asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister what are her official engagements for 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister what are her official engagements for 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister 1.f she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister:.f she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 22 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 22 March.

This morning I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet and had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House I shall be having further meetings later today. I shall also have the great pleasure of making a presentation to your predecessor, Mr. Speaker, to mark his distinguished services to this House.

asked the Prime Minister what progress is being made in improving security within Northern Ireland; and whether she will make a statement.

The Government are wholly committed to taking all appropriate measures to combat terrorism in Northern Ireland, and to that end provide the necessary resources for the security forces, in whom it retains the fullest confidence. These efforts will not be relaxed whilst the threat of terrorist violence remains. The level of such violence has declined in recent years and the security forces continue to bring large numbers of offenders to justice.

asked the Prime Minister if she will make an official visit to Bearsden.

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister for what purposes Her Majesty's Government sanction the import of waste for disposal into the United Kingdom for incineration.

The import of waste into the UK does not as such require any form of central Government sanction. However, disposal must be carried out under the same environmental and health controls applicable to waste arising within the UK. In addition, negotiations are currently taking place in the EC on a draft instrument which would strengthen supervision over transfrontier movements of wastes.

asked the Prime Minister what Her Majesty's Government charges to the various countries from which waste for disposal is imported into the United Kingdom.

Disposal charges for waste imported into the UK are determined by the companies carrying out the disposal as part of their contractual arrangements with the waste producer.

asked the Prime Minister what conditions she imposed on Sir Brian Tovey before approving his appointment at Plessey on 1 December 1983.

As Sir Brian Tovey made clear to the Sub-Committee of the Treasury and Civil Service Select Committee which is inquiring into the acceptance of outside appointments by former civil servants, the conditions were that he should not take up his appointment until 1 December 1983, and that he should take no part in any of Plessey's dealings with GCHQ or in Plessey's dealings with the Ministry of Defence on export licences for certain particular kinds of equipment.

asked the Prime Minister whether Brigadier Timothy Landon has ever visited 10 Downing Street.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Islington, South and Finsbury (Mr. Smith) on Thursday 9 February 1984, at column 717.

asked the Prime Minister (1) what was the second occasion on which she met Mr. Jamil Amyuni at the end of 1983 referred to in the statement issued from No. 10 Downing street on Thursday 15 March;(2) whether Mr. Jamil Amyuni has ever visited 10 Downing street;(3) whether Mr. Jamil Amyuni has ever visited Chequers.

As I informed the House on 15 March 1984, I have had no official meetings with Mr. Amyuni. I cannot answer for previous Administrations.

asked the Prime Minister whether she raised the question of the construction of an irrigation scheme in the desert oasis of Al-Ain during her visit to the middle east in April 1981.

No.

asked the Prime Minister for what purposes Mr. Ivor Lucas, an official of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, was present in the palace at Salalah in Oman during the time of her visit in April 1981; and whether he raised the contract to build the university.

Mr. Lucas was present in his capacity as Her Majesty's ambassador to Oman. His conversations with me or with the Government of Oman are confidential.

asked the Prime Minister for what purpose a member of the board of Chipman Ltd., and a representative of Blakedown Chipman, accompanied her to the palace at Salalah, Oman, in April 1981; and who were these persons.

I find it extraordinary that the hon. Gentleman should require a justification for matrimonial support.

asked the Prime Minister (1) whether any director or representative of Chipman Ltd. or Blakedown Chipman has ever visited 10 Downing street or Chequers;(2) which directors or representatives of Cementation Ltd. have visited 10 Downing street or Chequers;(3) whether a representative of Westminster city council has ever visited 10 Downing street.

Approximately 17,000 people have attended official receptions, lunches and dinners at 10 Downing street or Chequers since May 1979. Many thousands of others have attended official meetings with myself or my staff, or have made visits for official purposes. I hope that they include representatives of all our main industrial and commercial companies. That certainly has been my intention. Given the numbers involved, it is not possible to list specific visitors or categories of visitors.

asked the Prime Minister what responsibilities she has given her press secretary regarding official statements on the subject of the contract to build a hospital in Oman.

