asked the Solicitor-General for Scotland if he will introduce amending legislation to provide a statutory right of appeal to the sheriff court for persons aggrieved by a local authority decision under the Housing (Homeless Persons) Act 1977, in the light of the House of Lords' decision in Brown v. Hamilton district council on 25 November 1982; and if he will make a statement.

No. The decision of the House of Lords in the case of Brown v. Hamilton district council has raised certain questions about the existing procedures in Scotland for judicial review of administrative decisions by local authorities and other public bodies, and in particular as to whether the existing procedures can be improved so as to enable such a review to be obtained more speedily and cheaply while at the same time protecting public authorities from unreasonable actions.I am glad to say that, after consultation with my noble and learned Friend the Lord Advocate, the Lord President of the Court of Session has set up a small working party under the chairmanship of Lord Dunpark, with the remit of devising a simple form of procedure for judicial review in the Court of Session.It would not appear that local authority decisions under the Housing (Homeless Persons) Act 1977 are so different either in volume or in nature from decisions of local authorities and other public bodies under other statutes as to suggest that the provisions of the 1977 Act should be considered separately from this general review of the scope for improvement in the procedural provision for judicial review.

asked the Minister for Trade if the accounts of the Welshpool Timber Company Ltd. have been properly lodged in accordance with the statutes; and what is the most recent set of accounts lodged.

Until recently, Welshpool Timber Company Limited was in arrear with delivering its accounts to the Registrar of Companies. As a result of follow-up action taken by the registrar, accounts for the periods ending 31 July 1980 and 31 July 1981 were delivered on 17 March 1983.

asked the Minister for Trade what is the balance of trade between the EC and Japan.

European trade statistics indicate that in the twelve months to October 1982 there was a crude deficit on EC visible trade with Japan of $11·6 billion.

asked the Minister for Trade if he will set up an inquiry into the affairs of Dunellon Hotels Ltd.

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

asked the Minister for Trade whether the annual financial returns under the Companies Act have been duly filed for Villagate and Jovine Ltd.; and if he will make a statement.

Villagate Properties Limited has not filed its accounts for the period ending 31 December 1981 which were due to be filed by 31 October 1982. Default action is being taken. Jovine Estate Holdings Limited filed its accounts for the period ending 31 December 1981 on 13 December 1982.

asked the Minister for Trade which are the companies in default that are part of the Bernard Clarke Group, referred to in his answer of 28 March, Official Report, c. 19.

The companies in the Bernard Clarke Group, against which default action is being taken, are Villagate Properties Limited and Citybrae Properties Limited.

asked the Minister for Trade, pursuant to his reply of 28 March, Official Report. c. 19, if he will ask the European Community Commission what procedures it intends to adopt to ensure that the voluntary restraint agreement with the Japanese on the quantity and price of imported video recorders is adhered to in the absence of any decision by the Japanese firms on the floor price which they are operating.

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

asked the Minister for Trade whether the French Government's special import procedures based on Poitiers and designed to stop the importation of Japanese video recorders have been abandoned following the voluntary restraint agreement made between the Commission and the Japanese; and if he will make a statement.

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

asked the Minister for Trade if he is satisfied that the law provides adequate powers to control night flying by aircraft over built-up areas below controlled air space; and at what height controlled air space is normally set in such areas.

I will reply to my right hon. Friend as soon as possible.

asked the Minister for Trade if he will arrange for an exhibition relating to seafarers' paintings to be displayed in the Upper Waiting Hall.

I am glad to say that arrangements have been made with the authorities of the House for the exhibition to he held in the Upper Waiting Hall from 9 to 15 May 1983.

asked the Minister for Trade if he will make a statement about financial arrangements for an early retirement scheme for marine pilots.

