asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what discussions he has had with the chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority on the subject of charges for airport air traffic control services in Scotland and the scope for economies;(2) what discussions he has had with the chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority about charges at Civil Aviation Authority's Highlands and Islands aerodromes and the scope for economies and decreased subsidies.

My right hon. Friend and I met the chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority on 3 March. Among the subjects discussed were the level of charges for navigation services at airports and the costs of running the Highlands and Islands aerodromes. We made it clear that we expect the authority to do all within its power to contain the cost of air navigation charges and to respond positively to the proposal of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade to transfer the Highlands and Islands aerodromes to the private sector, with a view to achieving more economical operation.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many suspension from school notices have been issued in the current school year to date.

This information is not held centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many police officers are serving in each police authority in Scotland; and what is the establishment in each.

The information requested is set out in the following table:

Police establishment and strength, Scotland, 31 December 1982
	Total police establishment	Total actual police strength
Central Scotland	514	529
Dumfries and Galloway	308	310
Fife	653	650
Grampian	925	939
Lothian and Borders	2,362	2,393
Northern	590	596
Strathclyde	6,954	6,833
Tayside	963	964
Total	13,269	13,214

The figures include officers who are employed at ports, airports, and oil-related industrial sites and whose costs are not borne entirely by police authorities. Those for actual strength include officers on national training courses and on central service, who do not count against authorised establishments.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many police officers in Scotland have received injuries in the course of their duties which have forced them to leave the force prematurely in each of the last 10 years.

Figures are available only since 1975, when local government in Scotland was reorganised, and are as follows:

Year	Number of officers
1975	—
1976	4
1977	8
1978	1
1979	6
1980	5
1981	1
1982	5

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what arrangements have been made for the extension of the national mobility scheme to Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

A number of Scottish local authorities have decided to join the national mobility scheme. They are as follows:

• Angus
• Annandale and Eskdale
• Badenoch and Strathspey
• Caithness
• Clackmannan
• Clydebank
• Dumbarton
• East Lothian
• Eastwood
• Edinburgh
• Ettrick and Lauderdale
• Glasgow
• Kincardine and Deeside
• Kyle and Carrick
• Motherwell
• Nithsdale
• Roxburgh
• Stewartry
• Wigtown
• Western Isles

The Scottish Special Housing Association arid the Scottish new towns have also decided to join.The Secretary of State has agreed to pay an annual contribution towards the costs of the national mobility office, which runs the scheme in co-operation with the participating housing authorities. The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities has co-operated with the national mobility office in providing Scottish housing authorities with the opportunity to decide whether to join the scheme.I am sure that the facilities which the scheme offers to the tenants of participating authorities to move within the public sector throughout the United Kingdom for employment or special social reasons will be of considerable benefit. This benefit will accrue both to the individual tenants who take advantage of the scheme and to the national economy, which is assisted by the removal of barriers to the mobility of labour.The director of the scheme will be encouraging further Scottish housing authorities to join the scheme, which enjoys almost universal support from housing authorities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. I hope that those Scottish authorities which have not yet decided to join will do so in the near future.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what has been the numerical and percentage

Changes in numbers employed mid-1979 to mid-1981
	Dundee		Scotland
SIC	Thousands	Percentage	Thousands	Percentage
HI Food, drink and tobacco	-0·1	-3·1	-9·7	-10·9
VI-IX Metal manufacturing, mechanical, instrument and electrical engineering	-2·4	-21·3	-38·3	-21·3
X-XII Shipbuilding, vehicles, metal goods nes	-1·0	-38·5	-17·2	-18·3
Xm-XV Textiles, leather, clothing	-2·1	-30·6	-16·7	-19·2
IV-V, XVI-XIX Other Manufacturing (including chemicals)	+0·3	+3·7	-18·2	-14·9
III-XIX Total Manufacturing	-5·4	-17·8	-100·0	-17·5

The figures are derived from the Scottish Manufacturing Establishments Record (SCOMER) which relates to units with 11 or more emloyees.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what has been the numerical and percentage change in the numbers employed by age group in both Dundee and Scotland between May 1979 and the latest available date.