None apart from his normal responsibilities for dealing with the press on official matters.

asked the Prime Minister whether she will list all her social engagements as Prime Minister in relation to discussions on the contract to build a university in Oman since June 1980.

I answer for my public duties not my social engagements. In any event, there have been no occasions of the kind implied by the question.

asked the Prime Minister (1) when she was first informed of Monteagle Marketing's interest in the Cementation contract to build a university in Oman;(2) when she was first informed of Chipman Ltd's interest, through Blakedown Chipman, in the contract to build a university in Oman.

I have nothing to add to the reply I gave to the right hon. Member for Bethnal Green and Stepney (Mr. Shore) on 29 February 1984, at column 218.

asked the Prime Minister if she will arrange that the Departments concerned inform all those on manpower training schemes that they may be entitled to supplementary benefit and housing benefit when they embark on such training.

Adults who train under the Manpower Services Commission's training opportunities scheme are given a leaflet which advises them that they can apply for supplementary benefit if they find their training allowance insufficient.A successful claim for supplementary benefit is accepted by local housing authorities as an effective claim for housing benefit, and the leaflet also gives advice to those already receiving housing benefit.In very exceptional and unusual circumstances, young people on the youth training scheme may be entitled to supplementary and housing benefits. The commission's officials are instructed to advise such trainees or the scheme that they can apply for these benefits.

asked the Attorney-General when the Kew Public Record Office will be properly open to the public again; and whether he will make a statement

As the Lord Chancellor announced on 13 March, the Public Record Office at Kew was closed to the public on 5 March after problems with the air-conditioning plant had led to a progressive deterioration of conditions in the building. Although the Office was reopened on 15 March, it has now again become necessary to close it to the public until further notice. Some members of staff have developed symptons of a general malaise which include headache, gritty eyes and sore throat, accompanied in some cases by fever. These symptoms could be caused by the relative humidity levels in the building or else by the presence of microorganisms. The Health and Safety Executive is conducting tests to establish whether the symptoms displayed correlate with so-called "humidifier fever". That illness is, I understand, neither serious nor lasting and it has no chronic or long-term effects. Until the cause of the illness has been correctly diagnosed and eliminated, however, the Public Record Office must remain closed. The inconvenience to readers is most unfortunate, but it is a tribute to the staff at Kew that readers have continued to be served during the recent very difficult period. I understand that the Lord Chancellor is commissioning an independent survey of the building, including the air-conditioning system.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing for each year since 1954 the number of (a) regular whole-time farm workers, distinguishing family workers where possible, (b) the number of regular hired part-time workers, (c) the number of salaried managers, and (d) the number of farmers, where practicable excluding sleeping partners and directors.

The information requested is published in the publications "Agricultural Statistics England and Wales" and "Agricultural Statistics United Kingdom" for the years concerned. Copies of these publications are held in the Library of the House.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether there is any limit to the growing of beet for non-quota sugar; and whether such sugar qualifies for export restitutions.

Production of Community sugar beet is not subject to quota restrictions. However, the amount of sugar manufactured from beet in excess of the quota must either be exported from the Community without export restitutions or held in store until the following marketing year to be counted against that year's quota production.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has as to the effect the export of sugar by the European Economic Community in 1983 had on the world price of sugar and on the incomes, in terms of both volume and price, of the cane-sugar producing countries.

I have no such information.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he has taken about the unilateral decision of the European Commission Department Directorate-General 6 to change the way in which export refunds are calculated for non-annex II products processed from cereals; what assessment he has made of the effect this could have on exports of beer, whisky, cakes, biscuits and pasta; and if he will take steps urgently to safeguard such British exports.