In August 1982 I asked Messrs Samuel Montagu & Co. Ltd. to advise me on the financial implications of proposals put to me by the Pilotage Commission for the making of schemes under which payments might be made to pilots to compensate them for loss of employment due to factors such as the reorganisation of pilotage services. I have now received a draft interim report from Samuel Montagu which contains a series of detailed recommendations on the financial arrangements for a national severance scheme for pilots. The recommendations provide for payments made to pilots leaving the service to be funded from pilotage revenue, but without adding to shipowners' existing levels of cost.I have sent the report to the chairman of the Pilotage Commission asking him to take the matter forward as quickly as possible, in consultation with shipowner and pilot representatives, in order to establish whether the recommendations provide a basis for an agreement between the principal parties.I have placed a copy of the report in the Library.

asked the Minister for Trade what is the current position concerning the question of exclusive purchasing agreements being dealt with by the European Community and its effects in the United Kingdom.

[pursuant to the reply, 30 March 1983, c. 137]: Discussions are still taking place between the European Commission and the Government on a new regulation under the competition rules of the Treaty of Rome to come into force on 1 July 1983. Under the regulation, exclusive purchasing agreements which met certain conditions would be exempted en bloc from the prohibition on restrictive agreements in article 85(1) of the treaty.The final contents of the regulation are not yet settled and so I cannot predict its effects in the United Kingdom.

asked the Minister for Trade if he will refer to the Office of Fair Trading the arrangements by the Football League for the broadcasting of soccer; and if he will make a statement.

[pursuant to the reply, 31 March 1983, c. 249]: The Restrictive Trade Practices Act 1976 places a direct duty on the director general to take action on agreements that are subject to the Act. Existing arrangements for the broadcasting of League matches, which expire at the end of this season, are entered on the register of restrictive trading agreements. No new agreement for such broadcasts has yet been made.

asked the Minister for Trade if he will take steps to ensure that imported miniature circuit breakers are safe and that where they are stamped with an indication of compliance with B.S. 3871 there is evidence available that this standard has actually been complied with; and if he will make a statement.

[pursuant to the reply, 31 March 1983, c. 249]: All miniature circuit breakers sold in this country must comply with the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1975 and 1976. There is no requirement under the regulations for such electrical appliances to comply with British standards as this would be contrary to the European Communities Low Voltage Directive (73/23/EEC). But it would be an offence under the Trade Descriptions Act 1968 to mark the breakers as complying with BS 3871 if they did not. If the hon. Member has evidence that unsafe circuit breakers were being falsely marked with the standard perhaps he would let me know.

asked the Minister for Trade when he intends to publish a White Paper on safety measures for imported goods.

[pursuant to the reply, 31 March 1983, c. 249]: I have been reviewing the effectiveness of the consumer safety legislation, including its application to imported goods, and hope to publish proposals shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what percentage of households in (a) Glasgow, (b) Aberdeen, (c) Edinburgh, (d) Dundee and (e) Scotland overall are without a car.

The following figures are taken from the relevant 1981 census Scotland bulletins, copies of which are in the Library:

Area	Percentage of households with no car
City of Glasgow	70·6
City of Aberdeen	47·3
City of Edinburgh	53·6
City of Dundee	56·6
Scotland	48·7

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many persons, according to the latest available information supplied by local authorities in their housing plans and checklists were (a) on Scottish local authorities active waiting lists at 31 March 1981 and (b) on Scottish local authorities active waiting lists in priority need at 31 March 1982.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Members for Glasgow, Cathcart (Mr. Maxton) and Berwick and East Lothian (Mr. Home Robertson) on 17 November 1982.—[Vol. 32, c. 272].

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many houses in each Scottish authority (a) required

