asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list the applications that he has received in the last six months for opencast sites; and if he will make a statement.

Applications for four new authorisations have been received in the past six months:

• Amberswood extension
• Benbain (revised)
• Garnant
• Woodhead

No decision has yet been taken on any of these applications. The Woodhead project was the subject of a public local inquiry during June and the inspector will be reporting later this year.

asked the Under-Secretary of State answering in respect of the arts when the Government intend to reply to the report of the Education, Science and Arts Committee on public and private funding of the arts.

As soon as practicable after the recess.

asked the Under-Secretary of State answering in respect of the arts what progress is being made towards the transfer of the British Library from the British Museum building to its new site at Somers Town.

Work began on the first phase of the British Library building in April 1982. This is a substantial project, and none of the new building will be available for occupation until, at the earliest, the end of the decade. The British Library will then be able to start to transfer its services and collections from the British Museum and a number of other buildings.

asked the Under-Secretary of State answering in respect of the arts when the Minister for the Arts last met the chairman of the Arts Council.

My noble Friend met the chairman on 4 July.

asked the Under-Secretary of State answering in respect of the arts how much has so far been spent on the Theatre museum project.

No capital expenditure has yet been incurred by the Property Services Agency on the Theatre Museum project, since building work has not started. Total preparatory expenditure by PSA and other Departments in recent years on design and related work, including consultants' fees and legal and administrative costs, cannot readily be quantified, but is estimated to be in the region of £0·7 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will ensure that the projected White Paper on the composition of a future education board to replace the Inner London education authority will consider various ways in which representation of the inner London borough and the City might best be secured by including the option of a membership selected directly and separately from the borough and city councils.

The White Paper will make proposals for the composition of the future education board for inner London in order to provide an equitable and accountable basis of representation. The proposals will be the subject of consultation with interested parties.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what funds he made available for projects for the under-five-year-olds during each of the past four years; and how much he proposes to make available during the next year.

My right hon. Friend cannot yet say what capital expenditure provision will be available for nursery education projects in 1984–85. Allocations over the past four years were as follows:

	£ Million
1980–81	3
1981–82	6
1982–83	6·7
1983–84	5·4

In addition, further allocations for nursery education capital building have been made available under the urban programme.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what representations his Department has made to the governors of the Michael Sobell Sinai school, Kenton, concerning a letter issued by the chairman of the governors on 17 December 1981, in which sanctions are threatened against children attending the school if their parents drive or park in Shakespeare drive, Kenton, without permission from the headmaster;(2) if he will introduce measures to prevent the governing body of a voluntary-aided school from authorising the exclusion from the school of pupils whose parents ignore "regulations" made by the governors concerning parking of motor vehicles on the public highway; and if he will make a statement.

Following representations from my hon. Friend, the Department wrote to the governors of this school asking that sanctions aimed against a child because of the action of a parent be withdrawn. This has been done. In considering the case, it was concluded that it was not unreasonable for governors to make rules about access to a school, but that any consequent sanctions should not be aimed at a child if a parent was the offender.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the Government will maintain their support for the United Nations development programme at the same level in real terms as in 1982 as a minimum commitment; and if he will make a statement.

The Government support the United Nations development programme as the central funding and co-ordinating agency for UN techical assistance. They intend to maintain their support for this programme within the constraints resulting from the need to restrict Government expenditure and the pressure of other aid commitments.For 1983 the United Kingdom contribution to this programme will be £18·5 million, the same as in 1982. I cannot yet say what will be the level of our contribution for 1984.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will estimate the cost of policing of demonstrations in the Metropolitan Police district in each of the last five years; and how many demonstrations took place in each year.

We understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that the information available is being collated. We shall reply as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the cost of damage to prison premises by prisoners during the last 12 months; and how much of this figure was attributable to damage to roofs.

Information on the cost of all damage to prison premises by inmates during the last 12 months could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The approximate total cost of such damage in three main incidents, at Her Majesty's prisons Aylesbury, Parkhurst and Albany, was £1·255 million, of which about £725,000 was caused by damage to roofs. There were 26 roof-climbing incidents across the country which caused damage costing approximately £789,000 to repair.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any assistance is provided by Her Majesty's Government to assist victims of incest or organisations acting on their behalf.

No assistance is provided specifically for this purpose, but a number of voluntary organizations receiving financial help from the Government are engaged in dealing with family problems, and this may include counselling or aiding victims of incest and their families.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discounts are offered to tenants of prison department properties in England and Wales when these are offered for sale.

