asked the Prime Minister when she expects the age participation rate for higher education to reach 22 per cent.

The number of students currently in higher education is an all-time record. Future projected demand based on final data for 1983–84 implies an age participation index rising to 15·5 per cent. in 1997, compared with 13·5 per cent. in 1983–84 and 12·6 per cent. in 1979–80. The public expenditure White Paper (Cmnd. 9428) reaffirms the Government's objective of maintaining access to higher education for those who want it and are suitably qualified.

asked the Prime Minister how many direct representations she has received concerning the Government's proposals to limit the drugs which doctors may prescribe on the National Health Service.

I have received about 600 such representations.

asked the Prime Minister if she will consider deferring the Government's decision to privatise British Airways for at least two years; if she will invite Lord King to remain as chairman and Mr. Colin Marshall to remain as chief executive; and if she will make a statement.

It remains the Government's policy to privatise British Airways as soon as practicable in the next financial year. The Government have every confidence in the present chairman and chief executive, and both their appointments cover this period.

asked the Prime Minister if she will pay a visit to the parish of Essendon.

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister whether she will seek to make an official visit to Damascus.

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister whether she proposes to transfer responsibility for the Industrial Air Pollution Inspectorate from the Health and Safety Executive to the Department of the Environment; and how many representations have been received on this issue.

I have at present no plans to do so. A number of representations on this issue have been received recently by my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Employment, Environment and for Wales; and by the chairman of the Health and Safety Commission.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 19 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 19 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 19 February.

This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others, including one with the TUC. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall be leaving for Washington this afternoon.

asked the Prime Minister how much money in cash terms the Government have made available to each local authority within the Greater Manchester county area in each year since 1979.

I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Stockport (Mr. Favell) on 28 January 1985, at columns 26–34.

asked the Prime Minister what steps Her Majesty's Government have taken to assess the impact of Government spending in Greater Manchester since 1979 on the quality of life of people who live there.

The impact and level of Government spending is kept under constant review.

asked the Prime Minister (1) pursuant to her answer of 15 February, if there has been a change in Her Majesty's Government's policy on the gradual termination of the production of plutonium for military purposes since the statement made by the then Prime Minister Lord Home of the Hirsel as he is now is, on 21 April 1964, Official Report, column 1098;(2) when she expects the production of plutonium for military purposes to be terminated finally as envisaged by the then Prime Minister on 21 April 1964,

There has been no change in Her Majesty's Government's policy on the production of plutonium for defence purposes, which is that it is kept at the minimum required to meet defence needs.Defence plutonium production was stopped for a period subsequent to the then Prime Minister's statement on 21 April 1964 and following the fulfilment of defence requirements. There has been one subsequent period of production in response to a further defence requirement. It would not be in the national interest to give details of future production of plutonium, which will be kept at the minimum level required to meet defence needs.

asked the Prime Minister if, in view of their departmental interests in the services provided by the Soil Survey of England and Wales, she will extend the joint Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Department of the Environment Committee considering its funding to include officials of the Ministry of Defence, Department of Education and Science and Welsh Office.

In my reply of 13 December at column 547, to my hon. Friend I made clear that I did not favour the idea of joint departmental funding. In the light of the decision announced by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on future funding by his Department, I believe the right way forward is for all potential customers, whether in the public or in the private sector, to examine their future needs and to consider whether the Soil Survey might undertake any work which is required.

asked the Prime Minister who authorised the statement made by Sir Ewen Broadbent concerning the Ponting case on the BBC 1 o'clock news on 15 February; and whether she was consulted or in any way involved in the decision that that statement should be made.

Sir Ewen Broadbent was approached by BBC Radio 4 on the morning of 15 February with a request for an interview about his involvement in the circumstances leading up to the decision to prosecute Mr. Ponting under section 2 of the Official Secrets Act. Sir Ewen Broadbent sought, and obtained, the agreement of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence to his taking part in this interview. I was not consulted about, nor involved in any way, in the handling of Sir Ewen's request.

asked the Prime Minister what is Her Majesty's Government's policy on the resolution, of the European Parliament (document 1–1544/83 (PE79.328/fin)) on the situation of gipsies in the community.

Her Majesty's Government have noted the resolution referred to by the hon. Member. Present policies remain unchanged.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the reduction in manufacturing output between (a) 1973 and 1983 and (b) 1979 and 1983, together with the smallest reduction over any period of 10 years and four years, respectively, in the period 1955 to 1973.

The information on changes in manufacturing output is as follows. In the period from 1955 to 1973, there were no reductions in manufacturing output over any 10 year or four-year span.

Changes in Manufacturing Output*
Year	per cent.
1973 to 1983	-15
1979 to 1983	-12
* Manufacturing is defined as divisions 2–4 of the Standard Industrial Classification (Revised 1980).

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action he is taking to deal with the problem of unauthorised private recording of copyright material.

A Green Paper, entitled "The Recording and Rental of Audio and Video Copyright Material", is to be published this afternoon. The paper examines in depth the problem of unauthorised home taping of copyright material and puts forward a possible solution. It also discusses the related issues of recording of broadcasts for educational purposes and rental of pre-recorded copyright material.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what further plans he has for changing the role and resources of the British Overseas Trade Board; what representations he has received on the subject; and if he will make a statement.

[pursuant to his reply, 15 February 1985, c. 304]: My right hon. Friend keeps under continual review all parts of his Department, including the BOTB. He has no present plans to change the role of the British Overseas Trade Board. The financial resources expected to be made available for the export promotion programme were included in the White Paper on public expenditure published in January 1985. The BOTB itself gave further details and made proposals for allocating its budget to individual schemes in a consultation document of 3 December 1984, which is available in the Library of the House. It has received a large response to the proposals and will take full account of the views expressed in deciding how best to use the funds available.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of the total planned reduction of £300 million in the cost of regional assistance is expected to occur in the Yorkshire and Humberside region.

[pursuant to his reply, 18 February 1985, c. 363–66]: Estimates of the reduction in expenditure on regional assistance are not available in respect of individual planning regions in England.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will broaden the definition of regional assisted areas eligible for European Economic Community tourism assistance to include both rural development areas and the textile industry and coal and steel industry restructuring areas.

[pursuant to his reply, 18 February 1985, c. 363]: Aid for eligible categories of tourism projects (which vary between areas) is available in all areas which receive national regional aid as defined in the regulation governing the application of the European regional development fund. In the United Kingdom this comprises all assisted areas, including the whole of Northern Ireland, certain small areas covered by the operations of the Highlands and Islands Development Board and the Development Board for Rural Wales, and some non-assisted areas in which ERDF non-quota schemes are in operation. As well as many rural development areas, this includes all the important coal, steel, shipbuilding and textile restructuring areas. In addition, special loan facilities are possible in coal and steel restructuring areas under arrangements made by the ECSC. Neither the ERDF regulation nor the ECSC schemes provide for a situation in which only EC tourism assistance can be made available in any area.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Newham, South of 23 October 1984, Official Report, columns 553–54, from the Minister for Housing and Construction, he will make a further statement concerning the progress made by the Building Research Establishment into Ronan Point and other Taylor-Woodrow-Anglia blocks.

The Building Research Establishment has examined reports prepared for the London borough of Newham by the Building Design partnership and Thomas Akroyd and for the Newham Tower Blocks Tenants' Association by Mr. Sam Webb. It has also made its own assessment of the structural behaviour of Ronan Point under the loads, both normal and abnormal, to which the building might be subjected. The BRE's report of its assessment will be published as soon as possible.The BRE concludes that, although Ronan Point has since 1968 carried all the loads, including high wind loads, to which it has been subjected and that these loads have approached the maximum which it might be expected to encounter, without showing any signs of distress, the ends of the H2 joints in the flank walls of the lower storeys of the building do not provide that wide margin of safety which is generally considered acceptable for buildings of this type.The BRE has considered the likely performance of Ronan Point under abnormal loads such as could be caused by an explosion or fire. Though explosion in any building may cause serious damage, the BRE concludes that, in view of the measures taken already to strengthen the building, the risk that an explosion could cause progressive collapse of Ronan Point, such as occurred in 1968, is remote, provided steps are taken to prevent the use of liquefied petroleum gas for heating. The BRE concludes that it is extremely unlikely that such collapse could be caused by fire.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether, in setting targets for local authorities and their grant-related expenditure, he takes account of the expenditure which those authorities which are designated under section 11 of the Caravan Sites Act 1968 may face.

The principles on which targets and GREs have been calculated are set out in the rate support grant report for each year. No separate account is taken of expenditure under that section.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he proposes to make, under section 24 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1971, a special development order for the geological examination of a site at Elstow in Bedfordshire.

The special development order will cover geological investigations both for Elstow and for at least two other sites which NIREX has been asked to select for consideration along with Elstow. It will be laid before Parliament as soon as possible after NIREX has announced the other sites it wishes to investigate.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the amount of available industrial land in the west midlands county council area.

This information is not collected by my Department. However, I understand that surveys by local authorities show that there are about 3·500 acres of vacant industrial land in the Black Country and a further 500 acres in Birmingham. Much of this land is not immediately available for development because of dereliction and other problems.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many representations he has received from those wishing to develop high technology industrial sites in the midlands; and if he will make a statement.

This information is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The Department's policy on high technology development is contained in the annex to circular 16/84.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will introduce legislation to abolish the structure plan system.

No, but in Greater London and the metropolitan counties it is proposed that structure and local plans should be replaced by unitary development plans.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the progress of the inquiry into the planning application at West Chellaston, Derby.

The report of the inspector who held the inquiry has been received and my right hon. Friend will issue his decision as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he proposes to ensure that only persons with adequate qualifications and experience are involved in making recommendations or issuing licences under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

Existing procedures ensure that advice is obtained from suitably qualified organisations or persons before any decision to issue a licence is reached, under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.General licences are issued only after consultation with the Department's statutory adviser, the Nature Conservancy Council.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many housing starts were reported by Leicester city council in each of the past five years.

The numbers of housing starts reported by Leicester city council for the years 1979 to 1983 appear in issues 53, 57, 65, 66 and 70, respectively, of "Local Housing Statistics", copies of which are available in the Library. Figures for January to September 1984 are in the latest issue No. 72.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received from any individual local authority, or local authority association, about difficulties encountered in implementing the Housing Defects Act fully; what steps he is taking to resolve those difficulties; and if he will make a statement.

My Department has received a number of representations from local authorities and the local authority associations about various aspects of the implementation of the Housing Defects Act 1984 which came into force on 1 December last. As I explained in my reply of 30 January, at columns 179–80, to my hon. Friend the Member for Eastleigh (Sir D. Price) we plan to consult the local authority associations on the arrangements being made by the National House Building Council to provide for approval of methods of repair and an associated warranty scheme for prefabricated reinforced concrete houses just as soon as those arrangements are finalized.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish in the Official Report the following information on sales of dwellings by each local authority in England up to September 1984 (a) the number of right-to-buy claims received since October 1980, (b) the number of right-to-buy claims admitted, (c) the number of right-to-buy sales completed, (d) the number of right-to-buy sales with a council mortgage, (e) the total number of sales, right-to-buy and voluntary, completed since April 1979, (f) the total number of sales of flats, right-to-buy and voluntary, completed since April 1979, (g) the total number of dwellings owned by each authority in April 1984 and (h) the total number of sales as a percentage of the total number of dwellings owned.

The information provided by local authorities and requested by my hon. Friend is contained in the table which I have placed in the Library today.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the sites of exploration for, and excavation of (a) oil, (b) gas and (c) coal in the Newark constituency.

Sites for the exploration of oil and gas are as follows. We do not differentiate between oil and gas sites before wells are drilled. Excavation of coal reserves is taking place in the Newark constituency at Bevercotes colliery and since the beginning of 1984 seven boreholes have been sunk in the constituency at the locations shown on the list. There are no NCB opencast activities in the constituency.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what was the average dollar price per barrel of oil from the North sea fields sold to the British National Oil Corporation in each month in 1984; and what was the price the British National Oil Corporation paid for it.

The average dollar price per barrel of oil purchase by the British National Oil Corporation under the participation agreements was $30·00 from 1 January to 17 October 1984 and $28·65 from then to the end of the year for Brent blend. (Prices for other grades were set at appropriate differentials varying between $1·00 less than Brent blend and $0·35 more than Brent blend). Prices paid for other oil, and prices received by BNOC in respect of its sales, are commercially confidential.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will give details of any details of any changes to his Department's cash limit.

[pursuant to his reply, 12 November 1984, c. 93]: Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimate, the cash limit on Class IV, Vote 5 will be increased by £20 million from £142,869,000 to £162,869,000.The increase represents provision for a further grant of £25 million to the British National Oil Corporation, the reasons for which were explained in the minute which my Department laid before the House on 13 February 1985.The corporation's external financing requirement for 1984–85 is revised from £41 million to £66 million. There are reduced requirements amounting to £5 million elsewhere on Class IV, Vote 5. The net increase of £20 million in public expenditure will be charged to the Reserve.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will estimate what effect a one megaton nuclear burst at a height of 300 miles would have on the equipment and resources in his care.

The resulting nuclear electromagnetic pulse would damage electronic and electrical equipment.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the change in real terms in the annual university funding between 1978–79 and 1984–85.

Recurrent grant to universities in Great Britain allocated by the University Grants Committee is estimated to have increased in 1983–84 cost terms by about 5 per cent. between the financial years 1978–79 and 1984–85, when adjusted to take account of the increases in grant to compensate for changes in the level of the undergraduate home tuition fee. The figures have not been adjusted to take account of other funding changes in this period.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is his policy towards the teaching of mathematics and science in the fourth and fifth forms of secondary schools.

We believe that mathematics and a broad and balanced course in science have an essential place in the curriculum of all pupils up to the age of 16.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science by what date within the next 12 months submissions must be made for consideration for inclusion in the list of church primary schools for capital works in the year 1987.

The Department will write to all local education authorities in June inviting them to submit details of their expenditure plans for 1986–87 for county and voluntary controlled schools, and to list projects submitted by the governors of voluntary aided and special agreement schools. Authorities will be asked to respond by late August so that the allocations for 1986–87 can be announced by the end of the year.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how much money has now been committed from the science budget for the research programme of the European Space Agency, and in which years; whether the total science budget has been increased to accommodate the additional expenditure; and which other areas of research have been cut.

At the Ministerial Council meeting of the European Space Agency held in January in Rome, which was attended by my hon. Friend the Minister for Information Technology, it was agreed that the budget of the agency's science programme would rise steadily from its 1984 level of 127 million accounting units to 162 million accounting units (at constant prices) by 1989. In 1984–85 the sum paid to the agency from the science budget, through the Science and Engineering Research Council, is estimated at £11·96 million. The size of the United Kingdom's contributions to the agency's increased science programme in 1985–86 and later years, and how those sums will be found, have yet to be determined.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the common services in his Department contracted out to private contractors.

The list is as follows:

• Most office and window cleaning
• Laundry
• Maintenance of vehicles
• Maintenance of computers and office machinery
• Maintenance of buildings for which my Department is responsible
• Out-of-hours security in the Darlington office
• The staff restaurant in the Darlington office
• Some provision of hospitality (buffet, lunches, etc.)
• Provision of typists, by private agencies
• Provision of telephonists for the Department's main office
• Periodic use of management consultants
• Computer bureaux and consultancy services
• Some external training
• Some graphic design work
• Some work on video production
• Some use of private carriers for the transit of material

In addition, the Department purchases services from other Government Departments (such as Her Majesty's Stationery Office, the Property Services Agency, and the Central Office of Information) which those Departments in turn often contract out to the private sector.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he next intends meeting representatives of the National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education to discuss the effects of the Government's expenditure plans on further and higher education.

My right hon. Friend has no plans to do so at present but he has frequently met representatives of the association in the past and is always ready to do so again.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many students were in full-time education in October 1979 and October 1984, respectively.

In 1983, the latest date for which information is available, there were 866,000 (full-time and sandwich) students at universities in Great Britain and further education establishments in England compared with 765,000 in 1979.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he will review the grants to medical students.

Grants to medical students are paid at the same rates and under the same conditions as for other mandatory award-holders. Rates of grant for the coming academic year 1985–86 will be announced as soon as practicable.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the level of grant paid to medical students.

Medical students' entitlement to grant is calculated in the same way as for other students. Students undertaking clinical medical training qualify for higher than average awards because of longer than standard terms.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he has recently held discussions with the teachers' representatives on the Burnham committee regarding teachers' pay and the industrial action of the teachers' unions.

No. Teachers' pay is a matter for the Burnham committee and not therefore one that I normally discuss with the teachers' unions.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what progress has been made in the negotiations on teachers' pay and conditions.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Southend, East (Mr. Taylor).

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the average teacher's salary at present; and how that compares, in cash terms and in real terms, with the average teacher's salary for 1978–79.

The average salary (excluding allowances) of full-time teachers in maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools in England and Wales at 1 April 1979 was approximately £5,400. The average at 1 April 1984 is some £9,650, an increase of about £4,250 or some 79 per cent. in cash terms. This represents an increase in real terms, measured against the rise in the retail price index over the same period, of about 9 per cent.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will indicate the latest position on the teachers' pay claim; and if he will make a statement.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the current teachers' pay negotiations.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the current position in negotiations on teachers' pay.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the teachers' pay dispute.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will make a statement on the negotiations over teachers' salaries.

I refer the hon. Members to the answer I gave earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Southend, East (Mr. Taylor).

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what measures have been taken to increase the supply of science and engineering graduates from polytechnics and universities.

The numbers of such graduates are being increased as a result of the information technology in higher education initiative, which I announced on 16 December 1982 at columns 187–89; the change in subject emphasis following the National Advisory Body's advice on academic planning in 1984–85; and through the invitation of the University Grants Committee to universities to admit additional students in science and technology in 1984–85 and 1985–86. The case for further measures is currently under review.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the Government's proposals for the recurrent grant to the universities.

The Government's expenditure plans (Cmnd. 9428) include provision for recurrent grant in cash terms by financial years of £1,280 million for 1985–86, £1,315 million for 1986–87 and £1,348 million for 1987–88. The figure for 1985–86 is subject to parliamentary approval and those for later years to review in future public expenditure surveys in the usual way.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the measures he is taking to improve professional standards in the teaching service.

The Government's policies were set out in the March 1983 White Paper "Teaching Quality." They include improvements in initial and in-service teacher training, measures to promote a better match between qualifications and the needs of schools, and the development of appraisal of teachers' performance.Action to improve initial teacher training has been taken through the issue of rigorous criteria for the assessment of courses and the establishment of the Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education to review all existing courses against the criteria. A scheme of Government grants to local education authorities to stimulate in-service teacher training in designated national priority areas has been introduced. Future arrangements for in-service training are currently under review in the light of recommendations from the Advisory Committee on the Supply and Education of Teachers. A research project has been commissioned to explore the approaches to performance appraisal, and resources are available for 1985–86 through education support grants to finance further research and development work by selected local education authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he last met leaders of teachers' organisations; and what was discussed.

I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave earlier today to the hon. Members for Newport, East (Mr. Hughes) and for Sheffield, Hillsborough (Mr. Flannery).

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects to announce his final decisions concerning university tenure.

My right hon. Friend announced on 1 August 1984 at column 268 the Government's decision to introduce, when the parliamentary timetable allows, legislation to limit academic tenure in the form in which if is granted in some universities. Detailed proposals for legislation will be brought forward in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the total expenditure on education in 1978–79 and 1984–85, both at 1984–85 prices.

The information is as follows:

	£ million—1984–85 cost prices
	1978–79	1984–85
Total expenditure on education	13,268	13,198

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information he has as to the number and proportion of full-time places in nursery education compared to part-time places.

In January 1984, there were 42,992 full-time pupils and 215,609 part-time pupils in maintained nursery schools and nursery classes of maintained primary schools in England. Full-time pupil numbers were just under 17 per cent. of the total.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the implications of the White Paper on public expenditure, for primary and secondary schools.

The Government's plans for local authority expenditure in 1985–86 and the later years allow authorities to develop and implement policies to provide a broad and balanced curriculum for pupils of all abilities in primary and secondary schools. In particular, provided that costs are contained and savings made where feasible, the plans permit a continuing modest improvement in pupil-teacher ratios and improved levels of expenditure per pupil on books and equipment, and on repairs and maintenance. The position will vary between authorities depending on factors such as their expenditure targets and their progress in taking out of use surplus places, and redeploying resources, as school rolls fall.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how the recent White Paper on public expenditure plans will affect research grants available to the Medical Research Council.

The White Paper on the Government's expenditure plans 1985–86 to 1987–88 (Cmnd. 9428) allow for a net increase in the funding of science through the Department's science budget, above previous projections, of £11 million in 1985–86 and £8 million in each of the two subsequent years. On 10 January my right hon. Friend announced, in the light of advice from the Advisory Board for Research Councils (ABRC), that in 1985–86 the Medical Research Council (MRC) is to receive a grant-in-aid from the science budget of £122·3 million, which represents an increase of £2·1 million over the previously published planning figure for that year. The MRC's grant-in-aid in 1986–87 will be decided by my right hon. Friend in the light of further advice from the ABRC in late 1985, and that for 1987–88 a year later. It is, however, for the MRC to decide on the distribution of its resources among the various modes of supporting research, of which research grants is one.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many representations he has received concerning the adequacy of the science research budget for 1985–86.

My right hon. Friend has received about 50 letters concerning the adequacy of the science budget for 1985–86.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what new measures he proposes to take in schools and colleges as a contribution to the prevention of the misuse of drugs by young people.

The Government attach great importance to combating this problem. I represent the Department on the interdepartmental ministerial group on the misuse of drugs. We have funded jointly with the Department of Health and Social Security a programme of market research to establish how a prevention campaign should be targeted. Further action is now in hand in several areas.

i. A contract is being negotiated with the National Foundation for Educational Research to undertake work to analyse and evaluate the types and level of activity by local education authorities in combating drug misuse.

ii. Further research work by the Health Education Council, in collaboration with others, for the preparation of suitable curriculum materials is being discussed.

iii. The Department is playing its part in the preparation of a training film for professionals.

A booklet of advice for teachers and others in the education service is being prepared by the Department. This will be sent to local education authorities with more general advice on how they can play their part in combating drug misuse.Further action is under consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what current proposals there are for the improvement of the standard of literacy and numeracy in schools.

The Government's policies are designed to secure improvements in the standards achieved by pupils of all abilities across the whole of the school curriculum. In English, Her Majesty's Inspectorate's paper "English from 5 to 16" (published in October 1984) sets out, for discussion, objectives to be reached by most pupils at the ages of seven, 11 and 16. In mathematics, measures taken in the three years since the Cockcroft report was published include dissemination of the report's findings; support from September 1985, under the education support grant scheme, for additional advisers and advisory teachers in almost all LEAs; the inclusion of mathematics in the in-service training grants scheme; and sponsorship of research and development work. The introduction of the GCSE examination will encourage further improvements in both subjects.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the total grant to British universities in 1979, at 1985 prices; and what it is for the current year.

Recurrent grant to universities in Great Britain by the University Grants Committee is estimated to have increased in 1983–84 cost terms from £1,022 million in the financial year 1978–79 to £1,074 million in the financial year 1984–85, when adjusted to take account of increases in the grant to compensate for changes in the level of the undergraduate home tuition fee. The figures have not been adjusted to take account of other funding changes in this period.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has had regarding grant levels for medical and dental students.

My right hon. Friend has received some 260 such representations since the increase of £2·80 in real terms in the extra weeks allowance payable to clinical medical and dental students and others was introduced on 1 September 1984.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the change in the number of under five-year-olds in education, both in absolute terms and as a percentage of the year group, from 1979 to date.

The number of pupils aged under five years in maintained nursery and primary schools in England has increased from 428,640 in January 1979 to 495,018 in 1984 — an increase of 66,378. The corresponding proportions of the under-five population are 37 per cent. and 42 per cent.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the effects of the current industrial action by certain teaching unions on pupils' education.

The National Union of Teachers has called on its members to refuse to supervise pupils at lunchtime, take part in any school activity out of timetabled school hours, handle school meals payments or stand in for absent colleagues. I understand that the effects of this action vary between and within local education authorities. While the disruption does not seem to have had a significant or widespread effect, I am very concerned that children's education should be subject to any interruption or uncertainty and I deplore the intention of the two largest teacher unions to cause further disruption by taking strike action from next week.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he last met members of the University Grants Committee; and what subjects were discussed.

My right hon. Friend last met the University Grants Committee on 1 November 1984 when a number of issues of current interest were discussed.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he issues any guidance about the proportion of pupils who go to grammar schools to those local education authorities where selection still takes place.

No. It is for local education authorities which retain selective secondary education to decide what criteria to adopt in considering whether pupils are suitable for admission to grammar schools. The proportion of pupils attending such schools will necessarily vary from time to time and place to place.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what reduction in expenditure will be required of the Open University in the period 1984 to 1986.

My right hon. Friend has not set an amount by which the university is required to reduce its expenditure. The university set itself a savings target of £13·2 million for the period which took into account reductions in grant, its own estimates of inflation and additional costs above inflation. The reduction in grant on a comparable basis, allowing for Government estimates of inflation, was £4·7 million. The university has the freedom to increase its income through higher fees.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how much is the maximum a student can earn during term time before his grant is reduced.

A maximum of £400 earned during term time in respect of any year.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will assist Iranian students who no longer receive grant aid from their Government and who are unable to return to Iran to continue their studies.

My right hon. Friend has no funds at his disposal from which such assistance could be given.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the change, in real terms, of education spending per secondary school pupil and primary school pupil since 1979.

The average net expenditure per pupil, in real terms, shows an increase of 14 per cent. for primary and 11 per cent. for secondary schools during the period from 1979–80 to 1982–83, the latest year for which complete data are available.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he supports the establishment of a General Teaching Council.

I am aware that there is support among teachers for legislation to establish a teaching council which would enable the profession to become more self-regulating, but so far the profession itself has been divided on substantial issues concerning the functions and composition of such a body. Before I could consider supporting the establishment of a council, I would need to receive proposals from the interested parties which commanded wide agreement, and which were designed to protect the interests of the consumer as much as those of the producer.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the implications of Cmnd. 9428 for local authority capital spending on education.

In the light of overspending on all services in 1983–84 there has been some reduction, as compared with previous plans, in provision for local authority capital spending on education for the years 1985–86 to 1987–88.Present plans should allow authorities to continue with policies for the removal of surplus school places and to give continuing priority to meeting equipment needs in local authority further and higher education.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the provision of funds for repairs to reorganised schools in the voluntary sector in Liverpool.

As the hon. Member is aware, my right hon. Friend regards repairs which are required to bring the newly established Roman Catholic secondary schools in Liverpool up to the requirements of the Education (School Premises) Regulations 1981 as an integral part of the work required to implement the proposals made under section 13 of the Education Act 1980 under which the schools were established. Such works are eligible for grant aid under section 1 of the Education Act 1967 and have to be met from within the annual allocation made for approved projects undertaken by the governors of voluntary aided and special agreement schools. An allocation of £2·08 million has been made for such projects in Liverpool in 1985–86, mostly for projects arising from Roman Catholic secondary reorganisation.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he is satisfied with procedures for appeal against school closures; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend is satisfied that the statutory procedures provide sufficient opportunity for the views of the proposers and of local objectors to be fully taken into account before proposals are decided. Advice on the operation of the procedures is set out in circulars 2/80 and 2/81, and most recently in administrative memorandum 4/84.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the total science budget for 1984–85; and how this compares, in cash terms and real terms, with the science budget for 1978–79.

The total science budget for 1984–85 is £550 million compared with £296 million for 1978–79. This represents an increase in cash terms of 86 per cent. or an increase in real terms of 4·5 per cent.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what discussions he has had with teachers' organisations about school attendances.

None recently. But the Department intends, in the very near future, to consult the local authority and teacher associations and other interested organisations about the issue of a circular on the role of the education welfare service and improved school attendance.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what action he is taking to harden vulnerable equipment in his charge against the effects of nuclear electromagnetic pulse.

This is a general issue which is being considered interdepartmentally.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the implications of Cmnd. 9428 for special education provision.

Provided cost increases can be contained the Government's plans provide, in the great majority of authorities in aggregate, for some improvement in the special school pupil-teacher ratio in 1985–86 compared with 1982–83, and for the level of non-teaching services per pupil to be maintained at the 1982–83 level.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the average length of time which teachers in primary schools have spent in training to teach computer skills.

Under the Department of Trade and Industry's micros in primary schools scheme, each school was supplied with a microcomputer, ancillary equipment and a self study pack designed to provide some 20 hours of instruction. A school was also required to provide two teachers for one or two days' training which was carried out by the LEA. Some teachers have also received additional training from their LEAs or from the microelectronics education programme primary unit. I regret, however, that it is not possible to supply a figure for average length of training overall.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps have been taken to establish the youth unit announced on 11 July 1984, Official Report, column 1036; and if he will make a statement.

I expect to make an announcement about this soon.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the implications of Cmnd. 9428 for scientific research.

The plans set out in Cmnd. 9428 include provision for an additional £45 million over the next three years for scientific research funded through the research councils, the Royal Society, and the Fellowship of Engineering; and through the University Grants Committee. The additional resources for the research councils and so on—£11 million in 1985–86 and £8 million in each of the two following years — will primarily be used for capital equipment, restructuring and to fund more top quality research proposals from universities. The advisory board for the research councils has said that the additional funds will broadly maintain the present level of funding for the science Vote in 1985–86.The additional resources for the universities — £4 million in 1985–86 and £7 million in each of the two following years—are to help to equip some of our most highly regarded university researchers to the highest standards.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on his Department's revisions of the estimates of student demand for places in higher education.

Revised projections of future demand for higher education based on final data for 1983–84 were contained in the letters that my right hon. Friend sent to the chairmen of the University Grants Committee and the National Advisory Body on 30 January. Copies have been placed in the Library. The revised projections are slightly higher than variant Y in "Report on Education 100."

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what recent discussions he has had with the University Grants Committee and the National Advisory Board with a view to closer collaboration in the planning of future higher education; and if he will make a statement.

In his published letters to the chairmen of the University Grants Committee and the National Advisory Body of 30 January my right hon. Friend has welcomed the continued development of co-operation between the two bodies and stressed its importance to the future planning of higher education.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what further representations he has received about the automatic membership of students' unions.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he has yet made a decision on whether to make membership of student unions voluntary.

Since I answered my hon. Friend the Member for Stirling (Mr. Forsyth) on 12 February at column 114, my right hon. Friend has continued to receive representations from hon. Members and student organisations. As I informed the House then, the Government propose to consult higher education interests about student unions. In reaching their decisions they will take into account the representations they have received.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what progress has been made in his proposals for an appraisal system for teachers; and if he will make a statement.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave earlier today to my hon. Friends the Members for Enfield, North (Mr. Eggar) and for Newbury (Mr. McNair-Wilson).

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the current average expenditure per secondary school pupil in English local authorities; what is the lowest figure; and what is the highest.

The average net expenditure in 1984–85 on a secondary school pupil in England is estimated to be £1,100. The range of costs is from £950 to £1,860.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will reconsider the education element of the 1985–86 prescribed capital expenditure to Leicestershire.

As I informed Parliament on 10 January at column 526 in reply to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Darlington (Mr. Fallon), I have retained a small reserve largely against the possibility of any local education authority being able to demonstrate that the reduction of the prescribed proportion of capital receipts will make it impossible to fulfil contractual or statutory obligations. It is open to Leicestershire to send me its case for assistance from this reserve.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the change in the number of polytechnic students over the last five years; and what are the forecast numbers for the next five years.

The total number of students in polytechnics in England and in each of the last five years was as follows:

Year November	Number
1979	199,500
1980	202,100
1981	213,600
1982	220,800
1983	231,900
1984*	237,800
* Provisional.

The national advisory body for public sector higher education has set targets for 1985–86 for advanced work only, which imply a 3·3 per cent. increase in full-time equivalent student numbers in polytechnics compared to 1984–85. Plans for subsequent years have yet to be determined.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the current level of provision of adult education classes.

In November 1983, course enrolments at local authority adult education and youth centres totalled 1,628,000; and there were 276,500 enrolments for courses provided by responsible bodies (university extra-mural departments and WEA districts) during the academic year 1982–83.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many students are now in universities and polytechnics; and how this figure compares with that for 1979.

In 1983, the latest date for which information is available, there were 558,000 full-time and part-time students at universities in Great Britain and polytechnics in England compared with 522,000 in 1979. These figures exclude the Open University and the university of Buckingham which do not come under the University Grants Committee.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many pupils have received free school meals in each of the past six years; and what proportion of the total school population these figures represent.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish (Mr. Bennett) on 30 January 1985, at column 191.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps have been taken to bring about greater consistency in police cautioning practices; and if he will make a statement.

In June 1984 my right hon. and learned Friend published a consultative document "Cautioning by the Police". This document contained a report of a working group of chief officers of police and Home Office officials; a draft circular and guidelines to chief officers on the cautioning of both juveniles and adults; and a summary of research conducted into police force cautioning policy and practice.The consultative document was given wide circulation, and comments on it were received from agencies and individuals working in the criminal justice field.The draft circular and guidelines have been revised in the light of comments received. The revised circular and guidelines were issued to chief officers of police yesterday. Copies have been placed in the Library of the House.We are grateful to chief officers of police for their cooperation in taking this work forward and to all the organisations and individuals who offered their observations on the consultative document. We look to the new guidelines to help bring about more consistent and effective cautioning practices and have asked Her Majesty's Inspectors of Constabulary to pay particular attention to this in their inspection of forces.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will seek the renewal of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1984; and if he will make a statement.

[pursuant to the reply, 15 February 1985, c. 296]: Copies of Sir Cyril Philips' report have been placed in the Library of the House and in the Vote Office. My right hon. and learned Friend will respond to it very shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what are the figures for major repairs to council housing in Wales from 1979 to date; and what is his estimate for the year 1985–86.

Information on expenditure on repairs alone is not available, but the following table gives the expenditure since 1979–80 by local authorities on conversions, repairs and improvements of housing revenue account stock carried out under section 105 of the Housing Act 1974. No estimates are available for 1985–86.

Year	Expenditure under Section 105
	£ million
1979–80	19·9
1980–81	22·2
1981–82	21·0
1982–83	47·3
1983–84*	48·3
1984–85†	44·5
* Provisional.
† Estimated from local authority forecasts made in October 1984.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the number of employment permits issued last year for employment in the catering industry and give the breakdown of permits by country.

The numbers of approvals granted under the main work permit scheme for employment in the catering industry in 1984 were as follows:

Country	Permits issued
Austria	3
Australia	1
Canada	3
China	1
Hong Kong	118
India	7
Japan	57
Jordan	1
Lebanon	2
Malta	1
Mauritius	1
North Korea	2
Norway	1
Pakistan	1
Portugal	1
South Africa	1
South Korea	1
Switzerland	5
Thailand	2
United States of America	33
Zambia	1
	243

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many skillcentre places will be lost in Lambeth, Waddon and Deptford as a result of the proposed skillcentre closure programme of the Manpower Services Commission; and if he will make a statement.

The Manpower Services Commission proposes to support training for around 4,400 adults in south-east London in 1985–86, compared with around 3,200 in 1984–85 and to increase provision further the following year. This will lead to a slight increase next year in the amount of training business commissioned from skillcentres in the area, with a further increase forecast for 1986–87.The skillcentre training agency's proposals in southeast London envisage retaining Deptford skillcentre, opening a new centre in Lambeth, and closing the skillcentre at Waddon, its annexe at Sydenham and the young persons training centre in Lambeth.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the change in numbers of people employed in each local authority area in Greater Manchester in each year since 1979.

The available information on employment in local areas is from the June 1978 and the following September 1981 census of employment. Net changes in the number of employees in employment in each local authority district in Greater Manchester in that period are as follows:

	Thousands
Bolton	-9·8
Bury	-4·7
Manchester	-22-5
Oldham	-16·6
Rochdale	-5·3
Salford	-15·4
Stockport	-2·2

Redundancies*confirmed as due to occur from 1979 to 1984 in the Greater Manchester area
Local Authority Area†	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	‡1984
Bolton	2,063	3,581	4,637	2,607	2,747	1,105
Bury	897	1,966	1,166	1,543	1,318	815
Manchester	3,554	9,079	7,965	6,446	4,156	3,416
Oldham	1,607	3,871	4,115	1,801	1,707	1,760
Rochdale	1,521	4,367	2,899	2,055	1,160	964
Salford	1,636	7,177	3,700	3,206	2,995	1,254
Stockport	1,291	2,596	1,599	2,062	1,447	721
Tameside	1,099	4,909	3,295	1,864	2,362	1,328
Trafford	3,651	2,069	4,388	3,731	2,814	2,286
Wigan	1,424	5,690	4,157	2,200	2,732	1,889
* Confirmed by the Manpower Services Commission as due to occur and based on notifications of impending redundancies involving 10 or more workers.
† Groupings of jobcentre areas approximating to the local authority area.
‡ Includes provisional figures for December 1984.