asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will set out in one comprehensive table the number of people in Great Britain in each year as from and including 1973, in receipt of supplementary benefit, including wives and other dependants; in receipt of rent rebates and rent allowances, including those granted to recipients of supplementary benefit, including wives and other dependants; in receipt of rate rebates, including those granted if any to recipients of supplementary benefit, including wives and other dependants; in receipt of free school meals; and the number of people in receipt of Family Income Supplement including wives and other dependants.

The information requested is given below:

Number of people receiving various means-tested benefits 1973–1976 in Great Britain.
Thousands
	1973	1974	1975	1976
Supplementary Benefit(1)
No. of claimants	2,675	2,680	2,793	2,940
No. of wives	549	538	564	614
No. of children	798	874	1,078	1,172
All claimants and dependants	4,002	4,092	4,434	4,725
Rent rebates and allowances(2)
No. of rebates	1,930	2,087	2,160	2,382
No. of allowances	235	333	400	616
Rate Rebates(3)
No. of rebates	1,110	2,630	2,930	3,020
Free School Meals(4)
No. of children receiving free school meals:
in England and Wales	795	750	784	839
in Scotland	137	130	122	117
in Great Britain	932	880	906	956
Family Income Supplement(5)
No. of claimants	95	70	60	77
No. of wives	50	32	28	42
No. of children	221	161	135	176
All claimants and dependants	366	261	223	295

NOTES:(1) Supplementary Benefit: source—supplementary benefit annual enquiry, November 1973 and 1974, and December 1975 and 1976.(2) Rent rebates and allowances: source—Department of the Environment, relating to October of each year. The figures include supplementary benefit recipients who received direct rebates and allowances up to 31 March 1974 and indirect rebates and allowances since that date. Estimates of family composition are not available.(3) Rate rebate: source—Department of the Environment, relating to March of each year. The estimates are for the number of households receiving a rates rebate and include those few who may be receiving supplementary benefit for a short-term transitional period. Estimates of family composition are not available.(4) Free school meals: source—Department of Education and Science census at October of each year in respect of England and Wales; Scottish Education Department census at January of each year in respect of Scotland. The figures are for number of children receiving free school meals at the stated dates: estimates of family composition are not available.(5) Family Income Supplement: source—10 per cent. statistical sample at December of each year.(6) All figures relate to Great Britain except where explicitly stated to the contrary and are rounded to the nearest thousand. Because of rounding component figures may not sum to the total.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the current yield and approximate cost of administration, assessment and collection of corporate taxation?

The Budget estimate of the yield of corporation tax and petroleum revenue tax in 1977–78, as revised to take account of the rate of ACT as fixed by Section 19, Finance Act 1977, is £2,592 million. The cost of administration, assessment and collection in the same year is estimated to be of the order of £18 million.NOTE: The part of the National Insurance surcharge (total yield estimated at £1,159 million) paid by bodies within the charge to corporation tax is not separately available.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When policy on the sale of arms to overseas countries was last reviewed.

All proposals for the sale of arms are considered on their merits, taking into account political, strategic, security and financial factors. Major changes in any of these circumstances in any particular country may lead to a review of our policy on sales to that country.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they approve the sale of AT. 105 internal security vehicles, made by GKN Sankey, to the Philippines.

It is not normal practice to make statements about sales or potential sales of defence equipment to individual countries.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What was the value of arms both new and second-hand sold in the last three years for which figures are available (

The total value of arms both new and second-hand sold in the years 1974–75, 1975–76 and 1976–77 is estimated, at prices current in the years concerned, as follows:

	1974–75	1975–76	1976–77
	£m	£m	£m
Overseas sales of arms by Her Majesty's Government	147	159	184
Overseas sales of armsby British exporters	321	371	416
Totals	468	530	600

asked Her Majesty's Government:What steps they are taking to ensure that foreign buyers pay for arms purchased on the due dates, in view of the finding of the Auditor-General that delayed payments doubled between 1974 and 1976.

The rise in outstanding payments is partly a reflection of the higher volume of business transacted over this period. There has also been a marked increase in payments delayed for a prolonged period. A wide range of measures is already in hand to combat this development. These measures include improved administrative procedures, revised terms of payment for particular customers and activities and further emphasis on obtaining advance payments whenever possible.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will make available in the

The information requested will be made available, in whatever form seems most appropriate, when the European Assembly Elections Bill reaches the House of Lords.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they are aware that catalogue mail order trading companies give equal cooling-off rights to cash and credit customers; that the number of days is far in excess of those laid down by the United Kingdom legislation and the proposed EEC Directive on Contracts Negotiated Away from Business Premises; and whether the Government will seek to exempt such companies from spending an extra £20 million on 750 million pieces of paper, which will give the consumer no additional benefits.

The Government appreciate the difficulties which would be created for catalogue mail order trading companies if the draft Directive on contracts negotiated away from business premises were to be applied in its present form, and they have no wish to subscribe to a proposal which would create unnecessary problems without at the same time offering corresponding benefits to consumers. The United Kingdom approach to this proposal will be conditioned by these considerations as well as by the provisions of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.House adjourned at twenty-eight minutes past six o'clock.