[pursuant to his reply, 24 March 1983, c. 454]: The information requested is not available for Dundee. Estimates for Scotland based on information from the EC labour force survey which took place in the second quarter of these years are shown in the following table.

	Change in number in employment* between 1979 and 1981
Age Group	Thousands	Percentage
16–29	-45	-6
30–44	-34	-5
45-retirement age†	-70	-9
over retirement age†	-13	-16
Total	-161	-7
Notes:
* The employment estimates include employees and the self-employed and those who do not state their employment status.
† Retirement age is 60 for women, 65 for men.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will take steps to collect further information about the condition of the housing stock in Scotland.

Present arrangements for collecting information on the condition of the public sector housing stock are considered to be entirely adequate, but less information is available centrally on the condition of private sector stock and in particular on that of the interwar period. I have therefore decided to initiate a survey of the condition of the inter-war private sector housing stock in certain of the main urban districts including the four cities. The survey, covering a sample of 1,000 houses, will take place in the autumn of 1983 and the results will be available by the end of 1984.

[pursuant to his reply, 24 March 1983, c. 454]: The information for Dundee is not available in the detail requested. The latest available estimates for industrial groups in the manufacturing sector in Dundee are set out in the following table, along with comparable figures for Scotland.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will state the United Kingdom's objectives for the VHF band II planning conference in 1984.

The United Kingdom's proposals have to be submitted to the International Telecommunication Union by 1 February 1984. A good deal of planning remains to be done and our neighbours will have to be consulted, but at this stage I believe that the United Kingdom's proposals can be drawn up in a way that will achieve the following objectives: the creation of two new national VHF networks; the provision of additional frequencies for the development of BBC and independent local radio along the lines envisaged in my reply to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for East Grinstead on 14 July 1981—[Vol. 8, c. 330–331.]—and the maintenance of the existing VHF networks and improvements to their coverage.Depending on the outcome of the conference, frequencies for both new national networks should become available at the beginning of 1990, while frequencies for other purposes should become available by 1996. The IBA has proposed that one of the new national networks should be used to provide an independent national radio service. The Government find this proposal attractive, provided that satisfactory financing arrangements can be developed. Legislation would however be required to enable the IBA to provide such a service. I propose to allocate the other new network to the BBC so that there can be separate VHF networks for Radios 1 and 2.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether prosecution and conviction under section 22 of the Solicitors Act 1974 feature in official criminal statistics in England and Wales.

Prosecutions under the Solicitors Act 1974 are covered by the statistics of court proceedings published in "Criminal statistics, England and Wales" but are not shown separately. For the information available I refer the hon. Member to the reply given today to his question to my right hon. and learned Friend the Attorney-General.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library a copy of the central research establishment's paper "A Possible Index of Fatal Drug Toxicity in Humans" by L. A. King and A. C. Moffat.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers in England and Wales are serving in each police authority; and what is the establishment in each.

The information on 28 February 1983 is as follows:

Force	Authorised establishment	Strength
Avon and Somerset	3,020	2,978
Bedfordshire	980	987
Cambridgeshire	1,140	1,134
Cheshire	1,845	1,836
Cleveland	1,474	1,461
Cumbria	1,128	1,108
Derbyshire	1,767	1,755
Devon and Cornwall	2,734	2,734
Dorset	1,183	1,180
Durham	1,357	1,326
Dyfed Powys	934	929
Essex	2,643	2,635
Gloucestershire	1,140	1,134
Greater Manchester	6,943	7,000
Gwent	978	965
Hampshire	3,084	3,066
Hertfordshire	1,568	1,553
Humberside	1,972	1,958
Kent	2,875	2,876
Lancashire	3,158	3,152
Leicestershire	1,733	1,723
Lincolnshire	1,182	1,175
Merseyside	4,607	4,626
Norfolk	1,273	1,263
Northamptonshire	1,006	995
Northumbria	3,357	3,317
North Wales	1,313	1,297
North Yorkshire	1,368	1,362
Nottinghamshire	2,259	2,243
South Wales	3,105	3,089
South Yorkshire	2,872	2,865
Staffordshire	2,099	2,088
Suffolk	1,124	1,121
Surrey	1,602	1,586
Sussex	2,822	2,811
Thames Valley	3,124	3,113
Warwickshire	925	917
West Mercia	1,923	1,918
West Midlands	6,684	6,658
West Yorkshire	5,154	5,157
Wiltshire	1,042	1,031
City of London	1,022	831
Metropolitan	26,615	26,483

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers in England and Wales have received injuries in the course of their duties which have forced them to leave the force prematurely in each of the last 10 years.

