asked the Secretary of State for Wales what is the present waiting list for appointments to attend the ear, nose and throat clinics for patients requiring hearing aids; and what is the waiting list, after such an examination, for the patient to be supplied with the apparatus in each of the Welsh health authorities.

This information is not available centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will publish a table showing the average price per litre on 1 January and 1 April of petrol on sale in London, together with such information as he has about the price in Paris, Bonn, Rome, Athens, Tokyo, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York.

The data are not available in the form requested. Sample petrol prices for the relevant European countries on the available dates nearest to those requested are as follows. Similar data are not available for Japan or the United States of America.

p/litre
Country	1 January	7 April
United Kingdom	42·1	38·3
France	48·0	41·5
Germany	38·4	30·4
Italy	53·4	53·0
Greece	37·3	35·6

asked the Secretary of State for energy what information he has about the current average retail profit margin on petrol sales; what information he has about regional variations in the retail price of petrol within the United Kingdom; if he will seek powers to limit such regional variations; and if he will make a statement.

The information is not available in the form requested. There is a wide variation in petrol prices at present, both locally and between regions. I do not intend to seek powers to limit these variations.

asked the Secretary of State for energy what information he has about the trend in the retail price of petrol in Scotland since 19 March; and if he will make a statement.

Petrol prices have fallen throughout the United Kingdom over recent weeks and are now below the levels predicted by the Chancellor in his Budget statement.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will seek powers to limit the retail price of oil products; and if he will make a statement.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy when he will publish his next report on oil and gas developments in the United Kingdom.

I have published the latest edition of the "Brown Book", and have arranged for copies to be placed in the Library of the House and the Vote Office stores. The report gives a detailed account of oil and gas development in 1985.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what financial support he made available to the coal industry in 1985–86.

The coal industry received the following support from public funds during 1985–86:

	£ million
Social Grants	212
Deficit Grant	695
Payments to individuals under the Redundant Mineworkers Payments Scheme	564
	1,471

In addition, the National Coal Board will accrue in its accounts for 1985–86 substantial further sums in respect of deficit grant and social grants which will be paid in later years.

asked the Prime Minister if she will introduce legislation to extend the boundaries of Wales to ensure that the Secretary of State for Wales has responsibility for the Severn bridge.

No. The importance of the existing bridge and the need to maintain a first-class road crossing of the Severn is fully recognised by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales is closely involved in all matters concerning the existing bridge and the present studies for a second Severn crossing.

asked the Prime Minister if she is now satisfied with security at the United Kingdom sovereign bases on Cyprus, in the light of the recent trial of service men of 9 Signals Regiment; and if she will make a statement.

As I informed the House on 12 November 1985, at column 101, I have asked the Security Commission to consider the adequacy of the measures already in hand for improving security at 9 Signals Regiment. I await the commission's report.

asked the Prime Minister what is the estimated total cost of maintaining civil and military services in Northern Ireland for the current year.

The estimated cost of public services for 1986–87 is best represented by the public expenditure planning total for Northern Ireland (£4,521 million) as shown in Cmnd. 9702, plus expenditure in Northern Ireland by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (£66 million) and expenditure by the Northern Ireland Court Service (£15 million). The additional cost of the army's task in Northern Ireland for 1986–87 is estimated at £150 million.

asked the Prime Minister how many YTS trainees are currently on a scheme with a Government Department or a sponsored non-departmental public body, listed by Department; and how many two-year places they have provided.

The number of places available on the YTS within the Civil Service in November 1985, the latest available date, was as follows:

	Places
Ministry of Defence	875
Departments of the Environment and Transport	30
Home Office	5
Inland Revenue	12
Ordnance Survey	25
Property Services Agency	30
Scottish Office	30
Department of Trade and Industry	39

There are no two-year programmes currently running in the Civil Service. In addition to the above, some Departments offer work experience places to young people on YTS schemes operated by other managing agents, and sponsored non-departmental bodies offer an estimated 400 places on YTS either as managing agent or as placement providers.

asked the Prime Minister if she will make a statement regarding negotiations between her office, the Manpower Services Commission and trade unions concerning the creation of wider opportunities for young people to train with a Government Department through YTS.