	Number of dwellings requiring treatment for:		Number of dwellings expected to be treated in the period 1982–88 for:		Estimated costs of treatment in the period 1982–88 for:
	Condensation	Rising or penetrating damp	Condensation	Rising or penetrating damp	Condensation	Rising or penetrating damp
					£ million	£ million
Berwickshire	201	—	201	—	0·40	—
Ettrick and Lauderdale	60	40	60	40	0·020	0·025
Roxburgh	300	—	300	—	0·60	—
Tweeddale	196	—	*	*	*	*
Clackmannan	514	40	514	40	0·112	0·015
Falkirk	7,000	220	3,000	100	0·927	0·0015
Stirling	6,628	250	6,628	250	2·3	0·75
Annandale and Eskdale	293	20	293	20	0·03	0·01
Nithsdale	1,050	50	1,050	150	0·067	0·1
Stewartry	*	*	*	*	*	*
Wigtown	480	120	480	120	0·267	0·24
Dunfermline	3,930	15	3,000	170	0·7	0·27
Kirkcaldy	152	—	*	—	*	—
North East Fife	500	—	400	—	*	—
City of Aberdeen	*	*	1,700	*	12·0	7·0
Banff and Buchan	120	—	*	—	*	—
Gordon	*	*	*	*	*	*
Kincardine and Deeside	200	—	200	—	0·025	—
Moray	262	262	262	262	*	*
Badenoch and Strathspey	10	10	—	—	—	—
Caithness	50	20	50	20	0·1	0·2
Inverness	3,500	20	1,350	20	1·8	0·02
Lochaber	*	*	*	*	*	*
Nairn	*	*	*	*	*	*
Ross and Cromarty	1,058	55	1,058	55	0·422	0·006
Skye and Lochalsh	—	—	—	—	—	—
Sutherland	300	—	300	—	0·9	—
East Lothian	25	6	25	*	0·00875	*
City of Edinburgh	*	*	*	*	*	*
Midlothian	*	*	*	*	*	*
West Lothian	3,526	—	3,526	—	6·0	—
Argyll and Bute	1,373	—	180	—	0·51	—
Bearsden and Milngavie	*	*	*	*	*	*
Clydebank	1,500	100	1,500	100	1·5	0·1
Clydesdale	200	—	200	—	0·05	—
Cumbernauld and Kilsyth	500	—	288	—	0·298	—
Cumnock and Doon Valley	870	1,947	300	700	0·5	0·7
Cunninghame	900	—	900	—	0·09	—
Dumbarton	861	2,699	861	2,699	0·68	0·65
East Kilbride	4	—	—	—	—	—
Eastwood	—	—	—	—	—	—
City of Glasgow	19,600	—	19,600	—	5·36	—
Hamilton	17,348	1,157	8,674	347	1·302	*
Inverclyde	2,269	2,395	2,269	2,079	4·5	9·0
Kilmarnock and Loudoun	6,000	100	1,500	500	2·25	0·25
Kyle and Carrick	4,000	178	4,000	178	6·0	1·25
Monklands	700	500	700	500	0·38	0·10
Motherwell	5,000	2,000	5,000	2,000	10·5	0·25
Renfrew	26,000	392	15,000	*	*	*
Strathkelvin	232	14	232	14	0·084	0·017
Angus	3,000	100	900	30	0·1	0·01
City of Dundee	19,641	50	9,000	240	1·8	0·06
Perth and Kinross	200	—	200	—	0·5	—
Orkney	—	—	—	—	—	—
Shetland	400	400	400	400	0·25	0·75
Western Isles	250	50	125	16	0·1875	0·024
* Not available.

Our latest information, which is still incomplete, is given in the following table. These figures are estimates provided by local authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many pre-1940 local authority dwellings there are in each authority; and how many of these have been modernised.

The information available to me is given in the following table. The figures are estimates provided by local authorities.

