asked the hon. Member for Wokingham, as representing the Church Commissioners, whether he will make a statement on the operation of the Endowments and Glebe Measure 1976; what is the estimated level of funds which have since become available for the augmentation of clergy stipends as a result of the measure; and whether it has produced any significant amount of extra administrative staffing or extra expenses, either for the commissioners themselves or at diocesan level.

The Endowments and Glebe Measure 1976 came into force on 1 April 1978. Its two main provisions were for the pooling of endowment income and the transfer of glebe into diocesan ownership. The measure did not of itself provide additional funds for the payment of the clergy but sought to enable the Church to deploy more effectively funds which were already available for stipend purposes.Since the measure came into effect, dioceses have been seeking both to ensure that lettings of glebe are based upon proper commercial considerations and to rationalise their holdings mainly by the sale of small isolated plots and the purchase of more attractive property investments with the proceeds. Between April 1978 and December 1981, the gross income derived from glebe in the 42 mainland dioceses went up from £2·1 million per annum to £4 million per annum, an increase of 90 per cent.The introduction of the measure has not required the commissioners to employ any extra staff or to incur any additional expenses. The commissioners do not have the detailed information to identify directly whether the measure has led to any increase in staffing or administrative expense at diocesan level, but it is reasonable to assume that, if dioceses have incurred any additional cost, this will have been more than offset both by savings in the time of and cost to incumbents in administering glebe before 1978, as well as the substantial increases in income that have been secured.

asked the Minister for Trade if he will make a statement on the financial performance of British Airways.

British Airways made a £141 million pre-tax loss in the 1980·81 financial year. Their losses in 1981·82 are expected to be significantly higher. However, the British Airways Board has taken firm steps to improve the airline's performance, most recently by its announcement a few days ago of its intention to secure further manpower reductions. Improvements in productivity are vital if British Airways are to end these high losses and be restored to profitability.

asked the Minister for Trade whether he has assessed the effect on the balance of trade of unilateral action by the United States Government on the steel industry of the United Kingdom.

It is very difficult to make a proper assessment, since the United States Department of Commerce has only recently made preliminary determinations of subsidy in the countervailing complaints against United Kingdom steel suppliers. Final determinations of subsidy and of injury to the United States steel industry may follow over the coming months, as may action on parallel complaints of dumping. I estimate that something under half by volume of United Kingdom steel exports to the United States may be affected by all these complaints.

asked the Minister for Trade what will be his main objectives at the meeting of Ministers of the general agreement on tariffs and trade countries in November.

The Government's objectives will be in conjunction with our partners in the European Community to secure at the meeting a reinforced commitment to the open trading system by the contracting parties and to set in hand programmes of work for the GATT in the 1980s on a number of specific subjects.

asked the Minister for Trade if he plans to put forward proposals at the next meeting of EEC Trade Ministers to remove existing obstacles to trade in invisibles in the EEC.

The Government attach great importance to continuing the process of removing the barriers to trade in invisibles within the Community. Several proposals are already under discussion as a result of the Government's initiatives.

asked the Minister for Trade what was the total value of exports and imports, respectively, to the EEC in the last six months.

Information up to May is contained in tables 11 and 15 of the latest Department of Trade press notice on the current account of the United Kingdom balance of payments, which is available in the Library.

asked the Minister for Trade if he will tabulate, from information available to him the value of exports of manufactured goods from West Germany, respectively, the United Kingdom, France and Italy, stating in each case the amount and percentage going (a) within Western Europe and (b) outside Western Europe, and expressing this as a percentage of gross domestic product.

I will reply to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.

asked the Minister for Trade if he will tabulate, from information available to him, the value of imports of food, and agricultural products, into West Germany, the United Kingdom, France and Italy, respectively, expressing this as a percentage of total imports, and indicating, in each case, how much comes from outside Western Europe.

