asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many existing United States nuclear weapons based in the United Kingdom are being withdrawn as a result of the introduction of cruise missiles.

During the period from 1979 to 1988, NATO will withdraw from Europe some five times as many nuclear warheads as it will introduce, even if full deployment of Pershing II and ground-launched cruise missiles takes place in the absence of a negotiated arms control settlement limiting deployment. It has been the practice of successive Governments not to comment on the number of nuclear warheads stored in this country.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what rules govern the use by military personnel of submachine guns; what safeguards exist for the general public; and if he will make a statement.

Safeguards for the general public are provided by the comprehensive range orders which exist for every location at which weapons, including the submachine gun, may be fired in training. In addition detailed technical instructions exist for all weapon types, again including the sub-machine gun. The Queen's Regulations also require an officer or soldier in possession of any service firearm or ammunition to accept full responsibility for its safe handling.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many men have been medically discharged as a result of the Falklands campaign.

[pursuant to his reply, 4 June 1984, c. 75]: To date 47 have had to be medically discharged, whilst a further two have chosen to accept medical retirement rather than remain in service in a lower medical category.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence why there has been a delay in notifying employees at the air publications and forms store, Woolwich whether or not they are to be re-employed by the private contractor taking over the operation of the store; and when notices will be sent to the employees involved.

[pursuant to his reply, 6 June 1984, c. 191]: This is essentially a matter for the contractor. I understand, however, that a major part of the current work force can be expected to be offered re-employment. I expect the contractor to be in a position to make offers of employment to those concerned within the next few weeks.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many of the existing work force at the air publications and forms store, Woolwich are expected to be offered re-employment following the privatisation of the store.

[pursuant to his reply, 6 June 1984, c. 192]: This is essentially a matter for the contractor. I understand, however, that a major part of the current work force can be expected to be offered re-employment.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if it is intended that Her Majesty's inspectors should play any role in developing links between the youth training scheme and further education and training.

Her Majesty's inspectors will continue to inspect those parts of the youth training scheme that take place in further education institutions and the youth and community service; and their inspection reports will be published. There is also a continuing dialogue between HMI and officials of the Manpower Services Commission about the YTS.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what financial support his Department is giving to research into food allergies.

The Medical Research Council is the main Government agency for the support of biomedical research including research into allergies. I understand that in 1982–83 the council spent approximately £825,000 on research projects related to allergies of which approximately £205,000 was spent on projects relevant to food allergies. Research into food allergies is also carried out in universities and medical schools. Some of this may be financed from funds provided for teaching and research allocated on advice from the University Grants Committee, but information about the resources devoted to such research is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish in the Official Report the names of hospitals and research centres that are participating in the Medical Research Council's trials into the use of multi-vitamin treatment to reduce the rate of spina bifida babies born to high-risk mothers.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science why the Medical Research Council will not publish a comprehensive list of medical centres where trials are being carried out involving multi-vitamin pills being given to 2,000 expectant mothers who are considered to be as risk of having a spina bifida child.

[pursuant to his replies, 22 December 1983, c. 335 and 23 January 1984, c. 407]: I am now in a position to provide the Medical Research Council's list of the centres participating in the trial to determine whether or not vitamin supplementation will reduce the incidence of neural tube defects. The centres that now have approval to proceed from their local ethical committees are as follows. I understand that the council considers that the need continues for a controlled trial to determine whether vitamins should be provided to mothers at risk, as there remains considerable uncertainty about whether vitamin supplementation is beneficial.