No discounts are available to those living in prison quarters (who are licensees, not tenants). Instead, in 1980, the staff concerned were offered a scheme for interest-free advances of salary to assist with the purchase of any house. In the case of governor grades and chaplains, this scheme is in operation. In the case of prison officer grades implementation of the scheme is linked to agreement on a common working system for prison officers, on which negotiations are continuing.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what instructions he has issued to the Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis prohibiting the police from attaching wheel clamps to vehicles owned by diplomats which are parked illegally.

Responsibility for enforcing road traffic laws and regulations rests with individual chief officers of police, and my right hon. and learned Friend has no authority to issue directions as to how such enforcement is done.We understand that the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, who is responsible for operational control of the experimental wheel clamping scheme in force in parts of central London, has obtained legal advice which suggests that wheel clamping contravenes the provisions of the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations. Wheel clamping of identifiable diplomatic vehicles has accordingly been discontinued. The situation is, however, being examined further.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many people who are mentally ill within the meaning of the Mental Health Act 1959 are imprisoned at Strangeways prison;(2) how many people who are registrable as being either physically or mentally handicapped for the purposes of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970 are prisoners at Strangeways prison.

Figures are not available in the form requested. However, on 31 March 1983 the number of persons in Her Majesty's prison Manchester whom the medical officer considered to be mentally disordered within the meaning of the Mental Health Act 1959, was 15 of whom 13 were mentally ill. There are at present no persons in the prison whom the medical officer considers to be physically handicapped.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is satisfied with current health facilities and hospital provision available to prisoners at Strangeways prison; and if he will make a statement.

We accept that hospital facilities at Her Majesty's prison Manchester are not satisfactory. Work on the design of a new hospital is in hand and construction is due to begin in 1985. In the meantime, essential work to refurbish the existing building has now been completed.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations has Department or the governor have had about conditions for staff and prisoners at Strangeways prison; and if he will make a statement on current conditions at the prison.

Officials of the prison department met the governor of Manchester prison and staff representatives on 7 June 1983 to review progress in improving the conditions at the prison. We are satisfied that the action being taken, which will include a full manpower review to be undertaken during September 1983, will result in an improvement of conditions for both staff and inmates.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what, in the light of Her Majesty's Government's international obligations to suppress terrorism, is his policy towards the establishment in the United Kingdom of offices representing organisations responsible for terrorist activities elsewhere in the world.

Any organisation is free to maintain an office in this country provided that its activities and the activities of those who work there remain within the law.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out his responsibilities and those of the Government of the Isle of Man in relation to sentences of death passed by courts in the Isle of Man; and if he will make a statement.

My sole responsibility in such cases is to advise Her Majesty on the question of the exercise of the royal prerogative of mercy. Other matters are for the Isle of Man Government.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for the most recent 12-month period how many persons have been convicted and sentenced for armed robbery with a firearm; and what has the average length of the sentence of imprisonment been.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to a question by my hon. Friend the Member for Leicester, East (Mr. Bruinvels) on 6 July. — [Vol. 45, c. 89–90.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, in the light of the Sri Lankan Government's policy of attacking the Tamil minority population, he will refuse to admit to the United Kingdom any Sri Lankan police officer seeking to enter in order to train; and if he will make a statement.

All applications for entry to the United Kingdom from persons subject to immigration control are considered in accordance with the immigration rules and the information available on the individual at the time of the application.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will seek to negotiate a prisoner transfer treaty between the United Kingdom and Thailand; and if he will make a statement.

We are currently considering whether the United Kingdom should participate in international agreements enabling prisoners to be transferred to serve their sentences in their home countries. Enabling legislation would be required to make this possible. It would not be appropriate to approach Thailand before we have announced our policy on the matter of prisoner repatriation generally. We hope to announce our conclusions shortly.

asked the Prime Minister what is the agenda for the forthcoming Commonwealth Prime Ministers' conference; and if she will seek to ensure that the issues of student mobility and student interchange between Commonwealth members, including the trade aspects, are discussed at this conference.

The agenda of the forthcoming Commonwealth Prime Ministers' conference is primarily a matter for the Commonwealth secretariat, which will be circulating a draft in due course. The issues mentioned by the hon. Member will no doubt be discussed at the conference and I shall be very ready to explain the measures which we have taken to increase support for Commonwealth students coming to this country

asked the Prime Minister if she will put before the forthcoming Commonwealth Prime Ministers' conference proposals to seek to restore the goodwill lost by increased fees for overseas students in the United Kingdom.

