asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will approve the resources requested for the renovation of the Holy Family Roman Catholic primary school, Leeds.

I understand that the governors' architects intend to submit revised plans for this work to the Department before the end of July. I then expect to be able to make an early decision on this matter.

Net recurrent institutional expenditure per pupil during the period 1975–1981, at November 1981 prices was (£):
	1975–76	1976–77	1977–78	1978–79	1979–80	1980–81	1981–82
Primary School Pupils	535	549	559	581	602	610	618
Secondary School Pupils
(a) under school leaving age	780	781	783	800	811	817	824
(b) over school leaving age	1,411	1,415	1,409	1,432	1,436	1,386	1,323

The figures for 1975 to 1978 related to England and Wales, those for 1979–80 to England only.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will review his decision on the future of Assington School in light of the evidence provided by the parents of children at the school.

No. My right hon. Friend has no power to alter decisions under section 12 of the Education Act 1980 once taken.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list in the Official Report all nationalised industries, whether statutory corporations, companies, or trading bodies of any sort, in which the Government now have any financial interest or for which they may make financial provision, in whole or part, for which he is the sponsoring Minister; and if he will list all subsidiaries or divisions of those industries which may carry on business under a different name from that of the parent nationalised industry.

None of the nationalised industries as specified in Part 3 of the Government's Public Expenditure White Paper (Cmnd. 8789) operates under the sponsorship of the Department.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will place in the Library copies of all

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what recent representations he has received regarding the maintenance of educational standards in Hertfordshire.

Since my hon. Friend's last such inquiry on 20 October 1982, five letters have been received from hon. Members and others. Hertfordshire in common with many other authorities has responded constructively to pressures on its financial resources, and shares the Government's commitment to providing the highest standard of education from the resources available.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the cost in 1983 prices of the average primary, secondary and sixth form education per pupil for each of the last 10 years.

It is not possible to give the information either in the exact form or for the period requested. However, the available information is as follows:documents relating to the enterprise allowance scheme

I have arranged for copies of all the relevant published documents to be placed in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what instructions he has given to local offices concerning the release of information about the enterprise allowance scheme prior to 1 August; and if he will make a statement.

Jobcentres were asked to inform those inquiring about the national extension of the enterprise allowance scheme that the basic eligibility conditions will remain broadly the same as in the experimental scheme and to invite them to leave their names and addresses so that more detailed information could be sent to them when available. A new leaflet giving full details of the extended scheme was distributed to jobcentres on 8 July.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many and what percentage of men unemployed for (a) over six months, (b) over one year, and (c) over two years, were over 60 years at the latest count; and what percentage of the male work force aged over 60 years these figures represent.

The following table gives at 14 April, the latest date for which the information is available, the numbers of unemployed male claimants aged 60 years and over in the United Kingdom who had been unemployed for the lengths of time specified and expresses these as percentages of the corresponding numbers of unemployed males of all ages. The figures reflect the first effects of the provision in the 1983 Budget for men aged 60 and over no longer having to sign on at an unemployment benefit office solely to secure national insurance credits. The effect was to exclude from the April count some 4,000 in the up to 52 weeks group, 11,000 in the over 52 and up to 104 weeks group and 14,000 in the over 104 weeks group.

Males aged 60 years and over
Duration of unemployment	Number	Percentage of all males in group
Over 26 and up to 52 weeks	47,295	9·5
Over 52 and up to 104 weeks	61,838	12·9
Over 104 weeks	59,155	13·1

As a proportion of the estimated employed population (both employed and unemployed) in this group, these figures represent 4 per cent., 5 per cent. and 5 per cent. respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the total number of registered unemployed people in the United Kingdom; and what is the latest estimate of the number of unemployed people who are not registered as such.

The June number of unemployed claimants in the United Kingdom was 2,983,921. Not included in this total were 128,433 new school leavers registered at careers offices who are not yet entitled to benefit.This Department estimates that in Great Britain in 1981, the latest date for which such estimates are available, some 400,000 people who had no jobs were seeking work but were not registered as unemployed. The 1981 labour force survey estimates that, at that time, a similar number of the registered unemployed were not actively looking for work. The 1983 labour force survey will yield corresponding information about job seekers not entitled to unemployment benefit, in place of that above about the unregistered unemployed.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will introduce legislation to amend the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act so that normal English summer temperatures may not be regarded as causing unfit working conditions in offices.

Section 6 of the Offices, Shops and Railway Premises Act 1963 requires that a reasonable temperature is maintained in every room in which people are employed other than for short periods. Except in quite unusual and extreme circumstances, English summer weather will not produce unreasonable working conditions in offices. It is almost invariably an abuse if high temperatures are taken as an excuse for not working, especially if the public are inconvenienced.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment which organisations have submitted to him objections to the draft Equal Pay (Amendment) Regulations.

