asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about progress on the new Port Stanley hospital.

The architect responsible for the outline design of the new hospital has recently held detailed discussions about his proposals with all interested parties in Port Stanley. I expect to receive his final report and recommendations shortly. We shall then, in consultation with the Falkland Islands Government, proceed with arrangements for the new development as quickly as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he is satisfied that United Kingdom food aid to famine-stricken areas in Ethiopia has reached the areas in Ethiopia and Tigre not under the control of the Ethiopia Government; and if he will make a statement.

The United Kingdom's food aid to Ethiopia has been sent both direct to the Ethiopian Government's Relief and Rehabilitation Commission and to voluntary agencies working in all the areas affected by drought, including Eritrea and Tigre.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will publish the report of the committee of inquiry into proposals to amend the Shops Act; and what proposals he has to amend the Shops Act 1950.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the report of the committee of inquiry into proposals to amend the Shops Act 1950.

My right hon. and learned Friend hopes to publish the report next week. He will need to study the Committee's recommendations and reactions to the report before reaching any decisions on future legislation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out the cost of re-issuing (a) an individual passport and (b) all passports on expiry in the most recent year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

I understand my hon. Friend's question to relate to issue of new documents to persons who have previously held passports. No records are maintained showing the number of these transactions. Various factors will, in any case, affect the time and cost involved in providing individual passport services at home and overseas which would make calculation of their costs extremely difficult and inevitably imprecise.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how (a) the consultant psychiatrist and (b) the probation officer exercised their supervision of Mr. Edward Hopson, following his conditional discharge from Broadmoor in April 1982; how often he was seen by each; how many reports his Department received from each; on what dates; and if he will make a statement.

I understand from the supervising consultant psychiatrist that he saw Mr. Hopson at Broadmoor on seven occasions after his conditional discharge. He carried out his supervision by means of these consultations and by regular contact with the supervising probation officers. My right hon. and learned Friend received seven reports from him in April, August and November 1982, in February, August and December 1983 and in June 1984.I understand from the Chief Probation Officer of Middlesex that the probation officers responsible for Mr. Hopson's supervision maintained regular contact with him, on an average of once every two weeks, by interviews with him at their offices or at his home. Until March 1983, Mr. Hopson was living at a hostel and in daily contact with experienced hostel staff. Reports were received from supervising probation officers by my right hon. and learned Friend in June, August and November 1982, in February, March, July and November 1983, and in March and September 1984.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department from what services the 11 persons described as service men in the answer of 12 November about arrests on picket line duty, Official Report, column 70, came.

Ten were members of local authority fire brigades, and one was a naval rating. All were off duty when the arrests were made.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether, in view of the increasing height of agricultural machinery and equipment, he is satisfied with the present regulations about overhead power cables around farms and farmbuildings; and if he will make a statement.

I am satisfied that the statutory clearances from the ground of overhead electricity lines are generally appropriate. The safe use of farm machinery in the vicinity of such lines is kept under review by the National Farmers Union and the electricity supply industry, and also by the Health and Safety Executive and my own engineering inspectorate, both of which statutorily receive reports of accidents. It is generally agreed that the most effective and efficient way of reducing the very small number of farming accidents due to contact with electricity lines is by encouraging safe working methods. Much publicity and other help are available to that end.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list the specific projects concerned with energy conservation which are supported by his Department.

The information is as follows:

• Lamsac Project: Design and implementation of energy management systems for local authorities.
• Voluntary organisations community insulation projects scheme.
• Heat scheme.
• "Energy matters" home energy audit scheme.
• Energy efficiency demonstration scheme.
• Monitoring and target-setting scheme.
• Energy management groups.
• National energy management advisory committee.
• National energy management conference and exhibition.
• The coal firing scheme.
• Training courses and workshops.
• Research and development programmes (domestic, non-domestic and industrial).
• Combined heat and power and district heating lead city studies.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he is satisfied with the present state of the pig industry in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

In Wales the pig breeding herd has continued to decline, the provisional census figures for June 1984 show a fall of 18 per cent. in the breeding herd since June 1983 and now stands at around 14,300 head. However, there are indications that the situation is changing with a slight increase in the size of breeding herd anticipated.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what is his policy towards those dairy farmers who have applied under the outgoers scheme but have been rejected; and whether they will be given time to apply for special case consideration.

No dairy producers who have made valid applications within the terms of the outgoers scheme have yet been rejected. Besides those currently being invited to join the scheme under the first tranche of offers, a further second tranche of offers has now been made to other producers in a higher production band to include those with quotas of up to 250,000 litres. All those who have applied to be outgoers have, like all other milk producers, been able to apply at the same time for special case consideration and many have done so.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish the amount of extra cash allocated to Welsh local education authorities consequent upon the autumn statement; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has not yet decided on the allocation of his resources to particular services, including education, for 1985–86. His decisions will be made known in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what is his estimate of the cash rise in Welsh water rates consequent upon the autumn statement of 12 November; what is the total cash sum involved; by what percentage water rates may rise; and if he will make a statement.

The Welsh water authority has yet to finalise its budget for 1985–86. This will take account not only of the changes in external financing limits included in the Chancellor's autumn statement, but of performance aims yet to be agreed and the financial target still to be set for the authority for 1985–86. While discussions with the authority on these matters will be continuing, I expect the increase in main charges to be above the rate of inflation.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the Welsh locations used for the storage of European Economic Community food surpluses.

On 30 September 1984 stocks of surplus European Economic Community food were located as follows:Skimmed Milk Powder: Ammanford, Cwmbran, Narbeth, Barry, St. Clears, Swansea (2), Llandyssul (2), Caerphilly, Pembroke, Tregaron, Eglwyswrw, Overton, Hawarden

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many housing improvement grants he expects to be paid in Wales and Mid-Glamorgan, respectively during 1984–85 and 1985–86.

Latest returns indicate that £81 million will be spent on renovation grants in Wales in 1984–85 of which mid-Glamorgan local authorities will spend £22 million. The amount spent in 1985–86 will be a matter for local authorities to decide in the light of their priorities and the resources available.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what is his estimate of the total number of applicants waiting for housing improvement grants in Mid-Glamorgan at the latest date for which figures are available.

At 30 June 1984, the number of applications for housing renovation grants awaiting approval was approximately 21,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what is his estimate of the number of employees currently working in factories constructed by the Welsh Development Agency.

I have asked the Welsh Development Agency to provide the information requested to the hon. Gentleman.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales which health authorities in Wales have indicated their intention not to put out to tender ancillary services.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales which catering and laundry companies have declined to tender for appropriate services despite (a) receiving an invitation or (b) seeking information on the proposed tender within the National Health Service in Wales.

Four companies have declined to tender. It would not be appropriate to disclose their names.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he or his officials have had with the British Steel Corporation regarding the seeking of injunctions by the corporation against secondary picketing of its installations in the current miners' dispute; and if he will make a statement.

The Secretary of State and I have naturally been kept in close touch by the chairman of the British Steel Corporation with issues arising from the miners' dispute. The Government have made it clear that they would not wish to discourage any employer from using the legal rememdies which are now available as a result of the employment legislation. Action under these provisions must, however, be a matter for the judgment of the particular management concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information he has about categories of manufactured goods which were made in the United Kingdom in 1972 and which are no longer manufactured in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

Techological change and trends in fashion ensure that there is a constant stream of products becoming outmoded, outdated or unprofitable, but there is no central register which would provide a list of these. The same forces ensure the development of new products based upon the exploitation of new materials, and techniques and this has led over recent years to the introduction of such items as fibre-optic cables, home micro-computers, video cassettes and recorders, and many more.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what arrangements the Government are making to help secure consistency when responsibility for trading standards and related functions is devolved to the districts, as indicated in paragraph 2.13.1 of the paper placed in the Library by the Secretary of State for the Environment on 31 July.

The White Paper "Streamlining the Cities" (Cmnd. 9063) proposed that, on abolition of i.he metropolitan county councils, responsibility for trading standards and related functions should be devolved to the district councils, but stressed the importance of consistent standards of enforcement across each metropolitan county. This point was emphasised in responses to consultation.In the more detailed document on transfer of functions published in July, the Government said that they were considering what measures might be appropriate to help secure such consistent standards of enforcement. They have now decided to include in the Local Government Bill a provision requiring the district councils in each metropolitan county to set up a committee whose function it will be to seek to co-ordinate enforcement and the use of specialist staff and facilities employed on enforcement work.My right hon. Friend hopes that these committees will be instrumental in:

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the review committee responsible for assessing the performance payments due to Lazard Frères of New York in respect of Mr. Ian MacGregor's chairmanship of the British Steel Corporation has reached a decision on the first performance payment.

The Government and Lazard Frères of New York have agreed to defer any decision on the first performance payment. The review committee has therefore been asked to defer its decision on the first payment until the same time as its decision on the second payment, which is due to be made next year, after BSC's results to end-March 1985 are known.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what consideration will be given to the provision of an information technology centre for Welwyn Hatfield district.

The Government have agreed the setting up of a total of 175 information technology centres funded jointly by the Manpower Services Commission and the Department of Trade and Industry over the period 1981 to 1985. Sites have been found for all 175 centres in the programme and no further applications can therefore be considered.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list, by postal code district, the latest unemployment figures within the Dunfermline and Kirkcaldy travel-to-work areas; and if he will show for each postal code district the change in unemployment over the preceding 12-month period.

Information by post-code sector is not available for the recently redefined travel-to-work areas of Dunfermline and Kirkcaldy. The following table shows the number of unemployed claimants by post-code sector for each of the jobcentre areas which formerly comprised the travel-to-work areas of Dunfermline and Kirkcaldy at 11 October 1984, the latest date for which information is available, and the change they represent compared with the figures at the corresponding date last year.

Dunfermline travel-to-work area
	Unemployed claimants	Change
Cowdenbeath
KY 4 0	453	+65
KY 4 8	347	+36
KY 4 9	592	+95
KY 5 0	562	-6
KY 5 8	708	+90
KY 5 9	483	+79
KY13 7	312	+48
Total	3,457	+407
Dunfermline
KY11 1	390	+34
KY11 2	579	+70
KY11 3	193	+56
KY11 4	1,017	+50
KY11 5	406	+78
KY12 0	393	+60
KY12 7	192	+15
KY12 8	514	+49
KY12 9	610	+55
Total	4,294	+467

Kirkcaldy travel-to-work area
	Unemployed claimants	Change
Glenrothes
KY 6 1	403	+16
KY 6 2	638	-24
KY 6.3	258	+34
KY 7 4	630	-28
KY 7 5	311	+2
KY 7 6	562	+ 16
Total	2,802	+ 16
Kirkcaldy
KY 1 1	3%	+ 1
KY 1 2	537	+46
KY 1 3	478	+97
KY 2 5	619	-1
KY 2 6	1,185	+36
KY 3 0	256	+9
KY 3 9	301	+ 35
Total	3,772	+223
Leven
KY 1 4	272	+ 1
KY 8 1	380	-25
KY 8 2	558	-34
KY 8 3	525	+46
KY 8 4	435	+32
KY 8 5	724	-39

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he will take to overcome the problems of exporting United Kingdom butter to West Germany.

The basic problem is that the Federal Republic of Germany requires official veterinary certification on matters outside the knowledge of our state veterinary service. We are pressing the German authorities to adopt a different approach.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many tonnes, at what public cost and for what reason, of potatoes have been spoilt with dye to make them unfit for human consumption in 1984 and in each of the preceding four years.

The Agriculture Act 1957 empowers the Government to provide potato producers in the United Kingdom with guaranteed prices or assured markets.No separate payments are made to the Potato Marketing Board for potatoes disposed of for stockfeed. The quantities of potatoes so disposed of as part of the guarantee arrangements during the crop years 1980–84, and the total public expenditure cost of market support, are as follows:

Crop Year	'000 tonnes	£ million
1980	496	15·7
1981	—	—
1982	224	*8·0
1983	—	—
1984	†10	—
* Including loans of £5·9 million.
† To 9 November 1984.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the outcome of the Agriculture Council meeting held in Brussels on 12 and 13 November.

[pursuant to his reply, 14 November 1984, c. 295]: I am now in a position to make a further statement about the collection of milk supplementary levy. I understand that the Commission has now decided to extend by 10 days the time allowed for the first levy payment, so that it would have more time to consider what to do. In the meantime, the intervention board will not be calling for the payment of levy. I understand that the Milk Marketing Board for Northern Ireland will be making its November payments to producers without any levy deductions.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the latest estimated total cost of the Trident project.

I have nothing to add to the answer which my right hon. Friend gave to the hon. Members for Gainsborough and Horncastle (Mr. Leigh) and Wells (Mr. Heathcoat-Amory) on 13 November, at c. 520–21.

asked the Prime Minister if she will make a statement outlining Government proposals for International Youth Year.

The Government are directly supporting International Youth Year by grant aiding the co-ordinating committees in the United Kingdom. Many other activities in Government programmes have relevance to the objectives of the year, including existing grants in connection with youth participation, and support of a visit of 250 young people from 22 Europen countries.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the meeting of the European Community Finance Council in Brussels on 12 November.

I refer my hon. Friend to the statement made by my hon. Friend the Economic Secretary in reply to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham, West (Mr. Maples) on 14 November at c. 350. I have placed copies of the Council's common position on the measures necessary to guarantee the effective application of budgetary discipline in the Library of the House.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what information he has as to which of the books seized from Gay's the Word bookshop and kept by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise are obtainable in other bookshops and public libraries;(2) how many of the books seized from Gay's the Word bookshop and kept by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise have been the subject of prosecutions under the Obscene Publications Act;(3) how many officers of Her Majesty's Customs and Excise were involved in the raids connected with Gay's the Word bookshop; and how many have been involved in reading the books;

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the estimated value added tax yield on British Standard Institute approved standard of hard riding hats in the latest year for which figures are available.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the present rate of growth of the gross national product of Wales; and how this compares with the figure for the United Kingdom as a whole.

The latest available estimates of gross domestic product at current prices for Wales and comparative figures for the United Kingdom are:

£ million
	Wales	United Kingdom
1978	6,242	146,962
1979	7,115	170,174
1980	8,085	198,440
1981	8,580	214,793
1982	9,131	232,503

Regional estimates are made in current prices only. Care should therefore be taken in comparing the derived growth rates from the above figures, because they include the effect both of price rises and of changes in real output.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what activities of hotels are categorised as non-trading for tax purposes;(2) what activities of guest houses are categorised as non-trading for tax purposes;(3) what activities of boarding houses are categorised as non-trading for tax purposes.

[pursuant to the reply, 15 November 1984, c. 351]: None as such. I can assure the right hon Member that hotels, boarding houses and guest houses within the generally understood meaning of these terms are likely to be trading. But it is the nature of the activity and. not the description of the establishment that determines the tax treatment.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the extent of over-funding or under-funding for each quarter since the beginning of 1982; what have been the total sales of commercial bills for each quarter over the same period; and what has been the sterling index, the level of industrial production and the level of real wages for each quarter over the same period.

[pursuant to his reply, 12 November 1984, c. 90]: Under and over funding can be defined in a number of different ways. Quarterly data on the PSBR and purchases of public sector debt by the United Kingdom private sector (other than banks) and the external finance of the public sector are in table 11.3 of the September Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin.Data for total sales of commercial bills are not available. Table 5 of the September 1984

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will set out in the Official Report a précis of his reasons for rejecting proposals put forward by local education authorities to close and amalgamate secondary schools pursuant to the Education Act 1980.

In the limited number of cases where my right hon. Friend or his predecessor have rejected proposals made by local education authorities pursuant to the Education Act to close or amalgamate secondary schools it was only after most careful consideration of all the relevant financial, educational and other factors. As I explained to the right hon. Member in reply to his earlier question on 12 November 1984 at column 62, among the reasons for rejection were that the proposals were not in their view in accord with their policies set out in circulars 2/80, 2/81 and 4/82, copies of which I am sending to the right hon. Member. Proposals that have been rejected have failed to take account of the general policies of my right hon. Friend and his predecessor on the curriculum and examinations, and sustaining a balance between the county and voluntary sectors, appropriate to each area, or of their particular policies of not normally approving proposals that would lead to closure or significant change of character of schools with sixth forms of proven worth; or of the need to pay particular regard to parental preference on religious or other grounds for maintaining opportunities for single sex education. Most of the proposals listed in my previous answer were rejected for one or more of these reasons and, according to the circumstances of the case, decisions may also have been influenced by factors such as the inadequacy of consultation or the extent to which amalgamated schools would have been housed in split site premises that were judged unacceptable because of particular educational and organisational difficulties that would have arisen.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what slice of gross residual income will be required to cover the parental contribution in 1985 for parents with combined gross residual incomes of £26,000, £25,000, £24,000, £23,000, £22,000, £21,000, £20,000, £19,000, £18,000, £17,000, £16,000, £15,000, £14,000, £13,000, £12,000, £11,000 and £10,000, allowing for a normal pattern of taxation and national insurance payments for parents taxed jointly with none, one, two or three additional dependent children.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply which my right hon. Friend gave to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing, North (Mr. Greenway) on 14 November 1984 at columns 238–39. The Department does not collect information on the tax and national insurance payments of the parents of mandatory award holders. The assessed parental contributions in 1985–86 for families with no other dependent children will be as follows:

Residual Income £	Assessed Parental Contribution £	Per cent.
10,000	291	2·9
11,000	474	4·3
12,000	674	5·6
13,000	874	6·7
14,000	1,074	7·7
15,000	1,274	8·5
16,000	1,524	9·5
17,000	1,774	10·4
18,000	2,024	11·2
19,000	2,274	12·0
20,000	2,524	12·6
21,000	2,774	13·2
22,000	3,024	13·7
23,000	3,274	14·2
24,000	3,524	14·7
25,000	3,774	15·1
26,000	4,000	15·4

The contribution payable in each case may be less than the amounts shown in the scale, particularly at its top end. This will depend on the amount of the award (maintenance and fees) towards which the contribution has to be made and whether any of the assessed contribution is offset by allowances for other dependent children.Decisions have not yet been taken on the level of deductions from parental contributions in 1985–86 in respect of other dependent children in the family.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement about the Government's proposals for the administration and servicing of the outstanding debt of the Greater London council and the metropolitan county councils if those councils are abolished.

We have taken account of representations received on our White Paper "Streamlining the Cities" (Cmnd. 9063), and our present proposals differ in several respects.We said in the White Paper that it is not possible to construct an equitable basis for distributing the external debt of the authorities to be abolished between successor bodies and that administration of the external debt would therefore need to remain the responsibility of a single administering body in each area. There may be some exceptions to that, for which we shall make provision if appropriate, but for the most part we hold to that view. The proposal in the White Paper was that that single body should be a lead district in each metropolitan area but a specially constituted residuary body in Greater London. We have subsequently announced that we intend to establish residuary bodies for each area, though outside London it will still be possible for a lead district to take on the debt function from the outset if all the authorities concerned agree.The White paper said that the guiding principle for servicing the debt would be that responsibility for making sufficient payments to the body administering the debt should be transferred with the asset to which the debt relates. This was the principle followed in the reorganisation carried out under the Local Government Act 1972. On further reflection, however, we believe that it would be very complicated to make such arrangemens in the present case, since there is no single body which is the main successor to each of the outgoing authorities.We therefore now propose a different approach, which we believe will be as equitable as an asset-based attribution could be whilst being considerably simpler to arrange. The system would be as follows.Debt servicing arrangements for assets already transferred, notably former GLC housing, would continue unchanged and would also be applied to analogous transfers made at the time of abolition.All remaining external debt managed by the administering body would be viewed as a single sum, for which a repayment period would be calculated equal to the average of the repayment periods of all the individual amounts of debt constituting the sum. Responsibility for servicing various tranches of this sum would be attributed in three ways.First, tranches would be earmarked as being associated with the loans, including house purchase advances, made by the authority being abolished. Bodies inheriting the outgoing authority's rights and liabilities in relation to such loans — including in appropriate cases the debt administering body itself—would be required to service an amount of debt equal to the amount outstanding at the time of abolition on the loans transferred to it.Second, a tranche would be attributed where appropriate to the new single service authorities which are to be established on abolition. This would in each case reflect the amount of debt outstanding against the service in question at 31 March 1983, the end of the financial year immediately prior to the announcement of the Government's intention to abolish the authorities concerned, adjusted to take account of repayments and of new borrowing for capital expenditure on that service from that date to the date of abolition.Third, responsibility for servicing the residue of the sum would be attributed to the boroughs or districts in each area pro-rata to the population at a specified date as close as possible to the date of abolition.The foregoing arrangements are concerned with external debt. In some of the authorities to be abolished there will also be debt to internal capital funds. The White Paper proposed that such debt would be extinguished at abolition. This is still our proposal. There is no corresponding external debt, and therefore no need for the successor authorities to make contributions to the debt administering body on account of such debt.We are very conscious of the importance of securing the interests of lenders. Under existing arrangements, all loan debt is an equal charge on the revenues of the borrowing authority. This situation will be preserved after abolition. We propose that the external debt shall be a charge on the revenues of the body administering it, while the bodies responsible for servicing the debt will be treated for the purposes of the charge on their revenues as if they had borrowed the sums involved from the administering body. In this way I believe that lenders may have confidence that their interests will be unaffected.I shall be writing today to the local authority associations inviting them to comment on these proposals before final decisions are taken.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what arrangements are proposed to maintain the existing Greater London council and metropolitan county council central data bases after the abolition of those councils.

The GLC and metropolitan county councils have provided focal points for the collection and assembly of data on a wide range of topics which have been drawn on by various other bodies. It is envisaged that the borough and metropolitan district councils will need to continue to collect, and have access to, at least some of this information on a consistent London or country-wide basis to support the proper exercise of their enhanced functions.To facilitate this we intend that the Local Government Bill should provide new powers for each borough or district council to assist in the collection of information on matters concerning part or the whole of the metropolitan area. In addition, where a two thirds majority of the borough or district councils in an area decide that specific information needs to be collected, each council will have a duty to collect the information and to provide it to any other borough or district or appropriate Minister on request. Finally, if any council fails to co-operate in the collection of this information there will be powers for another borough or district, subject to the agreement of the two thirds majority, to collect the information and to recover the costs from the defaulting authority.These measures will ensure that the successor authorities are able to co-operate to maintain the London or county-wide coverage of those existing GLC and MCC data bases which they consider necessary. This will be particularly important in the field of highways and traffic management, where the Department of Transport has similar data needs, as well as land-use planning. In London it is envisaged that the London Planning Commission will also have a useful role to play in the collection and analysis of information on matters affecting London as a whole.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what arrangements will be made to ensure continued running of services provided by the Greater London council and metropolitan county councils under general powers in the event of abolition.

The Local Government Bill will provide for the transfer of specific statutory functions of the GLC and MCCs to the borough and district councils, or to other bodies. It will not, however, deal with general powers which are available, under existing legislation, to both county and district councils, or to both the GLC and the London borough councils.Both the White Paper (Cmnd. 9063) and the more detailed paper about our proposals which we published in July referred to a number of activities of the GLC/MCCs under each power. We indicated that it would be for the successor bodies to decide how best to obtain these services for themselves. However, we suggested that they might consider joint arrangements where these would be efficient in the use of specialist staff and facilities. We have also said that there might be a role for the residuary bodies in maintaining some services of this kind for their own use and, on a repayment basis, as a service to others.In the course of consultations on our proposals a number of these services have been suggested as suitable for retention as units, including central purchasing, scientific services, including county analysts' laboratories, general purpose computing and information facilities and systems, derelict land reclamation teams, and the GLC's specialist housing repair and improvement teams.We remain convinced that decisions on the future of these services should properly be taken by the borough/district councils, and where appropriate other successor bodies. The Department of the Environment will, however, be prepared to use its good offices in considering how best worthwhile work of this kind might be maintained if there is a demand for this from the successor bodies. If permanent arrangements cannot be made in good time we envisage that the residuary bodies could maintain the existing services for a transitional period. In any event we expect that the ownership and operation of general-purpose computers will initially need to be transferred to the residuary bodies.It will, of course, be essential, if the Department is to be able to help in this way, that the GLC/MCCs should authorise the officers responsible for these services to provide information to, and to enter into discussion with, the Department.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will outline the parameters of the proposed study of the local government system of finance; and if he will make a statement.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Woolwich (Mr. Cartwright) on 26 October 1984 at column 747.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many changes there have been to the grant structure of local government finance since 1959.

There have been two major changes since 1959. The first was made in the Local Government Act 1966, which was amended by the Local Government Act 1974 to take account of the re-organisation of local government in that year. The second was made in the Local Government Planning and Land Act 1980.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment in what way he has been told by Brent borough council that it is its intention to tailor its expenditure to live within the limits he has set; and what information he has as to how the council took such a decision.

I was informed by the leader of Brent council in a letter dated 13 August 1984 that it was the intention of the Conservative minority administration to keep within the expenditure limit which I have set for 1985–86.I have no further information.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he proposes to issue to the local authority associations consultation papers on housing subsidy for 1985–86.

My right hon. Friends the Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Wales have issued consultation papers today. The first concerns the Government's proposals for calculating the increase which local authorities will be expected to find from local sources in arriving at their entitlement to housing subsidy for 1985–86. The second concerns the amount of management and maintenance expenditure to be treated as reckonable for housing subsidy purposes in 1985–86. Copies of the papers have been placed in the Vote Office and in the Libraries of both Houses.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has received the report of the investigation which he set up into the failure during the construction of the embankment dam at Carsington; and what action he proposes to take.

I have placed in the Library copies of a first report by Mr. R. E. Coxon, BSc, DIC, FICE, on the failure of the Carsington embankment.Mr. Coxon's interim conclusions include the following:

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what further consideration he has given to the grant-related expenditure methodologies for the arts; what further consideration he intends to give; and if he will make a statement.

I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Minister for the Arts.Grant-related expenditure methodologies generally are kept under regular review as part of the preparations for the annual rate support grant settlements. Detailed studies of the GRE methodology for the library service are continuing, and it is proposed similarly to examine the museum service GRE shortly. There is no separate GRE for other arts expenditure at present. As regards the possibility of developments in that respect, I refer the hon. Member to the reply sent by my right hon. and noble

	Unemployment benefit plus child benefit		Supplementary benefit including child benefit
	November 1983 £	November 1984 £	November 1983 £	November 1984 £
Couple plus 2 children (1 over 11, 1 under 11)	57·05	59·70	66·35	69·50
Couple plus 4 children (2 over 11, 2 under 11)	70·35	73·40	89·20	93·45
Couple plus 5 children (2 over 11, 3 under 11)	77·00	80·25	98·35	103·05

For a family with more than five children, unemployment benefit currently increases by 15p per child, but the child dependency addition will be abolished from 26 November 1984. For supplementary benefit, the rates increase by £9·60 (from 26 November) for each child under 11 and £13·70 or £14·35 respectively for each child aged 11 to 15.Housing benefit may also be payable to assist with rent and rates: supplementary benefit recipients would generally have these housing costs met in full; for other claimants the amount of help would depend on the level of their rent and rates, the size and composition of the household and the amount of other income.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he intends to make changes in the housing benefit scheme.

After the changes announced earlier in the year—including the high rent scheme changes—the Government do not intend to make any changes of substance in the housing benefit scheme pending the outcome of the independent review of the scheme.The November changes include a special increase of 50p in the child's needs allowance which, with the normal up-rating increase, will raise it from £11·95 to £12·85 and make it a higher proportion of a married couple's basic needs allowance than ever before; but we will not be proceeding in advance of the review with the further increase of £1 previously proposed for April 1985.We are, however, proposing to close an unintended loophole in the Housing Benefit Regulations which allows a grown-up son or daughter living at home to receive a rent allowance for the rent element of any board and lodging payment made to his or her parents. People living in their family's household have never been regarded as having any liability for rent or rates in their own right; and neither Friend the Minister for the Arts to the Chairman of the Education Science and Arts Select Committee on 31 July last.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the average amount of total benefit paid to unemployed persons with a spouse and (a) two children, (b) four children and (c) five children and over.

Information in the form requested is not available. However, the table gives the standard rates of unemployment benefit plus child benefit at the rate of £6·50 per child (£6·85 from November 1984) and equivalent supplementary benefit rates for those whose resources are not otherwise sufficient.housing benefit nor the earlier rent allowance scheme were intended to give help with payments made by non-dependents for their keep. We are consulting the local authority associations and the Social Security Advisory Committee about amending regulations my right hon. Friend intends to lay before the House in the near future to remedy this defect.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) in what circumstances housing benefit supplement can be backdated to 1 April 1983;(2) if he has any information on the backlog at local authorities and offices of his Department of unidentified housing benefit supplement cases.

Housing benefit supplement is a special payment of supplementary benefit and in order to qualify for it a person must first claim supplementary benefit. If a person fails to qualify for supplementary benefit because his income exceeds his supplementary benefit requirements the local DHSS Office automatically notifies the local authority of the amount in excess. The local authority then pay housing benefit supplement to meet the difference between the excess income and the amount of rent and rates not met by normal housing benefit.I am not aware of any backlog of claims awaiting action by either local authorities or local offices.Housing benefit supplement will only be backdated to 1 April 1983 if the claimant can show that he had good cause for his failure to make an earlier claim for supplementary benefit.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the estimated take-up of housing benefit supplement.

Information on the take-up of housing benefit supplement is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people are estimated to be eligible for housing benefit supplement.

The Department estimated in 1983 that about 460,000 claimants then receiving rent rebate and allowance and rate rebate or supplementary benefit would be eligible for housing benefit supplement.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list his powers and responsibilities regarding the identification of those eligible for the compensatory benefit housing benefit supplement.

My right hon. Friend has no specific legal powers or responsibilities in this area. However, a supplementary benefit claimant who fails, or ceases on income grounds to qualify for supplementary benefit, but otherwise meets the conditions of entitlement, is automatically sent a claim form for standard housing benefit. The form indicates the amount by which the claimant's income exceeds his assessed supplementary benefit requirements; this enables the local authority to calculate housing benefit supplement entitlement. The Department has also issued guidelines which enable local authorities to identify most claimants over pensionable age entitled to supplementary benefit or housing benefit supplement.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) who will have access to the list of those de-registered as proprietors of residential nursing homes;(2) if he will include in the list of individuals who have been de-registered as proprietors of residential care homes an indication of those people who have worked in those homes;(3) if he will include in a list of those persons who have been de-registered as proprietors of residential homes those people who as individuals have been deemed unfit to work in such homes;(4) if information on people de-registered as proprietors of residential homes, those who worked in such homes and those deemed unfit to work in such homes will be collected centrally;(5) if he will put a register of those de-registered as proprietors of residential care homes, those deemed unfit to work in residential care homes and those who have worked in de-registered residential care homes on computer and make immediate access to the information available to local authorities;(6) how frequently he intends that a list of those individuals who have been de-registered as proprietors of residential care homes will be updated;(7) what information he will include in the list of individuals who have been de-registered as proporietors of residential care homes;(8) if he will publish details of his plans to establish a list of individuals who have been de-registered as proprietors of residential care homes.

Information about the national list of cancelled homes registrations and its operation was set out for local authorities in the guidance notes forwarded with local authority circular LAC(84)15 and for district health authorities in health circular HC(84)21; copies of both of which are in the Library. The list will be issued quarterly from next April to registration authorities. It will be prepared by a computer and the Department would be prepared to consider a proposal from any authority that wished to arrange access to the computer. Apart from information held under the children's consultancy service, it is not proposed to collect centrally information about the staff of homes in relation to which a registration has been cancelled.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will increase the meals allowance element in the board and lodging payment in line with the recent increase in the supplementary benefit meals allowance.

Boarders who claim supplementary benefit are eligible for an amount to enable them to meet the cost of their board, and to meals allowances for any meals that are not provided, subject to a locally determined limit which is intended to reflect a reasonable charge for full board and lodging in the area concerned.If a charge for full board is increased to reflect an increase in the cost of meals, the supplementary benefit payable can also be increased provided that the total charge remains within the local limit. Similarly, when the meals allowances are uprated on 26 November, claimants with part board will receive this increase provided that the total of their charge and the meals allowances remains within the local limit.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what were the average numbers of weekly payments for board and lodgings in Scotland since 1980 for tiers i, ii and iii;(2) what were the average numbers of weekly payments for board and lodgings in Scotland for each individual tier for November to March 1980 to 1984 and April to September 1984.

I shall let the hon. Member have the available data as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many supplementary benefit appeals have been heard in Scotland on the subject of furniture grants since 1980; and what was the outcome in each case.

The information available is as follows:

Appeals relating to claims for single payments for household expenses*
Year	Number of appeals heard	Number of successful appeals
1980†	2,966	941
1981	1,485	408
1982	1,152	253
1983	1,726	428
* The description "household expenses" includes items such as carpets, curtains and crockery.
† Statistics for 1980 relate only to the total number of appeals about exceptional needs payments (now known as single payments.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will update to the latest date for which figures are available his answer on 30 June 1983, Official Report, column 141, information on the total number of single payments made; and if he will produce a table showing a breakdown of these figures by items covered and by type of claimant.

The information given by my hon. Friend, the Member for Brent, North (Dr. Boyson) in his reply to the hon. Member for Barking (Ms. Richardson) on 30 June 1983 at column 141–42 was obtained from the "Annual Statistical Enquiries" for 1981 and 1982. Comparable figures from the 1983 enquiry are not yet available. However, the final figures for 1982, including a breakdown of payments made by items covered and by type of claimant, are given in tables 19.2 and 19.3 of the "Annual Statistical Enquiry 1982", a copy of which is in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many single payments were made for clothes in the latest year for which figures are now available; and what was the average payment.

According to the "Annual Statistical Enquiry" conducted in December 1982, about 75,000 single payments of supplementary benefit were made for clothing and footwear in 1982 — the latest year for which figures are available. The average payment was about £39. Because the figures relate to single payments made during the 12 months preceding the date of the enquiry to people still in receipt of supplementary benefit at the time if the enquiry, they are an under estimate of the total number of single payments made during the year.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what would be the annual savings in public spending in (a) benefit year 1983–84 and (b) benefit year 1984–85 if all claimants of supplementary benefit were on the short-term rate.

The estimates requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he has any plans to introduce screening for sickle cell anaemia as a matter of routine post natal testing.

We fully accept the need for screening facilities but the local organisation of a screening programme must be a matter for individual health authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will make a statement of the next stages of the work of the social security review teams following the public hearings;(2) if he will publish a list of the Government Departments which have given evidence or made representations to the social security reviews, either to individual review teams or to the reviews generally;(3) if he will list the Departments represented on the social security review teams;(4) how many meetings, in addition to the formal hearings, have been held by each of the social security review teams;

I shall let the hon. Member have replies as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will estimate the numbers of items prescribed by doctors which are not dispensed over the last recently-available period.

The information requested is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will conduct a survey into the reasons why items prescribed by doctors are not dispensed by chemists.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will estimate the proportion of items prescribed by doctors which cost less than £1·80.

The precise information requested is not available. However, in England in 1983, the latest year for which information is available, 40·9 per cent. of prescriptions written by general practitioners and dispensed by chemists and appliance contractors had a net ingredient cost of less than £1·50. A further 9·1 per cent. had a net ingredient cost between £1·50 and £1·99.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many pensioners would cease to be entitled to supplementary pensions if (a) additional requirements for heating and (b) other additional requirements were abolished.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will update table 34.45 of the "Social Security Statistics" to the latest date for which figures are available.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will update for 1983, or the latest date for which figures are now available, table 34/97 of the "Social Security Statistics".

The information requested is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what would be the annual savings in child benefit if the full rate were restricted to families whose joint income is less than £120 a week and if a taper of (a) 10 per cent., (b) 20 per cent., (c) 30 per cent., and (d) 50 per cent., were introduced above that figure; and if he will publish a table showing how many families would lose (i) £1 or less, (ii) £1-£2, (iii) £2-£3 and (iv) £3 or more weekly;(2) what would be the annual savings in child benefit if the full rate were restricted to families whose joint income is less than £180 a week and if a taper of

This information is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he intends to amend the residence test for pensioners over the age of 80 years.

An amendment to the Social Security (Widow's Benefit and Retirement Pensions) Regulations was laid before the House on 5 November. The amending regulations provide that with effect from 26 November 1984 periods of residence in Great Britain after age 80 may be taken into account for satisfaction of the 10 years residence test for non-contributory retirement pension. The amending regulations also provide that a person who failed to satisfy the former residence condition may have his entitlement reconsidered under the new condition from 26 November. Arrangements will be made as soon as possible to identify those existing pensioners who may qualify under the new arrangements and local social security offices will be pleased to deal with individual inquiries from potential beneficiaries.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what advice or assistance his Department provides to parents whose children have been taken from their custody to locations beyond the jurisdiction of United Kingdom courts.

Parents are advised that in the absence of any amicable settlement their only recourse is to take legal advice in the country where the children have been taken.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he proposes to take to report to Parliament on the proceedings and conclusions of the committee of inquiry into aspects of the external services of the BBC.

The report of the team appointed to review the BBC external services was submitted simultaneously to my right hon. and learned Friend and to the chairman of the BBC's board of governors, at whose invitation the review was made, on 9 November. They are considering action on it.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has made any representations to the Turkish Government concerning their incursions into Iraqi territories.

We understand that the Turkish operations were conducted in hot pursuit of armed groups which had been responsible for the recent deaths of at least 18 members of the Turkish armed forces. As the Turks have acted with the prior agreement and approval of the Iraqi Government, we do not think there are any grounds on which we can intervene in what is essentially an agreed policy of two sovereign states.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs why the United Kingdom does not recognise North Korea as a state.

There are exceptional circumstances in Korea, arising in part from the involvement of the United Nations in the Korean question, which leads this Government, along with all previous Governments, to the view that recognition of North Korea as a state would not be appropriate.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will place in the Library a copy of the latest European Economic Community text based on the principles of budget discipline agreed by the European Council.

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Economic Secretary to the Treasury on 15 November at column 350, to my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham, West (Mr. Maples). A copy of the text of the Council's common position on budgetary discipline has now been placed in the Library of the House.