My right hon. Friend the then Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary made a statement to the House on 8 February about the new measures of support for overseas students in this country. Of the £46 million available for the three years 1983 to 1986 rather more than half will go to the Commonwealth as a whole. The poorer Commonwealth countries in particular will benefit under the ODA's expanded technical co-operation training programme. The number of awards under the Commonwealth scholarship and fellowship plan will be substantially increased. I shall be very ready to explain these measures at the Commonwealth Prime Ministers' conference and hope that others will be ready to make a corresponding contribution.

asked the Prime Minister whether the further investigations to establish whether or not Geoffrey Arthur Prime acted alone in the course of his commission of offences under the Official Secrets Act 1911 have yet been completed.

Investigations to establish whether or not Prime acted alone have continued and I cannot say when they will be completed. They have produced no evidence to suggest that he had an accomplice.

asked the Prime Minister if she will publish in the Official Report the salaries of each main grade of salaried staff in (a) the Civil Service (b) local government and (c) the National Health Service whose starting salary is greater than £15,000; and if she will publish similar information for each of the nationalised industries.

(a) The table following shows the basic salaries of the main grades in the non-industrial Civil Service whose present salary scale minimum is greater than £15,000 per annum:

	Salary £ per annum
Secretary to the Cabinet	42,000
Permanent Secretary to the Treasury
Permanent secretary	37,750
Second permanent secretary	35,000
Deputy secretary	30,250
Under-secretary	25,000
Assistant secretary* (maximum)	23,159
(minimum)	19,243
Senior principal* (maximum)	20,794
(minimum)	16,343
* The assistant secretary and senior principal salaries shown are the salaries payable as from 1 April 1983 following the non-industrial Civil Service pay award. The salaries of the remaining grades shown are those payable as from 1 April 1982. Salary increases for these senior grades will be determined by the outcome of deliberations on the Top Salaries Review Body Report No. 19.

asked the Prime Minister if she will introduce legislation to require the Boundary Commission to consider the costs involved in any increase in the number of Members of Parliament.

My right hon. and learned Friend the Home Secretary is considering the various comments which have been made about the law and procedures governing the work of the Parliamentary Boundary Commissions.

asked the Prime Minister what is her estimate of the immediate effect on the unemployment trap, and of the long-term effects on wage rates, employment opportunities and public spending of paying supplementary benefit at the long-term rates to all claimants over the age of 60 years.

Men aged over 60 are not normally at risk from the unemployment trap. We do not expect this to change following the extension of the long-term rate to them. Nor do we anticipate that the extension will have any long-term effects on wage rates or employment opportunities. The extra benefit cost is estimated at £23 million for the current financial year and £27 million in 1984–85, the first full year.

asked the Prime Minister how many war widows are in receipt of pensions as a result of the deaths of their husbands (a) in the 1914–18 war, (b) the 1939–45 war and (c) the Korean war; if she will estimate in each case the number of widows whose husbands are buried abroad; and if she will ensure that funds are made available, to those widows who wish to do so, to visit their husbands' graves.

About 11,000 war widows pensions are being paid to the widows of service men as a result of deaths during the first world war, and about 54,000 as a result of deaths during the second world war and subsequent years. It is not possible to identify separately the numbers attributable to the second world war or Korean war, nor is information readily available on how many of the men concerned are buried overseas.Since 1967 the next of kin of a service man buried overseas has been permitted either a visit to attend the funeral, or if this is not possible a subsequent visit within the next two years to see the grave, at public expense, together with a companion. The Government decided at the time that this concession could not be granted retrospectively, and this remains the case. We would like to be able to offer a visit to all the next of kin of service men who are buried overseas and have not previously been able to visit the grave, but the numbers would be very large and it would be far too difficult and expensive to organise.

asked the Prime Minister what was the total cost of sending widows of men killed in the Falklands to visit the islands.

The visit to the Falkland Islands was arranged for the next of kin—not just the widows—of those men who died in the conflict and who were lost or buried at sea, or buried in the Islands. Contractual arrangements for the visit were made with Cunard Crusader World Travel Ltd. and the Cunard Company, but it is not our practice to disclose contract prices for reasons of commercial confidentiality.

asked the Prime Minister how many (a) redundancies and (b) closures of work places have been notified to Her Majesty's Government since 9 June.

The number of proposed redundancies and work place closures notified under the redundancy handling provisions of the Employment Protection Act 1975 from 10 June 1983 to 12 July 1983 is as follows:

	Establishments	Employees
(a) Notified redundancies	874	47,240
(b) Closures included in (a)	227	14,988

These figures include a substantial number of seasonal jobs.Some notified redundancies do not in fact take place because of changes in circumstances during the advance warning period, but there is no statutory requirement to notify subsequent withdrawals.

asked the Prime Minister whether meetings, formal or informal, have taken place between representatives of Her Majesty's Government and the Nicaraguan guerilla movement called Nicaraguan Democratic Forces.