Pre-1940 local authority dwellings at 31 March 1982
District Authority	Number	Number Modernised
Borders
Berwickshire	589	589
Ettrick and Lauderdale	704	704
Roxburgh	1,547	1,129
Tweedale	619	509
Central
Clackmannan	n/a	n/a
Falkirk	9,383	3,815
Stirling	2,960	894
Dumfries and Galloway
Annandale and Eskdale	516	334
Nithsdale	2,243	159
Stewartry	n/a	n/a
Wigtown	936	936
Fife
Dunfermline	5,284	3,977
Kirkcaldy	8,757	6,632
North East Fife	2,311	744
Grampian
City of Aberdeen	8,055	7,172
Banff and Buchan	2,000	1,000
Gordon	n/a	n/a
Kincardine and Deeside	567	*614
Moray	1,912	—
Highland
Badenoch and Strathspey	59	7
Caithness	852	542
Inverness	1,628	674
Lochaber	n/a	n/a
Nairn	n/a	n/a
Ross and Cromarty	564	492
Skye and Lochalsh	133	—
Sutherland	240	150
Lothian
East Lothian	5,579	5,462
City of Edinburgh	n/a	n/a
Midlothian	n/a	n/a
West Lothian	5,466	5,011
Strathclyde
Argyll and Bute	1,293	921
Bearsden and Milngavie	n/a	n/a
Clydebank	2,862	2,600
Clydesdale	1,355	1,355
Cumbernauld and Kilsyth	1,690	1,690
Cumnock and Doon Valley	3,008	1,030
Cunninghame	6,393	6,353
Dumbarton	2,692	643
East Kilbride	513	365
Eastwood	—	—
City of Glasgow	56,670	25,966
Hamilton	6,334	4,266
Inverclyde	6,176	6,176
Kilmarnock and Loudoun	5,500	2,410
Kyle and Carrick	4,629	4,629
Monklands	9,573	5,235
Motherwell	11,554	7,449
Renfrew	12,705	2,887
Strathkelvin	2,857	2,857

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many non-traditional local authority dwellings pre-war and immediate post-war up to 1955 there are in each authority in Scotland; and how many of these have been modernised in each authority.

The best available information—which consists of local authority estimates—is given in the following table. Following the statement of my hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Construction on 8 February 1983, my Department is hoping to obtain up-to-date figures relating to houses of precast reinforced concrete construction.—(Vol. 36, c. 893–94].

Non-traditional local authority dwellings at 31 March 1982 (pre-war and immediate post-war up to 1955)
District authority	Number	Number modernised
Borders
Berwickshire	137	116
Ettrick and Lauderdale	84	34
Roxburgh	193	28
Tweeddale	89	—
Central
Clackmannan	N/A	N/A
Falkirk	1,400	284
Stirling	2,877	50
Dumfries and Galloway
Annandale and Eskdale	417	268
Nithsdale	605	56
Stewartry	N/A	N/A
Wigtown	520	185
Fife
Dunfermline	2,268	413
Kirkcaldy	3,724	—
North East Fife	172	—
Grampian
City of Aberdeen	2,357	341
Banff and Buchan	2,000	—
Gordon	N/A	N/A
Kincardine and Deeside	145	*152
Moray	188	35
Highland
Badenoch and Strathspey	10	—
Caithness	185	—
Inverness	20	—
Lochaber	N/A	N/A
Nairn	N/A	N/A
Ross and Cromarty	97	88
Skye and Lochalsh	90	—
Sutherland	168	36

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a breakdown for Scotland of public expenditure on housing for the years 1982–83 and 1983–84, in the same format as is provided for England in Cmnd. 8789 "The Government's Expenditure Plans".

The information requested is contained in "Public Expenditure to 1985–86—A Commentary on the Scottish Programme" which was published on 8 February.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to the reply to the hon. Member for Dundee, East on 28 July 1982, why renovation work to Claypotts castle, Broughty Ferry, Dundee, has not yet commenced.

Survey and planning work and the preparation of tender documents was started in the autumn of 1982; a contract was awarded in early March 1983 and the contractor is now on the site.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will directly finance the production of prospectuses associated with the parents charter by regional authorities.

No. The estimated additional cost to education authorities of publishing information about individual schools, in accordance with the Education (School and Placing Information) (Scotland) Regulations 1982, has been taken into account in the rate support grant settlement.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many requests for both primary and secondary sectors there have been in Tayside for placings in schools outwith the catchment area in each of the past two years; and in how many instances the placing request was not allowed.

The statutory provisions governing school placing requests inserted into the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 came into effect on 15 February 1982. From that date to 31 July 1982, the latest period for which information is as yet available centrally, Tayside regional council received 459 placing requests for primary schools and 456 for secondary schools; all of these requests were granted.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has studied the letter from the Association of Directors of Social Work of 17 March following its meeting with the all-party Parliamentary group for pensioners on support funding arrangements in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

I have had a number of representations referring to this letter and I will be replying in due course. I will let the hon. Member have a copy of my reply.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what importance his Department places upon infant mortality rate and perinatal mortality rate as an indicator of the general health of a community.

