asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have yet had an opportunity of considering the suggestion made in the debate on the British Nationality (Amendment) Regulations 1982 on 5th April in Col. 74 that the telephone inquiries dealing with both nationality and immigration might be routed through a single switchboard, so that variations in workload between the two divisions will not mean that calls take over an hour to answer.

Staff responsible for immigration flatters do not have the knowledge and training to answer nationality inquiries nor do nationality staff have the knowledge and training to deal with immigration inquiries. For this reason I do not consider it practicable to route both kinds of telephone inquiries through a single switchboard.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will publish the feasibility study on the use of computers in the nationality division of the Home Office mentioned by the noble Lord, Lord Belstead, in Col. 85 of

We have no plans to publish the feasibility study. A full study of the proposed computer system is due to be completed shortly, and it is hoped that it will be in operation by the end of 1983.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How it is possible for five persons to be serving life sentences for "offences not known" as shown on page 17 of the 1980 Prison Statistics for England and Wales, Table 1(i).

These five persons were received into custody on warrants which did not contain details of their offences. Under the computer procedure, this resulted in the information about them being recorded without information about their offences on the prison index population file created for 30th June 1980. Information recorded on other computer files shows that three of these persons were sentenced for homicide and two for arson. We have since changed our computer procedure to reduce the number of occasions on which such information is not shown in the published statistics.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the Assistant Commissioner of Police consulted the Home Secretary, the Secretary of State for the Environment, the Greater London Council or other bodies before amending the London Cab Order 1934 so as to permit the display of advertisements on the outside of licensed cabs;What is the normal procedure followed by the Assistant Commissioner of Police when amending the London Cab Order 1934 and whether this procedure was followed in connection with the amendment made permitting exterior advertising on licensed cabs; and

The London Cab Order 1934 may be amended only by order made by the Secretary of State. The Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police has power under paragraph 14(L) of the 1934 order to issue directions relating to the display of advertisements inside or outside cabs and under paragraph 7(3) to alter the conditions of fitness relating to cabs. In the exercise of these powers, particularly that under paragraph 7(3), the Assistant Commissioner usually acts simply on the advice of technical experts. On this occasion, because wider issues were involved, the Assistant Commissioner sought the views of a large number of bodies including central and local government, transport, tourism and consumer interests. The Assistant Commissioner took the views of these bodies into account before reaching his decision to permit exterior advertisements on London cabs.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What are the conditons as to size, content, rentals and the period of licence laid down by the Assistant Commissioner of Police in his directions regarding the display of exterior advertisements on licensed cabs.

The Assistant Commissioner has provided that exterior advertisements may be displayed only on the front door lower panels. Each design of an exterior advertisement must be approved by the Assistant Commissioner. Designs are considered on their individual merits. The financial terms are a matter for the cab proprietors and the advertising agencies.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the revenue from exterior advertisements displayed on licensed cabs will be taken into account when the next application is made for an increase in taxi fares in London.

My right honourable friend has no plans to do so.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will take steps to transfer from the Assistant Commissioner of Police to the appropriate planning authority for the Greater London area the powers granted to him under legislation passed in the years 1869 and 1907 to give directions on the display of exterior advertisements on licensed cabs.

Transfer of control over exterior advertisements to an authority other than the licensing authority would lead to unnecessary confusion and my right honourable friend therefore does not plan to take any such steps.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will make a statement on the award of the Civil Service Arbitration Tribunal and the Reports of the Review Bodies on the Pay of the Armed Forces, the Doctors and Dentists and Top Salaries.

