asked the Minister for Trade when he will announce his decision on whether or not to refer BTR's takeover bid of Thomas Tilling plc to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission.

asked the Minister for Trade when he expects to announce his decision as to whether to refer the proposed takeover of the Thomas Tilling Group plc by BTR Group plc to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission.

My right hon. and noble Friend has announced today his decision not to refer this merger to the commission.

asked the Minister for Trade whether he has made any representations to the

asked the Minister for Trade whether agreement has yet been reached to limit the number of cruises offered out of United Kingdom ports by Soviet cruise line operators.

Some phased reductions in the United States tariff on wool cloth, extending to 1987, were achieved in the multilateral trade negotiations which ended in 1979. I recognise, however, that a wide disparity remains between the United States and Community tariffs on this particular product and we will continue our efforts to reduce this unreasonable barrier to British exports.

asked the Minister for Trade (1) if he will set out in the Official Report a table relating to the imports of polyethylene film products from third countries, indicating the country of origin, tonnage and value for each of the last four years and for 1983 to date;(2) if he will set out in the

The information which can be provided within acceptable limits of cost is as follows:

I understand that the British and Soviet cruise line operators have not yet reached an agreement on the number of cruises that are to be offered out of the United Kingdom by Soviet vessels.

asked the Minister for Trade, further to his reply dated 15 March, Official Report, columns 77–78, concerning tariffs on United Kingdom imports of manufactures, whether he will publish in the Official Report an estimate of the level to which the tariff in each division will be reduced at the end of the Tokyo round if the reductions are implemented in full.

The White Paper "General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, The Multilateral Negotiations 1973–79", Cmnd. 7724 of 1979, estimated that the average trade weighted external tariff of the European Community on industrial goods would fall to 7·5 per cent. at the end of the period of tariff reductions agreed in the Tokyo round of GATT multilateral trade negotiations — that is 1 January 1987. More detailed estimates could be provided only at disproportionate cost and would not be fully reliable.

asked the Minister for Trade what information he has as to the percentage of British overseas direct investment which is in South Africa.

The latest available information on the level of United Kingdom direct investment in South Africa relates to the position at the end of 1978. This is published in table 1 of Business Monitor MA4, 1978 Supplement, Census of Overseas Assets 1978, a copy of which is in the Library.

asked the Minister for Trade if he will assess the implications of proposals to make the Solent a permanent mooring place for redundant oil rigs and surplus oil tankers; and if he will list his powers of control in such cases.

I have powers under section 34 of the Coast Protection Act 1949 that may be used if the safety of navigation is at risk as a result of works—which include permanent moorings— in tidal waters. I have also a wide range of powers under the Merchant Shipping Acts relating to the safety of vessels and to pollution, which might bear on proposals of the sort that the hon. Member has in mind. I have noted the concern expressed by the Solent Protection Society about the possibility of such moorings and I will certainly assess the implications of any proposals if they are brought forward. But none has yet been put to me.

asked the Minister for Trade if he has yet received the report of the merchant bank consultant on a scheme for a reduction in the number of maritime pilots and associated early retirement proposals; and if he will make a statement.

I have nothing to add to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Garston (Mr. Thornton) on 11 April 1983.—[Vol. 40, c. 289.]

asked the Minister for Trade if he is satisfied that the contingency arrangements for dealing with shipping emergencies are sufficiently tested in exercises to ensure that all those who would be involved are familiar with the procedures and equipment and are aware of the various problems which can arise.

Regular exercises to test procedures, communications and equipment are held by my Department, both by the Coastguard and by the marine pollution control unit. Some are conducted jointly to test both search and rescue and counter pollution arrangements, since responses to both emergency aspects might be required in the same incident. Many exercises also involve the local authorities to test arrangements for casualty reception, when necessary, and the clearance of pollution from beaches.As an example, on 5 May the Anglo-French plan for dealing with shipping emergencies in the Channel — MANCHEPLAN—will be exercised live in a simulated collision involving an oil tanker in the middle of the Channel. Her Majesty's Coastguard will conduct, initially, a paper search and rescue operation. Action will then move to the French side of the sea area. Co-operation between the two countries will be tested in the exercise — code name MANCHEX 83 — which will involve deploying the marine pollution control unit's dispersant spraying aircraft from a French base and the use of the French Government's emergency cargo transfer equipment. Emphasis on this occasion is the live testing of counter-pollution arrangements.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 5 May.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 5 May.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 5 May.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 5 May.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 5 May.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 5 May.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 5 May.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 5 May

