decision the Government have taken full account of the increasing costs facing wool producers, but have had to balance these against the stabilisation principle underlying the wool guarantee arrangements. Over the past year United Kingdom market prices have been weaker than expected because of currency movements and of the depressed market for wool throughout the world. As a result, the stabilisation fund administered by the British Wool Marketing Board has moved more deeply into deficit, requiring further Exchequer advances to the fund. These circumstances have led the Government to decide that they could not justify an increase in the level of the guaranteed price.

asked the Attorney-General how many proceedings have been commenced claiming compensation for injuries sustained at work and on the roads, respectively, in the United Kingdom during each of the last 10 years for which records are available.

No distinction is drawn in the statistics collected between different types of personal injuries. for this reason the information sought by the hon. and learned Member cannot be made available except for the year 1974 in relation to England and Wales, when special statistics were collected for use by the Royal Commission on civil liability and compensation for personal injury. These figures, together with the available statistics on personal injury proceedings commenced, are set out in the following tables.

Proceedings commenced in the High Court in 1974
	Number
Personal injuries arising from:—
(a) Employment	7,228
(b) Motor vehicle or other transport	9,792

Proceedings commenced claiming damages for personal injuries
Year	High Court	County Court
1973	*	*
1974	22,875	*
1975	24,000	22,000
1976	26,000	15,000
1977	25,000	12,000
1978	26,000	15,000
1979	33,000	16,000

asked the Attorney-General how many claims for compensation for injuries sustained at work and on the roads, respectively, in the United Kingdom are at present awaiting trial in the High Court and in the county courts, respectively.

It is regretted that the information requested by the hon. and learned Member could not be provided without disproportionate cost.

asked the Attorney-General (1) how many claims for compensation for injuries sustained at work and on the roads, respectively, in the United Kingdom during each of the last 10 years for which records are available were successful;(2) of those claims for compensation for injuries sustained at work and on the roads, respectively, in England and Wales during each of the last 10 years for which records are available, which reached trial and which were successful; and how long he estimates that the successful claimants had to wait before they received the compensation awarded by the court.

It is regretted that the information is not available in the form requested by the hon. and learned Member. The estimated numbers of personal injury actions which were heard in the High court in England and Wales, and the estimated numbers of those in which judgment was given for the plaintiff, are set out in the following table. It is not possible to give an estimate of the interval between judgment and payment. These time intervals are not monitored in the county courts and it would not be possible in the High court since payments are made between the parties and not through the court.

Table
Actions for personal injury heard in the High Court
Year	Actions Heard	Judgment for the plaintiff
1973	*	*
1974	1,875	1,409
1975	1,800	1,400
1976	1,900	1,400
1977	1,800	1,400
1978	2,400	1,800
1979	2,700	2,000
1980	3,000	2,400
1981	2,200	1,800
1982	3,400	2,800
* Not available.

asked the Attorney-General how many and what percentage of those claims for compensation for injuries sustained at work and on the roads, respectively, in the United Kingdom for each of the last 10 years for which records are available were appealed to the Court of Appeal and to the House of Lords, respectively; and how many and what percentage of such appeals, respectively, were successful.

It is regretted that the information is not available in the form requested by the hon. and learned Member. The number of personal injury actions in the High Court in England and Wales in which the judgment or order was successfully appealed to the Court of Appeal are set out in the following table.

Number of Successful Appeals against Judgments or Orders given in the High Court in Personal Injuries Actions
	Numbers
1973	*
1974	46
1975	38
1976	28
1977	12
1978	10
1979	27
1980	18
1981	*
1982	*
* Not available.

asked the Attorney-General how many and what percentage of claims for compensation for injuries sustained at work and on the road, respectively, in England and Wales during each of the last 10 years for which records are available were settled before the day of trial and at the door of the court, respectively.

It is regretted that the information is not available in the form requested by the hon. and learned Member. The great majority of personal injury actions which do not go to trial are withdrawn. It is not possible to identify the reasons for withdrawal. The numbers of personal injury actions in the High court where the parties attended court but settled before hearing are set out in the following table.

Personal Injury Actions in the High Court settled without notice—Attended Court
	Number
1973	*
1974	210
1975	390
1976	440
1977	410
1978	640
1979	420
1980	630
1981	450
1982	180
* Not available.

asked the Attorney-General whether he will arrange for a register to be made available giving details of occasions when right hon. and hon. Members obtain Government legal work for themselves or their solicitors' firms or their family connections and of the amount of money paid for such activities.

