asked the Minister for the Civil Service whether he has been able to introduce any specific improvements in management and efficiency in the Civil Service.

Yes. Specific improvements include once and for all savings of £29 million and savings worth £170 million a year from decisions on Rayner scrutinies and reviews; abolishing 3,600 different forms; making managers more responsible for their costs; and introducing succession plans for key management jobs.More improvements are in hand, particularly the implementation of the financial management initiative and further efficiency work and changes in personnel management.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what subject he intends to discuss at his meeting with the Civil Service unions.

Plans for my next meeting with the Civil Service unions have not yet been made.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service if he will review the security classification system as applied to official papers within his responsibility.

Staff in post as at 1 October 1982
	Male	Female	Full-time equivalents*Total
Non-industrial	275,300	245,800	521,100
Industrial	112,000	22,000	133,900
Total	387,300	267,800	655,000
* Part-timers are counted as half units
† The male/female split is subject to an element of estimation for 1 October 1982

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many exotic animals were shipped from China to Hong Kong by sea and by road in 1979, 1980, 1981 and 1982.

The figures are as follows:

In the statement on the recommendations of the Security Commission published in May 1982, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced that review of the classification system, covering all the points raised by the commission, had been put in hand.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what representations he has received about the predominance of Oxford and Cambridge graduates in the upper echelons of the Civil Service; and what steps he is taking to make the senior grades in the Civil Service more typical of the population of the country as a whole.

I have not received representations as such on this subject, though of course there has long been comment, much of it misinformed, on the proportion of Oxbridge graduates who enter as administration trainees. But there are other routes to the upper echelons of the Civil Service, and those appointed to the Higher Civil Service are selected on the basis of their proven skills and ability and, where appropriate, professional qualification, without referene to their place of education.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service to what extent women now have employment rights equal to those of men in Government Departments; and how many (a) women and (b) men are employed in this field.

Men and women have equal rights to employment in the Civil Service, apart from certain posts which are restricted to one sex under exceptions permitted by the Sex Discrimination Act 1975. The numbers of men and women employed in the Civil Service, according to the most recent available figures, are as follows:

	By Sea	By Land
1979	2,706	1,160
1980	2,202	948
1981	6,715	2,847
1982	3,131	1,325

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has received from the Uganda Evacuees Association; and if he will meet Mr. Praful Patel, its director of claims and compensation, before taking any further action in relation to the Government of Uganda's proposals for compensating eligible British Asians.

It is the intention of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to pass on to those concerned information about the procedure that the Uganda Government wish them to adopt to claim compensation for property expropriated under the Amin regime. Representations have been received from the Uganda Evacuees Association and my hon. Friend the Member for Woking met the President of the association, Mr. Haria, and Mr. Praful Patel on 18 April at their request when he explained to them fully the basis on which we were taking this action.

asked the Minister for Trade whether he will accept the proposal of the European Commission that tenants of licensed premises owned by brewers should not be tied to receive supplies of wine, spirits and soft drinks from their landlords.

Although member states have been consulted about the draft regulation containing this proposal its final form will be decided by the Commission.

asked the Minister for Trade how many business failures there were in 1982 in (a) the building and construction industry and (b) all manufacturing industry.

The figures are as follows:

Business failures in England and Wales in 1982
	Bankruptcies*	Company Liquidationst
Construction	988	1,422
Manufacturing	208	4,058
* Unincorporated businesses: deeds of arrangement are included.
† Compulsory plus creditors' voluntary—the two types which arise from insolvency.

asked the Minister for Trade whether any matters relating to building societies have been investigated by the Office of Fair Trading.

The Director General has so far not used any of his formal powers under the Fair Trading Act or Competition Act in relation to building societies. However, he has corresponded at some length with several of the larger building societies on the subject of property insurance, which has led to all the larger societies agreeing to allow their borrowers to arrange their own property insurance if they so wish. In addition, the Director General has periodic discussions with the Building Societies Association on matters relating to competition policy and consumer protection.

asked the Minister for Trade when he set up an inquiry into the manning and health and safety levels of British ships; what are the terms of reference of the inquiry and who is conducting it; with which countries he is making comparisons; and what kinds of comparisons are being made.

I have not set up an inquiry, but I have instructed my officials to carry out work—further to the data already available from outside sources — on comparing manning on United Kingdom registered ships with that on similar ships in other European fleets.

asked the Minister for Trade if he is satisfied that adequate pollution control systems are available to cover problems which may arise from offshore drilling scheduled to take place in the English channel; and if he will make a statement.

I have been asked to reply.Before any exploration or production drilling takes place anywhere in United Kingdom waters operators must satisfy me that they have drawn up an oil spill contingency plan which sets out a credible response to an oil spill incident.The plans must indicate the resources which can be mobilised by the operators both as a first response, utilising equipment at the drilling location and as back-up should the incident require it. Operators must show clearly their access to these back-up resources, for example, by contractual arrangements or by membership of the United Kingdom Offshore Operators Association. In the event of a serious incident operators can also seek assistance from the marine pollution control unit of the Department of Trade including its aerial spraying capability, and of other operators in the area.The blocks in the English Channel in common with other blocks licensed in the 7th and 8th rounds require operators to incorporate certain essential elements into their oil spill contingency plans. These elements are designed to ensure a rapid response to an incident and specifically require operators to have available equipment capable of spraying dispersant at 30 minutes notice and the availability of back-up resources within half the minimum time it has been calculated it would take for oil to reach the shore.I am satisfied that there are adequate resources available in the English Channel area to enable these plans to be implemented effectively and my officials will ensure that operators have identified these resources and have made satisfactory arrangements to have access to them before they commence any drilling or ultimate production.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will establish a hostel to provide after-care for ex-inmates of the hospital annexe at Wormwood Scrubs prison.