No.

asked the Prime Minister if Her Majesty's Government determine levels of minimum income adequate for survival for individuals in a variety of personal circumstances.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he or officials in his Department have been approached by Mr. Neils Haagerup, Member of the European parliament, with regard to his report on Northern Ireland to the European Assembly or for other purposes; whether he received any request from Mr. Haagerup to aid his visit to Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Haagerup has recently approached me about his desire to visit Northern Ireland in connection with his report.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he has received any communication from the Political Affairs Committee of the European Assembly with regard to the situation in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

I have received no communication from the Political Affairs Committee of the European parliament about Northern Ireland.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people were placed in employment by the Dundee jobcentre in the latest available month.

In the period from 3 June 1983 to 8 July 1983, the latest date for which information is available, 524 people were placed in employment by Dundee jobcentre. This figure includes 157 people placed in community programme schemes.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many primary and secondary teachers are currently registered as unemployed in Dundee.

I regret the information requested is not available as the occupational analysis of the unemployed was discontinued following the introduction of voluntary registration on 18 October 1982. At 9 September 1982, the latest date for which information is available, there were 54 secondary teachers and 124 primary teachers registered as unemployed in the Dundee jobcentre area.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many notifications of redundancy in Dundee have been made known to his Department since 9 June.

Statistics of redundancies are not available on a comprehensive basis and are compiled monthly but not for any lesser period. Provisional figures from the Manpower Services Commission for June indicate that there were six notifications of redundancies affecting 10 or more workers due to occur in that month in Dundee with an expected loss of 238 jobs.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what has been (a) the number unemployed for one year and over in Dundee and (b) the percentage of the total unemployed they comprised in May 1979, January 1981, April 1981, July 1981, October 1981, January 1982, April 1982, July 1982, October 1982, January 1983 and the latest available date.

The information requested is shown in the table below. It includes figures for April 1979 instead of May 1979 as the analysis of age and duration of unemployment is undertaken quarterly each January, April, July and October. The figures up to October 1982 are based on the number of unemployed registrants at jobcentres and careers offices (the old basis of the count); those from October 1982 to April 1983, the latest date for which information is available, are based on the number of unemployed claimants at unemployment benefit offices (the new basis of the count). Figures for October 1982 are included on both bases for purposes of comparison.

Unemployment in Dundee Numbers unemployed for more than 52 weeks
	Registrant based count	Claimant based count	Percentage of Total Unemployed
April 1979	2,310	—	27·7
January 1981	3,916	—	22·9
April 1981	3,529	—	25·5
July 1981	4,151	—	27·4

Age and duration analysis of the unemployment register in Dundee
Males
Duration of unemployment in weeks	Age
	16 and under	17	18	19	20–24	25–29	30–34	35–39	40–44	45–49	50–54	55–59	60–64	65 and over	Total
One or less	10	12	7	11	56	38	21	27	19	16	19	16	9	0	261
Over 1 and up to 2	15	12	12	9	64	39	22	13	14	14	18	15	17	0	264
Over 2 and up to 4	16	30	16	16	88	52	36	32	19	24	19	25	19	0	392
Over 4 and up to 6	8	11	16	9	76	33	38	39	17	22	30	29	22	1	351
Over 6 and up to 8	25	28	18	14	59	50	35	17	20	20	21	22	24	0	353
Over 8 and up to 13	33	50	49	24	209	107	88	75	74	71	61	67	84	0	992
Over 13 and up to 26	84	60	83	58	296	178	140	106	66	83	85	80	73	0	1,392
Over 26 and up to 39	46	80	98	91	273	166	87	76	56	38	66	59	88	0	1,224
Over 39 and up to 52	0	41	78	53	229	139	81	67	44	40	47	59	56	0	934
Over 52 and up to 65	0	24	41	38	140	80	48	35	30	23	34	45	48	0	588
Over 65 and up to 78	0	18	37	39	114	58	70	46	44	30	15	35	40	0	546
Over 78 and up to 104	0	18	46	64	180	117	95	59	47	51	53	73	114	1	918
Over 104 and up to 156	0	0	28	70	255	183	149	112	90	98	83	91	106	0	1,265
Over 156 and up to 208	0	0	0	2	98	94	89	63	51	44	39	33	30	0	543
Over 208 and up to 260	0	0	0	0	38	52	73	64	46	78	36	37	12	0	436
Over 260	0	0	0	0	3	8	23	18	29	27	70	86	44	1	309
Total Males	237	384	529	498	2,178	1,394	1,095	849	666	679	696	772	786	3	10,766