In November 1983 the Cabinet Office (Management and Personnel Office) concluded with the Council of Civil Service Unions a national framework agreement for the operation of the youth training scheme within the Civil Service. Two-year YTS has not changed this formal position, and that agreement still stands. None the less, and despite there being some 1,000 places available on YTS now, progress on promoting YTS in the Civil Service at large has been severely limited by the opposition of some Civil Service trade unions, mainly at local and departmental levels. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment, my right hon. and learned Friend the Paymaster General and my right hon. Friend the Minister of State, Privy Council Office are seeking by every means possible to remove this impasse to the full implementation of an existing agreement.

asked the Prime Minister (1) whether she tried to discourage President Reagan from using British bases for attacking Libya before finally agreeing to his request; and if she will make a statement;(2) if she will publish in the

I have nothing further to add to my statement in the House on 15 April and my speech in the debate on 16 April.

asked the Prime Minister what criteria Her Majesty's Government use in deciding, in cases of fire disasters, whether (a) to make a direct contribution from central Government funds to the cost of restoration and repairs or (b) to leave the relevant local authority to bear the cost through increased borrowing; and if she will make a statement.

Decisions about such matters are made in the light of the circumstances surrounding individual cases.

asked the Prime Minister, pursuant to her reply to the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton of 24 April, Official Report, column 206, if she will specify the nature of the false premise upon which she indicated the right hon. Member's original question was based; and if she will make a statement.

My hon. Friend the Member for Peterborough (Dr. Mawhinney) was the duty Minister in Northern Ireland on the evening of 14 April.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 29 April.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 29 April.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 29 April.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many pupils remained in education after (a) 16 and (b) 17, but under 19 years, in each local education authority in England at the latest date for which figures are available; and what was the amount granted in discretionary awards by each local education authority in that year.

Table 1 below shows the numbers of 16, 17 and 18-year-olds who remained in full-time education at maintained schools and further education establishments in the academic year 1984–85 in each local education authority in England. Table 2 gives each authority's maintenance expenditure on full value and lesser value discretionary awards in that year in England and Wales.

Table 1
Local Education Authority in England Academic Year 1984–85
	Schools and FE Establishments
	16	17	18
Barking	700	378	475
Barnet	2,414	1,802	941
Bexley	1,619	1,072	313
Brent	1,773	1,368	833
Bromley	2,041	1,315	553
Croydon	2,029	1,326	667
Ealing	1,782	1,338	794
Enfield	1,874	1,291	515
Haringey	1,346	906	595
Harrow	1,610	1,068	521
Havering	1,626	963	285
Hillingdon	1,410	919	402
Hounslow	1,531	937	475
Kingston-upon-Thames	944	640	296
Merton	1,153	765	328
Newham	1,467	897	501
Redbridge	1,530	1,030	385
Richmond-upon-Thames	777	563	345
Sutton	1,266	887	276
Waltham Forest	1,391	905	442
Inner London	12,800	8,024	4,290
Birmingham	7,044	4,282	1,478
Coventry	2,142	1,490	528
Dudley	2,106	1,382	459
Sandwell	1,754	1,172	554
Solihull	1,598	1,281	459
Walsall	1,783	1,261	492
Wolverhampton	1,737	1,097	469
Knowsley	992	570	315
Liverpool	3,170	2,087	930
St. Helens	1,284	869	304
Sefton	2,481	1,597	694
Wirral	2,260	1,709	731
Bolton	1,673	1,292	601
Bury	1,306	836	411
Manchester	2,750	2,036	1,121
Oldham	1,077	748	364
Rochdale	1,199	884	340
Salford	1,378	915	412
Stockport	2,020	1,520	709
Tameside	1,279	840	356
Trafford	1,370	1,159	520
Wigan	2,327	1,536	620
Barnsley	1,349	761	248
Doncaster	1,691	1,238	452
Rotherham	1,651	1,035	426
Sheffield	3,526	2,185	878
Bradford	2,740	1,754	825
Calderdale	1,202	870	378
Kirklees	2,693	1,768	766
Leeds	4,532	2,802	1,175
Wakefield	2,051	1,123	437
Gateshead	1,212	715	305
Newcastle upon Tyne	1,469	931	482
North Tyneside	1,269	765	423
South Tyneside	799	549	214
Sunderland	1,567	1,117	461
Isles of Scilly	15	9	7
Avon	5,715	3,904	1,506
Bedfordshire	3,470	2,350	1,020
Berkshire	5,306	3,447	1,534
Buckinghamshire	4,525	3,378	1,397

