asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has completed his consideration of the Home Affairs Select Committee's report on the Representation of the People Acts; and whether he will make a statement.

The Government reply to the Select Committee's report is published today. Subject to the usual constraints on the parliamentary programme, the Government propose to bring forward legislation next Session to extend the franchise to British citizens who have left the United Kingdom in the past seven years and who were previously registered as electors; to enable holidaymakers and others unable to vote in person on polling day to apply for a postal or proxy vote; to increase the deposit to £1,000 while reducing the threshold for forfeiture to 5 per cent. of votes cast in the constituency; and to streamline other aspects of electoral procedure.I have also placed in the Library of the House copies of two discussion papers, dealing respectively with an extension of the franchise to British citizens resident outside the United Kingdom and with absent voting, which the Home Departments have prepared for consultation purposes. Further papers will be placed in the Library as and when they are made available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is satisfied with the progress of Government measures to counter the growing problem of heroin addiction.

I am satisfied with the progress of the measures now in hand; but there can be no grounds for complacency as long as the illegal importation and use of heroin continue at their present disturbing levels.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the date on which Mr. David Freeman, prisoner No. 076842, currently held at Long Martin, Worcestershire, was sentenced to prison; what was the length of his sentence; on what date he was made a category A prisoner; at what dates his categorisation has been reviewed; what were the outcomes of those reviews; whether his original conviction involved any crimes of violence; whether he has been guilty of any violence while in prison; and on what basis he is still being held as a category A prisoner.

My noble Friend will write to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Sri Lankan Tamils have been detained under the Immigration Act powers since 1 July 1983; for what length of time they were held; how many of them expressed an unwillingness to return to Sri Lanka for fear of their safety in Sri Lanka; and of these how many have subsequently been removed or deported.

Information is not readily available in the precise form requested. Between 1 July 1983 and 25 January 1984, 23 Sri Lankan nationals have been detained as illegal entrants or under deportation provisions. Eleven have been detained for less than one month, four for between one and three months and eight for more than three months. Seventeen expressed a fear of return to Sri Lanka, of whom two have made voluntary departures and one has been deported. Other cases remain under consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department since July 1983 how many Sri Lankan Tamils have now sought leave to enter the United Kingdom on exceptional grounds due to the civil disorder in their country; of these how many have been allowed in and how many have now been refused leave to enter and deported; of these applicants, how many have been detained; and what has been the maximum length of time of any such detention.

I regret that this information is not available in the form requested. Between 1 July to 30 November 1983—the latest date for which figures are available—14,400 Sri Lankan nationals were admitted to the United Kingdom, and 204 were refused leave to enter and removed, not necessarily to Sri Lanka.Precise figures of the number of Sri Lankan nationals detained after seeking leave to enter are not readily available, but since 1 July 1983 approximately 70 Sri Lankans have been detained at Heathrow and Gatwick airports. One person was detained for 25 days; the remainder were detained for seven days or less.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, further to his answer of 16 January, Official Report, c. 62–3, whether consultation with local authority associations concerning the draft guidance on shelter surveys has yet begun; and when he expects the consultation processes to be completed.

The local authority associations and the Greater London council were consulted in August 1981 on the draft guidance. The draft has been revised in the light of their comments and further work by the Home Office. It now forms part of the draft consolidated guidance under preparation and on which we expect to be able to consult the associations and the Greater London council in the early spring.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, further to his answer on 16 January, Official Report, c.63, what matters will be covered in the consolidated circular to be published in the current year; and which of his Department's circulars in the ES series are likely to be superseded by that consolidated circular.

The consolidated circular will cover the following subjects:

• Peacetime emergencies
• The aims of civil defence
• Local authority civil defence responsibilities in peace and war
• Planning assumptions
• Emergency communications
• Warning and monitoring
• Protection of the public (including shelter survey)
• Health and medical services
• Care of the homeless
• Community organisation and volunteer effort
• Essential supplies and services
• Transport
• Information to the public
• Emergency services
• Emergency arrangements for Government
• The role of the military
• Training
• Finance
• Weapons effects
• Civil defence legislation

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, further to his answer on 16 January, Official Report, c.62, if he will publish a list of the county and district level authorities which have yet to establish emergency centres as required by the Civil Defence (General Local Authority Functions) Regulations 1983.