Since the general health of the population is only one of several factors which may have a bearing on perinatal and infant mortality rates, these rates should be used with caution as indicators of general health. This is especially true when rates are derived from relatively small populations where random variations may occur.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Banff (Mr. Myles) on 25 March, Official Report, c. 513, if he will provide similar information for each academic year from 1978–1979.

The proposed college quotas were as set out in the following tables:

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many pupils at Scottish schools at the latest available date were studying (a) French, (b) German, (c) Spanish, (d) Italian, (e) Russian, (f) Gaelic, (g) Latin and (h) Greek to 'O' level and higher level; and how this compares with a similar date on each of the past five years.

Information is not available in the form requested. Full information on presentations for the SCE ordinary grade and higher grade is given in the annual reports of the Scottish Examination Board, copies of which are lodged in the Library.

	Number of home helps
Region	Full-time	Part-time	Total	Total whole-time equivalent	Whole-time equivalent per 1,000 Population over 65
Borders	—	437	437	106·1	5·7
Central	—	1,074	1,074	398·1	11·2
Dumfries and Galloway	16	651	667	312·5	13·7
Fife	—	1,513	1,513	502·9	10·3
Grampian	8	1,552	1,560	572·2	8·3
Highland	—	826	826	221·1	7·9
Lothian	68	3,674	3,742	1,734·4	16·2
Strathclyde	910	6,799	7,709	4,527·1	14·1
Tayside	22	1,135	1,157	537·7	8·4
Orkney	—	268	268	64·5	20·1
Shetland	—	210	210	51·6	15·9
Western Isles	4	370	374	95	16·2
Total	1,028	18,509	19,537	9,123·2	12·6

There are no recommended levels of provision, nor is information available centrally about proposals for the development of home help services within each region.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many meals on wheels are provided daily and lunches supplied to lunch clubs each day in each Scottish region; what this represents for each 1,000 of the retired

Table—Meals on wheels service and lunch clubs by region (year to 31 March 1981)
	Estimated number of meals served during the year by
	Meals on wheels service	Lunch clubs	Population (M + F) 65+	Meals on wheels	Meals served in lunch clubs	Total Meals
	(thousands)	(thousands)		(per 1,000 population) over 65
Borders	50·7	19·8	18,755	2,703·3	1,055·7	3,759·0
Central	101·4	102·8	35,436	2,861·5	2,901·0	5,762·5
Dumfries and Galloway	61·9	7·7	22,877	2,705·8	336·6	3,042·4
Fife	245·2	120·3	48,949	5,009·3	2,457·7	7,467·0
Grampian	140·2	81·8	68,886	2,035·2	1,187·5	3,222·7
Highland	68·3	41·9	27,935	2,444·9	1,499·9	3,944·8
Lothian	325·5	815·2	106,999	3,042·1	7,618·8	10,660·9
Strathclyde	690·0	1,287·2	320,089	2,155·7	4,021·4	6,177·1
Tayside	136·0	102·8	64,352	2,113·4	1,597·5	3,710·9
Orkney*	—	—	3,213	—	—	—
Shetland	41·2	13·0	3,247	12,688·6	4,003·4	16,692·0
Western Isles	3·0	1·1	5,866	511·4	187·5	698·9
Scotland Total	1,863·4	2,593·6	726,604	2,564·5	3,569·5	6,134·0
* Orkney Islands council has discontinued the meals on wheels service and these persons previously supplied (8 in 1977) are now catered for by the home help service.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the number of home helps, and the full-time equivalent number; how many there are per 1,000 of the retired population; how this compares with any recommended levels of provision, for each region of Scotland; and what proposals each region has for increasing home help services to take account of the increasing number of very old people.

The information requested is given in the following table:population in each case; and what proposals each region has for expanding both provisions to take account of increasing numbers of dependent old people.

