asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the estimated value of the books, periodicals, student equipment and classroom equipment lost, stolen or mislaid in each year since 1969 at the Ulster college.

Approximately 1,500 books out of the total stock of 110,000 volumes are lost or stolen every year at an estimated cost of about £4,000. Losses of periodicals are estimated to be very low as they are used within the library.In round figures the value of student and classroom equipment lost or stolen is estimated by the polytechnic to have been as follows:

	£
1973–74	245
1974–75	565
1975–76	1,990
1976–77	6,150
1977–78
1978–79	500

In addition, furniture and fittings for students residences valued at £604·05 were stolen from the polytechnic store at Muckamore in 1975. The police recovered £157·04 and the court awarded compensation of £61·75.