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

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has any plans to change the cash limit for expenditure in Class IX, Vote 9 (General Protective Services and Civil Defence, England and Wales): and if he will make a statement.

The current year's cash limit for Class IX Vote 9 (General Protective Services and Civil Defence, England and Wales) is to be reduced by £2·8 million from £61,866,000 to £59,066,000. This is to offset an increase in the provision for compensation awards under the criminal injuries compensation scheme, accounted for in Class IX Vote 6 (Miscellaneous Law Services, Probation and After-Care, England and Wales). The reduced cash limit results from savings in expenditure on police wireless services.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has given further consideration to the development of community radio; and if he will make a statement.

As the third report of the local radio working party recognised, the development of community radio raises a number of difficult problems for broadcasting policy. Moreover it would make substantial demands on resources in terms both of creating and operating a regulatory system and of identifying the limited amount of spectrum which might be made available in the short term. Given the resource demands of other developments in the broadcasting field, and since the spectrum available in the longer term is not yet known, I have concluded that it would not be right to take matters futher at present. However, in the preparation of the United Kingdom proposals for the VHF band II broadcasting planning conference next year, account will be taken of the possible needs of community radio with the aim of reducing the spectrum constraints which could otherwise apply in the future; and further consideration will be given to the possible development of community radio when the outcome of the conference is known.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what is his most recent estimate of the comparative advantage or disadvantage enjoyed by the United Kingdom's competitors within the European Community in respect of energy prices.

The CBI, in collaboration with the energy supply industries, trade associations and my Department, has recently completed a study of prices paid by industrial consumers of energy in the EC. This shows that prices in the United Kingdom generally compare well with those of our competitors. A copy of the report is in the Library of the House.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what factors he takes into account in allocating the energy research and development budget of his Department between nuclear and other sources of energy.

Decisions on the nuclear and non-nuclear R and D budgets administered by the Department take account of overall Government economic policy and the level of and scope for non-Government funding, notably by customers for the technologies in question. In reaching these decisions a consistent approach is adopted to ensure that there are adequate funds to mount effective R and D programmes and that the expenditure in each area of work is related both to how quickly new technologies will be introduced and what the likely scale of their contribution to future United Kingdom energy supplies will be.

(Leith) asked the Secretary of State for Energy how many foreign nationals are employed in the British sector of the North sea.

The most recent survey of the offshore work force recorded that on 1 July 1982, 1,880 foreign nationals were working on the United Kingdom continental shelf.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what, at the latest available date, is the rate of production of oil from the off-shore oilfields in the North sea.

The latest confirmed figures available show that oil—including natural gas liquids—was being produced from the North sea at a rate of 2·3 million barrels a day during December 1982. The average rate of production during 1982 as a whole was, however, rather lower at 2·11 million barrels a day and I expect the average rate for 1983 to be approximately the same.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement about the consequences of the release of radioactive isotopes following the fire in 1957 at the Windscale nuclear site.

The NRPB recently published an independent report containing theoretical calculations of the possible radiological effects of the accident over a 40-year period on the United Kingdom population as a whole.Following recent press reports I understand that the NRPB is examining the implications for its recent report of the release of polonium from the Windscale reactor during the 1957 fire. Its findings will be published shortly.The fact that polonium was released in the fire has been public knowledge since 1958 when two reported measures of airborne concentrations of polonium, one in the United Kingdom and one in the Netherlands, were published.I understand from the NRPB that inclusion of the release of polonium in its assessment would not significantly alter the dose to those living closest to Windscale.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many disputes and claims to ownership remain to be heard by the Commons Commissioners; and how long they are likely to take to complete their hearings.

It is estimated that, excluding the former county of Glamorgan, which is affected by the Commons Registration (Glamorgan) Bill, about 1,350 disputed registrations and 1,880 claims to ownership remain to be heard. This will take until at least the end of 1985.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish for England the directly equivalent information on the Government's expenditure plans for housing to that which is set out in table 4·1 Cmnd. 8789-II.