Ex-inmates of the hospital annexe at Wormwood Scrubs are eligible for referral to voluntary after-care hostels receiving grant-aid from the Home Office. The total of over 3,300 beds available in such hostels includes some provision for offenders with a history of personality disorder or drug dependency. There are plans currently under consideration to extend this provision so as to include a special facility for offenders with drug problems who are released on parole from certain prisons, including Wormwood Scrubs. Discussions are well advanced, and we hope that the new provision will be in use before the end of the financial year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average take-home pay, including overtime, before tax of each grade of prison officer.

	Basic pay	Shift pay	Premium Pay	Overtime	Total
	£	£	£	£	£
Officer	100·94	12·72	11·92	68·38	193·96
Senior Officer	125·82	15·85	14·52	83·30	239·49
Principal Officer	141·09	17·78	16·12	84·65	259·64
Chief Officer II	191·59	21·63	29·98		223·20
	(£8,957 p.a.)	(£1,129 p.a.)	(£1,565 p.a.)		(£11,651 p.a.)
Chief Officer I	185·42	23·37	32·18		240·97
	(£9,679 p.a.)	(£1,120 p.a.)	(51,680 p.a.)		(£12,579 p.a.)

In addition all the above grades receive either a rent-free quarter, or a housing allowance as follows:

	Per week
	£
Prison Officer	19.20
Senior Officer	19.20
Principal Officer	19.20
Chief Officer II	24.52
	(£1,280 p.a.)
Chief Officer I	24.52
	(£1,280 p.a.)

Those officers working in London prisons receive London weighting as follows:

	Living in quarters	Receiving housing allowance
	£	£
Inner London	17·40	23·37
Outer London	7·00	9·58

Specialist officers in all grades, eg hospital officers, dog handlers, physical education instructors, receive additional allowances which range from £2·69 to £13·52 per week.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussion is taking place with the management of Apna Radio, London, as to the granting of a licence to this radio station.

None. As my right hon. Friend said in reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Petersfield (Mr. Mates) on 29 march — [Vol. 40 c. 92] — further

The earnings of most prison officers comprise basic pay; shift pay; weekend premium pay and overtime. The average gross earnings of each grade of prison officer based on pay scales applicable from 1 April 1982, are shown below. Those given for the basic grade officer are applicable in the fourth year of service, and those given for other grades are based on the scale maxima. For the weekly paid grades — prison officer, senior officer and principal officer-it has been assumed that an average of 16 hours overtime is worked per week, and that 5–6 hour shifts are worked on alternate weekends. For the salaried grades — chief officer II and chief officer I—it has been assumed that eight extra hours are worked per week.consideration will be given to the possible development of community radio after the VHF band II planning conference which is to be held in Geneva next year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many television licence holders in north Devon will be without a service after the 405 line transmitters close down at the end of 1984; and if he will make a statement.

I shall write to my hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he proposes to issue a code of guidance in connection with the sections of the Criminal Justice Act 1982 which are due to come into effect in May.

In accordance with usual practice, circulars about the implementation of the Act have been sent to the courts and the prison, probation and local authority social services. Copies of these are placed in the Library of the House as they are issued.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether it remains his intention that there should be a 4 per cent. increased contribution from the firemen towards the cost of their pension scheme without increase in benefit.

I have made an order to increase the firemen's pension contribution rate from 6¾ per cent. to 8¾ per cent. of pensionable pay with effect from 1 May 1983 and to 10¾ per cent. with effect from 1 November 1983. The 6¾ per cent. rate has applied from 1972, since when the value of the pension scheme in relation to pay has increased by over 60 per cent.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of the deaths in prison were suicides.

Information on the number and the causes of deaths in prison department establishments is published annually in "Prison statistics England and Wales" —Table 10·4 of the volume for 1981, Cmnd. 8654.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether Mr. Stancu Papasoiu will now be permitted to come to the United Kingdom.

No application for a visa has been received from Mr. Papasoiu.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons are at present serving prison sentences for contempt of court.

[pursuant to his reply, 31 March 1983, c. 273]: On 31 January 1983 there were about 40 persons serving sentences for contempt of court in prison department establishments in England and Wales.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) how much of the £6·4 million which the Commonwealth Development Corporation intends to invest in NGPI, Philippines, will be allocated to compensating the land claims of farmers who surrendered their land to the company between its inception and December 1982; and what information he has as to the proportion of the total costs incurred by NGPI and its partners in setting up the plantation at San Francisco, Agusan Del Sur, between its inception and December 1982 spent on compensating farmers who surrendered their land to the company during the same period;(2) whether, in respect of the Commonwealth Development Corporation project in San Francisco, he will request the Commonwealth Development Corporation to require its partners, NGPI and the National Development Council, to grant additional compensation to farmers who surrendered their land to NGPI between its inception and December 1982 for no money, or inadequate sums; and whether he will ensure that steps are taken to discover which farmers have legitimate, unsatisfied compensation claims.(3) whether, in view of the request of the Minister for Overseas Development to the Commonwealth Development Corporation to negotiate with its partners in the NGPI project in Agusan Del Sur, Philippines terms to end land abuses on that plantation, he is satisfied that the land claims of all those who surrendered their land to NGPI have been properly investigated and that all claimants have been fully compensated.