A consultative draft of the regulations was published in February on which we received comments from the following organisations:—

• Equal Opportunities Commission.
• CBI.
• TUC.
• Scottish TUC.
• Association of British Chambers of Commerce.
• Association of County Councils.
• Association of Metropolitan Authorities.
• Association of Professional, Executive, Clerical and Computer Staff (APEX).
• Association of Women Solicitors.
• Birmingham Chamber of Industry and Commerce.
• British Carpet Manufacturers' Association Ltd.
• British Clothing Industry Association Ltd.
• British Federation of University Women.
• British Youth Council.
• City Women's Network.
• Conservative Women's National Committee.
• Council on Tribunals.
• Educational Institute of Scotland.
• Engineering Employers' Federation.
• Equal Pay and Opportunity Campaign.
• Fawcett Society.
• Greater London Council.
• Greater London Employers' Secretariat.
• Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers.
• Institute of Personnel Management.
• Knitting Industries' Federation Ltd.
• Law Society of Scotland.
• League of Jewish Women.
• Local Authorities' Conditions of Service Advisory Board.
• Low Pay Unit.
• Medical Women's Federation.
• National Association of Local Government Officers.
• National Chamber of Trade.
• National Council for Civil Liberties.
• National Council of Women of Great Britain.
• National Graphical Association.
• Rights of Women.
• Soroptomist International of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
• United Kingdom Federation of Business and Professional Women.
• A Woman's Place.
• Women in Media.
• Women's Gas Federation and Young Home Makers.
• Women's National Commission.
• Women's Technology Scheme.

On 11 May, my right hon. Friend the Member for Selby (Mr. Alison), the then Minister of State, announced that, following consultation, the Government had decided to make certain changes to the draft regulations, which were subsequently laid on 6 July.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to be able to write to the hon. and learned Member for Leicester, West concerning the use to which he intends to put the profit resulting from the increase in nationality fees since April 1982.

My right hon. and learned Friend is considering the assertion that a profit has arisen since April 1982 in the overall context of the third report of the Home Affairs Committee — Session 1982–83. I will write to the hon. and learned Member as soon as I can after this consideration is completed.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many representations he has received during the past 12 months concerning fees for British citizenship; and from whom.

In the 12 months from July 1982 to June 1983 we have received 46 letters from Members and former Members of this House and from members of the public about citizenship fees. In addition, 26 letters have been received from various organisations.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will take steps to reduce the present backlog of applications for registration and naturalisation.

Despite the unprecedented surge of some 70,200 applications between November 1982 and April 1983, the number of outstanding applications is no greater than it was a year ago. We shall keep up our efforts to reduce the number of outstanding cases by seeking ways to improve and simplify procedures. The recommendations of the third report of the Home Affairs Committee —Session 1982–83—are now being considered in this context.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what type of regional or other planning has been set up for the control of sources and distribution of food and drugs in the event of war.

Plans in the event of war are contained in the Home Office ES circulars 1/1977 and 1/1979 which are in the Library of the House.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what contingency plans have been set up by him in the event of the breakdown of present plans for the control of services.

Contingency plans exist for the maintenance of essential supplies in a variety of emergencies. A number of these are described in the Home Office ES circulars which are in the Library of the House.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make specific contingency plans for emergency services in the event of nuclear attack for areas where there are United States nuclear bases.

The emergency services make their own plans in consultation with local authorities and other responsible organisations.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons sent to special hospitals for murder and subsequently discharged are known to have committed a second murder; and how many committed a second murder while in a special hospital, in each case in each of the last 30 years.

In England and Wales during the last 30 years, three persons charged with murder—one found insane on arraignment and two found guilty but insane —and ordered to be detained in a special hospital were subsequently convicted of manslaughter after being discharged from hospital. Two persons were convicted of manslaughter for the second time while detained in a special hospital.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list in the Official Report details of the number of cases during the past five years where convicted murderers, having been sentenced to terms of imprisonment, have subsequently been found to be wrongly convicted and where they have been released.

The conviction for murder of Mr. Albert Edward Taylor in April 1974 was quashed by the Court of Appeal in March 1979, the case having been referred to the court under section 17 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968, and he was released from prison.I should perhaps also mention the case of Mr. David Cooper and Mr. Michael Graham McMahon, although they were not found to have been wrongly convicted. Together with Mr. Patrick Murphy, whose conviction was quashed by the Court of Appeal in 1973 on a reference under section 17 of the 1968 Act, they were convicted in March 1970 of the murder of a Luton sub-postmaster and sentenced to life imprisonment. In July 1980 my noble Friend, then Home Secretary, having regard to the widely felt sense of unease about the case, recommended the exercise of the royal prerogative of mercy to effect the remission of the remainder of their sentences.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the likely effect on Scotland of the expenditure proposals made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on Thursday 7 July.

I expect the total adjustments to the central Government cash limits and nationalised industries' external financing limits for which I am responsible to be around £40 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will take steps to ensure that the Scottish Development Agency is allowed to continue to make units available with rent-free periods in the Glasgow area to approved firms.

It remains the Government's policy that the Scottish Development Agency should have the discretion to grant rent-free periods for its factories in appropriate circumstances.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the firms which have established themselves, or are in the process of establishing themselves, in enterprise zones in Scotland; and how many employees each firm has, or will have, in the zones.

Clydebank is the only enterprise zone which has so far been designated in Scotland. The second report of the enterprise zone monitoring study which was published in April shows that in the period up to 31 December 1982, 116 firms providing a total of 1,102 jobs had established themselves in the zone.Information about employment in individual firms was gathered in confidence and the figures about jobs in each firm cannot be released.A note of the firms which had established themselves in the Clydebank zone is included in the list of firms for all the first group of zones in the United Kingdom which is being sent to my hon. Friend by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list for each housing authority and new town in Scotland and the Scottish Special Housing Association the percentage of their housing stock to which section 1(7) of the Tenants' Rights, Etc. (Scotland) Act 1980 relates.

This information is not available in precisely the form requested (i.e. houses first let after 15 May 1975). The table below shows the percentage of the housing authority stock completed since July 1975:

Local authorities	Percentage of housing authority stock completed after 1 July 1975
Berwickshire	20·7
Ettrick and Lauderdale	11·5
Roxburgh	9·9
Tweedale	6·6
Clackmannan	3·9
Falkirk	6·2
Stirling	3·6
Annandale and Eskdale	22·6
Nithsdale	6·3
Stewartry	18·2
Wigtown	12·2
Dunfermline	5·0
Kirkcaldy	5·4
North East Fife	10·6
City of Aberdeen	12·7
Banff and Buchan	23·3
Gordon	28·2
Kincardine and Deeside	21·6
Moray	21·2
Badenoch and Strathspey	28·1
Caithness	12·4
Inverness	15·0
Lochaber	10·9
Nairn	16·4
Ross and Cromarty	22·8
Skye and Lochalsh	24·8
Sutherland	16·0
East Lothian	4·7
City of Edinburgh	2·5
Midlothian	3·6
West Lothian	1·4
Argyll and Bute	12·3
Bearsden and Milngavie	19·3

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) in Each of the last three years how many prostheses manufactured overseas were supplied by the limb service in Scotland;(2) if he will give brief descriptions of all prostheses supplied by overseas manufacturers in the last 12 months through the limb service in Scotland.

No complete prostheses have been supplied by overseas manufacturers to the limb service in Scotland. However a range of components manufactured overseas have been used in the last three years by contractors who supply prostheses in Scotland.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the Government's policy with regard to the supply by the Scottish artificial limb service of prostheses manufactured overseas where no limb of a comparable design or containing comparable materials is available from British manufacturers.

A prosthesis containing components on non-British manufacture would normally be supplied by the Scottish artificial limb service where this would be of more benefit to the patient than the standard British-made limb.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many persons have been registered unemployed for more than (a) 52 weeks and (b) two years in each of the regions in Scotland for each quarter since January 1982.

[pursuant to his reply, 29 June 1983, c. 84.]: The information is set out in the table below. The figures for 1982 are based on the number of unemployed registrants at jobcentres and careers offices (the old basis of the unemployment count) and those for

Unemployment in Scotland
	Registrants 1982				Claimants
					1982	1983
	January	April	July	October	October	January	April
Highland
more than 52 weeks	2,425	2,517	2,599	3,005	2,264	2,659	2,953
more than 104 weeks	1,005	1,018	1,057	1,233	952	1,078	1,143
Shetland
more than 52 weeks	64	69	93	90	82	110	123
more than 104 weeks	29	35	35	36	38	39	39
Orkney
more than 52 weeks	198	209	220	263	214	258	270
more than 104 weeks	80	87	99	111	96	125	134
Western Isles
more than 52 weeks	462	456	539	597	472	573	545
more than 104 weeks	136	153	163	204	181	196	189
Grampian
more than 52 weeks	3,084	3,330	3,524	4,054	2,875	3,414	3,659
more than 104 weeks	935	1,015	1,236	1,390	1,142	1,346	1,416
Tayside
more than 52 weeks	7,399	7,901	8,292	8,971	7,618	8,334	8,560
more than 104 weeks	2,651	3,001	3,376	3,939	3,411	3,926	4,175
Fife
more than 52 weeks	4,835	5,044	5,442	5,823	5,160	5,779	5,767
more than 104 weeks	1,618	1,758	2,038	2,390	2,174	2,542	2,592
Strathclyde
more than 52 weeks	65,891	69,048	75,426	79,824	69,656	75,242	77,219
more than 104 weeks	25,884	28,810	33,133	36,920	33,469	37,691	40,051
Lothian
more than 52 weeks	11,480	12,529	13,687	15,483	12,508	13,958	14,742
more than 104 weeks	3,973	4,353	5,043	6,144	5,153	6,105	6,465
Central
more than 52 weeks	4,441	4,954	5,332	6,049	5,082	5,883	6,073
more than 104 weeks	1,223	1,401	1,745	2,269	2,094	2,406	2,614
Dumfries/Galloway
more than 52 weeks	2,346	2,485	2,599	2,691	2,285	2,630	2,685
more than 104 weeks	965	1,015	1,068	1,158	1,049	1,177	1,236
Borders
more than 52 weeks	817	887	869	987	895	1,034	1,087
more than 104 weeks	202	214	245	341	367	427	462

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many notified job vacancies there were in each employment office in the Edinburgh travel-to-work area in April and May 1983 and 1982, respectively.

[pursuant to his reply, 6 July 1983, c. 124]: The table below shows for each jobcentre in the Edinburgh travel-to-work area the number of notified vacancies which were unfilled on the day of the count in April and May 1982 and 1983 respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many oung people, aged 18 years and under, were unemployed in the Edinburgh travel-to-work area; and how many were on special employment projects in May 1983.

[pursuant to his reply, 6 July 1983, c. 124]: On 14 April 1983, the latest date for which information is available, there were 4,518 unemployed claimants aged 18 years and under in the Edinburgh travelto-work area.I regret that information on the number of young people on schemes run by the Manpower Services Commission in the Edinburgh travel-to-work area is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. It is estimated, however, that at the end of May 1983 approximately 2,720 young people were participating in the youth opportunities programme in Lothian.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the percentage increase in unemployment in the Edinburgh travel-to-work area and Scotland, respectively, from May 1979 to May 1983.

[pursuant to his reply, 6 July 1983, c. 124]: The percentage increase in unemployment in Scotland from May 1979 to May 1983 was 111·3 per cent. this figure is based on an estimate of the number of unemployed claimants — the new basis of the unemployment count—in Scotland at May 1979. It is not possible, however, to estimate the number of unemployed claimants at May 1979 for travel-to-work areas within Scotland; comparable figures for the Edinburgh travel-to-work area are therefore not available.The table below for the Edinburgh travel-to-work area gives the number of unemployed registrants at jobcentres and carreers offices—the old basis of the count—at May 1979 and the number of unemployed claimants at May 1983. Figures on both cases for October 1982 are included for the purpose of comparison.

Unemployment in the Edinburgh travel-to-work area
	Total
May 1979 (registrants)	15,634
October 1982 (registrants)	35,235
October 1982 (claimants)	31,076
May 1983 (claimants)	30,303

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list in the Official Report, all nationalised industries, whether statutory corporations, companies, or trading bodies of any sort, in which the Government now has any financial interest or for which it may make financial provision, in whole or part, for which he is the sponsoring Minister; and if he will list all subsidiaries or divisions of those industries which may carry on business under a different name from that of the parent nationalised industry.

My right hon. Friend is responsible for three nationalised industries: the South of Scotland Electricity Board, the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board and the Scottish Transport Group. The electricity boards have no subsidiaries and listed below are those owned by the Scottish Transport Group:

• Scottish Bus Group Limited
• W. Alexander & Sons (Fife) Ltd.
• W. Alexander & Sons (Midland) Ltd.
• W. Alexander & Sons (Northern) Ltd.
• Central SMT Co. Ltd.
• Highland Omnibuses Ltd.
• Scottish Omnibuses Ltd.
• Western SMT Co. Ltd.
• Caledonian MacBrayne Ltd.
• Scottish Transport Investments Ltd.
• MacBrayne Haulage Ltd.
• Sanderson Travel Service Ltd.
• Dryburgh Abbey Hotel Ltd.
• STG Information and Market Services Ltd.
• The SMT Insurance Co. Ltd.
• SMT Insurance (Brokerage) Ltd.

All the above companies are wholly-owned subsidiaries with the exception of the SMT Insurance Company Ltd. in which the Scottish Transport Group holds a 51 per cent. interest. There are also four subsidiaries which are dormant.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what was the total amount of coal imported to the United Kingdom from (a) the United States, (b) Canada, (c) Australia, (d) Africa, (e) Poland and (f) the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1981, 1982 and to the nearest available date in 1983;(2) how many tons of coal have been imported to Scotland from the United States of America during the past 12 months.

On the assumption that the hon. Member's question refers to South Africa rather than to African countries in general, the available information is as follows:

United Kingdom imports of coal from specified countries
(tonnes)
	1981	1982	January-April 1983
Consigned from:
USA	1,933,471	1,927,210	427,508
Canada	104	30	76
Australia	1,799,879	1,131,701	338,492
South Africa	77,178	62,869	8,009
Poland	142,225	316,624	46,474
USSR	—	8,459	1,970

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many companies at the latest count have applied for support under the microelectric applications project scheme in (a) Leeds, (b) Yorkshire/Humberside and (c) each other region; what is the total value of the applications from Leeds and the Yorkshire region, respectively; and how many have been approved.

There have been 151 applications from the Yorkshire and Humberside region for support under the microelectronics application project of projects totalling £16·5 million; 65 of these have been approved, and 14 are under consideration at present. Corresponding figures from Leeds are 24 applications (£2 million), with 10 approvals.The numbers of applications from other regions are: north-east 56; north-west 182; west midlands 166; east midlands 139; south-east 1,147; south-west 182; Scotland 108; Wales 47.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, whether, before the passage of the Telecommunications Bill, he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's policy towards the balance between commercial viability and social obligation in the provision of public telephone services.

The Government's policy is to ensure that after the privatisation of British Telecom loss-making but socially essential services, including the 999 emergency service, public call box services, ship-to-shore services and services in remote rural areas should continue to be made available on a secure financial basis.The Telecommunications Bill therefore imposes duties on the Secretary of State and on the new Director General of Telecommunications to exercise their licensing and other functions in the way best calculated both to secure that these services are provided and to secure that those who provide these services are able to finance them.The Secretary of State intends to fulfil these two duties by including in the licence to be granted to public telecommunication operators conditions which will ensure that those operators provide emergency 999 services, public call box services, ship-to-shore services and services in rural areas.The main burden of meeting these obligations will fall on British Telecom and will be met out of profits on other services. In order to ensure that the arrangements are fair the Government intend that the other public tele-communication operators should pay a share of the losses BT incurs on these services through a system of access fees which will be payable when those operators are provided with services by BT.The Government's policy is to provide a balance between commercial viability and the universal provision of telecommunications services. The Telecommunications Bill therefore imposes a primary duty on the Secretary of State and the Director General of Telecommunications to secure the universal provision of telecommunications services, including emergency services, public call box services, ship-to-shore services and services in rural areas, and to secure that any person providing these services is able to finance their provision. Conditions will be imposed in the licences which the Government will issue to all public telecommunications operators with access to the systems over which these essential services will be provided to contribute towards any losses incurred in their provision. This will ensure that an obligation on a particular licencee to provide loss making but essential services, which the Government are determined to continue, will not be a barrier to fair competition.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the average capital cost of installing a public telephone kiosk; and what level of annual takings British Telecom expects to receive in respect of such a kiosk.

This is a detailed matter for the board of British Telecom and I am inviting British Telecom to write to the hon. Member on these points.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what new schemes his west midlands regional office is at present considering involving new technology and new products; and what grants have already been made by his Department to help west midlands firms in these areas.

The Government have already introduced generally a comprehensive range of schemes to encourage the use of new technology some of them such as the small engineering firms investment scheme being of particular applicability to areas such as the west midlands. The purpose of the Department's initiative in the region is not to introduce new schemes specific to it, but to ensure that firms there take the maximum advantage of what is already available. The criteria of some schemes such as the manufacturing advisory service have been revised in the region to meet the particular needs of firms there. I will write to the hon. Member about the grants which have been made as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has received any proposals for the privatisation of Inmos or its sale to a foreign company; and if he will make a statement.

It is for the BTG to consider proposals for the disposal of their holding in Inmos. The policy is that it should dispose of all its holdings to private ownership as soon as commercially practicable.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list in the Official Report, all nationalised industries, whether statutory corporations, companies, or trading bodies of any sort, in which the Government now have any financial interest or for which they may make financial provision, in whole or part, for which he is the sponsoring Minister; and if he will list all subsidiaries or divisions of those industries which may carry on business under a different name from that of the parent nationalised industry.

My Department sponsors four nationalised industries: British Telecom, British Shipbuilders, British Steel Corporation and the Post Office. The information requested is contained in the annual report and accounts of the respective corporations.

asked the Under-Secretary of State answering in respect of the arts, when he expects to commence building of the theatre museum; and if he will make a statement.

[pursuant to his reply, 7 July 1983, c. 176]: My noble Friend, the Minister for the Arts, is not yet in a position to say when building work will start on the theatre museum at Covent Garden. As in other areas, its timing will be affected by the Government's 1983–84 cash limit reductions announced on 7 July. My noble Friend is considering the detailed implications of these for the arts and libraries programme.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the reason for the difference between the basic capital gains tax allowances for individuals and for beneficiaries of a trust.

I assume that my hon. Friend is referring to the difference between the capital gains tax annual exemption for individuals, at present £5,300, and the similar exemption for trustees, at present £2,650. An individual who is a beneficiary under a trust, as well as having assets of his own, could benefit from the full amount of both exemptions in the same year; and if the exemption were the same amount in each case, individuals who were also trust beneficiaries could gain an unfair advantage. On the other hand, if there were no trust exemption at all, an individual all of whose assets were held in trust would be disadvantaged. The trust exemption is set at half the individual exemption in order to strike a balance between these possibilities.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he makes any estimate of the effect on the exchange rate of changes in the rate of interest relative to those of other countries.

The effects of changes in relative interest rates on the exchange rate are both highly uncertain and likely to vary. They will very much depend upon the circumstances prevailing when the change to interest rates takes place. No precise answer can therefore be given.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will give, for 1979 onwards, information on the savings ratio and manufacturing output in the United Kingdom and Germany in the manner of the answer of 12 March 1980, Official Report, c. 569–70; and if he will include figures for the United States of America and Japan.

The latest available information is given in the following tables.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was raised by taxation on cars and petrol in the last year for which figures are available.

It is estimated that in 1982–83 the taxation of cars and petrol raised about £8.300 million.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will seek to establish a capital fund into which the proceeds of the sale of Government assets will be placed in order to ensure that capital assets will not be used to defray current expenditure.

I shall let my right hon. Friend have a reply as soon as possible.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list in the Official Report, all nationalised industries, whether statutory corporations, companies, or trading bodies of any sort, in which the Government now have any financial interest or for which they may make financial provision, in whole or part, for which he is the sponsoring Minister; and if he will list all subsidiaries or divisions of those industries which may carry on business under a different name from that of the parent nationalised industry.

I shall let my hon. Friend have a reply as soon as possible.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what share of clearing banking was represented by the top four clearing banks in 1951, 1961, 1971 and 1981, respectively.

[pursuant to the reply, 11 July 1983, c. 254]: I regret that this information is not readily available in the form requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate expense.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of the gross nationl product has been spent on defence in each of the last three years; and how this compares with the record of the United Kingdom's main allies.

On NATO definitions, the United Kingdom spent 5·1 per cent. of its GDP on defence in 1980, 4·9 per cent. in 1981 and 5·1 per cent. in 1982. By comparison, in 1982 the United States spent some 6½ per cent. and our major European allies some 3½ per cent. For further details I refer my hon. Friend to the Statement on the Defence Estimates which I published last week.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the total number of service personnel serving in Gibraltar.

There are some 1,770 United Kingdom personnel stationed on Gibraltar. In addition, there are about 225 Royal Naval personnel serving at sea but based in Gibraltar, some 105 members of the Royal Naval Reserve and about 260 personnel of the Gibraltar Regiment.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will provide additional aircraft, guns, missiles and surveillance radar in Gibraltar for the defence of the Straits of Gibraltar.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Beverley (Sir P. Wall) on 27 June.—[Vol. 44, c. 33.]

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many military personnel ate currently in the Falkland garrison; and what effect this level of deployment will have on the overall defence establishment.

At present, the Falklands garrison comprises over 3,000 personnel ashore. We are taking measures, including adjustments to manning levels, to offset this additional commitment.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he is satisfied with the standard of accommodation available to all service men in the Falklands.

As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister said on 28 June, the conditions under which our service men are serving in the Falkland Islands are continuously being improved. The provision of coastels has enhanced the accommodation available, and other facilities for the longer term are being studied.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what responsibilities his Department will excercise in relation to the building of the new Falkland Islands airport.

My Department is responsible for formulating the defence requirement for a strategic airfield in the Falkland Islands and allocating the necessary funds and also for the ordering, supply and installation of electronic equipment. The Property Services Agency of the Department of the Environment is responsible for all aspects of construction.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will announce his decision on the future of the Royal Hospital school, Holbrook.

My noble Friend Lord Trefgarne chaired a meeting of the committee of management of the Royal Hospital school on 29 June which decided that the school should remain at Holbrook, near Ipswich.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what payments are being made in respect of the use of British bases in Cyprus.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for improving the "two way street" of reciprocal sales of defence equipment between the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

Since 1978 when the balance of defence trade was 4:1 in favour of the United States it has improved to around 2:1 for the last two years. British defence equipment manufacturers have been competing successfully in United States defence programmes and we shall continue to encourage and support them in this activity. We shall also continue to remind the American Administration that United Kingdom firms should be allowed to compete without restriction in United States programmes in the spirit of the 1975 Memorandum of Understanding.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what are the total sales recorded to the most recent date for which statistics are available of British defence exports to United States Government contracts and of American defence exports to British Government contracts under the current memorandum of understanding between the two countries.

The balance of trade in defence equipment between the United States and Britain has stood at around 2:1 in favour of the United States for the last two years, but it has not been the practice of this or previous Governments to publish detailed figures for our defence trade with individual countries.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the ordering practice relating to equipment for the type 23 frigate.

Wherever possible, competitive tenders are sought from industry and contracts awareded to the firm which can meet essential naval requirements most effectively at the lowest cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will now state a requirement for a new combat aircraft for the Royal Air Force.

I have nothing to add to the answer I gave the hon. Member on 1 February 1983.— [Vol. 36, c. 67.]

asked the Secretary of State for Defence when he now expects cruise missiles to be deployed in Great Britain.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave earlier today to his hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Hillsborough (Mr. Flannery).

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what recent representations he has received over the installation of cruise missiles in the United Kingdom.

Since the beginning of May I have received nearly 40 letters from Members of Parliament and from members of the public on matters relating to the deployment of United States cruise missiles in this country.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence when he now expects the first cruise missiles to arrive in Great Britain.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave earlier today to his hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Hillsborough (Mr. Flannery).

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he is now in a position to make a decision between the HARM and ALARM systems for the Royal Air Force.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what decision he has come to on the new anti-radar missile for the Royal Air Force.

I refer my hon. Friends to the answer I gave earlier today, to our hon. Friend the Member for Ribble, South (Mr. Atkins).

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received concerning changed priorities in naval ship design, particularly with reference to the new type 23 frigates.

We continue to receive a significant number of representations from hon. Members and from the general public about warship design. During the past year many of these representations have been concerned with fire hazards in ships and with reducing such dangers in new classes such as the type 23.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made in transferring surplus Ministry land in Shoeburyness to the Southend borough council; and if he will make a statement.

Negotiations with Southend borough council over the lease of 85 acres are continuing. There has been some delay because of the presence within the area of a site of special scientific interest, the exact boundary of which is still under discussion with the Nature Conservancy Council.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he has any plans to discuss with other European Community Defence Ministers their supply of arms to Argentina.

European Community Governments are fully aware of our continuing concern over the supply of arms to Argentina. We shall continue to approach our allies on particular types of equipment as and when appropriate.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many compulsory redundancies he expects to make from the Royal Navy, the Royal Marines, the Army and the Royal Air Force, respectively, in the current and succeeding two financial years.

Fifteen officers of the Royal Navy are due to leave on compulsory redundancy during the current financial year.For future years it is not known how many of the redundancies declared will necessitate compulsory rather than voluntary retirement.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will now answer questions relating to the activities of special forces in overseas countries.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many service men in the last 12 months have been convicted in the sovereign base areas in Cyprus of driving impaired by alcohol; and in how many of these the attention of the British authorities has been drawn to discrepancies affecting the official analyst's reports.

Forty-six service personnel were convicted in the sovereign base area court of driving while impaired by alcohol in the period 1 July 1982 to 30 June 1983. One serviceman contested (unsuccessfully) the official analyst's assessment of his blood alcohol level; he did not appeal against conviction. There have been three other cases in which the defendant initially challenged the official analyst's report but subsequently pleaded guilty.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he now expects to be able to place an order for two new type 22 frigates with Vosper-Thornycroft shipyard in Southampton.

I have nothing to add at present to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Gosport (Mr. Viggers) on 12 May 1983. — [Vol. 42, c. 472.]

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about the results of the review of land usage at the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich; and whether an additional office building will now be built on the site.

In order to meet the need for a new headquarters for the quality assurance directorate at the Royal Arsenal (West) and to make the best practicable use of the listed buildings on the site, the Property Services Agency proposed a serious of options, the most attractive of which incorporated a number of listed buildings and promised a measure of public access to see them. Planning has been proceeding on the basis of this option, but progress is subject to the need to take account of a separate proposal to reationalise the procurement executive's quality assurance services, which might affect the requirement for new building at Woolwich. This proposal is currently the subject of consultation with the trade union side, and decisions are expected in the autumn.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence when the royal ordnance depot at Donnington was last investigated for fire risk; what was the content of the report; and if he will make a statement.

The last full inspection of the RAOC central ordnance depot at Donnington was carried out by a senior fire prevention officer on 23 to 26 May 1983. While the report itself is classified, I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Harborough (Mr. Farr) on 4 July 1983.—[Vol. 45, c. 26.]

asked the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how often convoys carrying nuclear weapons travel on the A38 between Exeter and Plymouth; and if he will make a statement;(2) if he is satisfied with the level of safety provision with regard to convoys carrying nuclear weapons travelling on the A38 between Exeter and Plymouth, in view of the absence of a crash barrier on the central reservation; and if he will make a statement.

It has been a long standing practice of successive Governments not to comment on the routes and means used to transport nuclear weapons. However, I wish to repeat the assurances on safety and security given by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Defence Procurement to the hon. Member for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth (Mr. Hogg) on 6 May,—[Vol. 42, c. 161.]

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list in the Official Report all nationalised industries, whether statutory corporations, companies, or trading bodies of any sort, in which the Government now have any financial interest or for which they may make financial provision, in whole or part, for which he is the sponsoring Minister; and if he will list all subsidiaries or divisions of those industries which may carry on business under a different name from that of the parent nationalised industry.

My right hon. Friend does not sponsor any nationalised industries. He is, however, responsible for the following executive non-governmental public bodies:

• International Military Services Ltd
• The National Army Museum
• The RAF Museum
• The Services Sound and Vision Corporation

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the firms that have established themselves, or are in the process of establishing themselves, in enterprise zones in Wales; and how many employees each firm has, or will have, in the zones.

The second report of the enterprise zone monitoring study published in April 1983 showed that the number of firms and jobs newly established in the Welsh enterprise zone at Swansea between 1 June 1981 and 31 December 1982 was 68 and 705 respectively. The information about employment in individual firms was gathered in confidence and the figures about jobs in each firm cannot be released.My hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for the Environment, the Member for Ealing, Acton (Sir G. Young) will be writing to my hon. Friend with a list of all firms newly established in all zones in England, Scotland and Wales up to 31 May 1982, the latest date at which this detailed information is available.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list in the Official Report all the payments made in the last financial year by the Welsh Office to organisations and institutions associated with or representative of local government in Wales.

Six payments to the Welsh joint education committee totalling £159,942 were made during 1982–83. Payments are also made to bodies with more tenuous connections with local authorities, but to list these would involve the Department in a disproportionate cost in staff time and resources.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many (a) maintenance and (b) administrative and clerical staff are employed by the National Health Service in Wales; and what are the comparable figures for 1974, 1976, 1980, 1981 and 1982.

The figures are:

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many agency nurses are being employed by the National Health Service in Wales.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales (1) in each of the last three years, how many prostheses manufactured overseas were supplied by the limb service in Wales;(2) if he will give brief descriptions of all prostheses supplied by overseas manufacturers in the last 12 months through the limb service in Wales;(3) what is the Government's policy with regard to the supply by the Welsh artificial limb service of prostheses manufactured overseas where no limb of a comparable design or containing comparable materials is available from British manufacturers.

Prostheses and components manufactured overseas may be prescribed where it is decided that they would best meet a patient's special requirements. Information on the kinds and numbers supplied is not readily available.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list in the Official Report all nationalised industries, whether statutory corporations, companies, or trading bodies of any sort, in which the Government now have any financial interest or for which they may make financial provision, in whole or part, for which he is the sponsoring Minister; and if he will list all subsidiaries or divisions of those industries which may carry on business under a different name from that of the parent nationalised industry.

The only body for which I am the sponsoring Minister which may fit my hon. Friend's description is the Welsh water authority.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether a public inquiry is to be held into the draft Warkworth harbour revision order and the objections made to it.

Yes, unless the objections are withdrawn.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate how many accidents, in the most convenient three-year period, were caused by defective windscreens.

Defective windscreens are not recorded in reports of accidents submitted to the Department of Transport. It is possible that some police forces may have such information for their own areas, but this is not submitted to the Department.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether there is any evidence to suggest that inclusion of a visual check of windscreen condition in the annual vehicle test would contribute to road safety.

I have no reason to believe that defects in windscreens are a significant safety problem. The condition of the windscreen is examined as part of the test for heavy goods vehicles and public service vehicles. It is not a specific item in the test for motor cars, although testers are required to state on the test report any non testable defects which in their opinion renders the vehicle dangerous for use on the road.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate the current average weekly travel-to-work cost.

The average weekly travel-to-work cost in Great Britain as at May 1983 is estimated as £4·60.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport how much was spent on road maintenance and building in the United Kingdom in the last year for which figures are available.