No; when Members of this House are asked to act for Her Majesty's Government in their professional capacity in legal work no regard is had to whether they are Members or are in any way connected with this House and accordingly I see no need to establish such a register.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many places it is estimated will be provided under the youth training scheme in (a) co0nstruction, (b) textiles, clothing and footwear, (c) transport and communication, (d) metals, engineering, shipbuilding and vehicles and (e) all other industries.

The Manpower Services Commission aims to provide over 400,000 places under the youth training scheme in 1983–84 to cater for some 460,000 young people. It is not possible at this stage to estimate how these places will be distributed among industries. Some places under mode B will be not with employers but, for example, in workshops or on community projects.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of places in the youth training scheme it is estimated will be provided by industry; and what proportion by educational establishments.

In 1983–84 the youth training scheme is expected to provide places for 295,000 youngsters on schemes that are primarily employer based and 165,000 youngsters on schemes co-ordinated by the Manpower Services Commission. It is not possible at this stage to say how many places will be on schemes in which educational establishments have a management role. Each youngster taking part in the scheme will, however, have a minimum of 13 weeks off-the-job training or further education, which will often be provided by colleges of further education.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many employment exchanges and jobcentres have been provided with cycle parking facilities.

Detailed information on the provision of cycle parking facilities is not available centrally and it is not possible to provide it without extensive research.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many applications have been approved for grants under the job splitting scheme; how much has been spent on advertising the scheme; and whether he will make a statement.

So far 149 applications have been approved under the job splitting scheme. The costs of media advertising of the scheme amount to £338,500. Substantial interest has been shown in the scheme and over 9,000 enquiries have been received. It was anticipated that takeup would be slow in the early days of the scheme as employers review their working arrangements and find eligible recruits who are interested in part-time work. We are monitoring the scheme closely.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment, pursuant to the reply by the right hon. Member for Barkston Ash (Mr. Alison) to the hon. Member for Basildon of 10 March, Official Report, c. 495 what were the views expressed by (a) the Association of British Chambers of Commerce, (b) the Association of Independent Businesses, (c) the Confederation of British Industry, (d) the Institute of Personnel Management, (e) the National Chamber of Trade and (f) the Teesside Small Business Club Ltd., concerning the code of practice in employment proposed by the Commission for Racial Equality; what conclusions he has drawn from these submissions; and if he will make a statement.

I do not consider that it would be appropriate to give in full detail the views of individual organisations, but of those mentioned by my hon. Friend, one supported the draft code without qualification, one was entirely against it and the other four expressed concern about certain aspects of the draft, in particular its length and complexity and the additional burden it might place on employers, especially small firms. My right hon. Friend has taken into account these views and those of others who made representations on the draft code and hopes to announce his conclusions shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what proposals have been put to him by local education auhorities for support under the new technical and vocational education initiative; and what decisions have been reached upon them.

Sixty-six local education authorities submitted to the Manpower Services Commission proposals for support under this initiative. With the valuable assistance of an expert steering group the Commission has examined the proposals and has recommended that 14 of them should, subject to a satisfactory outcome of detailed negotiations in each case, be supported within the resources allocated to the initiative. These 14 proposals are from:

• Barnsley
• Bedfordshire
• Birmingham
• Bradford
• Clwyd
• Devon
• Enfield
• Hereford and Worcester
• Hertfordshire
• Leicestershire
• Sandwell
• Staffordshire
• Wigan
• Wirral

The Government have accepted the Commission's recommendations and have asked the Commission to enter into urgent discussions with authorities concerned so that schemes can be launched in September.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects to publish the inspector's report on Madeley court school, Telford.

The report will be published shortly, and my hon. Friend will be sent a copy.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has had following his announcement that some areas of the education service may receive specific grants.

I have not yet received any representations on the Government's proposals to introduce legislation empowering me to pay a limited amount in education support grants to local education authorities in England. I hope to discuss the proposals with representatives of the local authority associations before long.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science, pursuant to his statement of 21 March, if he will take steps to set up courses for governors of schools and members of education committees to train them in assessing desirable qualities in the selection of head teachers.

I expect very soon to receive the report of the research into the selection of head teachers for secondary schools sponsored by the Department. Once this report is to hand, I shall review the scope for improving the selection of head teachers, through the training of selectors or by other means.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects to complete consultations on the Scottish Law Commission report on financial provision on divorce.