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 5 May.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 5 May.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 5 May.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 5 May.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 5 May.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 5 May.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 5 May.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 5 May.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 5 May.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 5 May.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 5 May.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 5 May.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 5 May.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 5 May.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 5 May.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 5 May.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 5 May.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 5 May.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 5 May.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 5 May.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 5 May.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 5 May.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 5 May.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 5 May.

asked the Prime Minister what are her official engagements for Thursday 5 May.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 5 May.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 5 May.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 5 May.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 5 May.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 5 May.

This morning I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet and had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House I shall be having further meetings later today. This evening I shall be holding a reception for the NSPCC.

asked the Prime Minister if she will set up an inquiry into the Falklands conflict, taking into account the precedent of the inquiry into the Crimean war.

No.

asked the Prime Minister which industries she intended by her reference to (a) "yesterday's jobs" and (b) "new jobs" on 12 April, Official Report, c. 668; and how many jobs are involved in each.

I was making the general point that the CBI realise that the pattern of employment has always been changing, and that it does not make sense to subsidise employment in old and unprofitable industries making products which people do not buy. Lasting employment cannot be created by subsidy. It can be created only by new firms successfully exploiting new markets or by existing firms improving their competitiveness and maintaining their profitability.

asked the Prime Minister when she expects a decision to be announced as to the level of Christmas bonus to be paid to pensioners in 1983.

A Christmas bonus will be paid again this year. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Services will make an announcement about the details of the bonus in the near future.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many youth training places have so far been offered by the private sector.

I am afraid that information is not available in the form requested. The latest indications are, however, that sufficient places will be made available by employers participating in the youth training scheme, and the private sector will be playing a major role.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the firms in Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and Derbyshire which, in the last 12 months, have received payments under the young workers scheme.

The information requested is not readily available. In any case, for reasons of commercial confidentiality, we do not normally release details of individual firms receiving payments under any of the special employment measures.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will set out the numbers of unemployed (a) men and(b) women by age group in the Slough and Reading travel-to-work areas for each year since 1979.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what representations he has received about the different criteria applying for early retirement of industrial and non-industrial Civil Service staff under the Government's job release scheme; and if he will make a statement.

When the job release scheme was introduced in 1977, the Civil Service did not have to meet the Department of Employment's replacement conditions in full. On 1 April 1982, however, the replacement conditions in the public and private sectors were brought into line. It was always recognised that this change would reduce the extent to which JRS could operate in the Civil Service and a number of representations, notably from hon. Members on behalf of disappointed constituents and from the trade union side, have been received. The Management and Personnel Office has recently circulated revised guidance to departments about the application of JRS in the Civil Service. This takes account of the difficulties which some Departments had experienced in operating the scheme under the earlier arrangements, and of the comments made by the Select Committee on Social Services in its third report in Session 1981–82. The operation of JRS in the Civil Service is governed by a

[pursuant to the reply, 28 April 1983, c. 422]: The following table gives the figures for registered unemployed at January each year from 1979 to 1982 and the figures for unemployed claimants at January 1983, the latest available.uniform body of rules applying to industrial and non-industrial civil servants and I am not aware of any representations which have suggested otherwise.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what information he has as to whether any changes in shareholdings in the Bank for International Settlements are in prospect;(2) pursuant to the answer of 26 April, if he will list the holders of the issued shares of the Bank for International Settlements; what is the size of each shareholding; and if he will list all the changes in shareholdings since May 1979.

The Bank for International Settlements is a company registered in Switzerland. I have no further details of present shareholdings or of past or prospective changes. Ownership of BIS shares does not automatically confer voting or representative rights. These rights may in general only be exercised by the central banks of the 29, mainly European, countries in which the shares have been subscribed.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if any endeavour is being made by Her Majesty's Government to amalgamate the information required by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise and by the Inland Revenue in one return.

Although simplification is desirable, I fear that a single return would be impracticable. Each Department requires widely differing information at different times.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if there has been any extension of the experiment initiated in Leeds whereby the Inland Revenue was exchanging information freely with Her Majesty's Customs and Excise; and what conclusions have been reached as a result of this work.