The public expenditure plans for housing in England in 1984–85 and 19857–86 are shown in total at this stage because they are provisional figures based on illustrative assumptions. No decisions have yet been taken about the detailed allocation of the provision or the assumed increase in local contribution, and it would therefore be misleading to provide any further breakdown now.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish for England, with all assumptions made explicit, the national notional housing revenue account for the financial year 1983–84 from which the figure for central Government subsidies to local authorities housing in table 2.7 of Cmnd. 8789-II has been derived.

I shall answer this question shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table of local government (a) current and (b) capital expenditure in each year from 1977–78 to 1983–84 in cost terms consistent with table 1–14 of Cmnd. 8789-I.

I shall answer this question shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a breakdown of the recipients of money from local authority lending in 1980–81 and 1981–82.

Details of the recipients of local authority loans are not collected centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the net change between 1980–81 and 1981–82 in local authorities' (a) borrowing, (b) lending and (c) balances.

The information requested for English local authorities is as follows:

	£ million
Net borrowing in 1981–82 was reduced by	332
Net lending in 1981–82 increased by	182
Balances (capital and revenue) in 1981–82 (provisional) increased by	1,250

The figures for borrowing and lending are on a cash flow basis; the change in balances is on an accruals basis.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the amount of rate rebates paid in each year from 1978–79 to 1982–83 (a) in total and (b) as a proportion of all domestic rates.

The information available for England is as follows:

	1978–79	1979–80	1980–81	1981–82
Rate rebates paid (£ million)	141	169	223	310
As percentage of domestic rates (excluding rebates)	6·8	6·7	6·9	7·9

Estimates for 1982–83 are not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will seek to amend section 143(1) of the Local Government Act 1972 in light of the action by Islington borough council and other Labour-controlled London local authorities in funding meetings and administrative and other support activities for London Labour leaders under the auspices of the London borough of Islington; and if he will make a statement

My right hon. Friend has no present plans to seek amendment of section 143(1). As the hon. Member for Islington, South and Finsbury (Mr. Cunningham) was informed on 28 February—[Vol. 38, c. 37]—papers relating to these activities by certain London authorities have been referred to the district auditors concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he proposes to recognise for consultation purposes the organisation of London Labour leaders.

I am not aware that the organisation of London Labour leaders is a body representative of local government which my right hon. Friend would find it appropriate to consult.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what consultations he intends to have concerning the appointment to the Boundary Commission for England with effect from 1 May in place of Mr. W. W. Ruff.

My right hon. Friend intends to write to the leaders of parties whose members in the House represent constituencies in England.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what level of manpower is currently employed by Welwyn and Hatfield district council; and how this compares with May 1979.

The information requested, taken from published joint manpower watch returns, is as follows:

Welwyn Hatfield District Council
	Full-time employees	Part-time employees
June 1979	745	195
December 1982	787	144

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what number and what proportion of houses have been built with timber frames in the 12 months to the latest convenient date.

The Department does not collect this information.National Housebuilding Council figures for 1982 show that about 23 per cent. of the 138,000 applications for registration in Great Britain, which correspond accurately with its figures for annual private sector starts, were for timber framed housing.No corresponding information is available for the public sector.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will fill the moat around the jewel Tower, Westminster and restock it with suitable fish; and if he will make a statement.

Investigation of the seepage of water from the moat is shortly to be put in hand so that repairs may be undertaken. I hope that it will be possible to restock the moat with fish after repairs have been completed.

asked the Secretary of State for The Environment what is the present scale of allowances paid to elected members of local authorities.

The maximum prescribed rates of allowances currently payable to members of local authorities are as follows:

1. Attendance allowance: £14·56 for a full day.

2. Financial loss allowance: £9·50 for a half-day period.

£19·00 for a full day period.

3. Special responsibility allowance: local authorities may determine these allowances within an expenditure ceiling for the council as specified in the relevant regulations. These ceiling figures are set out in the following table. No individual payment in the financial year may exceed one third of the total amount available to the authority in that year, or £4,160—whichever is less—and in the case of authorities where one tird of the total is less that £416, an individual payment may not exceed £416.