Information about meals on wheels and meals provided in lunch clubs is not available in the form requested. In the year to 31 March 1981, the number of meals and lunches served in each region of Scotland and the numbers served per 1,000 population over 65 are shown in the following table. No information is available centrally about proposals for the development of these services.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the current level of sheltered housing provision, in use, under construction and planned for each district in Scotland; how current and planned provision relates to the recommended level of provision; and what additional proposals are envisaged for each district to take account of the increasing numbers of frail elderly.

Information about the number of sheltered bedspaces available at 31 march 1982 is given in the following table. No figures for sheltered housing under construction are available. Most local authorities are understood to be planning for a substantial increase in the number of bedspaces in their areas over the next 5 years. In aggregate the provision may double over that period.There is no recommeneded level of provision. It is for individual local authorities to determine the need for sheltered housing in their areas. In addition to the population structure of each area it will clearly be relevant for authorities to consider the relationship of sheltered housing provision to other aspects of their housing policies which affect the elderly. I am hoping to encourage local authorities to give more thought to that relationship.

District Authority	No.	No. per 1,000 persons aged 65 or over at 30 June 1982
Borders
Berwickshire	145	44
Ettrick and Lauderdale	122	21
Roxburgh	98	16
Tweedale	84	32
Central
Clackmannan	243	43
Falkirk	2,831	15
Stirling	657	64
Dumfries and Galloway
Annandale and Eskdale	102	18
Nithsdale	58	7
Stewartry	80	21
Wigtown	10	2
Fife
Dunfermline	245	15
Kirkcaldy	259	13
North East Fife	351	31
Grampian
City of Aberdeen	1,457	45
Banff and Buchan	237	22
Gordon	272	34
Kincardine and Deeside	191	33
Moray	354	35
Highland
Badenoch and Strathspey	82	58
Caithness	188	57
Inverness	268	38
Lochaber	30	12
Nairn	74	50
Ross and Cromarty	184	35
Skye and Lochalsh	36	21
Sutherland	66	27
Lothian
East Lothian	216	18
City of Edinburgh	2,163	29
Midlothian	35	4
West Lothian	321	26
Strathclyde
Argyll and Bute	189	18
Bearsden and Milngavie	266	55
Clydebank	142	21
Clydesdale	205	28

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what grants he has given to voluntary organisations concerned with the care of the elderly for 1982–83; how this compares with the three previous years; and if he will increase his assistance to take account of the increasing number of dependent elderly.

Grants were made under section 10(1) of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 to the following voluntary organisations in the period 1979–80 to 1982–83:

	1979–80	1980–81	1981–82	1982–83
	£	£	£	£
Age Concern Scotland	40,260	43,451	52,174	63,410
Belleisle centre	7,355	7,355	7,355	7,355
Church of Scotland volunteer project	—	4,700	5,740	—
Employment Fellowship	—	—	—	6,750
	47,615	55,506	65,269	77,515

Over the same period, additional grants were made to Age Concern Scotland by the Scottish Education Department, the Scottish Development Department and the Scottish Home and Health Department in respect of their educational, housing and health related activities respectively, as follows:

	1979–80	1980–81	1981–82	1982–83
	£	£	£	£
Scottish Education Department	—	—	—	15,000
Scottish Development Department	10,740	12,749	14,784	16,640
Scottish Home and Health Department	4,000	4,300	5,000	5,950
Total of all grants	62,355	72,555	85,053	115,105

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many health visitors and district nurses are currently employed in each health board area; how much of the total time of each category is devoted to work with the elderly; and what plans each health board has put forward to increase health visitor and district nurse provision to cope with the increasing number of frail old people.