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish in the Official Report the current distribution of female students by National Advisory Body programme areas.

The full-time equivalent numbers in each National Advisory Body programme area of home and European Community female students on advanced courses in institutions which fall within the remit of NAB, and their proportion of the total, are given in the table.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish in the Official Report his estimate of the impact on the total numbers, and the percentage of women in public sector higher education, by programme area, of the differential cuts in programme areas.

No decisions have yet been taken on target student numbers in public sector higher education for 1987–88. Decisions on the resources available for the public sector will be taken in the autumn, and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will decide on the disposition of academic provision and the allocation of the advanced further education pool in December following advice in that month from the National Advisory Body for Public Sector Higher Education.No estimates are therefore available of the target number of students and the likely percentage of women, in 1987–88. In 1984, the latest year for which figures of actual enrolments are available, the total full-time equivalent number of home and EC students following courses of advanced further education at institutions falling within the remit of the NAB was 274,790, of whom 119,551 were women students. Since 1979 the growth in female enrolments has exceeded that for male enrolments by a substantial margin (41·9 per cent. compared with 26·2 per cent.), sufficient to raise the proportion of the total represented by women from 40·7 per cent. in 1979 to 43·5 per cent. in 1984.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the planned expenditure for prison education services for the financial year 1986–87; and what was the planned expenditure for those services for the financial years 1984–85 and 1985–86.

At the beginning of each of the financial years shown, forecast expenditure on educational services was as follows:

	£
1984–85	12,867,000
1985–86	13,581,960
1986–87	14,539,905

The figures do not include expenditure on religious education, physical education, industrial training, library, vocational training and construction industry training staff, building and maintenance costs and prison officer escort costs.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what is the planned number of prison education teaching hours, both in total and for hourly paid teachers, for the financial year 1986–87; and what was the planned number of prison education teaching hours, both in total and for hourly paid teachers, for the financial years 1984–85 and 1985–86;(2) what was the planned number of prison education teaching hours delivered, both in total and for hourly paid teachers, for the financial years 1983–84, 1984–85 and 1985–86.

The available information is as follows:

Financial Year	Planned Hours Hourly Paid Teachers	Total
1984–85	445,340	700,259
1985–86	479,934	730,077
1986–87	499,324	759,628

The number of teaching hours delivered annually is not collected centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of the City of London police as to how many and what percentage of the City of London police force are black.

On 31 March 1986, one of the 774 members of the City of London police (0·13 per cent.) was a member of the ethnic minorities.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will seek from the appropriate chief constables and if he will publish the current police manning figures expressed in population per capita for the police divisions most approximate to the boundaries of the cities of Oxford, Exeter, Norwich, Carlisle and Peterborough.

I understand from the chief constables concerned that the population per police officer in these areas is as follows:

	Population per police officer
Oxford	1 : 399
Exeter	1 : 611
Norwich	1 : 585
Carlisle	1 : 583
Peterborough	1 : 596

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent request he has received from (a) the chief constable of Leicestershire police and (b) other police forces in the midlands for an increase in police establishment; and what were the reasons cited for their requests.

We have not received an application recently from the Leicestershire police authority for an increase in the authorised establishment of the force.The following four police authorities in the midlands have applied for increases totalling 140 in their authorised establishments for the financial year 1985–86 or later, mainly for uniformed patrol duties, including the policing of motorways. Eighty-eight additional posts have so far been approved for three of these forces. A decision will be made later on the remaining application.