4. Travelling and subsistence allowances: The current maximum rates are set out in DOE circular 2/83—Welsh Office circular 2/83—dated 19 January 1983. I am sending a copy of the circular to the hon. Member.

	£
1. The Greater London council	46,800
2. An outer London borough	9,360
3. An inner London borough	5,200
4. A metropolitan county council, the population of whose area exceeds 2 million	12,480
5. Any other metropolitan county council	10,920
6. A non-metropolitan county council or a metropolitan district council, the population of whose area
(a) exceeds 1 million	15,600
(b) exceeds 500,000 but does not exceed 1 million	14,560
(c) exceeds 250,000 but does not exceed 500,000	10,400
(d) does not exceed 250,000	9,360
7. A non-metropolitan district council, the population of whose area
(a) exceeds 400,000	5,200
(b) exceeds 200,000 but does not exceed 400,000	4,160
(c) exceeds 150,000 but does not exceed 200,000	3,120
(d) exceeds 100,000 but does not exceed 150,000	2,080
(e) does not exceed 100,000	1,040

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he is satisfied that materials currently being dumped on Colliers tip, Rixton, Warrington, can be securely and safely deposited there and that there is no present or future risk to human health or to the environment of the area.

Waste disposal sites must be licensed under the Control of Pollution Act 1974, and it is the responsibility of the county council to frame the licence and see that it is complied with. There are also controls on the movement of particularly hazardous waste, and recording its deposit, under the Control of Pollution (Special Wastes) Regulations 1980, whose enforcement also falls to the county council. In addition, operations on a site are subject to the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will take steps to ensure that no radioactive material is or is likely to be dumped on the Old Hall tip, Rixton, Warrington; and if he is satisfied that the present tipping arrangements are safe and are being carried out satisfactorily.

A proposal to dispose of low-level radioactive waste to the Old Hall tip, Rixton, has been the subject of informal discussions between my Department and the local and water authorities for the area. Before any authorisation were given, the Department would consult them formally. The site is also licensed by the Cheshire county council under the Control of Pollution Act 1974 and it is the council's duty to ensure that the site is operated in accordance with the terms of that licence.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will publish information about the monitoring of radioactivity in the environment.

A detailed review of programmes to monitor radioactivity in the environment has been published by my Department as pollution report No. 17. A copy has been placed in the Library of the House.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what further research his Department has carried out on the potential environmental effects of pentachlorophenol; whether the advisory committee on pesticides has recommended any change; and if he will make a statement.

[pursuant to the reply, 28 March 1983, c. 75]: The Department has completed its studies of the exposure of occupants of buildings containing wood treated with pentachlorophenol—PCP—and a report has been considered by the advisory committee on pesticides. I am placing a copy of the report in the Library.In the light of that report and of other published information, a specification for the purity of PCP to be used in remedial treatments in this country was drawn up. Provisional commercial clearance has been granted for the use, as a wood preservative, of PCP meeting this specification.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give the titles of any local Acts which he would propose to designate under clause 1(2)(c) of the Local Authority (Expenditure Powers) Bill.

[pursuant to his reply, 28 March 1983, c. 76]: No. It will be for the local authority concerned, in the context of a particular UDG proposal, to draw my right hon. Friend's attention to the existence of any provision in a local Act which in its view inhibits its use of section 137.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what was the purpose, amount and duration of the loan which he authorised British Rail to guarantee on behalf of Hoverspeed; and to what extent the other shareholders of Hoverspeed have provided similar guarantees;(2) to what extent in deciding to authorise British Rail to guarantee the liabilities of Hoverspeed he

The Government remain firmly of the view that Hoverspeed should meet its financial requirements from the private sector. In the first year of operation the company failed to achieve its targets, largely because of difficulties with the computerised advance booking system. I understand that the company, and their bankers National Westminster Bank, with the benefit of advice from Peat Marwick Mitchell and Co., concluded that the faults were remediable, and that substantially improved results might be expected in 1983. Because of the cyclical nature of their business, in which most of the income arises during the summer period, the company require overdraft facilities during the winter. The bankers asked for a guarantee from the shareholders for a portion of that loan. British Rail concluded that its commercial interest would be best served by providing this support, since otherwise it would have faced substantially larger immediate losses. Giving the guarantee does not constitute a public sector subsidy. My right hon. Friend therefore gave consent that British Rail could repeat an earlier guarantee of Hoverspeed borrowing, to the extent of £750,000, with a time limit of 31 August 1983. I understand that the other shareholders also provided a guarantee.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to ensure that the economic appraisal of capital investment projects undertaken by his Department shall henceforward use the same criteria for both road and railway projects, rather than maintaining the present system whereby rail investment is required to satisfy more stringent criteria than those for road investment.