The experiment is currently still confined to the Leeds area. The recommendation by the Keith committee that it be extended nationwide will be considered in the light of that report as a whole.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action he proposes to take in the light of the response to the Inland Revenue's consultative paper which discusses the possible revision of the withholding tax machinery for foreign and public revenue dividends and interest.

We have given careful consideration to the representations made on this paper. While we shall keep under review the operation of the machinery, we do not propose to make any of the changes discussed in the main body of the paper. The Inland Revenue will continue discussions with representative bodies about certain technical and procedural changes, including those referred to in paragraphs 12 and 13 of the paper.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on the tax treatment of pension funds participating in the London international financial futures exchange; and whether he will make a statement.

Representations have been received from the National Association of Pension Funds and other interested parties. Having considered these carefully, I accept the case for a change in the present law to bring the tax treatment of transactions by pension funds in financial futures into line with that of other pension fund investments. Legislation will be proposed, in the form of a new clause at Standing Committee stage of the current Finance Bill. If approved, the change will apply with effect from Royal Assent.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he is satisfied with the operation of the practice outlined in the statement of practice SP 16/80 relating to allowances given by the Inland Revenue for meals consumed by long-distance lorry drivers; and if, in particular, he will inquire into the reasons why some claims based on this statement of practice have taken three years to resolve.

[pursuant to his reply, 28 April 1983, c. 430]: I am satisfied that an employee claiming tax relief for expenses should be expected to provide some evidence of the expenditure incurred. The Inland Revenue's statement of practice SP 16/80 gives details of the son; of evidence it requires in suport of claims made by long-distance lorry drivers for the cost of meals taken away from home. I am not aware of any delays in dealing with claims, but if my hon. Friend would like to write to me with details of any particular case he has in mind I will be happy to look into the matter.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will set out the principal achievements of Her Majesty's Government within his Department's responsibilities since May 1979.

The Department of Industry has made good progress in helping to improve the competitiveness and profitability of British industry.In particular, the Department has made substantial progress in exposing nationalised industries to the forces of competition. British Aerospace, Cable and Wireless, the National Maritime Institute and the Computer-Aided Design Centre have been transferred to the private sector and the Telecommunications Bill now before Parliament will provide for the conversion of BT to a public limited company and the subsequent sale of 51 per cent. of the shares to the public.The balance of my Department's budget has been shifted towards private enterprise: whereas in 1980–81 70 per cent. was devoted to the public sector and 30 per cent. to the private sector, in 1983–84 39 per cent. is allocated to the public sector and 61 per cent. to the private sector. Management improvements within my Department are in train. 14 specific aims have been identified and publicised and these form the apex of a new management system. This relates all Departmental activities to the 14 aims and introduces some 1,000 operational targets to guide day-to-day work. Since 1 April 1979 staff numbers have been reduced by 1,793 or 19 per cent. and further reductions are planned.The British Telecommunications Act 1981 has opened parts of the letter monopoly to competition. The Act also enabled private companies, for the first time, to supply a wide range of telecommunications products direct to their customers and to offer, under licence, value added services to BT's network. Europe's first competitive telecommunications network, Mercury, has been licensed. The impact of competition and liberalisation on BT's own services is proving highly beneficial to customers. Jointly with the Home Office, my Department published the White Paper on the "Development of Cable Systems and Services', on 27 April, which looks forward to the establishment of a statutory cable authority and the early development of advanced cable systems in the United Kingdom.The Iron and Steel Act 1981 removed statutory restrictions on the British Steel Corporation enabling privatisation of BSC. Similarly, the British Shipbuilders Bill, which has successfully completed all stages in Parliament and will receive Royal Assent very shortly permits the privatisation of British Shipbuilders. The NEB and the NRDC, working since 1981 under a common board and the joint name British Technology Group, has sold or disposed of interests in 43 companies and continues to support the transfer of technology from the laboratory to the market, and the start-up and expansion of new, high technology companies.The Department has actively promoted and encouraged the development of new products and processes. Since May 1979 £750 million has been spent in support of science and technology. Support is given for key technology such as microelectronics, software products, computer-aided design, manufacture and test, robotics, flexible manufacturing systems, fibre-optics and biotechnology. In the field of information technology, the Department has encouraged efficiency and innovation in industry by increasing the awareness and application of the new technology; most notably through the programme of awareness activities associated with Information Technology Year 1982. I announced on 28 April that the Government were prepared to contribute around £200 million towards the £350 million programme of collaborative research on advanced information technology recommended by the Alvey committee.Virtually all secondary schools have a microcomputer under the micros in schools scheme. Approximately 10,000 schools have applied under the micros in primary schools scheme. We have announced in conjunction with the MSC the esablishment of a network of 150 ITeCs training 5,000 unemployed young people in information technology by the end of this year.Following the recommendations of the Finniston report of the committee of inquiry into the engineering profession, the Engineering Council has been established.National selective assistance of £282 million has been given since May 1979 under section 8 of the Industrial Development Act 1982—formerly the Industry Act 1972 — in support of projects which make a significant contribution to the economy.Assistance to projects in assisted areas under section 7 of the Industrial Development Act 1982 totalling £197 million and regional development grants totalling £1,984 million have been made since May 1979. Industrial development certificates and office development permits have been ended. On 28 June 1982 I announced the final stage of the review of the assisted areas coverage in order to concentrate regional industrial incentives on the areas of greatest need. In order to help and encourage firms in the west midlands to make the fullest use of all national schemes of support for industry, I have set up a team for innovation in the west midlands.The Government have introduced 108 measures for small businesses to stimulate the flow of finance, to improve incentives, stimulate investment, improve the supply of premises, encourage exports, reduce burdens and provide advice and information. Advisory services for small firms have been extended and the Department's small firms service handled around 230,000 enquiries in 1982. Under the loan guarantee scheme guarantees had been issued by the end of March for over £312 million of bank lending and in the Budget the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced an increase of £300 million in the ceiling for scheme loans. The small engineering firms investment scheme introduced last year to stimulate investment in advanced capital equipment was a resounding success and a new SEFIS with an allocation of £100 million has been launched.The Department has co-ordinated the major Government initiative to encourage public purchasers to use their purchasing power to help develop the design, technology and competitiveness of their suppliers.Special support schemes have been introduced for private sector steel, steel-castings, coal-firing and telecommunications products.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, pursuant to the reply to the hon. Member for Workington on 18 April, Official Report, c. 10, whether he will list in the Official Report the number of recipients of the £100 million in regional assistance, supporting £600 million of investment, allocated to West Cumbria since 1979, the amount of assistance allocated to each recipient and value of each investment so supported.