Females
Duration of unemployment in weeks		Age
		16 and under	17	18	19	20–24	25–29	30–34	35–39	40–44	45–49	50–54	55–59	60 and over	Total
One or less		11	3	5	5	30	21	5	7	9	15	6	8	0	123
Over 1 and up to 2		10	11	6	2	38	31	16	16	11	8	7	8	0	154
Over 2 and up to 4		13	24	13	15	42	35	21	24	13	13	12	11	0	233
Over 4 and up to 6		8	16	11	10	54	47	23	26	27	21	22	21	0	286
Over 6 and up to 8		10	16	13	9	60	26	26	16	12	26	24	17	0	255
Over 8 and up to 13		30	55	40	43	148	123	61	56	52	51	53	71	0	783
Over 13 and up to 26		64	54	72	54	197	125	91	46	52	26	47	32	1	861
Over 26 and up to 39		39	69	98	53	147	103	56	41	28	36	45	29	0	744
Over 39 and up to 52		0	26	41	32	116	85	40	27	15	31	23	27	0	463
Over 52 and up to 65		0	14	26	29	54	40	24	21	19	14	24	24	0	289
Over 65 and up to 78		0	14	19	12	41	17	15	16	7	15	22	18	1	197
Over 78 and up to 104		0	20	21	35	56	36	21	15	20	29	37	53	1	344
Over 104 and up to 156		0	0	22	21	69	28	15	14	27	24	46	58	0	324
Over 156 and up to 208		0	0	0	10	35	15	9	6	10	10	14	25	1	135
Over 208 and up to 260		0	0	0	0	6	11	10	4	6	14	6	11	0	68
Over 260		0	0	0	0	6	1	2	1	3	5	12	36	1	67
Total Females		185	322	387	330	1,099	744	435	336	311	338	400	447	5	5,339

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will provide information on the sources of finance of the National Health Service in Scotland over each of the past five years from the following, each expressed as a percentage of the total (a) Government funding, (b) health charges and (c) others.

The information is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will provide information on the breakdown of the unemployment figures for Dundee by age, sex and length of time unemployed at the latest available date.

The information is shown in the following tables. The figures are based on the number of unemployed claimants (the new basis of the count) in Dundee on 14 April 1983, the latest date for which the information is available.

	Parliamentary grant	Charges to patients	National insurance contributions and other income
	Per cent.	Per cent.	Per cent.
1978–79	90·9	1·2	7·9
1979–80	90·9	1·4	7·9
1980–81	91·6	1·5	6·9
1981–82	90·7	1·7	7·6
1982–83*	88·9	1·8	9·3

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what has been the value of health charges within the National Health Service in Scotland in each of the past five years; and if he will also express the totals for each year at constant prices.

Total receipts from charges to patients within the National Health Service in Scotland in each of the last five years is as follows:

	£ million
1978–79	10,684
1979–80	14,666
1980–81	20,383
1981–82	25,076
1982–83*	30,465
*Provisional figures

Records of charge income at a constant price base are not available for the period concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will now indicate how the reductions in Health Service spending are to be distributed within the various sectors of the National Health Service.

My right hon. Friend will announce shortly the adjustments to be made to Scottish Office cash-limited programmes.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his estimate of the percentage of the population regarded as economically active in both Dundee and Scotland in each year since 1977.

The 1981 census of population shows that the percentage of people in Dundee regarded

	Dundee		Scotland		Unemployed claimants in Scotland
	Number	Percentage rate	Number	Percentage rate	Number	Percentage rate
1977	8,430	8·6	182,825	8·1	172,117	7·7
1978	8,602	8·8	184,711	8·2	172,042	7·7
1979	8,668	8·8	181,480	8·0	168,345	7·4
1980	10,861	11·1	225,729	9·9	207,918	9·1
1981	14,723	15·0	307,191	13·6	282,807	12·6
1982	*15,611	*15·9	*342,937	*15·4	318,017	14·2
* These figures are based on the unemployed registrant count for the 10 months from January to October 1982 before the change in November 1982 to a claimant based count.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what has been the total number of deaths in both Dundee and Scotland in each year since 1977.

Figures for 1977 to 1981 are published in the annual reports of the Registrar General for Scotland (tables A2.2 and C2.16), copies of which are in the Library. Provisional figures for 1982 are published in the weekly return of the Registrar General (WR12/83), a copy of which is also held in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland of how many redundancies his Department has been notified in Scotland since 9 June.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people are estimated to have been available for work in both Dundee and Scotland in each year since 1977.

I regret this information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what has been (a) the average annual unemployment rate and (b) the average annual number of unemployed in both Dundee and Scotland in each year since 1977.