	Centres
United Kingdom
Ashton-under-Lyne	Tameside General Hospital
Birmingham	East Birmingham Hospital
Bristol	Bristol Maternity Hospital
	Southmead Hospital
Cardiff	Welsh National School of Medicine
Dundee	Ninewells Hospital
Edinburgh	Western General Hospital
	Duncan Guthrie Institute of Medical
Glasgow	Genetics
Leicester	Leicester General Hospital
London	Queen Charlotte's Maternity Hospital
	St. Bartholomew's Hospital
	University College Hospital
Oxford	John Radcliffe Maternity Hospital
Portsmouth	St. Mary's Hospital
Sheffield	Jessop Hospital for Women
Southampton	Princess Anne Hospital
OVERSEAS
Australia
Adelaide	Adelaide Children's Hospital
	Commonwealth of Health, University of
Sydney	Sydney
Canada
Ottawa	Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario
Vancouver	Grace Hospital
Israel
Tel-Aviv	Sheba Medical Centre
Hungary
Budapest	National Institute of Hygiene
Debrecen	Medical University
Miskolc	County Mospital
Pecs	County Hospital
Szeqed	Medical University
Szombathely	Markusovszky Hospital

asked the Prime Minister what is the total number of persons employed in (a) the Civil Service, (b) local government, (c) the National Health Service, (d) the armed forces and (e) all other public corporations, including nationalised industries (i) on the same basis as in her reply to the hon. Member for Norfolk, North on 25 July 1983, Official Report, column 526, and (ii) including police civilians, cadets, traffic wardens, magistrates' courts, the probation service and agency staff.

The information is as follows:

Number employed (thousands)
	1960	1979	1982	1983
A. Civil Service*	652	739	671	654
B. Local government (i)†	n.a.	2,925	2,791	2,804
(ii)‡	1,821	2,997	2,865	2,879
C. National Health Service	565	1,170	1,246	1,246
D. Armed Forces	518	314	324	322
E. Public Corporations	1,865	2,065	1,756	1,662

asked the Prime Minister why she will not publish the review of benefit visiting report.

We do not publish internal reports which have been commissioned for management purposes.

asked the Prime Minister if any Government Department has had consultations with building societies, banks or fuel boards regarding the manner in which they should handle requests from person on strike, including miners involved in the current dispute.

I am not aware of any such consultations, although DHSS local offices may have had consultations about individual cases. There are no readily available records of local contacts of this kind.

asked the Prime Minister if she will now honour the findings of the pay review body in respect of nurses' pay.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave yesterday to my hon. Friend the Member for Eltham (Mr. Bottomley) at column 221–222.

asked the Prime Minister what are the main subjects for discussion at the economic summit meeting in June; and if it is intended to discuss debt problems of the Third world.

[pursuant to her reply, 15 May 1984, c. 91]: One of the items on the agenda for the economic summit will be the report of the technology, growth and employment working group, a copy of which I am depositing in the House of Commons Library. I am also arranging for formal publication of the report, and as soon as it is printed, it will be laid before Parliament.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will list the normal duties of mobile teams in the county of Cumbria who are also responsible for drug preventive and investigative work.

The normal duties of the mobile teams in Cumbria are the prevention and detection of smuggling.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why the Minister of State, Treasury, the hon. Member for Brentford and Isleworth (Mr. Hayhoe) has not yet, following a telephone reminder from the hon. Member for Tatton on 30 April, replied to the letter of Mr. A. D. Copley of Umbro International Footwear Ltd., of Wilmslow, Cheshire, sent to him on 14 March; and when he expects to be in a position to send a reply.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to receive the £85 million proceeds from the first stage payment of the sale of the British Gas Corporation's Wytch Farm interests.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the estimated cost to the Exchequer of exempting car benefits from the charge to income tax where the business mileage of the car exceeds 18,000 miles per annum.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he now has any plans to increase the number of Customs and Excise officers concerned with the illegal import of hard drugs.

[pursuant to his reply, 7 June 1984, c. 220]: For 1984–85, 60 extra posts have been allocated in customs and excise to enhance preventive controls of passengers and freight. The results, together with those of other measures taken in the fight against drug smuggling, will be brought under review later in the year.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many strip searches were made of female prisoners in Her Majesty's Prison, Armagh in the month of May; if he will give the number of persons involved and the number of times each prisoner was searched; whether any prison contraband, smuggled items or illegal correspondence were discovered in any of the searches, indicating which items; and in how many cases prisoners refused to be searched and had to be restrained while the seaches were being conducted.

During May, 36 strip-searches were carried out on 20 female inmates in Her Majesty's prison, Armagh. Individual prisoners were searched the following number of times:

Number of prisoners	Number of searches in each case
1	4
1	3
11	2
7	1

No prohibited articles were found during these searches.There was one occasion during the month when a prisoner declined a routine full search before going on an inter-prison visit and the visit did not proceed.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport on how many miles of railway in west Yorkshire services operate which are subsidised in whole or in part by the West Yorkshire passenger transport executive; and how many miles of railway do not have such subsidised services.

Approximately 230 route miles of railway in west Yorkshire are used by passenger services, of which services supported by the PTE use about 150. They are the only passenger services on about 20 of these route-miles, and share the remainder with other services.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if it is his intention to meet any of the major local organisations which responded to his proposals in Cmnd. 9063, "Streamlining the Cities"; and if he will make a statement;(2) if it is his intention to meet any of the major national organisations which responded to his proposals in Cmnd. 9063, "Streamlining the Cities"; and if he will make a statement;(3)if he has met any major organisation to discuss his proposals in Cmnd. 9063, ''Streamlining the Cities", and accompanying consultation papers; and if he will make a statement.

No national or local organisation has suggested a meeting specifically to discuss the transport proposals included in Cmnd. 9063, but discussion has of course arisen in the course of many of the regular meetings I have with such organisations.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport for which United Kingdom coastal and international shipping services the Government provide a subsidy, either directly to the operator or to the users of the services; and what are the names of the ships concerned, their countries of registry, nationality of crew and ship ownership and the amount of subsidy paid for each service and ship for each of the last 10 years.

My Department does not provide specific operating subsidies for UK coastal and international shipping services. County councils may however use part of their transport supplementary grant to assist passenger ferries.The subsidies provided for some shipping services for the Scottish Highlands and Islands are the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland, and I shall ask him to write to the hon. Member about them.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport (1) whether the Government propose to alter their financial commitments to, or relationship with, the British Railways Board in light of the proposed sale of Sealink;(2) whether the proceeds of the sale of Sealink will accrue to the British Railways Board or to Her Majesty's Government.

Sealink is wholly owned by BR and the proceeds of the sale will accrue to it. This will allow BR to meet a greater proportion of its financial needs without recourse to external borrowing. If BR's requirement for external finance is found, as a result of the sale or other reasons, to have departed substantially from the external financing limit, the Government will naturally wish to review it. The Government's relationship with BR will not be altered by the sale.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will take action in the light of the continuing traffic congestion in West London caused by the Greater London council experiment in Talgarth road in Hammersmith; and if he will make a statement.

Following intense pressure from large numbers of road users, the GLC has decided to modify its experimental scheme at the junction of the A4 with North End Road. However, it has not committed itself at this stage to restoring three lanes for use, without restriction, by traffic travelling towards central London.I believe this response to be inadequate and shall continue to press it for the immediate restoration of satisfactory capacity for east-bound traffic, without adding to the already significant accident hazards at this junction.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he has any figures for the number of pickets injured whilst attempting to talk to workers entering Barking hospital;(2) what measures the Metropolitan police are taking to ensure that the cleaners presently on strike at Barking hospital are able to exercise their legal right peacefully to picket their place of work free from outside harassment;(3) how many person hours have been spent policing the picket line at Barking hospital; and what has been the total cost of policing the picket line so far.

The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis tells me that his officers are present at events at the hospital in order to perform their duties of maintaining the peace and preventing or dealing with criminal offences. As at 6 June, the police know of no injury to anyone engaged in the picketing. Between 19 March and 31 May, some 3,092 man hours were spent on relevant duties, at an estimated total cost of £44,150.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the chief constable of Derbyshire about the movement of police into Menton hospital, Clay Cross; and if he will make a statement.

The chief constable tells me that since 18 May his force has rented Menton hospital, Clay Cross, which was previously unoccupied, to accommodate between 130 and 155 police officers from other forces who are helping him in policing events arising from the miners' dispute. The police made use of the hospital after other accommodation available to them was used to the full, and the county council had declined to provide premises that it owned. The police are paying a weekly rent of £250 for the use of the hospital to the local health authority. Including that rent, the chief constable estimates that up to 6 June the total estimated cost of using the premises was £17,500. The new structures which have been erected are portable lavatories and a marquee; up to 6 June, the cost of renting these was some £760.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for reports from chief constables as to the guidelines they operate regarding flying pickets who walk to collieries.

No. My right hon. and learned Friend the Attorney-General made a statement on the law in reply to a question by my hon. Friend the Member for South Hams (Mr. Steen) on 16 March at columns 279–80. It is for the chief officer of police concerned to decide, having regard to local circumstances, how the law is to be enforced in his police area.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for reports from each chief constable concerned to provide details for each police force area of the number of pickets arrested from 17 May to date.

The following numbers of arrests have been reported, in the period from 17 May to 4 June inclusive, in connection with events arising from the miners' dispute:

Police force area	Number of arrests
Cleveland	5
Derbyshire	48
Durham	55
Essex	50
Greater Manchester	13
Hampshire	7
Humberside	8
Kent	3
Lancashire	23
Leicestershire	14
Merseyside	20
Metropolitan	3
Northumbria	7
North Wales	7
Nottinghamshire	196
South Wales	2
South Yorkshire	172
Staffordshire	28
Warwickshire	5

Police force area	Number of arrests
West Yorkshire	3
Total	669

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for reports from each chief constable concerned to provide details of the number of police injured since 17 May dealing with the the current miners' dispute.

The following numbers of police officers have been injured, in the period between 17 May and 4 June inclusive, in dealing with events arising from the miners' dispute.

Police force area	Number of officers injured
Derbyshire	1
Durham	2
Essex	4
Nottinghamshire	5
South Yorkshire	71
Warwickshire	1
Total	84

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for reports from chief constables as to how many pickets arrested in the Nottinghamshire police area during the period 14 March to 31 May were arrested by (a) members of the Nottinghamshire police force, (b) members of the West Yorkshire police force and (c) other police forces.

The chief constable of Nottinghamshire tells me that of 1,258 arrests involving actions related to the miners' dispute made within his force area between 14 March and 31 May inclusive, 643 were made by officers of his force, 17 by officers of the West Yorkshire police, and 598 by officers of other police forces.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the chief constable of West Yorkshire police as to how many police man hours have been devoted by West Yorkshire police to help with operations connected with the mining dispute.

The chief constable tells me that the particular information requested has yet to be collated. At 6 June, the maximum number of officers which his force had provided on any one day to assist elsewhere in the policing of events related to the dispute was 275.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the cost to date of the assistance given by West Yorkshire police with policing operations connected with the mining dispute.

The West Yorkshire police estimate the additional costs of mutual aid provided to other forces up to 11 May as £282,000.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the chief constable of Leicestershire police about the detention of Mr. Michael O'Kennedy, a member of the Dail, under the Prevention of Terrorism Act for 45 minutes at East Midlands airport on 12 May; and if he will make a statement.

No. I understand that Mr. O'Kennedy's passage through controls at the airport was delayed only briefly while his identity was established.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he last discussed with chief officers of police the principle that no police officer should incite the commission of a criminal offence; and if he will make a statement.

This principle is already clearly stated in the consolidated circular to the police on crime and kindred matters, a copy of which is in the Library of the House. My right hon. and learned Friend has had no formal discussions with chief officers of police on the issue, but I understand that the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis intends to amend his force general orders, in which the same principle is already reflected, to give that principle greater prominence in the context of orders covering the deployment of police officers on plain clothes duties.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many thefts of domestic pets were reported to the police in 1980, 1981, 1982 and 1983.

The information requested is not collected centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why a check was made on all outgoing telephone calls from the home telephone number, 01–340 5293, of the hon. Member for Oldham, West at the time when he was making inquiries into deaths in police custody; for what reason a police request was made for this information; and on what authority.

I assume that the hon. Member is referring to the provision of metering information, that is records of the numbers dialled from a particular telephone and of the time and duration of the calls. Neither the Metropolitan police nor British Telecom have any record of a request being made for the provision of such information in relation to the number quoted, or of any such check having been carried out.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the current United Kingdom output of high quality silica sand for crystal and flint glass manufacturing; and what was the output in each of the last 10 years.

Official statistics on silica sand are given in the annual "United Kingdom Mineral Statistics" (HMSO) and provide data on production of silica sand for glass manufacture as a whole. I regret that the more detailed statistics required cannot be derived from the available data.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the Government propose to alter their financial commitments to, or relationship with, BL plc in light of the proposed sale of Jaguar Cars.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the proceeds of the sale of Jaguar Cars will accrue to BL plc or to Her Majesty's Government.

To BL plc.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what equipment that could have military application is currently being exported from the United Kingdom to Iran and Iraq; and if he will take steps to halt any current supplies of, or orders for, such equipment.

I shall reply to my right hon. Friend as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he has studied the report by the central London social security advisers forum on social security claimants and furnished accommodation; and if he will make a statement.

I have read the report with interest. However, for reasons set out in my reply to the hon. Member for Bishop Auckland on 8 May 1984 at column 374 we have no plans at present to accept the report's recommendation that the clause in Single Payments Regulation 10(1)(a) referring to the availability of suitable alternative furnished accommodation should be removed. The report also recommends that the DHSS should in the meantime recognise that there is no suitable furnished accommodation available to social security claimants in London. Decisions on the interpretation of the regulations are for the independent adjudicating authorities to make in the light of the facts in each case. A recent tribunal of social security commissioners' decision and the related guidance from the Chief Adjudicating Officer (a copy of which is in the Library) should however help to ensure that the supplementary benefit regulations relating to payments for essential furniture and household equipment to claimants moving into unfurnished accommodation are applied fairly and consistently throughout the country.We have also asked the social security policy inspectorate to investigate the way these provisions are working and will be considering whether any changes in policy are appropriate in the light of its report.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what percentage of young girls when reaching the age of 14 years are found not to possess immunity against rubella; and if he will take further measures to improve this situation.

As schoolgirls are not routinely tested for immunity to rubella, this information is not available. In 1982, 83 per cent. of schoolgirls who had reached the age of 14 had been immunised against rubella, and from returns received so far the figure for 1983 is expected to rise to 84 per cent. The national rubella campaign launched in November last year is intended to be a sustained national initiative over a three-year period aimed at increasing immunity to rubella among schoolgirls and susceptible women of child-bearing age.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will enumerate the area health authorities in Wales to which his Department's civil servants have been seconded to monitor their finances.

None, but our audit personnel who are appointed as statutory auditors by the Secretary of State for Wales carry out their duties in all district health authorities in Wales.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether adequate provision is available in all parts of England to handle domiciliary birth complications.

Information is not held centrally on the arrangements made by districts for dealing with obstetric emergencies that arise during home births. Health authorities have a responsibility, however, to see that services are provided to make home confinements as safe as circumstances permit. Advice on good practice was given in the second report of the maternity services advisory committee which we have referred to authorities for action.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how much has been paid to P. A. Personnel Services in its duties of recruiting the head of the proposed National Health Service management board.

The basic fixed fee is £15,000 excluding the costs of advertising the post, travelling expenses of candidates, other incidental costs, and VAT. The cost of advertising amounted to £6,267. Final figures for the other costs cannot be calculated until the end of the assignment.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if the Government are still committed to working towards a reduction in the average family medical practitioner's patient list to 1,700.

The Government have never set a target for an average GP's list size.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will support a comprehensive measles vaccination programme, involving mobile vaccination teams visiting children's homes to ensure an optimum take-up.

There is already a measles immunisation programme, which we keep under close review. It is for health authorities and general practitioners to decide how best the programme might be implemented locally, in the light of particular needs and circumstances.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is satisfied with the arrangments for protecting the public with regard to the efficacy and safety of the pharmaceutical products which are freely available from abroad for doctors to prescribe.

Yes. I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Exeter (Mr. Hannam) on 16 May at column 157.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the estimated total cost and the cost per patient-bed of equipping the new hospital at Homerton, London, with sprinkler protection.

A sprinkler system is being installed only in two 24-bed geriatric wards at Homerton hospital. The estimated total cost is £12,800 or £267 per bed.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when the new hospital project at Homerton hospital, London, will be completed.

The North-East Thames RHA currently estimates that the contract for Homerton hospital phase 1 will be completed in January 1986.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he intends to extend dual registration opportunities to local authority social care homes in line with provisions made in the Registered Homes Bill [Lords];(2) if he will introduce an inquiry fee payable by those prospective proprietors who inquire about establishing a private residential care home but who never register;(3) how many private residential care homes in each local authority have been re-registered since the implementation of the Residential Homes Act 1980;(4) how many de-registrations under the Residential Homes Act 1980 were achieved by

The registration systems for residential care homes and for nursing homes do not apply to establishments operated by local authorities and health authorities and we do not believe that it would be appropriate for them to do so.There is no provision in the relevant legislation which would empower my right hon. Friend to authorise authorities to charge an inquiry fee. The legislation requires only that an application for registration should be accompanied by the registration fee.Information is not held centrally about the number of homes in respect of which a change in the registered person has been necessary since the implementation of the Residential Homes Act 1980 nor about cancelled registrations. However, later this year a national list of people whose registrations are cancelled is to be set up. This list will supplement the opportunities open to registration authorities in the normal way to satisfy themselves that a person is not unfit to be registered. These opportunities include taking up relevant references and carefully checking qualifications and periods of service or occupation, with particular attention to unexplained gaps in the person's past history, to periods of self-employment and to time spent outside this country. Additionally an authority considering a registration application for a home where children under the age of 18 are to be accommodated may make use of the consultancy service provided by the Department. This has more extensive coverage than the national list of cancelled registrations would have.It is intended to make new registration regulations for residential care homes before the summer recess. The recommendations in the recently published code of practice concerning residents' health and social services needs essentially make explicit what is at present good practice. To the extent that these practices do not already apply in a particular home, individual registration authorities will have to decide how far they should be enforced. In many cases no significant resource implications arise for registration authorities: it is a matter of modifying existing methods of operation. The introduction of other recommendations will have to be related to the general availability of resources.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether pharmaceutical companies are keeping within the targets he imposed in December 1983 for profit levels and promotional expenditure; and if he is satisfied that his Department is able to assess these figures accurately.

The lower target profit levels and the new procedure for restraining expenditure on sales promotion came into effect from 1 April 1984. We have no reason to believe that the revised arrangements will not operate effectively under the pharmaceutical price regulation scheme.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he has made any changes in the procedures for claims for attendance allowance; and if he will make a statement.

There have been two such changes. First, in August 1983, we introduced a new procedure for renewal claims. Where sufficient information is already available the delegated medical practitioner of the Attendance Allowance Board issues a new certificate of attendance needs without asking for a fresh medical examination and report. The result of this change is that over 50 per cent. of renewal cases are now awarded certificates for a further period without an examination and the time taken to deal with such cases has been correspondingly reduced. Secondly, since April, initial action on first claims has been taken by regional offices of the Department rather than local offices. This is in accordance with one of the recommendations of the report by Mr. P. R. Oglesby for speeding up the handling of claims.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what representations he has received advocating the exemption of asthma sufferers from prescription charges; and if he will make a statement.

Since 1 January this year we have received 16 letters from Members of Parliament and one from a member of the public arguing for prescription charge exemptions for asthma sufferers. My hon. Friend has also answered one question on this subject.Many asthma sufferers will be exempt from prescription charges under the present exemption arrangements. Those not exempt may be able to reduce the cost of their prescriptions by purchasing a prepayment certificate. We have no plans to change these arrangements.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many claims for benefit from the dependants of striking miners have been received in each week since 23 April at his area offices in Mansfield, ollerton, Sutton, Kirkby, Retford, Newark, Hucknall and Arnold, Nottinghamshire.

Claims for supplementary benefits in respect of the dependants of striking miners in the

Date	Commissioned and Assignment	Contractor
(a) Management Consultancies
1979	Taxation of Unemployment Benefits	Arthur Young
1979	Market research into methods of payment of benefit	Research Survey of Great Britain Ltd.
1979	Review of the usuage of periodicals and branch libraries	Capital Planning Information
1980	To devise a methodology to identify areas of work amenable to computer assistance	Pactel

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the number of National Health Service employed staff in England in whole-time equivalents at 31 March, in each of the regional health authorities; and what reduction this constituted in each case compared with 31 March 1983.

Figures for non-medical manpower at 31 March 1984 are not yet available. It is therefore not possible to make the comparison requested.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services on what grounds he refused access for journalists to the review of benefit visiting report referred to in the Treasury minute Cmnd. 9178, in reply to the Second Report from the Committee of Public Accounts of Session 1983–84.

This report is not being made available to the public because it was commissioned for internal management purposes.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will indicate the nature of each of the reviews undertaken by outside consultants for the central management services division of his Department over the last five years, the date when they were completed, the main conclusions in each case, whether they have been implemented and with what results; and what reviews are currently in hand.

The following list shows the centrally recorded reviews conducted for our Department by outside consultants since June 1979, but the comprehensive information on recommendations, implementation and results cannot be provided without disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make available detailed statistics for the Huyton office of his Department of the result of the 1983 Merseyside county council take-up campaign.

[pursuant to his reply, 4 June 1984, c. 36]: For the Huyton local office the following information is available:

Huyton
Total number of postcards received 1,723
Claims for weekly payments*	Awarded	No entitlement
Pensioners	37	151
Unemployed Claimants	1	25
Others	12	216
Total	50	392

Claims for single payments	Awarded†	Amount (£)
Pensioners	143	5,384
Unemployed Claimants	323	23,081
Others	217	11,415
Total	683	39,880
* Either claims for increase of benefits already in payment, or new claims.
† Records are not kept of refusals of single payments.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what will be the cost to public funds of the move of Derbyshire police into Menton hospital, Clay Cross; what will be the additional cost of erecting temporary buildings on the hospital site; and if he will make a statement.

I have been asked to reply.The chief constable tells me that since 18 May his force has rented Menton hospital, Clay Cross, which was previously unoccupied, to accommodate between 130 and 155 police officers from other forces who are helping him in policing events arising from the miners' dispute. The police made use of the hospital after other accommodation available to them was used to the full, and the county council had declined to provide premises that it owned. The police are paying a weekly rent of £250 for the use of the hospital to the local health authority. Including that rent, the chief constable estimates that up to 6 June the total estimated cost of using the premises was £17,500. The new structures which have been erected are portable lavatories and a marquee; up to 6 June, the cost of renting these was some £760.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the arrangements for payments of benefits to people on Manpower Services Commission schemes who suffer industrial injuries; and if he will make a statement.

The arrangements fall into two parts. People on a scheme operated by the Manpower Services Commission who have a contract of employment and who suffer an industrial injury are entitled to receive benefits under the Social Security Act 1975. People on a commission scheme who do not have a contract of employment are not eligible to receive these benefits, but the commission itself operates a scheme which is wholly analagous to the scheme run under the 1975 Act and involves the same payments.Self-employed people are not covered by the 1975 Act or by the Manpower Services Commission scheme. I am satisfied that the present arrangements provide proper coverage for participants on commission schemes.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the number of industrial units, by number of employees, in each of the following categories: (a) up to 100, (b) 101 to 500, (c) 501 to 1,000 and (d) over 1,000; and what were the comparable figures 10 years previously.

The information can only be supplied in terms of census units (units for which separate information is obtained in the census of employment). These units do not always correspond to complete establishments and their numbers and sizes can vary from one census to another because of changes in the way the census information is supplied. The following table gives the most recent analysis from the 1981 census of employment and the earliest available on a comparable basis from the census taken in 1973.

Census of employment units: size analysis for 1973 and 1981 Great Britain
(Thousands)
	June 1973		September 1981
Size bands according to numbers of employees	Numbers of census units	Numbers of employees	Numbers of census units	Numbers of employees
1 to99	946·8	8,997·2	954·3	10,092·5
100 to 499	27·6	5,615·6	27·6	5,419·2
500 to 999	3·4	2,378·3	2·8	1,921·0
1,000 and over	2·2	4,770·6	1·6	3,301·4
TOTAL	980·1	21,761·6	986·3	20,734·1

The figures relate only to employees. The census does not cover the self-employed. Also excluded are numbers in agriculture and horticulture (employee estimates for agriculture, included in the published census of employment results, are taken from the agricultural censuses).

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will arrange for the Health and Safety Executive to let bona fide organisations like trade unions have a sufficient number of complimentary copies of new items of literature from the executive for their needs.

Arrangements agreed by the Health and Safety Commission already exist for the TUC and CBI to receive a supply of free copies of all new Health and Safety Executive priced publications.Requests from CBI and TUC for additional free copies of any particular publication are considered sympathetically by the executive.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment why recent appeals at the Worksop office on behalf of apprentices in the mining industry laid off during the strike and refused benefit are not being heard.

Houghton-le-Spring
Males
Duration in weeks	Under 18	18	19	20–24	25–29	30–34	35–44	45–49	50–54	55–59	60–64	65 and over	Total all ages
One or less	3	—	—	2	—	3	2	1	—	—	4	—	15
Over 1 and up to 2	4	1	2	7	4	1	7	1	—	—	4	—	31
Over 2 and up to 3	5	1	—	1	3	—	1	—	1	—	—	—	12
Over 3 and up to 4	6	1	1	1	7	2	4	1	2	1	4	—	30
Over 4 and up to 5	3	1	4	5	5	4	4	1	1	—	—	—	28

Appeals will be heard. They are being prepared by the independent adjudicating authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many adjudicators in his regional offices have accepted claims for unemployment benefit from mining apprentices and subcontractors laid off because of the National Union of Mineworkers' dispute; and how many have refused.

Benefit claims by mining apprentices have been allowed by one and disqualified by nine adjudicators in regional offices.Independent adjudicators have both allowed and disqualified claims from subcontractors according to individual circumstances.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many apprentices are employed by the National Coal Board; and how many are receiving unemployment benefit due to the miners' strike.

A total of 3,530 apprentices are employed by the National Coal Board. Information about the number of apprentices receiving unemployment benefit is not readily available and can be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will estimate the number of subcontractors employed by the National Coal Board; and how many are receiving unemployment benefit due to the miners' strike.

The number of subcontractors employed by the National Coal Board is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy. The number receiving unemployment benefit is not readily available and can be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the figures for the number of unemployed in the Houghton and Washington constituency, and the Houghton and Washington jobcentres, by age, sex, and duration of unemployment for 1 January 1984 and 1 January 1979.

[pursuant to his reply, 7 June 1984]: The available figures for January 1984, which relate to unemployed claimants, on 12 January were given in my reply to the hon. Member on 1 March 1984 at column 295–98.The following tables give the available figures for registered unemployed on 11 January 1979 in the Houghton-le-Spring and Washington jobcentre areas, which correspond closely to the Houghton and Washington constituency.