The method of calculating export refunds for non-annex II products processed from cereals has not been altered and no such proposal has been made. The Commission has indicated that it is examining these refunds as part of its general search for economies. We have made clear our opposition to arbitrary reductions, which would conflict with the objective of encouraging added value exports.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he has any proposals for allowing private companies to tender for any work currently undertaken by the atomic energy research establishment, Harwell.

The private sector has for some years been able to teder for part of the work currently undertaken by Harwell. The work for my Department is not at present in this category, but this implies no commitment as to the future.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what arrangements he has made for placing in the Library copies of any representations and submissions made to him in connection with the Sizewell B public inquiry.

Representations on issues that are a matter for the inquiry are forwarded to the inquiry secretariat. Copies of proofs of evidence to the inquiry and associated documents together with the daily transcript are available in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether he proposes to amend the Coal Mining (Subsidence) Act 1957 to clarify issues that have occurred in recent years over subsidence claims.

I expect shortly to receive the report of the Waddilove committee which has been considering the system of repair and compensation for coal mining subsidence damage. I will be considering its recommendations with care and will inform the hon. Member and the House of any proposals as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will estimate the average cost of subsidence per tonne of coal mined.

In 1982–83 the amount charged to the National Coal Board's profit and loss account in respect of subsidence for deep mining activities was £131·5 million, equivalent to 1·26 per tonne of coal produced.

asked the Solicitor-General for Scotland what guidance the Lord Advocate has given to chief constables about the use of firearms by the police.

At the request of chief constables, and following consultation with the Association of Chief Police Officers (Scotland) the Lord Advocate has prepared guidelines on the use of firearms by the police. These have been sent to chief constables today and copies have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.The guidelines are to be read in conjunction with the guidelines which the Secretary of State has approved on the issue of firearms.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many dwellings were owned by all public housing authorities, including new towns, regional and county councils and similar public bodies, in Wales at 1 July 1979 and at 31 December 1983; and how many such dwellings were sold and how many acquired or built.

The number of dwellings owned by public housing authorities in Wales was estimated to be 307,000 at 1 July 1979, and 278,000 at 31 December 1983. During the intervening period 36,730 dwellings were sold, 12,584 new dwellings were completed and 498 dwellings were acquired.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many dwellings he estimates will be built or acquired by public housing authorities, including regional and county councils, new towns and similar public bodies in Wales in each of the years 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1987; and how many dwellings will be sold by those authorities under the right-to-buy legislation.

It is expected that between 2,000 and 2,500 new dwellings will be completed during 1984 by public housing authorities in Wales, and that about 12,000 publicly owned dwellings will be sold by them during the financial year 1984–85. No reliable estimates are available for the number of dwellings to be acquired, or for new build and dwellings sales after 1984–85.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many staffed hospital beds were available in 1983 and in each year from 1979.

Information for the years 1979 to 1982 is given in the following table. The comparable figure for 1983 is not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many day patient attendances there were by geriatric patients to hospital in 1983 and in each year preceding from 1979.

Information for the years 1979 to 1982 is given in the following table. Comparable information for 1983 is not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many day patient attendances at hospitals there were in total in 1983 and in each year from 1979.

Information for the years 1979 to 1982 is given in the following table. Comparable information for 1983 is not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many day patient attendances at hospitals there were in total in 1983 and in each year from 1979.

Information for the years 1979 to 1982 is given in the following table. Comparable information for 1983 is not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many visits were carried out by home nurses to patients in 1983 and in each year from 1979.

Information for the years 1979 to 1982 is given in the following table. Comparable information for 1983 is not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many places were available in day nurseries in 1983 and in each year from 1979.

The information is given in the following table:

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many children were attending pre-school playgroups in 1983 and in each year from 1979.

The information is given in the following table and refers to places available and not to children attending.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many meals were served in lunch clubs for the elderly in 1983 and in each year from 1979.

The information requested is as follows and refers to local authority and other lunch clubs.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many lunch club meals per 1,000 population aged 65 years and over were served in 1983 and in each year from 1979.

The information requested is given in the following table and refers to meals served in local authority and other lunch clubs.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many meals on wheels were served in 1983 and in each year from 1979.

The information requested is given in the following table and refers to meals provided by local authorities and other organisations.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many elderly persons were in residential care in local authority homes in 1983 and in each year from 1979.

The information requested is given in the following table:

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what was the total of residents of old people's homes per 1,000 population aged 65 years and over in 1983 and in each year from 1979.

The information requested is given in the following table:

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make available extra finance to meet the additional costs of implementing the school governor's provisions of the Education Act 1980.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales whether funds will be made available to enable the opportunities for volunteering scheme in Wales to continue in 1984–85.

The scheme in Wales is proving to be successful in bringing much needed support to local voluntary initiatives which encourage volunteers, especially unemployed people, to play an active part in helping to meet the needs of their communities. Accordingly we are allocating a further sum of £110,000 to allow the scheme to continue in 1984–85.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how much money has been paid during the financial year 1983–84 to Welsh farming under the business expansion scheme.

I have been asked to reply.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the general practitioner hospitals and general practitioner beds in other hospitals which are likely to be closed in Wales; and what was the increase in general practitioner beds in each of the health authorities in Wales in each of the past five years for which records are available.

General practitioner hospitals and general practitioner beds in other hospitals which are under consideration for closure in Wales are as follows:It is not known what amounts, if any, have been invested in farming companies in Wales under the scheme. Such information will not be available until investors make a claim for relief, and this may happen any time up to two years after the end of the year in which their investment is made.

asked the Under-Secretary of State answering in respect of the Arts (1) whether the sum of £367,950, stipulated by the Minister for the Arts to be raised in order to complete the purchase of the Southampton Armour for which he had temporarily withheld an export licence, included the 10 per cent. auctioneers' premium payable by the buyer and the 15 per cent. value added tax chargeable thereon; whether any additional sum was payable, and paid, in effecting the acquisition of the armour by the armouries of Her Majesty's Tower of London which could have been ascertained and notified to him by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art at the time of sending him its recommendation; and if he will make a statement giving particulars of what took place in this regard;(2) whether the sum of £327,600 stipulated by the Minister for the Arts to be raised by a public institution in the United Kingdom in order to effect the purchase of the drawing by Rubens of a Man in Korean Costume for which he has temporarily withheld an export licence, included the 8 per cent. auctioneers' premium payable by the buyers and the 15 per cent. value added tax chargeable thereon; and if he will make a statement.

Where an item has been sold at auction, buyer's premium and VAT on that premium are included as part of the specified price. Details of individual export licence cases are treated as commercial information in confidence and can be disclosed only with the applicant's permission.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to strengthen the regulations governing the issue and use of tax exemption certificates and vouchers in the Northern Ireland Housing Executive.

The regulations governing the issue and use of sub-contractors' tax certificates apply equally to all parts of the United Kingdom including Northern Ireland. These regulations are in general adequate for their purpose and we have no plans to strengthen them.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the estimated cost in 1984–85 of indexing the married man's, single, and wife's earned income allowances, respectively.

The direct revenue costs, at 1984–85 levels of income, are estimated to be as follows:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of the income of a married man with two children, on average earnings, is taken by income tax; and what are the equivalent figures for the other European Economic Community countries, the United States of America and Japan, respectively.

Figures for average earnings in the countries concerned are not available. The only information available relates to average production workers' earnings (see Note 1). Using those figures, the information requested is given in the following table:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he has any plans to change the current practice of the Inland Revenue in assuming a married woman's income will be taxed in conjunction with her husband rather than as a single person.

This is a matter of law, not of Inland Revenue practice, and is one of the many issues discussed in the Green Paper on the "Taxation of Husband and Wife" (Cmnd. 8093). The Government are considering these issues in the light of the wide-ranging views expressed in response to the Green Paper. No fundamental reforms will be introduced without giving Parliament and the public an opportunity to assess their detailed implications.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the change in cash balances required in each of the years from 1979 to 1983 and the current year to date to accommodate changes that have taken place in the rate of inflation.

The data on cash holdings by the public and in banks' tills are provided in table 6.4 of "Financial Statistics". Data on MO, which comprises cash held by the public and in banks' tills and banks' operational balances at the Bank of England, are provided on a monthly average basis in a Bank of England press release of 13 March 1984.The determinants of the demand for cash and MO are examined in a recent Government economic service working paper No. 66.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing for a married man with two children, one earner and no other allowances, the percentage of gross income taken in (a) direct taxes, including national insurance contributions less child benefit and (b) indirect taxation in the financial year 1978–79 compared to a full year as a result of the changes proposed in the current budget where the earnings of the married man are: (i) three times average earnings, (ii) average earnings, (iii) 60 per cent. of average earnings and (iv) 45 per cent. of average earnings in all cases with no other income.

Figures for 1978–79 and 1984–85 are as follows. The latter reflect the full year effect of the 1984 Budget.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will place in the Library a copy of Customs and Excise advice to local authorities on the value added tax treatment of school meals provided by private contractors.

Yes. I am arranging for a copy of this advice to be placed in the Library. It will be published to local authorities through the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy early in April.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the expected yield from value added tax on domestic insulation work and other expenditure on home improvements designed to improve energy efficiency or energy conservation.

It is estimated that the yield of VAT from the first-time installation of double glazing and loft and cavity wall insulation in existing dwellings will be of the order of £100 million in a full year.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer in view of his decision to abolish the halfpenny, why he announced increases in duty on petrol and on derv in halfpenny numbers rather than whole pence.

My right hon. Friend followed trade practice, which in the case of petrol and derv is to show prices at the pumps in amounts calculated to one tenth of a penny per gallon or litre.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was paid to the European Economic Community at the required percentage of notional value added tax in 1981–82 and 1982–83.

The amounts of VAT own resources paid to the European Economic Community are as follows:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Museums and Galleries Commission was informed concerning his proposals for a new definition of national museum staff grades, the effect of which is to give scholarly research a lower priority than hitherto; whether the commission has expressed any views on his Department's scheme; on what date it is proposed that the scheme should become operative; and if he will make a statement.

The civil service pay and grading structure extends to the staff of the national museums and galleries. It is the Treasury's practice to issue guidance on the grading of posts in all the main groups and categories of staff in this structure and as part of this programme guidance will be issued on the grading of posts in the museum category. This guidance will not have the general effect of giving scholarly research a lower priority than hitherto. But it will emphasise that the senior grades normally also have a substantial management role. The guidance is at present in draft form. Comments on it have been sought from directors of museums and galleries. It will be revised as appropriate in the light of their comments, and issued when that process is complete. My noble Friend the Minister for the Arts if keeping the Museums and Galleries Commission informed.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he intends to lay on the Table his observations on the petition of Anthony John Miller, presented to the House on Friday 16 December.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the proportion of gross domestic product taken by central Government expenditure and local government expenditure, respectively, for each of the last 10 years.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the net effect of the Budget changes in a full year on the incomes of (a) the lowest decile and (b) the lowest quartile of manual and non-manual workers, respectively, measured in terms of gross earnings.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will state the position with regard to life assurance tax relief of those whose policy documentation had not been completed by midnight 13 March but who had submitted a proposal form to their life assurance companies before that time and where medical evidence was awaited.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish for the years 1979–80, 1980–81, 1981–82 and 1982–83, respectively, a comparison, in absolute and percentage terms, of the difference between budgets and outturns of current expenditure for central Government and local government, respectively.

I shall let the hon. Member have a reply as soon as possible.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why he has allowed the Ministry of Defence to carry forward into the next financial year up to £387 million from the current year's budget.