The Government are considering the report of the Scottish Law Commission on aliment and financial provision with a view to legislation in due course. Since the report is based upon consultations undertaken by the Scottish Law Commission on its own consultative memorandum, my right hon. Friend does not propose further consultations but will have regard to views submitted to him on the commission's recommendations.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has taken a decision on the arrangements for intake to teacher training courses at Scottish colleges of education in session 1983–84; and if he will make a statement.

I have decided that the total intake to pre-service teacher training courses in session 1983–84 should be 480 for the primary diploma course, 100 for the primary postgraduate course and 875 for secondary courses. In reaching these decisions I have taken into account views expressed by the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, the General Teaching Council for Scotland and the Joint Committee of Colleges of Education in Scotland on a consultative paper which my Department issued to them in December; and I have taken account also of education authorities' forecasts of secondary school staffing vacancies for session 1984–85 and of views expressed by individual colleges of education.I am now seeking the comments of the governing body of each college on proposed quotas within the overall levels mentioned above, as in the following table:

	Primary intake		Secondary intake
College	Proposed diploma course quotas	Proposed post-graduate course quotas	Proposed quotas
Aberdeen	74	18	95
Craigie	55	12	—
Dundee	40	10	60
Dunfermline	—	—	45
Jordanhill	120	22	370
Moray House	95	18	165
St. Andrew's	95	20	140
TOTAL	480	100	875

I am asking the colleges, when allocating places for training in secondary subjects in session 1983–84, to give priority to students applying for admission to courses leading to a teaching qualification (secondary education) in business studies, English, home economics, mathematics, physics and religious education, and I am advising the colleges that about 50 per cent. of the total secondary intake should be in these subjects. I am asking each college to consult the education authorities that it mainly serves in order to ensure that the numbers admitted both in individual priority subjects and in other subjects appropriately reflect regional needs.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give financial support, from urban aid or other funds, to enable a medical general practitioner or dentist to establish a practice in an urban deprived area.

The National Health Service provides full financial support to general practitioners and dentists for the costs of establishing and maintaining practices.In England, a small proportion of urban programme resources is made available to health authorities in partnership and programme areas. The health authorities have used some of these resources to build or improve health centres which may accommodate both existing and new general and dental practices.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many professionally and scientifically qualified staff there were in his Department in May 1979 and at the latest available date; and what proportion of the staff cut in his Department consisted of scientifically and professionally qualified staff.

The figures are as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will list the research bodies within his Department; and how many professionally and scientifically qualified staff there were in these bodies in 1979 and at the latest available date.

The Building Research Establishment, including the Civil Engineering Laboratory, is now the only one in the Department. The figures are:

	Number
1 April 1979	588
1 March 1983	468

Other research staff are located in directorates across the Department where appropriate.The Hydraulics Research Station was privatised on 1 April 1982.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to permit the establishment of a memorial to those killed in the Regent's park bomb attack on 20 July 1982; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend has received no proposal for a permanent memorial in Regent's park. A willow tree donated by private subscription is to be planted near the Bandstand.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will consider a new initiative by his Department to assist local authorities to meet the needs of the elderly through the provision of increased residential accommodation whilst ensuring that those local authorities which take the measures necessary are not penalised through the rate support grant.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 15 March by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Security to the hon. Member for Gorton (Mr. Marks)—Vol. 39, c. 136. The Government would expect authorities to accommodate expenditure within their expenditure guidance figures, in which case no liability for grant holdback would arise.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has received any recent representations urging the introduction of rebates for domestic water rates in order to benefit the needy, including single householders.

In the last three months the Department has received eight such representations from Members and private individuals. This figure does not include representations from consumers who sought a refund of charges because of hardship suffered during the recent water strike.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many forms, prescribed for the use of secure tenants claiming to exercise the right to buy, his Department has issued to tenants of Thamesdown district council.

In the proceedings on 23 March—[Vol. 39, c. 880]—I inadvertently gave a figure of 16,000. The correct figure is 1,600.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what proposals he has to advertise the position and terms and conditions of employment of Director General of Telecommunications and to ensure open competition for this post.

No decisions have yet been taken on the procedure to be followed in appointing the first Director General of Telecommunications.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he has made any assessment of the effects on health of cycling.