The respective methods of appraising road and rail investments reflect the different ways in which travellers and consignors of freight pay for using the two systems. It is not appropriate to use the same criteria, and there is no simple or consistent relation between the results of different types of appraisal. However, the methodological problems inherent in making such comparisons are the subject of a pilot study commissioned by my Department at the request of the standing advisory committee on trunk road assessment.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has in the past year commissioned any studies into the possibilities of replacing railway services by bus services.

I am always concerned to ensure that the best use is made of transport resources, and keep the possibilities under review. In that context I have commissioned a study on the feasibility of converting to road use the redundant railway line between Woodside and Selsdon in the London Borough of Croydon, and I have contributed towards the cost of a similar study in respect of the disused trans-Pennine Woodhead Tunnel. The Serpell committee which I appointed also included suggestions about bus substitution in its report.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what studies, commissioned in the past year by nationalised industries or companies for which he is the sponsoring Minister, into the possibilities of substituting bus for railway services are available to him, or, where not yet completed, are to be supplied to him.

My Department received copies of evidence given by the British Railways Board and the National Bus Company to the Serpell committee about desk studies they have made.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has yet heard from the Royal Institute for the Deaf regarding the suggestion of the hon. Member for Newham, North-West suggestion that deaf drivers should be issued with a distinctive car badge warning pedestrians and other motorists of the driver's deafness and to take special precautions other than signalling by audible means.

The Royal National Institute for the Deaf is completely opposed to the suggestion that deaf drivers should display a distinctive badge as a warning to other road users. Its response, together with the lack of evidence that deaf drivers constitute a particular hazard on the road, confirms my view that such a scheme is not called for at the present time. I am arranging to send the hon. Member a copy of the RNID's letter.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport which rail services in Cumbria are taken into account in calculating public service obligation payments to British Rail.

The central Government public service obligation grant to British Rail is calculated by reference to the needs of the passenger business as a whole. In that sense all British Rail's passenger services in Cumbria are taken into account, but not individually.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport which bodies authorised to train motor cyclists to take either or both of the motor cycle tests have received grants for instructor training.

In the last 18 months we have made grants directly to the STEP national training scheme and to British Motorcyclists Federation's training scheme and have contributed indirectly to the training schemes of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents and to BMF through the support given to the British motorcycle safety foundation. This assistance has been given to help with the initial running costs of schemes or the operations of centres in remote areas.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport which bodies have been authorised to train motor cyclists for either or both of the current motor cycle tests.

I shall write to the right hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will introduce regulations to require sideguards to be fitted to heavy goods vehicles registered abroad as a condition of their being operated on any road in the United Kingdom.

No. This is precluded by the international conventions on road traffic which allow free passage to visiting foreign vehicles, subject only to basic internationally agreed safety requirements.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what is the current subsidy on London Transport in respect of pensioners concessions; and whether he will calculate the average of this for all pensioners in London.

I understand that the Greater London council approved payment of £53 million to London Transport in 1982–83 in respect of the old-age pensioners concessionary fare scheme. According to the 1981 census there are 1,181,537 people of pensionable age living in the GLC area. On the basis of these figures the average payment per pensioner would be £44·86 per annum.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport which shire counties included proposals for capital or revenue support for British Rail services in their transport policies and programmes submitted to him for transport supplementary grants for 1983–84.

The following English shire counties included plans for revenue support to British Rail in their TPPs for 1983–84:

• Cornwall
• Cumbria
• Derbyshire
• Durham
• Essex
• Hereford and Worcester
• Hertfordshire
• Humberside
• Lincolnshire
• Suffolk

No shire counties have proposed substantial capital grants to BR. Small capital grants are not always separately identified.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport how many payments of compensation under the amended Land Compensation Act have been made to persons in the Great Barr and Perry Beeches areas of Birmingham; how much has been paid out in total; what is the range of payments; and what is the amount of interest payable in the compensation.