Police authority/force	Increase applied for	Increase approved
Northamptonshire	29	29
Staffordshire	*52	—
Warwickshire	29	29
West Mercia	30	30

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the Advisory Panel on Community Radio is yet ready to announce the successful Greek-speaking and Afro-Caribbean applications; and if he will consider what technical assistance will be made available by the British Broadcasting Corporation to those granted an experimental radio licence.

The advisory panel's report was received in February and my right hon. Friend will announce the successful applicants for experimental licences as soon as possible after completing his consideration of the panel's advice. Community radio stations will operate independently of the BBC and IBA; and it will be for the BBC to consider how to respond to any requests for technical advice or assistance that may be made to it.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the physical condition of Iorwerth Jones; a constituent of the hon. Member for Carmarthen, at present in the hospital wing of Her Majesty's prison, Cardiff.

No. My noble Friend will be writing to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will seek to obtain a copy of the Association of Police Officers' paper entitled "Policing the Miners' Dispute" with a view to placing it in the Library; and if he will make a statement.

Quantity (thousand metric tonnes)/Value (£ million)
	1983		1984		*1985
	Quantity	Value	Quantity	Value	Quantity	Value
France	2·0	0·5	11·4	1·1	39·8	3·2
Belgium/Luxembourg	14·2	0·4	10·9	0·5	4·4	0·2
Netherlands	131·8	5·0	137·9	5·2	110·5	5·0
Federal Republic of Germany	114·3	4·1	114·2	4·3	72·5	3·3
Irish Republic	86·8	3·0	73·2	2·3	211·3	5·5
Spain	7·1	0·2	43·0	1·2	44·2	1·4
German Democratic Republic	54·9	1·6	50·0	1·4	62·3	1·7
Poland	15·8	0·4	56·0	1·3	56·6	1·6
Other Countries	1·5	0·3	3·0	0·4	17·3	1·8
TOTAL	428·5	15·3	499·6	17·7	618·9	23·7

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the number of fishing vessels laid up, the number of new vessels introduced, the number actually

[pursuant to his reply, 21 April 1986, c. 19]: With the agreement of the Association of Chief Police Officers, I am today placing a copy of the paper in the Library.

asked the hon. Member for Wokingham, as representing the Church Commissioners, what is the current position in relation to the redundant church of St. Alphege's, Southwark.

This church is not yet officially redundant. A draft pastoral scheme providing for it to be declared redundant and leased for storage and ancillary purposes was published last autumn and no objections were received. This procedure was always, however, subject to the London borough of Southwark granting planning permission. Such permission was recently refused, and the position is now being reconsidered by the diocesan authorities in the light of this refusal.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what tonnage of cement has been imported into the United Kingdom for each of the last three years; from what source; and what this tonnage represents in estimated cash terms.

The information is as follows:fishing and the number of fishermen employed in the Scottish fishing industry for each of the years 1976 to 1985.

The available information is set out in the following table. Statistics are not collected for laying up. This varies widely in duration and may be voluntary or enforced by, for example, seasonal fisheries and quota exhaustion.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of social work staff serving in local authority residential establishments, day care establishments, and in the field, respectively, have either a certificate of qualification in social work or a certificate in social service or both; and how these figures compare with five and 10 years earlier.

Figures for 1984, the latest year available, and for 1979 are given in the table. Information for 1974 is not available in the form requested.

Proportion of social work staff holding CQSW or CSS or both
	At October
	1979 per cent.	1984 per cent.
In day care establishments	0·8	5·4
In residential establishments	1·1	3·8
In field work	75·5	84·1

Detailed information on the qualifications of all local authority social work staff is contained in the SWSG statistical bulletins "Staff of Scottish Social Work Departments" published each year from 1978 to 1984. Copies are in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the range of services funded from local authority rates in (a) Scotland, (b) England and (c) Wales.