I am not aware of any specific assessment of the effects of cycling on health, but I am advised that cycling combines exercise, fresh air and relaxation, all of which have been found to be beneficial to health. If the hon. Member has any specific information on the subject, I hope he will write to me.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what progress his Department's forms unit has made in the redesign of departmental leaflets; what consultation the unit has had with voluntary organisations and other consumer bodies; and if he will make a statement.

I hope to make a statement shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what was the total cost to his Department of the administration of mobility allowance in the last year for which figures are available; of this amount, how much consisted of payment of fees and expenses to examining doctors in respect of (a) initial claims, (b) renewal claims and (c) reviews; what action he is taking to decrease the cost of administration; and if he will make a statement;(2) what was the total cost to his Department of the administration of attendance allowance in the last year for which figures are available; of this amount, how much consisted of payment of fees and expenses to examining doctors in respect of (a) initial claims, (b) renewal claims and (c) reviews; what action he is taking to decrease the cost of administration; and if he will make a statement.

The costs to this Department of the administration of mobility allowance and attendance allowance in 1981–82 were about £5 million and £12½ million respectively. Of these amounts £1¼ million and £4 million respectively were in respect of the payment of fees and expenses to examining doctors; no breakdown of these payments is available. The Department devotes substantial effort to decreasing all our administrative costs, including management surveys, greater use of information technology, and tight monitoring and control of staff numbers and non-manpower costs. In particular, I have set in hand a thorough re-examination of the procedures for dealing with claims for mobility allowance and attendance allowance in order to ensure that these are made as efficient as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement on the progress of his Department's review of the adjudication of mobility and attendance allowances; and if he will list the voluntary organisations and other bodies which he has consulted.

The Department has been conducting an internal review of the structure of adjudication including medical adjudication. The review is still in progress. Consultation with voluntary organisations would not be appropriate at present.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many reserve staff he intends to transfer from the local office at Washwood heath at the end of the current week; to which local offices he intends to transfer them; and how many reserve staff will continue to be allocated to the local office at Washwood heath.

At the end of this week one LOI and five LOIIs, members of the regional reserve team, will be transferred out of Washwood heath to Erdington local office. One LOI and four LOIIs, members of the regional reserve team, will remain at Washwood heath which will also have the benefit of two LOII volunteers.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is satisfied that he has sufficient powers within existing legislation to issue special regulations to secure the welfare of children in residential care homes, nursing homes and mental nursing homes.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many jobs he expects to be lost if the Calderdale hospital laundry service is privatised.

There is no means of estimating the net figure as some jobs might be lost in the NHS and some new jobs created in an outside laundry. I understand that 45 staff are currently employed in the two hospital laundries in Calderdale, and in the event of the laundry service being contracted out three staff would need to be retained. It is not yet possible to estimate the extent to which commercial contractors who undertook the work for the NHS might need to recruit additional staff.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services under what circumstances he would consider compelling the Calderdale area health authority to privatise its hospital laundry service.

The question does not arise and I refer the hon. Member for the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Crewe (Mrs. Dunwoody) on 23 March.—[Vol. 39, c. 431–2.]

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many unemployed families with children are receiving supplementary benefit; in how many of them the dependency addition for a wife is reduced because she has income of her own; and if he will estimate the number of unemployed families receiving supplementary benefit where there are one or more children under five and the number in which the dependency addition for a wife is reduced because she has income of her own.

[pursuant to his reply, 17 March 1983, c. 245–6]: Entitlement to supplementary benefit is assessed on the basis of the requirements and resources of the family as a whole. A wife's income therefore serves, subject to any disregard, to reduce or extinguish the amount of supplementary benefit payable for the family.The information requested is not available in relation to income from all sources but only in relation to earnings. £4 a week of a wife's net earnings are disregarded. The following information relates to unemployed families receiving supplementary benefit at December 1981:

	All	Wife's earnings exceed £4
Unemployed families with children	370,000	39,000
Unemployed families with at least one child under 5	208,000	7,000

asked the Minister for Trade if he will estimate the value of imports and exports by the United Kingdom pharmaceutical industry of materials not included in SITC(R2) division 54 for the latest year for which figures are available.

In 1982 the value of imports of pharmaceutical chemicals and preparations, as listed in Business Monitor PQ 272, which fell outside SITC(R2) division 54 was £47·3 million cif. The corresponding value of exports was £17·3 million fob.

asked the Minister for Trade when he expects to issue regulations on medical examination of seamen on vessels under 1,600 tonnes; and if he will make a statement.