The list is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has sought to satisfy himself that in all cases of the use by the Metropolitan police of entrapment techniques, they have acted in accordance with paragraph 1.92 of his Department's circular; and whether he has discussed this matter with the commissioner.

I am satisfied that this guidance is accurately reflected in the Metropolitan police general orders, and in the instruction book which is issued to all officers on appointment. As a result of discussions that the Department has had with the Metropolitan police, I understand that the commissioner is considering whether any amendment of the general orders is necessary in order to clarify further the principle enunciated in the guidance. The use of agents provocateurs, or other entrapment techniques, has been disapproved of by the courts, and it would be for the courts to determine whether any particular police operation incited the commission of offences.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide figures showing the number of jobs civilianised within each police force area in England and Wales during the last 12 months, and the number of civilians already working within each force area.

Information about the number of posts in each force held by police officers 12 months ago and now filled by civilians could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.During the 12 months ending 30 November 1983, the number of full-time civilians employed in the police service in England and Wales increased by 505: there was a reduction of 280 in part-time staff. The number employed in each police force on 30 November 1983 is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many remand prisoners are currently being held in police cells;(2) since 1 January, how many remand prisoners have been held overnight in police cells.

Details of prisoners accommodated overnight in police cells since 1 January are given in the following table.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) since 1 January, how many remand prisoners have shared wing or cell accommodation with convicted prisoners;(2) since 1 January, how many remand prisoners, by penal establishments, have been held in places normally reserved for convicted prisoners.

Remand prisoners do not share cells with convicted prisoners. When both types of prisoner are held in the same wing, they will normally be held on separate landings or at opposite ends of the wing. The other information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners were moved at short notice on a temporary basis from Wandsworth prison to Grendon prison between 1 December 1983 and 31 December 1983.

Twenty-three sentenced prisoners were temporarily transferred from Her Majesty's prison Wandsworth to Her Majesty's prison Grendon on 22 December. While at Grendon they were accommodated on a separate landing.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department for all European Community countries what is the pound sterling equivalent rate for television licences and the systems and conditions that apply for hotels and other multiple users.

I understand that in July 1983 European Community countries operating television licensing systems charged licence fees equivalent to the following:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide figures for each prison, detention centre or other penal establishment in England and Wales, showing the estimated weekly cost of keeping a prisoner

Costs of individual penal establishments are not presently available. The average weekly costs of keeping a person in custody in certain types of establishments during the financial year 1981–82, the latest year for which information is available, were published in the report on the work of the prison department 1982 — Cmnd. 9057. A new financial information system was introduced on 1 April 1983 which will enable estimates of costs, on a financial year basis, to be compiled for individual establishments. We expect to be able to publish these estimates for the financial year 1983–84 in the later part of this year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation to regulate the circumstances in which breath tests may be made and in particular specifically prohibiting random tests; and if he will make a statement.

The circumstances in which a person may be required to provide a specimen of breath are set out in sections 7, 8 and 9 of the Road Traffic Act 1972, as amended by section 25 of and schedule 8 to the Transport Act 1981. We have no plans to introduce amending legislation.

. asked the Prime Minister under what statute or administrative order or direction members of Government communications headquarters have been deprived of the right to remain members of a trade union.

Through certificates issued under the Employment Protection Acts the provisions of the 1978 Act relating to trade union membership and activities will no longer apply to staff of GCHQ. With effect from 1 March, it will be a condition of service that staff only belong to a staff association approved by the director of GCHQ.

asked the Prime Minister when in 1983 the work of the Government communications headquarters was acknowledged as that of an intelligence agency; what was the form of the acknowledgement; and what new information was then revealed.