Details of individual payments of regional development grant of £25,000 or more and of offers of selective financial assistance of £5,000 or more are published quarterly in British Business. In West Cumbria, published payments of regional development grant were made to 207 applicants between 1 April 1979 and 31 March 1983; 16 published offers of selective financial assistance were made between 1 April 1979 and 28 February 1983. The amount of work required to identify and record the amount of assistance given to each recipient and the value of each investment so supported is very large and the information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will make a statement on the Under-Secretary of State's recent visit to Liverpool.

I visited Liverpool on 28 April to open new premises for the small firms centre for Merseyside which are necessary to meet the greatly increased demand and which will provide improved facilities for the business counselling service. The numbers of experienced business counsellors operating out of the Liverpool centre has been increased from two to 10 over the last five years to cope with this demand.I also undertook several other engagements in Lancashire as part of that visit.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement on exports of plutonium to the United States of America for civil purposes.

As I said in my answer to the right hon. Member for Llanelli (Mr. Davies) on 15 March 1982, approximately 50 kgs of plutonium of United Kingdom origin have been sold for civil purposes to the United States since 1971. The specific amounts involved were 46 kgs in 1973–74 and 8 kgs in 1974–75. There have been no such exports since 1975.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has to determine the most cost-effective means of using the civil defence budget.

We are satisfied that present arrangements for deciding priorities and the balance between central and local government expenditure ensure the effective use of funds allocated to civil defence.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will report on the current situation about the proposed new civil defence arrangements.

Draft Civil Defence (General Local Authority Functions) Regulations and Civil Defence (Grant) (Amendment) Regulations were laid on 28 April.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will make funds available to the voluntary aid societies for training to meet their civil defence role.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of'(a) total development aid to the Third world, (b) aid to the least developed countries and (c) food aid was given by the member states of the European Community—including multilateral aid — the United States of America, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Japan and the Soviet Union for the latest two years for which figures are available.