I will reply to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.

asked the Minister for Trade if he will tabulate, from information available to him, the value of exports of food, and agricultural products, from France, the Netherlands, West Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg, Denmark, and the United Kingdom, respectively, expressing this as a percentage of total exports, and indicating how much goes outside Western Europe, in each case.

I will reply to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.

asked the Minister for Trade whether he will list in the Official Report the names of organisations with whom he consults regarding appointments to electricity consultative councils in England and Wales.

A complete list would be difficult to provide because the organisations we approach vary according to the needs and circumstances of the council concerned.

asked the Minister for Trade if he will undertake a review of the regulations on aerial advertising.

Such a review is currently taking place.

asked the Minister for Trade if he will now introduce legislation to make directors personally responsible for the debts of insolvent companies where there has been wrongful trading, along the lines of recommendations in the Cork report on insolvency.

Many of the recommendations in the Cork report, including the concept of wrongful trading, are inter-related and interdependent. I am, however, concerned that there appear to be certain abuses in this area which call for early attention and accordingly I am considering whether there is any scope for early action.

asked the Minister for Trade how many bankruptcies of travel agents and holiday firms have occurred in the past 12 months.

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Minister for Trade which bodies he is consulting in his review of United Kingdom merchant shipping; and if he will publish a report following the review.

In seeking to draw merchant shipping lessons from the recent Falklands conflict, I have sought in particular the views of the General Council of British Shipping, the Mercantile Marine Service Association, the Merchant Navy and Airline Officers Associations, the National Union of Seamen and the Radio and Electronic Officers' Union. This does not, of course, preclude other organisations or individuals offering their views. All views submitted will be taken into account in working out our future defence and merchant shipping policies. I do not intend to publish a report, but an appropriate opportunity to discuss the matter in the House may well arise.

asked the Minister for Trade what proposals he has received for further capital development at Manchester airport.

The main elements of the proposals made to me by the Manchester International Airport Authority for further developments at the airport include the extension of and improvements to the passenger terminal, additional aircraft stands, a link taxiway, and improvements connected with the cargo terminal.

asked the Minister for Trade when he plans to announce the details of his proposals to amend the Development of Tourism Act 1969.

I have no plans to do so at present but my hon. Friend will know that I recently decided that grants under section 4 of the Development of Tourism Act 1969 should no longer be tied to assisted areas. This move has been widely welcomed. I am also conducting a radical and comprehensive review of the way in which we handle tourism in Great Britain.

asked the Minister for Trade what representations he has had concerning airport policy.

I receive many representations on the subject of airports policy.

asked the Minister for Trade if he will introduce legislation to prevent mail order companies from cashing customers' cheques before goods orders are either completed or in stock available for despatch.

I am considering whether customers of mail order companies should be given any further protection as part of my study of the Cork committee report.

asked the Minister for Trade what were the volumes and values of imports of forklift trucks from Japan for the past six months as compared with the same period in the previous year.

749 forklift trucks of all kinds with a cif value of £3·7 million were imported from Japan in the six months from November 1981 to April 1982; the figures for November 1980 to April 1981 were 1,014 units with a cif value of £4·3 million.

asked the Minister for Trade if, pursuant to his reply of 10 May, Official Report, column 456, he is yet in a position to consider action to promote the future development of Anglo-Argentine trade; and if he will make a statement.

I hope that circumstances will permit a resumption of trade before too long. Action by Her Majesty's Government at this stage to promote bilateral trade would be premature given the current state of our bilateral relations and the deteriorating position of the Argentine economy.

asked the Minister for Trade, if he is satisfied that all the member States of the European Economic Community were able to enforce the trade embargo on the Argentine to the same extent as Her Majesty's Government; and if he will make a statement.

I will reply to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.

asked the Minister for Trade whether he will ensure that the renewal of voluntary restraint arrangements on imports of textiles and clothing from Portugal will be kept within overall quota level targets already agreed by the Council of Ministers.

It remains the Government's intention that any voluntary restraint arrangement with Portugal covering group I products should be agreed within the global ceilings for imports of these products adopted by the Council of Ministers earlier this year.

asked the Minister for Trade if, in the light of the progress on bilateral negotiations, he expects the EEC Commission to report finally on the multi-fibre arrangment by the end of September.