Questions concerning the pay and leave of the non-industrial Civil Service were referred in March to the Civil Service Arbitration Tribunal, and the tribunal's award was made known to the parties on 23rd April. The claim by the Council of Civil Service Unions was for a pay increase from 1st April 1982 of 13 per cent. for all non-industrial civil servants, with a minimum increase of £12·50 a week where 13 per cent., did not produce this amount, and for substantial improvements in holiday entitlement. The Government for their part had offered pay increases ranging from 0 per cent. to 5½ per cent.—with the higher per-centages going to the more experienced staff—and for modest improvements in holiday entitlements. The Arbitration Tribunal's award was for improvements in holidays mainly for the lower grades and for pay increases ranging from 4¾ to 6¼ per cent., with the highest increases going to the more experienced staff. The average increase in pay resulting from the tribunal's award would be 5·9 per cent.In agreeing to allow, if necessary, this year's pay settlement for the non-industrial Civil Service to be referred to the Civil Service Arbitration Tribunal, the Government made it clear that they reserved the right, if necessary, to ask the other place to set aside the award on grounds of overriding national policy.The Government have decided to accept the award. The cost of implementing it will be met as follows. The revelant Estimates and cash limits are being reduced to offset the reduction in the National Insurance Surcharge along the lines proposed for the whole public sector in the Budget speech. Revised cash limits on this basis will be announced shortly. The Government have decided that the cost of the CSAT award will be met within these reduced cash limits. It is only if, later in the year, exceptional difficulties arise in the case of particular cash limits that limited calls on the Contingency Reserve may be considered.The reports of the Armed Forces Pay Review Body, the Doctors and Dentists Review Body and the Top Salaries Review Body have been delivered to the Prime Minister. The Government are extremely grateful to the members of the Review Bodies for these reports and for the time and care which they have put into their preparation. We wish particularly to express our gratitude to Sir Harold Atcherley, who, after long and valuable service, is handing over the chairmanship of the Armed Forces Pay Review Body to Sir David Orr, retiring Chairman of Unilever Limited. We are much indebted to Sir David for taking on this task.The report of the Armed Forces Pay Review Body recommends new rates of pay for service men and women applicable from 1st April 1982. The Government have accepted the report, and the necessary steps to implement the new rates of pay, and inform service- men of the details of the report, will be taken as soon as possible. The cost of the increases will be 6.1 per cent. of the projected pay bill of the Armed Forces for the present financial year. The financing of this award will be considered further. The report of the Armed Forces Pay Review Body has been laid before Parliament today and will be published as a Command Paper shortly. Copies in typescript are now available in the Printed Paper Office.The report of the Doctors and Dentists Review Body recommentds increases in the pay of Doctors and Dentists which the Review Body estimate are on average 6 per cent. above the level they recommended last year as appropriate from 1st April 1981. The recommendations for individual groups vary within the 6 per cent. The Government's decision on last year's report —which recommended increases averaging 9 per cent—was to accept them subject to an abatement of 3 per cent. The latest Doctors and Dentists Review Body recommendations are therefore 9 per cent. higher than the levels actually implemented last year.The Government propose that Doctors' and Dentists' pay should be increased by an average of 6 per cent. on current levels, with effect from 1st April 1982. The Secretary of State for Social Services will be putting detailed proposals to the professions as soon as possible. These will follow the relativities recommended by the Review Body. The Government accept the Review Body's recommendations on the level of general medical practitioners' expenses, and on other non-pay matters.The Doctors and Dentists Review Body's latest report has been laid before Parliament today and will be published as a Command Paper shortly. Copies in typescript are now available in the Printed Paper Office.The cost of implementing the Government's proposals will be met in part within existing cash limits and Estimates, as revised to take account of the changes announced on 8th March and of the reduction in NIS, and in part from the Contingency Reserve. Revised cash limits and Estimates will be brought forward as soon as possible.The report of the Top Salaries Review Body is still under consideration, and an announcement of the Government's conclusions on it will be made in due course. Following normal custom, the TSRB's report will be published when the Government's decisions are announced.

asked Her Majesty's Government:(i) what is their present estimate of the cost of providing:

The estimated annual additional cost of providing disposable (single-use) hypodermic equipment on FP 10 for all insulin-dependent diabetic patients in England is over £3½ million for needles and nearly £6 million for syringes. These estimates take account of potential savings on the glass and metal syringes, re-usable needles and carrying cases for hypodermic equipment which are now prescribed for diabetic patients at a total annual cost of about £0·75 million a year.Single-use needles and syringes offer little advantage, other than convenience, over the re-usable kind when used by a patient following good hygienic practice, and I do not think that we should be justified in diverting from other NHS priorities the additional expenditure which would be entailed in making them generally available. If single-use needles and syringes are considered medically essential for a particular patient, they may be supplied through the hospital service.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, in view of their Written Answer of 6th April 1982 (Col. 214) that the information requested about the number of qualified nurses in the independent hospital sector and in industry is not available to the Department, and in view of their written answer of 22nd April 1982 (Col. 694) that the information requested about certain categories of inpatient beds in private hospitals and nursing-homes is also not available, they will take steps either independently or in conjunction with the private sector to ascertain and reveal this information, which is directly relevant to the overall amount of health care available to the community, and is a matter of current political controversy.

Consideration is being given to the introduction of a regular return by district health authorities of information about the facilities provided and the numbers and qualifications of nursing staff employed at premises registered under the Nursing Homes Act 1975.The cost of collecting information on the number of qualified nurses employed in industry, related to the value of that information to the Department of Health and Social Security, could not be justified. Some information on the employment of qualified nurses will be available in mid-1983 from the 1981 Census.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What the position is about last December's proposals for the reorganisation of the Animal Breeding Research Organisation in Edinburgh and its connection with the university there, and whether they will make a statement.

Following consultation on last December's proposals with interested bodies, the Agricultural Research Council issued a document in March entitled The future programmes and structure of the Animal Breeding Research Organisation and the Long Ashton Research Station, which was widely circulated for consideration and final consultation. The main proposals for the ABRO, modified from the original proposals, were that the recurrent budget would he reduced from its 1982–83 level of £2·25 million to £1·2 million annually at 1982–83 prices, and an extra £0·4 million annually would be set aside for important new work of high scientific merit. The council confirmed this strategy at its meeting on 20th April, and I understand that it is now being implemented. The Council wishes collaboration between the ABRO and the University of Edinburgh to continue to develop, particularly to draw upon the scientific innovation for which the university is renowned.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Why the Co-operative Bank has had to pay special levy tax of 88·9 per cent. (£3·2 million) of its total profit for 1981 of £3·6 million, although the clearing banks paid on average only 18·8 per cent. of their profits, and what action the Government propose to take to adjust this situation.

The special tax on banking deposits imposed in 1981 was a levy based upon the average of non-interest bearing deposits held by a bank in the last quarter of 1980, irrespective of the level of the hank's profits. The rate of tax charged was 2 per cent. of the first £200 million of chargeable deposits and 2½ per cent. of the remainder. Those rates were of general application to banks liable to the levy.House adjourned at nineteen minutes past nine o'clock.