[pursuant to his replies, 31 March 1983, c. 221–22]: All costs of land acquisition are for the account of NDC, the sole agency authorised to acquire such land which is subsequently leased to the project company, NGPI. CDC's loan is to NGPI for project costs incurred by NGPI.I have no information on land acquisition costs, which do not fall to the project company.I am however assured by the Commonwealth Development Corporation that there are proper procedures being applied to the acquisition of land and to the investigation and settlement of genuine claims, including those arising from the period before these procedures were perfected.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) if he will add to his reply to the hon. Member for West Stirlingshire, on 21 March, Official Report, c. 534, in relation to the La Paz and Loreto projects, in the light of further investigations he has made;(2) whether he is being kept informed of the progress in land settlements on the sites in the Philippines which the Commonwealth Development Corporation hopes to develop with the National Development Company in La Paz and Loreto; and whether the Commonwealth Development Corporation rather than the National Development Company will be responsible for the evaluation, examination and payment of land claims on the proposed National Development Company-Commonwealth Development Corporation plantation.

[pursuant to his replies, 31 March 1983, c. 221–22]: As I have informed the hon. Member, the corporation has not yet approached me for final approval of this project which would be undertaken jointly by CDC with the National Development Company. The corporation does not expect to be in a position to submit final proposals much before the end of the year. When the time comes both the board and I will give very careful consideration to the project having regard to such questions as the economic and social benefits it would provide, satisfactory land tenure arrangements and the security situation in the area.I am being kept informed of progress. No land in the La Paz and Loreto areas has yet been acquired. It has been agreed between CDC and the NDC that any project which may emerge should contain a substantial outgrower element so as to minimise the need to acquire land. CDC are making their own inquiries with the assistance of Philippine consultants to establish whether the local population would be prepared to co-operate with such a development.If on this basis the project proceeds, CDC would establish, jointly with NDC as the purchasers, the basic price to be paid to title holders, as well as fixed scales of compensation for improvements, and CDC would be directly concerned, jointly with an NDC team, with the determination of payments to be made to those willing to dispose of their land.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether it is a condition of Commonwealth Development Corporation investment in the Philippines that the Lost Command and similar forces are removed from the area of potential investments before any large sums of money are committed; and whether the presence of such forces is a factor borne in mind when the Commonwealth Development Corporation considers whether its commitment to such projects should be continued.

[pursuant to his reply, 31 March 1983, c. 221]: The CDC did not proceed with its commitment to the NDC/Guthrie project until acceptable new arrangements had been agreed for the project's security involving NDC screening, recruiting and training men to assume duty on the project on or before 30 June 1983. Under its agreements CDC has powers to withhold disbursements in the event that this date is not met or CDC's monitoring of conditions on the project give it cause for concern. Similar criteria will be applied to any CDC investment for any project in La Paz and Loreto.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry to what extent women now have employment rights equal to thos of men in British Telecommunications; and how many (a) women and (b) men are employed in this field.

British Telecommunications is committed to the provision of equality of opportunity in all fields; at the endof March 1983 they employed (a) 72,045 women and (b) 173,931 men.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what percentage of the new cars bought in the United Kingdom in each year since 1978 was made in the United Kingdom.

The information, based on registrations, is as follows:

New registrations of United Kingdom-produced cars as a percentage of total new car registrations in the United Kingdom.
	percentages
1978	50·7
1979	43·7
1980	43·3
1981	44·3
1982	42·3

asked the Secretary of State for Industry how many jobs have been lost in the steel industry in the United Kingdom and in the European Community since 1979.

Between December 1979 and March 1983 the total labour force employed on ECSC activities fell by 167,000 in the nine European Community countries — excluding Greece — including 86,000 in the United Kingdom.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what percentage of the United Kingdom stainless steel cutlery market has been taken up by imports for each year over the past 10 years; if he is satisfied that the 1981 origins and marking legislation has been effective in curbing unfair competition; and if he will make a statement.

It is only possible to provide approximate figures to take account of the incomplete coverage of production data. Those for stainless steel spoons and forks—flatware—are as follows:

	percentage
1973	50
1974	50
1975	50
1976	75
1977	85
1978	80
1979	80
1980	90
1981	n/a
1982	70

n/a = not available.However as stainless steel knives are not separately identified in the trade statistics comparable figures for them are not available.The Trade Descriptions (Origin Marking) (Miscellaneous Goods) Order 1981 is a consumer measure, rather than a trade measure and is designed to provide individual consumers with information about the origin of goods. In this context my hon. Friend the Minister for Consumer Affairs is currently assessing its operation so far.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what steps his Department has taken to emphasise to businesses and offices the advantage of locating in the northern regions and particularly in Yorkshire and Humberside.

My Department plays an active part in promoting to industry the advantages that can be gained in locating businesses and offices in the assisted areas. To this end in the past 12 months the Department has taken part in national exhibitions, including The Times Business to Business Show; has organised or attended a number of national and local seminars and has approached a considerable number of companies directly through a "mail shot" campaign.In addition my Department provides support to a number of regional bodies with responsibilities in this field. In particular we have provided financial assistance to the Yorkshire and Humberside Development Association which is active in promoting the region, both in the United Kingdom and overseas.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if his Department will consider revising regional aid to create incentives to businesses and nationalised industries to locate their headquarters in the regions away from the south-east; and if he will make a statement.