When the standards of training, certification and watchkeeping convention enters into force, the proposed medical examination regulations will be extended to masters and seamen on seagoing ships under 1,600 tons to the extent required for compliance with that convention.

asked the Minister for Trade how many reports have been received from the Truro observer of Concorde booms for the last six months; what information was received; and if he will make a statement.

None. I am looking into the reasons for this, and the possible need to review our reporting arrangments, and will write to the hon. Member in due course. I will place a copy of the letter in the Library.

asked the Minister for Trade what was the United Kingdom balance of trade in textile goods with members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and developing countries, respectively.

The information is as follows:

United Kingdom Crude Balance of Trade in Textile Goods with OECD and Developing Countries, 1982
	£ million
OECD	-781
Developing countries	-478

asked the Minister for Trade whether he will provide figures dividing the cross trade earnings of United Kingdom shipping between chartered-in vessels flying a foreign flag and others.

In 1981, the latest year for which figures are available, of the total of £1,754 million earned by the United Kingdom shipping industry from freight on cross trades £1,165 million was earned on ships owned by United Kingdom operators and £589 million on ships on charter from abroad to United Kingdom operators. Information by flag on these earnings from chartered ships is not available.

asked the Minister for Trade whether he now intends to implement the recommendations within his Department's response made in the Pearson report on civil liability and compensation for personal injury; and if he will make a statement.

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

asked the Minister for Trade what information he has about the amount of additional costs to air transport operators of the introduction of airways between Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen.

I am informed that the Civil Aviation Authority's directorate of operational research and analysis has estimated that aircraft using these airways will have to fly an additional 8 nautical miles per trip. At the present level of traffic the additional cost to air transport operators of the introduction of airways between Edinburgh—Glasgow and Aberdeen will be approximately £63,000 per annum for extra fuel consumed. These alterations in the route are in order to accommodate the interests of gliders at Portmoak following representations from the gliding community that the original proposals for airways would have had deeply damaging effects on gliding activity there.Notwithstanding the additional cost, 14 airlines have indicated their support for the introduction of these airways in the interests of maintaining a high standard of safety. I welcome the responsible attitude of the air transport operators concerned in agreeing to this compromise.

asked the Minister for Trade if he has had discussions with the Soviet authorities regarding overflying of Afghanistan to shorten the flying time from the United Kingdom to Hong Kong; and if he w ill make a statement.

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

asked the Minister for Trade if it is his policy to grant traffic rights to airlines to fly to Manchester without reciprocal rights to British airlines to fly to destinations in the country of the airline concerned.

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

asked the Minister for Trade what is the balance of trade between the United Kingdom and (a) the EC and (b) the rest of Europe arising out of the tourist industry.

The information is published in table 2B Business Monitor MQ6, overseas travel and tourism third quarter 1982 which is available in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether he has made an estimate of the percentage increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere during the past 50 years due to the burning of fossil fuels in power stations.

I have been asked to reply.No. There is no basis at present for making a meaningful estimate of the proportion of the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide attributable to power station emissions. A report in 1982 by the United States Department of Energy estimated that global carbon dioxide concentrations have risen by 15 to 25 per cent. since 1800; measurements since 1958 show a rise of over 7 per cent.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations have been received from Hertfordshire commuters regarding the industrial dispute affecting the Bedford-St. Pancras line; and if he will make a statement.

I have received representations from several hon. Members complaining about the delay in introducing the newly electrified train service from Bedford to St. Pancras. On 21 February my hon. Friend the Member for Bedford (Mr. Skeet) initiated an Adjournment debate on the subject—[Vol. 37, c. 779.] In addition I have in the last six months received two representations direct from Hertfordshire commuters.They will doubtless hope, as do we all, that the agreement reported last week between the rail unions and BR will at last open the way for the rapid introduction of the new service.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport which firm of consulting engineers or local authority has been appointed to undertake the main design work on each trunk road scheme of over £1 million which has been added to the active programme since the road construction sub-units were closed down.

The information is given in the attached list. Appointments have been made in accordance with our policy that the main design work for every trunk road scheme costing over £1 million will normally be allocated to consulting engineers in the private sector. The design work on schemes below £1 million is allocated to county councils and they may be offered a scheme above that level if a special case exists, for example where a scheme would involve a large measure of traffic management and control. In terms of the estimated construction cost of £460 million, about seven-eighths of the design work on schemes of over £1 million has been allocated to consultants and one-eighth to county councils.SCHEME AND DESIGN AGENCY