The services funded from local authority rates in Scotland which are relevant for rate support grant are set out in the "Report on the Rate Support Grant (Scotland) (No. 4) Order 1985". In addition, Scottish authorities provide housing services, which are not relevant for rate support grant. The services funded from local authority rates in England are set out in the "Rate Support Grant Report (England) 1986–87". The services funded from local authority rates in Wales are set out in the "Welsh Rate Support Grant Report 1986–87". Copies of all these reports are in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a comparison of the level of non-domestic rates in (a) England, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales.

The estimated total amount of non-domestic rates collected in each country in 1985–86 was:

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received from local authorities concerning the payment to teachers of the wage settlement for the 1985–86 financial year; what calculation he has made of the likely extra cost of the settlement in money terms to each region above that provided for in the 4·25 per cent. guideline advice given by his Department to councils for budgets; and whether he will compensate regional councils for the extra expenditure incurred.

The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and a number of authorities have asked my right hon. and learned Friend to provide extra grant to help meet the costs of the teachers' pay settlement for 1985–86 and also to disregard authorities' extra expenditure on teachers' pay when calculating rate support grant penalties for that year. He told the convention when he met it on 18 April that he had made it clear to the convention's representatives before the authorities settled with the teachers' unions that they had to do so within the resources available to them and that no additional resources were available. He told them that it had been made clea to the local authority representatives that there would be no disregard. He therefore told the convention that he could not meet its requests.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what changes he expects to bring forward in social legislation in Northern Ireland as a result of the Anglo-Irish agreement.

Changes in social legislation are the sole responsibility of the United Kingdom Government. In considering any changes we take account of views, expressed by the Irish Government under article 5(c) of the Anglo-Irish agreement as well as those expressed by other interested parties. I have put in the Library the joint statement issued after each meeting of the intergovernmental conference, which notes matters, including social matters which were discussed there.

asked the Paymaster General if he intends to conduct an exercise to examine the impact of local governmental licensing arrangements upon business similar to that exercise currently being undertaken by the enterprise unit on central Government licensing.

Yes. The enterprise and deregulation unit is discussing with the local authority associations how to take forward this second stage of the review. As with licensing requirements imposed by central Government, views will be sought from business interests on the impact of local requirements.

asked the Paymaster General if he is satisfied with current staffing levels of the Factory Inspectorate; and if he will make a statement.

Decisions on the number of inspectors employed by the Health and Safety Executive are a matter for the executive, subject to the limits set by the Government on its total salary expenditure and manpower. I understand that 26 new factory inspectors have recently taken up post or will do so shortly and there will be further recruitment to the inspectorate during 1986–87.

asked the Paymaster General if he will list the numbers of recorded fatalities and injuries at work since 1970; and if he will make a statement.

The available information is as follows: figures for 1985 are not yet available.Reported occupational injuries to employees and self-employed persons at work in Great Britain, resulting in:

Year	Death	Major injury*	Over three day absence from work (thousands)
1970	821	—	†685
1971	780	—	†622
1972	671	—	†630
1973	765	—	†623
1974	651	—	†577
1975	620	—	—
1976	584	—	†553
1977‡	524	—	†579
1978	622	—	†581
1979	615	—	†509
1980║	579	—	—
1981	503	12,406	*435
1982	516	12,402	*390
1983	507	12,561	—
1984¶	496	12,624	—
—=not available.
* as defined under the Notification of Accidents and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1980.
† Claims for industrial injury benefit from DHSS in year starting on first Monday in June (employees only).
‡1970–1977 fatalities to employees only.

asked the Paymaster General if he is satisfied with the frequency of visits to industrial premises by factory inspectors; and if he wil make a statement.

Yes. The frequency of visits by factory inspectors is determined by the Health and Safety Executive in the light of its overall resources. The factory inspectorate's programme of visits is planned on the basis of a rating system. This takes into account the level of risk to employees and the public, management performance and the time elapsed since the last inspection. There is no fixed period between inspections.

asked the Paymaster General how many people were in youth training schemes and community industry in Lambeth in March.