Provisional numbers of health visitors and district nurses (in whole-time equivalents) employed in each health board area at 30 September 1982 are as follows:

Health boards	Health visitors (WTE)	District nurses (WTE)
Argyll and Clyde	108·0	167·7
Ayrshire and Arran	69·1	107·4
Borders	20·9	15·9
Dumfries and Galloway	28·9	28·8
Fife	105·8	145·5
Forth Valley	90·1	94·0
Grampian	144·7	177·7
Greater Glasgow	290·3	466·3
Highland	42·5	56·3
Lanarkshire	139·2	173·1
Lothian	215·1	241·5
Orkney	6·0	13·8
Shetland	5·5	4·8
Tayside	90·6	109·2
Western Isles	11·0	—

	Geriatric inpatient beds			Geriatric day places
Health Board	Estimated population aged 75 + (30 June 1981)	Number of beds recommended(40/1,000 pop)	Average staffed beds (30 September 1981)	Estimated population aged 65 + (30 June 1981)	Number of places recommended (2/1000 pop)	Number of places available (30 September 1981)
Argyll and Clyde	21,959	878	1,000	59,972	120	55
Ayrshire and Arran	18,897	756	635	52,520	105	61
Borders	7,435	297	229	18,755	38	—
Dumfries and Galloway	8,545	342	314	22,877	46	—
Fife	18,148	726	547	48,949	98	60
Forth Valley	12,678	507	551	35,436	71	53
Grampian	27,353	1,094	935	68,886	138	30
Greater Glasgow	54,029	2,161	2,485	146,411	293	243
Highland	10,708	428	402	27,935	56	4
Lanarkshire	21,261	850	1,033	61,185	122	40
Lothian	41,306	1,652	1,486	106,999	214	157
Orkney	1,232	49	51	3,213	6	—
Shetland	1,359	54	87	3,247	6	—
Tayside	25,040	1,002	895	64,352	129	100
Western Isles	2,511	100	97	5,866	12	—
Scotland	272,461	10,896	10,746	726,603	1,454	803

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give for each health board area the current provision of geriatric and psychogeriatric places for inpatient and outpatient treatment; how this compares with the recommended level of provision in each case; and what plans each health board has submitted to him to take account of the increasing numbers of frail and confused old people.

The most recently available statistical information in respect of geriatric provision is set out in the following table.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many burials have been carried out by each district council in Scotland in 1982 because no funds were available for burial by the family of the deceased or in the estate of the deceased.

This information is not held centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give, for each region of Scotland, the level of provision of places in old people's homes; and how this compares with the recommended provision.

The information requested is contained in table 2 of the statistical bulletin produced by the social work services group under the title "Residential Accommodation for the Elderly and Certain Other Adults Scotland 1981", a copy of which is held in the Library.It is for local authorities to assess the need for residential accommodation taking into account social, demographic and geographical factors and alternative means of meeting the needs of the elderly.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what scheme of travel concessions for the elderly exists in each Scottish region; and what changes have been made to this provision over the past three years.

The details of concessionary fares schemes are a matter for the local authorities themselves.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many officers of Scottish social work departments assist old people with advice on welfare rights and representation at tribunals; and what plans each region has for developing these services to take account of the increase in the numbers of old people.

At 31 March 1981 Strathclyde regional council employed 36 welfare rights officers, and one such officer was employed by Lothian regional council. According to the information available no other welfare rights officers were employed by social work departments in Scotland. No information is held centrally about proposals for the development of this service.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received for the establishment of a free port zone in Aberdeen; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend has not himself received proposals, but the working party under the chairmanship of my hon. Friend the Economic Secretary to the Treasury which examined the general issue of free ports received a submission about Aberdeen from Grampian regional council.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he will be in a position to announce the names of the persons selected to form the board of directors of Peterhead Bay (Management) Ltd.; and what is to be the new title of that body.

I have written to the hon. Member informing him of the appointments which have been made to the new trust which took over my right hon. Friend's responsibilities as harbour authority for Peterhead Bay harbour with effect from 1 April. The new trust is to be known as the Peterhead Bay Authority.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will discuss with all local authorities in Scotland the problem of dampness and condensation in public sector housing with a view to eradicating it by means of a special allocation of Government funding; and if he will make a statement.

Within the block allocation system to local authorities for housing capital expenditure, I was able to announce on 30 March that the 1983–84 figures include provision for all the remedial measures for condensation and dampness that local authorities have mentioned in their individual capital programmes. I obtain regular indormation from local authorities about their problems in respect of condensation and dampness and see no need for further discussion at present.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimate he has made of the cost to health boards in Scotland in redundancy payments to staff who are displaced by the introduction of privatisation of certain functions in the hospital service.

We propose to ask health boards, when comparing costs between in-house and commercial tenders, to assess carefully the long-term financial implications of contracting out support services by taking into account the full cost of any redundancy payments. Before entering into any contract Boards will wish to ensure that the services offered by contractors are cost-effective.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list in the Official Report the maximum and minimum values of the £ sterling against the United States dollar between 9 May 1979 and 29 March 1983 and the maximum and minimum value of the £ sterling in the trade weighted index during that period.

The highest closing market rate for the pound against the dollar recorded by the Bank of England during the period in question was $2·4546 on 4 November 1980. The lowest rate was $1·4549 on 29 March 1983. The highest value for sterling's effective exchange rate index (1975 = 100) calculated by the bank during this period was 105·6 for 28 January 1981. The lowest value was 77·9 on 24 March 1983.

asked the Prime Minister if she will introduce legislation to make compulsory the fitting of stainless steel exhausts to new motor vehicles, in order to enable filters to be fitted to them to reduce the emission of lead.

No. In the absence of a legal requirement for lead filters it would be wrong to limit consumer choice by insisting on exhaust systems of stainless steel.

asked the Prime Minister, in view of the fact that Members of Parliament in the House of Lords are entitled to hold chairmanships of nationalised industries, and other Exchequer paid offices of profit under the Crown, whether she will introduce legislation to put them on the same footing as hon. Members of the House of Commons.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what has been the trend in factory lettings over the past year.

The Department of Industry only keeps records of new lettings by the English Industrial Estates Corporation, but these reveal a very encouraging trend. In the year to the end of February 1983, EIEC let 807 factories comprising 243,557 square metres of floor space. This is more than double the number of new lettings for the previous year, which itself was a record year for the Corporation. I understand that in Wales and Scotland the Welsh Development Agency and the Scottish Development Agency are also reporting a record number of new lettings over the past year.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether inquiries into the death and injury of Argentine prisoners of war while in British custody on the Falkland Islands have been completed; and if he will make a statement.

Inquiries into the death and injury of Argentine prisoners of war at Goose Green on 1 June 1982 and into the injury of one prisoner of war at Pebbly Pond have been completed.Following the action at Darwin and Goose Green large quantities of Argentine arms and ammunition were found scattered in and around the settlement. This posed an extremely serious threat to the civilian population who could not return home until the houses had been checked and cleared. The British forces had to give high priority to the task of making the ammunition safe and clearing it to a central collection point at the airfield, and in additon they had to guard the large number of Argentine prisoners of war hwo were accommodated in a large sheep-shearing shed.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will arrange for a swimming pool to be made available for the troops at the Rideau garrison in Belize.

We are currently considering the provision of swimming pool facilities at Rideau camp.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with the Government of Chile on the sale to Chile of the aircraft-carrier HMS `Hermes'.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the purpose of the excavations being carried out at RAF Bentley Priory, Stanmore.

The excavations now in progress are to enable the modernisation of the air defence operations room at Bentley Priory.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the reply to the right hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent South, Official Report, 23 March, c. 434, in how many of the cases of serious injury attributable to service there was an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the injury; and on how many occasions disciplinary action was subsequently taken.

It is routine service practice that all accidental deaths and serious injuries are fully and formally investigated. It would be misleading to relate disciplinary action with inquiries into the causes of incidents in which service personnel have been seriously injured. It is common to all three Services that the question of disciplinary action, following any operational or training incident, including those involving serious injury to personnel, is kept separate from inquiries to determine the causes and prevent a recurrence.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence, in each of the past five years, how many service personnel were disabled to some extent by injuries attributable to service; if he will categorise the cases according to the degree of resulting disability and according to whether or not a disability pension was awarded on leaving the service; in how many cases there was an inquiry into the circumstances of the injury; and how frequently there was subsequent disciplinary action.