The office and service industries scheme already provides incentives to encourage businesses—including nationalised industries—to set up, expand or relocate headquarters in the assisted areas.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will make a statement about the appointment of Sir William Duncan as chairman of Rolls-Royce Ltd.

Sir William Duncan has accepted the chairmanship of Rolls-Royce Ltd. with effect from 1 April 1983 for a term of five years. Sir William will be paid a salary of £125,000 per year with the possibility of a performance-related bonus payment not exceeding £25,000.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many civil servants are employed in Southend.

On 1 October 1982, the latest date for which figures are available, around 4,500 non-industrial civil servants were employed in Southend. Information on the number of industrial civil servants in Southend is not kept centrally.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what reduction has been made in the total number of civil servants between May 1979 and 31 March 1983; and how these figures divide between the three main grades in the Civil Service.

Staff in post figures for 1 April 1983 are not yet available. Between 1 April 1979 and 1 January 1983, the latest date for which figures are available, the number of civil servants fell by 79,800. A breakdown of the reduction by categories is available only up to October 1982 and figures for the main categories are included in the following table:

	Reduction to 1 October 1982
General category and related grades*	29,100
Professional and technology category	5,300
Science category	1,600
Other non-industrial	8,800
Industrial	32,500
Total	77,300
Note:
* Includes Administration, Economist, Statistician and Information Officer groups; Inland Revenue grades and DHSS local officer grades are also included.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the new issue of coins was made omitting from the reverse design the word "new"; and what arrangements have been made to acquaint the public with this change.

The Currency Act 1982, which received Royal Assent on 2 February 1982, made it lawful to drop the word "new" from "new penny". Accordingly, the Royal Mint commenced issuing coins to the banks for general circulation without the word "new" as follows:

• 50p April 1982
• 20p June 1982
• ½p July 1982
• 1p November 1982

In a press release dated 10 February 1982—a copy of which was placed in the Library — the Royal Mint announced that from 1982 onwards coins would be struck without the word "new" in front of penny or pence.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether notes on clauses in respect of those clauses of the Finance Bill to be taken in Committee of the whole House are yet available in the Vote Office.

Yes. Notes on the approriate clauses were placed in the Vote Office this morning.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will estimate the increase between 1978–79 and 1983–84 in the share of gross earnings paid in total tax payments—income tax, national insurance contributions and indirect taxes less child benefit where applicable—for those on 75 per cent., 100 per cent. and 200 per cent. of national average earnings for single people, married couples and married couples with two children, in each case expressed as an increase in the standard rate of income tax to the nearest 0· using the assumptions contained in the Financial Statement and Budget Report forecast prepared by the Treasury;(2) if he will estimate the increase between 1978–79 and 1983–84 in total tax payments— income tax, national insurance contributions and indirect taxes less child benefit where applicable—in constant prices for those on 75 per cent., 100 per cent. and 200 per cent. of national average earnings for single people, married couples, and married couples with two children, in each case expressed as an increase in the standard rate of income tax to the nearest 0·1 penny using the assumptions contained in the Financial Statement and Budget Report forecast prepared by the Treasury.

[pursuant to his reply, 18 April 1983, c. 52]: Estimates are as follows for those on 75 per cent. and 100 per cent. of average earnings. Comparable figures cannot be given for those on 200 per cent. of average earnings since indirect tax payments cannot be estimated reliably above one and a half times average earnings.The definitions underlying these figures are set out in the notes to the answer to the hon. Member for Islington, South and Finsbury (Mr. Cunningham) on 23 November 1982.—[Vol. 32, c.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give special financial assistance to Welsh housing authorities along similar lines to that recently announced for Scotland to deal with problems of dampness and condensation affecting council dwellings.

The measures recently announced in Scotland represent the final capital allocations for 1983–84 and include the redistribution of increased net receipts resulting from buoyant sales of council houses. In Wales the available resources for 1983–84 were allocated in full in November 1982.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the number of households and the rate per 1,000 population in each local authority who received assistance with the installation of telephones in 1981–82.

The information required is given in the following table:

Installation of Telephones
Local Authority	Number of cases of assistance during 1981–82	Rate per 1,000 population
Clwyd	57	0·1
Dyfed	47	0·1
Gwent	131	0·3
Gwynedd	68	0·3
Mid Glamorgan	506	0·9
Powys	3	0·0
South Glamorgan	116	0·3
West Glamorgan	72	0·2

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the number of people and the rate per 1,000 population in each local authority who received assistance with the payment of telephone rentals in 1981–82.

The information required is given in the following table:

Assistance with Telephone Rentals
Local Authority	Number of cases of assistance during 1981–82	Rate per 1,000 population
Clwyd	321	0·8
Dyfed	592	1·8
Gwent	924	2·1

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the number of households containing disabled children and the rate per 1,000 child population in each local authority who received assistance with the installation of telephones in 1981–82.

Information on this topic is collected in terms of the numbers of children assisted and the figures for 1981–82 are given in the following table:

Local authority	Number of cases of assistance during 1981–82	Rate per 1,000 children under 16 years
Clwyd	1	0·0
Dyfed	—	—
Gwent	—	—
Gwynedd	4	0·1
Mid Glamorgan	13	·1
Powys	—	—
South Glamorgan	1	0·0
West Glamorgan	3	0·0

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the number of households containing disabled children and the rate per 1,000 child population in each local authority who received assistance with the payment of telephone rentals in 1981–82.

