asked the Prime Minister if she will review the level of pay for computer staff in the Government service in the light of the comments in paragraph 28 of her statement on the recommendations of the Security Commission.

We have already increased the pay and allowances of qualified computer staff engaged in automatic data processing in the Civil Service by up to 18 per cent. this year, and the subsequent recruitment and retention position is being kept under review.

asked the Prime Minister whether she will make a statement on her meeting with His Majesty King Hussein; and whether she discussed with him the possible role of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan over the future of the area variously described as the West Bank or as Judaea and Samaria.

The meeting provided a welcome opportunity for a comprehensive discussion of the situation in the Middle East, including the Lebanon, the future of the Palestinians and the Iran-Iraq conflict. The discussion was on a confidential basis.

asked the Prime Minister what inquiries she has made concerning the living conditions of British troops of 63 Squadron Royal Air Force on the Falkland Islands outlined to her by the right hon. Member for Norwich, North in his letter of 17 July; what action has been taken to improve the situation; and if she will make a statement.

I have established that 63 Squadron RAF Regiment has to live in tents because of its operational role, which is to man Rapier batteries deployed around the perimeters of Port Stanley airfield. Nearly all the other troops in the garrison are accommodated either in ships or in buildings. The full range of special protective clothing and bedding is available and additional Arctic clothing is provided for those in particularly exposed positions. Food is of good quality. Everything possible is being done to improve the situation. On 22 July prefabricated accommodation for 3,000 people arrived in the Falkland Islands. I have written to the right hon. Gentleman setting out the position in more detail.

asked the Prime Minister whether the Estimates and Votes of the originating Departments commissioning functions to be offered by sub-postmasters to supplement their incomes from the fund announced by Her Majesty's Government following the alterations in weekly pension payment arrangements, will show drawings on the special fund set aside far that purpose, or whether the Department of Industry Estimates and Votes will identify all drawings on its fund.

The purpose of the fund is to compensate sub-post offices for the loss of business arising from the new methods of paying social security benefits where such loss is not compensated for by the growth of new business.As yet no disbursements have been made from the fund as the changes in the arrangements for paying benefits have only recently begun to be implemented and the effect of any loss of business takes some time to be reflected in sub-postmasters' incomes.The precise arrangements for the administration of the fund are still under discussion, but I have asked my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Industry to inform my hon. Friend when they have been concluded.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners were in cells for one and how many were in cells designed for two at the latest available date.

On 13 June 1982 there were 12,379 prisoners one in a cell, 12,052 two in a cell, and 4,098 three in a cell (where "cell" is defined as a secure unit of accommodation designed for one person only). We have no central records of the individual capacities or use of accommodation designed for more than one person.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average period of detention in custody for those on remand for charges of a non-violent character.

Estimates of the average time spent in custody by all untried and convicted unsentenced prisoners are published annually in "Prison statistics, England and Wales" (table 2(g) of the issue for 1980, Cmnd. 8372). Corresponding estimates are not available separately by type of offence charged and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, information on the numbers proceeded against who had been remanded in custody, by type of offence, is published annually in "Criminal statistics, England and Wales" (tables 8.4 and 8.8 of the volume for 1980, Cmnd. 8376).

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his policy on the recall of prisoners subject to licence; and if he will make a statement.

Each case is considered on its merits having regard to the relevant statutory provisions, the circumstances which have raised the question of recall, any recommendation by the supervising officer, and criteria such as the degree of risk to the public if the prisoner were not recalled.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many licences were terminated early for good progress following release from (a) detention centres, (b) Borstals and (c) young prisoner establishments during the latest 12 months;(2) how many prisoners were released on licence in the latest 12 months in the following categories

The information available on terminations of after-care administered by the probation and aftercare service, by type of after-care, is published annually in "Probation and after-care statistics, England and Wales" (table 46 of the issue for 1980), a copy of which is in the Library of the House. Corresponding information for 1981 will be published later this year. Information of those released on parole and recalled from parole is published annually in the "Report of the Parole Board" (paragraphs 28 to 34 of the report for 1981). Reliable information is not available on those recalled from other types of licence.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will take steps to prevent serving police officers, while in office, participating in radio or television programmes or writing articles without the specific authority of the Home Secretary, except where they are acting in furtherance of a specific police inquiry.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, following the passage of the Copyright (Amendment) Act 1971, he will hold discussions with police forces on its use to end video piracy.

The deployment of resources to combat particular criminal activities is a matter for chief officers of police. We are confident that they will keep under review the priority accorded to operations against video piracy.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what response Southampton city council gave to his Department with regard to exercise Hard Rock.

Southampton city council resolved on 14 July to take part in exercise Hard Rock.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many injuries have been caused by crossbows over the last five years to (a) human beings and (b) animals; and how many people have been prosecuted over the last five years for offences involving the misuse of crossbows.

The information requested is not collected centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultations, interviews and investigations he carried out in exercising his function, under section 1 of the Metropolitan Police Act 1829, of appointing the Commissioner designate of Police of the Metropolis.

Under section 1 of the Metropolitan Police Act 1829, the Commissioner is appointed by Her Majesty the Queen.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether he will list in the Official Report the per capita juvenile crime rate in the latest year for which figures are available nationally; and what was the annual rate of increase in the figures for each of the last five years;(2) if he will call for a report from the chief constable of Hampshire as to the per capita juvenile crime rate in the Aldershot area in the latest year for which figures are available, together with the annual rate of increase in the figures for each of the last five years.

No analysis by age of persons committing serious offences recorded by the police is possible either on a national basis or for the Aldershot area because at the time of recording of most offences the identity of the offender or offenders is unknown. The information available relates to persons found guilty or cautioned for indictable offences per 100,000 population in the age group and is published annually for England and Wales in "Criminal statistics, England and Wales" tables 5.18 and 5.19 and figures 5.4 to 5.6 of the volume for 1980, Cmnd. 8376); corresponding information for Aldershot could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Basildon on 19 July, if he will take steps to amend the Race Relations Act 1976 in order to enable him to call for reports from the Commission for Racial Equality and to enable him to give directions in certain circumstances affecting the day-to-day running of the commission; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend has at present no plans to do so.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Basildon on 19 July, Official Report, c. 23, when he expects to receive information from the Commission for Racial Equality concerning allegations of racial discrimination in the commission's recruitment procedures.

I understand that the commission expects shortly to complete its inquiry into these allegations and that we will then be informed of the outcome as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is satisfied with the legislative and administrative arrangements for co-ordination between social service departments, custodial establishments and police forces in respect of offenders on home leave or who otherwise have not completed their sentence but have freedom to move within the community.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement about the future role of Operation Countryman in the light of the convictions of Detective Superintendent Cuthbert and John Golbourn at the Old Bailey on 22 July.

The position as we understand it at present is that a small number of inquiries remain outstanding and it is possible that further proceedings may arise from them. Unless fresh relevant matter comes to light, however, the operation will in the normal course cease when these inquiries have been completed.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners are held in Her Majesty's prisons in England and Wales for offences committed as members of the Irish Republican Army; and whether any have received any remissions against their sentences.

The information is not readily available in the form requested. About 80 prisoners are held in Her Majesty's prisons in England and Wales for terrorist type offences connected with the troubles in Northern Ireland. Those prisoners serving only determinate sentences are eligible in the normal way for remission for good conduct.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation to prevent the sale of electronic eavesdropping devices; and if he will make a statement.

The Government have no plans to prohibit the sale of electronic eavesdropping devices as such, although they intend to seek powers under the Wireless Telegraphy Acts to ban the sale of particular wireless telegraphy equipment—which could include certain equipment capable of being used for surveillance—in order to reduce radio interference.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received from members of the academic community in Greater Manchester with regard to students from Iran; what reply he is sending; if there is any action he will be taking; and if he will make a statement.

[pursuant to his reply, 14 July 1982, c. 395]: A petition dated 1 July signed by 34 members of the academic community in Greater Manchester and received on 5 July requested that the British Government take urgent steps to grant refugee status to students from Iran much more readily than hitherto. I have sent the right hon. Member a copy of the reply, which points out that refugee recognition is defined in the 1951 United Nations convention relating to the status of refugees and that the criteria for such recognition cannot be relaxed. Asylum, or permission to remain in the United Kingdom exceptionally outside the immigration rules, may however be granted if the circumstances of the individual warrant this.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many accidents involving personal injury from air guns have been reported in each of the last five years; and how many of these involved fatalities.

I have been asked to reply. This information is not available centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish in the Official Report details of educational maintenance allowances updating his answer to the hon. Member for Norfolk, North (Mr. Howell), on 8 June 1981, Official Report, c. 51 to 63.

The information contained in local education authorities' expenditure returns for 1980–81 is as follows:

Expenditure by Local Education Authorities in England in 1980–81 on Allowances to Pupils over Compulsory School Age attending Schools
	£000s
Inner London Education Authority	*1,759
London Boroughs
Barking	4
Barnet	9
Bexley	9
Brent	27
Bromley	15
Croydon	11
Ealing	35
Enfield	4
Haringey	31
Harrow	14
Havering	8
Hillingdon	—
Hounslow	—
Kingston upon Thames	8
Merton	8
Newham	17
Redbridge	5
Richmond upon Thames	1
Sutton	—
Waltham Forest	—
West Midlands
Birmingham	52
Coventry	23
Dudley	—
Sandwell	15
Solihull	—
Walsall	46
Wolverhampton	25

	£000s
Merseyside
Knowsley	45
Liverpool	165
St. Helens	9
Sefton	—
Wirral	37
Greater Manchester
Bolton	48
Bury	20
Manchester	209
Oldham	17
Rochdale	22
Salford	30
Stockport	15
Tameside	17
Trafford	22
Wigan	26
South Yorkshire
Barnsley	11
Doncaster	16
Rotherham	12
Sheffield	104
West Yorkshire
Bradford	38
Calderdale	13
Kirklees	—
Leeds	—
Wakefield	22
Tyne and Wear
Gateshead	12
Newcastle upon Tyne	51
North Tyneside	34
South Tyneside	16
Sunderland	70
Non Metropolitan Counties
Isles of Scilly	—
Avon	96
Bedfordshire	22
Berkshire	5
Buckinghamshire	11
Cambridgeshire	39
Cheshire	3
Cleveland	—
Cornwall	6
Cumbria	14
Derbyshire	25
Devon	45
Dorset	46
Durham	—
East Sussex	33
Essex	72
Gloucestershire	8
Hampshire	231
Hereford and Worcester	—
Hertfordshire	41
Humberside	40
Isle of Wight	2
Kent	—
Lancashire	103
Leicestershire	5
Lincolnshire	16
Norfolk	2
North Yorkshire	25
Northamptonshire	4
Northumberland	15
Nottinghamshire	101
Oxfordshire	—
Salop	17
Somerset	14
Staffordshire	3
Suffolk	16

	£000s
Surrey	21
Warwickshire	—
West Sussex	—
Wiltshire	31
England
Total	4,319
* The corresponding revised figure for 1979–80 was £1,337,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many students from Nigeria are known to have attended British universities or polytechnics on degree courses in the past five years; and what is the anticipated number who will be attending in the academic year 1982–83.

The number of students from Nigeria attending first degree and postgraduate courses in universities in Great Britain and all maintained, assisted and grant-aided establishments of higher and further education in England and Wales, for the last five years are shown as follows. Figures for 1981–82 are not yet available. My Department does not make projections of overseas students by country of origin.

	First degree courses*	Postgraduate courses
1976–77	881	n/a
1977–78	1088	1144
1978–79	1130	1084
1979–80	1170	1049
1980–81	1316	1318
* These include all undergraduate courses at Universities; there may be a small number of students on courses other than first degree courses.

The figures include students at all non-university establishments of higher and further education in England and Wales as separate figures for the polytechnics are not readily available. Not all of the students taking postgraduate courses would have been taking higher degree courses; these figures include some students taking other postgraduate qualifications.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what percentage of the education budget was spent on adult education in 1979, 1980 and 1981.

The figures, derived from the Government expenditure White Paper (Cmnd. 8494), are:

	per cent.
1979–80	0·73
1980–81	0·66
1981–82*	0·65
* Provisional.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether it is his intention to issue a consultative document of proposals for the introduction of an education block grant.

The Green Paper, "Alternatives to Domestic Rates", mentioned a block grant for education as one of several possible changes in financing the local authority education service. Papers on the subject were subsequently prepared at the request of the local authority associations for a meeting of the Consultative Council on Local Government Finance, and copies have been placed in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will consider seeking to amend the Education Act 1944 to require local education authorities to provide free school transport for all students whose journey to school by foot would be dangerous.

No. Local education authorities already have a duty under section 55(1) of the Education Act 1944 to provide free school transport where they consider it necessary.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what schemes he is sponsoring to help less academically able children; how much is involved; if he will give full details of the schemes in the Official Report; and if he will make a statement.

On 16 July my right hon. Friend announced plans for a programme of development projects in seven or eight local education authorities, beginning in September 1983, which would aim to provide more effective education for lower-attaining pupils, especially in the last two years of compulsory education. My right hon. Friend has invited interested local education authorities to put proposals to him, and we will announce details of the projects which are selected in due course. The total cost of the programme to the Government will be some £2 million in a full year.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what studies are in progress to establish whether women should take extra vitamins in early pregnancy to prevent babies developing spina bifida;(2) what evidence there is that taking extra vitamins in early pregnancy helps to prevent babies developing spina bifida.