The table following shows the average unemployement rate and the average annual number of unemployed registrants (the old basis of the count) at jobcentres and careers offices in Dundee and Scotland in each year since 1977. Estimates of the number of unemployed claimants (the new basis of the count) and the corresponding unemployment percentage rates over this period are available for Scotland only and are included in the table.

Statistics of redundancies are not available on a comprehensive basis and are compiled monthly but not for any lesser period. Provisional figures indicate that, for Scotland, 1,187 jobs were expected to be lost in redundancies affecting 10 or more workers and notified to the Manpower Services Commission as due to occur in June.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will now begin an inquiry under the terms of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 into the proposed closure of Carolina house, Dundee.(2) if he has studied the case presented by Mr. Frank Doran, of Doran and McGinley Ltd., Solicitors on behalf of the children in Carolina house, on the decision to close Carolina house, Dundee, and on the terms of the Dundee Orphanage Trust Scheme 1963 (S.I., 1963, No. 1930); and if he will make a statement.

In the light of the representations which my right hon. Friend has received from Messrs. Doran and McGinley, clarification is being sought from the directors of the Dundee orphanage trust about their intentions in regard to Carolina house. Pending such clarification it would be premature to consider further action.

Pupil/Teacher Ratios in Education Authority Primary Schools
	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982
Borders	20·0	20·4	20·4	19·1	18·3	18·4	18·2	18·0
Central	21·4	21·3	20·7	20·0	19·7	19·5	19·1	18·6
Dumfries and Galloway	21·6	21·0	20·4	20·2	19·2	19·1	19·2	19·3
Fife	22·3	22·8	22·7	21·7	21·0	20·7	20·6	20·3
Grampian	20·3	20·8	20·4	19·7	19·0	18·9	18·9	18·9
Highland	19·2	19·5	20·1	19·7	19·1	19·1	19·1	19·0
Lothians	21·4	21·3	21·5	19·7	18·9	18·5	18·6	19·8
Orkney	17·5	18·2	17·9	18·0	17·3	17·2	16·9	17·4
Strathclyde	24·2	23·9	24·0	22·9	21·3	21·6	21·6	21·6
Argyle and Bute	20·5	20·7	20·4	19·5	18·8	18·9	18·8	19·5
Ayr	23·0	23·3	23·4	22·7	21·7	22·3	22·1	22·0
Dunbarton	21·5	22·9	23·3	22·4	21·7	22·0	22·0	22·1
Glasgow	25·6	24·5	24·3	22·8	20·8	21·0	21·1	20·8
Lanark	25·4	24·5	24·8	23·8	21·6	21·7	21·6	21·7
Renfrew	24·2	24·2	24·5	23·3	21·9	22·2	22·3	22·4
Tayside	20·1	20·7	21·4	21·1	20·3	20·8	20·6	20·6
Western Isles	18·2	18·8	18·4	17·7	17·1	16·5	16·7	16·5
Zetland	18·3	18·3	17·5	17·3	16·8	15·7	15·0	14·3
Scotland	22·4	22·4	22·4	21·4	20·3	20·3	20·3	20·3

Pupil/Teacher Ratio in Education Authority Secondary Schools
	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982
Borders	14·2	14·3	14·2	14·1	14·2	14·2	14·1	14·4
Central	14·4	14·3	14·7	14·5	14·2	14·4	14·4	14·4
Dumfries and Galloway	14·7	14·4	14·5	14·2	14·2	14·3	14·1	14·0
Fife	14·4	14·8	14·8	14·6	14·7	14·7	14·9	14·7
Grampian	13·4	13·3	13·6	13·6	13·4	13·4	13·8	13·8
Highland	14·2	14·4	14·5	14·5	14·0	13·9	13·7	13·7
Lothians	14·2	14·0	14·1	13·9	13·5	13·3	13·4	13·7
Orkney	12·3	13·0	13·5	12·8	13·0	13·2	12·9	12·5
Strathclyde	16·2	15·4	15·3	15·1	15·0	15·0	15·0	14·7
Argyll and Bute	14·3	14·2	14·0	13·9	13·6	13·8	13·8	13·8
Ayr	15·1	15·2	15·1	15·1	15·3	15·2	15·2	14·9
Dunbarton	16·1	15·8	15·4	15·1	15·2	15·2	15·4	15·1
Glasgow	16·1	15·3	15·1	15·1	14·6	14·5	14·4	14·3
Lanark	17·5	15·7	15·8	15·6	15·6	15·7	15·6	15·1
Renfrew	16·0	15·2	15·1	14·6	14·7	14·8	14·9	14·6
Tayside	14·3	13·8	14·0	14·0	14·0	14·0	13·9	13·8
Western Isles	13·6	12·4	12·1	12·3	12·1	12·4	12·2	11·6
Zetland	12·5	13·4	12·8	12·9	13·2	12·5	12·5	11·4
Scotland	15·1	14·7	14·7	14·6	14·4	14·4	14·4	14·3

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he can give the figures in percentage terms of those who attended nursery school in Scotland, region by region, for each of the last 10 years; and if he will increase nursery provision as soon as economic circumstances permit.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he can give figures for the pupil-teacher ratio in Scotland, region by region, for each of the last 10 years, listing the provision for primary and secondary education.

