asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the

Yes. A revised edition entitled Boards of Visitors —Notes of Guidance has now been printed and copies are being sent to members of Boards of Visitors. I have arranged for a copy to be placed in the Library.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Regarding the proposed completion of the Edinburgh City By-pass, what steps are being taken "to give Lothian more money over the next few years in order to allow them to make progress as fast as they can" (The Earl of Avon,

Lothian Region Council have stated their intention to proceed with the Sighthill section of the by-pass starting in 1984–85. This intention has been taken into account in arriving at the guideline figure, which has been notified to the council, of the capital expenditure on roads and transports for which they are likely to be given approval in that year. The priority to be given to this work and its timing are for the regional council to decide.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What efforts they are making to make better use of staff with accountancy skills in the Civil Service.

Accountants in the Civil Service have a vital part to play in the Government's drive to improve financial and resource management in departments. The Government are determined to make the fullest possible use of the accountancy skills that exist already in the Service and to add to them as much and as quickly as we can. From 1st July 1982 a new accountancy functional specialism within the Administration Group is being introduced. Accountants in the present Professional Accountant Class will join with colleagues already in the Administration Group to form part of an expanded Government Accountancy Service (GAS) which will also include staff with a high degree of accountancy expertise and experience. This removes the artificial barriers which have largely confined the professional accountant to the provision of technical advice.

For the future, Civil Service accountants, like those elsewhere, will be free to move outside their professional sphere into general administrative roles. There will be long-term career development plans to equip the best accountants for senior posts.

Under the new arrangements an expanded Government Accountancy Service Management Unit will provide a focal point for the management of accountants and accountancy training and will help departments in managing their staff in the GAS, including those under training.

Over the next 10 years we want to double the number of professionally qualified accountants in the Service to fill primarily those posts —some 60 per cent.—in the functional specialism which will normally be filled by professionally qualified staff. Part of this will be achieved by training people already in the Service; part by continued recruitment of qualified accountants from outside. Recruitment will be necessary both to meet the expected shortage of professionally qualified staff and to provide the right blend of skills and experience, some of which can be acquired only outside Government work.

I am conscious of the concern that has been expressed in Parliament and elsewhere about the need to make better use of accountants in the Civil Service. The changes we are introducing on 1st July are designed to bring this about by broadening the career opportunities of accountants and increasing the opportunities they have to contribute to management and decision-making.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will make a statement on the activities of the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation of which the United Kingdom is a member.

Copies of the Eighteenth Annual Report of the Eurocontrol Organisation, summarising its activities during 1980, have been placed in the Library of each House.House adjourned at two minutes before eight o'clock.