A total of 432 payments of compensation have been made to people in the Great Barr and Perry Beeches areas of Birmingham who have taken advantage of the further opportunity to claim under Part I of the Land Compensation Act 1973 (as amended by S113 of the Local Government Planning and Land Act 1980). These payments range from £91 to £2,265. A total of £175,581 has been paid out, including £72,451 interest.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will have an investigation made of accidents in which pedestrians are killed or seriously injured at pelican crossings to establish what percentage of these accidents arise from vehicles proceeding onto the crossing while an amber light is flashing.

I doubt whether an investigation with this particular object in mind would be practicable because of the difficulty of establishing the circumstances in each case. However, we are considering the evidence from recent trials that an extension of steady green man time or a delay in the start of the flashing amber signal could have beneficial results for pedestrians without causing unacceptable delays to traffic.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the occasions when his Department has issued any forms, leaflets and pamphlets in relation to university education in Wales, in a bilingual or a Welsh language format.

The Department does not produce any forms, leaflets or pamphlets relating to university education in a bilingual or Welsh language format.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many students were admitted to the Welsh School of Medicine, the Heath, Cardiff, in each of the last five years.

The information is as follows:

	Postgraduates	Under-graduates	Total
1978–79	18	240	258
1979–80	25	206	231
1980–81	20	227	247
1981–82	30	251	281
1982–83*	35	240	275
* provisional

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the Minister for the Arts' recent visit to Liverpool.

I had the pleasure of attending a concert in Liverpool on 23 March given by the Royal Liverpool philharmonic orchestra. This was one of a series of concerts sponsored by J. Bibby and Sons and I was encouraged by this evidence of business support for the arts in the north-west.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many students were admitted to each university institution in Wales in (a) 1978–79 and (b) the latest year for which figures are available.

The numbers of new entrants including postgraduates to full-time courses at each university institution in Wales are:

	1978–79	1982–83*
Aberstwyth university college	1,301	1,205
Bangor university college	1,225	1,052
Cardiff university college	2,425	2,307
St David's, Lampeter	283	236
Swansea university college	1,733	1,519
University of Wales institute of science and technology	1,053	929
Welsh national school of medicine	258	275
* provisional

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will make a statement on the recent visit of the Under-Secretary of State to Jerusalem; and whether he will reproduce in the Official Report the message from the Prime Minister that he took with him to the world conference which he addressed.

Following an invitation from Mr. Hammer, Minister for Education and Culture, I undertook an official visit to Israel from 13 to 20 March 1983. I visited a number of institutions providing education at different levels to see various aspects of Israeli education. I was particularly interested in vocational and technical education for pupils of secondary school age, and I will be reporting my impressions to my ministerial colleagues. I also had meetings with Mr. Hammer, with leading educationists and with the Prime Minister of Israel, Mr. Begin.The visit coincided with the Brussels III conference on Soviet Jewry, where I was privileged to read out this message from the Prime Minister:

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what progress is being made towards ordering conventionally powered submarines for the Royal Navy.

Vickers' tender for the first of the new class of patrol submarines was received in December and contract negotiations are now well under way. We intend to place an order for the first submarine later this year.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he is yet able to announce when he expects to replace the obsolete Royal Air Force communications aircraft with Jetstream 31.

I wrote to the hon. Gentleman on 17 March, and an announcement was made on 21 March.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence when, pursuant to his answer of 14 March, Official Report, c. 72, he expects to receive contractors' tenders for Port Stanley airport.

I expect to receive contractors' tenders in May, concerning more than one possible site.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the defence of the Falkland Islands.

We continue to maintain a sizeable garrison on the Falkland Islands to deter future Argentine aggression and, if necessary, to defend the islands and the dependencies. A protection zone of 150 miles around the islands remains in force against Argentine ships and aircraft.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has any plans to visit the Falkland Islands.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Liverpool, Scotland Exchange (Mr. Parry) on 1 March 1983.—[Vol. 38, c. 122.]

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he is now satisfied with the provision of accommodation for service personnel in the Falkland Islands.