Information on pupil/teacher ratios in primary and secondary schools, by region, since 1975, when regions came into existence, is set out as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing production, imports and exports of passenger cars and heavy goods vehicles by volume in 1970, 1982 and the first five months of the current year, together with volume figures of trade in these items with the European Community and the European Community Six.

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

I. United Kingdom production
(Numbers in thousands)
	1970	1982	January-May 1983
Passenger cars	1,641	888	445
Heavy commercial vehicles	*191	†65	†22

II. United Kingdom overseas trade in complete passenger cars‡
	1970		1982		January-April 1983
	Imports	Exports	Imports	Exports	Imports	Exports
Total trade	159	693	944	320	361	85
European Community (9)	136	212	658	125	254	31
European Community (6)	134	143	637	116	248	27
Notes:
‡ figures corresponding to SITC (R2) Group 781 and SITC (R1) Sub-group 732.1 in the United Kingdom Overseas Trade Statistics (passenger motor cars, including used cars and omitting chassis fitted with engines).

Corresponding details of overseas trade in heavy commercial vehicles are not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether any assistance is being provided by his Department to British Aerospace for marketing the 146 aircraft.

British Aerospace make extensive use of the range of facilities available to exporters through the British Overseas Trade Board and the Export Credits Guarantee Department in furtherance of its export marketing strategy.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if, in the light of the representations he has received from the British Automotive Parts Promotion Council, he will take steps to end those trading practices in the automotive parts industry by other countries which operate unfairly against the United Kingdom industry.

I have noted the representations made by the council and will readily look into any firm evidence of unfair trading practices that it brings to my attention. I am ready to use every means at my disposal to try to remove such practices.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing imports from and exports to other European Community countries of internal combustion engines—other than diesel engines—for passenger motor cars in 1970, 1982 and the current year to date distinguishing engines for assembly from other engines.

This information is not available. The statistics of overseas trade do not distinguish spark-ignition internal combustion piston engines for passenger motor cars from those for road vehicles in general (including air cushion vehicles), tractors, works trucks and armoured fighting vehicles.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing imports from and exports to other European Community countries of motor car components in 1970, 1982 and the current year to date.

The available statistics do not distinguish parts of motor cars from those for other motor vehicles.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he intends to make compulsory in the near future a statement of the annual percentage rate of interest charged by building societies in their advertisements.

Building societies are at present exempt from the Consumer Credit Advertisements Regulations 1980, which require the inclusion of the annual percentage rate of interest in advertisements for credit. The Director General of Fair Trading has recommended that this exemption should be withdrawn so that both the advertisements and the quotations regulations apply equally to all financial institutions and other bodies engaged in house mortgage lending. I am considering the implications of the director general's report and will make a statement in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing imports from and exports to other European Community countries and the rest of the world of heavy goods vehicles in 1970, 1982 and current year to date.

This information is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will provide details of all Government grants, including regional development grants and section 8 Industry Act grants, paid in the last three years to J. Muir & Co. Ltd.; Clelland Jamieson Ltd. and Basford Textile Group Ltd.

It is not the practice to disclose details of financial assistance given to individual companies other than in accordance with the arrangements announced by the then Secretary of State for Industry on 31 July 1974.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he has any proposals for further schemes to encourage the starting up and developing of new businesses.

Volume Index Numbers
Overseas trade statistics basis				1975=100 seasonally adjusted
	Exports Manufactured goods			Imports Manufactured goods
SITC (Rev 2)	Total 5-8	Semi 5+6	Finished 7+8	Total 5-8	Semi 5+6	Finished 7+8
CURRENT WEIGHTS
1983
January	94·5	106·5	88·0	169·9	143·8	191·7
February	106·0	118·9	99·0	174·5	143·9	200·4
March	110·0	131·2	98·6	158·1	122·8	187·3
April	101·5	116·3	93·5	167·5	138·0	191·8
May	99·6	111·7	93·2	169·8	147·4	188·5
1975 WEIGHTS
1983
January	101·7	116·5	93·1	184·7	156·7	208·4
February	112·0	125·5	103·9	189·0	159·4	214·4
March	116·1	136·0	104·4	173·8	143·5	199·8
April	107·1	121·7	98·4	182·3	155·4	205·2
May	106·3	119·9	98·2	183·4	162·2	201·6