Information on this topic is collected in terms of the numbers of children assisted and the figures for 1981–82 are given in the following table:

Assistance with telephone rentals
Local authority	Number of cases of assistance during 1981–82	Rate per 1,000 children under 16 years
Clwyd	11	0·1
Dyfed	3	0·0
Gwent	10	0·1
Gwynedd	19	0·4
Mid Glamorgan	—	—
Powys	2	0·1
South Glamorgan	6	0·1
West Glamorgan	10	0·1

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the number of households containing disabled children and the rate per 1,000 child population in each local authority who received assistance with adaption to the home in 1981–82.

Information on this topic is collected in terms of the numbers of children assisted and the figures for 1981–82 are given in the following table:

Adaptations to the home
Local authority	Number of cases of assistance during 1981–82	Rate per 1,000 children under 16 years
Clwyd	29	0·3
Dyfed	15	0·2
Gwent	1	-0·0
Gwynedd	5	0·1
Mid Glamorgan	10	0·1
Powys	—	—
South Glamorgan	5	0·1
West Glamorgan	12	0·2

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the number of households containing disabled children and the rate per 1,000 child population in each local authority who received assistance with the provision of aids in 1981–92.

The information on this topic is collected in terms of the children assisted and the figures for 1981–82 are given in the following table:

Provision of aids
Local authority	Number of cases of assistance during 1981–82	Rate per 1,000 children under 16 years
Clwyd	39	0·4
Dyfed	25	0·4
Gwent	61	0·6
Gwynedd	33	0·7
Mid Glamorgan	37	0·3
Powys	5	0·2
South Glamorgan	14	0·2
West Glamorgan	29	0·4

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the number of households and the rate per 1,000 population in each local authority who received assistance with the provision of aids in 1981–92.

The information required is given in the following table:

Adaptations to the home
Local authority	Number of cases of assistance during 1981–82	Rate per 1,000 population
Clwyd	265	0·7
Dyfed	116	0·4
Gwent	65	0·2
Gwynedd	113	0·5
Mid Glamorgan	795	1·5
Powys	15	0·1
South Glamorgan	189	0·5
West Glamorgan	408	1·1

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the number of households and the rate per 1,000 child population in each local authority who received assistance with the provision of aids in 1981–82.

Information required is given in the following table:

Provision of aids
Local authority	Number of cases of assistance during 1981–82	Rate per 1,000 population
Clwyd	4,174	10·6
Dyfed	2,973	9·0
Gwent	4,706	10·7
Gwynedd	1,861	8·0
Mid Glamorgan	3,918	7·3
Powys	636	5·7
South Glamorgan	1,786	4·6
West Glamorgan	1,711	4·6

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the number of households and the rate per 1,000 population in each local authority who received assistance with holidays in 1981–82.

The information required is given in the following table:

Assistance with holidays
Local authority	Number of cases of assistance during 1981–82	Rate per 1,000 population
Clwyd	149	0·4
Dyfed	—	—
Gwent	804	1·8
Gwynedd	89	0·4
Mid Glamorgan	732	1·4
Powys	—	—
South Glamorgan	670	1·7
West Glamorgan	731	2·0

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement about the effect of the activities on the Wales tourist board, following the recent announcement on the overseas promotion of Great Britain. made by the Under-Secretary of State for Trade, the hon. Member for Aberdeen, South (Mr. Sproat), Official Report, c. 648.

The offer to the British tourist authority of an additional £1 million for overseas promotion in 1983–84 announced on 16 March by my hon. Friend will be of benefit to all parts of Britain. The Wales tourist board, whose chairman is a member of the British tourist authority, will seek to take advantage of the increased overseas promotion opportunities, while continuing its present full range of activities on behalf of tourism in Wales.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales whether he has any plans for senior members of Welsh local government and industry to exchange positions with civil servants in his Department.

At present there are no exchanges under consideration. During 1982 and 1983 to date one inward secondment was effected and two outward secondments and one inward secondment were considered but did not proceed.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales whether he has any plans for further advance factory building by the Welsh Development Agency.

I am pleased to announce that I have given approval to a new programme of Welsh development agency advance factory building. In recent discussions with the agency I asked for a review of the needs for additional building throughout Wales. The resulting programme will provide about 70 new factories in 12 different locations and will cost around £3½ million. The agency will keep the needs for further building under continuous review.

asked the Prime Minister if she will give the reasons why she will not make it the policy of Her Majesty's Government that before making appointments of chairmen and members of Government boards Ministers should, in the interest of good labour relationships, discuss with the representative of the trades unions within the industry for which the appointments are to be made the potential list of applicants and their qualifications, to seek the view of the trades unions, before making a final decision on such appointments.

The reasons are that Ministers are responsible to Parliament for the appointments they make, and it must be left to them to make whatever inquiries they think best.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list in the Official Report the public assets, including the municipal dwellings, sold to private interests since the Government took office and the amounts realised from each sale — an aggregate sum for all municipal dwellings; and if she will estimate the current market value for such assets, including an estimate for the aggregate market value of municipal dwellings already sold.

An analysis of those disposals attributed to the special sales of assets programme is published annually in the Public Expenditure White Paper. A breakdown of receipts for 1979–80 and 1980–81 is provided in table 4.8 in Cmnd. 8494, and for 1981–82 in table 4.6 in Cmnd. 8789. Final outturn figures for 1982–83 are not yet available and the latest forecast outturn of £500 million was published in the recent financial statement and Budget report. A detailed analysis of special assets sales in 1982–83 will be published in due course. The following table shows the latest estimate of total receipts attributed to special sales of assets since 1979–80, together with initial receipts from sales of land and buildings by housing authorities, including sales of municipal dwellings.No estimates are available of the current market value of assets transferred to the private sector, since there is no operational need for such estimates to be made.

Receipts from sales of public assets*	£ million
Receipts included in Special Sales of Assets Programme, 1979–80 to 1982–83†	1,776
Initial receipts‡ from sales of land and buildings║ by housing authorities¶ 1979–80 to 1982–83	2,610
TOTAL	4,386
Notes
* All figures for 1982–83 are estimated outturn.
† Includes receipts from Britoil sale of £334 million, from Debenture and first payment on shares, but not the second payment of £293 million which falls into 1983–84.
‡ Gross receipts from sales less local authority mortgages.
║It is not possible without disproportionate cost to give a figure for dwellings only but some 90 per cent. of these sales are of municipal dwellings.
¶ Comprises local authorities, new towns, the Scottish Special the Housing Association and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive.

asked the Prime Minister if, pursuant to her reply to the hon. Member for Christchurch and Lymington on 11 April, Official Report, c. 307, she will introduce legislation to require lead filters to be fitted to motor vehicle exhausts, without specification of material of construction, in order to retain consumer choice.

I refer my hon. Friend to the Paliamentary statement on environmental lead made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment on 18 April. [Vol. 41, c. 21–31.] The Royal Commission on environmental pollution has made clear its concern over the problems of disposing of lead filters and the risk that the use of filters would substitute one pollution pathway for another. The Royal Commission does not favour the adoption of lead filters as a long term measure, and we do not intend to introduce legislation on the lines suggested by my hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government towards the import of coal by the Central Electricity Generating Board.

Given record stocks of coal in the United Kingdom the CEGB agreed to the Government's request to limit its coal imports into the United Kingdom to 0.75 million tonnes in both 1981–82 and 1982–83. I have asked the CEGB to continue to limit its imports for the time being.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list those companies in the employment areas covering (a) the Walsall South, (b) the Walsall North and (c) the Aldridge-Brownhills parliamentary constituencies that have (i) closed, (ii) made more than 10 workers redundant, and (iii) made more than 100 workers redundant in the last four years.

Information on redundancies confirmed as about to occur is provided in confidence, and therefore I cannot disclose the names of individual companies affected.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many staff currently employed by British Telecom have been re-engaged after retirement at 60 years.

I have been asked to reply.I understand that British Telecom currently employs some 5,300 staff in this category, known as retained pensioners.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many local education authorities in England have kept grammar schools and the selective principle.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 14 February 1983 to my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing, North (Mr. Greenway).—[Vol. 37, c. 14.]

asked to the Secretary of State for Scotland how many persons are being held in custody on remand in Scotland; what is the average time spent in custody by defendants awaiting trial during the most recent period for which figures are available; and how many people have been released during the last four years because they have been in custody for 110 days.

On 5 April 1983 a total of 693 persons were held in Scottish penal establishments on remand awaiting trial. In the first three months of 1983 the average daily number of prisoners held on remand awaiting trial was 653.In 1982 the estimated average period spent by all prisoners in custody awaiting trial in Scottish penal establishments was 18 days.No persons have been released from custody in Scotland in the last four years because they have been in custody for 110 days.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to the reply on 31 March, Official Report, c. 236–40, to the hon. Member for Central Ayrshire (Mr. Lambie) if he will correct the table for the 1983–84 "Relevant Expenditure" guideline in respect of Glasgow district in the light of the inadvertent inclusion of unaccounted contingencies of £8 million in the ranking of overspend figures.

The figure shown for Glasgow district council in my reply to the hon. Member for Central Ayrshire (Mr. Lambie) on 31 March was correctly based on the information provided by the district council. Note 2 at the end of the answer stated that the figures had only just been received and might be subject to change. As a result of inquiries which were not complete at 31 March, a figure of £8 million, which was shown for contingencies, will not be included in the figures relevant for rate support grant purposes (excluding loan charges), since the district council has explained that that figure has been included mainly for loan charges, although not shown as such on their budget return. The revised information for Glasgow district now reads as follows:

	Glasgow City
	£ million
1982–83 Guideline	69·21
1982–83 Original Budget	77·75
1982–83 Provisional Outturn	80·21
	Per cent.
Provisional Outturn Deviation from Guideline	+15·9
	£ million
1983–84 Guideline	66·34
1983–84 Budget	90·56

Volume 40, columns 236–240.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many local education authorities in Scotland have kept grammar schools and the selective principle.

Dumfries and Galloway regional council has one secondary school which at present selects its pupils on academic ability; this basis of selection is to be phased out next year, with subsequent intakes to the school being on a comprehensive basis. Grampian regional council has two small rural schools with secondary departments which cater solely for local pupils considered to be more likely to benefit from courses of a non-academic nature. All other secondary schools in the public sector are operated on a comprehensive basis.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland on the basis of the most recent figures available what is the total payment made to Scottish Education Department award holders through the student travel allowance system; how many award holders receive additional payments via the travel allowance system; of the latter how many, both as a percentage and an absolute figure, receive payments of between (a) £50 and £100, (b) £100 and £150, (c) £150 and £200, (d) £200 and £250, (e) £250 and £300, (f) £300 and £400 and (g) £400 and £500, and how many receive more than £500; what was the percentage breakdown between students residing in the parental home and those living away from home in each payment band; and what was the maximum amount paid to any one award holder.

For the academic session 1981–82, the Scottish Education Department paid under the students' allowances scheme £4,619,266 to 34,716

	Students living at home during study		Other students		All students
Payment £	No. of payments	Per cent.	No. of payments	Per cent.	No. of payments	Per cent.
1–50	2,015	12	4,606	26	6,621	19
51–100	4,213	25	6,214	35	10,427	30
101–150	3,435	20	3,021	17	6,456	19
151–200	2.215	13	1,444	8	3,659	11
201–250	1,792	11	1,037	6	2,829	8
251–300	1,374	8	644	4	2,018	6
301–400	1,331	8	645	4	1,976	6
401–500	347	2	175	1	522	2
More than 500	115	1	93	1	208	1
	16,837		17,879		34,716

The highest amount paid to a single award-holder was £1,446 to a disabled student.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will list the number of households containing disabled children and the rate per 1,000 child population in each region who received assistance with the installation of telephones in 1981–82;(2) if he will list the number of households containing disabled children and the rate per 1,000 child population in each region who received assistance with the payment of telephone rentals in 1981–82;

Services provided by local authorities 1981–82 to households containing disabled children (provisional)
	Telephone rental or installation		Aids		Adaptations
	Number	Rate per 1,000 child population	Number	Rate per 1,000 child population	Number	Rate per 1,000 child population
Central	0	0	30	0·5	13	0·2
Grampian	0	0	70	0·6	34	0·3
Highland	0	0	15	0·3	4	0·1
Lothian	3	0	84	0·5	46	0·3
Tayside	3	0	71	0·8	46	0·5

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will list the number of households and the rate per 1,000 population in each region who received assistance with the payment of telephone rentals in 1981–82;(2) if he will list the number of households and the rate per 1,000 population in each region who received assistance with the installation of telephones in 1981–82;

The information is not available for Borders, Dumfries and Galloway, Fife, Strathclyde, Orkney, Shetland or Western Isles. Provisional figures relating to the other five regionss are contained in the table:(3) if he will list the number of households and the rate per 1,000 population in each region who received assistance with adaptations to the home in 1981–82:(4) if he will list the number of households and the rate per 1,000 population in each region who received assistance with the provision of aids in 1981–82;(5) if he will list the number of people and the rate per 1,000 population in each region who received assistance with holidays in 1981–82.

Provisional figures are contained in the table:

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement about the effect on the activities of the Scottish tourist board, following the recent announcement on the overseas promotion of Great Britain, made by the Under-Secretary of State for Trade, the hon. Member for Aberdeen, South (Mr. Sproat) Official Report, column 648.

I welcome the announcement by my hon. Friend of an additional £1 million for the overseas promotion of Great Britain by the British tourist authority in 1983–84. The Scottish tourist board, through its chairman's membership of the BTA board, will play its part in planning the deployment of the increased resources and Scottish tourism interests will obtain their fair share of the benefits deriving from this increase in BTA's overseas marketing activities.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the outbreaks of whirling disease in Scotland since the first notification; how the disease has been dealt with; whether it is now under control; and if he will make a statement.

The infective agents of this disease have been found in two fish farms in Scotland since the major outbreak in England last year. Restrictions have been placed on the fish farms concerned; it is now necessary for them to obtain the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland's agreement to the movement of any fish, fish eggs or fish food from the farms. These restrictions will remain until the fish farmers have cleared their infected ponds of stock and carried out recommended cleaning and disinfection of their holding tanks and ponds. Investigations by the Department's scientists have failed to reveal any spread of infection beyond these two farms.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he can provide information from the 1981 census showing (a) the number and percentage of single-parent families with dependent children, and (b) the percentage of the population of pensionable age per district council ward for Dundee.

Information on the number and percentage of single-parent families with dependent children is not yet available. The percentages of the population of pensionable age, taken as males aged 65 and over, females aged 60 and over, in each district ward in the City of Dundee district are shown in the following table:

District Ward	Percentage
1 Wellgate	24·0
2 Baxter Park	23·1
3 Craigie Bank	34·3
4 Craigie Barns	20·7
5 West Ferry	21·8
6 Broughty Ferry	25·9
7 Balgillo	9·5
8 Eastern	18·6
9 Douglas	10·9
10 Drumgeith	15·2
11 Longhaugh	8·8
12 Whitfield	5·0
13 Fintry North	6·8
14 Fintry South	8·3
15 Caird	14·7
16 Midmill	11·2
17 Clepington	40·4
18 Maryfield	20·0
19 Coldside	28·8
20 Hilltown	16·4
21 Central	21·9
22 Riverside	30·2
23 Dudhope	24·5
24 Logie	32·5
25 Law	35·3
26 Ancrum	21·2
27 St. Ninians	15·0
28 Menzieshill	16·2
29 Gourdie	16·7
30 Pitalpin	13·4
31 Lochee West	21·9
32 Lochee East	18·4
33 Rockwell	38·9
34 Fairmuir	25·5
35 Trottick	8·4
36 Gillburn	10·9
37 Downfield	10·8
38 St. Mary's	10·8
39 Ardler	16·1
40 Blackshade	15·4
41 Monifieth West	18·2
42 Monifieth East	18·5
43 Gowrie	24·7
44 Sidlaw	12·9

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what data he has from the 1981 census on the number of economically active males in unskilled manual occupations, socio-economic group 11, and of their corresponding percentage as a percentage of all economically-active males per district council ward for Dundee.