I am satisfied that arrangements have been made to provide suitable accommodation for service personnel by the onset of the Antarctic winter.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many representations he has received in support of dual-key control of cruise missiles located on United Kingdom territory; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend receives a large number of letters expressing a wide range of views on nuclear weapons issues. No separate record is maintained of letters dealing specifically with the question of dual-key control of cruise missiles. The Government are satisfied with the effectiveness of existing arrangements for joint decision-making about the use of United States nuclear weapons based in this country.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on progress in the installation of cruise missiles in the United Kingdom.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the progress in the programme for the installation of cruise missiles.

Work is proceeding on schedule at RAF Greenham Common to enable deployment of cruise missiles in the United Kingdom to begin by the end of the year, unless an agreement involving the total elimination of all longer range land-based INF missiles can be reached in the arms control negotiations in Geneva.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the significance in terms of nuclear balance of the British Polaris force to the overall North Atlantic Treaty Organisation strategy.

The British Polaris force is of the minimum size required to provide an effective deterrent. It represents only a very small fraction, just over 2 per cent., of the Soviet strategic nuclear force. It can in no way be considered as a substitute for the United States nuclear guarantee in NATO. Its significance lies in the fact that it increases the uncertainty in the mind of a potential aggressor about the risks involved in starting a war in Europe.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he is satisfied with the quality of footwear issued to Her Majesty's forces.

All footwear is continually under review to see what advantages can be derived from improved materials or manufacturing techniques. Because of certain shortcomings in the Army's directly moulded sole boot a new combat high boot is currently being introduced.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will take steps to widen the right of eligibility for an armed forces widow's pension; and if he will make a statement.

I have no plans to widen the existing entitlement.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how military personnel are selected to serve in units equipped with, or trained to use, nuclear weapons.

All personnel, including those in units handling nuclear weapons, must be technically qualified, medically fit, and have received the appropriate specialist training for the duties they are required to perform.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about the operations of the security forces in Northern Ireland.

I have nothing to add to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on 10 March.—[Vol. 38, c. 945–46]

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what recent contacts there have been between Her Majesty's Government and the United States Government about defence sales and offset agreements.

We have continuous contact with both the United States Government and United States industry on defence sales and related issues. I visited the United States recently and discussed a wide range of defence sales subjects. We will maintain, at all levels, our regular contacts with the United States Government on these matters.

asked the Secretary of State for defence whether advice is given to officers in Her Majesty's forces who seek to undertake service with foreign armed forces about their residual obligations.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will introduce a uniform system of dealing with the relinquishment of married quarters following the break-up of marriages.

We are looking closely at the problems involved to see if a uniform procedure can be introduced for all three services.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence when the remainder of the 1,400 defence jobs scheduled for Glasgow will be created.

A further 90 posts will be transferred to Glasgow in August 1983, with another 80 to follow in spring 1984. The remainder of the Ministry of Defence dispersal package is planned to move to Glasgow during 1985–86.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many persons will be recruited locally for the remainder of the defence jobs scheduled to be created in Glasgow.

It is expected that about a further 700 posts will be filled by local recruitment.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 29 March.

asked the Prime Minister what are her official engagements for 29 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 29 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 29 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 29 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 29 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 29 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 29 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will state her official engagements for Tuesday 29 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 29 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 29 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 29 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 29 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 29 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 29 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 29 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 29 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 29 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 29 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 29 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 29 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 29 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 29 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 29 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 29 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 29 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 29 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 29 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 29 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her public engagements for 29 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 29 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 29 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 29 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 29 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 29 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 29 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 29 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 29 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 29 March.

This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House I shall be having further meetings later today. This evening I hope to have an audience of Her Majesty the Queen.

asked the Prime Minister if she will pay an official visit to Newbury.

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister, pursuant to her answer of 8 March, Official Report, c. 347, what proposals she has to ensure the reduction of the monopoly enjoyed by nationalised industries.

It is a vital part of our policy to foster competition in the nationalised industries wherever monopoly powers exist. We have already taken steps to encourage competition in telecommunications, energy supply, transport, and postal services, but there is much more to be done to reduce monopoly, partly through privatisation, including joint ventures and the introduction of private capital.

asked the Prime Minister what steps she proposes to take to reduce the level of crime.