asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many legally-held shotguns, rifles, handguns and air weapons have been stolen in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years; of these (a) how many have subsequently been recovered and (b) how many of

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many police officers and of which ranks, and how many civilian staff and of which grades, are employed at police headquarters on the processing of applications for, and renewal of, firearms certificates; what were the numbers in each case in each of the preceding four years; what are the present salaries for each grade and rank; what were the respective sums in each of the preceding four years; and what was the average paid to each grade and rank in overtime in those years.

The information on staffing levels and average salaries as at 1 January 1982 and in each of the four preceding years is as follows:those recovered have been returned to their owners; of the weapons stolen how many were weapons belonging to members of the Army, the Ulster Defence Regiment, the Royal Ulster Constabulary and the Royal Ulster Constabulary Reserve, respectively; and how many weapons so stolen have been identified as being used in (i) murders and (ii) attempted murders; and of the weapons so identified formerly how many belong to civilians or to the security forces.

Information on the numbers and types of legally-held weapons stolen in Northern Ireland in the last 10 years is given in the following tables. The additional information requested cannot readily be made available from police records and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many shotguns, rifles, handguns, air rifles and pistols, respectively, are at present held on firearms certificates in Northern Ireland; how many firearms certificates are due for renewal in the present financial year and in each of the two preceding years: and in each case, in each year, how many applications for renewal were refused.

At 31 December 1981 the total number of weapons held on firearm certificates in Northern Ireland was 115,940, as follows:

Shotguns	76,087
Rifles	13,765
Handguns	10,184
Air weapons	15,103
Miscellaneous	801

Details of the number of firearms certificates due for renewal and the number of renewal applications refused during the last three calendar years are as follows:

	Firearms certificates due for renewal	Renewal applications refused
1979	18,695	92
1980	16,711	79
1981	39,422	78

Information on firearm certificates and the weapons they cover which were due for renewal in each financial year is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.