The Commission has been instructed to report to the Council of Ministers by 30 September 1982 on its negotiations for renewal of the bilateral agreements concluded under the multi-fibre Arrangment. It is not possible at this stage to say whether all the negotiations will have been concluded by then.

asked the Minister for Trade when he expects the outcome of the multi-fibre arrangement bilateral negotiations to be considered by the Council of Ministers.

The Commission has been instructed to report to the Council of Ministers by 30 September 1982 on its negotiations for renewal of the bilateral agreements concluded under the multi-fibre arrangement. lit is not possible at this stage to say whether all the negotiations will have been concluded by then.

asked the Minister of State for Trade which interested parties have been approached by his Department with regard to the creation of free ports; and what responses he has received from them.

As I said in my reply to my hon. Friend on 6 July, we have had useful discussions with Members of Parliament, local government authorities, airport management and industrial organisations. In particular, we have followed up an approach by the Institute of Directors with a request for comments from the industrialists' point of view on any advantages which a freeport might offer. We have recently received these comments which are under consideration.

asked the Minister of State for Trade if he will make a statement on the dispute between the United States of America and the United Kingdom and other European Economic Community countries over the import and export of steel.

On 11 June the United States Department of Commerce announced preliminary findings of subsidy against certain steel imports from a number of companies in countries, including the United Kingdom, which are subject to countervailing complaints. These investigations continue as do a number of parallel dumping investigations being carried on by the United States authorities.The Government and our European partners regard the filing of these complaints as a protectionist act and have protested strongly to the United States authorities about them and about the methods employed by the Department of Commerce in computing subsidy. In the meantime the European Commission has referred this matter to the GATT subsidies committee.

asked the Minister for Trade whether he will publish in the Official Report details to the latest convenient date of imports into the United Kingdom motor car and commercial vehicle market, listing imports by country of origin, giving a comparison with the same date in each of the last five years.

The information is as follows:

asked the Minister for Trade what consultations he has had with representatives of the record and video industries on the subject of the extent to which their copyright is being infringed.

Bodies representing the record and video industries have sent comments on the copyright Green Paper (Cmnd. 8302) to my Department, and they have indicated their concern at the level of copyright infringement. In addition, my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Hall Green (Mr. Eyre), when he was responsible for copyright law, met representatives of the record industry to discuss the matter. More recently the Under-Secretary of State has received representations from various sectors of the film and video industry on video piracy.

asked the Minister for Trade whether he has plans to amend section 23 of the Copyright Act 1956.

Section 23 of the Copyright Act 1956 established the performing right tribunal. Along with all other aspects of copyright, it is at present under review following the publication last July of the copyright Green Paper (Cmnd. 8302). The Green Paper made a number of proposals to extend the jurisdiction and change the procedure of the tribunal, but final decisions on the tribunal have not yet been taken.

asked the Minister for Trade what consultations he has had concerning copyright legislation, in view of the expansion of cable television networks.

Following the publication in July last year of the Green Paper on copyright (Cmnd. 8302), which included some proposals relating to cable television, my Department has received comments from many interested parties. Submissions on the cable issue have come from bodies representing rights owners, the video industry, the cable television operators and journalists. Comments are still coming in at present.

asked the Minister for Trade if he will review the powers in respect of the issuing of licences to carry passengers or cargo given to the Civil Aviation Authority by section 21 of the Civil Aviation Act 1971.

No. I do not believe such a review is needed.

asked the Minister for Trade what progress he has made in his review of the extent of overlap and duplication of the role and functions of the tourist boards, local authorities and other bodies in the promotion of tourism.