I understand that it has long been suspected, largely on the basis of animal studies, that maternal nutritional factors—particularly vitamin deficiencies—are associated with fetal malformations. Although there is no firm evidence of such an association in the human, a study published in 1980 suggested that if the diets of women who had already had a neural tube defect pregnancy were supplemented with a multivitamin preparation around the time of conception of a subsequent pregnancy, the risk of a similar outcome would be substantially reduced. Another study published last year suggested that a reduction of risk might be achieved with just one vitamin—folic acid. An investigation is now in progress in Dublin to compare the two therapies.In the Medical Research Council's view, the results of these earlier studies are encouraging, but they do not conclusively establish the value of vitamin therapy in preventing neural tube defects. The lack of an adequate control group gives rise to doubt about their interpretation, and until a properly controlled trial is undertaken there can be no proof that vitamin therapy is effective. I understand that the Medical Research Council therefore plans to conduct such a trial. Some 20 centres, both in this country and abroad, are likely to participate. The trial will be designed to provide clearer evidence of the effects of multivitamins and to enable a separate assessment to be made of the benefits of folic acid.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will make a statement on university teachers' pay.

A proposal for a 5 per cent. increase in the salaries of university non-clinical academic and related staff has now been accepted by the relevant negotiating committee. The settlement runs from 1 April 1982. Its cost will be borne by employing universities: there is no question of increasing the grant paid to universities by the Government through the University Grants Committee on account of this settlement.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in the Official Report the letter from the Chief Secretary to the Treasury to the hon. Member for Norfolk, North following the reply of 21 June, Official Report, c. 12.

The text of my letter of 25 June is as follows. I have taken the opportunity to introduce some slight revisions to the figures in the table. I shall be writing to my hon. Friend on this point.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will bring up to date the information on personal savings given in the reply of 9 June 1980, Official Report, c. 25.

The following table provides the latest estimates of personal saving as a percentage of gross national product at factor cost in each year from 1969 to 1981

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in the Official Report, the amount paid over in own resources contribution to the European Economic Community budget for 1981, and his estimates for 1982, under the heading customs duties, broken down between food, beverages, manufactures and other goods, agricultural levies, sugar and isoglucose levies, value added tax own resources and total.

The amount paid to the European Community in own resources contributions in 1981 and estimates for 1982 are set out below. A breakdown of customs duties for 1981 is not yet availdable and as a result it is not possible to produce reliable estimates for 1982.

(£ million)
	1981	1982*
Customs duties	861	941
Agricultural levies	192	270
Sugar and isoglucose levies	30	53
Value-added tax own resources	1,095	1,403
TOTAL	2,178	2,667
* Estimates.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will give further consideration to removing value added tax from housing repairs, as suggested by the British Association of Retired Persons.

The scope and coverage of VAT is kept under continuing review. The removal of VAT from house repairs would, however, cost as much as £425 million in a full year and in our judgment this is a loss of revenue that cannot be contemplated.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the level of value added tax on boats presently pertaining in all European Economic Community countries.

I shall let my hon. Friend have a reply as soon as possible.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the net effect on the Exchequer, taking into account administrative savings to Customs and Excise, of annual collection of value added tax from registered traders having a turnover of (a) less than £50,000 and (b) less than £30,000.

I regret that information is not available on which to make a reliable estimate.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reasons the Isle of Man regularly contributes to the defence budget whereas the Channel Islands do not.

I would refer the hon. Member to the consideration given to this issue in part XI of volume 1 of the report of the Royal Commission on the Constitution (1969–73), copies of which are available in the House of Commons Library.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the loss of jobs and revenue in complying with the European Economic Community proposal to charge full customs duty on goods produced outside the European Economic Community which are now sold duty-free to air and sea passengers; and if he has made representations against this proposal.

The proposed change would have little effect. The customs duty element is in general a very small part of the total relief from revenue charges and a significant proportion of total sales would not be affected at all. Moreover, the proposal relates only to sales to passengers travelling between member States. The Government have in principle accepted the proposal which stems from a judgment of the European Court.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the loss of revenue resulting from companies reducing their tax liability by disposing of assets to nationalised undertakings whereby such undertakings are themselves able to reduce their tax liability in respect of such assets; and if he will seek to legislate to end this practice.

I shall let the hon. Member have a reply as soon as possible.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the income tax, value added tax and national insurance contributions liable to be paid by a man on average earnings with a non-employed wife and two children between 5 and 11 years of age, in May 1979, May 1980, May 1981 and May 1982.

It is not possible to calculate income tax payments for a particular month since tax liability depends on income throughout the tax year. The following table gives the payments requested for a man with average earnings in the financial years 1978–79 to 1982–83.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his reply of 20 July, Official Report, c. 16, on the level of contingency reserves, if he will list the areas of greater uncertainty about possible expenditure in later years that he had in mind, indicating where this differs from past uncertainties.

Under cash planning, the further ahead the expenditure is planned to occur the greater the uncertainty in all areas. The forecasting of pay and movements is a particular example of this.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Wolverhampton, North-East (Mrs. Short) on 15 June, Official Report, c. 245, concerning on the spot fines for customs offences involving cannabis, how many people have been so fined; what has been the total amount of cannabis seized in this way; and what are the criteria followed by the Commisioner of Customs and Excise in deciding whether to institute proceedings.

I shall let my hon. Friend have a reply as soon as possible.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service if any persons, formerly in the public service, but who were dismissed on grounds which involved espionage for a foreign country, are in receipt of public service pensions.

No public service pensions are currently in payment to former public servants who were dismissed on grounds which involved espionage.

asked the Attorney-General if he will make a statement on the operation of section 4(2) of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 and orders made under it banning court reports.

The way in which section 4(2) of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 is applied is a matter for the courts, and authoritative guidance has been given by the Court of Appeal in R v Horsham Justices, ex parte Farquharson, reported at [1982] 2 W.L.R. 430. In that case the court quashed a blanket order which had been made by the justices under section 4(2) and emphasised, among other things, the importance of open justice and freedom of the press and that the subsection was to be strictly confined. (See pages 451 and 455–6 of the report).

asked the Attorney-General how many trials he is aware of which have been subject to total bans on press reporting in the current year.

I am making inquiries of the Director of Public Prosecutions and shall write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

asked the Attorney-General if the Director of Public Prosecutions has completed his inquiries into the case of Mr. Roy Garner and Mr. Kenneth Ross who were alleged in open court by a Crown witness, at the trial of David Spicer and five others at Snaresbrook Crown Court which ended on 2 June, to be receivers of stolen property.

The Director of Public Prosecutions has not received a report regarding such allegations.

asked the Lord President of the Council if he will propose that the House should attend a religious service of thanksgiving to mark the successful outcome of the campaign to recover the Falkland Islands and the dependencies.

It is not proposed to make special arrangements of the kind suggested.

asked the Minister of Trade to what extent the increase in imports of semi-manufactures from the first quarter of 1981 onwards has to do with the rebuilding of stocks; and what is the degree of import penetration in the industries concerned in the latest quarter compared with 1975 and 1977.

Imports of semi-manufactures are influenced by a number of factors among which are the level of domestic activity and stocks and the competitive position of United Kingdom industry. It is not possible to quantify the effects of these influences separately nor to disaggregate the effects for individual industries. Owing to the incompleteness of the overseas trade figures in 1981, it has not yet been possible to compile comprehensive import penetration figures for periods later than 1980.

asked the Minister for Trade whether he will make a statement on the results of his review of the Office of Fair Trading's report on bargain offer claims.

I am considering the report and the views expressed by those affected by the order. I shall announce my proposals for action as soon as possible.

asked the Minister for Trade whether he has had discussions with Manchester international airport committee and the EEC about establishing a freeport at Manchester airport.

During the visit of my hon. Friend to Manchester airport on 22 June the management expressed interest in the establishment of a freeport at the airport. There have been no discussions of this issue either with the Commission or with other member States.

asked the Minister for Trade what steps the Government are taking within the European Economic Community to ensure that the co-insurance directive, which came into force in June 1980, does not continue to be frustrated by continuing disagreement as to the meaning of key aspects of that directive.

The United Kingdom has taken all the legislative and administrative action necessary to implement the EC co-insurance directive. The Commission is taking action under article 169 of the Treaty against other member States, which have either not yet taken such action or have done so in a manner which the Commission consideres contrary to the meaning of the directive and the provisions of the Treaty. It is not appropriate for us to intervene at this stage, but we would consider whether to do so if the matter came before the European Court.

asked the Minister for Trade why no progress has yet been made within the European Economic Community to agree a directive for the freedom of life insurance services; and what steps the Government intend to take to ensure that such a directive is agreed.

No proposal for a life insurance services directive has yet been put forward by the Commission. It is doubtful whether it would at present be profitable for the Community to divert its attention to this subject from the other important proposals on insurance currently before it.

asked the Minister for Trade what progress is being made within the European Economic Community to agree a directive for the freedom of non-life insurance services; and what are the obstacles to such progress.

Though discussions on the draft non-life insurance services directive have continued since our Presidency last year, progress towards agreement on the main issues have been minimal. The main obstacle to progress remains the reluctance of some other member States to relinquish administrative controls over the terms on which the insurance of, in particular, industrial, commercial and professional risks, is transacted. Another difficulty to be resolved is the desire of the French Government to charge value added tax on insurance, against which a large majority of member States and the Commission have strong reservations.It has proved difficult against this background to resolve a number of other technical problems, including the question of what country's law should be applicable to international insurance contracts.

asked the Minister for Trade whether any study has been made by his Department of the Miami freeport in the United States of America; and if he will make a statement.

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

asked the Minister for Trade if he will give his reasons for referring to the Monopolies Commission the bid of Charter Consolidated for Anderson Strathclyde.

In accordance with the Director General's advice, the merger was referred because it was considered to raise issues of public interest, in particular the effects of the transfer of control to Charter Consolidated on the performance of the merged company in its home and overseas operations.

asked the Minister for Trade (1) what was the purpose of the visit of the previous Secretary of State to Iraq between 3 and 7 October 1981;(2) what was the purpose of his visit to various Arab countries between 12 and 22 February and 26 March and 2 April.

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

asked the Minister for Trade whether he has any statement to make on recent representations about the control of hiring and hire purchase orders and the possible implication for consumers.

My right hon. and noble Friend today announced that, having reviewed the orders relating to hire purchase and control of hiring in consultation with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the controls would now be removed. Controls on hire purchase were originally part of a wider apparatus of quantitative controls on credit. Changes in the structure of the consumer credit market mean that these controls now contribute little to overall economic policy. Removing them is consistent with our policy of dismantling unnecessary controls in the interests of freeing competition and removing economic distortions.The abolition as from midnight tonight of these controls will benefit the sectors most affected by the regulations, particularly motor cars, but in a way consistent with the Government's economic policy. The abolition of the controls will be of benefit to consumers. I believe that these changes will increase competition in the market and the range of choice for consumers.

asked the Minister for Trade (1) if, pursuant to the answers to the hon. Member for Liverpool, Wavertree (Mr. Steen) on 28 June on British Midland Airways, he will now either set new time limits to replace the original limits for further submissions fixed on 21 May, or dispense with them altogether, and come to a final determination of the appeals submitted last October;(2) when he proposes to reply in full to the question of the hon. Member for Upminster to which a holding answer was given on 1 July,

My right hon. and noble Friend has decided to uphold the appeal from British Midland Airways and to direct the Civil Aviation Authority to grant the appellant the two licences in the terms applied for.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what financial help has been given by Her Majesty's Government to students from the countries of Nigeria, Ghana, Gambia and Sierra Leone over each of the past five years; and what is the anticipated level of aid for 1982–83.

The assistance which the ODA gives comes prdominantly from our Government to Government technical co-operation programme in the form of training awards fro candidates nominated by the overseas government for courses of development value. Awards normally meet the costs of fees, maintenance and other necessary expenses including travel to and from the UK. Expenditure in the past five calendar years was as follows:

£000s
	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981 (provisional)
Nigeria	402	345	437	*1,056	*1,690
Ghana	595	663	755	1,034	707
Gambia	214	263	316	349	290
Sierra Leone	233	295	403	484	457
* Gross expenditure of which part (50 per cent. for 1981) is recovered from the Nigerian Government under cost-sharing arrangements.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many applications for allocations for population and family planning programmes under the joint funding scheme were received for the year 1982–83; what were these applications and from which organisation; how many and which were not accepted; and if he will give the reasons for refusal in each case.

The population and family planning projects being supported under the joint funding scheme in 1982–83 are:

Agency and Project	Allocation £
Population Services
Family planning promotion, Haiti	8,728
Ayurvedic practitioners family planning training programme, Sri Lanka	43,080
Family planning project, Zamboanga, Philippines	44,528
OXFAM
Family planning training for Red Cross dais and mid wives, Bangladesh	1,256
Tarib family planning project, Pakistan	3,175
CAFOD
Natural family planning workshop, Mauritius	12,823

The following applications for support were unsuccessful as the funds available for joint funding had already been fully committed:

Agency and Project	Allocation £
Population Concern
Family planning and Maternal child health care, Chimbote, Peru	13,142
Chittagong slum area, integrated health, education and family planning project, Bangladesh	4,500
Population Services
Rural male surgical contraceptive programme, Sri Lanka	56,925
Rural family planning programme, Agra, India	52,970
Family planning promotion, Haiti	10,000
Africa Now
Contraceptives—social marketing, Kenya	64,270

Two further applications did not meet the criteria of the scheme:

Agency and Project	Allocation £
Population Concern
Family planning association, Madhya Pradesh, India	3,778
IPPF
Family planning project, Varanasi, India	52,000

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if, further to his undertaking of 19 July, Official Report, c. 16, he will make a statement on the Public Expenditure Survey Committee allocations to his Department.

The PESC allocations for overseas aid are set out in vol. II of the Government's Expenditure Plans 1982–83 to 1984–85 (Cmnd. 8494).

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many young people aged under 20 years are (a) unemployed and (b) on Government sponsored schemes in (i) Greater Manchester and (ii) the North-West region; and how this compares with the same date in 1979.

At April 1982, the latest date for which the quarterly age analysis is available, there were 29,036 young people under 20 years of age registered as unemployed in the Greater Manchester metropolitan county compared with 9,711 at April 1979. The corresponding figures for the North-West region were 73,868 at April 1982 and 32,944 at April 1979. Easter school leavers are included in the figures for April 1982 but not for April 1979.The numbers of young people on Government schemes are shown as follows for the region and, where available separately, for Manchester. The table excludes those on the special temporary employment programme (1979) and the community enterprise programme (1982) for which separate figures are not available for those aged under 20.

	Greater Manchester metropolitan county	North-West region
Youth opportunities programme
April 1979	N/A	10,300
April 1982	N/A	34,800
Community industry
April 1979	94	564
April 1982	100	1,023
Young workers scheme*
April 1982	N/A	2,920
* Number of applications approved. The scheme did not exist in 1979.
N/A: not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish in the Official Report such information as is available to him to compare Government expenditure per person unemployed in the United Kingdom, France, Japan, Germany, Sweden and Italy for each of the last five years.

I regret that the information requested is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the total number of jobs lost in (a) the wool textile industry, (b) the clothing industry and (c) the mining industry in West Yorkshire since 1979; and if he will make a statement.

The information is not available in the form requested. Comparison of the employee figures for different dates indicates net changes but changes in levels of employment since 1979 are not available for West Yorkshire.Employee figures for counties are obtained from the census of employment and the most recent are for June

Standard industrial classification (1968)
	Number of redundancies
	1979	1980	1981	1982
Minimum list heading (MLH)	January-December	January-December	January-December	January-December
MLH 414 Wool textile industry	1,999	4,855	2,295	1,153
MLH 441–449 Clothing industry	1,199	2,309	2,291	810
MLH 101 Coal mining industry	—	—	655	81

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if, in view of the large scale unemployment in the West Midlands, he will introduce new measures to ensure that young people obtain permanent full-time employment, and achieve a greater degree of self dignity and earn sufficient wages to maintain a married existence.

Employment prospects for young people in the West Midlands, as for other groups elsewhere, depend on the success of the Government's economic policies designed to curb inflation and encourage competitive enterprise. A well-trained young work force can contribute to economic success, and accordingly my right hon. Friend announced on 21 June a major new youth training scheme which will provide school leavers with the foundation training they need for a successful and fulfilling future life at work.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what discussions he has had with the Manpower Services Commission about the £150 million scheme for the long-term unemployed announced in the Budget on 9 March.

My right hon. Friend has asked the Manpower Services Commission to consider details of the new initiative announced by my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 9 March. We understand that it has discussed the lines of a possible scheme and intends to return to the matter at its meeting tomorrow, Tuesday, 27 July. We would hope to be able to make a further statement shortly thereafter.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what was the number registered as being unemployed for over a year in May 1979; and what is the number so registered in July 1982.

The numbers registered as unemployed are analysed by duration of unemployment for January, April, July and October. At April 1979 the number of people registered as unemployed for over 52 weeks in the United Kingdom was 366,711. The corresponding figure at April 1982 was 994,395. The information for July 1982 is not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will publish details of employment in United Kingdom oil refineries and associated petrochemical and downstream activities during each of the past five years; and whether he will make a statement.

The following table gives, for the United Kingdom, the numbers of employees in employment in the mineral oil refining industry (minimum list heading 262 of the 1968 standard industrial classification) at April each year from 1978. The heading covers the refining of petroleum or shale oil and the production of medicinal paraffin, paraffin wax, petroleum jelly, etc.

April each year	Thousands
1978	22·0
1979	*22·1
1980	*21·7
1981	*21·3
1982	*18·8
* Provisional.

The most recent figures reflect closure decisions taken by refinery companies since 1981. These closures are a response to the continuing overcapacity in refining in Western Europe.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what is the total allowable catch of mackerel which has been allocated to EEC countries other than the United Kingdom; if he will list in the Official Report each country and the quota allocated to it, specifying the sea area where the catching is to be permitted; and if he will make a statement;(2) what is the total allowable catch for mackerel for the pelagic fleet; whether this total is exclusively for the United Kingdom fleet and not shared with Norway or the Faroes; what is the period covered by this total allowable catch; and if he will make a statement.

There are at present no agreed total allowable catches for mackerel though the European Commission has put forward proposals. No quotas have therefore been agreed for the United Kingdom or any other EEC member State.It has been agreed that in 1982 Faroese vessels may take up to 10,000 tonnes of Western mackerel in the waters of member States of the EEC and that similarly Norway may take 16,000 tonnes of this stock. This is in return for opportunities for vessels of member States of the EEC to fish in the waters of those countries.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what have been the average annual increases in price since 1973 for the following items (a)wheat, (b) bread, (c) sugar, (d) sugar beet, (e) retail sales of milk, (f) the price paid to milk producers, (g) the retail price of beef and (h) the price paid to beef producers.

