asked the Lord Privy Seal (1) if he will list those statutes which require the Secretary of State to bring them into operation by order made by statutory instrument for each year since 1955.(2) if he will list those statutes which have come into operation after a specified period for each year since 1955;(3) if he will list those statutes which have still to be brought into operation.

The information requested could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will set out in the Official Report the length of each debate on the annual agricultural price settlement of the European Economic Community for each of the years 1980 to 1984.

The information requested is as follows:

• 1980—20 March—7 hours 40 minutes
• 1981—26 March—5 hours 45 minutes
• 1982—24 March—6 hours 13 minutes
• 1983—3 March—3 hours 22 minutes
• 1984—22 March—3 hours 17 minutes

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will estimate the marginal cost for each hour the House sits after (i) midnight, (ii) 1 am and (iii) 2 am, including the cost of staff, heating and lighting, and support services.

I refer my hon. Friend to written answers given by the hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed (Mr. Beith), representing the House of Commons Commission, on 1 May 1984, at column 120, and by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment on 25 April 1984, at column 526. A detailed estimate in the terms requested could be produced only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will make arrangements to reverse the line of route for visitors, to start it in Westminster Hall and to increase staff involved in security clearance; and if he will take such other steps as are necessary to improve the arrangements for visitors to the Palace of Westminster.

In the course of this Session the Accommodation and Administration Sub-Committee of the Services Committee will be reviewing the arrangements for Members' parties visiting the Palace of Westminster. I shall draw the hon. Member's question to the attention of the Sub-Committee.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give the amount of money spent by each county council in Wales for assisted places in independent schools for the last four years for which figures are available.

Details of payments made by authorities for pupils at independent schools is not collected centrally.

asked the Secretary of Slate for Wales if he is satisfied with the adequacy of services in South Wales for thoracic surgery, including surgery for patients with lung cancer.

Thoracic surgery services are located at Llandough hospital, Cardiff. They are being expanded and an additional £50,000 of recurring revenue is being made available to South Glamorgan district health authority to cover the extra costs.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the provision of computerised tomography scanning in Wales.

It is my intention to make CT scanning readily accessible to patients in Wales. The Department is currently considering a strategy for the phasing of CT scanners to district in Wales which have suitable general hospital accommodation and for making financial assistance available from central sources.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the provision of endoscopy equipment for diagnosing cancer in patients in Wales.

I recognise the importance of having such facilities available throughout Wales and we have set aside some £600,000 for the purchase of endoscopy equipment for the new district general hospitals at Bridgend, Wrexham and Morriston.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the number of full-time police officers in drug squads in each police force area.

As at 1 January 1985 a total of 630 officers were employed full-time in drug squads in police forces in England and Wales as follows:

	Ch Supt	Supt	Ch Insp	Insp	Sgt	Cons
Avon and Somerset	—	—	1	1	5	18
Bedfordshire	—	—	—	1	1	6
Cambridgeshire	—	—	—	1	2	6

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government towards the treatment of psychological or physiological imbalances as an alternative to prison sentence or as a means of securing early release from prison for convicted sex offenders.

I shall reply as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if it is the practice for prison staff to examine and read letters which prisoners have sent to, or received from (a) hon. Members of Parliament, (b) solicitors, (c) probation officers and (d) social workers.

Correspondence between prisoners and Members of Parliament, probation officers and social workers is examined and read by staff in accordance with Standing Order 5, which is published and a copy of which is in the Library of the House. Correspondence with solicitors is examined and read unless it is about legal proceedings to which the prisoner is a party, in which case, in accordance with prison rule 37A(1), it may be examined but may not be read, unless the governor has reason to suppose that it contains matter not related to the proceedings.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what further modern technology resources he intends to allocate to police departments to enable them to detect more motorway speeding offences.

It is for chief officers of police and their police authorities to decide what resources they should allocate to motorway policing. Advice to police forces on speed detection technology is available from scientists in the Department.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he intends to introduce legislation to reform the coroners service in England and Wales.

We have no immediate plans for legislation to reform the coroners' service, but we will keep the matter under review.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list, by police authority area, the number of current firearms certificates with territorial conditions applicable;(2) if he will list, by police authority area, the number of current open firearms certificates.

This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disporportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners serving life sentences for (a) murder of police or prison officers, (b) murders by shooting in the furtherance of theft, (c) sexual or sadistic murders of children and (d) terrorist murders, were considered for release on licence between January to June 1983 and 1984, respectively.

The information is as follows:

	1983	1984
(a)	Nil	Nil
(b)	Nil	Nil
(c)	8	3
(d)	Nil	Nil

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners serving life sentences for (a) murder of police or prison officers, (b) murders by shooting in the furtherance of theft, (c) sexual or sadistic murders of children and (d) terrorist murders, were granted release on licence between January to June 1983 and 1984, respectively.

The information is as follows:

	1983	1984
(a)	Nil	Nil
(b)	1	Nil
(c)	Nil	Nil
(d)	Nil	Nil

Because of the need for life sentence prisoners to spend a period on the pre-release employment scheme and possibly also at an open prison before release, their cases will normally have been considered by the Parole Board at least 12 months before their release dates.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set up an independent inquiry into the actions of the police in connection with the meeting addressed by himself at Manchester university on 1 March; and if he will make a statement.

The chief constable of the Greater Manchester police has sent my right hon. and learned Friend a preliminary report on the incident at Manchester university on 1 March and has asked the deputy chief constable of the Avon and Somerset constabulary to review the policing arrangements made for his visit and to investigate and report on any complaints against any police officer arising from police action during the visit. All complaints received in connection with the incident will be recorded and investigated in accordance with section 49 of the Police Act 1964, and will be referred in due course to the Director of Public Prosecutions — where appropriate—and to the Police Complaints Board.We are satisfied that there is no need for any further form of inquiry.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer of his hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Mr. Mellor), of 11 February, Official Report, column 14, whether the register of applications to the board of visitors at Winson Green prison contains a reference to his noble Friend Lord Elton in relation to an application from an unsentenced prisoner who had been segregated from other prisoners in November 1984; and why his hon. Friend had previously stated that there was no reference to his noble Friend in any of the records pertaining to the segregation of any unsentenced prisoners at Winson Green prison.

My noble Friend wrote to the hon. Member on 7 March.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to figures published in annexe 2 to Cmnd. 9438 on the number of warrants issued to intercept telecommunications and letters, which Secretaries of State, other than those referred to in paragraph 10 of Cmnd. 9438, are authorised to sign such warrants; and for each year since 1980, how many such warrants have been authorised by individual Departments.

No Secretaries of State other than those referred to in paragraph 10 of Cmnd. 9438 are responsible for the issue of warrants, though it remains the case, as was stated in paragraph 2 of Cmnd. 7873 of April 1980, that if the regular Secretary of State is ill or absent, the power may be exercised on his behalf by another Secretary of State, but this happens comparatively seldom. I do not intend to add to the figures given in annexe 2 to Cmnd. 9438.

asked the Prime Minister if she will compare the reduction in Civil Service manpower with that achieved in local authorities since 1979 in percentage terms.

Between mid-1979 and mid-1984, in terms of full-time equivalent staff, employment by local authorities fell by 4 per cent. and employment in the Civil Service (excluding the Northern Ireland Civil Service) fell by 14 per cent.

asked the Prime Minister what is the latest estimate of the cost of the coal mining dispute over the past 12 months.

To the beginning of this year the strike was estimated to have added about £1½ billion to the public sector borrowing requirement in 1984–85. When the Chancellor presents his Budget he will be in a position to give a more up-to-date estimate.

asked the Prime Minister what information Her Majesty's Government have concerning the rationale behind the United States Government's strategic defence initiative.

The present position is set out in the four points President Reagan and I agreed at Camp David in December and reaffirmed in Washington last month. The US strategic defence initiative, which is a research programme permitted under existing US-Soviet agreements, is clearly necessary in order to balance Soviet efforts.

asked the Prime Minister if she will make a statement about the action the Government are taking to help and encourage people taking up job opportunities in locations which are a considerable distance from their home.

The Government have taken action in a number of areas. In the case of housing a number of changes have been made designed wholly or in part to promote mobility. For example we have extended the right to buy and have eased restrictions on private lettings. We have also introduced low cost home ownership initiatives which assist mobility by enabling public sector tenants to buy a home in a new area and by helping owner occupiers to overcome differences in house prices between regions. In the public sector the Government have set up the national mobility scheme and has given secure tenants a statutory right to exchange homes. These measures have made it easier for council tenants to move from one area to another.The Government have also maintained arrangements, through the Manpower Services Commission's employment transfer and job search schemes, to help fill vacancies for which employers cannot find suitable workers locally, by providing grants to unemployed people to move home to take such jobs or to look for work in other areas. Similar help is also available in certain circumstances to recipients of supplementary benefit from the Department of Health and Social Security.Through the increasing use of modern technology, the public employment service is becoming better able to circulate details of job opportunities, and particularly vacancies which are hard to fill locally, to jobcentres in other parts of the country.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 14 March.

asked the Prime Minister whether she will list her official engagements for 14 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 14 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 14 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 14 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 14 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 14 March.

This morning I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet and had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House I will be having further meetings later today including one with President Mubarak of Egypt.

asked the Attorney-General if he will take steps to prosecute the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament for conspiracy to trespass on Ministry of Defence land at RAF Molesworth in connection with the operation of its pledge scheme.

The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament cannot itself be the subject of criminal proceedings although the conduct of individual members may render them liable to prosecution. Trespass on Ministry of Defence land at RAF Molesworth per se does not at present constitute a criminal offence but my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence has advertised his intention to exercise his powers under part II of the Military Lands Act 1892 and other powers to make bye-laws covering such conduct. By virtue of section 1 of the Criminal Law Act 1977 an agreement between two or more persons to pursue a course of conduct which would necessarily amount to or involve the commission of any offence or offences against those bye-laws could constitute a criminal conspiracy. However, support for the objects of CND by participation in the pledge scheme does not necessarily imply such an agreement and accordingly I do not intend to institute criminal proceedings in respect of its operation.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what are the implications for its relationship with the Department of placing the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority on a trading fund basis from 1 April 1986.

The authority's work for the Department will be put on a customer-contractor basis. But the nature of the contractual relationship will vary from area to area and the authority will remain an important source of advice on the programmes it executes for the Department, as well as being one of a number of sources of advice available to the Government on nuclear issues generally. No unnecessary apparatus will be built up in the Department to duplicate the resources of the authority.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy when he expects the cross-Channel electricity link between France and Britain to come into operation; how much it will cost; what was the British share; what will be the estimated maintenance costs and how they will be divided; what are the main points of the agreement made on its use by the two national generating boards; and if he will make a statement.

The first half of the link is expected to be commissioned in autumn this year followed by the second half one year later. The cost of the link is being shared in broadly equal proportions by the Central Electricity Generating Board and by Electricité de France. The CEGB's share is estimated at £330 million. Each utility will be responsible for the maintenance of its own terminal equipment and cable. The costs, which are expected to be low, will be divided accordingly.The use of the link is governed by a protocol agreement signed by the two utilities in June 1981 which provides for the drawing up of specific commercial agreements from time to time.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what information he has about the miners dismissed by the Coal Board in (a) Scotland and (b)the rest of Britain; what is the alleged misconduct for which they have been dismissed, listing in each case the criminal offence of which the miner has been found guilty and the fine imposed by the courts; whether it is a first offence; how many years of service each employee dismissed has given to the coal industry; and what redundancy payment he might have expected if he had applied for redundancy and not been dismissed.

The dismissal and re-employment of their employees are matters for the National Coal Board. The Board have made it clear that all cases will be considered on their merits. If any person considers that he has been unfairly dismissed he has the right to take his case to an industrial tribunal.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what has been the total cost to the Exchequer of student maintenance grants in each year

(£m Financial years)
	1976–77	1977–78	1978–79	1979–80	1980–81	1981–82	1982–83	1983–84
Maintenance grants cash	167·2	219·2	262·5	316·2	381·7	430·2	460·1	512·9
Maintenance grants in cash terms using 1983–84 base	357	411·1	445·8	459·3	467·5	479·1	480·4	512·9
Index 1979–80=100	77·7	89·5	97·0	100·0	101·8	104·3	104·6	111·7
Total fees and maintenance cash	237·2	401·2	459·5	534	662·9	770·2	668·7	733·8
Total in cost terms (1983–84 base)	506·4	752·5	780·3	775·7	811·9	857·7	698·2	733·8
Index 1979–80=100	65·3	97·0	100·6	100·0	104·7	110·6	90·0	94·6

Comparable figures for earlier years are not readily available.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list for each of the last four years (a) the average cost of education per pupil, (b) the percentage of school leavers with two or more A-levels,

	ILEA	Metropolitan*Districts	Shire Counties	England
School leavers from maintained schools:
Percentage with 5 or more higher† grades at O level or CSE in academic year
1978–80	14·1	18·2	22·3	20·9
1980–81	14·2	19·2	23·2	21·8
1981–82	13·8	20·7	24·5	23·0
1982–83	15·2	20·7	24·8	22·3
Percentage with 2 or more A level passes in academic year
1979–80	6·6	9·0	10·5	10·0
1980–81	6·7	9·4	11·4	10·7
1981–82	6·8	9·8	11·8	11·1
1982–83	6·9	10·0	12·0	11·3
Unit cost expenditure per maintained school pupil in financial year
1979–80	£789	£521	£505	£528
1980–81	£1,095	£659	£638	£672
1981–82	£1,262	£756	£724	£765
1982–83	£1,381	£826	£795	£838
* As defined, these exclude the Outer London Boroughs.
† O level grades A-C, CSE grade 1.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects to publish the national criteria for the General Certificate of Secondary Education; what steps he is taking to ensure that teachers and others directly concerned are fully informed about the new system of examinations; and if he will make a statement.

The Department of Education and Science and the Welsh Office are today publishing the first edition of the national criteria for the general certificate of secondary education, which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales and I have approved.The national criteria provide a nationally agreed framework for the GCSE. All GCSE syllabuses and

The total cost to the Exchequer of student maintenance grants and fees since the 1976–77 financial year expressed in cash terms, cost terms and indexed using 1979 as 100 is as follows:

The information requested is as follows:examinations will be based on these criteria, and the Secondary Examinations Council will use them as a basis for monitoring the new examination syllabuses. They consist of general criteria and subject-specific criteria. The general criteria set out the main principles which are to govern all GCSE syllabuses and examinations together with ground rules for the conduct of the examinations. The 20 subject-specific criteria statements will provide the basis for all GCSE syllabuses and examinations in the subject areas concerned, which between them account for the great majority of subject entries in the existing examinations.My right hon. Friend and I see publication of the national criteria as an historic step. For the first time, the partners in the education service have pooled their wisdom and experience in order to produce nationally agreed statements on course objectives, content and assessment methods for all the subject areas most commonly examined in the final years of compulsory schooling.The national criteria have been prepared in draft by the Joint Council of GCE and CSE Boards. The texts incorporate many points made, during extended consultations, by schools and colleges, teachers' associations, subject associations, higher education, employers' organisations, the local authority associations, the Secondary Examinations Council and others, including ourselves, and accepted by the Joint Council. We are most grateful to the Joint Council, the Secondary Examinations Council and all the others who have contributed to preparation of the criteria.The national criteria as now published do not make provision for criteria-related grading. The Secondary Examinations Council has however already embarked on the preparation of grade criteria for this purpose. These will be circulated in draft for consultation and then added to the national criteria, subject by subject, as soon as practicable. The national criteria will also be reviewed and updated regularly, as provided in the general criteria.The Department and the Welsh Office are also publishing today a general introduction to the GCSE. This describes the main features of the new examination system, the underlying objectives and the policy context. It brings together in one consolidated statement the substance of all previous Government announcements on the GCSE. It is intended as a convenient source of reference for all who are professionally concerned with the new examinations, including the GCSE examining groups, teachers, local education authorities and employers.Copies of both the national criteria and the general introduction are being placed in the Library. Copies are also being sent to all secondary schools and colleges, local education authorities, examining boards, employers' organisations and others concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence when he hopes to complete his review of section 10 of the Crown Proceedings Act 1947

The review of section 10 is continuing but I am as yet unable to say when it will be completed.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he has any plans to revise the present system of county regiments of infantry with local recruitment; and if he will make a statement.

There are no plans to revise the present system of recruitment to county infantry regiments. Applicants to the infantry are allowed to apply for three regiments and are counselled by recruiting staff when making their choice. Final acceptance to a regiment is dependent upon a number of factors including: the candidate's abilities; the vacancy state in the regiment of the candidate's choice; the needs of the service.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many private schools and how many state schools receive grants from his Department for the purchase of military equipment; if he will itemise the equipment and name the schools; and whether his Department also pays travelling allowances to pupils at these schools taking part in training exercises and camps both in the United Kingdom and overseas.

I shall answer shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he is now in a position to make a statement on the future of St. Patrick's barracks at Ballymena.

Yes. Following the review of army training carried out by General Groom we have decided that adult training for the Royal Irish Rangers, together with certain Territorial Army and other reserve activities will continue at St. Patrick's barracks, Ballymena. However, junior soldiers of the regiment will in future be trained at Ouston, Northumberland with their junior leaders and the juniors of certain other Regiments. We are also examining ways in which the accommodation at St. Patrick's released by the move of the juniors might be utilised for other military purposes, possibly by the TA. Overall, the reorganisation of junior training is expected to achieve civilian manpower savings of about 100, release significant numbers of military personnel to more operational duties and produce capital savings of about £8 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he has any plans to increase speed limits from 70 to 80 miles per hour.

The Transport Committee in its report on road safety recommended that the motorway speed limit should be raised to 80 mph for a trial period. I shall give my views on this particular recommendation, when I respond to its report as a whole, which I shall be doing as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what arrangements are in hand to ensure that his Department complies with the monitoring and positive action recommendations of the draft code of the Equal Opportunities Commission following the publication on 9 February 1984 of the "Programme of Action on Women in the Civil Service".

Existing joint management and trade union machinery is being used at departmental and national level to review such matters as promotion, selection for training and the incidence of part-time working. Women are being encouraged to attend courses (particularly developmental courses) and to make the maximum use of the training opportunities available. Use is being made of the Civil Service college course in middle management for women only and we are considering how best to incorporate such courses into our own Departmental training programme.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what is the number of accidents involving death or serious injury on each motorway, expressed as a percentage of the length of the motorways.

The information is as follows:

The data requested is given below in the form of accident rates. Fatal and Serious Accidents on individual Motorways: GB: 1983
	Fatal or Serious Accidents	Rate per Km
England
M1, M10 & M45	239	0·727
M2	31	0·765
M3	31	0·473
M4	139	0·735
M5	94	0·363
M6	183	0·505
M11	26	0·314
M18	4	0·0883
M20	12	0·180
M23	4	0·144
M25	26	0·261
M27, M271	8	0·191
M40	14	0·284
M50	7	0·2121
M55	3	0·155
M56	16	0·288
M58	3	0·152
M61	11	0·309
M62	42	0·247
M63	14	0·667
M69	5	0·194
M180, M181	6	0·130
Other motorways	28	0·104
All English Motorways	946	0·402
Wales
M4	40	0·333
Scotland
M8	45	0·725
M9	13	0·271
M73	3	0·361
M74	7	0·321
M77	—	—
M80	5	0·40
M85	1	0·410
M90	17	0·400
M876	6	1·053
M898	—	—
All Scottish Motorways	97	0·474

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has concerning the comparative levels of expenditure upon new road construction in the United Kingdom, in each of the other member countries of the European Economic Community, the United States of America and Canada, both as a total sterling equivalent and a percentage of gross national product; and what total new mileage of roads this figure represented in each of those countries in the latest year for which figures are available both in absolute terms and as a percentage of existing road mileage.

I regret that the information requested is not available. Accurate figures for the size of the road network and details of road mileages completed annually are available only for the United Kingdom national road system. The Department does not keep any information on other countries' road programmes. If my hon. Friend wishes to raise a particular point, perhaps he would write to me.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if, pursuant to his reply of 5 March to the hon. Member for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, he will give details of compensation paid to the owners of the ships and relatives of men missing in each case.

No details are available to my Department since it does not pay compensation in such cases and there is no requirement for it to do so.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the number of small companies who participated in British Overseas Trade Board overseas trade fairs in each year since 1979; and if he will make a statement.

Annual details of the size of companies which have used the British Overseas Trade Board's schemes of support at overseas trade fairs are not known. But an independent consultants's survey in 1983 established that overall about 60 per cent. of the exhibitors who have used these schemes have less than 100 employees. An internal study in 1984 showed that about 70 per cent. have 200 employees or less.Statistics about the number of occasions on which particular companies have exhibited at each particular trade fair where there is a BOTB group have been kept only since 1981. The pattern of first-time exhibitors has been as follows:

	Number
1981	3,350
1982	3,737
1983	3,335
1984	3,193

There is no reason to suppose that the pattern was different before 1981 or that the proportion of small companies among the newcomers is less than the overall proportion of small companies in BOTB assisted groups of exhibitors.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received concerning the increase in the price of scrap; if he has made any estimate of or has any information about the impact of this on the United Kingdom foundry industry; by how much the price has risen in each quarter since 1982; and what powers he has to introduce a system of export licences.

I shall reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the full figures for the United Kingdom's exports and imports of textile and clothing products for 1984 and the figures indicating the utilisation of multi-fibre arrangement quotas in 1984 will be available.

Detailed trade figures for 1984 have been published in the December 1984 issue of the "Overseas Trade Statistics of the United Kingdom", which is available in the House of Commons Library. It is expected that 1984 figures for "Overseas trade analysed in terms of industries" will be published in the "Business Monitor MQ10", which is also received by the Library, by the end of April. This gives an analysis of exports and imports classified according to the industries of which they are principal products —and is used, for example, to measure import penetration. Final licensing statistics relating to the utilisation of multi-fibre arrangement quotas for 1984 will also be known at the end of April.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which multi-fibre arrangement quotas for the United Kingdom in 1983 met the conditions laid down in paragraph 2 of article 5 of the European Community Council Regulation No.3 589/82 of 23 December 1982, which govern the use of the anti-surge mechanism.

The MFA quotas — within MFA Group 1, to which Article 5 applies — which in 1983 represented more than 2·5 per cent. of total Community imports in 1980 for that category — more than 1 per cent. in the case of Hong Kong, Macao and South Korea — and in which imports in 1983 represented more than 50 per cent. of the quota in question, were as follows:follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if the Government have imposed any conditions in relation to donations to political parties on those companies which have been sold from the public sector since 1979.

No. These companies are subject to the same requirements as any other companies registered under the Companies Acts.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the successes of his Department in stimulating increased trade and, in particular, exports in the north-west of England during 1984.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will make it his practice to compile statistical records of business start-ups based upon income tax and corporation tax returns rather than value added tax returns; and if he will make a statement.

I shall have to consult the appropriate authorities, the Inland Revenue, about the practicability of my hon. Friend's suggestion and will write to him in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will obtain and place in the Library a copy of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development report prepared for that organisation by Dr. Stuart Macdonald entitled "The Sisyphus Syndrome—Implications of US Controls of High Technology Exports"; and whether he will make a statement.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will publish in the Official Report

Percentage
	Belgium	Denmark	France	Germany	Ireland	Italy	Luxembourg	Netherlands	United Kingdom
Hotels-rooms	6	22	‡7, 18·6	14	23	‡9,38	6	5	15
Hotels-meals	19	22	18·6	14	23	‡9,38	6	5	15
Restaurants	17	22	18·6	14	23	9	6	5	15
International Passenger Transport
Air	0	exempt	0	0	exempt	0	0	0	0
Sea	0	exempt	0	0	exempt	0	0	0	0
Rail	*6	exempt	0	*7	exempt	0	0	*5	0
Road	*6	exempt	*18·6	*7	exempt	0	0	*5	0
Public Transport	6	exempt	7	║7	exempt	≑exempt	6	5	0
Theatre	6	22	7	exempt	exempt	9	0	19	15
Clothes	19	22	18·6	14	10	●18,38	12	19	15
Books and maps	6	22	7	7	0	▀2	6	5	0
Gold and gold-plated jewellery	25	22	33·33	¶14	23	18	12	19	15
Antiques	17	†22	18·6	¶14	23	18	12	5	15
*Only applies to the portion of travel within the national territory.
†Sculptures, paintings, drawings and original lithographs are exempt.
‡Higher rate applies to luxury hotels.
║For journeys of less than 59 km within towns; otherwise 14 per cent. in Germany, 18 per cent. in Italy.
¶"Works of art and collectors' pieces" are taxed at 7 per cent.
●Higher rate applies to furs and hides.
▀Antique books are taxed at 10 per cent.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the percentage increase in pay since 1979 to the latest available date of (a) male manual workers and (b) male non-manual workers, and the same for females.

According to the "New Earnings Survey", the percentage increases in average gross weekly earnings of full-time adult employees working a full week between April 1979 and April 1984 have been as follows:

	Percentage
Males
Manual occupations	66·5
Non-manual occupations	87·9
Females
Manual occupations	69·0
Non-manual occupations	86·7

Changes in average earnings will reflect changes in the composition of employment and do not necessarily imply corresponding changes in rates of pay for comparable jobs.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the movement of the

I have been asked to reply.The percentage rates of value added tax applying to the main areas of tourist expenditure in EC member states are understood to be as set out in the following table. Greece has not yet introduced a value added tax.percentage of the median of the top decile and top quartile of male earnings since 1979 and the bottom decile and quartile.

The requested details, in terms of gross weekly earnings of full-time adult employees working a full week, are published in table 30 of "New Earnings Survey 1984", part B, a copy of which is in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) if he will list the number of people in part-time employment in the month of January for the years 1960, 1965, 1970, 1975, 1980 and 1985;(2) if he will list the number of people in full-time employment in the month of January for the years 1960, 1965, 1970, 1975, 1980 and 1985.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Ladywood (Ms. Short) on 18 February 1985 at column 348.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the number of people known to be self-employed in the month of January for the years 1960, 1965, 1970, 1975, 1980 and 1985.

Estimates of the number of self-employed people in Great Britain are only available quarterly from March 1965. The following table gives the information for March 1965, March 1970, March 1975, March 1980 and September 1984, the latest available date.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the current percentage of unemployment in Cambridgeshire; and how this figure compares with (a) Northern Ireland, (b) development areas, (c) intermediate areas and (d) non-assisted areas.

Following is the information, which is available in the Library, for 10 January 1985.

	Unemployment rate
	per cent
Cambridgeshire	10·2
Northern Ireland	21·2
Development Areas (Great Britain)	20·2
Intermediate Areas (Great Britain)	16·3
Non-assisted Areas (Great Britain)	11·3

Unemployment by age
	Scotland				United Kingdom
	Under 18 years	18–24 years	25–54 years	55 and over	Under 18 years	18–24 years	25–54 years	55 and over
Unemployed registrants
January 1979	22,373	55,851	89,088	22,988	112,798	411,926	688,411	242,139
January 1980	22,438	61,399	95,861	23,534	110,767	427,807	688,178	243,819
January 1981	30,623	87,524	136,631	31,824	200,171	730,819	1,138,240	350,221
January 1982	33,138	106,276	168,674	38,459	230,070	923,532	1,466,789	450,230
October 1982	30,608	113,579	169,180	39,383	274,013	1,029,078	1,520,465	471,572
Unemployed claimants
October 1982	30,446	104,614	151,957	40,028	252,894	943,405	1,375,275	477,505
January 1983	34,334	113,668	162,950	41,805	221,745	1,004,212	1,494,075	505,183
January 1984	33,669	116,636	169,135	34,004	204,293	1,055,450	1,573,030	366,905
January 1985	31,966	117,531	179,754	32,716	197,678	1,088,505	1,687,720	367,055

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the proportion of married males and females unemployed for a year or more aged under 25 years, 25 to 44 years and 45-plus years, respectively, who were unskilled or semi-skilled, had dependent children aged under 16 years, and had an unemployed or economically inactive spouse.

Married persons unemployed for 1 year or more Great Britain: 2nd Quarter 1983
Per cent.
	Males			Females
	Aged under 25 years	25–44	45 and over	Aged under 25 years	25–44	45 and over
All married persons unemployed for 1 year or more of which:	100	100	100	100	100	100

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the numbers in the following age categories (a) 16 to 18-year-olds, (b) 18 to 25-year-olds, (c) 25 to 50-year-olds and (d) those over 50 years of age who were: (i) registered as unemployed and (ii) on a government training scheme in (1) Scotland and (2) the United Kingdom at the latest available date and on the equivalent date in each of the last six years.

[pursuant to his reply, 4 March 1985, c. 362]: The available information on unemployment is shown in the following table. Separate information for those aged under 50 or 50 or over is not available for all the dates shown. I regret that, with the exception of the youth training scheme, the information as requested by age group is not available for Government training schemes.At the end of January 1985, 34,117 young people were on the youth training scheme in Scotland who had entered the scheme when aged under 18 and the comparable figure for Great Britain was 292,342. The equivalent figure at the end of January 1984 were: Scotland—29,078 and Great Britain—256,470.

[pursuant to his reply, 11 March 1985, c. 47]: The following table gives the available information for Great Britain using revised results of the 1983 Labour Force Survey.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment, if he will list the successes of his Department in reducing unemployment in the north-west of England in 1984.

Details of the number of people in the north-west who benefited from my Department's employment and training measures in 1984 are as follows:

• —there were 24,474 entrants to the community programme, which provides temporary employment for long-term unemployed adults;
• —there were 13,974 successful applications for support under the young workers scheme, which is designed to help young people into jobs;
• —8,363 people started up their own businesses under the enterprise allowance scheme;
• —3,718 older workers gave up work early and released their jobs to unemployed people under the job release scheme;
• —there were 1,471 entrants to the community industry scheme, which provides temporary jobs for personally and socially disadvantaged young people;
• —employers split 38 jobs, involving 76 employees, under the job splitting scheme which encourages employers to open up more part-time opportunities for unemployed people.

In addition, there were 57,222 entrants to the youth training scheme, which provides up to a year's high quality training to enable young people to compete more effectively in the labour market.But the only way to achieve a substantial impact on unemployment in the north-west and elsewhere is for the Government to maintain their economic policies while encouraging greater enterprise, flexibility and competitiveness in industry and the labour market.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will allocate additional resources to water authorities to enable them to undertake thorough inspections of drainage and sewerage systems in the vicinity of hospitals for detecting rat or cockroach populations with contagious diseases.

If the hon. Member is aware of a specific case, she should refer it to the regional water authority which has both the powers and the resources to deal with infestation in sewers.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give a breakdown of the items mentioned in the financial memorandum of the Local Government Bill, stating that the Bill will save £100 million of council expenditure and cut 7,100 jobs.

I have nothing to add to the information given in my right hon. Friend's answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Surbiton (Mr. Tracey) on 30 November, at column 611.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing for 31 March of each of the years 1974 to 1984 together with the latest figures the number of local authority employees in England, analysed by part-time/full-time status within sex, covered by each of the items (i) to (v) in Part III of his consultation document "Competition in the Provision of Local Authority Services"; and if he will reconcile these numbers with the published Joint Manpower Watch.

The information requested is not available centrally. The Joint Manpower Watch does not collect information for this detailed level of service, nor does it collect information about the sex of employees.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list all the instances known to his Department of damage caused by acid deposition.

Acid deposition can damage both the natural and the urban environment, but it is not the sole cause of environmental acidification and the damage it causes cannot readily be distinguished from other forms of damage. It is therefore difficult to establish the extent to which deposition at current concentrations contribute to damage. As I said in answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh, West (Lord James Douglas-Hamilton) on 11 March, at column 13 my Department has a substantial programme of monitoring and research and I expect reports within the next 18 months which should help in defining the scale of the problem and in elucidating its causes.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what would be the cost of implementing section 4 of the Litter Act 1983; and if he will make a statement.

The cost of implementation of this section was last estimated in 1978 when the cost of drawing up litter plans was put at £0·25 million and the cost of implementing them was estimated as £1·25 million per annum.In view of the financial implications and the continued need for restraint in public expenditure we have no plans at the moment to reconsider our decision to defer implementation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what steps he takes to satisfy himself of the adequacy of the provision of facilities for gipsies under the Caravan Sites Act 1968, and of the criteria applied in choosing designated gipsy sites; and if he will make a statement;(2) whether he will review the criteria laid down by his Department for the selection and designation of gipsy sites by local authorities.

My Department monitors progress on the provision of authorised sites through periodic returns from local authorities, summaries of which are placed in the Library. The arrangements for approval of Exchequer capital grant for local authorities' gipsy site proposals ensure, so far as possible, that the facilities to be provided on such sites are both adequate for their purpose and reflect a due regard for economy. I am satisfied that local authorities already have sufficient guidance in departmental circulars and other supplementary advice issued from time to time to enable them to carry out their statutory functions of selecting and designating sites.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what studies he has made of social, environmental and, where appropriate, permanent housing provision for gipsy caravan dwellers both outside and within the Romany category in continental categories; and if he will publish the findings.

No such studies have been made. The arrangements in present UK legislation are sufficient to enable authorities to make adequate provision for gipsies (as defined in the 1968 Act) including the provision of housing accommodation where this is appropriate.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what review he has made of improved housing provision for gipsy caravan dwellers not within the Romany category; and if he will make a statement.

It is not practicable to distinguish between Romanies and other gipsies. I understand, from recent inquiries made by my Department, that a number of authorities have positively encouraged gipsy caravan dwellers to move into permanent housing where this has seemed appropriate and likely to be successful.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what steps he plans to take to protect the gipsy community and designated gipsy sites from incursions by non-gipsy itinerants;(2) what estimate or survey has been undertaken by his Department to establish how many people who are not gipsies are benefiting from the Caravan Sites Act 1968.

As with the initial provision of sites, their subsequent management is the responsibility of the local authorities, part of whose task will be to ensure as far as possible that the sites are not used or invaded by other than the gipsies for whom they are provided.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the total number of gipsies, or gipsy families, as defined under the Caravan Sites Act 1968, for whom sites have been found since the Act came into operation; and what are the approximate numbers for whom designated sites have still to be found.

The available information relates to caravans rather than families. In July 1984 there were 3,913 caravans on council sites, 1,748 on authorised private sites and 3,930 on unauthorised sites.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the total number of sites which have been designated by local authorities for gipsies since the introduction of the Caravan Sites Act 1968; and how many further sites are currently under examination.

There are at present some 230 official gipsy sites in England compared with about 20 when the Act came into force in 1970. The number of potential sites under examination is a matter for the local authorities in whose areas gipsies are as yet without adequate accommodation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the implications for the total number of gipsies covered by the Caravan Sites Act 1968 of the adoption of a more restrictive definition of gipsy status; if he will list the alternative definitions which he has considered and the impact each would have on the number of gipsies covered by the Act; and if he will make a statement.

I refer my right hon. Friend to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Mitcham and Morden (Mrs. Rumbold) on 20 February at column 482. My Department's research, while re-affirming the appropriateness of the present definition, had examined the possibilities and problems involved in attempting to restrict the definition.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on his recent visit to Merseyside.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to him on Monday 11 March at column 708

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the significance of the limitation given in his Department's circular 28/84 to the eligibility of owners of prefabricated reinforced concrete houses designed before 1960; and whether dwellings designed after 1960 are not expected to be liable to cracking and concrete spalling to a significant extent as a result of corrosion of the embedded steel reinforcement.

There are two distinct types of prefabricated concrete dwellings in this country. Those designed before the wars and immediately after the last war were designed to provide, in the main, two-storey houses and to be assembled by hand. That meant that the prefabricated sections had to be very light and slender. Because they are slender there is little protection for the steel reinforcement and the Building Research Establishment has found that all prefabricated reinforced concrete houses built before 1960 are likely to be affected by the processes of carbonation and attack of chlorides which will lead to corrosion of the reinforcement and consequent cracking of the concrete.Prefabricated reinforced concrete dwellings designed after 1960 were generally made by casting whole walls and floors as single components. These are massive and robust and were used to build not only houses but flats up to 20 or more storeys high. Because of differences in design and improvements in the quality of reinforced concrete, the steel reinforcement in these components is better protected. There is no evidence that the main load-bearing components of these buildings generally are liable to the rapid deterioration and consequent cracking and spalling found in prefabricated reinforced concrete houses of the previous generation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will assess the extent to which all buildings designed after 1960 and using reinforced concrete structures are likely to be affected by the processes of carbonation and attack by chlorides.

The study of the effect of carbonation and attack by chlorides on reinforced concrete structures generally has been a main part of the Building Research Establishment's research programme since 1975. The general principles have been established and published in 1982 in BRE digests 263, 264 and 265, copies of which are in the Library. The processes are complex and the way in which a particular building or class of buildings may be affected is not easily established without testing. It is for individual owners to inspect their buildings as necessary but, as I announced on 23 October last at columns 554–55, the Building Research Establishment is now giving special and urgent attention to the study of large panel system dwellings designed after 1960, which will include investigation of the effect of carbonation and attack by chlorides.