asked the hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed, as representing the House of Commons Commission, what is the number of trade unions operating within the House and the total staff of the Commission; and what information he has as to the percentage of trade unionists in the principal Departments of the House.

There are six trade unions operating within Departments of the House; the total number of staff employed by the Commission is approximately 950, including part-time workers. Membership of the six trade unions is thought to be about 65 per cent. of staff of House Departments.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received concerning projects to enhance lobster fishing in Cardigan bay, and in particular off the Lleyn peninsula; and what assistance the Welsh Office is giving directly and in conjunction with the European Economic Community authorities towards this project.

The Lancashire and Western Sea Fisheries Joint Committee has sought financial support from my Department for the lobster stock enhancement programme which it proposes to implement in Cardigan bay and off the Lleyn peninsula. The hon. Member for Ceredigion and Pembroke, North (Mr. Howells) also has written to me, supporting the committee's request. I have no funds to aid the programme directly, but my officials are inquiring into other possible sources, including the European Community. I shall write to the hon. Gentleman when these inquiries have been completed.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the status of the two Government appointees to the

		Income (including child benefit) at which liability to tax arises at:
	Ordinary supplementary benefit scale rate	30 per cent.	40 per cent.	45 per cent.
	£	£	£	£
Single Person
Amount £ per week	26·80	34·33	315·10	365·10
Per cent, of supplementary benefit scale rate		128 per cent.	1,176 per cent.	1,362 percent.
Married Couple (one earner)
Amount £ per week	43·50	53·75	334·52	384·52

[pursuant to his reply, 5 March 1984, c. 405]: The two Government directors of BP have the same responsibilities as the other directors to the company as a whole. Under BP's articles of association, they have the same voting rights as the other directors, but in addition have the power to negative any resolution 'which may be proposed at any meeting of the board of directors or of any committee of the directors, subject to the right of the other directors to submit such a resolution Ito the Government for their determination. The Government directors also have the power to require the company's secretary to convene an extraordinary general meeting for any purpose" and by virtue of their office are members of any committee to which any of the powers of the board may be delegated. The Government directors act within the framework of the establishment relationship between the Government and BP, whereby the Government refrain from intervening in BP's administration as a commercial concern.The remuneration of the Government directors is a matter for BP. They are appointed for terms of three years. Appointees must be people with an understanding of the Government's position as a major shareholder in BF', and must be capable of making a full contribution to the proceedings of the board. The present Government directors are the right hon. Lord Barber of Wentbridge and Mr. Tom Jackson.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a table for January 1984, showing the thresholds, including child benefit where appropriate, for each of the 25 per cent., 30 per cent., 40 per cent., and 45 per cent. tax bands, for a single person, a single-wage married couple, and single-wage couples with each of one child aged 13 years, two children aged 10 and 13 years, three children aged 10, 13 and 15 years and four children aged eight, 10, 13 and 15 years; and if he will express the figures as a percentage of the appropriate supplementary benefit entitlement levels.

The information is given in the following table. The 25 per cent. band is no longer in force.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the growth in pension, life assurance and related funds in each year since 1965; and what was the estimated loss to the Exchequer of (a) income tax and (b) capital gains tax by virtue of the reliefs given to such funds under each heading.

Estimates of the net increase in the amount available for investment of life assurance and funded pension schemes are shown below for years up to 1982—the latest year for which a figure is available.

Life Assurance and Pensions Schemes Net increase in amount available for investment
	£ million
1965	1,163
1966	1,166
1967	1,298
1968	1,430
1969	1,449
1970	1,661
1971	1,981
1972	2,737
1973	3,225
1974	3,406
1975	4,070
1976	5,209
1977	6,458
1978	7,808
1979	9,966
1980	11,568
1981	12,640
1982	12,803

The technical research document "Cost of Tax Reliefs for Pension Schemes: Appropriate Statistical Approach" published by the Board of Inland Revenue in September 1983 sets out five bases on which to estimate the cost of tax reliefs, with figures on each basis for 1983–84. I regret that it would not be possible to provide estimates on these bases for earlier years without disproportionate cost. Nor is it possible to estimate the cost of the pegged rate of tax on the investment income of life assurance funds reserved for policy holders.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing for 1972 and for the latest available 12 month period (a) the amount of duties, levies and other protective charges levied on United Kingdom imports of foodstuffs admitted without benefit of any form of preference and (b) the amount so collected as a percentage of the value of the goods so admitted.

Figures for 1972 are not available. However, the following table gives for the financial year 1972–73 and for 1983 the duties and levies on imports of food and live animals chiefly for food (Standard International Trade Classification (Rev 2) Section 0) from countries for which no preferential duty rates apply.

	1972–73	1983
	£ million	£ million
Protective/customs duty	40·5	51·7
Agricultural levy	Not available*	144·3
Total revenue	40·5	196·0
	per cent.	per cent.
Total revenue as a percentage of chargeable value	7·1	44·1
* EC agricultural levies superseded import levies on 1 February 1973.
Net receipts in 1972–73 on imports from all countries were:
Import levies £16· million.
Agricultural levies£4·2 million

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much income tax was received during the last year for which information is available from each of the following income groups (a) under £2,000, (b) £2,000 to £3,000, (c) £3,000 to £4,000, (d) £4,000 to £5,000, (e) £5,000 to £6,000, (f) £6,000 to £7,000, (g) £7,000 to £8,000, (h) £8,000 to £9,000, (i) £9,000 to £10,000, (j) £10,000 to £11,000, (k) £11,000 to £12, 000, (l) £12,000 and (m) £20,000.

Figures are available on the basis of income tax due in respect of income in a year, not tax received in the year. Provisional estimates for 1983–84, based on projections from the 1981–82 survey of personal incomes, are as follows:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give the percentage of income tax paid by taxpayers with earnings less than the average male manual earnings and those with less than half the overall male manual earnings in 1982–83; and what is the estimated percentage for 1983–84.

Latest estimates based on projections from the 1981–82 survey of personal incomes, are as follows:

Percentage of total income tax paid by taxpayers with incomes below:
	Average male manual earnings	Half average male manual earnings
1982–83	26	3
1983–84	26	3

The figures for income tax relate to tax units, combining the incomes of husbands and wives. Nontaxable income, such as child benefit, is excluded.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will state the tax breakeven point for a married couple with one child in 1982–83, and give an estimate for 1983–84 expressed at current and at constant prices and as a percentage of average manual earnings.

The level of income at which liability to income tax equals receipt of child benefit for a married couple with one child is as follows:

	At current prices	At constant 1982–83 prices	As percentage of average manual earnings*
	£	£	£
1982–83	3,393	3,393	47·3
1983–84†	3,850	3,666	50·1
* For a full time adult male.
† The general index of retail prices has been assumed to increase by 5 per cent, between 1982–83 and 1983–84 and average male manual earnings by 7 per cent.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will detail the number of people who paid tax at work in each of the last six months; and if he will make a statement.

I regret that the information on which to base a reply is not available, but in 1981–82 (the latest year for which such records available) it is estimated that there were 26 million employees who had tax deduction cards for some period of the year.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what amount of revenue was raised through corporation tax from amateur, non-profit distributing bodies in sport in the last year for which figures are available.

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when recommendations made by the European Economic Community Court of Auditors were last discussed by the Council of Ministers; and what was the result of its deliberations.

The Council of Ministers has not in the past discussed recommendations made by the Court of Auditors. Reports produced by the court are considered in the Council's Budget Committee, a committee of national experts. The court's report on the implementation of the Community's budget, for example, is considered by this Committee and also by the Committee of Permanent Representatives. A recommendation that the European Parliament should grant the Commission a discharge is then sent to the Council for its approval. The recommendation for discharge on the 1981 accounts appeared on the Council's agenda as a "A point", that is an item which has already been agreed and on which no further discussion is necessary, on 15 March 1983. This recommendation, which contained a number of suggestions, endorsed by the Council, for improving financial control was sent to the European Parliament who granted a discharge on 18 May. The Council's budget Committee is currently considering the court's report on the 1982 accounts.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish figures showing the annual rate of change in output per head of the working population over the past 30 years together with a table showing for each period to date the average rate of increase in the real money supply and the average rate of interest.

Information on output per head since 1960 is published in Economic Trends (Annual Supplement 1984 Edition, page 97); information prior to 1960 is not available.There is no simple measure of real money supply. Nominal money supply statistics from 1963 onwards are published in various issues of the Bank of England

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what advice has been given by the Board of Inland Revenue to inspectors of taxes following the decision of the House of Lords in Furniss v. Dawson.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the annual loss to the revenue of giving income tax relief for national insurance contributions.

[pursuant to his reply, 27 February 1984, c. 49]: At 1983–84 levels of income and rates of contribution, the cost of exempting national insurance contributions paid by employees and the self-employed would be about £3 billion in a full year.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much relief from taxation has been allowed by the use of the gross annuity scheme in the latest year for which figures are available.

[pursuant to his reply, 2 March 1984, c. 363]: I am not sure what the hon. Member means by the "gross annuity scheme". The cost of tax relief on retirement annuity payments by the self-employed is estimated to be about £450 million in 1983–84.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much extra revenue has been obtained since the restrospective legislation outlawing the commodity carry scheme: and if any remains outstanding and uncollected.

[pursuant to his reply, 2 March 1984, c. 363]: I assume the hon. Member is referring to the withdrawal of loss relief under section 31 of the Finance Act 1978. I regret that there are no figures available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women in Her Majesty's prison Durham, H wing, are refusing food; and whether he has any evidence that the food is contaminated.

Women in H wing are no longer refusing food. The number who were involved varied from between five and 23. Serving and presentation procedures have been improved and there is no evidence that the food is contaminated.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what photocopies or other records have been made of Mr. Duncan Campbell's diary, address book, or other personal papers; to what use any such copies have been or are to be put; and whether copies of any of Mr. Campbell's diary, address book, or other personal papers have been passed to or made by bodies or individuals outside the Metropolitan police.

The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis tells me that one copy of each document was retained by the police, pending a decision from the Director of Public Prosecutions, as part of the investigation into possible offences. This was done in order to facilitate the speedy return of the original documents to Mr. Campbell. The copies will either be returned to Mr. Campbell or destroyed, according to his wish. It has been necessary in the course of the investigation into possible offences under the Official Secrets Acts for some of the documents found in Mr. Campbell's possession to be shown to the Government Departments directly concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department at what level in the Metropolitan police it was decided to open, examine, read and copy the private diary, address book, and personal papers and correspondence of Mr. Duncan Campbell, a journalist, after he was the victim of a bicycle accident on 9 February.

The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis tells me that the initial decisions relating to Mr. Campbell's possessions were taken by a uniformed police constable in accordance with routine procedure after an accident. Later decisions on the handling of the case were made by a deputy assistant commissioner.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he or any of his officials were consulted by representatives of the Metropolitan police before Special Branch officers applied, using the Official Secrets Acts, for a search warrant for the house of Mr. Duncan Campbell on 11 February.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department at what level in the Metropolitan police the decision was taken to apply for a search warrant and carry out a search of the home of Mr. Duncan Campbell, a journalist.

Deputy assistant commissioner.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many burglaries of homes and other premises took place in the city of Liverpool in each of the years from 1976 to date.

The information available centrally is for police force areas only and is published annually in "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales Supplementary Tables"—table S.3.1 of volume III for 1982, offence classifications 28 to 31. Figures for 1983 will become available later this month when a Home Office statistical bulletin will be published including the total number of offences of burglary recorded in Merseyside in 1983.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners on remand were confined in Loughton and other Metropolitan police stations within the Epping Forest district at the beginning of the months of January, February and March 1983; and whether the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis is satisfied with the conditions of confinement.

The number of prisoners held in police cells at Loughton police station was as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many letters he wrote to and received from hon. Members in January.

The available records do not distinguish between those letters received which were addressed to me and those addressed to other Home Office Ministers, but I estimate that I received about 500 letters from hon. Members in January. I wrote 130 letters to hon. Members over the same period. These figures do not include correspondence with other Government Ministers on Government business.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons under 17 years have been detained in Great Britain under the provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act in each year since 1979; and how many were (a) charged and (b) convicted.

The information available to me is given in the table:

Persons aged under 17 years when detained under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1976
Great Britain		Number of persons
Year	Detained	Charged	Found guilty
1979	11	—	—
1980	7	—	—
1981	2	—	—
1982	1	1	1
1983	3	*2	*1
* One person had not been dealt with by the end of 1983.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average period spent on remand in Her Majesty's remand centre, Risley, during each of the years 1971, 1972, 1973, 1981, 1982 and 1983, respectively.

The information requested is not available centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why Shane Paul O'Doherty was transferred to Wakefield prison; what regime he is under there; and for how long he is to be treated in this way.

Because of Mr. O'Doherty's increasingly disruptive and subversive behaviour at Long Lartin prison, it was necessary to transfer him permanently to another dispersal prison and Wakefield prison was considered the most suitable location. He has been at Wakefield since 14 February.Mr. O'Doherty is segregated under prison rule 43 in the interests of good order and discipline, and the regime which he experiences is consistent with the need to keep him apart from other prisoners and with his security category.It is not possible to say how long Mr. O'Doherty will remain under rule 43. The need for his continued segregation will be kept under review.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list those police forces which have initiated training in racial awareness as recommended in the Scarman report.

Lord Seaman's recommendation in paragraph 5.28 of his report was that training courses designed to develop the understanding that good community relations are not merely necessary but essential to good policing should be compulsory from time to time in a police officer's career up to and including the rank of superintendent. This recommendation is being implemented at national, regional and local level. A variety of courses are now available for all police officers which contain elements designed to increase human and racial awareness.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners were restrained in Wandsworth prison during 1982; and what were the means of restraint used.

Fifty-five prisoners were restrained at Wandsworth prison during 1982. Use was made of special cells on 70 occasions, of a body belt seven times and ankle straps three times.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, following the case of Neale v. R.M.J.E., he will introduce legislation to extend section 91 of the Criminal Justice Act 1967 to cover intoxication caused by solvent abuse.

We have no plans to do so.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the number of crimes cleared up per member of staff for each police authority in England and Wales.

I shall reply as soon as possible.

asked the Attorney-General whether the Director of Public Prosecutions's investigations under section 41 of the Companies Act 1967 into Corporate Management Planning Ltd. are now completed; and if he will make a statement.

The position remains as it was in my written answer to the right hon. Member on 16 February 1984.

asked the Attorney-General what corresponding change in the law in Northern Ireland to that resulting from the Foreign Limitation Periods Bill [Lords] will be required; and if he will make a statement.

I have been asked to reply.The law in Northern Ireland in relation to limitation of actions is similar, but not identical, to that in England and Wales. Changes to the law in Northern Ireland corresponding to those contained in the Foreign Limitation Periods Bill will be required, and accordingly a proposal for a draft Order in Council under paragraph 1 of schedule 1 to the Northern Ireland Act 1974 will be published later this year embodying the necessary changes to the law in Northern Ireland.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has any plans to meet with the management of Armitage Shanks Ltd., Barrhead to discuss possible job losses.

I visited Armitage Shanks at Barrhead in September of last year, and I keep in close contact with the management of the factory which is in my constituency. I understand that the transfer of nine jobs to Armitage in Staffordshire is not expected to cause any redundancies at Barrhead.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will undertake discussions with the Forestry Commission with a view to (a) publishing a policy for cycling in forests and (b) supporting the creation of model cycle routes through forests.

The Forestry Commission is already developing a policy that will allow pedal cycling without a permit in forests under certain conditions. The policy will be given suitable publicity as soon as the details have been worked out. The first cycle route was opened last year in Achray forest, near Aberfoyle, and several others are at the planning stage.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether the police force is up to strength in each region in Scotland; and if he will make a statement on the number of police officers returned to the beat.

At 31 December 1983, the police strength in seven of the eight Scottish forces was at or near the authorised establishment. In Strathclyde police, the strength was 6,816 as compared with an authorised establishment of 6,954—a shortfall of 138 officers.The operational deployment of officers is a matter for chief constables, and information about the numbers engaged on foot patrols is not held centrally. Chief constables are, however, giving increased priority to maintaining a visible police presence in the community, and are taking steps to ensure that the maximum number of officers is made available for patrol duties.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received suggesting that legislation be introduced to amend the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976; and what action he proposes to take on these representations.

Representations suggesting various amendments to the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976, received mainly from the Scottish Licensed Trade Association, will be taken into consideration in any future review of licensing legislation. While we have no present plans for revision of the 1976 Act, we are considering whether to undertake a further survey to assess the working of the Act and public attitudes to it.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing for each year since 1960 the number of manufacturing jobs in Scotland broken down by industrial group, the peak employment in each group since 1954, the latest available figure and the numbers currently unemployed in each group.

[pursuant to his reply, 1 March 1984, c. 310]: Consistent estimates of employees in employment are available for Scotland for June each year from June 1965. The following table gives the numbers of employees in employment for broad groups of manufacturing industries from 1965 to 1983 analysed according to the 1968 standard industrial classification. The year within that period in which a group's mid-year employment was greatest is indicated by an asterisk. The figures for 1982 and 1983 are provisional. Information about the numbers currently unemployed in each group is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his policy towards the resolution of the United Nations Food and Agriculture organisation approving the worldwide exchange of plant breeding stocks, and calling for an international body to oversee the conservation and use of the genetic resources of plants; and if he will make a statement.

We are at present waiting for the Director General of FAO formally to transmit the resolutions and linked international undertaking on plant genetic resources to Her Majesty's Government. We fully support the principle that plant genetic resources should be available without restriction and it is against this criteria that we shall make our final judgment on the resolutions and linked undertaking.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will consider using the opportunities presented by the removal of public transport from the control of the metropolitan authorities to extend privatisation of these services.

As we made clear in the consultation paper on the reallocation of transport responsibilities in the metropolitan counties, the passenger transport executives and the new joint boards will be expected to encourage organisational change, and the provision for competitive private tendering in the Transport Act 1983 will be strengthened.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will encourage the extension of signposting and publicity for leisure cycle route projects undertaken by local authorities; and if he will make a statement.

Prescribed signs for leisure cycle routes are available and if other types of sign are proposed, my Department will consider authorising them. Publicity is a matter for each local authority.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what steps have been taken by his Department in the last 12 months to revise road design standards to take account of cyclists.

No changes have been made in the last 12 months in road design standards relating to cycling, but advice is being prepared on junctions where cyclists can be at risk.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what projects have been carried out by his Department in the last 12 months in respect of the following cycle experiments in urban areas (a) use of bus facilities by cyclists, (b) marked cyclepaths at busy junctions and(c) exemptions for cyclists from traffic orders.

The information requested is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will provide details on the number of road accidents involving low bridges in the last five years.

The following data are available:

Vehicles which hit a bridge roof in personal injury road accidents, by vehicle type and accident severity:
Great Britain 1979 to 1983
	Fatal	Serious	Slight	All
Buses and Coaches	1	8	23	32
Light goods vehicles	—	7	52	59
Heavy goods vehicles	3	43	155	201
Other large motor vehicles	—	5	25	30
Other vehicles and type not reported	4	4	18	26
All vehicles	8	67	273	348

The reporting form does not specify roof height; some of these accidents may be due to extra tall vehicles rather than unusually low bridges. The data are incomplete for 1979 to 1981, because of the phased introduction of the new reporting form; 1983 figures are not yet complete. However, the shortfall in the total is unlikely to exceed 10 per cent.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport how many heavy goods vehicle and public service vehicle drivers have been reported in 1983 for (a) driver hour infringements and (b) excessive speed as a direct result of routine Ministry of Transport tachograph examinations.

In 1983, the Department' s traffic examiners detected offences against the drivers' hours provisions of regulation EC543/69 and of the Transport Act 1968 by 19,960 heavy goods vehicles and 1,120 passenger service vehicles. Tachograph records are not used as uncorroborated evidence in prosecution for speeding.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received from the Dundee Bedding Co. Ltd. of Glenrothes, Fife concerning the importation of unclean mattresses; and if he will take steps to stop this trade.

My right hon. Friend the Minister for Trade has received only the letter that the hon. Member forwarded to him on 28 February. My Department is discussing with the Department of the

(£ thousand)
	United Kingdom Imports (cif)		United Kingdom Exports (fob)
	European Community	Rest of World	European Community	Rest of World
(a) acetaldehyde (ethanal) (2911–1300):
1982	1,330	90	11	1
January—May 1983	402	16	68	—
(b) acetic acid (2914–1700):
1982	6,005	697	n.a.	n.a.
January—May 1983	2,656	640	n.a.	n.a.
(c) sodium acetate (2914–2300):
1982	278	262	26	23
January—May 1983	196	146	8	20
(d) methyl salicylate and phenyl salicylate (salol) (2916–5500):
1982	84	29	18	235
January—May 1983	115	5	22	242
(e) barbital (INN) and its salts, phenazone (INN) and aminophenazone (INN) (amidopyrin) and their derivatives other than propyphenazone (INN) (2925–4500 and 2935–4700 and—4900):
1982	148	82	77	135
January—May 1983	88	30	19	76

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if there is a correlation between the United Kingdom balance of trade in manufactures and the United Kingdom balance of trade in non-manufactures, including oil.

There is no necessary correlation over a long period. In recent years, however, exports of North sea oil and imports of manufactures increased rapidly and these movements are reflected in the balance of trade in non-manufactures and manufactures.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if his Department is concerned about trends in the various component parts of the total United Kingdom balance of trade.

It is neither necessary nor desirable to have a surplus on every commodity. Overall,

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing trade with the European Economic Community and with the rest of the world in 1982 and in the first five months of 1983 in (a) acetaldehyde (2911 1300), (b) acetic acid (2914 1700), (c) sodium acetate (2914 2300), (d) Methyl salicylate and phenyl salicylate (salol) (2916 5500), (e) barbital (INN) and its salts (2925 4500), phenazone (INN) and aminophenazone (INN) (amidapyrin) and their derivatives other than propyhenzone (INN) (2935 4700 and 4900).

The available information is as follows:the United Kingdom achieved a substantial surplus on current account in each of the last four years. That is a record of which we can be proud.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will set out the level of financial support given by each member country of the European Economic Community to the textile industry; and if he will make a statement.

Comprehensive information about the amount of support given to the textile industry under regional, general and sectoral assistance schemes in each member country is not available. However, I am aware that in recent years the following sectoral schemes for the textile and clothing industries have been introduced:

1. Belgium: A sectoral scheme, approved by the EC Commission, providing B. Frs 6·8 billion in 1982 and 4·0 billion in 1983.

2. France: A sectoral scheme introduced in 1982, giving relief from social security charges of, approximately F. Frs 1.8 billion per year for two years. I am informed that this scheme was suspended last year as the result of a decision by the European Court of Justice.

3. Italy: A sectoral scheme, approved by the EC Commission, providing Lire 130 billion in 1983. In addition I understand from information provided by the United Kingdom man-made fibre industry that the Italian man-made fibre industry has received state aid amounting to approximately £1·5 billion since 1975.

4. Netherlands: A sectoral scheme, approved by the EC Commission, providing Dutch Florins 25 million in 1981; and a sectoral scheme, approved by the EC Commission in December 1983, providing Dutch Florins 65 million in grants and 75–100 million in guarantees.

During 1981–82 the United Kingdom textile, clothing and footwear industries received investment assistance of all types amounting to £50·1 million, together with £27·2 million under the temporary short time working compensation scheme. In 1982–83 the corresponding figures were £52·4 million and £5·5 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will estimate the tourist income from sea and from fresh water fishing in the county of Devon.

Tourist income from people taking fishing holidays in Devon is derived in a variety of ways. It includes expenditure on such items as hiring boats and tackle, the purchase, where appropriate, of licences and permits, and more indirectly the costs of travel, accommodation and food. I regret that estimates of all this expenditure are not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many loans have been made to companies under the loan guarantee scheme in Cardiff since the inception of the scheme, broken down between companies with turnovers not exceeding £50,000, £100,000, £200,000 and £500,000; and if he will make a statement.

I am afraid that figures are not available on a local basis, nor is it possible to break them down between companies according to turnover. However, in the whole of Wales 650 guarantees had been issued in respect of £19·6 million of bank lending up to 31 January 1984.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has been asked to give evidence to the Greater London council public hearing on 7 and 8 March on the effects in London of the privatisation of British Telecom on the telecommunication services and jobs.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement about the progress of the private sector steel scheme.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement about the progress of the private sector steel scheme.

Since the private sector steel scheme was launched in December 1981 offers of assistance towards rationalisation and related costs have been made to more than:50 companies. The financial assistance involved in these offers, together with the money likely to be offered in respect of projects currently under appraisal mean that the £34·2 million allocated to the scheme is fully committed, and the scheme is therefore now closed.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish a table showing in absolute terms and in real purchasing terms the value of the maximum grant for mature university students outside London over the last 20 years.

The following information relates to the full value award including the student's allowance for those aged 29 or over studying other than at London.

Academic Year	Actual Value	Value at September 1983 Prices
	£	£
1963–64	395	2,483
1964–65	395	2,386
1965–66	440	2,536
1966–67	440	2,445
1967–68	440	2,413
1968–69	480	2,484
1969–70	480	2,365
1970–71	500	2,300
1971–72	575	2,407
1972–73	590	2,313
1973–74	630	2,256
1974–75	825	2,524
1975–76	1,025	2,476
1976–77	1,215	2,569
1977–78	1,410	2,578
1978–79	1,528	2,591
1979–80	1,725	2,512
1980–81	1,980	2,487
1981–82	2,125	2,397
1982–83	2,210	2,323
1983–84	2,300	2,300

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will ensure that: the National Advisory Board's report on its questions about the future of higher education is published, and that copies of all the submissions the National Advisory Board received in reply to its questionnaire are placed in the Library unless they were marked confidential when submitted.

It is for respondents to the NAB's consultative document of June 1983 to consider whether their replies should be published. My right hon. Friend intends to publish the NAB submission on the future development of higher education, which he expects to receive from the Committee in the early autumn. This will contain a summary of the responses received: I shall take the NAB's advice on whether this should be supplemented by placing any individual responses in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what are the latest estimates of the number of 16 and 17-year-olds in Great Britain currently (a) in full-time education, (b) on youth training schemes and (c) unemployed; and how these figures compare with the previous year.

Provisional estimates for Great Britain in January 1984 are given in the following table for those aged 16 and 17 years (as at 31 August) together with the equivalent data for January 1983.

Education/Labour Market Status of Young People January 1983 and 1984—Great Britain
Thousands
	Aged 16*		Aged 17
	13 Jan 1983	12 Jan 1984	13 Jan 1983	12 Jan 1984
		prov. est		prov. est
Total population	910	900	930	910
Full-time education	440	400	290	280
- Schools	290	280	180	170
- Further education†	150	120	110	110
YTS/YOP	170	220	70	50
Claimant Unemployed	130	110	160	160
Other‡ (mainly employed outside YTS)	170	170	410	420
* Ages as at 31 August of preceding year.
† Excluding YTS/YOP.
‡ Mainly those in employment outside YTS but also includes some who are seeking work but not claiming benefit, some who are neither employed nor seeking work (eg. because of domestic responsibilities) and net errors in the other estimates.
║ Estimates are rounded to the nearest 10,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage increase in the average gross weekly earnings of manual and non-manual workers in Great Britain would be necessary to raise them to the average gross weekly earnings of the highest paid director amongst the United Kingdom's top 100 companies, a field marshal in the Army and members of the Commission of the Common Market in each year from 1979 to 1984.

Approximate percentage increases based on the average gross weekly earnings of full-time employees aged 18 and over each April are as follows:

	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983
Highest paid director in top 100 United Kingdom companies*║	4,651	4,684	7,333	8,153	6,745
Field Marshal†	506	491	459	499	451
European Commission basic salary (grade A1)‡║	934	794	619	568	678
* Total emoluments as defined in Section 196 of the Companies Act 1948 in the nearest accounting year (expressed as a weekly rate).
† Salary as at April. The figure for 1983 takes no account of the staged increases payable as from 1 August 1983 and 1 January 1984.
‡ Salary of grade A1 official at step 6, the top of the incremental scale.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the numbers unemployed and the corresponding vacancies for each industrial, commercial and administrative classification in (a) Merseyside, (b) Kirkby and (c) Prescot.

Analyses of unemployment by industry are no longer available from the unemployment count, as claimants' records do not contain the necessary information.The following table gives the numbers of notified vacancies remaining unfilled at jobcentres in the areas specified, analysed according to the 1968 standard industrial classification. The figures, which relate to November 1983, the latest available, do not include vacancies notified to professional and executive recruitment offices or community programme vacancies. Moreover, the total numbers of vacancies notified to jobcentres are estimated to be only about one-third of all vacancies in the economy as a whole.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what computerised job vacancy and skill availability services are currently available in the United Kingdom; how well there are working; and how effective they are in reducing the amount of unemployment benefit paid out.

The employment division of the Manpower Services Commission completed the national implementation of its computerised vacancy circulation and statistics system in November 1983; 757 jobcentres have terminals which are linked to computers in seven regional sites.An enhancement of VACS known as NATVACS is currently being introduced. This will provide a nationwide computerised bank of selected vacancies, accessible by telephone from any jobcentre.These arrangements make vacancy information available to jobseekers more quickly than previous methods. In doing so they help to fill vacancies more quickly and thus can reduce expenditure on benefits to the unemployed, although it is very difficult to quantify this effect.

Standard Industrial Classification, 1968
	Merseyside Special Development Area	Kirkby jobcentre area	Prescot jobcentre area
Agriculture, forestry, fishing	3	—	—
Mining and quarrying	—	—	—
Food, drink and tobacco	86	3	—
Coal and petroleum products	3	—	—
Chemicals and allied industries	16	3	—
Metal manufacture	2	1	—
Mechanical engineering	32	—	1
Instrument engineering	3	—	1
Electrical engineering	30	2	2

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he is satisfied with the means of protecting trees of amenity value on Crown land.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will require the owners of vacant sites included in the land registers to offer by way of a public sale without reserve price 5 per cent. of their holdings in 1982.

No. In considering whether to use powers of direction I am bound to have regard to the circumstances of individual sites.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will now publish in full the results of the consultation exercise on the document, Cmnd. 9063, "Streamlining the Cities".

We have not yet completed our scrutiny of the responses to the White Paper. I shall, however, make available in due course a summary analysis of the main points.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received from the London borough of Barking concerning the White Paper, "Streamlining the Cities."

A list of respondents from a particular area could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to introduce legislation to suspend local government elections.

As announced in paragraph 7.5 of the White Paper, "Streamlining the Cities"—Cmnd. 9063—we propose to introduce legislation to cancel the May 1985 elections to the GLC and the metropolitan county councils.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what research his Department is undertaking or sponsoring into the best practice of contracting out local authority services.

My Department has commissioned a study by the public sector economics research centre of Leicester university to produce a practical guide to the contracting-out process. It will draw on the experience both of private sector contractors and of local authorities which have already contracted out services.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he is satisfied with progress of the urban development grant scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement with regard to the number of council and development corporation houses sold to sitting tenants since May 1979.

An estimated 605,000 houses and flats were sold by local authorities in Great Britain between April 1979 and December 1983, and an estimated 28,000 houses and flats were sold by new towns over the same period. Most of these sales were to sitting tenants.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to amend the Rent Acts.

Legislation designed to protect tenants has, in some ways, worked against their interests We introduced various initiatives to encourage the private rented sector in the Housing Act 1980. I am now reviewing present legislation to see whether further steps should be taken to meet the demand for homes to rent.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the Government's position regarding the current financial crisis facing the city of Liverpool; and if he will reconsider his refusal to grant special measures of assistance to the city.

It is up to Liverpool city council to take responsible budget and rating decisions. I have no power to make special rules for Liverpool within the rate support grant system. The city is already receiving substantial extra help from the Government through the urban programme and the Merseyside Development Corporation amounting, in the three years to 1983–84, to around £140 million.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment under what circumstances he will recommend sending troops to Liverpool to carry out functions normally conducted by council employees.

I am not prepared to speculate on hypothetical circumstances.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what percentage of sites of special scientific interest have been re-notified in (a) Orkney, (b) Shetland, and (c) Scotland.

The Nature Conservancy Council advises that as at 24 February it had renotified 17 per cent. of existing sites of special scientific interest in Orkney, 34 per cent. of existing SSSIs in Shetland and 18 per cent. of existing SSSIs in Scotland.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what recent discussions have taken place between the Minister with responsibility for sport and the Football Association regarding crowd control and football hooliganism.

I have regular discussions with the Football Association on this subject. My officials represent me on the liaison group which I set up in 1982 to co-ordinate arrangements to combat football hooliganism and which is currently chaired by the Football Association chairman. I met the chairman and his general secretary last Friday to discuss the events at the France v. England match in Paris on Wednesday 29 February and have met the chairman on some 20 occasions since the spring of 1982.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to make final decisions as to the restructuring of the regional offices of the Property Services Agency.

My consideration of these matters is not yet complete, but I will announce my decision as soon as possible.