The annual average percentage increases in price between 1973 and 1981 for the items requested are as follows (a) 11·5 per cent., (b) 16·7 per cent., (c) 18·2 per cent., (d) 14·2 per cent., (e) 16·3 per cent., (f) 13·3 per cent., (g) 14·2 per cent. and (h) 11·3 per cent.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he intends to grant any financial aid to pig farmers after the recent fall in pig prices.

The president of the National Farmers Union has written to my right hon. Friend recently about the conditions and prospects of the pig industry. We are considering the points that he has made.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether the advisory committee on pesticides has now had an opportunity to consider the article in The Lancet of 8 May by Dr. Coggon and Professor Acheson and come to any conclusion regarding a ban on the herbicide 2,4,5-T.

As I said in my reply to the hon. Member on 18 June, I have invited the advisory committee on pesticides to let me have its observations on all evidence that has become available since the committee's report on the safety of 2,4,5-T herbicides published in December 1980. I am now awaiting its observations.

asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will publish a table showing numbers of farmers, farmers' wives and farm workers engaged in work on holdings of a predominantly horticultural nature in England and Wales in 1971 and 1981.

The numbers of persons returned at the June agricultural census in 1981 on holdings classified as horticultural holdings—that is, holdings which are most dependent on horticultural crops—were as follows:

	Numbers
Farmers, partners and directors	18.246
Wives, husbands of farmers, partners and directors	6,031
Regular hired and family workers	42,243

I regret that information on a comparable basis is not available for 1971.

asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what grants have been paid for the erection of glasshouses in England and Wales, year by year, for the last 20 years for which figures are available.

Grants paid under the capital grants schemes towards expenditure incurred in the erection of glasshouses in England and Wales for the years 1974–81 inclusive were as follows:

Year	Grant paid £
1974	47,200
1975	232,500
1976	242,900
1977	366,200
1978	547,800
1979	883,700
1980	984,300
1981	632,600

I regret that figures for earlier years are not available.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the acreage of horticultural crops grown in England and Wales in 1971 and 1981, with details of type of crop and area of horticultural glasshouses.

The information is as follows:

(area in hectares)
	1971	1981
Total horticulture*	264,427	236,146
of which:
vegetables	176,447	167,799
Orchard: commercial	54,680	38,223
non-commercial	4,750	2,131
Small fruit†	12,665	14,122
Hardy nursery stock	6,495	6,486
Bulbs and flowers	7,561	5,255
Glasshouse‡	1,829	2,130
*excluding minor holdings
† excluding area grown under orchard trees
‡excluding holdings with an area of glass of less than 1,000 square metres.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the Danish decision to defer agreement on a common fisheries policy and the effect this will have on the British fishing industry.

I have nothing to add to the statement which my right hon. Friend made on 22 July when he reported to the House the outcome of the meeting of the Council of Fisheries Ministers on 20 and 21 July.—[Vol. 28, c. 542–48.]

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) how many and what acreage of farms and smallholdings are owned by local authorities in each county of England; and which of these authorities have a policy of selling a farm or smallholding to a tenant who wishes to buy his own;(2) what is the total number of local authority owned farms and smallholdings in England; and what is the total acreage of the land involved.

The statistical information requested is given, in so far as it is available, in the annual reports on smallholdings in England, copies of which are in the Library. I am arranging for a copy of the latest report to be sent to my hon. Friend.Policy on sales of smallholdings is a matter for the individual local authority concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he is satisfied with the law so far as it relates to the statutory duty to supply gas by the British Gas Corporation.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy by what proportion the United Kingdom's consumption of energy in 1981 fell below consumption in 1980 and in 1979.

My Department has calculated that in 1981 United Kingdom inland energy consumption was 3·5 per cent. below the 1980 level and 10·8 per cent. below that of 1979.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will reconsider the level of Government financial assistance to the National Coal Board.

Government support for the coal industry is at a very high level.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what recent representations he has had from the Chemical Industries Association and other intensive energy users about the continuing comparative high cost of electricity in the United Kingdom.

I have received a number of such representations. Over 100 large industrial users of electricity have now taken up the new load management terms announced in the last Budget. Many of them will see, as a result, no increase in their electricity charges this year, and about one-third of the total benefit will go to companies in the chemical industry.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy to what extent research into alternative forms of energy is co-ordinated with other EEC countries.

We play a full part in formulating Community programmes, and afterwards aid in their management and co-ordination. We also pursue our own natural programme of research and development into alternative energy sources.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what progress has been made in the development of the manufacture of substitute natural gas from coal; and if he will make a statement.

The British Gas Corporation is carrying out a major programme to develop technology for the manufacture of substitute natural gas from coal. I am satisfied with the progress that continues to be made.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if the Minister of State for Energy had any talks on tidal power with Canadian or United States Ministers or officials during his recent visit to North America.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he is satisfied with progress in the development of pipelines in the North Sea for the transport of secondary gas.