In my statement of 12 May 1983 I said:

"The functions of GCHQ, which are carried out under the Ministerial responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary, are to ensure the security of the United Kingdom's military and official communications, and to provide signals intelligence in accordance with requirements laid upon it by the Government in support of the Government's defence and foreign policies."

asked the Prime Minister if the Government will now seek to move to appoint a Select Committee of both Houses comprised of Privy Councillors to report on what changes are desirable at Government communications headquarters in the national interest; and if she will postpone implementation of the statement of Wednesday 25 January until the Select Committee has reported and its report has been debated in both Houses of Parliament.

No.

asked the Prime Minister, pursuant to her reply to the right hon. Member for Plymouth, Devonport on 26 January, Official Report, c. 1049, if she will consider introducing a no-strike agreement in a context where trade unionists empowered to negotiate on behalf of the staff are employed within the Government communications headquarters and so fully informed about the detailed work of the staff.

The possibility of seeking such an agreement was considered before the decision was made to take the course of action described in my right hon. Friend's statement of 25 January. But it would not give a sufficient guarantee of protection for the work of GCHQ.

asked the Prime Minister what was the reason for the delay in introducing the measures relating to the Government communications headquarters from the middle of 1983, when it was acknowledged to be an intelligence agency, until 25 January.

The acknowledgement was made on 12 May 1983. The time taken is not unreasonable for such a matter.

asked the Prime Minister, pursuant to the reply of the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to the right hon. Member for Leeds, East (Mr. Healey) on 25 January, Official Report, c. 918, what is the basis for the statement that the matter of the announcement of 25 January relating to Government communications headquarters is not for the Security Commission.

The terms of reference of the Security Commission require the Commission, if so requested by the Prime Minister, to investigate and report upon the circumstances in which a breach of security is known to have occurred in the public service and, in the light of any such investigation, to advise whether any change in security arrangements is necessary or desirable. The changes at GCHQ to which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs referred in his statement on 25 January 1984 do not fall within these terms of reference.

asked the Prime Minister on what matters of general application the Security Commission has reported.

In 1981 the Security Commission was asked to review the security procedures and practices currently followed in the public service and to consider what, if any, changes were required. The Government's statement about the Commission's findings was published in May 1982. (Cmnd. 8540.)

asked the Prime Minister how long members of the intelligence service have been denied the right to belong to a trade union; and under what statute, order, regulation or administrative Act this requirement has been imposed.

It has never been the practice for members of the other security and intelligence services to belong to trade unions. Certificates have been signed under successive Governments to except these services from the provisions of the Employment Protection Acts.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 31 January.

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asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 31 January.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 31 January.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 31 January.

This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others including one with a delegation from the Scottish TUC. In addition to my duties in the House I shall be having further meetings later today.

asked the Prime Minister when she next expects to meet the President of the Commission of the European Communities.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave him on 13 December 1983.—[Vol. 50, c. 408.]

asked the Prime Minister if she has any plans to visit Kingswood.

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister whether she will make a statement on the progress towards mutual, balanced and verifiable disarmament.

We welcome the recent decision of the Soviet Union to resume the MBFR talks in Vienna and hope that they will return soon to the START and INF talks in Geneva.NATO is currently pursuing a comprehensive package of confidence-building measures at the Stockholm conference on disarmament in Europe.NATO is also seeking verifiable disarmament measures at the committee on disarmament in Geneva, in particular a total ban on chemical weapons.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list the occasions during the past eight years on which the spouses of Government Ministers have accompanied them on official visits overseas at public expense.

This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Prime Minister whether it is still the intention of Her Majesty's Government, pursuant to paragraph 71 of Cmnd. 8877, to transfer responsibility for authorising opencast coal mining planning applications from the Secretary of State for Energy to local authorities; and when she anticipates amendments of the Opencast Coal Act 1958.

Yes. The Government plan to announce shortly new administrative arrangements which would require the NCB to make planning applications for opencast sites to local authorities and would transfer responsibility for authorisation decisions from the Secretary of State for Energy to the Secretaries of State for the Environment, Scotland and Wales. Full transfer to the normal planning syetem will call for amendment of the Opencast Coal Act 1958. The necessary amending legislation will be introduced as soon as possible.

asked the Prime Minister if she will make a statement about the future of the financial management initiative unit at the Management and Personnel Office of the Treasury.

The joint Treasury-Cabinet Office—Management and Personnel Office—financial management unit was set up in 1982 to assist Departments in preparing their programmes of work for improving financial management. The unit is small and made up of civil servants and outside consultants all with experience and skills in one aspect or another of financial management. The unit's work has been of great value to Government Departments, and it has been decided to extend its life until the end of 1984.

asked the Prime Minister when the Government now expect the negotiations on the future of Hong Kong to be concluded.

I have nothing to add to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Member for Shoreham (Mr. Luce) to my hon. Friend the Member for Christchurch (Mr. Adley) on 16 January 1984.—[Vol. 52, c. 55.]

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is now in a position to announce the level of grants to Scottish museums and galleries and to the National Library of Scotland for 1984–85.

I am pleased to announce the following allocations, which are subject to Parliamentary approval:

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the number of urgent and non-urgent patients on hospital waiting lists in Dundee; how many patients on the urgent waiting lists have been awaiting treatment for one month or more; and what are the corresponding figures for Scotland as a whole.

This information is not available centrally

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list by postal code districts for the Dunfermline and Kirkcaldy employment office the numbers of men and women registered out of work in January 1984.

The information will not be available until mid February and I shall reply to the hon. Member thereafter.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will provide figures for each prison, detention centre or other penal establishment in Scotland showing the estimated weekly cost of keeping a prisoner.

The estimated weekly cost in 1982–83 of keeping an inmate in Scotland in a prison was £168·20; in a young offenders' institution £214·40; in a borstal institution £201·70; and in a detention centre £202·60. Figures for individual establishments are not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what are the objectives behind the proposed youth training scheme inquiry by the Social Security Policy Inspectorate; why his Department is to be involved in an experimental exercise interviewing and visiting young people who are not on youth training schemes; and whether it will be part of the review work to recommend withdrawal of benefit, or to verify benefit claims.

[pursuant to his reply,, 23 January 1984, c. 446: The objective of this Social Security Policy Inspectorate inquiry is to monitor the effects of the arrangements made for supplementary benefit to be reduced where claimants refuse youth training scheme places, or leave prematurely, without good cause. The inspectorate will interview some such claimants to discuss their reasons and their reactions to the benefit reduction that resulted. It will also interview some unemployed young people who are in the relevant age group and who are not currently taking part in the scheme to find out whether they have been offered places and what are their intentions when places become available.It will be no part of the inspectorate's function to recommed withdrawal or reduction of benefit in any individual case, or to verify benefit claims.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what are the objectives behind the proposal to increase unemployment review activity on young claimants; how his officers propose to encourage a positive attitude and inculcate good working habits; on what basis Cowdenbeath, Dunfermline and the other local Department of Health and Social Security offices have been chosen for the experiment; and whether it will be part of the review work to recommend withdrawal of benefit, or to verify benefit claims.

[pursuant to his reply, 23 January 1984, c. 445–46: We are concerned that young unemployed people, who are at the threshold of their working lives, should, whenever possible, be given the most appropriate kind of help and encouragement to seek and find suitable jobs. The youth training scheme and the vocational guidance offered by the careers service already provide help for 16 and 17-year-olds, but we recognise that young people who are slightly older may also be in need of special help. One possible solution is for unemployment review officers to allocate more of their time to this group. The Department is therefore about to carry out an experiment to evaluate the effect of devoting more of the time of unemployment review officers to such young people. The experiment will focus on single people in the 18 to 24 age group. The exercise will be conducted in 40 local offices, in England, Wales and Scotland —including Cowdenbeath and Dunfermline. All the offices have been selected on a random basis to provide a representative sample. The experiment will begin in February and will continue for several months.As usual, the primary task of the unemployment review officers will be to try to help claimants by offering suitable advice about employment prospects and how to apply for jobs, and by explaining the opportunities for training or work experience available through the Manpower Services Commission. An underlying aim of all these activities is to help those who have become discouraged.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what measures he has taken to encourage the growth of private medical care.

We have removed the legislative constraints on the growth of private medical care. We have allowed all NHS consultants to undertake private practice; and for people earning less than £8,500 a year, we have removed the tax on health insurance premiums paid by employers.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services to what level the death grant needs to be increased for the current value to equal in real terms its value at the time of the last increase in October 1967.

The death grant would need to be increased to £165 to restore it to its 1967 value.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services why certain very elderly people are excluded from the provisions governing the award of the death grant; and if he will make a statement on the number involved.

No death grant is payable in respect of men born before 5 July 1883 or women born before 5 July 1888 because they were over pension age when the national insurance scheme was introduced in 1948. As they were not able to pay any contributions towards the grant, they were not included in the provisions. It is estimated that about 25,000 people remain ineligible for death grant on grounds of age.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will review the rules for the payment of funeral expenses.

I assume my hon. Friend is referring to the rules governing single payments of supplementary benefit to help with funeral expenses. I have no plans to change these at present.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what representations were made to the Minister for Social Security on the subject of housing benefit when he met the local authority associations during the recess.

The associations commented on a number of aspects of the proposed changes in housing benefit announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his autumn statement. We are carefully considering their comments, and the other representations we have received, before finally deciding on the precise form of the proposed changes. The associations also raised the question of subsidy arrangements for local authorities, and some detailed points concerning the administration of the scheme.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many claimants will have their housing benefit reduced as from April 1984.

I refer the hon. Member to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. McCrindle) on 2 December 1983. —[Vol. 49, c. 661.]

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he intends amending the housing benefit proposals as a result of his Department's advisory committee's report; and if he will make a statement,

We are still considering the report of the social security advisory committee, and the other representations we have received. We shall announce our decisions shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he is now satisfied with the operation of the housing benefit scheme.

Although some authorities experienced difficulties with the introduction of the scheme, I am confident that the main problems have been overcome. We are, however, keeping the scheme under continuous review and have agreed, in consultation with the local authority associations, a package of measures to simplify and improve the administration of the scheme.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is satisfied that pharmacists are being offered sufficient incentives to achieve more economic purchasing.

The principle of the current system is, and has been for many years, that pharmacists should be reimbursed at the national average for the cost of the drugs they buy and dispense for the NHS. There is some incentive, therefore, for individual pharmacists to purchase drugs at prices below that national average, where possible. We are currently examining the present arrangements for NHS dispensing and the need for incentives to economic purchasing will be one of the points we will look at.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will introduce a new index to measure the purchasing power of those drawing benefit.

I have no plans to do so.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many persons are in receipt of supplementary benefit in the Banff and Buchan constituency; and if he will list the categories under which the benefit is paid.

I regret that statistics of supplementary benefit claims in the Banff and Buchan constituency are not available. Three local social security offices serve the constituency — Aberdeen North, Peterhead and Elgin. The number of claimants in receipt of supplementary benefit from those offices at December 1983 was 16,800; 6,100 ware in receipt of supplementary pensions and 10,700, including 5,800 unemployed people, were in receipt of supplementary allowances.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will implement the Social Security Advisory Committee's proposal to extend the long-term rate of supplementary benefit to unemployed people under pensionable age in phases beginning with those with children.

No. The cost would be £220 million a year even if the extension were limited to those with children, and on cost grounds alone the proposal has to be ruled out at present.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many payments of supplementary benefit have been made to people who suffered wrongful voluntary unemployment deductions; and what was the total amount paid, up to the latest date for which information is available (a) as a result of the scrutiny of current cases, and (b) as a result of the publicity campaign.

At 20 December 1983, (a) the scrutiny of current cases had resulted in 6,534 payments totalling £156,749, and (b) the publicity campaign had resulted in 136 payments totalling £4,117.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what arrangements have been made for the hearing of the oral evidence to the inquiry on personal portable pensions by members of the public.

Our timetable will not allow us to invite individual members of the public to give oral evidence on portable pensions, but four bodies representing the consumers' view have been invited to do so. Members of the public were invited to send in written evidence on portable pensions and are free to attend any of the public sessions.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, following his announcement on provision for a further real growth in National Health Service expenditure, what discussions he is planning to have with regional health authorities on the planning of services.

I refer my hon. Friend to health circular HC(84)2, a copy of which is in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish the representations he has received on the Griffiths report; and if he will make a statement.

I have no plans to publish the comments I have received in the course of consultation on the recommendations of the NHS management inquiry report. When I have completed my consideration of the views expressed, I shall be making a statement setting out proposals to carry forward the report's recommendations.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what representations he has received following the proposals by Mr. Roy Griffiths on the reorganisation of the management of the National Health Service.

In November we asked health authorities and the main professional organisations to comment on the Griffiths report. So far we have received over 250 responses, including comments from virtually all health authorities and professional bodies and from a number of local professional organisations and interested individuals.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he expects the recommendations of the Griffiths report to be established.

We are still considering responses to the consultation letter on the Griffiths report, and I cannot yet anticipate when we shall be able to make a policy statement.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many women resident at the camp outside the perimeter of RAF Greenham common are in receipt of social security benefit; and what is the actual weekly cost.

At 12 January this year 37 women residing in the camp were receiving social security benefit amounting to £842·65.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what arrangements have been made with the British Oxygen Company regarding the supply of medical gases and equipment to the National Health Service.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement on the exclusive contract awarded to the British Oxygen Company to supply medical gases and equipment to the National Health Service.

Medical gases are supplied to hospitals and, in the case of oxygen, to patients for use in their homes. There is no national contract for the supply of gases. Hospital supplies are secured by contracts placed by individual health authorities. Domiciliary supplies are obtained by prescription from local chemists who are free to obtain their supplies from whatever source is available to them. However, in both instances virtually all supplies — including cylinders — are obtained from the British Oxygen Company, whose price levels are agreed centrally by the Department. The price levels for domiciliary supplies were reduced by 2·5 per cent. in August of last year. The profit level allowed to BOC under these arrangements is under review.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether his announced increase in resources for the National Health Service will accommodate pay settlements for National Health Service staff in line with inflation.

Health authorities' revenue and capital allocations for 1984–85 include provision to cover pay increases of 3 per cent. in accordance with the announcement by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 15 September 1983 on provision for pay in the public sector.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what new steps he will be taking to increase resources for under-resourced National Health Service regions.

The Government have already made considerable progress in moving towards a fairer distribution of health care resources between different parts of the country. As my right hon. Friend announced on 9 January, the 1 per cent. real growth in resources available in 1984–85 will continue the process of giving higher rates of growth to regions historically deprived of resources or which are experiencing significant population growth.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what allowance he has made for the costs of increasing medical technology and demographic change in the financial provisions for the National Health Service in London in 1983–84.

I refer the hon. Member to my reply to his questions on 16 January 1984.—[Vol. 52, c. 144–45.]

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give advice to regional health authorities as to how financial allocations made by them to their districts should not vary too widely in applying the consequences of the resources allocation working party formula.

I refer my hon. Friend to my reply to my right hon. Friend the Member for Worthing (Mr. Hughes) on 3 November 1983. —[Vol. 47, c. 465–66] I am confident that regional health authorities will follow policies that help to ensure better distribution of real resources for the benefit of patients throughout their regions.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what percentage growth in real terms he anticipates for Oxford regional health authority for 1984–85 consequent upon the allocations he announced on 9 January.

The real term percentage growth in revenue allocation to Oxford regional health authority is 1·7 per cent.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many representations he has received following the Oglesby report on the workings of the mobility and attendance allowances procedures.

Fourteen organisations have submitted comments on the report.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what progress has been made in increasing the provision of treatment for new kidney patients to achieve a target of 45 per million of the population.