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) if, pursuant to the answer of 8 July, Official Report, c. 197, progress on European harmonisation of copyright is a necessary precondition to the conclusion of his current review of copyright law; and if he will make a statement;(2) if, pursuant to the answer of 8 July,

Reform of United Kingdom copyright law is not technically conditional upon progress towards harmonisation within the European Community. Nevertheless, because of the operation of the EEC treaty, it is important that as high a degree of harmonisation as possible is obtained. It would therefore be desirable for us to see the Commission's memorandum. The Commission is aware of our interest but I understand that work there is delayed. In these circumstances, we must continue with the formulation of our own proposals and we may have to

I am looking at the need for additional measures to help new businesses. However, I believe that the priority for Government now is to make sure that potential and existing entrepreneurs are fully aware of the many schemes that have already been introduced, and to work on reducing administrative and legislative burdens.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing for manufactures, semi-finished manufactures and finished manufactures the volume of imports and exports in the first five months of 1983 on a current and on a 1975 weighted basis.

The information is as follows:legislate before seeing the Commission's proposals. Nevertheless, we will urge the Commission to put forward its proposals with the least delay.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the value in pound sterling of the total British motor components industry; how much the industry exports; what is the value of British imports of motor components; and if he will make a statement.

It is estimated that in 1982 manufacturers' sales of parts and accessories (defined below) for cars and commercial vehicles and for their engines approached £2·9 billion. The corresponding amounts of exports and imports were £1·5 billion and £1·0 billion, respectively.The industry continues to be affected by the recession which has reduced the demand for vehicles world-wide. There has, however, been a recent significant growth in the level of United Kingdom car registrations, helped by the Government's decision to abolish hire purchase controls, and I hope the components sector will be able to derive full benefit from this.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what were the destinations and tonnages of steel exported from the United Kingdom in the most recent 12 months for which figures are available.

The information is as follows:

United Kingdom exports of steel industry products May 1982-April 1983
	'000 tonnes
United States of America	338
Federal Republic of Germany	303
India	219
Irish Republic	162
Greece	156
France	153
Italy	149
Denmark	137
Sweden	134
Netherlands	115
Singapore	102
Switzerland	98
Belgium-Luxembourg	93
Saudi Arabia	83
Norway	81
Spain	75
United Soviet Socialist Republics	69
Nigeria	57
Canada	55
Iran	45
China	45
Abu Dhabi	44
Finland	42
Iraq	41
Algeria	40
Hong Kong	35
Israel	33
Portugal	30
Malaysia	28
Egypt	22
Yugoslavia	22
Kenya	21
Turkey	21
Other African countries	46
Other Asian countries	119
Other American Countries	169
Other Countries	67
Total	3,449

British Overseas Trade Board supported Outward Missions since 1 January 1982
Destination	Organising body	Dates
January 1982
Hong Kong	British Knitting Export Council	12–16 January
Sudan	Birmingham Chamber of Industry & Commerce	15–20 January
Philippines, Indonesia	North of England Development Council	17–29 January
Nigeria	The Scottish Council Development & Industry	18–27 January
Saudi Arabia	London Chamber of Commerce & Industry	22 January-4 February
Iraq	Coventry Chamber of Commerce & Industry	22–29 January
United Arab Emirates	Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders	29 January-5 February
Australia, New Zealand	Kirklees and Wakefield Chamber of Commerce	29 January-20 February

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information he has as to the total tax, including import duties, levied on a 75 centilitre bottle of standard scotch whisky sold in Japan and the total tax on a similar bottle of Japanese whisky in the same market.

The total tax, including import duty, paid on a 75 centilitre bottle of standard scotch whisky retailing at 3,800 yen would be 1,542 yen against 1,344 yen on a 76 centilitre bottle of Japanese whisky retailing at 3,200 yen.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which organisations for the establishment of data bases containing information about the products and services available in the United Kingdom are receiving financial support from his Department; and what is the extent of that support in each case.

No activity of this type is being supported at present. However, commercial initiatives to set up such data bases could qualify for development funding under the Department's support for innovation scheme.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what have been (a) the number of job losses announced, (b) the number of new jobs created, (c) the number of firms which have closed and (d) the number of new firms started in the west midlands since 21 March.

The information is not available in the form requested.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will publish in the Official Report a list of individual trade missions supported by the British Overseas Trade Board since 1 January 1982, in each case showing the date, the destination and the organising body.

The information requested is as follows: