Written Answers

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Written Answers To Questions

Tuesday 7 May 1985

Church Commissioners

Company Holdings

asked the hon. Member for Wokingham, as representing the Church Commissioners, if he will list for each of the last five years the number of times the commissioners informally and confidentially approached companies in which they hold shares to discuss matters about the running of the company which cause the commissioners concern; and if he will detail the nature of these concerns.

The number of companies the Commissioners have approached over the last five years is as follows:

	Number
1980	16
1981	11
1982	15
1983	18
1984	21

As the question indicates such approaches (both in writing and at meetings) cover a wide range of social and ethical issues. They are made confidentially since the Commissioners are convinced that this is the most effective way to make them. In November 1984 the Commissioners did however announce that they had sold their investment in a major United States company, Carnation, because they had been unable to obtain satisfactory assurances regarding the working conditions of a proportion of its workforce in South Africa.

Staff Statistics

asked the hon. Member for Wokingham, as representing the Church Commissioners, if he will list the total number of staff employed by the commissioners; and if he will clarify these data according to the following salary ranges and as to whether the staff are male or female: under £4,000, £4,001 to £5,000, £5,001 to £7,000, £7,001 to £9,000, £9,001 to £11,000, £11,001 to £13,000, £13,001 to £15,000, £15,001 to £17,000, £17,001 to £19,000, £19,001 to £21,000 and over £21,000 per annum.

The total number of staff employed by the Commissioners at 31 December 1984 was 371. They fall into the categories mentioned as follows:

Gross Annual Salary Range	Number of Males	Number of Females	Total
Under £4,000	Nil	Nil	Nil
£4,001 to £5,000	0	2	2
£5,001 to £7,000	51	52	103
£7,001 to £9,000	49	59	108
£9,001 to £11,000	32	22	54
£11,001 to £13,000	30	15	45
£13,001 to £15,000	22	1	23
£15,001 to £17,000	3	1	4
£17,001 to £19,000	4	1	5
£19,001 to £21,000	1	2	3
Over £21,000	23	1	24
Total	215	156	371

The Commissioners' staff hold posts graded by reference to Civil Service analogues and the salary figures used are the gross figures payable and based on the appropriate Civil Service scale for each grade and include the London weighting allowance (£1,300 per annum).

Environment

Rate Support Grant

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list each local authority in England according to the percentage of the national rate support grant that was allocated to it for each year since 1979.

[pursuant to his reply, 30 April 1985, c. 89]: The information is in the table:

Notes:

(i) Figures for 1979–80 and 1980–81 comprise needs, resources and domestic elements and are final entitlements. Figures for 1981–82 onwards comprise block grant and domestic rate relief grant. For 1981–82 they are final entitlements. Block grant entitlements in 1982–83 and 1983–84 are based on outturn expenditure after holdback; those for 1984–85 are based on budgets after holdback; and those for 1985–86 are based on budgets (where available) before holdback but after initial percentage close-ending.

(ii) The figures for 1979–80 and 1980–81 are not comparable with those for later years. Resources element was not paid to non-metropolitan counties, and rate support grant was not paid to metropolitan counties or to precepting authorities in London prior to 1981–82. In 1981–82 and 1982–83 block grant in respect of the Metropolitan police was paid to the rating authorities in London; this arrangement applied also to the Greater London council in 1981–82 only.

Local Authorities in England: Individual Rate Support Grant as a Percentage of the National Total in Each Year
	1979–80 Final	1980–81 Final	1981–82 Final	1982–83 2nd supplementary report	1983–84 3rd supplementary report	1984–85 2nd supplementary report	1985–86 settlement
Avon	0·8617	0·8626	1·3875	1·3404	1·2694	1·1608	1·3090
Befordshire	0·5142	0·5375	0·6261	0·6563	0·6886	0·6784	0·5987
Berkshire	0·6145	0·6169	0·6819	0·6052	0·5508	0·6318	0·5079
Buckinghamshire	0·4441	0·4542	0·6293	0·6260	0·6483	0·6501	0·6147
Cambridgeshire	0·4473	0·4560	0·8073	0·8197	0·8293	0·8442	0·8182
Cheshire	0·8824	0·9071	1·5726	1·4522	1·4660	1·1362	1·3173
Cleveland	0·8021	0·8260	1·1562	1·0975	1·1173	1·0397	1·2046
Cornwall	0·3884	0·3981	0·7528	0·7966	0·7931	0·8285	0·8441
Cumbria	0·5273	0·5428	1·0220	1·0319	1·0039	1·0324	1·0261
Derbyshire	0·8864	0·9107	1·6532	1·6006	1·6058	1·5003	1·6698
Devon	0·7905	0·8197	1·5458	1·5582	1·5514	1·6317	1·6293
Dorset	0·4270	0·4349	0·7974	0·7163	0·6895	0·6952	0·6433
Durham	0·6647	06776	1·3293	1·3177	1·3367	1·3611	1·3084
East Sussex	0·4922	0·5114	0·7748	0·7164	0·6770	0·6979	0·6178
Essex	1·2913	1·3157	1·7399	1·6230	1·6684	1·6281	1·4463
Gloucestershire	0·4500	0·4531	0·7834	0·7743	0·7747	0·7954	0·7257
Hampshire	1·3086	1·3619	2·0782	2·0321	2·0503	2·1105	1·8643
Hereford and Worcester	0·5241	0·5279	0·9641	0·9443	0·9691	1·0013	0·9554
Hertfordshire	0·9093	0·8999	1·0035	0·8885	0·8488	0·7961	0·6614
Humberside	1·1012	1·1221	1·7731	1·8383	18249	1·8727	1·8924
Isle of Wight	0·0927	0·0964	0·2046	0·2171	0·2239	0·2265	0·2285
Kent	1·3398	1·3217	2·3566	2·3261	2·4102	2·4755	2·3548
Lancashire	15362	1·5887	2·9336	2·9828	3·0144	3·1510	3·1084
Leicestershire	0·9086	0·9236	1·4423	1·4376	1·4713	1·5385	1·4673
Lincolnshire	0·5556	0·5750	1·0412	1·0508	1·0617	1·0944	1·0770
Norfolk	0·6018	0·6161	1·0382	1·0374	1·0171	1·0459	1·0162
Northamptonshire	0·4803	0·4865	0·8537	0·9079	0·9429	0·9591	0·9154
Northumberland	0·3206	0·3283	0·6067	0·5999	0·4865	0·5673	0·5857
North Yorkshire	06580	0·6702	1·2522	1·2207	1·2207	1·2227	1·1937
Nottinghamshire	1·2287	1·2504	1·9073	1·7889	1·6891	1·8942	1·8388
Oxfordshire	0·4148	0·4183	0·6460	0·5947	0·5830	0·5620	0·4332
Shropshire	0·3748	0·3800	0·6975	0·7129	0·7480	0·7607	0·7476
Somerset	0·3464	0·3631	0·7173	0·7190	0·7133	0·7395	0·7357
Staffordshire	0·9160	0·9443	1·7482	1·7779	1·8264	1·7893	1·7745
Suffolk	0·4230	0·4349	0·8472	0·8664	0·8745	0·8884	0·8088
Surrey	0·6266	0·6686	0·8133	0·7020	0·6267	0·5537	0·3956
Warwickshire	0·3946	0·4028	0·6886	0·6758	0·6823	0·6992	0·5899
West Sussex	0·4089	0·4222	0·6700	0·6284	0·6218	0·6669	0·5874
Wiltshire	0·4289	0·4352	0·9249	0·9486	0·9548	0·9877	0·9187
Greater Manchester	0·0000	0·0000	1·1137	1·1358	1·1895	1·1585	1·5207
Merseyside	0·0000	0·0000	0·7785	0·7713	0·7633	0·7058	1·0651
South Yorkshire	0·0000	0·0000	0·7326	0·7791	0·7294	0·7043	0·7752
Tyne and Wear	0·0000	0·0000	0·7240	0·8192	0·8433	0·8566	0·9779
West Midlands	0·0000	0·0000	0·8176	0·7383	0·7965	0·7436	1·1027
West Yorkshire	0·0000	0·0000	1·0543	1·0519	1·1038	1·1636	1·2649
Isles of Scilly	0·0069	0·0075	0·0075	0·0079	0·0082	0·0082	0·0086
Greater Manchester
Bolton	0·6765	0·6769	0·5906	0·6090	0·6276	0·6539	0·6402
Bury	0·4275	0·4351	0·3505	0·3460	0·3693	0·3733	0·3510
Manchester	1·5229	1·5195	1·2792	1·1004	1·1193	1·0865	1·0703
Oldham	0·6306	0·6198	0·5793	0·5691	0·5934	0·6177	0·6134
Rochdale	0·6241	0·6242	0·5368	0·5482	0·5726	0·5784	0·5798
Salford	0·7506	0·7452	0·6602	0·6255	0·6336	0·6434	0·5986
Stockport	0·5929	0·5890	0·4937	0·4802	0·4830	0·4904	0·4506
Tameside	0·6002	0·6201	0·5175	0·5223	0·5278	0·5436	0·5373
Trafford	0·3716	0·3650	0·3148	0·2956	0·2830	0·2772	0·2447
Wigan	0·8044	0·8114	0·6996	0·7171	0·6785	0·7213	0·7043
Total of Districts	7·0013	7·0062	6·0222	5·8134	5·8881	5·9857	5·7902
Merseyside
Knowsley	0·5162	0·5172	0·4595	0·4438	0·4405	0·4485	0·4416
Liverpool	1·5765	1·6290	1·3390	1·2993	1·3629	1·3358	1·3536
St. Helens	0·4540	0·4690	0·3922	0·3915	0·4081	0·4156	0·4072
Sefton	0·7191	0·7134	0·5659	0·5533	0·5453	0·5477	0·5237
Wirral	0·8294	0·8299	0·6672	0·6591	0·6848	0·6964	0·6762
Total of Districts	4·0952	4·1585	3·4238	3·3470	3·4416	3·4440	3·4023

	1979–80 Final	1980–81 Final	1981–82 Final	1982–83 2nd supplementary report	1983–84 3rd supplementary report	1984–85 2nd supplementary report	1985–86 settlement
South Yorkshire
Barnsley	0·6592	0·7011	0·5506	0·5384	0·5539	0·5620	0·5328
Doncaster	0·7903	0·8274	0·6697	0·6517	0·6710	0·6816	0·6755
Rotherham	0·7205	0·7271	0·6158	0·5980	0·6142	0·6334	0·6120
Sheffield	1·3097	1·3698	1·0575	1·0145	0·9695	1·0148	0·0633
Total of Districts	3·4797	3·6254	2·8936	2·8026	2·8086	2·8918	2·8836
Tyne and Wear
Gateshead	0·5918	0·6116	0·4907	0·4729	0·4898	0·4999	0·4821
Newcastle-Upon-Tyne	0·7129	0·7209	0·5488	0·4318	0·4366	0·4341	0·4136
North Tyneside	0·5654	0·5673	0·4503	0·4294	0·4297	0·4495	0·4346
South Tyneside	0·5405	0·5414	0·4566	0·4403	0·4423	0·4466	0·4192
Sunderland	0·8907	0·8907	0·7087	0·7156	0·7197	0·6982	0·7515
Total of Districts	3·3013	3·3319	2·6551	2·4900	2·5181	2·5283	2·5060
West Midlands
Birmingham	2·3764	2·3326	1·9627	1·8903	2·1007	2·2023	2·1767
Coventry	0·7496	0·7552	0·6694	0·6841	0·6890	0·6900	0·6263
Dudley	0·4571	0·4512	0·3962	0·3902	0·4222	0·4451	0·4276
Sandwell	0·5900	0·5943	0·4497	0·5217	0·5846	0·6133	0·5817
Solihull	0·3543	0·3461	0·3163	0·3268	0·3396	0·3412	0·3109
Walsall	0·5306	0·5451	0·4617	0·4350	0·5210	0·5350	0·5119
Wolverhampton	0·5520	0·5672	0·4949	0·5131	0·5322	0·5437	0·5246
Total of Districts	5·6100	5·5917	4·7509	4·7612	5·1893	5·3706	5·1597
West Yorkshire
Bradford	1·3448	1·3514	1·1573	1·1844	1·2606	1·2894	1·3341
Calderdale	0·5493	0·5580	0·4836	0·4805	0·4908	0·5069	0·4980
Kirklees	1·0080	1·0484	0·8806	0·9452	0·9859	1·0303	1·0191
Leeds	1·6121	1·6297	1·3642	1·3222	1·3633	1·4120	1·3039
Wakefield	0·7490	0·7533	0·6340	0·6141	0·6341	0·6504	0·6126
Total of Districts	5·2632	5·3408	4·5197	4·5464	4·7347	4·8890	4·7677
I.L.E.A.	0·0000	0·0000	0·0000	0·0000	0·0000	0·0000	0·0000
Greater London Council	0·0000	0·0000	0·0000	1·3986	0·0000	0·0000	0·4510
City of London	0·0055	0·0045	0·1857	0·0060	0·0060	0·0064	0·0064
Camden	0·5006	0·4258	0·1998	0·1434	0·0578	0·0598	0·0581
Greenwich	0·5019	0·4980	0·3619	0·3425	0·2884	0·2814	0·3805
Hackney	0·5887	0·5748	0·5022	0·4927	0·5086	0·5050	0·5702
Hammersmith and Fulham	0·4636	0·4501	0·3843	0·3896	0·3919	0·3816	0·4103
Islington	0·5509	0·5332	0·3454	0·3567	0·3830	0·0439	0·2896
Kensington and Chelsea	0·4540	0·4257	0·2211	0·2446	0·2354	0·1622	0·1695
Lambeth	0·7512	0·6998	0·6218	0·6584	0·5860	0·4217	0·5391
Lewisham	0·7222	0·7036	0·5349	0·5402	0·5153	0·4856	0·5527
Southwark	0·6890	0·6676	0·5235	0·4597	0·3934	0·2015	0·4677
Tower Hamlets	04567	0·4245	03462	0·3176	0·2831	0·2463	0·2278
Wandsworth	0·7576	0·7340	0·5459	0·5315	0·5633	0·5635	0·5782
Westminster	0·5218	0·5103	0·5633	0·3956	0·1524	0·1592	0·1581
Barking and Dagenham	0·3669	0·3593	0·3182	0·3189	0·3084	0·3019	0·3031
Barnet	0·5871	0·5717	0·5253	0·5278	0·4533	0·4390	0·4348
Bexley	0·5156	0·5197	0·5172	0·5198	0·5206	0·5266	0·521·8
Brent	0·7343	0·7041	0·6302	0·6824	0·5916	0·6257	0·7460
Bromley	0·6569	0·6459	0·6112	0·5812	0·5417	0·5405	0·5164
Croydon	0·7143	0·7056	0·6591	0·6330	0·5543	0·5490	0·5457
Ealing	0·6437	0·6280	0·6338	0·6996	0·6561	0·6660	0·6545
Enfield	0·5536	0·5512	0·5253	0·5341	0·5097	0·5084	0·5139
Haringey	0·7178	0·7139	0·6750	0·6993	0·6362	0·6113	0·6679
Harrow	0·3967	0·3968	0·3884	0·4037	0·3806	0·3827	0·3978
Havering	0·5374	0·5266	0·5248	0·5222	0·5007	0·5188	0·5033
Hillingdon	0·4266	0·4238	0·3643	0·3292	0·2647	0·2561	0·2258
Hounslow	0·4277	0·4120	0·3228	0·3421	0·2814	0·2074	0·2725
Kingston-upon-Thames	0·2668	0·2650	0·2436	0·2366	0·2137	0·2082	0·1856
Merton	0·3838	0·3801	0·3653	0·3485	0·3253	0·3283	0·3408
Newham	0·6984	0·6966	0·7030	0·8247	0·8250	0·8560	0·8453
Redbridge	0·5114	0·5091	0·4823	0·4937	0·4705	0·4760	0·4689
Richmond-upon-Thames	0·3329	0·3285	0·3142	0·2822	0·2462	0·2231	0·2102
Sutton	0·3663	0·3595	0·3405	0·3319	0·3102	0·3232	0·3138
Waltham Forest	0·6333	0·6278	0·6061	0·6809	0·7228	0·7349	0·7025

	1979–80 Final	1980–81 Final	1981–82 Final	1982–83 2nd supplementary report	1983–84 3rd supplementary report	1984–85 2nd supplementary report	1985–86 settlement
Avon
Bath	0·0890	0·0869	0·0443	0·0407	0·0389	0·0386	0·0384
Bristol	0·3385	0·3483	0·1954	0·1793	0·1774	0·1841	0·1704
Kingswood	0·1114	0·1110	0·0314	0·0324	0·0334	0·0330	0·0311
Northavon	0·1199	0·1174	0·0308	0·0303	0·0331	0·0332	0·0258
Wansdyke	0·0919	0·0891	0·0258	0·0259	0·0240	0·0229	0·0197
Woodspring	0·1811	0·1752	0·0621	0·0640	0·0638	0·0673	0·0603
Total of Districts	0·9318	0·9279	0·3898	0·3706	0·3706	0·3791	0·3487
Bedfordshire
North Bedfordshire	0·1059	0·0970	0·0365	0·0392	0·0454	0·0438	0·0374
Luton	0·0593	0·0556	0·0573	0·0524	0·0637	0·0611	0·0565
Mid Bedfordshire	0·1109	0·1068	0·0273	0·0261	0·0263	0·0262	0·0228
South Bedfordshire	0·0506	0·0451	0·0306	0·0272	0·0273	0·0257	0·0204
Total of Districts	0·3267	0·3045	0·1517	0·1449	0·1632	0·1568	0·1371
Berkshire
Bracknell	0·0451	0·0440	0·0211	0·0242	0·0270	0·0278	0·0263
Newbury	0·0982	0·0962	0·0440	0·0447	0·0419	0·0410	0·0343
Reading	0·0551	0·0496	0·0427	0·0431	0·0402	0·0424	0·0487
Slough	0·0418	0·0389	0·0342	0·0325	0·0418	0·0344	0·0341
Windsor and Maidenhead	0·0613	0·0545	0·0479	0·0470	0·0465	0·0441	0·0378
Wokingham	0·0968	0·0905	0·0431	0·0406	0·0397	0·0386	0·0336
Total of Districts	0·3983	0·3737	0·2330	0·2321	0·2371	0·2283	0·2148
Buckinghamshire
Aylesbury Vale	0·0867	0·0875	0·0317	0·0357	0·0376	0·0376	0·0330
South Bucks	0·0272	0·0254	0·0200	0·0201	0·0195	0·0177	0·0173
Chiltern	0·0430	0·0381	0·0293	0·0290	0·0291	0·0288	0·0245
Milton Keynes	0·0903	0·0957	0·0316	0·0428	0·0403	0·0368	0·0376
Wycombe	0·0556	0·0529	0·0330	0·0453	0·0459	0·0457	0·0390
Total of Districts	0·3028	0·2996	0·1456	0·1729	0·1724	0·1666	0·1514
Cambridgeshire
Cambridge	0·0337	0·0310	0·0387	0·0393	0·0367	0·0356	0·0368
East Cambridgeshire	0·0686	0·0666	0·0133	0·0141	0·0142	0·0153	0·0135
Fenland	0·0795	0·0788	0·0218	0·0246	0·0246	0·0230	0·0215
Huntingdon	0·1443	0·1438	0·0358	0·0368	0·0367	0·0375	0·0317
Peterborough	0·1112	0·1119	0·0528	0·0491	0·0491	0·0459	0·0375
South Cambridgeshire	0·0869	0·0854	0·0287	0·0316	0·0290	0·0313	0·0254
Total of Districts	0·5242	0·5175	0·1911	0·1955	0·1903	0·1886	0·1664
Cheshire
Chester	0·0937	0·0954	0·0360	0·0416	0·0405	0·0394	0·0369
Congleton	0·0881	0·0900	0·0227	0·0262	0·0257	0·0261	0·0220
Crewe and Nantwich	0·1264	0·1275	0·0489	0·0438	0·0426	0·0432	0·0393
Ellesmere and Neston	0·0273	0·0261	0·0243	0·0212	0·0215	0·0216	0·0159
Halton	0·1102	0·1173	0·0490	0·0457	0·0445	0·0438	0·0417
Macclesfield	0·1378	0·1336	0·0559	0·0545	0·0543	0·0548	0·0487
Vale Royal	0·1146	0·1149	0·0360	0·0349	0·0348	0·0358	0·0309
Warrington	0·1567	0·1632	0·0501	0·0584	0·0584	0·0572	0·0534
Total of Districts	0·8548	0·8680	0·3229	0·3263	0·3223	0·3219	0·2888
Cleveland
Hartlepool	0·1164	0·1365	0·0477	0·0462	0·0522	0·0532	0·0521
Langbaurgh	0·1313	0·1345	0·0593	0·0527	0·0547	0·0501	0·0468
Middlesbrough	0·2084	0·2304	0·1141	0·1057	0·1109	0·1120	0·1139
Stockton on Tees	0·1138	01282	0·0581	0·0540	0·0605	0·0591	0·0476
Total of Districts	0·5699	0·6296	0·2792	0·2586	0·2783	0·2744	0·2604
Cornwall
Caradon	0·0857	0·0858	0·0242	0·0266	0·0266	0·0271	0·0252
Carrick	0·0814	0·0808	0·0318	0·0294	0·0315	0·0323	0·0303
Kerrier	0·1032	0·1014	0·0293	0·0333	0·0301	0·0301	0·0289
North Cornwall	0·0809	0·0814	0·0257	0·0265	0·0273	0·0278	0·0259
Penwith	0·0687	0·0661	0·0276	0·0258	0·0254	0·0253	0·0243
Restormel	0·0749	0·0744	0·0267	0·0264	0·0271	0·0276	0·0255
Total of Districts	0·4948	0·4899	0·1653	0·1680	0·1680	0·1702	0·1601

	1979–80 Final	1980–81 Final	1981–82 Final	1982–83 2nd supplementary report	1983–84 3rd supplementary report	1984–85 2nd supplementary report	1985–86 settlement
Cumbria
Allerdale	0·1418	0·1378	0·0431	0·0409	0·0444	0·0453	0·0447
Barrow in Furness	0·1118	0·1098	0·0367	0·0346	0·0362	0·0367	0·0352
Carlisle	0·1319	0·1274	0·0360	0·0425	0·0454	0·0455	0·0408
Copeland	0·1042	0·1014	0·0329	0·0292	0·0319	0·0315	3·0290
Eden	0·0568	0·0570	0·0138	0·0143	0·0154	0·0151	3·0144
South Lakeland	0·1203	0·1165	0·0411	0·0398	0·0385	0·0430	3·0386
Total of Districts	0·6668	0·6499	0·2036	0·2013	0·2118	0·2171	0·2027
Derbyshire
Amber Valley	0·1296	0·1240	0·0433	0·0424	0·0423	0·0419	0·0369
Bolsover	0·1078	0·1071	0·0285	0·0274	0·0284	0·0291	0·0266
Chesterfield	0·1135	0·1136	0·0424	0·0375	0·0393	0·0403	0·0435
Derby	0·2094	0·2017	0·0776	0·0922	0·0933	0·0954	0·0900
Erewash	0·1260	0·1215	0·0414	0·0426	0·0418	0·0428	0·0389
High Peak	0·0954	0·0911	0·0297	0·0272	0·0299	0·0304	0·0264
North East Derbyshire	0·1332	0·1332	0·0375	0·0367	0·0373	0·0383	0·0340
South Derbyshire	0·0393	0·0391	0·0156	0·0169	0·0172	0·0169	0·0141
West Derbyshire	0·0853	0·0823	0·0292	0·0281	0·0278	0·0279	0·0248
Total of Districts	1·0395	1·0136	0·3452	0·3510	0·3573	0·3630	0·3352
Devon
East Devon	0·1167	0·1157	0·0407	0·0458	0·0453	0·0451	0·0422
Exeter	0·0751	0·0687	0·0349	0·0409	0·0407	0·0429	0·0422
North Devon	0·0985	0·0984	0·0330	0·0310	0·0312	0·0311	0·0290
Plymouth	0·2971	0·2768	0·1083	0·1099	0·1094	0·1117	0·1133
South Hams	0·0772	0·0745	0·0300	0·0311	0·0315	0·0316	0·0289
Teignbridge	0·1155	0·1135	0·0413	0·0413	0·0417	0·0415	0·0384
Mid Devon	0·0763	0·0735	0·0177	0·0210	0·0222	0·0212	0·0195
Torbay	0·0775	0·0776	0·0488	0·0493	0·0515	0·0523	0·0521
Torridge	0·0720	0·0710	0·0218	0·0222	0·0230	0·0232	0·0216
West Devon	0·0557	0·0565	0·0180	0·0144	0·0161	0·0161	0·0150
Total of Districts	1·0616	1·0262	0·3945	0·4069	0·4126	0·4167	0·3992
Dorset
Bournemouth	0·0868	0·0847	0·0663	0·0672	0·0765	0·0777	0·0791
Christchurch	0·0239	0·0241	0·0138	0·0161	0·0174	0·0179	0·0160
North Dorset	0·0636	0·0623	0·0129	0·0157	0·0154	0·0161	0·0155
Poole	0·0729	0·0705	0·0462	0·0488	0·0491	0·0502	0·0461
Purbeck	0·0385	0·0357	0·0132	0·0144	0·0143	0·0139	0·0130
West Dorset	0·0977	0·0970	0·0312	0·0312	0·0303	0·0309	0·0301
Weymouth and Portland	0·0753	0·0748	0·0253	0·0276	0·0288	0·0288	0·0275
Wimborne	0·0643	0·0651	0·0275	0·0272	0·0275	0·0271	0·0244
Total of Districts	0·5230	0·5142	0·2364	0·2482	0·2593	0·2626	0·2517
Durham
Chester le Street	0·0790	0·0794	0·0267	0·0277	0·0254	0·0260	0·0232
Darlington	0·1034	0·1027	0·0451	0·0421	0·0464	0·0445	0·0477
Derwentside	0·1385	0·1244	0·0396	0·0466	0·0482	0·0493	0·0471
Durham	0·1246	0·1281	0·0375	0·0358	0·0358	0·0374	0·0327
Easington	0·1813	0·1849	0·0603	0·0533	0·0545	0·0554	0·0519
Sedgefield	0·1645	0·1581	0·0592	0·0525	0·0528	0·0540	0·0459
Teesdale	0·0375	0·0364	0·0081	0·0090	0·0091	0·0091	0·0080
Wear Valley	0·1085	0·1089	0·0374	0·0359	0·0363	0·0364	0·0322
Total of Districts	0·9373	0·9229	0·3139	0·3029	0·3085	0·3121	0·2895
East Sussex
Brighton	0·1127	0·1037	0·0884	0·0778	0·0931	0·0890	C·0997
Eastbourne	0·0388	0·0355	0·0365	0·0392	0·0428	0·0420	0·0499
Hastings	0·0787	0·0742	0·0407	0·0414	0·0441	0·0448	0·0434
Hove	0·0516	0·0532	0·0495	0·0538	0·0584	0·0576	0·0561
Lewes	0·0632	0·0623	0·0343	0·0347	0·0337	0·0342	0·0315
Rother	0·0661	0·0634	0·0356	0·0357	0·0393	0·0394	0·0367
Wealden	0·1320	0·1273	0·0471	0·0496	0·0448	0·0451	0·0423
Total of Districts	0·5431	0·5196	0·3321	0·3322	0·3562	0·3521	0·3596
Essex
Basildon	0·1110	0·1096	0·0671	0·0620	0·0673	0·0305	0·0440

	1979–80 Final	1980–81 Final	1981–82 Final	1982–83 2nd supplementary report	1983–84 3rd supplementary report	1984–85 2nd supplementary report	1985–86 settlement
Braintree	0·1016	0·1003	0·0357	0·0345	0·0358	0·0362	0·0323
Brentwood	0·0328	0·0296	0·0234	0·0242	0·0231	0·0231	0·0186
Castle Point	0·0845	0·0869	0·0290	0·0304	0·0312	0·0334	0·0299
Chelmsford	0·0834	0·0812	0·0338	0·0480	0·0464	0·0468	0·0418
Colchester	0·1263	0·1231	0·0371	0·0463	0·0465	0·0474	0·0461
Epping Forest	0·0716	0·0674	0·0378	0·0484	0·0399	0·0399	0·0342
Harlow	0·0443	0·0419	0·0229	0·0169	0·0137	0·0142	0·0137
Maldon	0·0326	0·0308	0·0152	0·0153	0·0148	0·0149	0·0130
Rochford	0·0640	0·0612	0·0286	0·0267	0·0277	0·0283	0·0241
Southend on Sea	0·0863	0·0825	0·0814	0·0804	0·0867	0·0849	0·0807
Tendring	0·1094	0·1035	0·0498	0·0535	0·0558	0·0572	0·0531
Thurrock	0·0535	0·0456	0·0509	0·0226	0·0226	0·0234	0·0227
Uttlesford	0·0435	0·0419	0·0228	0·0228	0·0220	0·0215	0·0189
Total of Districts	1·0448	1·0055	0·5355	0·5320	0·5335	0·5017	0·4731
Gloucestershire
Cheltenham	0·0516	0·0490	0·0327	0·0338	0·0365	0·0369	0·0357
Cotswold	0·0695	0·0684	0·0247	0·0244	0·0258	0·0260	0·0239
Forest of Dean	0·0957	0·0950	0·0243	0·0278	0·0258	0·0258	0·0245
Gloucester	0·0779	0·0758	0·0274	0·0314	0·0337	0·0343	0·0349
Stroud	0·1116	0·1096	0·0290	0·0321	0·0344	0·0340	0·0305
Tewkesbury	0·0750	0·0722	0·0230	0·0219	0·0225	0·0218	0·0196
Total of Districts	0·4813	0·4700	0·1611	0·1714	0·1787	0·1788	0·1691
Hampshire
Basingstoke and Deane	0·1027	0·1050	0·0312	0·0400	0·0421	0·0420	0·0362
East Hampshire	0·0848	0·0834	0·0383	0·0388	0·0371	0·0359	0·0319
Eastleigh	0·0641	0·0648	0·0255	0·0289	0·0283	0·0287	0·0258
Fareham	0·0896	0·0893	0·0341	0·0325	0·0323	0·0322	0·0283
Gosport	0·0897	0·0868	0·0299	0·0336	0·0340	0·0344	0·0333
Hart	0·0782	0·0813	0·0240	0·0260	0·0257	0·0250	0·0209
Havant	0·1174	0·1195	0·0486	0·0486	0·0478	0·0493	0·0459
New Forest	0·0882	0·0896	0·0497	0·0538	0·0537	0·0516	0·0477
Portsmouth	0·1876	0·1831	0·1135	0·1031	0·1271	0·1143	0·1188
Rushmoor	0·0711	0·0708	0·0363	0·0346	0·0357	0·0345	0·0313
Southampton	0·1807	0·1683	0·0913	0·0938	0·0969	0·0974	0·0987
Test Valley	0·0842	0·0843	0·0300	0·0296	0·0287	0·0287	0·0248
Winchester	0·0776	0·0761	0·0295	0·0327	0·0315	0·0314	0·0275
Total of Districts	1·3159	1·3023	0·5819	0·5960	0·6209	0·6054	0·5711
Hereford and Worcester
Bromsgrove	0·0754	0·0733	0·0239	0·0240	0·0249	0·0261	0·0227
Hereford	0·0378	0·0381	0·0107	0·0167	0·0172	0·0179	0·0163
Leominster	0·0503	0·0507	0·0120	0·0138	0·0142	0·0143	0·0130
Malvern Hills	0·0977	0·0995	0·0304	0·0307	0·0311	0·0318	0·0289
Redditch	0·0435	0·0452	0·0232	0·0224	0·0211	0·0220	0·0214
South Herefordshire	0·0609	0·0613	0·0148	0·0149	0·0158	0·0158	0·0143
Worcester	0·0394	0·0362	0·0216	0·0267	0·0273	0·0280	0·0262
Wychavon	0·0784	0·0788	0·0320	0·0307	0·0316	0·0318	0·0261
Wyre Forest	0·0882	0·0846	0·0354	0·0356	0·0348	0·0344	0·0274
Total of Districts	0·5716	0·5677	0·2040	0·2155	0·2180	0·2221	0·1963
Hertfordshire
Broxbourne	0·0584	0·0568	00438	0·0379	0·0299	0·0290	0·0260
Dacorum	0·0637	0·0610	0·0319	0·0462	0·0455	0·0463	0·0398
East Hertfordshire	0·0823	0·0821	0·0351	0·0388	0·0378	0·0376	0·0316
Hertsmere	0·0407	0·0381	00405	0·0408	0·0275	0·0269	0·0220
North Hertsfordshire	0·0443	0·0422	0·0268	0·0339	0·0345	0·0352	0·0302
St. Albans	0·0629	0·0582	0·0318	0·0422	0·0418	0·0409	0·0361
Stevenage	0·0319	0·0292	0·0191	0·0221	0·0221	0·0202	0·0137
Three Rivers	0·0518	0·0485	0·0322	0·0268	0·0287	0·0285	0·0239
Watford	0·0346	0·0317	0·0351	0·0337	0·0309	0·0309	0·0251
Welwyn Hatfield	0·0377	0·0346	0·0205	0·0272	0·0253	0·0230	0·0193
Total of Districts	0·5083	0·4824	0·3168	0·3496	0·3240	0·3185	0·2677
Humberside
Beverley	0·1177	0·1258	0·0310	0·0364	0·0396	0·0409	0·0370
Boothferry	0·0807	0·0888	0·0285	0·0304	0·0312	0·0317	0·0284
Cleethorpes	0·0690	0·0729	0·0300	0·0284	0·0310	0·0311	0·0338
Glanford	0·0646	0·0677	0·0226	0·0250	0·0273	0·0271	0·0255

	1979–80 Final	1980–81 Final	1981–82 Final	1982–83 2nd supplementary report	1983–84 3rd supplementary report	1984–85 2nd supplementary report	1985–86 settlement
Great Grimsby	0·0940	0·0960	0·0439	0·0436	0·0458	0·0468	0·0518
Holderness	0·0538	0·0565	0·0152	0·0167	0·0178	0·0184	0·0172
Kingston-upon-Hull	0·3350	0·3612	0·1538	0·1663	0·1721	0·1769	0·2149
East Yorkshire	0·1035	0·1078	0·0339	0·0355	0·0367	0·0373	0·0340
Scunthorpe	0·0480	0·0493	0·0363	0·0280	0·0355	0·0328	0·0262
Total of Districts	0·9663	1·0260	0·3952	0·4103	0·4370	0·4430	0·4688

	1979–80 Final	1980–81 Final	1981–82 Final	1982–83 2nd supplementary report	1983–84 3rd supplementary report	1984–85 2nd supplementary report	1985–86 settlement
Isle of Wight
Medina	0·0826	0·0789	0·0250	0·0259	0·0267	0·0271	0·0258
South Wight	0·0623	0·0598	0·0220	0·0211	0·0220	0·0217	0·0206
Total of Districts	0·1449	0·1387	0·0470	0·0470	0·0487	0·0488	0·0464
Kent
Ashford	0·0863	0·0808	0·0323	0·0314	0·0341	0·0347	0·0349
Canterbury	0·1400	0·1342	0·0529	0·0537	0·0554	0·0570	0·0525
Dartford	0·0906	0·0847	0·0462	0·0386	0·0388	0·0369	0·0286
Dover	0·1297	0·1244	0·0525	0·0483	0·0471	0·0468	0·0417
Gillingham	0·1064	0·1027	0·0342	0·0322	0·0339	0·0337	0·0349
Gravesham	0·0930	0·0922	0·0416	0·0395	0·0398	0·0396	0·0360
Maidstone	0·1387	0·1343	0·0494	0·0473	0·0479	0·0474	0·0428
Medway	0·1092	0·1087	0·0687	0·0556	0·0558	0·0548	0·0543
Sevenoaks	0·1295	0·1228	0·0394	0·0399	0·0414	0·0417	0·0358
Shepway	0·0832	0·0809	0·0414	0·0398	0·0423	0·0423	0·0387
Swale	0·1345	0·1273	0·0450	0·0408	0·0424	0·0430	0·0396
Thanet	0·1374	0·1355	0·0702	0·0672	0·0734	0·0734	0·0688
Tonbridge and Malling	0·0951	0·0907	0·0289	0·0312	0·0335	0·0332	0·0236
Tunbridge Wells	0·1090	0·1028	0·0351	0·0358	0·0385	0·0388	0·0354
Total of Districts	1·5826	1·5220	0·6378	0·6013	0·6243	0·6233	0·5726
Lancashire
Blackburn	0·2215	0·2101	0·1042	0·1027	0·1087	0·1089	0·1135
Blackpool	0·1599	0·1557	0·0758	0·0756	0·0883	0·0876	0·0926
Burnley	0·1485	0·1418	0·0604	0·0571	0·0611	0·0618	0·0535
Chorley	0·1205	0·1160	0·0340	0·0339	0·0353	0·0367	0·0343
Fylde	0·0781	0·0719	0·0273	0·0287	0·0303	0·0306	0·0287
Hyndburn	0·1246	0·1187	0·0434	0·0439	0·0423	0·0424	0·0434
Lancaster	0·1685	0·1611	0·0560	0·0593	0·0609	0·0621	0·0567
Pendle	0·1453	0·1392	0·0492	0·0492	0·0484	0·0494	1·0456
Preston	0·1470	0·1360	0·0575	0·0618	0·0679	0·0694	0·0655
Ribble Valley	0·0718	0·0713	0·0219	0·0198	0·0199	0·0207	0·0182
Rossendale	0·1090	0·1037	0·0363	0·0348	0·0361	0·0366	0·0328
South Ribble	0·1312	0·1272	0·0333	0·0333	0·0287	0·0334	0·0312
West Lancashire	0·1276	0·1187	0·0446	0·0404	0·0396	0·0419	0·0372
Wyre	0·1252	0·1188	0·0433	0·0499	0·0495	0·0508	0·0472
Total of Districts	1·8787	1·7902	0·6872	0·6904	0·7170	0·7323	0·6995
Leicestershire
Blaby	0·0833	0·0821	0·0224	0·0227	0·0230	0·0234	0·0216
Charnwood	0·1028	0·1031	0·0424	0·0431	0·0421	0·0415	0·0372
Harborough	0·0611	0·0607	0·0209	0·0202	0·0193	0·0192	0·0170
Hinckley and Bosworth	0·0810	0·0795	0·0225	0·0245	0·0246	0·0252	0·0221
Leicester	0·2310	0·2155	0·1414	0·1239	0·1224	0·1439	0·1647
Melton	0·0424	0·0439	0·0135	0·0147	0·0144	0·0146	0·0125
North West Leicester	0·0724	0·0731	0·0244	0·0247	0·0250	0·0250	0·0215
Oadby and Wigston	0·0493	0·0476	0·0134	0·0172	0·0163	0·0169	0·0153
Rutland	0·0329	0·0340	0·0084	0·0102	0·0095	0·0096	0·0086
Total of Districts	0·7572	0·7385	0·3093	0·3012	0·2966	0·3193	0·3205
Lincolnshire
Boston	0·0590	0·0569	0·0191	0·0219	0·0227	0·0239	0·0219
East Lindsey	0·1188	0·1140	0·0372	0·0420	0·0419	0·0395	0·0364
Lincoln	0·0760	0·0721	0·0297	0·0309	0·0344	0·0353	0·0370
North Kesteven	0·1097	0·1056	0·0260	0·0267	0·0265	0·0266	0·0238
South Holland	0·0827	0·0796	0·0287	0·0278	0·0281	0·0283	0·0248
South Kesteven	0·1115	0·1082	0·0331	0·0354	0·0352	0·0357	0·0320
West Lindsey	0·1067	0·1067	0·0288	0·0282	0·0256	0·0271	0·0241

	1979–80 Final	1980–81 Final	1981–82 Final	1982–83 2nd supplementary report	1983–84 3rd supplementary report	1984–85 2nd supplementary report	1985–86 settlement
Total of Districts	0·6644	0·6431	0·2026	0·2129	0·2144	0·2164	0·2000
Norfolk
Breckland	0·1053	0·1035	0·0300	0·0290	0·0308	0·0316	0·0281
Broadland	0·1116	0·1107	0·0286	0·0312	0·0315	0·0320	0·0293
Great Yarmouth	0·0710	0·0683	0·0332	0·0349	0·0368	0·0344	0·0405
North Norfolk	0·0832	0·0816	0·0307	0·0325	0·0364	0·0368	0·0350
Norwich	0·0423	0·0410	0·0567	0·0385	0·0441	0·0469	0·0404
South Norfolk	0·1092	0·1084	0·0343	0·0322	0·0310	0·0318	0·0289
Kings Lynn and West Norfolk	0·1132	0·1159	0·0429	0·0423	0·0449	0·0455	0·0398
Total of Districts	0·6358	0·6294	0·2564	0·2406	0·2555	0·2590	0·2420
Northamptonshire
Corby	0·0335	0·0292	0·0198	0·0203	0·0227	0·0218	0·0191
Daventry	0·0420	0·0430	0·0125	0·0160	0·0157	0·0158	0·0133
East Northampton	0·0694	0·0693	0·0156	0·0185	0·0191	0·0198	0·0184
Kettering	0·0831	0·0830	0·0335	0·0284	0·0306	0·0318	0·0286
Northampton	0·0947	0·0912	0·0712	0·0707	0·0707	0·0673	0·0769
South Northampton	0·0681	0·0688	0·0189	0·0207	0·0197	0·0201	0·0185
Wellingborough	0·0638	0·0647	0·0215	0·0222	0·0233	0·0244	0·0213
Total of Districts	0·4546	0·4492	0·1930	0·1968	0·2018	0·2010	0·1961
Northumberland
Alnwick	0·0438	0·0421	0·0138	0·0127	0·0142	0·0141	0·0139
Berwick-upon-Tweed	0·0359	0·0351	0·0085	0·0102	0·0110	0·0108	0·0102
Blyth Valley	0·1180	0·1215	0·0435	0·0427	0·0438	0·0425	0·0402
Castle Morpeth	0·0573	0·0555	0·0163	0·0170	0·0167	0·0168	0·0147
Tynedale	0·0726	0·0726	0·0218	0·0185	0·0200	0·0212	0·0188
Wansbeck	0·0725	0·0743	0·0259	0·0219	0·0260	0·0256	0·0221
Total of Districts	0·4001	0·4011	0·1298	0·1230	0·1317	0·1310	0·1199
North Yorkshire
Craven	0·0633	0·0635	0·0173	0·0184	0·0186	0·0187	0·0166
Hambleton	0·0926	0·0934	0·0217	0·0227	0·0237	0·0240	0·0215
Harrogate	0·1566	0·1560	0·0559	0·0569	0·0603	0·0599	0·0500
Richmondshire	0·0608	0·0637	0·0176	0·0167	0·0174	0·0179	0·0163
Ryedale	0·1131	0·1146	0·0246	0·0273	0·0279	0·0289	0·0264
Scarborough	0·1311	0·1283	0·0448	0·0483	0·0502	0·0496	0·0474
Selby	0·0401	0·0472	0·0187	0·0175	0·0168	0·0161	0·0124
York	0·1194	0·1219	0·0388	0·0485	0·0457	0·0467	0·0472
Total of Districts	0·7770	0·7886	0·2394	0·2563	0·2606	0·2618	0·2378
Nottinghamshire
Ashfield	0·1322	0·1319	0·0436	0·0384	0·0413	0·0414	0·0370
Bassetlaw	0·0536	0·0516	0·0273	0·0227	0·0226	0·0199	0·0133
Broxtowe	0·1054	0·1028	0·0398	0·0373	0·0391	0·0391	0·0374
Gedling	0·1205	0·1126	0·0329	0·0388	0·0420	0·0421	0·0387
Mansfield	0·1366	0·1259	0·0550	0·0530	0·0532	0·0557	0·0520
Newark-Sherwood	0·1130	0·1106	0·0359	0·0352	0·0370	0·0371	0·0327
Nottingham	0·2275	0·2132	0·1245	0·1291	0·1483	0·1483	0·1659
Rushcliffe	0·0731	0·0692	0·0269	0·0267	0·0280	0·0271	0·0232
Total of Districts	0·9619	0·9178	0·3859	0·3812	0·4115	0·4107	0·4002
Oxfordshire
Cherwell	0·0943	0·0906	0·0331	0·0309	0·0320	0·0324	0·0299
Oxford	0·0649	0·0625	0·0473	0·0461	0·0455	0·0521	0·0544
South Oxfordshire	0·1329	0·1292	0·0386	0·0394	0·0389	0·0397	0·0358
Vale of White Horse	0·0534	0·0461	0·0205	0·0234	0·0246	0·0249	0·0227
West Oxfordshire	0·0872	0·0842	0·0245	0·0234	0·0248	0·0279	0·0251
Total of Districts	0·4327	0·4126	0·1640	0·1632	0·1658	0·1770	0·1681
Shropshire
Bridgnorth	0·0516	0·0503	0·0129	0·0141	0·0153	0·0155	0·0143
North Shropshire	0·0660	0·0667	0·0162	0·0173	0·0186	0·0200	0·0171
Oswestry	0·0411	0·0422	0·0096	0·0114	0·0115	0·0117	0·0109
Shrewsbury and Atcham	0·0733	0·0730	0·0238	0·0280	0·0290	0·0298	0·0263

	1979–80 Final	1980–81 Final	1981–82 Final	1982–83 2nd supplementary report	1983–84 3rd supplementary report	1984–85 2nd supplementary report	1985–86 settlement
South Shropshire	0·0476	0·0479	0·0153	0·0134	0·0143	0·0155	0·0132
The Wrekin	0·1321	0·1395	0·0570	0·0566	0·0555	0·0540	0·0480
Total of Districts	0·4117	0·4196	0·1348	0·1408	0·1442	0·1465	0·1298
Somerset
Mendip	0·1054	0·1053	0·0255	0·0278	0·0289	0·0294	0·0269
Sedgemoor	0·1044	0·1027	0·0308	0·0330	0·0341	0·0339	0·0304
Taunton Dene	0·0981	0·0930	0·0321	0·0324	0·0330	0·0343	0·0314
West Somerset	0·0084	0·0079	0·0113	0·0102	0·0113	0·0105	0·0100
South Somerset	0·1539	0·1492	0·0377	0·0418	0·0434	0·0441	0·0415
Total of Districts	0·4702	0·4581	0·1374	0·1452	0·1507	0·1522	0·1402
Staffordshire
Cannock Chase	0·0868	0·0831	0·0292	0·0284	0·0294	0·0298	0·0271
East Staffordshire	0·0875	0·0833	0·0263	0·0328	0·0336	0·0346	0·0319
Lichfield	0·0812	0·0803	0·0220	0·0242	0·0257	0·0261	0·0225
Newcastle under Lyme	0·1553	0·1549	0·0412	0·0438	0·0458	0·0469	0·0418
South Staffordshire	0·1042	0·1014	0·0289	0·0317	0·0293	0·0293	0·0256
Stafford	0·1037	0·0992	0·0336	0·0409	0·0390	0·0378	0·0329
Staffs, Moorlands	0·1276	0·1233	0·0245	0·0286	0·0320	0·0324	0·0276
Stoke-on-Trent	0·2787	0·2815	0·0853	0·1014	0·1040	0·1020	0·0999
Tamworth	0·0734	0·0766	0·0297	0·0253	0·0257	0·0267	0·0262
Total of Districts	1·0984	1·0836	0·3207	0·3571	0·3645	0·3656	0·3355
Suffolk
Babergh	0·0739	0·0745	0·0303	0·0290	0·0273	0·0272	0·0246
Forest Heath	0·0649	0·0714	0·0214	0·0206	0·0227	0·0221	0·0191
Ipswich	0·0810	0·0813	0·0440	0·0465	0·0513	0·0511	0·0526
Mid Suffolk	0·0804	0·0830	0·0244	0·0258	0·0259	0·0254	0·0231
St. Edmundsbury	0·0766	0·0794	0·0252	0·0263	0·0279	0·0281	0·0259
Suffolk Coastal	0·0959	0·0980	0·0314	0·0336	0·0343	0·0345	0·0315
Waveney	0·1174	0·1218	0·0451	0·0462	0·0469	0·0478	0·0456
Total of Districts	0·5901	0·6094	0·2218	0·2280	0·2363	0·2362	0·2224
Surrey
Elmbridge	0·0478	0·0440	0·0482	0·0451	0·0347	0·0321	0·0303
Epsom and Ewell	0·0448	0·0445	0·0376	0·0367	0·0273	0·0267	0·0217
Guildford	0·0411	0·0379	0·0409	0·0368	0·0361	0·0340	0·0299
Mole Valley	0·0471	0·0450	0·0267	0·0235	0·0233	0·0230	0·0191
Reigate and Banstead	0·0683	0·0653	0·0404	0·0422	0·0354	0·0340	0·0290
Runnymede	0·0668	0·0433	0·0254	0·0208	0·0211	0·0208	0·0176
Spelthorne	0·0304	0·0280	0·0377	0·0372	0·0292	0·0190	0·0184
Surrey Heath	0·0373	0·0353	0·0221	0·0242	0·0229	0·0219	0·0179
Tandridge	0·0789	0·0771	0·0217	0·0229	0·0220	0·0232	0·0206
Waverley	0·0862	0·0834	0·0391	0·0357	0·0358	0·0359	0·0300
Woking	0·0385	0·0313	0·0363	0·0337	0·0361	0·0345	0·0306
Total of Districts	0·5677	0·5351	0·3761	0·3588	0·3239	0·3051	0·2651
Warwickshire
North Warwickshire	0·0472	0·0533	0·0214	0·0195	0·0195	0·0196	0·0167
Nuneaton and Bedworth	0·1429	0·1407	0·0542	0·0514	0·0512	0·0499	0·0425
Rugby	0·0841	0·0827	0·0281	0·0293	0·0299	0·0305	0·0264
Stratford-on-Avon	0·0788	0·0767	0·0302	0·0340	0·0333	0·0336	3·0283
Warwick	0·0810	0·0814	0·0428	0·0425	0·0413	0·0398	0·0361
Total of Districts	0·4340	0·4348	0·1767	0·1767	0·1752	0·1734	0·1500
West Sussex
Adur	0·0483	0·0459	0·0211	0·0204	0·0220	0·0219	0·0175
Arun	0·1039	0·1026	0·0579	0·0576	0·0586	0·0597	0·0549
Chichester	0·0838	0·0811	0·0412	0·0423	0·0424	0·0413	0·0370
Crawley	0·0239	0·0225	0·0104	0·0106	0·0122	0·0126	0·0123
Horsham	0·0842	0·0825	0·0335	0·0343	0·0355	0·0367	0·0319
Mid Sussex	0·0946	0·0943	0·0400	0·0404	0·0391	0·0409	0·0328
Worthing	0·0615	0·0615	0·0474	0·0480	0·0512	0·0521	0·0475
Total of Districts	0·5002	0·4904	0·2515	0·2536	0·2610	0·2652	0·2339
Wiltshire
Kennet	0·0885	0·0926	0·0224	0·0218	0·0221	0·0228	0·0208

	1979–80 Final	1980–81 Final	1981–82 Final	1982–83 2nd supplementary report	1983–84 3rd supplementary report	1984–85 2nd supplementary report	1985–86 settlement
North Wiltshire	0·1339	0·1426	0·0334	0·0335	0·0330	0·0327	0·0333
Salisbury	0·1064	0·1074	0·0281	0·0296	0·0310	0·0336	0·0294
Thamesdown	0·1628	0·1686	0·0688	0·0609	0·0542	0·0481	0·0435
West Wiltshire	0·1077	0·1140	0·0298	0·0296	0·0304	0·0307	0·0286
Total of Districts	0·5993	0·6252	0·1825	0·1754	0·1707	0·1679	0·1556
Met Police PA	0·0000	0·0000	0·0000	0·0000	1·5035	1·5570	1·5670

Council Housing

the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his latest estimate of the number of empty council houses and flats which are for sale.

According to local authorities' most recent housing investment programme returns, at 1 April 1984, 5,600 empty dwellings were awaiting sale, 400 were undergoing repair or improvement for sale, and 600 were awaiting repair or improvement for sale.

Performing Arts (Manchester)

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when the hon. Member for Stretford may expect a reply from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Ealing, Acton (Sir G. Young) to his letter of 25 February concerning the performing arts in Greater Manchester.

I shall be replying very shortly. I regret the delay.

Ec (Environmental Policy)

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he is taking in the EC to promote a common approach to environmental issues.

In the Council of Environment Ministers, where I represent the United Kingdom, it is my prime concern to see that a common approach is adopted where action at Community level is justified. This involves being satisfied that there is a sound scientific basis for proposed measures and that their costs and likely benefits are fully assessed. The Government have endorsed a number of important principles within the Community: that there should be an environmental dimension to other Community policies; that prevention is preferable to cure; that due regard should be paid to the "polluter pays principle" and that Community legislation should be effectively implemented. The varying environmental conditions and practices of individual member states and the need to avoid environmental policy being used to attempt to set up barriers to trade are also crucial. These considerations apply both when we respond to draft legislation from the Commission and when we put forward our own proposals, such as our successful initiatives on unleaded petrol and the introduction of a new emphasis on conservation in the common agricultural policy. Increasingly, with our partners in the Community, we are seeking better ways of working together in co-operation with countries outside the Community, especially in helping to tackle the environmental problems of developing countries.

Local Authorities (Land Holdings)

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the proportion of the total area of freehold land in the United Kingdom which is owned by local authorities in (a) England, (b) Yorkshire and Humberside region, (c) West Yorkshire and (d) Leeds.

This information is not held centrally.

Asbestos

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether, before placing a contract for the transport of asbestos from Faslane to Glenboig, the Property Services Agency sought the advice of Monklands district council or Glenboig community council; and if he will make a statement.

No. The Property Services Agency satisfied itself that its chosen contractor would remove the asbestos waste to a suitable tip licensed for such a purpose by a local authority.

Regal Cinema, Edmonton

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will consider the listing of the Regal cinema, Edmonton, as a building of architectural and historic interest which is presently under the threat of demolition.

The Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England, which is the statutory adviser to my right hon. Friend in these matters, has advised that the Regal cinema, Edmonton, does not possess sufficient special architectural or historic interest. My right hon. Friend has accepted this advice, and does not therefore intend to list the cinema.

Broad Street Station

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will consider the listing of Broad street station as a building of architectural and historic interest; and whether he has received any representations from the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England on this issue.

The Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England wrote to the Department on 5 March this year to advise that in its opinion Broad street station was of a quality to be listed in grade II. However, the question of listing this building had been considered previously in 1971, 1975 and 1981. On each occasion it was decided that the building was not of sufficient special architectural or historic interest to warrant listing. My right hon. Friend studied the arguments of the commission but concluded that these did not justify reversing previous decisions. The commission was informed of this on 22 April.

Management Consultancy Contracts

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the contracts, with the subject of assignment, awarded to management consultancy firms by his Department in 1984, with the name of the consultants concerned.

I shall provide the information as soon as our current survey of consultancy contracts let in the financial year 1984–85 is completed.

Structure Plans

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received about the north-east Hampshire structure plan; and what proportion of these were against the plan.

I have received approximately 130 objections and representations from some 60 organisations and individuals on proposals for alterations to the north-east Hampshire structure plan submitted to me by the Hampshire county council. Approximately 120 objections were made to various aspects of the proposed alterations.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the report of the examination in public into the north-east Hampshire structure plan; and when this report and the Secretary of State's comments on it will be made public.

I have received the report on the examination in public into proposed alterations to the north-east Hampshire structure plan. Full consideration is being given to all the recommendations in the report. I hope that the report and proposed modifications to the alterations will be published early in June.

Fly Posting

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to combat the growth of unauthorised fly posting.

Unauthorised "fly-posting" is an offence which is open to prosecution by the local planning authority, under section 109 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1971. Since July 1982 district councils and London boroughs have also had power, under section 109A of the 1971 Act, to remove or obliterate any illegally displayed placard or poster after giving two days' notice of their intention to do so. Guidance about dealing effectively with "fly-posting" is given in paragraphs 39 to 41 of the annex to my Department's circular No. 11/84, which was issued to all local authorities on 9 April last year.

House Repairs (Warranty Scheme)

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on progress made so far in respect of a warranty scheme for the repair of homes covered by the Housing Defects Act; and if he will indicate the steps which have been taken to ensure that the warranty will be acceptable to the building societies.

On 2 May the executive committee of the National House Building Council approved the arrangements for the scheme. Its subsidiary formed specifically for the purpose ("PRC Homes Limited") will invite designers and builders to submit systems of repair of precast reinforced concrete houses for approval. This approval will mean that local authorities, lending institutions and, most important, the owners can be satisfied that the system of repair has been examined carefully by technical experts, that the carrying out of the repair will be supervised closely by qualified engineers or surveyors and that the builders responsible for the work are reliable and reputable. In addition to all of these safeguards the scheme will provide insurance cover for 10 years against major structural defects arising from the failure of the repair. The Building Societies Association has participated in the setting up of the arrangements and I am confident that houses repaired under the scheme will prove acceptable to building societies generally.I hope that the first approvals of repair schemes can be given this summer and that the first repairs to PRC houses under the scheme can be completed before the winter. My Department will be writing to the local authority associations and to individual local authorities, to explain how the arrangements under this scheme relate to the overall administration by local authorities, of assistance to owners under the Housing Defects Act 1984.I record my thanks to the National House Building Council and to the Building Societies Association for their sustained help, without which this novel scheme would not have been introduced.

Conservation Orders

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list in date order the requests from the Nature Conservancy Council for section 29 conservation orders he has received since 1 January; and which have so far not been granted or approved by him.

I shall write to the hon. Member with this information.

Block Grant

the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to the answer of 1 May to the hon. Member for Manchester, Withington, if he will indicate which local authorities there listed are to have their block grant reduced because their expenditure is above target, and for each of those authorities the grant per head that has been forgone.

Although proposals for the basis of block grant reductions in 1985–86 were made in the main rate support grant report approved on 16 January, the reductions cannot be made until all authorities' budgets have been received and analysed. This is still in progress. The necessary recalculations will as usual be incorporated in a supplementary report to be laid before the House for approval in July.

Swans (Lead Poisoning)

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make available in the Library the advice he has received from the Nature Conservancy Council on the subject of anglers' lead weights and the lead poisoning of mute swans.

I shall arrange for a copy of this report to be placed in the Library of the House. I am currently considering the NCC's findings and will make a statement shortly.

Council House Sales

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he intends to continue with the special arrangements under which tenants of Norwich city council are currently exercising the right to buy their homes; and if he will make a statement.

Norwich city council has been processing right-to-buy applications from its tenants for the sale of council houses under the terms of a consent given by my right hon. Friend the present Secretary of State for Defence following his decision to serve notice of intervention on the council on 3 December 1981. These arrangements, under which more than 2,000 tenants have purchased their homes, have been kept under review. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment has concluded that, in view of the council's progress with the right to buy and the assurances given by the council about its future practices and performance, the notice of intervention should be removed.My Department has given the council today a notice of withdrawal of intervention under which the specific timetables and processing arrangements set out in the terms of the consent will not apply to applications submitted after the notice of withdrawal has effect. Norwich city council, as with other local authorities, will continue to be subject to the statutory requirements of the Housing Act 1980 and the Housing and Building Control Act 1984 in its conduct of the right to buy. The removal of the notice of intervention makes no difference to the right of tenants of the council to purchase their homes or to make representations to the council or my Department if they feel they are being unfairly treated.

Housing And Construction Industry

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many people work in the public and private sector, respectively, of the housing and construction industry.

In 1984 there were some 1,055,000 employees working in the building and construction industry, 256,000 of whom were employed by public authorities. In addition, an estimated 463,000 self-employed persons were working in the industry.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the total number of man-weeks worked in the housing and construction industry during the last 12 months for which figures are available differentiating between the public and private sectors.

This information is not available centrally.

Local Authorities (Building And Repair Work)

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what percentage of local authority housing, construction and repair work is carried out under contract to private firms.

The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy publication "Direct Labour Organisations Statistics 1982–83 Actuals" gives details of the amount of building construction and maintenance work carried out by authorities' own employees and by outside constractors respectively. The figures do not, however, distinguish between housing and other work.

New Towns And Housing Associations (Grants)

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will express total central Government subsidies to local authority and new towns' housing and housing associations as a percentage of total general subsidies to housing for each year since 1979–80.

Central Government subsidies to local authority and new town housing and current and capital grants to housing associations are given in the table for the United Kingdom.Estimates of amounts of other forms of Government support for housing costs were given in answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Kensington (Sir B. Rhys Williams) by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 20 March, at column 505.

	Central Government subsidies to Local Authority and new town housing^ £ million*	Grants to^† housing associations £ million
1979–80	1,828	577
1980–81	2,029	587
1981–82	1,437	561
1982–83	940	687
1983–84	656	1,110
^* Including subsidies to Scottish Special Housing Association and Northern Ireland Housing Executive.
† Including revenue deficit grant and housing association grant.

Departmental Furniture

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to the answer of 15 April, Official Report, column 111, what were the individual costs of the three-piece suites purchased for Ministers' offices in his Department in 1983–84 and 1984–85, and the desk set purchased in 1983–84.

The individual costs were as follows:

	1983–84 £	1984–85 £
3 piece suites	1,469	1,713
	750
Desk Set	130

Crown Suppliers

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to the answer of 28 March, OfficialReport, column 333, what has been the total cost in each of the past five years of the cars operated by the Crown Suppliers.

A breakdown of the cost of cars as opposed to other vehicles in the Crown Suppliers' self-drive fleet cannot be provided within the time available. The total fleet budget for the years in question were:

	£
1980–81	6,019,170
1981–82	6,286,546
1982–83	6,737,677
1983–84	6,663,244
1984–85	7,744,018

House Building

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many permanent new dwellings were (a) started in the public and private sector, respectively, in England in 1984–85, (b) under construction and (c) completed.

The provisional figures are as follows:

England: Financial Year 1984–85
Thousand dwellings
	Public Sector	Private Sector
Started	30·7	129·8
Completed	40·6	129·7
Under Construction at 31 March 1985	48·7	201·0

Public Sector Housing (Renovation)

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many public sector house renovations were completed in 1984–85.

Provisional public sector renovations completed in the first nine months of 1984–85 were published in table 2.13 of "Housing and Construction Statistics Part 2, No. 20". A copy is in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the average cost per dwelling of a public sector renovation scheme in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

The provisional average cost for 1984 is slightly below £7,000 for English public sector dwellings.

Rent Acts

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to be in a position to announce the outcome of his Department's review of the Rent Acts.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer which my hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Construction gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Southampton, Itchen (Mr. Chope) on 13 March at column 144.

Rates

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what are the average rates payments for (a) domestic ratepayers, (b) commercial ratepayers and (c) industrial ratepayers for each local authority in England;(2) what is the average increase in rates for each local authority in England; and if he will publish a table;(3) what is the average increase in the rate poundage, in each local authority of England of

(a) domestic ratepayers, (b) commercial ratepayers and (c) industrial ratepayers; and if he will publish a table or tables;

(4) what is the present average rateable value in each local authority in England of (a) domestic ratepayers, (b) commercial ratepayers and (c) industrial ratepayers; and if he will publish a table.

I shall answer these questions shortly.

London Docklands Development Corporation

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the total value of contracts and the number of consultants retained by the London Docklands Development Corporation in each year since its creation.

[pursuant to his reply, 29 April 1985, c. 32]: The information requested is as follows:

Year	Number of firms engaged	Payments £ million
1981–82 (9 months)	37	1·434
1982–83	155	5·056
1983–84	146	9·235
1984–85	168	9·6

Royal Docks (Stolport)

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if his Department has evaluated the effect of the development of a STOLport in the royal docks area on the willingness of foreign investors to establish businesses in the area.

[pursuant to his reply, 3 May 1985, c. 257]: The London Docklands Development Corporation, in its evidence to the public local planning inquiry into the STOLport development, provided information on its potential for attracting investment generally to the royal docks and surrounding area, although the question of foreign investment was not specifically examined.

Conservation

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he received the request from the Nature Conservancy Council for a section 29 conservation order to be applied on land within Ferry Ford farm, Staffordshire; and when he expects to sign the order.

[pursuant to his reply, 3 May 1985, c. 257]: I was first formally alerted by the Nature Conservancy Council to the need for an order on 3 April. After subsequent receipt of full details of the case for an order, and the completion of essential consultations, the order was duly made on 1 May 1985.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to list as a European Commission birds directive special protection area and Ramsar convention site the following estuaries: (a) Morecambe Bay, (b) River Orwell, Suffolk, and (c) the Wash.

[pursuant to his reply, 3 May 1985, c. 257]: The listing of sites under the EC Birds directive and the Ramsar convention is linked to the renotification programme for sites of special scientific interest, which is expected to be substantially complete by the end of 1986. The Wash has been renotified as a SSSI but it would be inappropriate to reach a decision about its listing in advance of agreement on a strategy for the area.

Asbestos Dumping (Glenboig)

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when the hon. Member for Monklands, West can expect to receive a letter from his Department regarding details of the dumping of asbestos at Glenboig, as promised in the answer by his right hon. Friend the Minister of State for the Armed Forces, of 25 April, Official Report, column 520.

I have written to the hon. Member today.

Bloodstock Breeders

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress he has made in his consideration of the representations made to him by representatives of bloodstock breeders to introduce early legislation to reverse the Whitsbury Manor Stud decision in advance of a hearing before the Court of Appeal; and when he intends to announce his decision on this specific request.

I have considered the representations carefully. I understand that the Court of Appeal will be considering this case in the near future. I shall await its decision before deciding what action, if any, would be justified.

Butterflies

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list those species of butterflies found in the United Kingdom which the Nature Conservancy Council regards as having significantly or substantially declined or as threatened or endangered.

I am advised by the Nature Conservancy Council that out of a total British list of 55 resident breeding species, one—the large blue—became extinct in 1979, 10 more are regarded as vulnerable or endangered, and 13 have declined in numbers and become less widespread since 1960 because of contraction of their habitats. The species affected are as follows:

Butterfly species	State of species
Adonis Blue	vulnerable
Brown Hairstreak	declining
Chalkhill Blue	declining
Chequered Skipper	declining
Dark Green Fritillary	declining
Dingy Skipper	declining
Duke of Burgundy	vulnerable
Grayling	declining

Butterfly species	State of species
Grizzled Skipper	declining
Heath Fritillary	vulnerable
High Brown Fritillary	vulnerable
Large Blue	extinct
Large Tortoiseshell	endangered
Marbled White	declining
Marsh Fritillary	vulnerable
Pearl-bordered Fritillary	declining
Purple Emperor	declining
Silver-spotted Skipper	vulnerable
Silver-studded Blue	vulnerable
Silver-washed Fritillary	declining
Small Blue	declining
Small Pearl-bordered	declining
White-letter Hairstreak	vulnerable
Wood White	vulnerable

Ministerial Cars

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will provide details by individual Ministers in his Department of the costs for ministerial cars in each year since 1980–81.

I shall answer this question shortly.

Local Government Expenditure

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment why he will not express in numerical form the number of relevant representations he has received relating to section 7 of the Local Government (Interim Provisions) Act 1984.

A precise figure could not be provided, since not all of the numerous representations received are in writing, and it is not always clear whether representations relate specifically to section 7 or to applications for consent under that section.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many representations have been received from prospective purchasers of properties for which consent had been sought under section 8 of the Local Government (Interim Provisions) Act 1984.

Numerous representations have been received, a significant proportion of which were made by telephone. Many involved transactions for which no application for consent had been received from the authority concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give details of the measures he is taking to ensure that all consent applications under section 8 of the Local Government (Interim Provisions) Act 1984 are processed within one month of submission.

Sufficient staff and other resources will continue to be deployed to ensure that all applications are considered expeditiously on their individual merits.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 29 April, Official Report, column 39, what further information was requested from the Greater London council in respect of the three outstanding consent applications under section 8 of the Local Government (Interim Provisions) Act 1984; and when the additional information was sought.

Letters requesting further information were sent to the Greater London council on 10 October 1984, 17 December 1984 and 29 January 1985. Copies are in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to the answer of 29 April, Official Report, column 35, when consents were sought under section 7 of the Local Government (Interim Provisions) Act 1948 in respect of the following organisations: (a) the Women's Peace Bus, (b) the London Lesbian and Gay Centre, (c) Interights, (d) Spare Rib and (e) Searchlight; and what is the reason for the delay in processing each case.

The applications for consent were received from the Greater London council on 11 March 1985. Each needs to be considered carefully and on its merits. A decision has now been issued in respect of the London Lesbian and Gay Centre. The council has been asked to supply further information about the proposed grant to Searchlight Publishing Ltd.

Local Authorities (Advertising)

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many members of the public have made representations in writing or by other means to his Department about the level of advertising by local authorities.

I shall write to the hon. Member.

Whale And Turtle Products

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will seek powers to ban imports of all whale and turtle products.

EC Regulation 3626/82, which has implemented the convention on international trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora within the European Community since 1 January 1984, already bans the import of whale and sea turtle products for commercial purposes. Only limited exemptions to the ban may be granted by my Department under the provisions of these regulations.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to the answers of 29 April, Official Report, columns 35 and 36, if he will list the individuals or organisations which took up import permits for whale and turtle products in each of the years since 1979.

I shall write to the hon. Member shortly.

Overseas Development

International Year Of Shelter For The Homeless

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action Her Majesty's Government propose to take in response to the United Nations proclamation of 1987 as the International Year of Shelter for the Homeless.

The Government endorsed the United Nations resolution which instigated activity on behalf of the homeless in developing countries. The United Nations Commission for Human Settlement has been told that we will be pleased to consider funding, under aid programme arrangements, appropriate projects submitted by developing countries.Countries have been asked to nominate, as a special contribution to the year, projects which are now being implemented which will be operational by 1987. We plan to nominate two such projects but agreement to do so is currently being sought from the recipient countries.

Prime Minister

Dublin Council Of Ministers

Q14.

asked the Prime Minister if she is satisfied with the manner in which the decisions of the Dublin Council of Ministers have been implemented, with particular reference to the distribution of food aid by the European Economic Community; and if she will make a statement.

Progress in distributing the 1·2 million tonnes of food aid pledged at Dublin for countries affected by famine in Africa has been slower than I would have wished. 230,000 tonnes will be delivered by the European Commission and 376,100 tonnes by the member states to the countries most seriously affected in the first half of 1985, although some may arise from pledges made before Dublin.

Bridges And Estuaries (Tolls)

Q44.

asked the Prime Minister what is Her Majesty's Government's policy with regard to the charging of tolls on bridges and estuarial crossings; what are the criteria by which the charging or non-charging of tolls are decided; and if she will make a statement.

The policy of the Government towards estuarial crossings is that, except where there are counter-arguments on grounds of traffic diversion or congestion, they should be paid for by users rather than taxpayers because of the exceptional savings in time and money which these expensive facilities make possible

Pensions

Q96.

asked the Prime Minister whether she will ensure that, in any reform of the basic state retirement pension scheme, men and women will be placed on the same basis of age eligibility for receiving their retirement pension.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave him on 5 March 1985, Official Report, column 444. Proposals for the future of social security will be published shortly.

Falkland Islands

Q117.

asked the Prime Minister what plans are being made for her to visit the Falkland Islands; and if she will make a statement.

I have at present no plans to visit the Falkland Islands.

City Action Teams

Q118.

asked the Prime Minister if she proposes to visit any inner city partnership areas in relation to her initiatives on city action teams.

As in the past, I hope to visit such cities.

Ec (Contributions)

asked the Prime Minister whether she will provide figures for the United Kingdom contributions to the European Economic Community together with the expected increases in levies, in a form consistent with her answer of 4 March, Official Report, column 395, about increases in its own resources of the EEC.

On the basis of the draft 1985 budget established in Council on 22 April, the United Kingdom's contribution to the 1985 European Community budget is now expected to be 6,238 mecu including the United Kingdom share of the Intergovernmental Agreement. This represents a real increase compared with our contribution in 1984 of some 3·7 per cent.Sugar and isoglucose and agricultural levies will be lower in 1985 than in 1984. The decreases are 20 million ecu—20 per cent.—and 130 million ecu—32 per cent.—respectively.

Multi-Fibre Arrangement

asked the Prime Minister if she will make it her policy to propose the phasing out of restrictions under the multi-fibre arrangement on textile and clothing imports from all the 50 poorest countries during the Bonn economic summit.

The Government is still considering what regime should succeed the current multi-fibre arrangement when it expires in July next year; a matter which the House will be debating on 9 May. We shall be taking account of the needs of the world's least developed countries.

Debt Rescheduling

asked the Prime Minister if she will make it her policy during the Bonn economic summit to seek to write off existing official aid debts and offer more generous and longer term rescheduling of other outstanding Government debts of the 50 poorest countries.

No. Britain has already been generous. Forty-four of the fifty poorest countries have no official aid debts to the United Kingdom. Of the remainder, India now receives local costs aid up to the total official aid loan repayments due each year. The outstanding amount from the others is only £5·3 million. The terms of rescheduling for other outstanding official debts are usually decided multilaterally in the Paris club, where Britain has supported generous treatment of many of the poorest debtors.

Engagements

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 7 May.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 7 May.

This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall be having further meetings later today.

Whale By-Products

asked the Prime Minister whether any Government Departments or agencies make use of whale by-products; and if she will make a statement.

I regret that this kind of information is not held centrally.

Rates

asked the Prime Minister (1) what was the level of the rate support grant including the per capita value for each year, from central Government to Scotland, England and Wales, for each of the last 10 years; what percentage this represented of total local government expenditure for each year; and if she will publish a table;(2) what comparisons have been made between the relative rateable value of comparable properties, small businesses and industries in Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland, respectively; and if she will publish this information in the form of a table.

I shall reply to my hon. Friend shortly.

Secretary Of State For Energy (Speech)

asked the Prime Minister if the speech made by the Secretary of State for Energy on 2 May concerning unemployment, housing and poverty represents the policy of Her Majesty's Government.

Yes.

Council Of Ministers (Decisions)

asked the Prime Minister in what circumstances Her Majesty's Government decide to place before Parliament for decision matters decided by the European Economic Community Council of Ministers; and if she will make a statement.

I shall reply to the right hon. Gentleman shortly.

Education And Science

Foreign Language Teaching

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the total cost of provision for foreign language teaching, other than mother-tongue teaching, in maintained schools; and what assessment he has made of the economic benefit resulting from this teaching.

Information on the total cost of provision for foreign language teaching in schools is not available. The largest element of the cost relates to staffing: full results from the 1984 secondary school staffing survey showing the number of foreign language teachers and teacher deployment on foreign languages will be available shortly. My right hon. Friend is aware of studies by various organisations of the relationship between foreign language learning and overseas trade and will be taking these — and employer responses to the consultative document "Foreign Languages in the School Curriculum" — into account in the policy statement on foreign languages he proposes to issue later this year.

Integrated Education

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science, pursuant to the reply by the Under-Secretary to the right hon. Member for Manchester, Wythenshawe, what the total additional resources amount to for schools to achieve integrated education; what, in detail, the additional resources are used for; and how many children have been able to attend mainstream schools instead of special schools as a result of these additional resources.

The information is not available in the precise form requested. Under the Government's in-service teacher training grants scheme, about £2 million is available to local education authorities in the current academic year towards the cost of replacing teachers released to one-term courses concerned with teaching children with special educational needs in ordinary schools. Under the education support grants scheme £2·25 million has been made available in the financial year 1985–86 to local education authorities to provide new or specially adapted microelectronic aids for children with special educational needs. This includes aids to permit integrated placements. In addition, provided costs are contained and savings made elsewhere, the government's expenditure plans for the current financial year should allow a substantial increase, compared with 1982–83, in the number of educational psychologists employed by local authorities. This should enable them to offer a better service to children with special educational needs. Information about the numbers of children who have benefited from these measures is not available.

Human Embryos (Research)

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will give details of research involving the use of human embryos at the Medical Research Council experimental embryology and teratology unit, the Medical Research Council reproductive biology unit and the department of obstetrics and gynaecology, university of Cambridge, stating, in each case, when such research began, what are the terms of reference or guidelines for such research, what is the cost and from what source the embryos are obtained.

I understand from the Medical Research Council that the following research involving the use of embryos in vitro is being carried out:—

MRC Experimental Embryology and Teratology Unit:

Low temperature preservation of embryos. Nutrition and biochemistry of post-implantation embryos. Factors affecting in vitro fertilisation and embryo transfer in the human. This work began in April 1984 using embryos derived from a clinic at the Cromwell hospital, London. Expenditure figures are not yet available.

MRC Reproductive Biology Unit:

Neuroendocrine studies of ovulation and luteal function, with reference to infertility and embryo transfer. Development of in vitro methods to improve the fertility of human eggs and spermatozoa, in the context of in vitro fertilisation and artificial insemination.

Chromosome analysis of human spermatozoa and cleavage-stage human embryos to explore the incidence, nature and origins of chromosomal abnormalities. This work began in April 1984 using embryos from a clinic at the Edinburgh royal infirmary. Expenditure figures are not yet available.

Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Cambridge:

Basic and clinical research on pre-implantation development. This research is funded by means of an MRC programme grant awarded in 1983 at a cost of £277,182 over five years. The embryos used in the programme are made available by a clinic at Addenbrooke's hospital, Cambridge.

All MRC research programmes in this field are conducted within the Council's published guidelines "Research related to human fertilisation and embryology". The MRC requires that all such research has local scientific and ethical committee approval.

Attorney-General

European Commission Of Human Rights

asked the Attorney-General what has been the cost to his Department of dealing with representations to Her Majesty's Government in respect of individual applications lodged against the United Kingdom with the European Commission of Human Rights, including those referred to the court, in the latest 12 months for which figures are available.

It is not feasible to ascertain that proportion of the expenditure of my Department which is attributable to dealing with representations to Her Majesty's Government in respect of individual applications lodged against the United Kingdom with the human rights institutions in Strasbourg.

Trade And Industry

Imports

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the degree of import penetration in each year since 1975 to the latest available period of agricultural tractors, machinery and chemicals, respectively.

The information requested is given in the table.

standard industrial classification (1980) Import penetration
Per cent.
	AH 3212	AH 3211	AH 2513 & AH 2568
	Agricultural tractors^*	Agricultural machinery^*	Agricultural chemicals^†
1975	46	41	18
1976	43	44	18
1977	45	44	20
1978	46	45	23
1979	43	47	26
1980	51	47	23
1981	46	53	22
1982	47	58	23
1983	48	52	29
1984 to Q2	40	57	31
^* The figures for agricultural tractors and agricultural machinery for the years 1975 to 1977 are based on the Standard Industrial Classification (1968) (MLH 380 and MLH 331 respectively). The coverage of these two industries is very similar to those of the corresponding SIC(80) industries and the continuity of the series is unlikely to be greatly affected.
^† AH 2513 fertilisers and AH 2568 formulated pesticides.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of the United Kingdom market in each of the main sectors of manufacturing is now taken by imports from the EEC and Japan, respectively.

Figures consistent with those published in Business Monitor MQ12 "Import Penetration and Export Performance Ratios", as far as possible within reasonable cost, are given in the table.

	Import penetration year to June 1984
Classes of the standard industrial classification (1980)	European Community	Japan
Class 21—Extraction of preparation of metalliferous ores	4	0
Class 22—Metal manufacturing	16	0
Class 23—Extraction of minerals, NES	7	0
Class 24—Manufacture of non-metallic mineral products	7	0
Class 25—Chemical industry	23	1
Class 26—Production of man-made fibres	49	1
Class 31—Manufacturing of metal goods NES	7	0

DEPARTMENTAL COMMITTEES OF INQUIRY 1979 TO DATE
Set up	Title	Reported
1 COMMITTEE OF INQUIRY INTO THE ENGINEERING PROFESSION (Chairman: Sir Montague Finniston, FRS)
July 1977	Engineering our future: report of the Committee of Inquiry-Cmnd. 7794, HMSO, 1980.	November 1979
2 COMMITTEE ON WASTE PAPER SUPPLY (Chairman: Dr. R. L. P. Berry)
1978	Report of the Committee on waste paper supply. Department of Industry/Department of Environment, 1980.	August 1980
3 INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF THE RADIOSPECTRUM (30–960 MHz) (Chairman: Dr. J. H. H. Merriman, CB, OBE, FEng)
June 1982	Independent review of the radiospectrum (30–960 MHz): Interim report: the future use of television bands I and III. Cmnd. 8666. HMSO, 1983. (DTI).	Interim:September 1982 (HO) Full: June 1983 (DTI)
4 INSOLVENCY LAW REVIEW COMMITTEE (Chairman: Sir Kenneth Cork)
January 1979	Bankruptcy: interim report of the Insolvency Law Review Committee. Cmnd. 7968, 1980. Insolvency law and practice: report of the review Committee.	Interim: October 1979 Full: April 1981

	Import penetration year to June 1984
Classes of the standard industrial classification (1980)	European Community	Japan
Class 32—Mechanical engineering	20	2
Class 33—Office machinery, Data processing equipment	46	9
Class 34—Electrical and electronic engineering	18	8
Class 35—Manufacture of motor vehicles and parts thereof	36	7
Class 36—Manufacture of other transport equipment	16	1
Class 37—Instrument engineering	23	11
Class 41/42—Food, Drink and Tobacco manufacturing	10	0
Class 43—Textile industry	22	2
Class 44—Manufacture of leather and leather goods	12	0
Class 45—Footwear and clothing industries	14	0
Class 46-Timber and Wooden furniture industries	8	0
Class 47—Paper, Printing and Publishing	5	0
Class 48—Processing of rubber and plastics	17	1
Class 49—Other manufacturing industries	14	3

Departmental Committees Of Inquiry

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many departmental committees of inquiry he and his predecessors, including Presidents of the Board of Trade, Ministers of Technology, Secretaries of State for Trade, Secretaries of State for Industry, Secretaries of State for Prices and Consumer Protection, Ministers of Posts and Telecommunications and Ministers for Aerospace, have commissioned since 1955; and what were the subjects the committees investigated, the dates they were established, who chaired them and the dates they reported.

Following is a list of committees of inquiry which have been reported since May 1979 on topics within the present scope of my Department. In view of changes in the machinery of government, it would require disproportionate expenditure to produce a list going back to 1955.

Set up	Title	Reported
5 INTERIM ACTION COMMITTEE ON THE FILM INDUSTRY (Chairman: Rt. Hon. Sir Harold Wilson, KG, OBE, FRS, MP)
April 1977	Proposals for the setting up of a British Film Authority Cmnd. 7071. HMSO, 1978.	1st Report 1978
	The financing of the British film industry. Cmnd. 7597. HMSO, 1979.	2nd Report June 1979
	Statistics, technological developments and cable television. Cmnd. 7855. HMSO, 1979	3rd Report March 1980
	Film and Television cooperation. Cmnd. 8227. HMSO, 1981.	4th Report April 1981
	Distribution of films for exhibition in cinemas and other means. Cmmd. 8530. HMSO, 1982.	5th Report March 1982
6 IT SKILLS SHORTAGES COMMITTEE (Chairman: Mr. John Butcher MP)
1983–84	The human factor—the supply side problem. DTI, 1985.	1st Report July/August 1984
	Changing technology—changing skills—shortage at technician level. DTI, 1985.	2nd Report January 1985
7 MATERIALS ADVISORY GROUP (Chairman: Mr. John Collyear)
August 1983	A programme for the wider application of new and improved materials and processes (NIMP): the report of the Collyear Committee. HMSO, 1985.	February 1985
8 PREVENTION OF FRAUD (INVESTORS) REVIEW COMMITTEE (Chairman: Professor L. C. B. Gower)
July 1981	Review of investor protection: a discussion document. HMSO, 1982.	Discussion document:
	Review of investor protection: Report: Part 1, HMSO, 1984.	January 1982
	(Also published:—Financial services in the United Kingdom: a new framework for investor protection. Cmnd. 9432. HMSO 1985.)	Report: January 1984
9 REGULATION OF BRITISH TELECOMMUNICATIONS PROFITABILITY (Report by Professor Stephen C. Littlechild)
October 1982	Regulation of British Telcommunications profitability. Dol, 1983.	February 1983
10 REVIEW OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CITIZENS ADVICE BUREAUX (Chairman: Sir Douglas Lovelock KCB)
April 1983	Review of the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux. Cmnd. 9139. HMSO, 1984.	December 1983

Fur Coats (Labelling)

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will introduce legislation to require all fur coats made from wild animals to be labelled to that effect.

I am not convinced that a legal requirement of this kind is necessary in the interests of consumers.

Manchester Steel Company

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if the Government have any plans to bring the Manchester Steel Co. into the phoenix plan for development of the steel industry in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

The Government have no such plans. It is for firms in the industry themselves to initiate and carry through restructuring projects which they consider to be commercially sensible. Only plans which involve the establishment of new joint ventures between the British Steel Corporation and the private sector are considered by the Government, on the basis of proposals put forward by the parties concerned.

Mobile Radio Services

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects to announce his final proposals on mobile radio services in Band III.

My hon. Friend hopes to make an announcement shortly.

British Aerospace

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will arrange for the offer for sale of shares in British Aerospace to take place in Paris and Frankfurt as well as in London; and if he will make a statememt.

The prospectus for the offer was published last week, and copies were placed in the Library. Shares are not being offered for sale overseas except to existing shareholders and eligible employees of British Aerospace.

Mayfair Hotel (Satellite Television)

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether a licence has been issued to the Mayfair hotel, London, to take satellite television transmissions from the Europe telecommunication spacecraft via two antennae mounted on its roof.

A limited number of letters of temporary authority have been issued for the purposes of test and development and demonstration of reception of satellite television programmes. The operator of the system at the Mayfair has such a letter of authority.

Honduras

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the volume and value of trade with Honduras for each year since 1975.

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

Telecommunications Equipment

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what was the value of imports of telecommunications equipment from Japan including components into the United Kingdom for the last 12 months for which figures are available; and what was the value of United Kingdom exports of telecommunications equipment including components to Japan for the same period;(2) what was the value of imports of Swedish telecommunications equipment including components into the United Kingdom for the last 12 months for which figures are available; and what was the value of United Kingdom exports of telecommunications equipment to Sweden, including components over the same period.

[pursuant to the reply, 3 May 1985, c. 276]: Available information relating to the period March 1984 to February 1985, is as follows:

Value £ million
	United Kingdom imports (cif)	United Kingdom exports (fob)
Japan	36·2	0·4
Sweden	22·9	4·1

Source: Data corresponding to SITC/R2 Sub-groups 764.1 and 764.2 (part) and Item 764.91 in the United Kingdom Overseas Trade Statistics.

Note: The figures exclude some components that are not separately distinguished in the United Kingdom Overseas Trade Statistics.

Nippon Telegraph And Telephone

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if Her Majesty's Government will seek to make arrangements with the Government of Japan to enable British investors to buy shares in Nippon Telegraph and Telephone.

[pursuant to the reply, 3 May 1985, c. 276]: Decisions about how NTT's assets should be sold are for the Japanese Government to take, by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on his recent visit to Tokyo made clear out interest in opening up the telecommunication sector to British investment and to British products and services.

Citizens Band Radio

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the latest position on the introduction of citizens band radio to the frequencies recommended by the conference of european posts and telecommunications unions.

[pursuant to the reply, 3 May 1985, c. 276]: On several occasions the Government have stated that their longer term objective for CB is to adopt the CEPT recommendation which provides for common European frequencies for FM CB. I am happy to re-affirm that commitment now.In moving towards the adoption of the CEPT frequencies at the lower part of the 27 MHz band, there is a need to relocate the existing users of the band. The Department has been consulting all interested parties about the appropriate transitional arrangements. We must give adequate time for existing users to modify or change equipment and in view of this 1987 is our earliest realistic target date for the start-up of the new CB service. Further consultations will need to take place with existing users before this can be confirmed. After the introduction of the new CEPT CB service the existing UK 27 MHz CB service will run in parallel with it for some time and no decision has yet been taken to phase out the present service.

British Telecom

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assistance was made available in the United Kingdom to enable Japanese investors to buy shares in British Telecom.

[pursuant to the reply, 3 May 1985, c. 278]: None within the United Kingdom, although a separate offering was made in Japan.

Foreign And Commonwealth Affairs

El Salvador

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will seek assurances from the El Salvadorean authorities that their officers to be trained at Camberley have not been directly or indirectly implicated in the extra-judicial killings which have taken place in El Salvador in recent years.

As I told the hon. Member for Caerphilly (Mr. Davies) on 11 March at columns 54–55 the Salvadorean Government are aware of our concern about human rights. Candidates for training should be both professionally and personally suitable.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will say whether further offers of training either to military, paramilitary, or police personnel from El Salvador will be made in the coming months.

As I said to the hon. Member for Caerphilly (Mr. Davies) on 11 March at columns 54–55, we have offered places for one or two suitably qualified Salvadorean officers to attend staff college courses in Britain. It continues to be the case that no other offer of military assistance has been made and that we are not, at the present time, considering further military assistance to El Salvador.

Nuclear Tests

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the three depository powers under the 1963 non-proliferation treaty are willing to accept on-site inspection whenever it is unclear whether a nuclear test is peaceful.

I assume the hon. Member is referring to the 1968 non-proliferation treaty, of which the United Kingdom, the United States and the Soviet Union are depositary powers.We believe that the United States proposal of September 1984 for exchanges of nuclear test-site observers would be a positive step in the direction of improving verification arrangements under existing treaties which constrain nuclear testing. We regret that the Soviet response has so far been dismissive.We also remain committed to achieving progress towards a ban on all nuclear testing, including peaceful nuclear explosions, which we believe would be extremely difficult to distinguish from tests carried out for military purposes. The United Kingdom currently has no peaceful nuclear explosions programme.

Nicaragua

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government towards the Contra rebellion against the Nicaraguan Government.

We support efforts, in particular the Contadora process, to reach an early and comprehensive negotiated settlement of the problems of central America. We believe this process offers the best hope for achieving stability, democracy and development in the region.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what statements he has made concerning United States' support for the Contra rebels in Nicaragua.

I would refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. and learned Friend in the debates on 9 November 1984, at columns 1017–18, and 25 April this year at columns 325–26.

Chile

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received regarding recent arrests and killings in Chile; and what action he has taken as a result.

We receive frequent representations about the situation in Chile and continue to make clear to the Chilean Government, both bilaterally and in concert with our European Community partners, our concern over violations of human rights.

Spain (British Tourists)

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if Her Majesty's Government have had discussions with the Spanish Government concerning the safety of British citizens on holiday in Spain; and if he will make a statement.

During my visit to Spain in February, I took the opportunity to review with the Spanish authorities the measures they had in hand to improve security in tourist areas. Our consulates throughout Spain have a close and satisfactory working relationship with the local Spanish authorities on all matters affecting British citizens.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if Her Majesty's Government have had any talks with British tour operators about advice to British citizens who have booked holidays in Spain in the current year concerning their safety while in Spain.

The Association of British Travel Agents and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office are in frequent contact. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office gives the association such advice and information as is necessary and helpful on the current security position in Spain.

Gchq

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many employees of Government communications headquarters have died in each of the last three years; in how many cases an inquest was held; what was found to be the cause of death and the verdict in each such case; and if he will make a statement.

Details of the number of employees at the Government Communications Headquarters who have died between 1982 and 1985 are as follows: 1982—26; 1983—27; 1984—23; 1985 (first four months)—five. We are aware of inquests having been held in five cases. Details as follows:

(i) 25 July 1982—Mr. J. Wolfenden. Verdict: accidental death; aeroplane crash,

(ii) 24 November 1982—Mr. E. P. Brockway. Verdict: suicide; death by hanging

(iii) 17 September 1983—Mr. S. D. Drinkwater. Verdict: death by misadventure; asphyxiation.

(iv) 3 April 1984—Mr. G. Franks. Verdict: natural causes; heart attack.

(v) 8 April 1985—Mr. S. Oke. Open Verdict: death by hanging.

Gibraltar

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether Her Majesty's Government have been informed by the Spanish Government of their reasons for not lifting all the restrictions formerly imposed by Spain on aircraft intending to land at Gibraltar; and if he will make a statement.

We remain in discussion with the Spanish authorities about the airspace in the region of Gibraltar following their recent action facilitating the use of Gibraltar airfield by civil aircraft.

Agriculture, Fisheries And Food

Council Of Agriculture Ministers

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the outcome of the Council of Agriculture Ministers' meeting beginning on 2 May; and if he will make a statement.

With my hon. Friend, the Minister of State, I represented the United Kingdom at the Council of Agriculture Ministers in Luxembourg from 2 to 5 May. The main subject of the Council was the Commission's price proposals or 1985–86.After three days of discussion it became evident that it would not be possible to reconcile the divergent views of member states at this Council.In the light of the discussion the Commission is considering whether any amendments to its original proposals should be made and the Council will resume discussion on Monday 13 May in Brussels.The Council decided that the marketing years for milk products, beef and veal, sheepmeat, dried fodder and cauliflowers should be extended until 19 May.

Milk Quotas

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what unpublished instructions were issued to members of the Dairy Produce Quota Tribunal for England and Wales on how they should decide quota awards; and if he will make a statement.

The tribunal was authorised by the Dairy Produce Quotas Regulations 1984 to issue general guidance to local panels in England and Wales in respect of the criteria to be used by them in determining proceedings before them. This general guidance was published. In addition, the chairman of the tribunal, Lord Grantchester, issued a number of notes to members of the tribunal advising them on certain aspects of their work. In accordance with normal tribunal practice these notes, which were concerned mainly with administrative matters, have not been published. However, I am aware that there has been concern about one particular note which was issued on 24 November 1984 and which gave guidance on the calculation of yields to be taken into account in dealing with development claims. The purpose of this note was to ensure consistency between tribunal decisions and fairness to producers.In view of the widespread interest in this particular note I have exceptionally, and with Lord Grantchester's agreement, arranged for copies to be placed in the Library of the House.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what changes there will be in milk quotas in England and Wales in 1985–86; and when these will be announced.

I regret that the delay in reaching agreement in the price fixing negotiations makes it impossible to make any announcement for the time being. Arrangements are in hand to inform individual producers of their quotas for 1985–86 as soon as possible once decisions on the price fixing have been reached.However, I am pleased to say that for 1985–86 small producers, that is those with less than 200,000 liters of quotas, will have their quota brought back up to their base year production levels, which in the vast majority of cases will mean their level of production in 1983. This means that for about 40 per cent. of all producers we have wiped out last year's 9 per cent. reduction. I am also pleased to say that for 1985–86 exceptional hardship awards will be made at 100 per cent. of the amount awarded. This means that the two principal objectives of the outgoers scheme have been achieved.Direct sellers with less than 200,000 liters will, like wholesale producers, be brought back to their base year level. Producers with both direct sales and wholesale quota will benefit from similar adjustments if the total of their two quotas is less than 200,000 litres. However, no producer's quota will be increased above 200,000 litres, and the adjustments will be tapered to avoid anomalies between producers just above or below the 200,000 litre level. Moreover, the increases will not be applied to development quota.

Cereals (Intervention Expenditure)

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will publish in tabular form figures showing the average cost per acre of cereals of intervention expenditure in each of the member states of the European Economic Community.

The cost of public intervention to the Community in 1983 is given in the following table. This is the latest year for which a breakdown of costs by member states is available.

Member State	Cost to FEOGA of public intervention (MECU)	1983 Harvest Area (M. Acres)	Cost per acre of public intervention (ECU)
Belgium	0·060	0·929	0·065
Denmark	40·023	4·243	9·433
Germany	235·457	12·459	18·899
Greece	1·241	3·814	0·325
France	187·342	23·033	8·134
Ireland	−8·307^*	0·924	−8·990
Italy	−39·323^*	12·197	−3·224
Luxembourg	−0·005^*	0·079	−0·063
Netherlands	6·554	0·506	12·953
United Kingdom	53·642	9·771	5·490
EC10	476·684	67·955	7·015
^* Net profits on sales from intervention.

Pesticides

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he will list those experiments or surveys which his Department has conducted, commissioned or is aware of, regarding the impact of pesticides on butterflies on or around farmland in the United Kingdom;(2) how many incidents of butterflies killed by pesticides were reported to the advisory committee on pesticides through the wildlife incident monitoring service, by species in each of the last five years.

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

Production And Consumption (Statistics)

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will set out in the Official Report the latest available figures showing the comparison for the European Economic Community as a whole and for the United Kingdom separately between production and consumption, excluding intervention, quantities in the following items: common wheat, barley, sugar, butter, skimmed milk, eggs and beef.

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

Rural Estate

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he intends to publish (a) a Green Paper and (b) a White Paper on the rural estate.

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

Intervention Stores

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will provide a complete list of United Kingdom and European Community agricultural produce in public intervention and assisted private storage in England and their value at the latest available date.

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

Liquid Skimmed Milk

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much liquid skimmed milk was subsidised for use as stockfeed in the past year in the United Kingdom; and what was the cost of the subsidies involved.

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

Energy

Departmental Committees Of Inquiry

asked the Secretary of State for Energy how many departmental committees of inquiry he and his predecessors, including Ministers of Fuel and Power, have commissioned since 1955; and what were the subjects the committees investigated, the dates they were established who chaired them, and the dates they reported.

I am writing to my hon. Friend.

	1979–80	1980–81	1981–82	1982–83	1983–84	1984–85 (to date)
(i) Ministerial Statements	2	2	8	5	5	4
(ii) Private Notice Questions	3	1	—	1	—	2
(iii) Debates on Government Motions	—	—	1	—	1	1
(iv) Debates on Opposition Motions	—	—	—	—	1	—
(v) Legislation (excluding Consolidated Fund Bill)	1	1	1	—	1	—
(vi) Consolidated Fund Bill (proceedings)	3	2	2	4	3	1
(vii) Debates on the Adjournment (other than half hour)	5	4	10	2	4	3
(viii) ½ hour Adjournment Debates	11	7	7	6	5	3
(ix) Debates on Statutory Instruments	1	—	1	1	1	—
(x) Other debates	3	1	—	1	—	—

Scottish Business

asked the Lord Privy Seal how many minutes, on average, were spent per sitting day during the 1983–84 Session on the Floor of the House on Scottish business.

The average number of minutes per sitting day spent on the Floor of the House on Scottish business in Session 1983–84 was 28. This figure does not include daily Adjournment debates, statements, private notice questions, applications for debates under Standing Order No. 10 and Scottish elements of Consolidated Fund and holiday Adjournment debates, as it is frequently impossible to put such business firmly into the category of Scottish business.

Wales

Royal Ordnance Factory, Cynon Valley

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if the Welsh Development Agency was aware that the royal ordnance factory contained asbestos before it demolished the building on the industrial estate at Hiawain in Cynon Valley.

British Petroleum

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what proportion of British Petroleum profits and capital investments were allocated by British Petroleum, over the past decade, to its Saudi and Gulf refining capacity.

That would be a matter for the company.

House Of Commons

Defence Debates

asked the Lord Privy Seal on how many occasions in each year since 1979–80 the House has considered matters relating to defence, set out by category as follows: (i) ministerial statements, (ii) private notice questions, (iii) debates on substantive Government motions, (iv) debates on Opposition motions, (v) legislation (excluding Consolidated Fund Bills), (vi) Consolidated Fund Bills (including proceedings on Adjournment motions subsequent thereto), (vii) debates on the Adjournment other than half hour Adjournments, (viii) half hour Adjournment debates, (ix) debates on statutory instruments and (x) any other debates.

The information requested is given in the following table:

I understand that Agency was not specifically aware of the presence of any of the notifiable forms of asbestos in the building, but it advised the demolition contractor of the likelihood of such material being present. I understand also that prior to demolition the premises were inspected by the contractor and the Health and Safety Executive but no dangerous asbestos was found at that time. The demolition contract placed the onus on the contractor to identify asbestos material as work progressed and, if discovered, to deal with it in accordance with the provisions of the current legislation.

Cervical Cancer

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement about the incidence of cervical cancer in Gwynedd; and what proposals he has to reduce it.

The screening and treatment of patients with cervical cancer is primarily the responsibility of the health authorities. Gwynedd is one of the two health authorities in Wales which operate a system for calling women for initial testing as well as recalling them subsequently. The arrangements in Wales for calling and recalling women for testing and the notification of test results are currently under scrutiny by the joint NHS/ Welsh Office working party which will report to the Secretary of State by the end of June.The figures for the number of positive cases of cervical cancer detected in Gwynedd and the number of deaths, for 1980–83, the latest year for which figures are available, are:

Year	Number of positive cases detected	Number of deaths
1980	53	11
1981	80	14
1982	73	11
1983	96	11

Overseas Visitors (Health Charges)

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what sums have been raised in each of the health authorities in Wales since the inception of the scheme to make overseas visitors pay hospital charges.

Cash received is as follows:

Health Authority	1 October 1982 to 31 March 1984 £ (actual)	1 April 1984 to 31 March 1985 £ (provisional)
Clwyd	2,630	600
East Dyfed	719	1,100
Gwent	1,192	5,900
Gwynedd	1,199	2,300
Mid Glamorgan	—	3,100
Pembrokeshire	—	1,300
Powys	354	500
South Glamorgan	8,169	22,000
West Glamorgan	5,711	6,000
Wales	19,974	42,800

Educational Maintenance Allowance

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what would be the cost of providing in Wales an educational maintenance allowance of £25 per week, 52 weeks per year, to all those aged 16 and 17 years in full-time education including those in colleges of further education, taking into account savings in child benefit, and any existing educational maintenance allowances.

About £34 million.

Tourism

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the grants over £10,000 given by the Wales tourist board to aid tourist development projects in each of the last five years, specifying also where appropriate the ultimate holding company of the recipient of the grant.

I shall write to the hon. Gentleman as soon as possible and place a copy of my reply in the Library.

Redundancies

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the companies notifying redundancies in Wales from 1 January; and what information he has as to the numbers of redundancies concerning each company.

Information in the form requested is notified by individual firms on a confidential basis and could not be disclosed without breaching confidentiality.

Advance Factories

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many advance factories have been (a) built and (b) allocated in Wales since May 1979.

In the period from 1 May 1979 to 30 April 1985, 1,451 advance factories have been completed by the Welsh Development Agency, the Development Board for Rural Wales and Cwmbran development corporation, providing 7·2 million sq. ft. of new industrial space. The total amount of space available is now 2·8 million sq. ft. which is about 12 per cent. of the total stock held by the three bodies concerned. 1,659 factories—9·7 million sq. ft. of space—have been allocated in the same period.

Agricultural Produce (Storage Space)

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what provision his Department is making for fluctuations in the storage space required for United Kingdom and European Community agricultural produce over the coming year.

The Intervention Board for Agricultural Produce is keeping the position under constant review and will continue to reserve storage space as necessary.

Intervention Stocks (Value)

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will provide a complete list of United Kingdom and European Community agricultural produce in public intervention and assisted private storage in Mid-Glamorgan, and their value, at the latest available date.

As at 31 March 1985, the latest date for which information is available, there were no assisted private stocks of agricultural products in Mid-Glamorgan, stocks in intervention being 2,210 tonnes of skimmed milk powder, value £2·27 million.

Intervention Stores

asked the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he is now in a position to reveal the exact locations of all public intervention stores in Wales;(2) if he will provide an up-to-date list of Welsh locations used for the storage of European Economic Community food surpluses.

The following is the list of intervention storage locations in Wales as at 31 March 1985.

Cardiff
Newport
Swansea
Rhyl
Milford Haven
Whitland
Llandyssul
Caerphilly
St. Clears

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will provide a complete list of United Kingdom and European Community agricultural produce in public intervention and assisted private storage in Wales and their value at the latest available date.

Edwards: As at 31 March 1985, the latest date for which information is available, there were no assisted private stocks of agricultural products in Wales; intervention stocks were as follows:

Commodity	Amount Tonnes	Value £ million
Skimmed milk powder	4,143	4·25
Butter	12,766	24·63
Beef	857	2·42

Skimmed Milk

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how much liquid skimmed milk was subsidised for use as stockfeed in the past year in Wales; and what was the cost of the subsidies involved.

During 1984, £1·192 million subsidy was paid on 19·3 million litres of liquid skimmed milk supplied by creameries and dairies in Wales for use as stockfeed.

Home Department

Prisoners (Statistics)

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many prisoners were found to be (a) mentally disturbed and (b) mentally sub-normal in the last census carried out by the prison medical service;(2) how frequently the prison medical service carries out a census of the number of mentally disturbed people in prison; and when the last census was carried out;(3) what criteria are used by the prison medical service in assessing mental illness in its census of mentally disturbed prisoners;(4) if he will estimate the number of mentally disturbed prisoners, applying the same criteria of assessment as are so applied in the population as a whole.

Prison medical officers make statistical returns at six-monthly intervals of prisoners whom they assess as suffering from mental disorder of a nature or degree which would satisfy the criteria in the Mental Health Act 1983 for detention in hospital for treatment. Two additional censuses were carried out in 1984 as a special exercise. Further details of the census arrangements are contained in circular instruction 36/1984, a copy of which is in the Library. The latest census for which figures are available is that for 31 December 1984, which showed that 282 prisoners were assessed as mentally disordered within the terms of the Act, of whom 225 were diagnosed as suffering from mental illness, 48 from psychopathic disorder, seven from mental impairment and two from severe mental impairment. We understand from the Department of Health and Social Security that there is no similar periodic survey of the general population.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current projection of the size of the prison population of England and Wales in 1989, 1990 and 1991, respectively.

The latest published projections of trends in the average prison population, made at the end of 1983, were given in Home Office statistical bulletin issue 8/84 on 18 April 1984. It is planned to publish soon a further bulletin giving the most recent annual projections.

Prisons (Suicides)

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners who committed suicide in 1984 at penal establishments had been identified as suicide risks but were not under any form of special observation.

There were 22 deaths in prison establishments in 1984 on which the inquest returned a verdict of suicide. In seven of these cases the prisoner's records had been marked at some time during his imprisonment with an 'F' to denote suicide risk, but the prisoner was not under special watch at the time of the suicide.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of those who committed suicide in penal establishments in 1984 were (a) alcoholic, (b) drug addicts and (c) mentally ill.

The information which is available centrally on the 22 deaths in prison establishments in 1984 on which the inquest returned a verdict of suicide is as follows:

	History of Alcohol Abuse	History of Drug Abuse	Diagnosis of Mental Illness
Yes	6	7	6
No	2	2	12
Not Known	14	13	4

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if, in line with the recommendations of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector or Prisons, the phenomenon of suicide in prison is being monitored and studied more fully; and if education and training courses for staff have been developed to enhance their knowledge of prevention procedure and their understanding of suicidal behaviour;(2) if he will detail the changes made for the prevention of suicides in penal establishments following the report of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons on suicide in prison;(3) what progress has been made on implementing the recommendations of the Chief Inspector of Prisons ' report on suicides in prison.

When my right hon. and learned Friend announced publication of the report by Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons on suicide in prisons on 3 September last, he said that he broadly accepted the report's recommendations and had set up a group to look in more detail at the issues raised and to consider any other ideas which might be put forward. The group will complete its work in the autumn. Prior to the chief inspector's report, procedures were changed in June last year to require fuller reports from governors on suicides in prison under circular instruction 33/1984, a copy of which is in the Library.

Holloway Prison

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women were in the psychiatric wing in Holloway prison at the latest available date; what were the offences with which they had been charged or for which they had been sentenced; what was the length of time each had been detained in C wing; and what was their medical condition.

Of the 36 women in C1 unit, Her Majesty's prison Holloway, on 30 April 1985, seven had been charged with or sentenced for offences of theft, seven with criminal damage, six with arson, five with deception and two with actual bodily harm. The main charges against the remainder related to assaulting a police constable, attempted robbery, causing a breach of the peace, assisting offences of buggery, causing grievous bodily harm, illegal possession of a child, interfering with a motor vehicle, wasting police time and wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.Thirteen of the women had been in C1 unit for one week or less, 12 for over one week but not more than one month, five for over one month but not more than two months, and six for over two months and up to six months.C1 unit is part of the prison hospital: it caters for women prisoners who are highly disturbed and who are admitted on the direction of the prison medical officer.

Libyan People's Bureau

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Rutland and Melton on 18 July 1984, Official Report, column 195, by the right hon. Member for Witney (Mr. Hurd) and subsequent official correspondence from the Minister of State he is now able to give a full and accurate list, with dates, of all Libyans claiming connection with the former people's bureau who were required to leave the United Kingdom between 17 and 27 April 1984, including those escorted from the bureau under police supervision, indicating which had any form of diplomatic immunity; and whether he will correct errors in previous ministerial replies to the hon. Member contained in the Official Report on this matter.

Following the break in diplomatic relations with Libya on 22 April 1984 all Libyan-based members of the Libyan diplomatic staff in London, and their families, were required to leave the United Kingdom, as were all those in the bureau at the time of the shooting on 17 April, whatever their status. One diplomat, Mr. Abdelghadr Kiaralla, was allowed to remain and was subsequently notified as a member of the diplomatic staff at the Libyan interests section of the Saudi embassy. All the administrative and technical staff of the bureau were required to leave with the exception of Mr. Mohamed Elbouaahi Elmasdhun, who was subsequently notified as a member of the diplomatic staff at the Libyan interests section of the Saudi embassy, and Mr. Younis Mohamed Elwafy, who was allowed to stay for six weeks for compassionate reasons.The following left the bureau under police supervision on 27 April. Those marked with a letter after their names had been notified to my right hon. and learned Friend the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary, either as diplomatic agents—labelled (B)—or members of the administrative and technical staff—labelled (C)—of the Libyan people's bureau. In one case the person concerned was the husband of a member of the administrative and technical staff. Those without a letter after their names were neither diplomatic agents nor members of the administrative and technical staff.

Aded, Salem Said Salem (C)
Alhkimi, Ahmed Omran Khalifa (B)
Ameri, Abdulmagid Saleh (C)
Bashir, Ahmed Elmhdi (C)
Daghais, Yousif Mohamed (C)
El-Bakush, Issa Ahmed (C)
El-Hinshiri, Shahata (B)
Elmismari, Mikail Bin Saud (C) (husband of Mrs. Mabruka Mohammed Giuma)
Fernana, Mehdi A. (C)
Abuminigil, Bashir M. (B)
Gaaka, Omar Mohamed
Abdelgiawad, Mohamed Mehemed (B)
Gratem, Ayad Ahmed (C)
Hemmali, Abdulkarim Shogwara (C)
Jalid, Ali Hassan (B)
Khebuli, Mufta Giuma
Magtouf, Mustafa A. (C)
Mghirbi, Mustafa Abdu Salam (B)
Mohamed, Ali Ibraik
Nisser, Almahdi Ashur (C)
Omar, Otman Ahmed (C)
Ali'oun, Mohamed (B)
Rabha, Salah Abdessalem Ben
Ramadan, Mohamed Omar (C)
Saleh, Ahmed Salhen (C)
Sherif, Mohamed Hadi (B)
Stuka, Salah Eyad
Tabulli, Ahmed Mohamed (B)
Tuhami, Abdulgader Mohamed Ali (C)
Zweit, Salem Ali (C)

The following Libyan diplomats and administrative and technical staff and locally engaged staff at the bureau also left the United Kingdom between 22 and 27 April. Letters B and C after their names have the same meanings as indicated above:

Ahmed, Mansur Ahmed (B)
Ali Daman, Abdalla (C)
Aldowadi, Mouloud M. (B)
El-Bussifi, Ali Hassan Ahmed (C)
Giuma, Mrs. Mabruka Mohammed (C)
Gleib, Ahmed Abdulla Mohamed
Ganbor, Nagi Hadi (C)
Ahmed, Abdelkadir O. (C)
Hdeddan, Mohamed Salem (C)
Ikhleif, Ahmed Mansur
Elkezza, Aboshnief (B)
Khamri, Ahmed Mansor (C)
Elmabrouk, Mrs. Imbarka Ali (B) (wife of Abdelgiawad Mohamed Mehemed)
Magtof, Mohammed Ahmed (B)
Mohamed, Mrs. Julie Hussain (C)
Abdulrahim, Salah O.
Said, Said Ali Masaud (C)
Abou-Sdera, Bashir Mohamed (C)
Sodani, Omar M. Ahmaida (B)
Werfalli, Mrs. Warda Ali (B) (wife of El-Hinshiri Shahata)

In addition, the following left on 29 April:

Elmarghani, Salah B. D. (C)
Farhat, Omar A. (C)
Fitouri, Muftah (B)
Jubran, Abdallah Ahmed (C)
Elkeeb, Abdulwahab H. (C)
Abourzizaa, Ibrahim A. (B)
Zlitni, Hameda B. (B)

Members of diplomats' families left the United Kingdom on 26 and 27 April, together with other Libyans who were not directly connected with the bureau. Separate lists of the individuals concerned are not available. Four diplomats who would have been required to leave were already outside the United Kingdom at the time of the break in diplomatic relations. Two members of the administrative and technical staff who were required to leave, Mr. Ismail M. M. El Basha and Mr. Maamari Hagiagi, are believed to be outside the United Kingdom but the dates of their embarkation are not known.

There were also three Libyans, connected with the bureau, who were deported during this period but who did not have any form of diplomatic immunity. They were:

Baghdadi, Abdul Ghader
Mabruk, Saleh Ibrahim
Matuq, Mohamed Matuq

The corrections required to replies to my hon. Friend's earlier questions are as follows:

8 May 1984 (c. 280) Mr. Ali Mohammed Tuhami Abdulgader should not have been identified as having diplomatic status; Mr. Mikhail Bin Saud Elmismari should have been so identified.

25 May 1984 (c. 608) the three diplomats named plus one other, Mohamed K. Benhamed were, in fact, already outside the United Kingdom on 22 April.

18 July 1984 (c. 246) Mr. Ibrahim A. Abourzizaa left the United Kingdom on 29 April, not 26 April.

Primates

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he intends to support research and development into caring for primates; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. and learned Friend will consider any specific proposals for research on the welfare of laboratory animals but he cannot, of course, give any undertaking that funds for this purpose will be available in any given case.

Civil Defence

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will arrange courses at the civil defence college for elected members of councils and officers to attend together.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the question from the hon. Member for Knowsley North (Mr. Kilroy-Silk) on 4 April 1985 at column 720.

Remand Hearings

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of prisoners not produced for remand hearings for each day in 1985 for each penal establishment.

This information is not available centrally and could only be collected at disproportionate cost.

Wakefield Prison

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received on the standard of medical treatment available at Wakefield prison; and when he expects his inquiries to be completed.

As at 31 March	Number of homes				Number of residents
As at 31 March	Statutory	Voluntary	Private	Total	Statutory	Voluntary	Private	Total
1979	32	12	40	84	1,420	225	530	2,175
1980	32	13	40	85	1,422	290	598	2,310
1981	32	15	41	88	1,413	318	620	2,351
1982	33	16	44	93	1,433	384	685	2,502
1983	32	16	47	95	1,480	377	711	2,568
1984	32	17	60	109	1,451	426	907	2,784

The hon. Member wrote to my noble Friend on 25 October enclosing wide-ranging complaints made by a former prisoner at Wakefield. The person concerned also raised these matters directly with the governor, and through other channels. These matters have now been fully investigated and my noble Friend will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible. We have also received in the last six months six petitions from other prisoners about aspects of their medical treatment.

Social Services

Residential Homes

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many registered residential and nursing homes charge fees that are equal to or less than the new rates of supplementary benefit limits of £110 and £138 per week, respectively.

Comprehensive information on the fees charged for the different categories of residential care and nursing homes is not collected centrally. We believe the new supplementary benefit limits should allow reasonable charges to be met in homes meeting the registration requirements. Information available to the Department relating to supplementary pensioners indicates that, even under the previous arrangements which encouraged upward pressure on charges, up to about 60 per cent. of charges for private and voluntary homes would be at or below the new limits.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the number of people in residential care homes for the elderly in Suffolk in receipt of supplementary benefit under regulation 9 in each of the years 1979 to 1985.

Separate figures for supplementary benefit claimants in residential care homes for the elderly in Suffolk are not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what was the number of residential care homes for the elderly in Suffolk in each of the following sectors (a) voluntary, (b) private and (c) public for each of the years 1979 to 1985;(2) what was the number of people in Suffolk living in residential care homes for the elderly in each of the following sectors

(a) voluntary, (b) private and (c) public for each of the years 1979 to 1985.

Information on the number of homes for the elderly and disabled in Suffolk, and their number of residents, for each of the years 1979 to 1984, is given in the table.

Information about the number of homes and residents as at 31 March 1985 is not yet available.

Family Income Supplement

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what estimate he has of the number of recipients of family income supplement who have a total income which is less than their entitlement would be if they were in receipt of supplementary benefit.

We estimate from the small sample of cases generated by the 1981 family expenditure survey data that about 15 per cent. of family income supplement recipients would then have had a total income less than their entitlement on supplementary benefit if they had given up work.

Housing benefit and former schemes: Estimated caseload and expenditure 1979–80 to 1985–86
Great Britain
	1979–80	1980–81	1981–82	1982–83	1983–84	1984–85	1985–86
Standard cases
Rent rebates and allowances
Caseload (thousands)	1,430	1,570	1,840	1,900	2,200	2,200	2,100
Expenditure (£ million)	280	370	550	670	870	940	950
Rate rebates
Caseload (thousands)	3,070	3,350	3,710	3,510	3,880	3,800	3,600
Expenditure (£ million)	200	270	370	440	540	570	600
Certificated cases
Rent rebates and allowances
Caseload (thousands)	1,890	1,990	2,310	2,500	2,770	2,700	2,700
Expenditure (£ million)	500	700	1,000	1,110	1,660	1,840	1,950
Rate rebates
Caseload (thousands)	2,330	2,450	2,860	3,080	3,650	3,500	3,500
Expenditure (£ million)	250	300	400	500	730	810	850

Notes:

1. Figures relating to the former rent rebate, rent allowance and rate rebate schemes are shown under standard cases, and figures relating to the former help through the supplementary benefit scheme are shown under certificated cases.

2. Figures for 1984–85 and for 1985–86 are provisional estimates and are subject to revision.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people are dependent upon supplementary or housing benefit in south Yorkshire at the present time or at the most recent date for which statistics are available; and how this number compares with the position in the county six years earlier.

Information is not available in the precise form requested. South Yorkshire is covered by 11 DHSS offices but the boundaries are not strictly conterminous. The number of claimants receiving supplementary benefit from those offices at February 1985 — the latest figures available — was 144,603, and at February 1979, 80,276.About 85,000 households were receiving rate rebates in 1978–79. Local authority subsidy claims indicate that about 130,000 households were receiving standard rate rebates in 1984–85, about 7,000 of whom were also receiving housing benefit supplement and are therefore included in the supplementary benefit figures above.

Supplementary Benefit (Southwark)

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will investigate the delays in the handling

Benefits

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish a table showing the total number of recipients and the total cost of benefit in each of the years 1979–80 to 1984–85 and estimated recipients and expenditure in 1985–86 on each of the following: (a) rent rebates and allowances to 1982–83 and standard housing benefit rent assistance from 1983–84, (b) rate rebates to 1982–83 and standard housing benefit rates assistance from 1983–84, (c) supplementary benefit to 1982–83 and certificated housing benefit from 1983–84 towards rent payments and (d) supplementary benefit to 1982–83 and certificated housing benefit from 1983–84 towards rates payments.

The information requested is in the table.of supplementary benefit claims, particularly for single payments, at the Blenheim Grove office of his Department in Southwark.

A routine survey of the Blenheim Grove, Southwark, local social security office was completed last month. The survey shows that there have been improvements in the time taken to deal with benefit claims. We will continue to monitor performance, as we do in all local offices, and would be happy to investigate cases of delay brought to the attention of the hon. Member.

Departmental Committees Of Inquiry

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many departmental committees of inquiry he and his predecessors, including Ministers of Health, Ministers of Pensions and National Insurance, Ministers of Social Security and Ministers of National Insurance, have commissioned since 1955; and what were the subjects the committees investigated, the date they established, who chaired them, and the dates they reported.

The information available from central records, which covers only the period since the Department of Health and Social Security was established, is in the table.

Departmental Committees of Inquiry 1968–1985
Subject Investigated	Date Established	Chairman	Date Reported
The death of David Tomlinson at Paddington General Hospital in July 1967	February 1969	D. J. Stinson	Not known
The administration and conditions at Farleigh Hospital	July 1970	Major Tasker Watkins	October 1970
The administration and conditions at Whittingham Hospital	February 1971	Sir Robert Payne	November 1971
The care of patients at South Ockendon Hospital	May 1972	J. Hampden Inskip, QC	March 1973
The cause of the fire and action taken at the Coldharbour Hospital on 5 July 1972	July 1972	Desmond Vowden, QC	August 1972
Medical and nursing practices between 1970 and 1972 in some wards of Napsbury Hospital	October 1972	Dr. R. R. Bomford	November 1972
The care and supervision provided by local authorities and other agencies in relation to Maria Colwell	July 1973	T. G. Field-Fisher	1974
The cause of the fire at Fairfield House, Edwalton, Notts on 15 December 1974	December 1974	K. G. Jupp	July 1975
The nursing and care of the mentally handicapped	July 1975	Mrs. Peggy Jay	1979
Patient care and staff morale at Normansfield Hospital	February 1977	M. D. Sherrard, QC	1978
The non-accidental death of DArryn Clarke	August 1978	John Hugill, QC	November 1979
Treatment of children with cancer at the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital and the Christie Hospital	January 1979	Lady Marre	June 1979
The organisation and facilities at Rampton Hospital	July 1979	Sir John Boynton	November 1980
The proposed closure of Cowley Road Hospital, Oxford	August 1979	Professor A. J. Willcocks	September 1979
Non-accidental death of Paul Brown	March 1980	Michael Morland, QC	December 1980
The outbreak of food poisoning at Stanley Royd Hospital in August 1984	November 1984	John Hugill, QC	Continuing
The death of Michael Martin at Broadmoor Hospital	January 1985	Miss Shirley Ritchie	Continuing

Maternity Leave

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what information he has as to the number of women currently in receipt of unemployment benefits who have taken maternity leave within a month of obtaining such benefits.

The information requested is not available.

Health Authorities (Private Contractors)

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what advice or instructions have been given to health authorities as to whether action should be taken by them against private contractors who have given unsatisfactory service.

I refer the hon. Member to my reply on 1 May to the hon. Member for Holborn and St Paneras (Mr. Dobson) at column 174.

Child Benefits

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish figures showing non means-tested child benefits for a family with two children aged 10 and 12 years as percentages of the gross earnings of the average production worker in each member state of the European Community.

No figures are available which show reliably the gross earnings of the average production worker in each member state of the European Community. There are no standard official data about the average earnings of production workers in member states of the European Community. Meaningful comparisons cannot, therefore, be drawn.

Board And Lodging Payments

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he expects to answer the letter dated 7 January 1985 from the hon. Member for Stretford in connection with supplementary benefit board and lodging payments.

I have written to the hon. Member today.

Dental Charges

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give statistics for the last five years of the proportion of the cost of the general dental service borne by charges.

The information requested, for England, is as follows:

	Per cent
1980–81	22.0
1981–82	23.9
1982–83	26.2
1983–84	26.5
1984–85	^*26.3
^* estimated.

Abortions (Wandsworth)

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what has been the number of abortions that have taken place in hospitals in the Wandsworth health authority area in each of the last three years to women between 15 and 20 years of age.

We do not publish statistics about the number of abortions performed in individual health authorities for reasons of confidentiality.

Mobility Allowance

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make it his policy that indoor corridors are not used as part of the eligibility test for mobility allowance, especially where the applicant's disabilities include sensory impairment.

The medical questions which arise on claims for mobility allowance are decided under an independent system of adjudication. It is for examining medical practitioners, medical boards and medical appeal tribunals to decide what tests are necessary in order to ascertain whether a particular claimant is unable or virtually unable to walk.

General Practice Finance Corporation

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he has any plans for the privatisation or partial privatisation of the General Practice Finance Corporation.

We have no plans at present to change the status or classification as a public corporation of the General Practice Finance Corporation. However, following the reclassification of General Practice Finance Corporation borrowing in 1984 the corporation itself has been examining ways by which the demands for loans could be met without adding to public expenditure.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give the names and occupations of the current chairman and vice-chairman of the General Practice Finance Corporation.

The chairman of the General Practice Finance Corporation is Mr. David Stebbings, a retired solicitor. The deputy chairman is Mr. Derek Hughes, managing director of the merchant bank, Samuel Montagu and Company Limited.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the General Practice Finance Corporation's budget for the current year; what is the estimated budget for the following year; and what was the budget for 1984–85.

The General Practice Finance Corporation receives no direct financial support from the Government. However, its borrowing to finance loans to general practioners is guaranteed by the Exchequer and is subject to Government control. The corporation's net borrowing in 1984–85 was £23·25 million compared with £3·5 million in 1982–83 and £12·5 million in 1983–84. Its borrowing for 1985–86 is fixed at £22·5 million. The provisional planning assumption for 1986–87 is £26·7 million.

Cervical Screening

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will outline the facilities available in the South Yorkshire metropolitan area for cervical cancer screening; how many persons have been examined and in what age groups; how many have had a recall; and if he will make a statement;(2) if he will outline the facilities available in Yorkshire and Humberside for cervical cancer screening; how many persons have been examined and in what age groups; how many have had a recall; and if he will make a statement;(3) if he will outline the facilities available in Barnsley and district for cervical cancer screening; how many persons have been examined and in what age groups; how many have had a recall; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the right hon. Member to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Staffordshire, Moorlands (Mr. Knox) on 29 April at columns 49–51.The total number of cervical smear tests taken in each of the health authority areas concerned in 1983 is as follows:

Regional Health Authority/District Health Authority	Number of tests
Yorkshire Regional Health Authority	224,437
Barnsley District Health Authority	11,274
Doncaster District Health Aurhority	17,830
Rotherham District Health Authority	16,308
Sheffield District Health Authority	49,065

The number of tests may not correspond exactly to the number of women tested, but we do not hold centrally information on the number of women screened, or the other detailed information requested. The right hon. Member may wish to seek this from the respective health authorities.

Nhs (Waiting Lists)

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, pursuant to his answer of 29 April, Official Report, column 51. whether any patient on any Health Service waiting list has been, or could be, removed from the waiting list, without the specific agreement of their own consultant.

We do not have this information. Health authorities have made their own arrangements for carrying out the exercise. It would be for the consultants to agree the conditions under which names could be removed from the lists.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, pursuant to his answers of 29 April, Official Report, column 51, if he will explain the administrative arrangements which make central costing of the survey into National Health Service waiting lists impossible.

Costing information could be obtained only by inquiry of all the individual districts and hospitals involved; the expense of such an exercise would clearly be disproportionate.

Community Homes

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many community homes were provided by local authorities and private bodies, respectively, at the most recent date for which figures are available; what responsibility his Department has for reviewing the operation of such homes; and how many such homes have been opened and closed down, respectively, since 1979.

Figures are not held centrally of the numbers of community homes. Community homes may be provided by local authorities or voluntary organisations, but not private bodies.The Department has overall responsibility to ensure that all homes are properly run, in accordance with the Community Home Regulations 1972, and they are therefore subject to inspection by the Department's social services inspectorate.

Pensions

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what information is available to him as to the number of persons in contracted-out pension schemes who are entitled to inflation-proofing of their pensions after retirement; and what information he has as to the estimated cost of this provision in the years (a) 1985, (b) 1990, (c) 1995, (d) 2000 and (e) 2010, both in money terms and as a proportion of the total cost of the state earnings-related pension scheme;(2) what are his estimates of the numbers of people expected to receive additional component under the state earnings-related pension scheme in the tax years 1985–86,

Number of retirement pensions at 30 September 1983 analysed by category of pension and rate of notional dynamised additional component^ rate*
	Total with additional component	Less than £1·00	£1·00 to £1·99	£2·00 to £2·99	£3·00 to £3·99	£4·00 to £4·99	£5·00 to £5·99	£6·00 to £6·99	£7·00 to £7·99	£8·00 and over	Total amount of additional component £	Average rate of additional component £
Category A men	680,110	157,630	162,350	116,220	85,850	62,260	38,010	26,750	12,860	18,180	1,814,364	2·67
Category A women	209,390	72,990	54,200	32,520	20,860	11,820	6,670	4,470	2,330	3,530	432,580	2·07
Category ABL women	6,010	3,250	1,500	610	370	170	30	20	40	20	7,776	1·29
Category B widows	49.390	13,450	14,510	8,020	5,500	3,510	1,830	1,400	530	640	110,517	2·24
Grand total	944,900	247,320	232,560	157,370	112,580	77,760	46,540	32,640	15,760	22,370	2,365,237	2·50

Notes:

Category A (men and women): basic pension based on pensioner's own contributions.

Category B: lower (60 per cent.) rate married woman's pension based on husband's contributions.

Category B widows: pension based on late husband's contribution and paid at full basic rate.

Category ABL women: pension comprising category A topped up by category B entitlement to maximum of category B rate.

^* Including any inherited additional component and before any deduction of GMP in respect of those pensioners who were in contracted-out occupational pension schemes.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will estimate the number of those in employment contributing to the state earnings-related pension scheme, and the amount contributed in 1985–86 and expected in 1986–87.

The number of those currently employed who are contributing to the state earnings-related pension scheme is estimated to be 10·46 million. Information on the amounts of contribution income specifically allocated to the state earnings-related pension scheme is not available. However, the latest estimate of expenditure on the earnings-related component of the scheme is £291 million in 1985–86 and £395 million in 1986–87.

Health Regions (Manpower Targets)

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services by how much the total regional manpower targets for March 1986 differ from those for March 1985; how many regional staff have been transferred to family practitioner committees; by how much the March 1986 1986–87 and 1987–88; what is the maximum estimated additional component; and what is the estimated average additional component in those years.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will indicate (a) the average amount of earnings-related supplement per week received by eligible pensioners and (b) the lowest and highest amount received per week by eligible pensioners in 1985–86;(2) if he will publish his latest estimates of the number of retirement pensioners in receipt of the the state earnings-related pension in 1985–86 and 1986–87.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will set out a table showing the amounts of earnings-related supplement received by eligible pensioners, and the number of pensioners in each category for the current financial year.

Information for the year 1984–85 is not yet available. The most recent data (30 September 1983) are summarised in the table.manpower targets for the four Thames health regions differ from the March 1985 targets for those regions; and in which staff groups he expects the reductions to be made.

The information requested is given in the table. Our ceilings are for all manpower and are not broken into staff groups. We expect regional health authorities to ensure, with districts, that some reductions are made in all regions in the numbers of administrative and clerical staff and that growth in any other staff groups reflects the need to develop patient care and services.

Directly-Employed Staff
(Whole-time equivalents)
Region	Manpower ceiling 31 March 1985^*	Staff employed by family practioner committees^†	Manpower ceiling 31 March 1986‡
Northern	54,800	290	54,600
Yorkshire	61,700	360	61,200
Trent	75,000	410	75,500
East Anglian	30,500	180	30,100
North West Thames	57,600	520	56,200
North East Thames	72,500	370	71,000
South East Thames	65,000	320	63,000

Region	Manpower ceiling 31 March 1985^*	Staff employed by family practioner committees^†	Manpower ceiling 31 March 1986‡
South West Thames	49,200	370	48,200
Wessex	44,500	240	44,700
Oxford	34,400	220	34,500
South Western	53,100	260	53,300
West Midlands	84,400	480	84,600
Mersey	44,200	240	43,700
North Western	75,800	430	75,400
Total	802,700	4,690	796,000
^* Including FPC staff.
† Estimates of staff transferred to family practitioner committees from 1 April 1985. Final figures not yet available.
‡ Excluding FPC staff.

Hospital Ancillary Services (Salford)

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what action he is taking to accelerate the putting out to tender of hospital ancillary services by Salford district health authority; and if he will make a statement.

We are looking to the north western region to ensure that Salford health authority carries out our policy on competitive tendering. I am sure that the authority can find valuable ways of spending the resulting savings to improve patient services within its district.

Population Statistics

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the number of people over the age of (a) 65 years and (b) 75 years, living in Suffolk in each of the years from 1979 to 1985; and what was the percentage increase over that period.

The latest information available is given in the table:

Thousands
As at June	Persons aged 65 and over	Persons aged 75 and over
1978	93·7	35·2
1979	95·4	36·1
1980	98·1	37·7
1981	99·4	38·7
1982	99·9	40·3
1983	99·8	41·5
Percentage increase between 1978 and 1983	6·5	17·9

Private hospitals, nursing homes and clinics registered under section 3 of the Nursing Homes Act 1975, offering acute surgical care in England
Region	Number of institutions^*			Total number of beds in the institutions^*
Region	1981	1982	1983	1981	1982	1983
Northern	1	2	2	34	64	74
Yorkshire	8	14	15	335	447	445
Trent	12	13	14	370	421	518
East Anglian	7	8	9	199	208	308
North West Thames^†	22	15	17	1.970	1,107	1,179
North East Thames^†	14	28	31	456	1,486	1,580
South East Thames^†	17	18	17	692	795	796
South West Thames^†	11	12	13	591	621	687
Wessex	9	11	12	246	335	376

National Insurance Contributions

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what he estimates will be the financial effect on the National Health Service of the changes in national insurance contributions announced in the Budget.

The changes in employers' national insurance contributions will mean increased costs for higher paid staff but lower costs for other full-time and most part-time staff. It is likely that the net effect will be to reduce health authorities' costs, but reliable estimates cannot yet be made.I will write to the hon. Member when reasonable estimates are available.

Children Act 1975

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when section 33 of the Children Act 1975 is likely to be brought into effect.

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

Association Of Community Health Councils

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what grant he intends to make available to the Association of Community Health Councils for England and Wales for 1985–86.

We are offering the association a grant of £20,000 for 1985–86, principally to enable it to employ an information officer. The grant is subject to certain conditions relating to the association's accounts and to review of its activities and use of the grant.

Amenity And Pay Beds

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the number of private hospitals which offer acute surgical care and the number of beds and the occupancy rate for all facilities offering such care by region in each of the last five years.

[pursuant to his reply, 1 February 1985, c. 359]: The available information is given in the table. This type of information is not available centrally for 1979 or 1980. We do not collect information on bed occupancy centrally.

Region	Number of institutions^*			Total number of beds in the institutions^*
	1981	1982	1983	1981	1982	1983
Oxford	10	12	12	359	454	452
South Western	10	10	10	378	375	386
West Midlands	10	18	17	300	601	578
Mersey	6	8	8	306	305	316
North Western	7	9	12	365	444	543
England	144	178	189	6,601	7,663	8,238
^* Figures for 1982 and 1983 are based on a routine statistical return introduced in 1982 and relate to premises with operating theatres on 31 December each year. Figures for 1981 are based on an ad-hoc inquiry and relate to premises providing acute surgical and medical care in June 1981; they are therefore not strictly comparable with those for later years.
† Because of NHS restructuring in 1982, figures for these regions are not directly comparable between 1981 and subsequent years.

Mortality Statistics

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people on average have died (a) before the age of 60 years and (b) at 60 years and above of chest-related illnesses in (i) England and (ii) Wales, in each year since 1979.

Number of deaths from chest related diseases, aged under 60 years and 60 years and over; (a) Wales, (b) England—1979 to 1984
1979
ICD No. (9th rev.)	Cause	Sex	Wales		England
			Ages
			0 to 59	60 and over	0 to 59	60 and over
^*see below	Diseases of lower respiratory tract	Male	202	2,628	3,530	37,201
		Female	147	2,157	2,376	36,378
487	Influenza	Male	6	16	58	239
		Female	3	24	23	668
162	Malignant neoplasm of trachea, bronchus and lung	Male	236	1,184	4,764	20,587
		Female	103	264	1,679	5,860
(010–012)	Tuberculosis of lung and pulmonary	Male	4	23	85	243
		Female	1	9	32	91

1980
ICD No. (9th rev.)	Cause	Sex	Wales		England
			Ages
			0 to 59	60 and over	0 to 59	60 and over
^*see below	Diseases of lower respiratory tract	Male	195	2,462	3,234	36,082
		Female	132	2,189	2,151	36,183
487	Influenza	Male	1	14	38	149
		Female	—	20	17	274
162	Malignant neoplasm of trachea, bronchus and lung	Male	215	1,200	4,374	20,932
		Female	67	284	1,712	6,309
(010–012)	Tuberculosis of lung and pulmonary	Male	4	25	93	211
		Female	2	4	34	97

1981
ICD No. (9th rev.)	Cause	Sex	Wales		England
			Ages
			0 to 59	60 and over	0 to 59	60 and over
^*see below	Diseases of lower respiratory tract	Male	206	2,422	2,929	35,844
		Female	133	2,152	1,980	36,974
487	Influenza	Male	1	12	19	185
		Female	5	19	15	370
162	Malignant neoplasm of trachea, bronchus and lung	Male	242	1,119	4,199	20,687

[pursuant to his reply, 30 April 1985, c. 114]: The information is given in the table.The figures for 1984 are not comparable with earlier years, because of a change in coding following a rule of the World Health Organisation. In 1984 some deaths previously coded to bronchopneumonia have been allocated to other chronic conditions mentioned on the certificate.

ICD No.(9th rev.)	Cause	Sex	Wales		England
			Ages
			0 to 59	60 and over	0 to 59	60 and over
		Female	94	302	1,624	6,388
(010–012)	Tuberculosis of lung and pulmonary	Male	7	24	81	212
		Female	1	5	21	80

1982
ICD No. (9th rev.)	Cause	Sex	Wales		England
			Ages
			0 to 59	60 and over	0 to 59	60 and over
^*see below	Diseases of lower respiratory tract	Male	183	2,403	2,983	37,693
		Female	127	2,371	2,015	39,383
487	Influenza	Male	1	9	26	220
		Female	1	14	19	425
162	Malignant neoplasm of trachea, bronchus and lung	Male	247	1,126	3,946	20,601
		Female	105	351	1,609	6,788
(010–012)	Tuberculosis of lung and pulmonary	Male	7	21	74	209
		Female	—	5	32	105

1983
ICD No. (9th rev.)	Cause	Sex	Wales		England
			Ages
			0 to 59	60 and over	0 to 59	60 and over
^*see below	Diseases of lower respiratory tract	Male	164	2,544	2,595	37,054
		Female	122	2,408	1,774	39,051
487	Influenza	Male	1	13	22	240
		Female	1	28	19	471
162	Malignant neoplasm of trachea, bronchus and lung	Male	221	1,170	3,793	21,262
		Female	98	376	1,501	7,060
(010–012)	Tuberculosis of lung and pulmonary	Male	3	21	50	200
		Female	—	5	23	70

1984
ICD No.(9th rev.)	Cause	Sex	Wales		England
			Ages
			0 to 59	60 and over	0 to 59	60 and over
^*see below	Diseases of lower respiratory tract	Male	138	1,806	1,982	26,473
		Female	66	1,382	1,352	23,103
487	Influenza	Male	—	4	15	92
		Female	—	6	15	213
162	Malignant neoplasm of trachea, bronchus and lung	Male	207	1,206	3,561	21.020
		Female	84	350	1,555	7,679
(010–012)	Tuberculosis of lung and pulmonary	Male	1	16	51	191
		Female	1	6	16	91
^* Diseases of respiratory system excluding acute upper respiratory infections and other diseases of upper respiratory tract ICD (9th rev.) 466, 480–519 excluding 487.

Northern Ireland

European Driving Licence

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on what date it is intended to introduce the new European driving licence into Northern Ireland.

1 January 1986.

Less Favoured Areas Boundaries

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the total number of appeals against the proposed less favoured areas boundaries received by 1 April.

:I shall reply to the right hon. Gentleman as soon as possible.

Republic Of Ireland (Gas Pipeline)

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the total amount of payments made to the authorities in the Republic of Ireland in connection with the proposed gas pipeline to Northern Ireland; and, following the abandonment of this proposal, how much of these funds has been recovered from the authorities in the Republic of Ireland.

£5 million in October 1983 and nothing recovered.

Castlereagh (Grant Aid)

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he received an application from Castlereagh borough council for grant aid towards the replacement of Belvoir community centre; and if he will make a statement.

A grant application was received in the Department of Education on 31 January 1985. Insufficient details about the proposed scheme were submitted and have not yet been provided by the council. However, funds for such provision are limited, and the application will have to be considered along with many other priority schemes submitted by all district councils and in the light of other higher priority schemes planned by Castlereagh borough council.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he received an application from Castlereagh borough council for grant aid towards the cost of replacement of Braniel community centre; and if he will make a statement.

A grant application was received in the Department of Education on 9 September 1983. Insufficient details about the proposed scheme were submitted and have not yet been provided by the council. However, funds for such provision are limited; and the application will have to be considered along with many other priority schemes submitted by all district councils and in the light of other higher priority schemes planned by Castlereagh borough council.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) if he has approved the submission by Castlereagh borough council of an application to the European regional development fund for financial assistance, either by grant or loan, towards the capital costs of the proposed Dundonald international ice-bowl by Castlereagh borough council;(2) what is the amount of loan or grant to be paid from the European regional development fund towards the cost of the Robinson leisure centre in Castlereagh; what are the terms of this assistance; and if he will make a statement;(3) if he has approved the submission to the European Economic Community of an application by Castlereagh borough council for a loan towards the cost of the Robinson leisure centre.

I shall reply to the right hon. Gentleman as soon as possible.

Medical Cards

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many applications for new medical cards have been received during the weeks beginning 4 March, 11 March, 18 March, 25 March, 1 April, 8 April, 15 April, 22 April and 29 April; and, in each case, how many applications were received by telephone, by letter and by other means.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many applications for new medical cards were received by the Northern Ireland Central Services Agency for Health and Social Services in the current year during January, February, March, April and including those received at the Belfast office on Friday 3 May;(2) how many new medical cards have been issued during 1985 altogether to date to Northern Ireland applicants.

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

Anglo-Irish Encounter Group

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the answer he gave to the hon. Member for Belfast, South on 25 April 1985, Official Report, column 547, what specific subjects under discussion at the Encounter conferences interested the 10 officials.

My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs gave the hon. Member the titles of the three conferences which have been held in his answer of 1 April at column 453. Each of these subjects was of interest to the officials who attended because of the duties they perform.

Electors (Identification)

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will introduce regulations to add UB40 cards to the permitted list of electors' identification for the forthcoming local elections in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

The Government have no plans to alter the list of documents specified in the Elections (Northern Ireland) Act 1985 and the Local Elections (Northern Ireland) Order 1985 before the forthcoming local elections. I made it clear, however, during the passage of the legislation, that the range of documents might be varied in subsequent elections should that prove necessary or desirable. All electors in Northern Ireland are already entitled to possess free of charge at least one of the specified documents.

Water Service (Unpaid Bills)

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what amount of money is still owed in payments to the Department of the Environment (Water Service) in respect of each of the last four financial years by those persons who have a metered supply.

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

Local Government Electors

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is his estimate of the number of local government electors in Northern Ireland who hold an allowance or pension book or books, which is acceptable as proof of identity for the purpose of exercising the franchise on 15 May.

[pursuant to his reply, 3 May 1985, c. 268]: The numbers of those receiving benefits, pensions or allowances in Northern Ireland by means of pension or allowance order books which are specified documents within the terms of the Local Elections (Northern Ireland) Order 1985 were as follows on the dates shown:

Benefit etc.	Number of Recipients	Date
Invalidity Benefit	24,032	30 April 1985
Severe Disablement Allowance	9,850	30 April 1985
Attendance Allowance	†20,000	3 January 1985
Invalid Care Allowance	697	21 February 1985
Maternity Allowance	4,890	31 March 1985
Mobility Allowance	7,284	31 March 1985
Disablement Pension	†8,000	19 February 1985
Industrial Death Benefit	879	19 February 1985
Supplementary Benefit^*	†23,000	12 February 1985
Retirement Pension	185,086	31 March 1985
Widow's Benefit	12,623	31 March 1985
Child Benefit	205,666	29 March 1985
^* Supplementary Benefit recipients not receiving a main National Insurance benefit or pension.
† Approximate.

Apart from those for retirement pensions, the figures above include a number of people aged under 18. Many child benefit allowance books, however, carry the names of both parents and may therefore be used as a specified document by a substantial number of people in addition to the figure given for recipients of child benefit.In some cases one person may receive more than one of the above pensions, benefits or allowances. Some recipients will not be on the Northern Ireland electoral register for local electors. Nonetheless, given that only 1,491 of the recipients of retirement pension, or their spouses, and only 3,718 of those receiving widows' benefit also receive child benefit, it is reasonable to estimate that at least 400,000 people possess some form of allowance book which is a specified document in terms of the order.

Subject investigated	Chairman	Date appointed	Date reported
Chain of Command: The Open Structure	Sir Geoffrey Wardale	1981	1981. ISBN 0 7115 0038
Civil Service Pay	Rt. Hon. Sir John Megaw	1981	July 1982. Cmnd. 8590
Selection of Fast Stream Graduate Entrants to the Home Civil Service, the Diplomatic Service and the Tax Inspectorate and of candidates from within the Service	Sir Alec Atkinson	1982	February 1983. ISBN 0 7115 00533

Information for the earlier period is not held centrally and it would be disproportionately costly to draw up a comprehensive list.

The Arts

Departmental Committees Of Inquiry

asked the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State answering in respect of the Arts how many departmental committees of inquiry he and his

Nurses, Midwives And Health Visitors (Pay)

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he last met representatives of the Royal College of Nursing in Northern Ireland to discuss the findings of the review body on pay for nurses, midwives and health visitors; and if it is his intention that the full recommendations of the review body should be implemented in Northern Ireland.

[pursuant to his reply, 3 May 1985, c. 266]: Neither my right hon. Friend nor I have had such a meeting. Pay awards made to nursing staff in the National Health Service will be applied in Northern Ireland.

Transport

M1 (Maintenance Works)

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what major maintenance works are planned on the Ml in Hertfordshire this summer.

In early July we shall be renewing a short section of the northbound carriageway near junction 8 (Hemel Hempstead). Even with extensive traffic management measures, serious delays will be unavoidable. A special publicity programme warning of the problems will be mounted, commencing with a news conference tomorrow to explain what we are doing to minimise disruption.

Civil Service

Departmental Committees Of Inquiry

asked the Minister for the Civil Service how many departmental committees of inquiry he and his predecessors in the Management and Personnel Office, and the Civil Service Department, have commissioned since 1968; and what were the subjects the committees investigated, the dates they were established, who chaired them, and the dates they reported.

The main inquiries commissioned since May 1979 are:predecessors at the Office of Arts and Libraries have commissioned since 1979; and what were the subjects the committees investigated, the dates they were established, who chaired them and the dates they reported.

Excluding departmental working parties chaired by permanent officials, inquiries undertaken by one individual, and advisory committees of a permanent nature, no departmental committee of inquiry has been commissioned since 1979.