The information requested is as follows:

We are already paying civil defence grant to local authorities at the rate of 75 per cent. to fund voluntary aid societies and we shall be reimbursing 100 per cent. under the new grant regulations.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he remains satisfied with the relationship between the Metropolitan police and the ethnic minorities.

The Commissioner is sensitive to the need for good relationships with the ethnic minorities and I believe that the Metropolitan police enjoy the confidence of the great majority of the members of minority ethnic groups.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on Metropolitan police recruitment.

On 31 March 1983 the strength of the Metropolitan police was 26,499. This is an increase of 4,274—19·2 per cent.—on the strength of 22,225 when this Government took office.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what resources in terms of money and manpower are expended by the Metropolitan police on public relations; and if he will make a statement.

The promotion of good public relations is a responsibility shared by all members of the Metropolitan police and takes many forms. More specifically, the public information department at new Scotland Yard, which consists of two senior police officers and 67 civil staff, operates a 24-hour press bureau service, provides liaison centrally and Locally to deal with press and broadcast requirement for features and news, and responds to inquiries from the public. The Department includes a team of seven persons dedicated to public relations work which includes publicity at exhibitions and displays and the development of a wide range of publicity literature.Expenditure on general publicity matters for the financial year 1982–83 was £538,000—exclusive of staff costs.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been summoned to appear in magistrates' courts charged with aiding and abetting another person to drive a car without displaying a learner sign in each of the past four years.

I regret that the information is not available. Information on prosecutions for aiding and abetting a learner driver to drive without "L" plates is not available separately from prosecutions for the main offence. I understand that were a person driving without "L" plates is accompanied it is common police practice to prosecute both parties, where there is evidence that the pasenger was aware that the driver was not fully qualified.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what evaluation he has so far made of the experimental short, sharp shock regime in selected detention centres.

A programme to evaluate the tougher regimes pilot project in four detention centres is proceeding, but the results will not be available until later this year. We believe that the centres are running well, and that the regime is genuinely brisk and demanding.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received concerning the effect upon the number of claims by victims of violent crime of raising the lower limit on claims under the criminal injuries compensation scheme.

Apart from earlier questions on the subject from other hon. Members, representations about the effect of raising the lower limit have been made to me by the Police Federation and the Bristol victims support scheme.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what further representations he has received over the Police and Criminal Evidence Bill

Representations have been made to my right hon. Friend about various aspects of the Bill. He will, of course, consider these representations carefully, but he has no plans to ask the House to agree to any changes of substance beyond those of which notice has already been given.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has as to the extent to which the police have taken action under the Obscene Publications Acts 1959 and 1964 in respect of the sale of certain video cassettes.

Information about police action nationally in respect of the sale of video cassettes is not collected centrally. We understand, however, that the Metropolitan police record separately the number of video cassettes seized under the Obscene Publications Acts 1959 and 1964 in the Metropolitan police district, and that in 1982 22,403 cassettes were so seized.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he intends to make any changes in the forensic science service.

Following the recommendations of a Rayner scrutiny we are considering a number of changes designed to improve the efficiency of the forensic science service. Scientific standards in the service are under constant scrutiny with a view to possible improvements.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the present position of the firemen's pension fund and the proposed additional contributions.

The firemen's pension scheme is not funded. As to the contribution rate, I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to a question by the hon. Member for Isle of Wight (Mr. Ross) on 20 April. —[Vol. 41, c. 98.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much money his Department has now committed to the building of new prisons; and how many prisoners will be accommodated in these prisons.

Government commitments on public expenditure for prisons are announced in the annual White Papers, the most recent of which is Cmnd. 8789. The prison building programme is expected to provide 3,000 places by 1986–87. New establishments are under construction at Wayland, Norfolk; Appleton Thorn, Cheshire; Stocken, Leicestershire; Full Sutton, Humberside. Six others are at various stages of design and programmed for completion in the period 1988 to 1992. My right hon. Friend hopes to add further projects to this list later this year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will make a statement on the report of Her Majesty's Inspectors of prisons on the conditions in Strangeways prison, Manchester; how many of the prisoners additional to the normal establishment consist of persons who have not been tried or convicted of any crime and are imprisoned awaiting trial; and for what periods of time these have been imprisoned.

Both the report and my right hon. Friend's accompanying statement were published on 21 April and lodged in the Library of the House. On 28 February the certified normal accommodation of Her Majesty's prison Manchester was 913 and the total number of prisoners was 1,528. The available information about the numbers of untried prisoners in the prison on 28 February by length of time since initial remand in custody is set out in the following table.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the total quantity of drugs seized by the police in the past year; and if he will estimate the total annual consumption of (a) cannabis and (b) heroin on the United Kingdom market.

The total quantity of controlled drugs seized by the police in 1973–81 is published in table 1.3 of "Statistics of the misuse of drugs, United Kingdom, Supplementary tables 1981", a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House. Corresponding information for 1982 will become available later this year. Information is not available on the total annual consumption of cannabis and heroin in the United Kingdom.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what evidence he now has from the most recent annual reports of chief constables in the United Kingdom of any reduction in criminal offences committed.

Encouraging figures have recently been released by the Metropolitan police suggesting that the Commissioner's vigourous measures against crime are having some success, in particular against theft and robbery. Figures for notifiable offences recorded by the police for the period of the most recent annual reports—1982 — were published in "Home Office Statistical Bulletin" issue 3/83 on 14 March 1983.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether the locks and anti-burglar equipment made currently in prisons are used in prison establishments or whether they are sold to other Government Departments, other public bodies or private sector customers;

The products currently made or assembled in prison workshops which are described generically as locks are glass-encased "panic bolts" for installation on the interiors of emergency and fire exit doors. They are assembled under a subcontract for a private firm. The anti-burglary products made in prison workshops are wood boxes for burglar alarms. They are made under subcontract for a private firm. No information is available on the marketing outlets of either of the private firms concerned. Informatiion on the types of offences committed by prisoners who are employed in prison workshops is not recorded centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will introduce legislation to amend the Gaming Act 1968 to reduce or remove the restrictions upon the advertising of bingo clubs.

We are looking at possible changes in the law controlling the advertising of bingo in the context of the proposal for joint games with £50,000 prizes.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, in view of evidence produced at the coroners' inquests held on 26 April on Michelle Morrison and Julie Kendall of Nuneaton, Warwickshire, and Mr. and Mrs. Herbert and their child, of Kensal Green, due to fires and the difficulties of the police and fire-fighting forces being able to reach the victims due to the complete sealing of the premises by double glazing, he will now have investigations made into a compulsory safety escape window being available when all such double glazing controls are executed.

We are obtaining full reports on both these tragic fires and will consider, in consultation with other Departments concerned, what further action is necessary in the light of them.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the income derived from the licensing of private self-help television transmitters in each of the last five years in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, respectively; and what was the number of transmitters so licensed.

The first licence for a self-help television transmitter was issued in March 1981. In 1981 and 1982 the number of transmitters licensed and the income received was as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will now introduce measures to provide concessionary television licences for all pensioners; and if he will make a statement.

No. The Government consider that it is better to continue to assist retirement pensioners by benefits in cash which they can spend as they choose rather than by benefits in kind such as concessionary television licences. Any broad concessionary scheme would have serious implications for other television licence holders.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the percentage increase in the number of serious offences involving the use of firearms over the past 10 years.

Between 1971 and 1981, the latest year for which figures are available, the number of notifiable offences in which firearms were reported to have been used rose from 1,730 to 8,070, of which 5,600 were offences in which air weapons were used. This is an increase of about 365 per cent., but the proportion of offences involving firearms has not altered significantly in recent years. In 1981, as in previous years, it did not exceed 10 per cent. in any offence group.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will announce an increase in London taxi fares.

I have made an order increasing London taxi fares as follows with effect from Sunday 29 May.The new tariff will incorporate a minimum fare of 60p—including a hiring charge of 40p—for the first 618 yards or 2 minutes 12 seconds. The rate will then be 10p for each 309 yards or 1 minute 6 seconds up to 6 miles and 10p for each 206 yards or 44 seconds thereafter.The increase exclusive of waiting time and extras will be as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to collect statistics on a yearly basis of those persons arrested, prosecuted and convicted for offences of robbery and other violent theft by each police district in Metropolitan London and by ethnic appearance; and if he will make a statement.

[pursuant to his reply, 28 March 1983, c. 3]: We understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that the information available is as given in the following tables. As I indicated in my reply on 28 March, we are arranging with the Commissioner for a systematic analysis of the ethnic information for the Metropolitan police district for all types of offence to be published in due course.