I regret the information is not available in the precise form requested. However, at the end of February, the latest date for which YTS statistics at local authority district level are available, there were 734 young people in training on YTS schemes and there were 84 young people participating in the community industry scheme in the borough of Lambeth.

asked the Paymaster General how many community programme places are presently filled in the area covered by the Hereford city council and the South Herefordshire district council; how many are available but vacant; and how many projects are presently in operation.

On 27 March, the latest date for which statistics are available, there were 208 community programme projects in operation in the Marches area, which includes Herefordshire. These projects had a total of 3,020 filled places.It is not known how many places were "available but vacant". On 4 April jobcentres in the area held notifications of 436 community programme jobs, but these were not all immediately available; sponsors often notify jobs in advance of their becoming available.Separate figures in respect of the areas covered by Hereford city council and the South Herefordshire district council are not available.

asked the Paymaster General how many women received maternity pay in the years ended March 1983, 1984 and 1985; and what was the balance held in the maternity pay fund in March 1985 or at the latest available date.

The information is not available in the form requested. The numbers of maternity pay rebate payments made to employers by the Department of Employment are as follows:

asked the Paymaster General what results are being achieved by the jobclub network; and if he will make a statement.

The results achieved by jobclubs are very encouraging. Two thirds of people passing through jobclubs have found work. A recent Manpower Services Commission report shows that jobclubs are cost effective and compare very favourably with other ways jobcentres help long-term unemployed people. A copy is in the Library.We have agree that the Manpower Services Commission should work to establish about 200 jobclubs by the end of the year, and 450 as soon as possible thereafter. This will mean a jobclub for each main jobcentre area.

asked the Paymaster General whether he is satisfied with the accuracy of the returns submitted by Central regional council for calculating the level of unemployment in the Stirling constituency.

[pursuant to his reply, 28 April 1986]: No. Unemployment rates for travel-to-work areas are based on figures from the census of employment. Figures given by the Central regional council for the 1981 census did not provide the appropriate address information for my officials to classify employees to the correct travel-to-work areas.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on the stamp duty proposals in his Budget.

My proposals to halve the rate of stamp duty on shares as part of a self-financing package involving a broadening of the base of the duty has been generally welcomed. As foreshadowed by my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary earlier today, I am making some modifications to the original proposals.In my Budget statement I proposed an additional tax on the creation of certificates representing the deposit of shares, such as American depositary receipts. The certificates can be transferred from seller to buyer without payment of stamp duty, so creating a potential loss of revenue. In this respect ADRs are not unlike United Kingdom bearer shares. They are attractive to many overseas investors in British shares and, mainly for this reason, business in them has recently grown substantially. But United Kingdom institutions and other investors are also free to buy them, and sometimes do.My objective is that depositary receipts—and similar arrangements—should be taxed at a rate which will broadly speaking eliminate the incentive to use them for tax avoidance. It follows that the tax on the creation of the certificate should so far as possible recompense for the loss of stamp duty on subsequent sales and purchases. From the point of view of the investor he will be getting a transferable "season ticket". He pays more now, but subsequent transfers are free of duty.I have re-examined the rate of the tax against this criterion and, in the light of information that has become available to us since the Budget, I have concluded that the revenue should be sufficiently safeguarded if the tax on conversion of shares into ADRs and similar instruments were put at 1½ per cent. This is three times what the duty on registered shares will be after the big bang, the same multiple that has applied for some years to the issue of United Kingdom shares in bearer form. The tax on all bearer shares from the big bang will be fixed at the same level, 1½ per cent.I am confident that the 1½ per cent. rate, which is only a half per cent. more than the rate which applied before the Budget, will ensure that there is no diminution in overseas interest in British shares. But if after the big bang it looks as if ADRs are being used as a means of avoiding stamp duty by United Kingdom residents, I shall have to reconsider the rate of tax on conversion. I shall expect the co-operation of the issuing banks and other market participants in monitoring developments after the big bang.I have also received representations about the proposal that certain loan stocks should bear stamp duty at the rate of a half per cent.In the light of these representations, I have decided to restore the exemption for most categories of loan stock. Registered convertibles will, however, continue to be taxed like equities, as they were before the Budget.I have also decided to make a small modification to my proposal to impose a charge on transactions that take place within a stock exchange account. Purchase of shares by broker-dealers will exempt from the new charge provided the shares are resold within seven days.The net effect of all these changes, and recent evidence of market activity, leave unchanged the estimated yield of stamp duty as forecast at the time of the Budget.Fuller details are contained in an Inland Revenue press notice, published today.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he has any plans to exercise any of his order-making powers under the Banking Act 1979.