Eastern Area (Orchestra)

asked the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State answering in respect of the Arts what representations the Minister for the Arts has received as to the respective merits of funding the Eastern Authorities Orchestral Associations or, as an alternative, setting up a new resident orchestra to tour the eastern area; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. and noble Friend has received a small number of direct representations, but it is for the Arts Council to determine the policy for orchestral provision in Eastern England. The council published a discussion paper on 18 April and hope to receive reactions and suggestions by midsummer, and to come to a decision in the autumn.

asked the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State answering in respect of the Arts whether any local authorities have expressed their support to the Minister for the Arts for the setting up of a new resident orchestra for the eastern area; and if he will make a statement.

As I indicated in my answer of 7 May, it if for the Arts Council and not for my right hon. and noble Friend to determine policy on orchestral provision for eastern England. Several local authorities have expressed an interest in the council's proposals for a new resident orchestra. The council has published a

	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983
Over three-day injuries to employees	^*581,000		^*509,000	†434,792	†389,781	n/a
Major injuries‡
To employees	—	—	—	12,315	12,275	12,273
To non-employees	—	—	—	5,701	5,745	6,380
Fatal injuries\|\|
To employees	622	615	579	449	468	442
To non-employees	—	—	—	129	132	152
Dangerous occurrences‡	—	—	—	3,645	3,153	2,797

Notes

^* Spells of certified incapacity for work resulting in industrial injury benefit claims for the years 1 June 1978—31 May 1979 and 1 June 1979 —31 May 1980. Some road accidents are included which are excluded from later years' figures.

† All injuries to employees reportable under the Notification of Accidents and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1980, that is, absences from work for over three days (notified to HSE via DHSS), major injuries and fatalities.

‡ These categories became reportable under the Notification of Accidents and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations, in which they are defined, from 1 January 1981. Dangerous occurrences involving injury are also included in the injury count.

|| 1978–80 figures include fatal injuries reported voluntarily before new reporting requirements were introduced in 1981, they are not necessarily complete and may include some non-employees.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if, further to the answer of 15 April, Official Report, column 47, he has plans to request the Health and Safety Executive to conduct a further survey of the number of employees covered by safety representatives.

No.

Labour Statistics

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people have been out of work for more than two years in Sunderland; and if he will make a statement.

discussion paper on the topic and will be considering formal reactions to the proposals in that paper, and coming to a decision in the autumn.

Employment

Health And Safety

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if the Government have any plans to increase self-monitoring of health and safety for private companies; and if he will make a statement.

This option, together with others put forward in the Health and Safety Commission's plan of work, is open for comment.

11.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what were the number of workplace accidents in 1984; and what were the numbers for each of the previous five years.

The following is the information for workplace accidents from 1978 to 1983. Figures for 1984 are not yet available.The available figures for injuries and fatalities caused by accidents at work, and of dangerous occurences, in 1983 and the previous five years are as follows. Injuries to seamen, fishermen and air transport employees reported under merchant shipping and civil aviation legislation are excluded.

On 10 January 1985 the number of claimants in the Sunderland jobcentre area who had been unemployed for over two years was 6,829.

22.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of the work force is currently unemployed; and what was the proportion unemployed in April 1979.

On 11 April 1985 13·5 per cent, of the work force in the United Kingdom were unemployed. The corresponding percentage in April 1979 was 5·2 per cent.

26.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the current rate of unemployment; and what are the numbers involved.

38.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the latest figure of unemployed throughout the United Kingdom.

39.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the current numbers unemployed; and what this is as a proportion of the work force.

April 1985 the number of unemployed claimants in the United Kingdom was 3,272,565, representing an unemployment rate of 13·5 per cent.

31.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the latest number of people who have been unemployed for over 12 months.

On 10 January 1985, the latest date for which an analysis of unemployment by duration is available, a total of 1,316,017 claimants had been unemployed for over one year in the United Kingdom.

34.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what was the number of employees in employment at the latest available date and in June 1979, respectively.

In December 1984, the latest date for which information is available, there were an estimated 20,803,000 employees in employment in Great Britain. The corresponding figure for June 1979 was 22,619,000. The figures have been adjusted to take account of seasonal variations.

41.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the current number of unemployed people in the European Economic Community; and what percentage of them are aged under 25 years.

At the end of March 1985 there were 13·3 million registered unemployed in the Community (excluding Greece), of whom 37 per cent. were aged under 25 years, as estimated by the statistical office of the European Communities.

48.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many males are at present in employment; and what was the comparable figure for 1980.

In December 1984, the latest date for which information is available, there were an estimated 13,788,000 males in Great Britain in the employed labour force-that is employees in employment plus the self-employed plus Her Majesty's forces. The corresponding figure for December 1980 was 14,562,000.

51.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the number and proportion of young people aged 17 or 18 years who are currently unemployed.

The information is not available for the age groups requested. On 10 January 1985, the latest date for which an analysis of unemployment by age is available, there were 197,678 unemployed people under 18 years and 373,986 aged 18 and 19 in the United Kingdom. The figures represent provisional unemployment rates of 23·8 and 26·1 per cent. Respectively. These figures will shortly be revised to take account of employment estimates for mid-1984.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the regions of the United Kingdom in order of number of long-term unemployed.

The following information is in the Library. The figures relate to unemployed claimants on 10 January 1985, the latest date for which an analysis of unemployment by duration is available.

Claimants unemployed over one year
Region	Number
South East	274,121
North West	200,121
West Midlands	164,527
Scotland	139,580
Yorkshire and Humberside	123,643
North	105,795
East Midlands	76,783
Wales	74,799
South West	67,935
Northern Ireland	61,045
East Anglia	27,668

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of women, aged between 16 and 60 years, in the United Kingdom and each of the standard regions are in employment in (a) a full-time and (b) a part-time capacity.

The latest available information about the employment of women aged between 16 and 60 is from the 1983 labour force survey, as follows:

percentage of women aged 16 and under 60 years
Region	In full-time^ employment*	In part-time†employment	All in employment‡
United Kingdom	32·2	23·5	56·1
North	28·5	24·2	53·0
Yorkshire and Humberside	29·9	26·2	56·6
East Midlands	32·8	24·6	57·7
East Anglia	30·1	27·5	57·9
South East	35·1	22·9	58·6
South West	30·7	26·0	57·3
West Midlands	30·3	23·3	54·1
North West	31·8	23·8	56·1
Wales	28·5	20·3	49·5
Scotland	32·7	21·6	54·8
Northern Ireland	30·9	16·6	47·7
^* Normally working not more than 30 hours per week.
†Normally working more than 30 hours per week.
‡Includes those with hours of work not stated.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what information he has as to the levels of male and female unemployment in inner city partnership areas; and how these figures compare with unemployment in Britain as a whole.

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

Jobcentres

16.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many representations he has received about the future size of the jobcentre network; and if he will make a statement.

Four thousand organisations and individuals were consulted on the proposals for the jobcentre network and some 3,000 of these replied. The plans, which are now being implemented, will increase the number of jobcentres to the highest level ever, whilst at the same time improved efficiency will produce savings of some £8 million a year.

Skillcentres

17.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what alternatives his Department has considered to the Liverpool skillcentre, currently proposed for closure.

In addition to nearby skillcentres at St. Helens and the Merseyside advisory training unit, there are over 40 other training providers in the catchment area of the Liverpool skillcentre.

30.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he is yet in a position to announce his decision on the future of skillcentres.

I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Glasgow, Cathcart (Mr. Maxton) on 2 April at column 530.

43.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what recent representations he has received on the future of the skillcentre network.

My right hon. Friend and I have received around 280 letters on the subject since the proposals for the reorganisation of the skillcentre network were announced on 28 November. We have also met 10 delegations.

Youth Training

18.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what progress has been made by the Manpower Services Commission in drawing up detailed proposals for extending the youth training scheme to two years.

The Manpower Services Commission has begun discussions with employers, trade unions and other interested bodies about the expansion of the youth training scheme, and has been asked to make detailed recommendations by the end of June.

19.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many places are currently allocated from the youth training scheme and the community programme to (a) Basildon and (b) Essex.

At the end of March 1985, there were 1,152 approved youth training scheme places in Basildon local authority district which includes Basildon, Billericay and Wickford and 9,403 approved youth training scheme places in the county of Essex. The corresponding figures for filled places on the community programme are 334 and 1,719 respectively.

20.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what measures he proposes in order to improve the quality of training available in the community programme.

Over half of the participants on the community programme already receive some form of training directly related to their work. This is increasingly being supplemented by specially designed broader training courses provided under the adult training strategy.

27.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many vacant places there are currently on the youth training scheme.

Information is not available in the precise form requested. At the end of March 1985 some 396,000 youth training scheme places had been approved for the 1984–85 financial year, and there were around 271,000 young people in training. Not all of these approved places were available for occupation at that time.

50.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many young people are currently being trained in Hampshire on youth training schemes.

There were 6,200 young people in training on the youth training scheme in Hampshire at the end of March 1985.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment to what he attributes the current under-occupancy of mode A youth training scheme places.

We need to provide sufficient youth training scheme mode A places to satisfy the forecast demand from eligible young people and to allow them the choice of a range of training programmes. Some places have remained unfilled because it appears that more school leavers than expected have found jobs outside the scheme.The Manpower Services Commission and my Department will shortly be issuing circulars to commission area staff and careers officers, respectively, about the need, where there is a choice of suitable places, for young people to be submitted in preference to mode A in accordance with the Government's and the commission's aim that the scheme should be primarily employer based.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what assessment he has made of the relative value of mode A youth training scheme schemes and mode B youth training scheme schemes, respectively, in making the transition from school to work.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make it his practice to refer to those who sponsor youth training schemes under both mode A and mode B as employers.

No. The large majority of trainees in the youth training scheme are not employed by scheme providers. The terms "managing agent" and "sponsor" which are currently used more accurately reflect the relationship between providers and most trainees.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he has been able to examine the implications of an extension of the youth training scheme facilities from one to two years on the United Kingdom retail sector.

The Manpower Services Commission's consultations about a two-year youth training scheme are at an early stage, but we will take full account of the needs and circumstances of the retail sector in drawing up detailed recommendations for the extended scheme.

Factory Inspectors

21.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the present number of factory inspectors.

On 1 April 1985 there were 845 factory inspectors employed by the Health and Safety Executive.

Unemployment Levels

23.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what recent representations he has received concerning the present level of unemployment and on future trends.

We have received many representations about the level of unemployment. This issue was discussed in the recent White Paper "Employment: The Challenge for the Nation," which set out the Government's strategy for jobs. As the White Paper makes clear, a reduction in the present level of unemployment depends on the creation of new jobs. More than 600,000 new jobs were created between March 1983 and December 1984 and we need to ensure that there are no obstacles in the way of building on that achievement.

Long-Term Unemployed Persons

24.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what Government schemes specifically attempt to retrain or find new employment for the long-term unemployed.

I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Hodge Hill, (Mr. Davis) earlier today.

36.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what assessment he has made of the effect of the level of supplementary benefit on the motivation of the long-term unemployed to seek work.

I know of no study which has specifically looked at the link between supplementary benefit and the motivation of the long-term unemployed to seek work. There is evidence, such as from the DHSS cohort study of unemployed men, that intensity of job search decreased with longer duration of unemployment. Econometric analysis of the results of this survey has also shown that higher benefits are associated with longer unemployment durations—holding other factors constant —but there has been no comparable study of the effect of benefits on job search.

High Technology Training

25.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment to what extent, in formulating their policies for the training of young people, Her Majesty's Government take account of representations from high technology industries regarding the future demand for skilled personnel.

When assessing the demand for training places for young people, the Manpower Services Commission takes into account the needs of industry both locally and nationally, and seeks the views of all parts of industry, including high technology firms.

Earnings

28.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the latest figure for average earnings; and what information he has as to the number of people earning (a) this figure and (b) £100 per week or less for a 40-hour week.

The latest available figure for gross average weekly earnings of full-time workers is for April 1984 and is published in table 1 of "New Earnings Survey 1984", part A. Estimates of the numbers working full-time earning less than various amounts are published in table 29 of "New Earnings Survey 1984", part B. Copies of both these reports are available in the Library.

44.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the numbers of people currently earning less than two thirds average male earnings; and what were the corresponding figures for May 1979.

It is estimated that about 5·25 million adult employees working full-time earned less than two thirds of average male full-time earnings in 1984. The corresponding estimate for 1979 is 5 million. Average gross weekly earnings for full-time males aged 21 and over who worked a full week were estimated to be £98·8 in 1979 and £181·6 in 1984.

Job Creation

29.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what measures he intends to take to offset the increasing unemployment in inner city areas, including the London borough of Lambeth.

We are committed to maintaining our economic policies which are directed at holding down inflation and public borrowing, while encouraging enterprise, flexibility and competitiveness in industry and the labour market. This is the only way to generate jobs in Lambeth, other inner city areas and elsewhere. Seven inner city partnership areas—including Lambeth—will receive some £270 million of Government assistance this year through the programmes which are being coordinated by the new city action teams. And all inner city areas benefit from our special employment and training measures, two of which-the youth training scheme and the community programme — are to be considerably expanded.

Wages Inspectors

32.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the present numbers of wages inspectors.

There are 120 wages inspectors.

"Employment: The Challenge For The Nation"

33.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many representations he has received regarding his White Paper "Employment: The Challenge for the Nation".

40.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what representations he has so far received in response to the White Paper, "Unemployment: The Challenge for the Nation".

The White Paper "Employment: The Challenge for the Nation" (Cmnd. 9474) has been well received as a comprehensive description of the employment scene and a clear statement of the Government's strategy for jobs. My right hon. Friend and I have received many representations on the specific issues and policies discussed in the White Paper.

35.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the numbers of people earning less than £100 for a 40-hour week, pro-rata; and what proportion of these are women.

It is estimated that about 3 million people working full-time in April 1984 earned less than the equivalent of £100 for a 40-hour week excluding overtime pay. Of these, it is estimated that just over a half were women.

City Action Teams

37.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will detail the exact role that will be played by his Department and the Manpower Services Commission in assisting the newly-announced city action teams in various inner city areas.

Each of the five city action teams includes the Manpower Services Commission's director for the region concerned, who also acts as the Secretary of State's representative in that region. The director in northern region is the leader of the Newcastle-Gateshead team. They and their staff will be playing their full part working with colleagues from the Departments of the Environment and Trade and Industry to ensure that the best use is made of central Government programmes in the inner city areas concerned. The Government's employment and training programmes have an important role to play in assisting the regeneration of inner city areas, and the changes announced in the Budget, in particular the expansion of the community programme, will increase that contribution.

Health And Safety Inspectors

42.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the present numbers of health and safety inspectors.

At 1 April 1985 there were 1,266 inspectors employed by the Health and Safety Executive.

Job Release Scheme

46.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he has any plans to increase the take-up of the job release scheme in Coventry.

The full time job release scheme has been extended until 31 March 1986 and I announced to the House on 15 March, at columns 316–17, greater flexibility in the rules of the part-time job release scheme. I hope to see increased take-up throughout the country, including Coventry.

School Leavers

47.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many school leavers have found employment in their first year after leaving school in each of the last four years in Langbaurgh.

I regret that, as statistics on youth employment patterns derive principally from sample surveys which provide valid estimates only for the country as a whole or for major regions, the information requested is not available for Langbaurgh.

Trade Unions (Postal Ballots)

49.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what further representations he has received about the use of postal ballots in trade union elections.

My right hon. Friend and I have received several letters.

Departmental Committees Of Inquiry

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many departmental committees of inquiry he and his predecessors, including Ministers of Labour and Secretaries of State for Employment and Productivity, have commissioned since 1955; and what were the subjects the committees investigated, the dates they were established, who chaired them and the dates they reported.

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

Unfair Dismissal

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what plans he has for excluding all firms employing fewer than (a) 50 people and (b) 100 people from the unfair dismissal provisions of the Employment Protection Act.

None.

Langbaurgh

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what plans there are to extend and improve jobcentre facilities in Langbaurgh.

The agreed plans for the development of the employment service will involve an increase in the numbers of jobcentres from 991 to 1,065 — the highest number ever as well as substantial investment in new technology to improve the handling of job vacancies while achieving savings to the taxpayer through improved efficiency. Five jobcentres already serve the various parts of the Langbaurgh constituency and it was not felt that any additions were justified, although of course the existing jobcentres will benefit from the investment in new technology.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many new jobs have been recorded in Langbaurgh in each of the past four years for all categories of employment; and how many of these were for part-time employment.

Information about job gains is not available from the Department's statistics. Net changes in employment can be given but, for areas smaller than regions, only for those dates when censuses of employment are taken.The latest available figures from the 1981 census of employment showed that just over 15,000 employees were employed in the constituency of Langbaurgh. Of these, 5,000 were working part-time. Estimates from the following September 1984 census are not yet available.

Employment Protection Act

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many cases under the Employment Protection Act in the past year taken before an industrial tribunal have involved persons who have been employed for more than one year but less than two years.

This information is not available in the form requested. On the basis of a sample analysis of complaints of unfair dismissal for the calendar year 1983 it is estimated that 1,650 such complaints heard by an industrial tribunal involved persons who had been employed for more than one but less than two years.The figure should be treated with caution because of the margin of error inherent in the sample.

Wages Councils

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what recommendations he has received from the Confederation of British Industry during the past year concerning wages councils; what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government concerning the International Labour Organisation's convention 26 on wages councils; and whether he will make a statement.

In June last year the Confederation of British Industry submitted proposals for major reform of the wages councils system, or, failing that, its abolition.Our adherence to International Labour Organisation convention 26 limits our freedom to act in the way we may judge best. We therefore propose to de-ratify the convention subject to the consultations required by International Labour Organisation rules.Decisions on the future of wages councils will be taken when responses to the consultative paper issued on 21 March have been considered.

Hearing Protection

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what position the Government have taken on proposals for (a) a 90-decibel noise A level and (b) the compulsory wearing of hearing protection.

The draft European directive on noise does not require all action to take effect at a single exposure level. The Government agree that 90 dB(A) is one of the levels at which appropriate action is required. The Government accept that in some circumstances the wearing of hearing protection should be compulsory but regards the Commission's amended proposal an improvement on the original as fewer workers would be required to wear personal protection at noise levels where danger to their hearing might not be apparent.

Dock Workers

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many persons are currently registered dock workers.

The total number of registered dock workers on 30 April 1985 was 12,135.

National Dock Labour Scheme

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what was the total financial contribution made by port employers to the national dock labour scheme in each of the last five years.

The total contributions by port employers to the National Dock Labour Board (NDLB), covering the board's own operations and those of the national voluntary severance scheme (NVSS) during the past five calendar years, were as follows:

	Total £ million	National Dock Labour Board £ million	National Voluntary Severance Scheme £ million
1980	14·4	4·9	9·5
1981	17·7	5·2	12·5
1982	17·3	5·0	12·3
1983	15·9	5·0	10·9
1984	16·0	4·5	11·5

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the total cost to public funds of the national dock labour scheme in each of the last five years.

The industry's national voluntary severance scheme administered by the National Dock Labour Board has received help from public funds in a variety of ways.Loans were made by the Government to the National Dock Labour Board as follows:

	£ million
1980–81	12·3
1981–82	45·0
1982–83	11·0

Capital repayment of £1·5 million was made in 1980–81 in respect of a previous loan. Of the loans made in 1980–81 and 1981–83, £23·8 million was written off under the provisions of the Transport Act 1983. £44·5 million of the loans remains outstanding.Interest paid on these and previous loans was as follows:

	£ million
1980–81	0·4
1981–82	2·4
1982–83	^*4·0
^*In respect of previous year's interest.

Under the terms of the current loan conditions, the Government have waived interest payments for the three years 1982–82 to 1984–85.In addition, the Government have paid the following amounts of grant to the Port of London Authority and the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company in respect of the severance of registered dock workers:

	£ million
1980–81	nil
1981–82	9·7
1982–83	40·3
1983–84	17·7
1984–85	15·2

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what he expects to be the total cost to (a) public funds and (b) port employers of the national dock labour scheme in 1985.

Employers are expected to pay about £4 million for the National Dock Labour Board's operations in 1985. The costs of the industry's national voluntary severance scheme will depend on the number of severances achieved and on discussions which are now urgently in train with representatives of the National Association of Port Employers about future funding arrangements for the scheme.

Employee Involvement

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government towards the proposals contained in the Greater Employee Involvement Bill.

The Government are committed to encouraging greater employee involvement. ACAS already plays an important role in this under its existing statutory duties, which are broad enough to cover the promotion of employee involvement. The Government are not convinced of the need to lay on ACAS the further specific duty of promoting the Industrial Participation Association and Institute of Personnel Management joint code. The code is being promoted effectively by those bodies and the Government have often commended it.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the Government's policy towards the Institute of Personnel Management and Industrial Participation Association code, "Employee Involvement and Participation Principles and Standard of Practice," a copy of which has been sent to him.

The Government have often commended this code as a most valuable source of advice and guidance. We particularly welcome its recognition that practices which are likely to be successful may vary from one organisation to another. The code is especially authoritative for having been drawn up by leading industrialists, trade unionists, and other practitioners in the field.

Milk Roundsmen (Child Labour)

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many cases of the use of illegal child labour by milk roundsmen have been brought to his attention; and what action he has taken as a result.

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

National Finance

Construction Industry (Development Land Tax)

52.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what effect he estimates that the abolition of development land tax will have on job creation in the construction industry.

I would refer my hon. Friend to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Bristol North-West (Mr. Stern) on 25 April at column 526.

Small Businesses

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the Government's attitude towards the policy of the European Commission on the harmonisation of the value added tax exemption thresholds for small businesses in the member countries of the European Economic Community; and if he will make a statement.

The European Commission, in its report on national VAT schemes for small businesses, has suggested that the VAT exemption threshold should be harmonised at a level of 10,000 ecu—about £5,900—to be increased by reference to inflation, and that member states with higher levels should freeze their exemption thresholds until the Community limit catches up. This report was placed in the library with an explanatory memorandum on 27 February 1984. The European Commission has not yet made a formal proposal to the council on this subject and when such a proposal is made it would require the unanimous approval of the member states before it could be implemented. The Commission's report did not demonstrate that the United Kingdom limit, raised in the budget to £19,500, causes any significant distortion of intra-Community trade and the Government could not accept a harmonised limit pitched at such an unrealistically low level.

Ec (Agriculture Expenditure)

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish in the Official Report, the percentage ceiling on agricultural spending in the event of the relevant figures under the agreed formula being the same in 1985 as they were in 1984.

The method of calculating the financial guideline for agricultural expenditure, which will first apply fully for 1986 is set out in the Council conclusions on budget discipline which were placed in the Library of the House on 16 November 1984.

Development Land Tax

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the staff requirements and costs in the Inland Revenue and the development land tax office resulting from continuing to collect outstanding sums of development land tax after abolition from 19 March.

About 200 Inland Revenue staff are presently engaged on the assessment and collection of development land tax, eighty being in the development land tax office at Middlesbrough. It will cost about £5 million to collect the expected tax yield for 1984–85 of £80 million. These staff requirements and costs will decrease as the effect of abolition works through but it is not possible to forecast precisely the rate at which these savings will be realised.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the saving in staff and costs in the Inland Revenue and development land tax office of abolishing outstanding liabilities to development land tax on projects of material development notified before 19 March.

Savings in staff and costs would be relatively small but the information on which to base a precise estimate is not available.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if the Financial Secretary to the Treasury has considered the letter from the hon. Member for Mid-Staffordshire concerning liabilities to development land tax for projects of material development started before 19 March; and if he will make a statement.

My hon. Friend's letter has been considered.Development land tax legislation contains a provision whereby notice may be given to vary a project already notified to the Revenue. That provision will continue to apply for projects started before 19 March 1985.

Bloodstock Breeders (Vat)

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects discussions on the draft 18th European Community directive on value added tax to be completed; and whether he envisages any early action to assist United Kingdom bloodstock breeders in advance of the completion of these discussions, with a view to eliminating their competitive disadvantages with France and Ireland.

The draft 18th EC directive on VAT and the draft 19th directive, with which it is closely interlinked, propose the abolition of a range of derogations and comments have been invited from those industries, including the bloodstock interests, which are likely to be affected by the proposals. No discussions have taken place so far in the Council and any estimate of a date for completion of discussions would be purely speculative, at this stage.As regards the last part of the question, I cannot usefully add to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend on 3 April at column 689.

Insolvency

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the amount of revenue obtained from taxes in insolvency cases where the Inland Revenue makes use of its position as a preferential creditor.

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

Ec (Vat)

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list his powers to alter the amount of value added tax contribution paid by the United Kingdom to the European Economic Community.

Contributions of up to 1 per cent.l of value added tax calculated on a harmonised base constitute part of the Community's own resources. The precise amount is determined during the budgetary process, in which the United Kingdom plays a part as a member of the Council of Ministers. The 1 per cent. ceiling on VAT own resources available to the Community may not be increased without the prior approval of Parliament.

Ec (Budget)

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what basis of farm prices has been used in the figures used in the letter of amendment No. 3 to the 1985 preliminary draft budget of the European Communities.

The agricultural prices underlying the Commission's estimates for agricultural expenditure in its letter of amendment No. 3 to the 1985 preliminary draft budget are based on the prices agreed last year by the Agriculture Council for the 1984–85 marketing years and the Commission's price proposals of 30 January for the 1985–86 marketing years. The Budget Council incorporated these estimates in the draft budget for 1985 which it approved on 23 April.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the United States dollar/European currency unit rate which has been assumed in the letter of amendment No. 3 to the 1985 preliminary draft budget of the European Community.

The Commission assumed a European currency unit/US dollar exchange rate of 1·30 for 1985 in drawing up its letter of amendment No. 3 to the preliminary draft budget for 1985.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what plans have been prepared by the European Community Council of Ministers for a contingency involving the effect on the European Community budget of currency fluctuations, or varied farm prices; and if he will make a statement;(2) what contingency funds have been earmarked by the European Community Council of Ministers for a shortfall in funds created by any failure to get ratification of the latent non-reimbursable advance by national Governments.

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

State Earnings-Related Pension Scheme

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the tax revenue figure in 1985–86 and 1986–87 if all those now paying into the state earnings-related pension scheme transferred to private personal or company occupational pension schemes in 1985–86 and 1986–87.

An estimate of the change in tax revenue would depend upon the assumptions made about the levels of contribution by employers and employees to private and occupational schemes after transfer from the state earnings-related scheme.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the loss of revenue if those pensioners now in receipt of the state earnings-related pension received the basic state pension alone, in 1985–86 and 1986–87.

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

Mortgage Interest Tax Relief

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many married couples claim the maximum amount of mortgage tax relief; and what proportion this is of all married couples.

[pursuant to his reply, 25 April 1985, c. 529]: It is estimated that about 425,000 married couples claim mortgage interest relief in respect of the qualifying portion of a mortgage loan of £30,000 or more. These are just under 4 per cent. of the total of tax-paying married couples.

Truck Manufacturers (Taxation)

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information he has concerning the total taxation revenue generated by firms manufacturing trucks in the last five years for which figures are available.

[pursuant to his reply, 1 May 1985, c. 141]: I regret that information distinguishing the manufacture of trucks from other motor manufacture is not available.

Ec Directives

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list in the Official Report the details of each directive from the EEC since 1979 relevant to his Department; and what action he has taken in each case.

[pursuant to his reply, 2 May 1985, c. 244]: Directives adopted by the Council of Ministers for which the Treasury has lead responsibility are as follows:Council directive 83/350 on the supervision of credit institutions on a consolidated basis.This comes into effect on 1 July 1985. The Bank of England will in due course publish a statement describing how it undertakes consolidated supervision of banks under the existing provisions of the Banking Act 1979 in a manner consistent with the directive.Council directive 80/767 which adapts and supplements in respect of certain contracting authorities directive 77/62 coordinating procedures for the award of public supply contracts.EC directive 80/767 adapts and supplements the earlier EC directive 77/62 which coordinates procedures for the award of public supply contracts in EC member states and lays down common conditions of competition. EC 80/767 modifies the earlier directive to take account of the provisions of the GATT agreement on Government procurement (Cmnd. 7662). The effect of the directive is to ensure that British suppliers are not placed at a disadvantage compared with competitors from other signatories of the GPA when tendering for contracts in other EC countries. The directive has been implemented by administrative circular to departments and other bodies affected by it.

Scotland

Rates

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many households in Scotland do not pay rates; and what percentage of the total this figure represents.

There are some 4 million adults registered to vote on the electoral rolls in Scotland, and some 2 million domestic properties on the valuation rolls. Some 700,000 householders received assistance with their domestic rate bills in 1984–85 through the housing benefit system. On the basis of these figures, around 50 per cent. of electors, being non-householders, are not liable to pay any rates, and a further 18 per cent, on income grounds, pay either no rates at all or only a part of their rate bills.

Agricultural Colleges (Advisory Services)

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the effects of the cut in funding for the advisory services operated by Scotland's agricultural colleges and on the standard of service offered by these bodies.

My right hon. and noble Friend the Minister of State recently had a detailed meeting on this question with the chairman of the council of the colleges and the three college principals, and discussions are continuing between my department and the colleges about the ways in which the reduction in public funding in 1987–88 can be implemented. It is my intention that the present high standards of service offered by the advisory services in Scotland should be maintained, and that the representative bodies directly concerned should be given an opportunity in due course to comment on the details of any proposals for change in the way in which these services are delivered before changes take effect.

Defective Houses

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he intends to make regulations under the Housing Defects Act so that the owner of an Orlit house or other house covered by the terms of the Housing Defects Act will be entitled to a grant if he or she has purchased the house from another private owner, the property having been previously a tenanted council house.

The Housing Defects Act already makes provision for grant, in the circumstances described, provided certain conditions under that Act are met.

Young Offenders

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what proportion of offenders (a) under 17 and (b) under 16 years who have committed indictable offences in each of the last 10 years have been (i) sentenced by courts, (ii) dealt with by children's hearings, (iii) received official warnings from the police or (iv) been otherwise dealt with, respectively;(2) what proportion of the total number of offenders aged

(a) under 17 and (b) under 16 years who have been dealt with by courts and children's hearings for indictable

offences in each of the last 10 years have received custodial sentences and supervision with a residential condition, respectively.

Information for the last 10 years could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Figures for the most recent five-year period are given in the

	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983
1. Children aged 16
(i) sentenced by courts	8,487	9,819	9,268	8,388	8,710
(ii) referred to reporter to children's hearings^*			Not available
(iii) official warnings from police†	115	86	450	1,156	583
(iv) dealt with otherwise than as in (i)-(iii)			NIL
(v) received custodial sentences	416	459	437	489	596
(vi) placed on supervision with a residential requirement	Not available	Not available	9	3	4
2. Children under 16
(i) sentenced by courts	866	938	811	618	635
(ii) referred to reporter to children's hearings^*	20,873	22,303	23,912	22,747	23,291
(iii) official warnings from police†	7,940	7,450	6,817	6,675	8,235
(iv) dealt with otherwise than as in (i)-(iii)			NIL
(v) received custodial sentences	105	99	77	88	107
(vi) placed on supervision with a residential requirement	Not available	907	911	872	937

Notes:

^* Item 2(ii) includes children aged 16, for whom detailed figures are not readily available; they are estimated to account for some 1 per cent. of the total. Reporters dealt with the following numbers under their discretionary powers without reference to hearings.

1979—9,297

1980—9,738

1981—11,006

1982—10,892

1983—11,609

† These figures are affected by variations in recording practices. Consideration is being given to this problem.

Transport Subsidies (Strathclyde)

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish in the Official Report (a) the total subsidies paid in each year since 1975 by Strathclyde regional council, under section 20 of the Transport Act 1968, to support British Rail's commuter traffic serving Glasgow and (b) the percentage which each of these sums represented of the region's total revenue spending in each year.

The information is as follows:

	(a) Strathclyde Section 20 Subsidy (£m)	(b) (a) as percentage of Region's Total Revenue Expenditure^*
1975–76	8·1	1·8
1976–77	7·6	1·3
1977–78	8·5	1·4
1978–79	12·1	1·7
1979–80	14·9	1·9
1980–81	25·7	2·6
1981–82	23·3	2·0
1982–83	26·5	2·1
1983–84	27·2	2·1
1984–85	26·8	2·0
^* The total revenue expenditure figures used for comparison with expenditure on S.20 payments are taken from the appropriate editions of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy Publication "Rating Review". The figures include all expenditure relevant for rate support grant purposes, including loan charges, and any non-relevant expenditure recorded in the publication.

following table. Children's hearings statistics do not differentiate between types of offence committed by children; the figures therefore give all referrals to reporters to children's panels on offence grounds. For consistency, figures of cases dealt with by courts are provided on the same basis.

Housing Associations

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement regarding the allocation of the additional £2 million towards the expansion of shared-ownership schemes in Scotland, indicating (a) whether the difficulties facing housing associations wishing to design and build schemes in terms of section 127 of the Housing Act 1980 have now been resolved and (b) the number of houses purchased from private builders and sold to date.

When my right hon. Friend recently announced his decision to increase the allocation to the Housing Corporation by £2 million, he indicated his wish that most of the additional resources, perhaps £1·5 million should be applied to an expansion of shared ownership. He hoped that the balance might be used for housing for the disabled. The Housing Corporation will now prepare a revised development programme to accommodate the additional allocation.The provisions of section 127 of the Housing Act 1980 do present certain difficulties to housing associations operating shared ownership schemes in Scotland and these have not yet been fully resolved. Nevertheless, associations have gained experience in the operation of shared ownership in recent years and have acquired greater expertise in identifying the types and locations of houses best suited to both the requirements of shared ownership and the housing needs of the area.

This is illustrated by the fact that, in the three shared ownership programmes undertaken since February 1982, 421 of the 433 houses acquired for the purpose have attracted sharing owners.

Dunblane Bypass

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what were the reasons which prevented his Department from announcing the route of the Dunblane bypass as promised at the end of March or April; and whether he is now in a position to announce the proposed line of the bypass.

The Scottish Development Department had hoped to receive by the end of March or April the report of the consultants studying possible lines for the bypass, but their discussions with local landowners have taken longer than expected. The report is now expected this month. Once a preferred line has been selected, a draft trunk road order will be published as quickly as possible.

Hospital Beds

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what were the net changes in hospital bed complements in each Scottish health board area during the five-year period September 1979 to September 1984; and how the figures compare with the preceding five-year period.

The information requested is as follows;

Health Board	September 1974−September 1979	September 1979−March 1984
Argyll and Clyde	−143	−43
Ayrshire and Arran	+48	+249
Borders	−101	+11
Dumfries and Galloway	−37	−124
Fife	−80	+237
Forth Valley	−90	−282
Grampian	−423	+176
Greater Glasgow	−1,382	−323
Highland	−74	−173
Lanarkshire	−77	−131
Lothian	−419	+4
Orkney	+14	+2
Shetland	No change	No change
Tayside	−492	−324
Western Isles	No change	−17
Scotland	−3,256	−738

Notes:

September 1984 figures are not yet available.

Excluding joint-user and contractual beds.

Details of bed complements for each health board are set out in "Hospital Utilisation Statistics", which has been published by the information services division of the Common Services Agency of the Scottish Health Service each year since 1976.

Myocardial Infarction

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the incidence of myocardial infarction in Scotland in 1983 and in each of the preceding four years.

This information is not available centrally.

Coronary Artery Disease (Deaths)

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the number of deaths due to coronary artery disease in Scotland in 1984 and in each of the preceding four years.

The number of deaths classified as being due to ischaemic heart disease were:

	Number
1980	17,885
1981	18,453
1982	18,633
1983	18,335
^*1984	18,107
^* Provisional.

Nhs Expenditure

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give details of the expenditure on the National Health Service in Scotland, in real terms, for the years 1975–76 onwards to the present time.

The information requested is as follows:

	£ million
1975−76	1,448·9
1976−77	1,454·2
1977−78	1,441·4
1978−79	1,504·9
1979−80	1,535·4
1980−81	1,635·7
1981−82	1,698·0
1982−83	1,723·0
1983−84	1,758·1
^* 1984−85	1,819·0
^* Provisional.

Note: The figures given are for gross expenditure expressed in 1983–84 cost terms, using GDP deflator factors.

Hospitals

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the hospitals and hospital wings in Scotland which closed during 1984, giving the total number of beds lost with each closure.

Details relating to complete hospitals taken out of use in 1984 are given below. comprehensive detailed information on partial closures is not held centrally. Most of the beds closed have been replaced in existing facilities:

	Number of beds
Argyll and Clyde Health Board
Finnartmore auxiliary hospital, Kilmun	32
Ayrshire and Arran Health Board
Buckreddan maternity hospital, Kilwinning	26
Grampian Health Board
County hospital, Dufftown	26
Shetland Health Board
Old Gilbert Bain hospital, Lerwick	19

Note: The bed figures shown are the approved bed complements at the time of closure.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the hospitals, or new hospital wings, which opened during 1984 and give the total number of beds gained in each case.

Details of new hospital buildings funded from the central building programme, brought into use during 1984, are given below. Comprehensive information on locally funded schemes is not held centrally. The total bed compliment is given, but beds which replace outdated facilities elsewhere are not additions to the overall complement:

	Number of beds
Argyll and Clyde Health Board
Dunoon and district general hospital	^* 30
Merehiston hospital—phase 1	120
Forth Valley health board
Sauchie hospital	60
Greater Glasgow health board
Gartloch hospital	120
Lanarkshire health board
Kirklands hospital—phase 1	120
^* 10 day places.

Geriatric Hospitals

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the total number of beds available in geriatric hospitals or units in Scotland at the present time; and if he will give relevant figures as at 30 September 1984, 1983, 1982 and 1981.

The average number of staffed hospital patients available in Scotland on the dates shown were as follows:

	Average number
30 September 1981	9,995
30 September 1982	10,146
30 September 1983	10,401
31 March 1984 (latest available date)	10,531

Cervical Cancer

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement outlining the arrangments made by each health board for the provision of cervical smear tests.

A report by a working party on cervical cytology services in Scotland, which the Scottish Home and Health Department drew to the attention of health boards in December 1978, gave expert guidance on the operation of such services. This guidance is still valid; but in view of recent public concern the Department asked health boards on 29 March for detailed information on the service being provided in their respective areas. I shall be reviewing the position when this information has been assessed, and if any further action is called for as a result I shall give urgent consideration to this.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish in the Official Report statistics in each health board area for (a) the number of women who have died from cervical cancer in each of the last five years and (b) the number of those who died who had previously undergone smear tests.

The statistics are given in the accompanying table. Information is not available on the number of women who died who had previously undergone smear tests.

Health Board Area	Deaths from Cervical Cancer^†
	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984^*
Borders	1	2	—	3	4
Forth Valley	13	8	6	8	14
Dumfries and Galloway	10	2	6	8	6
Fife	17	15	19	23	22
Grampian	16	19	12	14	21
Highland	5	8	6	10	10
Lothian	17	37	29	30	31
Argyll and Clyde	17	15	19	19	19
Ayrshire and Arran	15	13	25	10	20
Greater Glasgow	44	45	43	43	49
Lanarkshire	14	17	25	33	16
Tayside	15	16	13	10	13
Orkney	2	3	1	2	—
Shetland	—	1	2	—	—
Western Isles	1	—	2	—	2
Totals	187	201	208	213	227
^* Provisional—not yet published.
^† ICD 180 malignant neoplasm of cervix uteri.

Hospitals (Beds And Nurses)

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the number of (a) hospital beds and (b) qualified nurses per head of population.

At 31 March 1984 the total bed complement of all NHS hospitals in Scotland represented 11·7 per 1,000 of the population and the number of qualified nurses employed in hospitals represented 5·3 per 1,000 of the population.

Renal Treatment (Funding)

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will indicate the funding available for renal treatment in the west of Scotland in the current year and in 1984–85 and the number of staff and patients, respectively; and what discussions he has had with the area health boards in the west of Scotland and the Kidney Patients Association about the level of funding.

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

Cormorants

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland why he has issued licences to kill cormorants for causing damage to fisheries rather than for causing serious damage to fisheries as specified in the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

I can confirm that the licences are issued in terms of the provisions of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 relating to the prevention of serious damage to fisheries.

Rent (Scotland) Act 1984

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has any plans to amend the Rent (Scotland) Act 1984.

The Government are presently examining the legislation relating to the private rented sector. This is a complex subject which requires careful consideration and my right hon. Friend will announce his intentions as soon as possible.

Sexual Offences (Report)

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will call for a report from the chief constable of Strathclyde as to what disciplinary action has been taken against police officers as a result of the dispute over publication of his Department's research report of sexual offences;(2) if, in the light of the dispute between his Department and the Strathclyde police force over publication of his Department's research report on sexual offences, he will review the arrangements for the future publication of similar reports;(3) if he will publish in the

Official Report the letter he has received from the chief constable of Strathclyde relating to the dispute over publication of his Department's research report on sexual offences;

(4) if he will appoint an independent person to inquire into the dispute between his Department and the Strathclyde police force relating to the publication of his Department's research report on sexual offences; and if he will make a statement.

The arrangements for the publication of research studies conducted by the Scottish Home and Health Department into aspects of police practice are clear. The Scottish Home and Health Department first discusses with the police the scope and nature of the proposed research. It then gathers evidence, prepares a draft report based on it, consults the relevant police forces for comment on the draft, considers whether to amend the draft in the light of such comment and submits the report through me to my right hon. Friend for him—and nobody else—to decide on the question of publication. This practice was followed with regard to the study of the police investigation into complaints of sexual assault, which was duly published in 1983. My right hon. Friend sees no cause for altering this standard research practice and it will be followed in respect of any subsequent research study.During the preparation of the sexual assaults study in 1983 Strathclyde police criticised some of the material incorporated in the draft and challenged its accuracy. The Scottish Home and Health Department was able to demonstrate that the criticism was unjustified and arose from differences between, on the one hand, a version made available to the researchers of the initial records made by the police relating to alleged assaults and, on the other hand, records of such assaults made subsequently for the Strathclyde police file and also a precognition. As I informed the House on 2 May at column 447, the differences between the material seen by the Scottish

Licences issued for the prevention of serious damage to fisheries
Species	Number of licences	Number of birds killed		Location
1984
Mergansers	10		203	Lochailort, Laggan and Duich, Spean, Spey and Findharn, Conon, Awe, Alness, Dee (Aberdeenshire)
Cormorants	14		505	Loch Leven, Lochailort, Doon, Laggan and Duich, Spean. Nairn, Annan, Awe, Conon, Tay, Tweed
Goosanders	2		134	Tweed

Home and Health Department's researchers and the material held on record by the police were readily explainable: they were minor in extent, consisting of changes in phraseology which did not in any way affect the substance. It is to the credit of the chief constable of Strathclyde that, when the matter was drawn to his notice, he investigated within his force and wrote to the Scottish Home and Health Department apologising for the unfounded criticism that had been levelled at its officers and informing the Department that he had taken appropriate action in relation to his officers who had challenged the report's accuracy. When the research study was published the quotations from the police reports which had been the subject of this correspondence appeared as in the researchers original draft. After the research study was published changes were made in police practice.

When the hon. Member and the hon. Member for Glasgow, Cathcart (Mr. Maxton) raised this matter earlier this year with my right hon. Friend, they were informed of the full circumstances and were shown the relevant reports in the two versions. They have also been shown by the chief constable the letter of apology which he sent to the Scottish Home and Health Department in 1983. This matter was resolved satisfactorily in that year and my right hon. Friend does not consider that action on the lines suggested by the hon. Member is necessary.

Rates

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what are the average rates payments for (a) domestic ratepayers, (b) commercial ratepayers and (c) industrial ratepayers, for each district and region in Scotland;(2) what is (i) the average increase in the rateable values, and (ii) the present average rateable values in each district and region in Scotland of

(a) domestic ratepayers, (b) commercial ratepayers and (c) industrial ratepayers; and if he will publish a table or tables.

am obtaining this information and hope to publish it in the Official Report shortly.

Birds (Licences)

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many licences he has issued in (a) 1984 and (b) so far in 1985 to kill birds under section 16 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act; and if he will indicate in each case the species of bird involved, the number allowed to be killed, the location and the reason.

Details of licences issued by my right hon. Friend in 1984 and so far in 1985, for the killing of wild birds under section 16 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 are set out in the following tables.

Species	Number of licences	Number of birds killed		Location
Cormorants, Mergansers and Goosanders	10	C	367	Loch Maree, South Esk, Spey and Findhorn, Tay, Ythan,
		M	129	Shin
		G	157
Cormorants and Mergansers	1	C	14	Brora
		M	45
Mergansers and Goosanders	17	M	139	Doon, South Esk, Spey and Findhorn, Annan, Awe, Tay,
		G	223	Shin, Dee (Aberdeenshire), Don, Ness
Herons	6		44	Dumfries and Galloway, Highland and Tayside^*
1985 (to date)
Mergansers	2		^†	Laggan and Duich, Brora
Cormorants	20		^†	Lochailort, Doon, Laggan and Duich, Brora, South Esk, Nairn, Annan, Awe, Tay, Tweed
Cormorants, Mergansers and Goosanders	2		^†	Spey and Findhorn, Naver
Mergansers and Goosanders	18		^†	South Esk, Spey and Findhorn, Annan, Awe, Tay, Tweed, Dee (Aberdeenshire), Nith
^* Location by administrative Region.
^† Not yet known.

Licences issued for preserving public health and prevention of serious damage to crops
All Scotland figures
Species	Prohibited method	Number of licences	Number of birds taken	Reason
1984
Feral Pigeons and House Sparrows	Stupefying bait	110	^*2,173	Preserving public health
House Sparrows	Mist netting	25	^*136	Preserving public health
Feral Pigeons, House Sparrows, Starlings	Artificial light	4	n/a	Preserving public health
Barnacle Geese	n/a	9	^†38	Prevention of serious
		26	‡	damage to crops
Greylag and Pink Footed Geese	n/a	28	158	Prevention of serious
			44	damage to crops
Greylag and Canada Geese	n/a	1	4	Prevention of serious
			1	damage to crops
Canada Geese	n/a	1	—	Prevention of serious
				damage to crops
1985
Feral Pigeons and House Sparrows	Stupefying bait	72	‡n/a	Preserving public health
House Sparrows	Mist netting	23	‡n/a	Preserving public health
Barnacle Geese	n/a	8	‡n/a	Prevention of serious damage to crops
Greylag and Pink Footed Geese	n/a	51	‡n/a	Prevention of serious damage to crops
^* Provisional.
† 1983–84 season.
‡ 1984–85 season. Returns not yet available.

Licences issued by SHHD
Species	Number of licences	Number of birds killed	Location	Reason
1984
Oystercatcher, Black-headed gull, Common gull, Crow, Collared dove, Great Black-backed gull, Lesser Black-backed gull, Herring gull, Jackdaw, Jay, Magpie, Feral Pigeon, Rook, House Sparrow, Starling, Wood Pigeon, Lapwing or their nests or eggs.	1 General	28 eggs destroyed 14 nests destroyed 98 birds killed	Airfields	For the preservation of air safety
Thrush and Blackbird	2	14 Blackbirds	Hamilton, Motherwell, and East Kilbride	Killing for quarry
Gannets	1	2,000	Sula Sgeir	Provision of food for human consumption
Greylag Geese	4	2	Specially protected breeding site Caithness	To prevent serious damage to crops
1985
Greylag Geese	5	Not yet known	Specially protected breeding site Caithness	To prevent serious damage to crop

Volume 78: debated on Tuesday 7 May 1985

Written Answers To Questions

Church Commissioners

Company Holdings

Staff Statistics

Environment

Rate Support Grant

Council Housing

Performing Arts (Manchester)

Ec (Environmental Policy)

Local Authorities (Land Holdings)

Asbestos

Regal Cinema, Edmonton

Broad Street Station

Management Consultancy Contracts

Structure Plans

Fly Posting

House Repairs (Warranty Scheme)

Conservation Orders

Block Grant

Swans (Lead Poisoning)

Council House Sales

Housing And Construction Industry

Local Authorities (Building And Repair Work)

New Towns And Housing Associations (Grants)

Departmental Furniture

Crown Suppliers

House Building

Public Sector Housing (Renovation)

Rent Acts

Rates

London Docklands Development Corporation

Royal Docks (Stolport)

Conservation

Asbestos Dumping (Glenboig)

Bloodstock Breeders

Butterflies

Ministerial Cars

Local Government Expenditure

Local Authorities (Advertising)

Whale And Turtle Products

Overseas Development

International Year Of Shelter For The Homeless

Prime Minister

Dublin Council Of Ministers

Bridges And Estuaries (Tolls)

Pensions

Falkland Islands

City Action Teams

Ec (Contributions)

Multi-Fibre Arrangement

Debt Rescheduling

Engagements

Whale By-Products

Rates

Secretary Of State For Energy (Speech)

Council Of Ministers (Decisions)

Education And Science

Foreign Language Teaching

Integrated Education

Human Embryos (Research)

Attorney-General

European Commission Of Human Rights

Trade And Industry

Imports

Departmental Committees Of Inquiry

Fur Coats (Labelling)

Manchester Steel Company

Mobile Radio Services

British Aerospace

Mayfair Hotel (Satellite Television)

Honduras

Telecommunications Equipment

Nippon Telegraph And Telephone

Citizens Band Radio

British Telecom

Foreign And Commonwealth Affairs

El Salvador

Nuclear Tests