This information is not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he can provide information from the 1981 census showing the numbers unemployed by age group per district council ward for Dundee;(2) if he will provide information from the 1981 census showing the composition by age group over 16 years per district council ward for Dundee.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the income qualifications for the receipt of free school meals in each education authority in Scotland.

	Number of pupils taking school meals	Uptake as percentage of all pupils at school on the Census day	Number of pupils receiving free school meals	Uptake of free meals as percentage of all pupils at school on the Census day
1981
Scotland	329,667	37·9	114,711	13·2
Tayside	19,631	30·2	5,610	8·6
1982
Scotland	316,212	38·4	124,547	15·1
Tayside	20,042	31·6	6,597	10·4
1983 (provisional)
Scotland	311,370	38·2	132,953	16·3
Tayside	20,470	33·0	7,380	11·9

No information on the numbers, separately, of primary and secondary school pupils taking school meals is available prior to 1982. The figures for 1982 and 1983 are as follows:

	Number of pupils taking school meals	Uptake as percentage of all pupils at school on the Census day	Number of pupils receiving free school meals	Uptake of free school meals as percentage of all pupils at school on the Census day
1982
Scotland:
Primary	198,549	43·5	77,593	17·0
Secondary	106,425	30·7	39,454	11·4
Tayside:
Primary	11,474	32·9	4,082	11·7
Secondary	7,205	27·1	1,781	6·7
1983 (provisional)
Scotland:

The annual census of school meals taken in January 1983 shows that education authorities provide free school meals in terms of the following qualifications:

(a) Authorities who provide free meals for children whose families receive supplementary benefit or family income supplement
Borders*	Grampian
Highland	Lothian
Tayside
* Criteria also include those receiving unemployment benefit.

(b) Authorities who also provide free meals on the basis of an income scale
Central	Shetland
Dumfries and Galloway	Strathclyde
Fife	Western Isles
Orkney

Details of the income scales adopted by these authorities as criteria for provision of free school meals are not available centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the current number and percentage of schoolchildren in Tayside and Scotland receiving school meals; what are the respectively corresponding figures for free school meals; if he will disaggregate the information for both primary and secondary sectors; and how these figures compare with each of the previous two years.

The information, which is taken from the annual census of school meals held each January, is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what were the annual average unemployment rate for (a) males and (b) total unemployed in Dundee for each year since 1950.

The information requested could only be provided at disproportionate expense. I shall, however, reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible with such information as can be provided at reasonable cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what has been the number of redundancies notified to occur in Dundee in each of the past 12 months; and what was the cumulative total for the previous 12-month period;(2) when the figures for unemployment in Dundee were last analysed for information on unemployment totals by age group and sex; and if he will publish that information;(3) what information on unemployment figures for particular industries his Department possesses; and if he will make a statement;(4) how many people were unemployed in Scotland in March 1966 and March 1983; and what are the corresponding figures for Aberdeen, Dundee, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he has any plans to meet the representatives of the Scottish National Farmers Union to discuss the situation in the pig and poultry sectors of the agricultural industry; and if he will make a statement;(2) what representations he has received from the pig and poultry sectors of the Scottish National Farmers Union on the situation in these sectors of the agricultural industry and pressing for cheaper grain; and what has been his response.

My right hon. Friend has received a number of representations from the National Farmers' Union of Scotland on these subjects. Both my noble Friend the Minister of State and my right hon. Friend have recently discussed conditions in the pigs and poultry sectors with representatives of the Union. Various matters were covered in these talks, including the question of access to cheaper grain for incorporation into feeding-stuffs. While my right hon. Friend has no plans at present for a further meeting with the union, his officials are in frequent contact with them.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) if he will list the number of households containing disabled children and the rate per 1,000 child population in each area board which received assistance with the provision of aids in 1981–82;(2) if he will list the number of households and the rate per 1,000 population in each area board which received assistance with the provision of aids in 1981–82;(3) if he will list the number of households containing disabled children and the rate per 1,000 child population in each area board which received assistance with adaptations to the home in 1981–82;(4) if he will list the number of households and the rate per 1,000 population in each area board which received assistance with adaptations to the home in 1981–82;(5) if he will list the number of households and the rate per 1,000 population in each area board which received assistance with the installation of telephones in 1981–82;(6) if he will list the number of households containing disabled children and the rate per 1,000 child population in each area board which received assistance with the payment of telephone rentals in 1981–82;(7) if he will list the number of households and the rate per 1,000 population in each area board which received assistance with the payment of telephone rentals in 1981–82;(8) if he will list the number of households containing disabled children and the rate per 1,000 child population in each area board which received assistance with the installation of telephones in 1981–82.

Since January 1981 statistics have been compiled on the basis of number of cases rather than households and relate to calendar years. Figures for 1982 are not yet available but for 1981 the information is as follows: