asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has any plans to increase funding to housing associations in Scotland.

The allocation given to the Housing Corporation for 1984–85, which reflects the Government's present plans, will enable housing associations in Scotland to undertake a programme in excess of £100 million for the third consecutive year. This is more than three times the expenditure in 1978–79.

I thank the Minister for that information, but I draw his attention to the fact that the Government have cut support for housing in other areas over the last year or two. Does he accept that housing associations have an increasingly important role to play to fill the gap that is becoming apparent with growing waiting lists for council houses throughout Scotland? Will he consider increasing the allocation to housing associations in Scotland?

In terms of the total housing expenditure in Scotland, the proportion that goes to the housing associations through the Housing Corporation is considerable—a policy which the Government have pursued since 1979—and is a reflection of the regard in which we hold the housing associations and the view that we take of their work.

Does my hon. Friend agree that the role of housing associations in Scotland has been very valuable, particularly in fulfilling special needs which local authorities were slow to observe, such as housing for the elderly? Will he concentrate the resources available to housing associations on that area of special need?

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for pointing out the work that has been done in this area. As he may know, the expenditure of housing associations is divided between rehabilitation and new build housing, with an overall commitment on the basis of a 60:40 ratio between the two. This reflects the point that he made.

Is the Minister aware that, because of Government cuts, three Scottish local authorities are ceasing to provide financial support for the warden services in sheltered housing operated by housing associations? As a result, 2,500 old people will have to pay increased rents of between £3 and £6 per week. Will the Minister tell us what action the Government will take to sort out the matter?

As the hon. Gentleman knows, various housing benefits are available to cover people on low incomes. If he refers to the written question that he asked and to the answer that I gave, I think he may see that that is the case. In relation to the particular points that he has raised, my understanding is that the situation is not yet definite. Indeed, in the case of Lothian region, my understanding is that the decision has already been changed.

Is my hon. Friend aware that a substantial number of houses have been built by housing associations in North Tayside and they wish to place on record their thanks on behalf of the substantial number of disabled people who are occupying those houses and are no longer a problem for the health department in the area?

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his comments. It is worth pointing out that the Housing Corporation plans to spend 40 per cent. of its allocation for the current financial year on special needs housing—that is £36·86 million. Of that, £5·81 million has been set aside for housing the physically disabled and the mentally handicapped.

Will not the imposition of VAT on building alterations produce a real cut in the money allocated to housing associations? Will the Minister give early consideration to my recent proposals for a housing-employment link programme to compensate housing authorities which have rehabilitation programmes in hand?

It is for the Housing Corporation to consider whether any adjustment needs to be made to its programme as a result of the announcements in the Budget. However, in view of the line taken by the hon. Gentleman, it is worth remembering that the Government have provided more than £100 million a year in the past three years to the Housing Corporation. That compares favourably with the record of his Government who, in their last three years of office, provided £16·3 million, £27 million and £31·4 million respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the percentage increase in the number of registered drug addicts in Scotland since 1978; what is his estimate of the increase in drug taking in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

The numbers formally notified to the Home Office as being addicted to narcotic drugs was 85 in 1978 and 574 in 1983—an increase of 575 per cent. Research has suggested that the actual numbers may be about fives times the number of formal notifications.

Is the Minister not horrified and ashamed at those figures, which are a terrible indictment of the Government? Is he aware of the excellent campaign being waged by the Daily Record, and did he see its editorial on Thursday? Will the Government take positive action, by restoring many of the 1,000 redundant Customs and Excise officers to their posts and by introducing harsher penalties on the evil people who trade in drugs, including confiscation of their profits and assets?

I am sure that every hon. Member is horrified by the figures and the increase in drug addiction, not only in this country, but throughout western Europe. I welcome the campaign that the Daily Record has waged and I hope that it brings home to young people, especially, and to their parents, the utterly self-destructive course on which they set themselves if they take drugs. I hope that those who over the years have stylishly advocated the drugs scene as something intellectual and clever are thoroughly ashamed of themselves. Like the hon. Gentleman, I hope that the police will be able to catch many more of the evil men who indulge in this trade, and hope that the courts will deal with them severely.

Is my hon. Friend aware that the measures which he announced this week to fund projects to help those involved in the misuse of drugs have been widely welcomed in Scotland? However, is he also aware that the chief constable of Strathclyde stated recently that Glasgow was the second centre for heroin in the United Kingdom? Will my hon. Friend have urgent discussions with his ministerial colleagues to find ways of reducing the supply of heroin? Is a contributory cause of the upsurge in heroin supplies the reduction in the number of Customs and Excise staff?

The size of the special investigations branch of the Customs and Excise, which is directly concerned with this matter, has been increased over the past few years, so I do not think that one can look to the Customs and Excise for a reason for the increase. I thank my hon. Friend for his kind words about the £500,000 that I have announced will be given to 13 projects, mostly in Strathclyde and Lothian, to help those who are addicted to drugs. It is extremely difficult to get people off the heroin habit, but I hope that the projects will succeed and that, with the help of action by the police and other authorities, we shall be able to curb this appalling trade.

Is the hon. Gentleman satisfied with the investigation of this problem—apart from the chicken-feed that he is giving for those who are already hooked on the drug? Drug taking is not inevitable. Do the Government not have a responsibility to find out why it is taking place? There is ample evidence in other countries. Is the hon. Gentleman satisfied that Scotland should tail on after other countries which have millions of young people on the habit?

The United Kingdom and other countries are looking at what causes addiction, not just to drugs, but to other things. I readily accept that drug addiction is very dangerous. We look at all the evidence, not only in our country, but throughout the world, to try to discover why people become addicted. I think that some of the remarks that I made at the beginning are relevant. Over the last decade or two some people have suggested that being on soft drugs is the clever Dick thing to do. However, the one leads to the other and we should be against the whole drugs scene. I hope that all those in responsible positions in this House will join me in that condemnation.

Does my hon. Friend agree that people are now becoming hooked on drugs at a very early age? Does he receive any reports on what is happening in schools? Will he consider going so far as to carry out a survey to see how serious the problem is among very young people?

I am sure that my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State who is responsible for education, my hon. Friend the Member for Eastwood (Mr. Stewart), heard that request. When considering drug dependence, schools and education authorities look at the problem, among other things, of how to get the message about drugs over to youngsters. However, as with all these things, the difficult choice is between telling children about it and so exposing some of them to a problem which they would never have found out about and educating those who are likely to fall for it.

Surely the Minister cannot give himself a pat on the back just because he has announced to a press conference that he is to spend about £500,000 on 13 projects. When that is averaged out, it amounts to about £43,000 per project. That is a derisory sum, given that the drug pushers in Scotland make more money in a week than he is prepared to put in. What is the Secretary of State going to do about training in the Health Service, given that he is prepared to spend only £15,000 on one project that involves training, and expert training at that?

I cannot agree that £500,000 this year is chicken-feed. It is a three-year programme for £1·5 million, which is a substantial amount of money, to spend on those projects. We are spending more than £100,000 per year on the project at the Southern General in Glasgow. I am surprised that the hon. Gentleman does not welcome the news that we are taking such positive steps, instead of apparently condemning what we are doing.

It is easy to condemn drug taking, as the Minister has done, but why has he not condemned the increased availability of hard drugs? What steps are the Government taking to increase the resources of the police in order to stop this trafficking?

I thought that I condemned fairly loudly and clearly the evil trade in such drugs. Perhaps the hon. Gentleman will speak to his other pals in the alliance about the motion at their conference suggesting the legitimisation of some drugs. We might get somewhere if such nonsense did not come up in public. The Government are giving full support to the police in Scotland, who have set up drug squads to try to rout out this evil problem. As I have said, the Government—if not the Liberal party—are behind that move.

We welcome the announcement as far as it goes, but we are concerned that the length of time is only three years and that within that period there may well be a further increase in drug addiction in parts of Scotland that are not covered by the projects. We ask the Minister not to close the door. We are not among the sponsors of the so-called drug culture which he seeks to accuse his erstwhile political colleagues of sponsoring.

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his support of the points that I made about this dangerous practice. Of course I am aware that the pattern may change during the next three years. I shall be very sympathetic towards any projects that are proposed to deal with that changing pattern. At the end of the three-year period we shall look very keenly at the results of the programme and will consider what to do thereafter.

rose——

Order. I have allowed a good run on this question, which I know is of great importance. We must proceed more rapidly. I ask for shorter supplementary questions, and perhaps even shorter answers.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received from the Scottish Trades Union Congress and other Scottish bodies about the future of Ravenscraig and Gartcosh.

I have received no representations on this matter since last autumn.

Will the Secretary of State take this opportunity, especially in view of the worry about the redundancies announced last week in the tube division in Lanarkshire, to confirm the excellent productivity record of Gartcosh and Ravenscraig during the past year? Will he reciprocate the efforts of the steel workers by taking this opportunity to make an optimistic statement about the future of both plants?

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for what he said. I have been greatly encouraged by the productivity improvements that have been achieved recently at Ravenscraig and Gartcosh. I am glad that they are receiving supplies of coal. It is extremely important that that supply should continue.

Will the Secretary of State accept that the Opposition also welcome the sensible co-operation between the unions about supplying coal to Ravenscraig? That action reflects the anxiety about Ravenscraig's central position in the future of the Scottish economy. In those circumstances, and recognising that there are uncertainties and rumours about the plant and the limited guarantee that has been given about its future, will the right hon. Gentleman go along with me in saying that, in view of the large reductions in steel capacity, there is now no case for the closure of a major steel plant in any part of the United Kingdom?

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for what he said. As he will know, on a number of occasions at meetings of the Council of Ministers my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has made it clear that we consider that, if reductions in capacity are needed on a European basis, that matter ought to be tackled by our partners in the Community, who have been much less affected than Britain in that respect.

Does my right hon. Friend agree that the threat to Ravenscraig has been brought about by the industrial problem in the coalfields? Until that matter is resolved, Ravenscraig will be threatened. Every effort should be made, especially by the Labour Front Bench, to resolve that problem.

I repeat that the fact that supplies are getting through to Ravenscraig is of great importance. The British Steel Corporation is considering various options for the future, and before long will present them to the Government.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what disciplinary action was taken, and what new procedures have been instituted in the Scottish Development Department following the report, No. C.828/81, by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration of the results of his investigation into a complaint by Messrs. James Macpherson and John Donald Macpherson, Lairgandour, Daviot, Inverness.

The staff concerned have been made fully aware that Ministers and the Department regard their handling of this case as falling clearly below the standards required of them. A new manual of guidance issued to all resident engineers codifies instructions for dealing with claims. When dealing with third-party claims my Department now sets up three-cornered discussions with the contractors and the agents where this is desired by the parties. All staff have been reminded of the need to handle compensation cases swiftly and flexibly.

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that reply. Does he agree that this case, which involved his Department's refusal to pay compensation to my constituents over a period of four years, revealed a serious lack of political control, especially by the two previous Ministers, the hon. Member for Eastwood (Mr. Stewart) and the hon. Member for Edinburgh, Pentlands (Mr. Rifkind)? Does the hon. Gentleman agree that were it not for the existence of the Parliamentary Commissioner it would have been impossible for my constituents, or myself as their elected representative, to do anything about that matter? Will he promise to write to me to explain the details of those changes? Will he apologise to my constituents for the serious inconvenience they suffered?

The hon. Gentleman knows that the Parliamentary Commissioner was asked by my Department to convey the Department's apologies. If any further apology is needed, I gladly offer it. A finding by the Parliamentary Commissioner is a grave matter and is taken seriously by my Department. That is why the new arrangements have been made.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations have been made to him, since 1981, calling for a housing condition survey in Scotland.

My right hon. Friend has received representations on this subject during the last three years from the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, the Scottish Local Authorities Special Housing Group, Strathclyde regional council and Shelter.

In the light of those representations, will the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State reconsider the reluctance of the Scottish Office to implement such a housing condition survey? Is it a fact that the Scottish Office is reluctant to take that action for fear that the survey might show up the ever-increasing gap between the need to have substantial sums of money to improve Scotland's housing stock, especially in the public sector, and the ever-diminishing sums which the Government are making available to local authorities for that purpose?

It is for precisely the opposite reason that a sample of a similar percentage of the housing stock as that used in the English housing condition survey would not produce information of a similar quality in Scotland. The resources to provide the same level of information could be better spent in other ways to provide more direct information of the type that we need to make our assessments.

When will the Building Research Establishment's survey on the Blackburn-Orlit houses be published? Can my hon. Friend give an undertaking that if that report shows that there is evidence of deterioration those houses will be included within the framework of the Housing Defects Bill?

I cannot tell my hon. Friend at this stage when we are likely to receive the report from the BRE. Of course, we shall study carefully whatever the BRE comes up with.

Will the Minister initiate some research in his Department into the number of houses that are likely to be demolished over the next three years as a result of the Government's cutting housing improvement grants and imposing 15 per cent. VAT on housing improvements?

I find that a most surprising remark by the hon. Gentleman, because if he studies the Government's record over the past four years in reducing the numbers of sub-tolerable houses he will find that the numbers are estimated to have been reduced from 126,000 to 81,000. It does not lie well in his mouth, given his party's record, to make such remarks.

Does my hon. Friend agree that part of the problem with the housing stock in Scotland stems from the design that was chosen for them, particularly by Labour-controlled local authorities? Does he agree that after all these years they should be able to understand the nature and condition of the climate and the types of houses that should be built?

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, who has made a good point. It is the Government's intention to consider the quality of the building, as much as numbers. As I said to the Institute of Housing at a recent conference, the days when we need numbers have passed, and the days when we need quality have arrived.

Edinburgh's record is a disgrace, bearing in mind that about 12,000 families are on the local waiting list. There is another problem, which is that Provost Councillor Morgan has openly promoted private developments, including Leech Homes, and has even appeared in a special advertising feature in the Edinburgh Evening News. Is that not an abuse of his position as a local representative and a senior citizen of Edinburgh, or is it typical the Tory party generally, with its idea that one goes for the fast buck? While Edinburgh may be Scotland's capital city, it should not be a capitalist city.

I do not see how that question arises from a question on the housing condition survey.

Will my hon. Friend accept that calls for a housing condition survey should not put off action to deal with dampness in houses, and that a number of the proposals for such a survey seem to have been made in ignorance of what surveys have been undertaken? When will he and my right hon. Friend reply to the Select Committee's unanimous report on that subject?

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his comments. It is worth reminding the House that the Committee, in studying the question of dampness and condensation, did not regard the case for a housing condition survey to be conclusively proved, because there are a number of other ways in which the needs can be better assessed. The Government hope shortly to respond to the Committee's report.

Does the Minister recollect that he has received substantial evidence from the Kirkcaldy district council about the complete inadequacy of the Government's financial provision to tackle the problem of non-traditional houses? Why does he refuse to meet us to discuss those matters? How many other authorities is he, in his arrogant way, refusing to meet?

As the hon. Gentleman is aware, following the previous occasion when he asked that question, I arranged for my officials to meet officials of that district council. They have kept me fully informed of the representations made to them by the council. As I have said previously, if it is possible to see whether further allocations can be made, I shall take into account the representations that have been made.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he is likely to meet the chairman of the Scottish Development Agency to discuss industrial development and environmental improvement in Scotland.

My right hon. Friend and I are to meet the chairman and board of the agency on 1 June 1984.

Does the Minister agree that, if Glasgow were to be chosen as the location of the 1989 international garden festival, many thousands of jobs could be created in the city and that the prospects for attracting new employment would be greatly enhanced? When the Minister has discussions with the chairman and board of the SDA, will he take up those matters and continue to press the application among his Cabinet colleagues?

I appreciate what the hon. Gentleman says about the importance of the garden festival. A decision will be taken later this year on the possibility of holding a third international garden festival. As the hon. Gentleman says, Glasgow is one of the three sites that are the subject of a feasibility study. I can assure him that, if Glasgow were chosen, the SDA would have a major role.

When my hon. Friend meets the chairman of the SDA, will he discuss with him the decision on the feasibility study carried out by the SDA in connection with the town of Fraserburgh, in my constituency, where there is considerable unemployment? It was agreed that a scheme would be brought forward to create employment on a project basis to assist rural areas.

I know that my hon. Friend has a close interest in the Fraserburgh project. We have approved SDA involvement of £0·3 million in that major public-private sector venture. My hon. Friend will appreciate that the details of the venture will be announced by the partners, which include Grampian region and Banff and Buchan district council. It will include a development company, a physical works programme and an enterprise fund. The target for the project will be the creation of more than 650 jobs in Fraserburgh over a three-year period.

If it is needed, will the Minister bring to the attention of the SDA the assurance given by Trafalgar House to Ministers at the Department of Trade and Industry that it will co-operate with the Scottish Office and the SDA in developing the land that is superfluous to the requirements of Scott Lithgow?

I shall certainly do so. The SDA is aware of the Trafalgar House statement. As the hon. Gentleman knows, the SDA has been studying the potential for land development in that area.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if, when he next meets the Forth Ports Authority, he will discuss safety on the River Forth.

My right hon. Friend has at present no plans to meet the Forth Ports Authority.

Will the Minister make plans to meet the Forth Ports Authority in view of the fact that his right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport is about to publish proposals concerning pilotage on the river? Does not the Minister understand that the dangers on the River Forth in relation to Braefoot bay, the nuclear refitting base at Rosyth, the Hound Point terminal, the Forth road and rail bridges and the narrow navigation channels in the river make it very dangerous to relax the pilotage conditions, and that it is right and proper that my constituents in Grangemouth and Bo'ness should be seriously concerned about the dangers resulting from the relaxation of the conditions?

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport will be dealing with the matter. He has received recommendations from the Pilotage Commission about draft bye-laws for the Forth pilotage district, and he is considering those recommendations in the context of the United Kingdom's pilotage policy.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement about current business confidence in Scotland.

Recent announcements emphasise the investment opportunities which Scotland offers to new and expanding firms and should serve to increase business confidence. The latest two Scottish CBI surveys taken together suggest an increase in authorisations for new manufacturing investment in 1984, which is another encouraging sign of recovery.

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for his reply. Does he agree that the recent news of electronics firms setting up in Scotland represents almost a success a day? Can he confirm that a significant number of United States electronics companies are giving serious consideration to setting up in Scotland, and is he satisfied that the education and training arrangements in Scotland will provide a sufficiently skilled work force for such new companies?

I am grateful for what my hon. Friend said. I agree that there is no doubt that, as a location for inward investment in electronics, Scotland stands very high. The two projects of National Semiconductors and Shin-Etsu alone will provide more than 1,500 new jobs. Those announcements were made in recent weeks.

Is the Secretary of State aware that, because of the cuts made by the Government in university expenditure, the number of places for electronics engineers in Strathclyde has been reduced this year from 120 to 90? National Semiconductors alone, taken with Inmos, has more than twice oversubscribed the total output of large-scale integration electronics engineers produced in the whole of the United Kingdom. What is the Government doing about the supply of the necessary skilled personnel?

The Government are doing a great deal. Not only have we substantially increased the number of qualified engineers coming out of our educational system, but in centrally funded institutions, under the Scottish Office's control, we have held the funding level at a time when many other areas have had to have restrictions on their spending.

Is my right hon. Friend convinced that the SDA is spending enough of its resources on the rural areas of Scotland, where unemployment and deprivation can be just as serious as in the urban areas, where most of the money seems to be spent?

The authority of the SDA covers the whole of Scotland, with no exception. It takes a number of important initiatives in rural areas. I am sure that my hon. Friend will know that there is a special scheme in Wigtown.

When discussing current business confidence, will the Secretary of State pay particular attention to the present concern in the Easter Ross area and the Highland region over the changed structure that he proposes for regional development grants, which could affect a major industrial initiative such as the Highland hydrocarbon project, about which I have written to the Minister responsible for industry? Will he take every step to ensure that when the new regional development grant structure is introduced, such projects that have business backing and will create jobs in a severely depressed area are given every possible support?

We shall do all that we can to ensure that any change in regional policy still leaves Scotland with a strong pool for inward investment. With regard to large projects with high capital costs and a low number of jobs, it is common ground between all parties in the review that we should aim to get better value for money where we can.

Does the Secretary of State accept that for the hon. Member for Strathkelvin and Bearsden (Mr. Hirst) to talk about the Government's economic policy as a success a day is laughable, when the truth is that almost 350,000 Scots are in the dole queues, company failures are occurring at a frightening rate and there is a real question mark over the future of a large number of our basic industries? Does the right hon. Gentleman accept that the greatest boost that could be given to business confidence would be a change in this thrawn Government's economic policy?

I should have thought that we gave the greatest possible boost in one sense recently, in abolishing at last the tax on jobs which the Labour Government imposed, which undoubtedly discouraged employment. The hon. Gentleman's description of the Scottish economy is totally distorted. Everyone knows that encouraging inward investment is taking place. The Scottish CBI survey in January showed a sharp improvement in business confidence in Scotland, with a positive balance of 13 per cent. of respondents reporting that they were optimistic about the future. The hon. Gentleman would do well to recognise that fact and try to help, if he can.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he will next meet the chairman of the Scottish Development Agency to discuss the job prospects for Lanarkshire.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave earlier to the hon. Member for Glasgow, Maryhill (Mr. Craigen). Job prospects for Scotland in general as well as for particular areas will no doubt feature in the discussions on 1 June.

Does the Minister accept that there is recognition of the work that he has done to retain the Terex factory taken over by General Motors? We are magnanimous in thanking him for that. However, does he recognise that Lanarkshire is now designated as an industrial desert? Will he talk to the chairman of the SDA with a view to getting factories built and getting the unemployed people in the construction industry back to work and, subsequently, when the factories are built, getting people into production, the revenue for which could come from North sea oil?

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for what he said about Terex, and I am sure that he would be the first to agree about the important role played by the shop stewards and the trade union officials in achieving the success of that company. As to the SDA in Lanarkshire, it realises the priority that Lanarkshire deserves through the integrated projects at Motherwell and Coatbridge, which together have budgets totalling over £80 million, and the agency support for the Lanarkshire industrial field executive and the Motherwell enterprise trust. Of course, we have been discussing these matters with the agency.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will assess the risk to animal health in Scotland of the inclusion in imported eggs of ones which are cracked or damaged; and if he will make a statement.

Extensive veterinary experience is that with the proper safeguards, such as we have, there are no animal disease risks from eggs; cracked eggs carry no additional risk.

I thank my hon. Friend for his seasonable comments in reply to my question. Are there not two distinct problems? We are worried about the introduction of Newcastle disease into Scotland and one way this can happen, I am reliably informed, is through cracked eggs, of which each consignment can have a 4 per cent. allowance, which is contrary to EEC regulations. The other problem which I have come across recently is that there are no regulations governing permanent traps for pigeons in feedstores and feedshops.

Give her an Easter egg.

When the eggs come from countries with a history of Newcastle disease, each consignment must be accompanied by a health certificate signed by a veterinary official of the country of origin, guaranteeing freedom from the disease in the consignment. We have no evidence that suggests that Newcastle disease has any chance of coming into the counry through eggs.

One cannot make omelettes without cracking eggs.

Cheep, cheep.

Does the Minister agree that it is ludicrous for one of his hon. Friends to ask a question about cracked eggs when in the Renfrewshire area that she represents there are pockets of 60 per cent. unemployment and an average of——

Order. That is a good try, but it is not on.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland on what planning assumptions he has asked Clydesdale district council to meet his requirements of civil defence preparations in the event of nuclear war.

Certain planning assumptions were contained in my Department's circular ES(Scot) 1/1982, a copy of which is in the Library. We hope to issue more detailed assumptions later this year.

Do the present assumptions, and will the more detailed assumptions, include a clear estimate of the number of megaton bombs likely to fall in the west of Scotland, where they would fall, what the direction of the wind would be, what percentage of survival there would be and what the availability of food and medical supplies would be, or is the revelation of such assumptions too much to expect my constituents to take?

It is a little difficult to expect us to be in the confidence of any potential aggressor and therefore to know where the target areas will be. It is the responsibility of all of us, whether we are in central Government or local authority, to do everything humanly possible to ensure the safety of our population in any way that we can. That is what this planning is aimed at.

Does my right hon. Friend agree that nuclear weapons falling on Lanarkshire, or anywhere else, would come in a variety of sizes and shapes, and that some of the nuclear weapons do less damage than conventional bombs?

I think we would all agree—[Interruption.]

Order. I think that the Minister has a definitive reply to that question.

I doubt whether this is a laughing matter. The advent of any nuclear weapon in any part of the country would be disastrous, and that is why the policies of this Goverment, and, I hope, any other, are outstandingly devoted to preventing it ever happening.

Does the question from the Minister's defence spokesman, the hon. Member for Tayside, North (Mr. Walker), not suggest that the problem of the Tory party in Scotland is not so much cracked eggs as cracked defence spokesmen? Is it not the case that the safest measures the Government could take would be to say no to cruise and to Trident and to remove the American nuclear bases from the Clyde?

I am sorry to tell the hon. Member that if I could think of a quicker way of ensuring that we were in greater danger from nuclear attack, that would be it.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what assistance is now available to small businesses in Scotland from European Community sources; and if he will make a statement.

Both the Government and the European Community attach a high priority to support for small businesses, and the wide range of European Community support includes loans, available throughout Scotland, to help small firms create and safeguard employment, and grants from the European social fund for firms which recruit those currently unemployed. In addition, we have used grants from the non-quota section of the European regional development fund to create for small firms in Strathclyde the better business services scheme, which is unique in Europe. The scheme is aimed at improving the business performance of small firms and I am delighted to announce that there have been almost 1,000 applications from companies in the first five months of its operation.

Can my hon. Friend confirm that there is a European Coal and Steel Community project for Fife as well as for Strathclyde? Can he clarify whether that scheme applies to the whole of Fife and for a wide variety of companies of all sizes, and that although the jobs that may be supported through loans from that scheme must potentially be available to ex-miners, that does not necessarily mean that they have to be filled exclusively by ex-miners?

Yes, I can confirm that. I discussed the inclusion of Fife with Commissioner Giolitti last November. He has confirmed that Fife is included in the ECSC scheme. On the second point, the employment of ex-miners is not a prerequisite, but the employment of ex-coal and steel workers is naturally considered a priority.

Is the Minister aware that the best assistance that small firms can get is orders from large companies? The orders are not forthcoming because of the high number of closures in Scotland at present. Will the Minister look at the small firms from that point of view?

I must tell the right hon. Gentleman that the Government regard the encouragement of small firms as an absolute priority and that more than 100 new measures have been introduced. Of course the general economic climate and the orders that flow from it are of great importance, but we now have a combination of steady growth and low inflation, which are the basis for sustained expansion.

Will my hon. Friend reconsider the decision to award European assistance only in assisted areas? Is he aware that, for instance, forestry expansion often takes place in non-assisted areas and deserves assistance from Europe?

My hon. Friend refers to the conditions of ERDF support, but I must emphasise to him that there is a wide range of European Community support, as I have said, and much of it is available to his constituency.

Is the Minister aware of the significant success achieved by East Lothian district council with its small business assistance scheme, which has created a significant number of jobs for as little as £500 per job, which is considerably cheaper than some national schemes? Why have the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Minister responsible for trade and industry refused even to discuss that scheme with the district council?

I am, of course, aware of the scheme to which the hon. Member has referred. The point is that it is important that the different schemes provided by different parts of the public sector do not conflict and overlap.

Will the Minister acknowledge that his Department should be working with the EEC to toy to ensure that small businesses survive? Is he aware that while we get many good figures from the Government about small businesses being founded, they fail to tell us that nine out of 10 of them collapse within the first year? Does he agree that what are urgently needed are measures to enable small businesses to survive and develop, and a little understanding by the party of big business about how small business works?

If the hon. Member understood anything about the economy in which we live, he would know that it is always the case that small businesses start up and expand, and that some inevitably go out of business. The Scottish economy is now benefiting from Government policies which create the environment favourable to the expansion of small businesses and the creation of new small businesses.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he will be meeting the chairman of the Forestry Commission to discuss land use in Scotland.

My right hon. Friend meets the chairman of the Forestry Commission from time to time to discuss a range of topics, including land use. No date has been set for their next meeting.

When the Secretary of State meets the chairman of the Forestry Commission, will he ensure that all practical—and, if necessary, legislative—steps are taken to ensure that the Nature Conservancy Council and the Forestry Commission will have powers to prevent further felling in the Abernethy forest, and that the Earl of Seafield's vandalism will be stopped once and for all and the Caledonian forest protected?

The agreement under which the felling to which the hon. Gentleman referred took place was drawn up in 1980. At that time the convention was that unless the owner agreed to representations being made to a third party, they would not be made. However, since 1981 the position has changed considerably and the Forestry Commission would refuse to give consent to any schemes if consultation with the NCC were not carried out.

asked the Solicitor-General for Scotland what is the policy of the Lord Advocate towards the prosecution of United States service men for drugs offences committed in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

United States service men have been and will continue to be prosecuted for drugs offences in Scotland where the court has jurisdiction, and particularly where there has been supply to or trafficking with the local community. In lesser offences, including possession, the procurator fiscal may refer the case to the United States authorities for disposal. He must receive a report of the action taken.

How about amendments to the Visiting Forces Act 1952?

While the Visiting Forces Act 1952 gives the United States authorities an exclusive jurisdiction in certain circumstances, the hon. Gentleman should appreciate that their jurisdiction is not solely dependent on that Act. The principles of international law, spelt out before the second world war, are that, when the naval ships of a sovereign nation are in the territorial waters of another country, the sovereign state that is being visited does not have jurisdiction.

What control does Customs and Excise have over United States ships coming into bases such as Holy Loch and elsewhere in Scotland in regard to searching for drugs? Is the inspection for drugs as slack as it is now in the rest of the Scottish ports?

As I have indicated, naval ships of a sovereign nation such as the United States coming into Holy Loch enjoy a special status while they are there.

asked the Solicitor-General for Scotland what representations he has received recently on the need to provide a code of guidance on exclusion orders made under the Matrimonial Homes (Family Protection) (Scotland) Act 1981.

I have received no representations recently. Representations from Scottish Women's Aid have been made to my noble and learned Friend the Lord Advocate about the need for further guidance to the police some months ago.

Surely it would help the operation of the Act if there were a code of guidance and people understood how the exclusion orders work. The Solicitor-General must accept that there is still evidence of instances where the police themselves do not appear to appreciate how exclusion orders are supposed to work. When women who have been assaulted seek to have their husbands excluded, the police then say that they cannot exclude them.

Following the introduction of the Act there was some uncertainty as to how matrimonial interdicts—particularly interim ones—were to operate. However, I gave the hon. Gentleman a written answer some time ago in which I supplied the essence of the guidance and advice that my noble and learned Friend the Lord Advocate has given to the police in the operation of the arrest powers that are sometimes attached to the orders. I hope that these powers of arrest are now working satisfactorily, although the number of occasions on which those powers have been attached is still relatively small.

asked the Solicitor-General for Scotland what representations he has received concerning criminal deception by supermarket multiples in Scotland.

I have received no such representations.

Is the Solicitor-General for Scotland aware that there is a practice, used in particular by Safeway supermarkets in Scotland, of charging customers £1 for parking their cars and then forcing them to spend that £1 while doing their shopping? One of my constituents has complained to me that, as the cost of his purchases amounted to only 60p, he was turned away from the checkout and told to purchase more goods worth at least 40p in order to make up the parking fee. Is this legal? If not, will the hon. and learned Gentleman give instructions or guidance to procurators fiscal to ask the police to investigate the matter?

This is the first that I have heard of the matter. From what the hon. Gentleman has said, I do not think that it amounts to criminal deception. However, if he wishes to give me further details I shall certainly look into the matter and consider whether any action should be taken. Thus far, however, it seems to me that there has been no criminal fraud.

Do not the Government tend to decide issues about breaches of the peace and the criminal law before they have taken place? Why do the Government not show the same zeal against the supermarket as against miners engaged in peaceful activities, and make sure——

Order. I do not think that that matter is related to the question at all.

asked the Solicitor-General for Scotland if he will list his responsibilities regarding legal aid in Scotland.

I have no direct responsibilities for legal aid in Scotland.

Will my hon. and learned Friend exercise his influence in connection with the discrepancies over the way in which legal aid is disbursed in the different parts of Scotland?

That is not directly a matter for me, although there may be occasions in court when procurators fiscal are involved in the working of legal aid. This is a matter for the Secretary of State for Scotland. The test to be applied in the district and sheriff courts is whether the granting of legal aid is in the interests of justice. My right hon. Friend's Department has already given some advice to the Scottish courts. There are discrepencies in the practical application, but there is in statute a clear test in accordance with which legal aid should be granted.

Will the Solicitor-General for Scotland consider discussing with his right hon. Friend the possibility of making legal aid available in Scotland to petitioners to the European Commission of Human Rights, in view of the fact that there have been a number of Scottish cases?

I am certainly prepared to discuss that matter with my right hon. Friend. There have been a number of cases, but the hon. Gentleman will appreciate that legal aid is widely available for a large number of matters, and that recently the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Argyll and Bute (Mr. MacKay), made provision for legal aid to be made available in tribunals dealing with mental health. That was an important move.

Is the Solicitor-General for Scotland aware that there have been a number of statements about the need to economise on legal aid, from Government and ministerial sources? Can the hon. and learned Gentleman assure us that there will be no cut in the range of cases for which legal aid is available and that proper care will be taken to safeguard the right to representation of people who are at hazard in the criminal courts of Scotland?

I am somewhat astonished that the hon. Gentleman should make that observation. If he had taken a superficial look at the public expenditure White Paper for Scotland, he would have seen that there has been considerable extra expenditure on legal aid since the Government came to power in 1979 through to 1985–86. It is entirely right that the courts and the Government should try to ensure that people get value for money when using public funds for representation in court. That is the policy we have pursued and will continue to pursue.

asked the Solicitor-General for Scotland what criteria are used in deciding whether to charge pickets in an industrial dispute; and whether any special instructions or guidelines have been issued by the Crown Office to the police or procurators fiscal.

The criteria to be applied in deciding whether to proceed against pickets on criminal charges are the same as those applied in any case where there is an allegation of criminal conduct. No special instructions or guidelines have been issued by the Crown Office to the police or procurators fiscal.

Will the Solicitor-General confirm that secondary picketing is not itself a crime and that, unless an interdict has been granted, any group of workers have the right to try peacefully to persuade their fellow workers to join them in industrial action? Will the Solicitor-General therefore remind the police that it is their duty to try to ensure the freedom of movement of people, without peaceful pickets being subjected to the type of police harassment and intimidation that they have experienced in some areas?

The answer to the first part of the hon. Gentleman's question is clearly yes. However, I must remind him that, as my right hon. and learned Friend the Attorney-General said,

"it is the function of the law to protect the right of every person to make his own decision, free from violence or any other form of intimidation, on whether or not to work. The law permits no interference with that right and recognises no privilege or immunity vested in any person, merely because he is engaged in picketing, to act in a way which constitutes a criminal offence."—[Official Report, 16 March 1984; Vol. 56, c. 279–80.]

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. May I apologise on behalf of my right hon. and hon. Friends for our sedentary interruptions which arose because, while Conservative Members and members of the alliance can be called almost at will, it would appear that the only way in which we can be heard, if we do not table a question, is by sedentary interruptions.

I hope that the hon. Gentleman is not seeking to criticise my choice when calling hon. Members, because he has been called no less than twice during questions this afternoon.

Further to that point of order, Mr. Speaker. That is precisely my point. The two occasions on which I have been called have been on my own questions, yet members of the alliance have been called repeatedly. The hon. Members for Tayside, North (Mr. Walker) and for Strathkelvin and Bearsden (Mr. Hirst) have also been called repeatedly and——

Order. I must tell the House again that I do my best to ensure that as many hon. Members as possible are called during Question Time. I warned the House that we had a long run on question No. 2, on the important matter of drug-taking in Scotland, and that we should have to get on rather more rapidly thereafter. It is simply a matter of judgment as to what is important in Scotland today. I made that judgment today.