I have already begun discussions with tourist and tourist-related bodies as part of the wider review of the way in which we handle tourism in Great Britain.

asked the Minister for Trade if he is satisfied with trade relations between the United States of America and the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

A serious deterioration in trade relations between the United States and the countries of the European Community has been caused by the United States anti-dumping and countervailing investigations into steel imports from a number of countries, including the United Kingdom, by the United States measures designed to restrict the export of certain oil and gas equipment to the Soviet Union by non-United States Companies, and by the protectionist legislation in Congress which will continue the exclusion of foreign printers from the United States market.

asked the Minister for Trade whether he will make a statement on his recent visit to the United States of America.

I had meetings in Washington with senior members of the United States Administration and of Congress. These meetings covered both trade policy and United States claims to extraterritorial jurisdiction in economic matters. In particular, I stressed that the current disputes over steel and United States attempts to prevent the export of certain oil and gas equipment to the Soviet Union by non-United States companies are seriously damaging to trade relations between the United States and countries of the European Community.

asked the Minister for Trade if the receiver has yet reported on the circumstances leading to the collapse of Laker Airways.

The receiver has not yet filed the statement referred to in my reply to the hon. Member on 21 June.

asked the Minister for Trade if he will take steps to ensure that export credits provided to finance exports to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics for construction of any gas pipelines are not on more favourable terms, particularly with regard to rates of interest, than those available to those wishing to invest in industry in the United Kingdom.

The terms on which official support by the United Kingdom is given for export credit finance to developed countries, including the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, are the subject of the Consensus agreement between countries of the OECD, and is not direcly related to the terms available to those wishing to invest in industry in the United Kingdom.

asked the Minister for Trade if he will take steps to ensure that United Kingdom principals secure a proper share of European Economic Community technical assistance projects.

The Community funds its techical assistance projects from the European development fund and its other development aid programmes. The share of technical assistance projects financed by the European development fund is governed by a quota system which is in line with each member State's contribution. The United Kingdom contribution to the fourth EDF was 18·7 per cent. and our cumulative share of technical assistance contracts at 31 March this year has risen to 16·01 per cent. It is the intention of the Commission to arrive at a balance between the two.For other European Community technical assistance projects financed under the Mediterranean protocol agreements and/or the non-Associates programme there is no set quota arrangement, but the Commission similarly seeks to achieve an appropriate balance along the lines of that for the EDF quota.The world aid section of the Department of Trade obtains information about such projects and those financed under EDF and publishes it through the export intelligence service; officials from the section also encourage and assist United Kingdom principals to compete for these contracts through such means as participation in Conferences and Seminars, briefings and the provision of advice.

asked the Minister for Trade what was the level of imports of kitchen furniture from Taiwan in the last financial year.

Information is available for only the ten months April 1981 to June 1981 and September 1981 to March 1982. For this period indentifiable imports of wooden kitchen furniture consigned from Taiwan were valued at £145,000, cif.[Source: Overseas Trade Statistics of the United Kingdom, SITC (R2) Item 821.92 (part).]

asked the Minister for Trade what has been the value of British exports to New Zealand in each of the past 10 years, at constant prices.

Estimates of United Kingdom exports, at constant prices, to any individual country or area are not available. Data in current price terms for New Zealand are published in the "Monthly Review of External Trade Statistics", which is available in the Library.

asked the Minister for Trade what specific recommendations have been made, or specific action taken, since 9 April 1981, by the overseas project board of the British Overseas Trade Board to assist the construction industry; and whether he envisages further action.

I will reply to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.

asked the Minister for Trade if he will tabulate in the Official Report, for the half year ended 31 June and in terms of a money annual total (a) the total value of sales from the United Kingdom to each European country and (b) the total imports from these countries, respectively, and in total.

I will reply to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.

asked the Minister for Trade (1) how many Spanish-owned fishing boats are registered in the United Kingdom;(2) how often and with what results Spanish-owned fishing boats registered in the United Kingdom are examined by Department of Trade inspectors and port medical officers;(3) whether he is satisfied with the food, accommodation and health facilities upon Spanish-owned trawlers registered in the United Kingdom;(4) how often inspectors of his Department have examined, for safety, the conditions upon Spanish-owned fishing vessels registered in the United Kingdom.