The Government have decided to remove the constraints which prevent companies from financing themselves by issuing sterling commercial paper.The necessary amendment to the Banking Act 1979 (Exempt Transactions) Regulations is being laid today to exempt sterling commercial paper from the definition of deposit taking in the Banking Act. An order is also being laid today amending the Control of Borrowing Order 1958 to exempt sterling commercial paper from the controls contained in part 1 of that order. A copy of the Bank of England's market notice describing the arrangements for the issue of sterling commercial paper is being placed in the Library.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the results of the multi-departmental review of budgeting in Government Departments; and if he will make a statement.

Yes. I have today arranged for a copy of the report by the head of the Government accountancy service to be placed in the Library.Mr. Wilson was asked to examine the way in which managers construct budgets, challenge the budgets put to them, and subsequently monitor actual performance against budget. The purpose was to help Departments to continue their development of budgeting as an effective means of expenditure planning and control and as a tool which management can use to improve the allocation of resources and the delivery of better value for money. This is a vital part of the Government's programme for better financial management in the Civil Service.The review has confirmed that our financial management initiative was soundly based and is being carried forward. It found evidence of good results in many areas. Civil Service managers are now much more aware of their costs and responsibilities. Managers have responded by taking the initiative to make savings and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the activities they manage.There are still gaps in Department's systems and in managers' use of budgeting, but this was not unexpected. The Government knew in 1982 that it would take a long, sustained effort to help managers to run the Civil Service more effectively, and the review points the way forward to a further stage in this programme. It makes recommendations to improve four crucial aspects of budgeting: the responsibility of all managers for setting and reviewing budgets; the links between budgeting and the public expenditure survey in which the Government decide their overall spending plans; the use of output and performance indicators and regular evaluations to measure achievement against objectives; and the identification within senior management structures of clear-cut responsibilities for the control and use of resources.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the cost-revenue of restricting mortgage interest tax relief to the basic rate with (a) the existing threshold, (b) the existing threshold double the present rate for married couples or (c) no threshold whatsoever.

Assuming no consequential changes in the distribution of mortgages by amount outstanding, estimates of the direct revenue yield in a full year at 1986–87 levels are as follows:

Direct revenue yield from restricting relief to the basic rate only
Amount of loan qualifying for relief	£ million
£30,000	320
£60,000 (for married couples)	200
No limit	160

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish a target for the growth rate of non-oil money gross domestic product for 1986 and 1987.

Figures for total money GDP are given in table 2.1 of the Financial Statement and Budget Report 1986. Although these figures are not targets, the aim will be to avoid substantial departures in either direction in the medium term.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in the Official Report a list of the changes made in capital transfer tax in each Finance Act since 1979, and indicate in each case the cost in terms of revenue foregone.

[pursuant to his reply, 28 April 1986, c. 326]: The yield of tax in respect of transfers of capital in 1985–86 is estimated to be £70 million lower than it would have been if the 1978–79 regime had been in force, with scales indexed (in line with price movements) to 1985–86 levels. The table analyses this cost of £70 million to show the effect of the main changes introduced since 1979. The figures are therefore at 1985–86 levels and take the level and value of transfers in that year as given. It is not possible to estimate to what extent changes to the tax system may have affected levels of transfers. Each change has been costed on the assumption that all the changes preceding it in the list have already been made.

	Cost £ million	Year of Change
Scale Changes
Abolition of rates above 60 per cent.	6	1984
Abolition of rates below 30 per cent.	231	1980