asked the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of people gain a job on leaving YTS, JTS and the community programme.

The latest complete figures show that of those young people who left YTS, some 61 per cent. were in employment three months after leaving and a further 14 per cent. went into further education or training. Information for those leaving the new job training scheme is not yet available. The latest survey of those leaving the community programme shows that some 60 per cent. have had at least one job within 12 months of leaving.

In view of those extremely disappointing figures, does the Minister accept that the major scandal in this country at the moment is the skills shortage, which contrasts with the very large numbers of people who are unemployed? As YTS was in many cases used as an inefficient substitute for the old apprenticeship scheme, should we not be looking for 100 per cent. of people leaving YTS getting jobs? What will the Minister do to match the chronic skill shortages with the appalling level of unemployment, particularly among young people?

The hon. Gentleman knows that we are developing programmes for YTS and JTS. With regard to the success of the schemes, the figures show that very substantial numbers of people coming off YTS, job training schemes and the community programme are going into employment. I would have thought that the hon. Gentleman would welcome that.

Does my right hon. Friend agree that the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and that in my constituency and elsewhere young people are taking up YTS with great enthusiasm and reporting on their success? That means that at last they have an option other than to join the dole queue. Does that not contrast with the position under the previous Labour Government, when there were very few proper training schemes? It ill behoves Opposition Members to complain about YTS.

I entirely agree with my hon. Friend. We have now reached the position where everyone has the opportunity of a YTS place. That is a major step forward that is welcomed by the public.

Is it not the case that very few people could have obtained jobs after leaving JTS because so few people have gone on that scheme? Is it not also the case that that ill thought out plan has flopped badly and is monumentally unpopular with employers and its potential clients?

No, I do not think that that is remotely the case. It is very sad that the TUC is not supporting the scheme. Under the old JTS, 67 per cent. went into jobs. The results for the new JTS are not yet available. However, the new JTS offers opportunities to unemployed people and I believe that the mass of the public. if not the TUC, will support the scheme.

Does my right hon. Friend agree that the cause of young people who would particularly benefit from the youth training scheme is not helped by the fact that the scheme is continually attacked by opponents of the Government? Will he ensure that it is widely known that the people who really matter — the young people themselves — have shown very clearly in surveys that they think that the training that they have received is good?

My hon. Friend is right. All the surveys carried out by the MSC into the effectiveness of the YTS show that those who have had experience of it, as opposed to those who give their views on it, are overwhelmingly satisfied with their training and experience.

Is not the recent Public Account's Committee's report a devastating indictment of the Government's training policies? How can the Government fill training gaps when they have abolished their main source of information on training by employers? What enforcement do the Government propose to ensure that employers carry out their training responsibilities? Above all, will the Government now repudiate their political motive in extending the JTS before the problems associated with the pilot scheme are fully resolved?

May I first welcome my eternal shadow to his new Front-Bench job for employment. I regret that he is as way off the mark on employment as he was on the Health Service. The JTS pilot started only last autumn. The JTS is designed to provide not only good training but training leading to good vocational qualifications. The hon. Gentleman would he better employed trying to persuade the TUC to change its attitude to this scheme, which provides a tremendous opportunity for many people.

Will my right hon. Friend consider the position of the community programme, especially for those over 50? Although the community programme gives them the opportunity to make a valuable contribution to society, the probability is that, when it ends, they will become unemployed and will remain unemployed. In those circumstances, has my right hon. Friend any plans for extending the community programme?

As my hon. Friend knows, we have plans under the community programme to give help and training to those who have been continuously unemployed for 12 months. I should like to look more carefully at the position of the over-50s — the precise point raised by my hon. Friend. I agree with his general points.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on regional differences in the changes in numbers employed in the service industries since 1979.

Since 1979 there has been an increase in service sector employment in every region except Wales and the northwest. Since 1983 employment in the service industries has increased in every region.

Does the Minister accept that the figures for Wales over the 1979 to 1986 period are extremely disappointing? To what does the hon. Gentleman attribute the failure of the Welsh economy to increase service employment on a par with the other nations and regional economies in the United Kingdom?

The figures were disappointing, but they are improving now. That was the main point of my answer. As I hope the hon. Gentleman knows, in the past 12 months unemployment in Wales has fallen more rapidly than in any other part of Britain.

I congratulate my hon. Friend on his new position. Does he agree that the service sector, especially tourism, is an essential growth area within some of our older cities and cities such as Birmingham, which has introduced the National Exhibition Centre, the Convention Centre and the August bank holiday super-prix, pointing the way forward for new job creation?

I agree with my hon. Friend. I am grateful to him for his good wishes — it seems popular to stop being a Whip.

The Minister knows that no Opposition Member decries the service sector or tourism, but the fact is that there is a regional imbalance. In most of the regions of the north, in Wales and in Scotland manufacturing jobs and opportunities have been destroyed and service jobs have not been able to make up those numbers anywhere. The greatest cause of concern for our country is this failure in the manufacturing sector. We cannot live by service jobs alone.

Of course we cannot. However, in many countries, including ours, service jobs are increasing and manufacturing jobs are declining. That was so under the Labour Government before we took office.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the recent labour market statistics.

In the last year there has been the biggest fall in unemployment since records were first kept. The seasonally-adjusted figures have fallen by almost 300,000 and unemployment is now below 3 million.

Has my right hon. Friend noticed that that vastly improving employment picture is being greeted with mounting dismay on the Opposition Benches? It is as though the Opposition had a vested interest in bad news. Will my right hon. Friend confirm that unemployment among the under-25s is now lower in this country than in any other Common Market country, and will he call upon Opposition Members to welcome that?

My hon. Friend's initial point is correct. As for the unemployment rate among the under-25s, the latest European Community average—for 1986—is 23 per cent. The United Kingdom rate at that time was 18 per cent. That must be compared with a rate of 34 per cent. in Italy, and 23 per cent. in France. In the past 12 months, unemployment among the under-25s has decreased further to 16 per cent.

Will the Secretary of State tell us when the unemployment level will reach the figure for 1979? In this much-vaunted increase in jobs, how many are low-paid service sector jobs, and how many are in manufacturing? Is it not true that under the Tory regime our country has lost 2 million jobs in the manufacturing industry, and that the Prime Minister has destroyed more factories in our country than Hitler managed to between 1939 and 1945?

Typically, the hon. Gentleman is wrong in virtually everything that he has said. Service jobs in this country are certainly increasing, and those jobs are real and important. As the hon. Member for Oldham, West (Mr. Meacher) sought to say a moment ago, that should surely be welcomed by every hon. Member, and I ask the hon. Member for Bradford, South (Mr. Cryer) to do that.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that when I was first returned by the electors of Corby four years ago unemployment in that constituency stood at 8,000? Last week's unemployment figures showed that it was down to 3,900. Is that not the biggest fall in unemployment anywhere in the country, and is it not mainly the result of Government policies?

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The crucial point is that the strength of the economy has meant unemployment coming down throughout the country. It is coming down, not just in my hon. Friend's area, but in all other regions. Some of the biggest falls have been in such areas as Wales, the west midlands and the north-west. It is about time that the Opposition welcomed that trend.

Is it a matter of concern to the Secretary of State that the distribution of job opportunities in the different regions is so unequal? For example, whereas in the south-east there are eight unemployed people for every vacancy, in Yorkshire and Humberside there are 17. Is the Government's attitude to that distribution one of laissez-faire, or do they seek to change the position?

If the hon. Gentleman had been listening, he would have heard me say to my hon. Friend the Member for Corby (Mr. Powell) that there has been a real fall in unemployment in all regions of the United Kingdom in the last month—indeed, over the past year—and that some of the biggest falls have been in areas such as Wales, the west midlands and the north-west: in other words, in the regions where unemployment had previously been the highest. In addition, we have found that long-term unemployment has fallen by some 61,000 in the last year. That is the largest 12-month fall since records began. Moreover, unemployment has fallen faster in the past year than in any other industrialised country. I should have thought that the hon. Gentleman would welcome that.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what measures he is taking to ensure that YTS training is of a high quality.

We are working with the Manpower Services Commission to build up the quality of training on YTS so that every trainee will he working towards a recognised vocational qualification from an appropriate examining body. From April 1988 all YTS providers will have to meet the stringent standards laid down for approved training organisations. And the training standards advisory service now provides quality audits of YTS schemes.

Given that in my constituency 65 per cent. of young people on YTS have graduated to full-time employment, what steps has the Minister taken to spread this good news more widely?

We do our best — so does the Manpower Services Commission — to spread the news, particularly about the quality of YTS, as much as possible. The best advertisement for YTS are those who have done it. That is the theme of the television advertising campaign that the MSC is undertaking.

Does the Minister recognise that there are great regional variations both in the quality of the YTS schemes on offer and in the number of young people who succeed in obtaining jobs at the end of their training, and that in the north we suffer on both counts? What will the Minister do to redress the balance and ensure that young people in the north are given the same opportunities as exist in other regions?

I am afraid that there are bound to be regional variations in everything. That is why we are having this drive to increase the quality of YTS, not only in the south, but in the north.

When my hon. Friend has a moment to do so, will he look at the Labour party's 1979 election manifesto, which boasted that the then youth oppor-tunities programme was the finest training programme in Europe? Why is it that Opposition Members thought that that was a fine training programme when its much improved successor, the YTS, is constantly whinged about?

I suppose that it was the best that they could think of in 1979, and I am sorry that they do n at recognise that YTS is an improved version of it.

Surely the Minister knows, as we know in Yorkshire, that one gets owt for nowt? Unless we spend more money and resources on youth training, it will never make good the skills deficiencies that arc emerging throughout British industry and that are preventing our manufacturing base from recovering to the extent that it should.

I referred earlier to our manufacturing base. However, we are spending £1 billion a year on YTS, which is a lot of money.

Will my hon. Friend, who did an excellent job in his last appointment, as I am sure he will in this, ensure that one defect in the quality of YTS is remedied, namely, that if a young person is one day over the specified birth date when he enters the scheme he is kicked out of the two-year scheme after only one year in it?

Wherever we drew the line, I am afraid that there would be somebody who was one day on the wrong side of it. My hon. Friend was kind enough to raise a constituency case that drew attention to this problem. I have undertaken to look into it, and I shall do so.

Does the Minister accept that within the nursing profession there is concern about the impact of YTS? First, it cuts across the Government's stated objective of providing more professional training within nursing. Secondly, the supervision that is required to ensure the required quality of training takes experienced nurses away from their prime job of looking after patients

I do not think that concern about YTS coming into the National Health Service is justified. We are doing our best to introduce YTS into many parts of the public service, and that is how it should be. To improve the quality of YTS we have introduced approved training organisations and the other measures.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what information he has on the progress of the programme for introducing a new system for signposting sites of tourist interest.

Signposting is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for 'Transport. However, I understand that good progress is being made. Signs have been authorised for about 2,000 attractions and more are about to go up.

I thank my hon. Friend for his reply. I recognise the importance of these initiatives for the hope of prosperity in my constituency, in other parts of Somerset and in the inner cities. Will he describe what broad criteria are used to designate tourist interest sites on motorways? Will he and his ministerial colleagues pay attention to the desirability of attracting foreign tourists in particular to areas of the country other than the congested sites of London, Windsor and Oxford?

My hon. Friend represents a lovely part of the country; Somerset has many tourist attractions. At Easter we had a happy family holiday at the Caernarvon Arms near Dulverton, and I strongly commend that part of the country.

Is it not a fact that tourist areas do not need signposting? It is easy to see where they are because they are ankle-deep in litter. Is the Minister aware that it is a year since Mr. Richard Branson, the famous entrepreneur, was appointed to clear up litter, yet it has become worse? Why does he not—

Order. What does this have to do with signposting?

The hon. Gentleman is talking nonsense. UK 2000, which is making satisfactory progress, was not set up to clear litter. With regard to the clearance of litter — I take the hon. Gentleman's point — as Minister with responsibilities for tourism I am campaigning for a spotless Britain. We could do a lot more to clear up the excess of litter. There are too many areas of this country that have too much litter, which is appalling in comparison with many other overseas tourist attractions.

Order. It would be helpful if senior hon. Members set a good example by sticking to the question.

Will my hon. Friend give the latest estimate of the number of new jobs that have been created in the tourist industry this year and in previous years?

Signposting.

rose—

Order. That question is miles wide of the subject.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of the reduction in the underlying unemployment figures is due to the Government's restart programme and other similar measures; and what proportion is due to an increase in the actual number of jobs available.

It is not possible to assess separately the effects on the unemployment count of Government measures and of the increasing number of jobs that are available in the economy. Government measures, including the restart programme, are helping unemployed people to compete more effectively in the labour market and take up the new jobs that are being generated.

Does the Secretary of State appreciate that people in Wales, in particular, are a bit fed up with the Government's claims that unemployment is falling, when they witness and experience mass unemployment all around them? Does the Secretary of State appreciate that the problem of unemployment will not be solved by shuffling people from one register to another or by fiddling the statistics? What we need is an upsurge in manufacturing industry.

I thought that I had said earlier that one of the biggest falls in unemployment over the past 12 months was in Wales. Surely the hon. Gentleman should welcome that as being the case. The restart programme provides an entry into a number of programmes, such as the community programme, enterprise allowance and job clubs. That is serving a useful and valuable function.

Does my right hon. Friend accept that many Conservative Members commend the expertise of the staff of his Department? It has played a valuable role in the restart programme. Not only has the programme enabled many people to find work who were finding it difficult to compete in the labour market, but it has also identified those few people who clearly have no intention of working.

The purpose of restart, as my hon. Friend the Member for Macclesfield (Mr. Winterton) said, is to provide regular employment interviews for people who have been out of work for more than six months and to help them find a suitable job. I believe that that has been valuable. I also believe—this goes further than restart—that there is no point in seeking to pay social security payments to those people who are not genuinely unemployed.

Will the Secretary of State accept that a reduction in the unemployment figures is not the same as finding real work for the unemployed? Will he accept that only one in every 100 of those who go on to the restart programme find real jobs? When are the Government going to start to honour the commitment they made in the 1979 election to create real and not phoney jobs for the unemployed?

I do not accept for one moment the statistic used by the hon. Gentleman. It is based on a total misunderstanding of the position. The number of jobs has been increasing every quarter for the past four years, and 1·2 million jobs have been created since March 1983. There are over 24 million people in employment in this country. They are significant figures and they are real jobs.

Does my right hon. Friend agree that the vast majority of those who are unemployed are unqualified and unskilled and that the vast majority of jobs available require skills and qualifications, and that the restart programme helps direct people towards training for skills? To that end, my right hon. Friend would be welcome were he to visit the skills shop in Banbury, part of the training access points initiative, where people can walk in off the street, find out what skills are required in the labour market and obtain training for those skills. It has been a great success in helping bring down the unemployment rate in north Oxfordshire.

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Restart provides an entry to programmes such as the community programme, enterprise allowance schemes and job clubs. In that respect, it is a valuable way of bringing people back into employment.

Will the Secretary of State accept that, although the restart scheme may be of help to some of the long-term unemployed, it does not create any additional new jobs? He may take credit for the reduction of unemployment levels at present, but is that not outrageous in view of the fact that the Government have created the highest level of unemployment and then sit there confidently and claim that they are reducing it, when it is still at an unacceptable level?

Unemployment is coming down and that is shown not just in the figures for the past month but for the past 12 months. That trend is unmistakable. The number of new jobs created has been increasing in every quarter for the past four years. I would have thought that that was something that Labour Members would welcome.

Will my right hon. Friend confirm that the bulk of the reduction has been through people going into jobs rather than schemes and that unemployment in the north-east has now been falling by 1,500 per month for the past six months? Will he also confirm that evidence of recovery in the region is now unmistakable, even for the professional pessimists in the Opposition?

My hon. Friend is right. The same can be said of many other regions of the country. It is true not only for the north-east but for the west midlands and many other areas. The trend is unmistakable and, as my hon. Friend said, it is only the Opposition who are seeking to challenge that.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people are employed in the tourist industry in the United Kingdom.

Estimates of the number of jobs supported by tourism spending range around 1·4 million.

Does the Minister accept that a large number of jobs in tourism are seasonal and, as such, after three years people involved in those jobs will lose their entitlement to unemployment benefit? That not only hits those seasonal workers hard, but distorts the unemployment figures. What does the Department intend to do to ensure that unemployment benefit will be payable to seasonal workers who have been working in tourism for more than three years?

Of course, some of the jobs in tourism are seasonal. One accepts that. If I remember correctly, that was the point made by the hon. Member in the Adjournment debate on tourism about 10 days ago. I draw the hon. Gentleman's attention to the whole range of schemes available under the action for jobs programme, which will provide every opportunity for those who are in seasonal work to seek and achieve other job opportunities in their free period.

Does my hon. Friend accept that employment will not increase in the tourist industry unless we solve our serious litter problem? Will he join me in approaching our hon. Friends to ask them to consider whether a Government litter warning could be placed on every disposable package sold over the counter in this country to try to cure this dreadful curse?

I very much agree with my hon. Friend. We should be ashamed of the quantities of litter on our streets and our resorts. I agree, too, with the earlier point of the hon. Member for Bassetlaw (Mr. Ashton). I shall examine the specific suggestion made by my hon. Friend.

Does the Minister accept that in many areas of the country tourism is declining as more people are able to go to areas offering year-round facilities and guaranteed sunshine? Will he use his influence in the Cabinet to push for more indoor all-weather facilities to create, not only more seasonal jobs in tourism, but more year-round jobs of use to the community as a whole?

Cornwall and the west country have many popular tourist attractions and people come to Cornwall for specific reasons. Increasingly, all-weather facilities are being constructed. Indeed, in all, £1 billion-worth of construction jobs are under way in the tourism and leisure industries.

Will my hon. Friend take an early opportunity to publish in the Official Report the fact that a fundamental change has taken place in the relationship of manufacturing and service sector jobs since 1945? Having accepted, as most sensible people do, that the trend will inevitably continue, may I ask my hon. Friend to examine the ways in which tourism in particular, and the service industries in general, can help the Government to achieve their objective of increased employment opportunities in inner-city areas?

The trends in manufacturing and service employment since 1945–46 are well known and well documented. Often, jobs in tourism and the service industries complement manufacturing, and vice versa. Let us take the example of the construction of a new hotel and the manufactured products that go into it — from building materials to kitchen equipment, furniture and uniforms for the staff. Tourism and manufacturing are in many cases complementary.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what contribution his Department will make to Her Majesty's Government's strategy towards inner-city areas.

Our Department and the Manpower Services Commission contribute an estimated £240 million towards employment, training and enterprise programmes in inner city partnership areas and the 16 task force areas. The inner cities already have a high priority for those programmes and will continue to do so.

Will the Minister help us to resolve the apparent dilemma that exists in the Cabinet between his right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and his right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment? The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is reported as saying that it is possible for inner-city residents to win inner-city jobs and that it is legally possible to discriminate in their favour. The Secretary of State for the Environment said that it was not possible to discriminate in favour of inner-city residents.

The hon. Gentleman asks me to deliberate between my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment and my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Section 35 of the Race Relations Act 1976, to which my right hon. and learned Friend referred, deals with the restriction applied to members of a particular racial group, of access to education, training and welfare on the ground that that restriction fulfills a special need for improvement in those respects. That in no way contradicts what my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment said.

I am sure my hon. Friend accepts that the resolution of our inner-city problems does not rest on his Department alone and requires the willing co-operation of the Department of Trade and Industry, the Home Office and others. In his specific contribution to the problem, may I urge him to view with caution the speeches that he will hear from people in the inner cities who claim to represent various groups—they do not—and others who want to help but who should not be let out without a lead? Those people can usually spend vast sums of public money to very little effect.

I shall do my best to identify the people to whom my hon. Friend refers.

Does the Minister realise that, despite what was just said, few of the people who take the major decisions on the inner cities know much about them, live in them or work in them? Will he ensure that his and other Departments accept advice from those who live and work in the area, because some of the decisions that are taken are palpably foolish?

Yes. The right hon. Gentleman has a lot of experience and will know that we take advice from those who are there and from people elsewhere who can contribute to the inner cities. We must bring expertise and assistance into the inner cities from outside those areas, as well as try our best to encourage enterprise and vigour in the people of the inner cities. We shall try to combine all these things.

What contribution has been made to the regeneration of inner-city docklands in London and Liverpool by the national dock labour scheme?

I do not have responsibility in the Department for the national dock labour scheme. The scheme undoubtedly has a high priority in some people's minds and less in others. It is extremely difficult to tell what its contribution has been to employment.

Since, immediately after the general election, the Prime Minister said that her strategy was to win back votes for the Conservative party in the inner cities, will the Minister explain precisely what the Government's strategy is in relation to the inner city of Liverpool?

The Government's strategy has been and remains to do all that we can to revive the inner cities. The hon. Gentleman knows that much has been done in Merseyside, to some of which he has contributed. There is a series of schemes to improve it. The Department of Employment provides training and encouragement of enterprise, and other Departments provide urban development corporations, urban regeneration grants, enterprise zones, estates action and a series of other programmes.

Does my hon. Friend agree that a large measure of the blame for joblessness in the inner cities rests with profligate Labour-controlled local authorities, whose high-spending policies have forced up rates, which in turn have forced out businesses and jobs?

It is noticeable that the problems in the inner cities have grown while many local authorities have been spending a great deal of ratepayers' and taxpayers' money.

Is it not clear from the Department of Employment's subordinate position in the division of responsibilities that, after eight years of destroying jobs in the inner cities, the Government still have job creation well down their order of priorities? Since the Local Government Bill prohibits contract compliance — the Minister has not answered this question—what incentive will there be for suburban building contractors to take on local labour? What guarantee can he offer to local people in greatest need of training and employment that they will not simply be left on the sidelines?

No one can guarantee the training and employment, but we have targeted our training and employment measures towards the inner cities in particular. The hon. Gentleman knows exactly why we have done that. My Department is working alongside the Department of the Environment, the Department of Trade and Industry and others in trying to solve these problems, under the leadership of my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and the Cabinet Office.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is his latest estimate of the number of tourist visits made to the United Kingdom in 1986.

There were 13·8 million visits to the United Kingdom by overseas residents in 1986.

I welcome that reply by my hon. Friend. What further measures is he considering to encourage an increase in the number of tourists to industrial areas and cities in the north of England, especially Leeds?

The British Tourist Authority is working extremely hard abroad and the regional tourist boards are working very hard in the United Kingdom. I also pay tribute to what the Leeds city council is now trying to do in the area of tourism, and I draw to the attention of the House and my hon. Friend the new playhouse at Quarry Hill, the conference and exhibition centre close to the Dragonara hotel and the construction of the tropical house and butterfly house at Canal gardens at Roundhay park, among others.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 21 July.

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.

With Iran exporting its terror on to the streets of London, Paris and Vienna once again, will my right hon. Friend consider new initiatives with our European allies to combat this form of international terrorism by the Ayatolla that will, for the first time, take into account the substantial and growing resistance to the Khomeni regime within Iran?

I entirely agree with my hon. Friend that terrorism cannot be tolerated, whatever its source. He will know that my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has been very active, together with his opposite numbers throughout the European Economic Community, in trying to get maximum co-operation on intelligence and all other matters between countries in the Community to enable us the better to fight terrorism. Matters inside Iran are for the Iranian people to deal with.

I first of all support what the right hon. Lady has just said about the intensification of anti-terrorist measures. While it is clearly right that the Royal Navy Armilla patrol should act in self-defence if that is necessary, will the right hon. Lady confirm that she will not allow the British Ensign to be flown on any ships other than British ships?

It is the Royal Navy's duty, through the Armilla patrol, to protect ships going through the Straits of Hormuz, and it does. The ships that it protects are ships that fly the British flag.

I do not know whether the Prime Minister misheard me. Will she confirm that no ships other than British ships will be allowed to fly the British Flag?

if other ships apply to fly the British flag, that application is considered separately in each case.

If the Prime Minister is speaking of registration in Britain, that is one thing. If she is talking about a reflagging procedure, that is entirely another. Will she confirm that she will not follow the course of action followed by the United States Administration and permit the reflagging of ships that are not British ships, with the British Ensign?

For "flagging", let me substitute the word "registration". If other ships apply for British registration, the ordinary conditions apply, and we consider each of them separately.

Does my right hon. Friend agree that, although there is concern at the moment about the Iran-Iraq conflict, the campaign in Afghanistan seems to be completely forgotten? Is it not time to have another effort, in the United Nations in particular, to resolve the fighting in Afghanistan and to achieve the withdrawal of Russian troops?

As my hon. Friend knows, Afghanistan is never forgotten by this country, nor, do I believe, by the whole of the Western free world. We are constantly saying to the Soviets that so long as they are in Afghanistan there will never be any fundamental trust and friendship between our country and theirs. We are also constantly saying that Soviet troops should withdraw and that we would accept a completely non-aligned Afghanistan.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 21 July.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.

Is the Prime Minister aware that, whereas the Church of England enjoys exemptions that have enabled it to provide facilities for the homeless, the infirm and the dying, the community charge will cost the Church of England an estimated additional £4 million a year, and that some monasteries, churches and convents will have to find an additional £10,000 a year? In view of that, how can the Prime Minister justify such a crippling burden? Does she accept the charge made by many churches that it is a tax on prayer and care?

I have written—I am not quite certain whether to the hon. Gentleman or to other hon. Members — about the matter. The community charge will be a personal charge. The Church of England would not wish to avoid a charge that all other citizens would have to pay.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that the Government's initiative to stimulate scientific research and development will be widely welcomed? Do we not need the full support of the scientific community and industry's wholehearted commitment and investment in research and development, which are vital to their future and to our prosperity?

As my hon. Friend is aware, the Government's response to the Select Committee on Science and Technology in another place shows the importance that we attach to the subject. She will be aware that the proportion of our national income that we devote to civil research on the part of the taxpayer exceeds that which is devoted in either Japan or the United States. She will also be aware of the strenuous efforts that we have made to bring universities and private business more closely together. The new arrangement ensures that we shall have a committee within the Cabinet, to consider, together with the scientific community, the proper priorities for science and technology and to try to apply them in all the allocations of money to the several Departments.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 21 July.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.

Referring to the Prime Minister's earlier reply, is she inviting merchant marine vessels from other countries to sail under the British flag and seek British registration so that they can be protected by the British Navy?

No, nor can the hon. Gentleman interpret anything that I have said in that light.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 21 July.

I refer my hon. and learned Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.

Does my right hon. Friend agree that if Mr. Gorbachev wants to be seen in the West as a genuine peacemaker, he should show a bit more enthusiasm for the nuclear arms reductions discussions that are now going on and which are beginning to slow down?

It has been said that the Soviet Union was dragging its feet in relation to the arms talks in Geneva. It is important that we take time to get the verification measures absolutely right. They are complicated, particularly if the Soviet Union wishes to retain 100 SS20s further over on the eastern side of the Soviet Union. We would like a global zero of such weapons. That is difficult enough to verify, but the additional retention of 100 would make it more difficult. It is possible to get an agreement between the Soviet Union and the United States by the end of this year. They must all now get down thoroughly to the detailed negotiations.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 21 July.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.

In view of the growing speculation that the poll tax in England will be phased in over a five-year period, will the right hon. Lady give an assurance that, first, there will be no reintroduction of phasing-in in Scotland, but that the full implementation of the poll tax in Scotland will be delayed until the full implementation of the poll tax in England and Wales? Secondly, will she give an assurance that the long title of the English and the Welsh Bill will allow for any amendment of the Scottish legislation that might take place?

The legislation as if affects Scotland has gone through all its stages and passed into law through all the proper procedures. It will be implemented in Scotland exactly as it was intended. It is a matter for the United Kingdom Parliament. I assume that the hon. Gentleman is not applying for separatism and is, therefore, prepared to submit to the United Kingdom Parliament.

What was the reason for, and the result of, my right hon. Friend's visit to Jamaica?

I went to Jamaica to discuss the situation there with Mr. Seaga. The country has considerable economic difficulties and a difficult restructuring programme. It is receiving help from the International Monetary Fund. We give it some aid. For example, among other things I visited the police academy there, which receives help and resources from our police. I looked at the way in which Jamaica is fighting the drug problem. We discussed aid for another project because Mr. Seaga is keen to raise the standard of education in schools. We also discussed investment in Jamaica and the prospects for the world economy, among other things.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 21 July.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.

Now that the right hon. Lady has confirmed that those who care for their elderly at home will suffer under the poll tax, what is she proposing to help to keep those families together?

If those who care for their elderly at home receive only supplementary benefit, as the hon. Gentleman is aware the community charge will first be rebated to the extent of 20 per cent. After that, such people will receive a payment equal to the average community charge for the United Kingdom to enable them to meet the rest. That payment may be above the amount of the community charge, or it may be slightly less. I remind the hon. Gentleman that the principle of the community charge is that adults in all parts of the country will pay the same charge for the same level of services after taking account of the needs of different areas. Therefore, people who receive only supplementary benefit will have that remission.

Will my right hon. Friend comment on the litter situation in Jamaica and say whether we have anything—[Interruption.]

Order. As we are approaching the summer holiday perhaps the hon. Lady will rephrase that question. I do not think that the Prime Minister is responsible for litter in Jamaica.

Did my right hon. Friend discuss the problem of litter in Jamaica? Will she inform the House whether we can learn any lessons from the way in which that problem is handled there?

The Government of Jamaica — [Interruption]—

Order.

The Government of Jamaica pursue a vigorous policy of privatisation, as a result of which the streets are extremely clean. There is not a piece of litter to be seen. The amount that the local authorities had hitherto spent on street cleaning, under which the streets were not clean, was put out to privatisation as a result of which—I am glad that my hon. Friend asked me this question—for the same amount of money the streets are cleaned privately three times a day, and are clean.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 21 July.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.

In view of the widespread disquiet on all sides of the House about the morality of the poll tax, will the Prime Minister accept that she ought to follow the precedent that she established last year and allow it to be decided on a free vote of the House?

No. This was a foremost part of our manifesto. If people pay a high community charge it will be because they have grossly extravagant local authorities, which are frequently taking time to get expenditure down.