I will reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

asked the Minister for Trade if he will make a statement on his review into the Civil Aviation Authority.

I will reply to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.

asked the Minister for Trade if he will introduce legislation to establish a securities commission.

I shall wish to have Professor Gower's final report and recommendations before considering any further legislation.

asked the Minister for Trade if he will introduce amending legislation to enable producers and distributors of pre-recorded video cassettes and video discs to require wholesalers not to supply to copyright-infringing third parties the products of which the producers and the distributors are the copyright owners.

[pursuant to his reply, 15 July 1982, c. 419–20]: In so far as it is possible to identify copyright-infringing third parties, it is, under existing contract law, open to producers and distributors of pre-recorded video cassettes and video discs to impose restraints upon wholesalers as to the supply of their copyright material to those parties.

asked the Minister of Trade if he will publish in the Official Report the maximum first offence penalties for video counterfeiting in each member State of the European Community.

[pursuant to his reply, 15 July 1982, c. 419–20]: In general piracy of video tapes may involve both copyright infringement of the content and counterfeiting of the appearance. The latest information available to my Department on maximum first offence penalties for video copyright violations and counterfeiting offences in member states of the European Community is as follows:

Belgium: For copyright violations there is a maximum fine of 80,000 francs. For counterfeiting there may be up to 2 years imprisonment, with the same maximum fine.

Denmark: For copyright, maximum imprisonment is for 3 months, plus a fine which depends on the offender's income and circumstances. There may also be compensation to the injured party. For counterfeiting, maximum imprisonment is for one year.

France: Counterfeiting is not distinguished from other forms of piracy. The maximum fine for a first offender is 30,000 francs. Imprisonment may be for up to 2 years, and business establishments may be closed.

Federal Republic of Germany: For copyright violations maximum imprisonment is for one year, with a maximum fine depending on the offender's income. Counterfeiting may be considered as fraud, subject to a fine and imprisonment up to 5 years.

Greece: Copyright violations are subject to a maximum fine of 10,000 drachmas and up to 3 months imprisonment.

Ireland: The maximum fine for first copyright offences is £5 per copy up to a maximum of £100 per transaction.

Italy: For copyright violations the maximum fine is 20,000 lire, with possible imprisonment of up to one year. For counterfeiting maximum imprisonment is also one year.

Luxembourg: For copyright offences the maximum fine is 20,000 francs. For counterfeiting the fine may be 200,000 francs, with imprisonment for up to 2 years.

Netherlands: The maximum fine for making infringing copies is 25,000 guilders, with up to 6 months imprisonment. For knowingly dealing in pirate copies the maximum fine is 10,000 guilders.

United Kingdom: For copyright offences, governed by the Copyright Act 1956, the maximum fine per infringing copy is £25 subject to a maximum per transaction of £50 (£200 under the current Criminal Justice Bill). Under the Criminal Justice Bill imprisonment of up to 2 months will be possible on first conviction. For counterfeiting offences under the Trade Descriptions Act 1968 there is no limit to the fine and up to 2 years imprisonment may also be imposed.

asked the Minister for Trade (1) if, in view of the rise in the level of video and audio piracy, he will seek to introduce early legislation to increase the criminal law penalties for copyright infringement without prejudice to a later and more general reform of copyright law;(2) if he will seek to raise the penalties for audio and video piracy in the United Kingdom to make them equivalent to those contained in the Piracy and Counterfeiting (Amendment) Act 1982 in the United States which provides penalties, including those for first-time offenders, of up to five years' imprisonment and/or fines of up to $250,000.

[pursuant to his reply, 15 July 1982 c. 419–20]: The Government are examining the adequacy of the remedies, both civil and criminal, which are available against copyright infringment including the question of whether there is a need to act in advance of more general copyright legislation.

asked the Minister for Trade if he will take steps to collect statistics on the incidence of video piracy; and if he will make an estimate of the scale of increase over the past year.

[pursuant to his reply, 15 July 1982 c. 419–20]: I consider that statistics of this sort are more appropriately collected by the trade interests concerned. In fact, earlier this year the British Videogram Association Ltd commissioned a survey which entailed an estimate of the extent of video piracy in the United Kingdom in 1981. My Department has so far seen only a very brief extract from the survey report, which indicates a figure of 78 per cent. for the pirate share of the video market for 1981.

asked the Minister for Trade if any new proposals have been made by the United States Government with a view to resolving the dispute over import duties on steel.

[pursuant to his reply, 15 July 1982 c. 420]: No. Urgent discussions continue between the European Communities and the United Slates Administration in an attempt to settle both the countervailing and the anti-dumping investigations into US imports of steel from certain European countries before final determinations are made.

asked the Minister for Trade (1) whether the regulations which he has made in response to the United States action on the Siberian pipeline contract are intended to have the effect of relieving British firms from any of their contractual obligations; and if he will make a statement;(2) what was the purpose of the regulations which he introduced in response to the United States action on the Siberia pipeline contract.

[pursuant to his reply, 15 July [982 c. 420]: No. The order which my right hon. and noble Friend has made under section 1(1) of the Protection of Trading Interests Act 1980 brings that section into effect with respect to the United States re-export control regulations. It is an essential legal preliminary to any further action under section 1, and has an immediate declaratory effect.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he proposes to make any changes in the amount and nature of aid to India.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance was given to Honduras during the financial year 1981–82.

An estimated £280,000 was spent on technical co-operation programmes in Honduras in 1981–82, mainly in artisanal fisheries, forestry, agriculture, the development of water resources and the provision of training awards. In addition, £500,000 was provided for Bailey bridging from the £5 million capital aid loan signed with Honduras in 1980.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs by what percentage the United Kingdom's overseas aid in 1982–83 is expected to differ from that in 1981–82.

It is expected to decrease by about 2 per cent. in cash terms.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if Her Majesty's Government will increase their provision of overseas development aid to meet representations made at the United Nations special session on disarmament.

I am of course aware of the wish to switch resources from defence spending to aid. But, even if the disarmament negotiations succeed, the fact remains that there will be many competing claims on any resources realised. Our aid programme remains meanwhile a substantial one.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of he will take steps to increase United Kingdom aid to Lebanon.

Her Majesty's Government have already responded to requests for humanitarian assistance to Lebanon, and we remain in touch with the several international agencies that are co-ordinating aid and relief. It is not possible to consider any longer term aid until the situation in the country is clearer.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the latest information he has as to the extent to which agricultural and medical products purchased with United Kingdom overseas aid are supplied by British companies.

The United Kingdom contributes to a number of multilateral programmes which provide aid in these forms. In respect of bilateral aid, we do not keep statistics on the effect of our tied aid arrangements by sector of British industry. The information requested is therefore not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what economic and other help has been made available by the United Kingdom to help Dominica and other islands affected by a succession of hurricanes since 1980.

The Windward Islands, particularly Dominica, were those most seriously affected by the hurricanes of 1979 and 1980. British bilateral aid to these Islands and for regional projects has amounted to over £11 million since 1980. A table showing annual expenditure by country will be published in the Official Report.A prime target for assistance has been the banana industry.By the end of this year more than £6 million will have been provided in support of the five-year Windward Islands banana development programme and for rehabilitation following hurricane damage.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take steps to make support for the recurrent budgets of St. Helena, Vanuatu, Anguilla, Tuvalu, Kiribati, the Turks and Caicos Islands and Montserrat unnecessary by developing their economies towards self-sufficiency.

Capital and technical co-operation aid is already provided for these countries to help promote their economic and social development. Within this overall objective the aim is progressively to reduce and eventually eliminate, wherever possible, budgetary support. This policy has been successful in the case of Montserrat which came out of budgetary aid on 31 December 1980.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to what extent promotion of tourism is included amongst items of technical assistance in appropriate countries.

The planning and development of tourism is one of the many sectors in which we are ready to consider requests for aid from developing countries. Direct investment in tourist facilities is primarily for the private sector, but we can help in this field both by supporting the development of associated infrastructure and by providing experts and training, for example, in tourism planning and development.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects the land resources development unit of his Department to continue its activity in El Salvador.

There are no plans to do so.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will make a statement on the recent announcement by Nissan that it is not proceeding at this time with the building of a motor manufacturing plant in the United Kingdom.

I understand that Nissan is still considering the project. Representatives of the company will be meeting my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State later this month. My right hon. Friend will make a statement at the appropriate time.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry on what basis the fees charged by his Department and British Telecom for testing telecommunications apparatus have been calculated.

The fees charged for the evaluation of subscriber's telecommunications apparatus under the interim arrangements for approving such apparatus announced by my hon. Friend the Minister for Information Technology on 16 November 1981 have been calculated by British Telecom and cover the estimated costs to BT of the services they provide. Fees cover the costs incurred by BT in terms of man hours in the test laboratories (including an estimate of the cost of re-testing, which was expected and which is proving necessary in nearly all cases), overheads and the administration required to process technical information and to discuss modifications with applicants.Where apparatus does not require modification prior to approval an appropriate refund is made. The fees also cover BT's costs in concluding the customary agreement with suppliers under which BT is indemnified against any damage or injury that may be caused by the approved apparatus as a result of its connection to BT's networks.A substantial part of the fees charged is intended to cover the costs associated with testing the speech reception and transmission of apparatus. The further interim approval arrangements which I announced on 27 May cover some apparatus which does not incorporate speech facilities and for this apparatus the minimum fee has been reduced from £2,000 to £1,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what are the names of the panel of independent experts advising him on issues relating to the licensing of value added network services; and by what means and on what terms and conditions of service they were appointed.

The members of the panel appointed to advise the Secretary of State on issues relating to licensing including value added network services are:

asked the Secretary of State for Industry whether he will take steps to promote the hosiery and knitwear trades.

I have nothing to add to my reply of 12 July to a similar question by the hon. and learned Member.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what was the total number and value of offers of regional assistance made to companies in west Cumbria travel-to-work areas, in Cumbria as a whole, in the North-West region and in the Northern region for the last month for which statistics are available.

In May 1982, 24 offers of assistance totalling £2,055,000 were made under section 7 of the Industry Act 1972 towards projects in the North-West region, of which 3 offers totalling £108,000 were made towards projects in Cumbria. No offers were made towards projects in West Cumbria. 10 offers totalling £1,031,000 were made towards projects in the North-East region.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry (1) how many applications for information of an industrial or service development nature his Department has received in the North-West region during the last month; and how many of these his Department has referred to the Cumbria council's industrial development unit;(2) how many steering location inquiries have been received in the North-West region of his Department; and of these how many had been referred to the Cumbria county council industrial development unit during the last month for which statistics are available.

In June 1982 the North-West regional office received 607 inquiries of an industrial or service development nature, of which 468 related to Government financial assistance and 15 of which were locational enquiries. One locational inquiry was referred to the Cumbria county council industrial development unit.The North-West regional office continues to maintain close contacts with the Cumbria county council industrial development unit. Three inquiries about financial assistance were referred by the Cumbria county council industrial development unit to the North-West regional office and one locational inquiry was referred by the North-West regional office to the industrial development unit.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will list the names of the participating banks interviewed during his review of the loan guarantee scheme.

My consultations with the banks participating in the loan guarantee scheme are not yet completed, but by the end of the review I will have discussed the scheme with representatives of Barclays Bank, Lloyds Bank, Midland Bank, National Westminster Bank, Williams and Glyn's Bank, the Co-operative Bank, Yorkshire Bank, Industrial and Commercial Finance Corporation, Hill Samuel, Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, United Dominions Trust and the Scottish clearing banks. Most of the others banks participating in the Scheme have limited experience of its operation. I believe that the banks I have consulted provide a wide and representative cross-section.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry whether the telephone interviews with borrowers, which formed part of his review of the loan guarantee scheme, were carried out by officials of his Department or by outside consultants.

The telephone interviews were carried out by Department of Industry economists, who have considerable experience in this field. A full report setting out how the survey was conducted, and its findings, will be placed in the Library shortly. A summary of the results of the survey is already available. I am considering using outside consultants as well for the next stage.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will detail the breaches of Buckingham Palace security which have taken place since May 1979.

I hope later this week to report to the House on a breach of security on 9 July this year.In addition, the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis has provided the following information.In the afternoon of 22 July 1980, three French teenage girls—aged 13, 15 and 16—were found on a lawn of the grounds. They had entered through a defective gate during a Royal garden party, and were escorted from the grounds.In the morning of 20 June 1981, three young Germans were discovered in the grounds a few yards within the perimeter wall. They had spent the night there after climbing the wall, in the belief that they were in Hyde Park. They were interviewed by the police and released.In the morning of 5 August 1981, a man was discovered in shrubbery in the grounds. He was bewildered and incoherent and either would not or could not indicate the point at which he had climbed the wall. He was taken to a mental hospital.A man has been charged with an offence of burglary at Buckingham Palace on 7 June 1982.On 17 June 1982, a man brandished a knife at two police officers at the north centre gate and ran past them into the forecourt where, with the officers in pursuit, he was intercepted by a soldier who disarmed him. He was arrested and subsequently sentenced to a period of probation.There have since May 1979 been a number of other incidents in which the perimeter line has been passed without authority. On each of 26 October 1979, 21 December 1980, 17 January 1981, 8 May 1981, 11 December 1981 and 1 January 1982, a different person climbed over the wall or the railings, and on each occasion was sighted or otherwise detected and arrested. On 23 December 1981 a man ran through an open gate at the front of the palace. He was arrested immediately, but later released. On 2 April 1982, the same man again ran through an open gate, whilst a car was entering. He was arrested immediately and taken to a mental hospital. On 21 June 1982, a man climbed over a gate at the front of the palace and was arrested running across the forecourt. He was taken to a mental hospital.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department which prison chapels are licensed for the holding of marriage ceremonies, with or without the attendance of registrars.

There are no prison chapels in England and Wales licensed or registered for the solemnisation of marriages. Under the Marrige Act 1949 only chapels or other buildings used for public worship may be licensed or registered for this purpose. In reply to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Hertford and Stevenage (Mr. Wells) on 24 March 1981, however, my right hon. Friend announced the Government's intention to introduce legislation to allow prisoners to be married in prison.—[Vol. 1, c. 283.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many firearm licences were in issue at the latest available date.

On 31 December 1981, there were 164,872 firearm certificates in force in England and Wales.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the recommendations of the Finer committee on one-parent families which relate to the work of his Department, showing whether the recommendation (a) has been implemented, (b) is under consideration or (c) was rejected.

The recommendations of the Finer committee which relate to the work of our Department are those numbered 1, 2, 41, 52, 53 and 225 in the report.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects sections 2 and 3 of the Licensing (Amendment) Act 1980 to come into operation.

In October.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what procedures are used by the voluntary services unit in his Department to determine the level of grants given to applicants; how many applications were received in the most recent convenient period; how many of these were granted (a) in part and (b) in full; and how many were refused.

Applications are examined carefully to see if they meet the VSU's criteria for grant and are likely to produce worth while results.During the financial year 1981–82 the VSU dealt with 143 new applications for grant. Of these, 123 were refused or referred elsewhere. In the remaining 20 cases grants were approved, although the level of grant approved in each case was sometimes lower than that which had been sought. In the case of three of the successful applications, payments were not due to start until the financial year 1982–83. In addition, grants continued to be paid in 1981–82 to a further 43 voluntary bodies which had been aided in previous years.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will detail the inquiries his Department has instigated which have been announced to the House since May 1979.

I shall reply to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.