asked the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Leicester, East on 12 March, Official Report, column 283, what steps he takes to satisfy himself as to the completeness and accuracy of returns of the numbers of passengers carried in ships; if he has any plans to seek to amend the Merchant Shipping (Passenger Returns) Regulations 1960 so as to require such returns to include details of passengers' names, addresses and nationalities; and if he will make a statement.

The returns are required primarily for Customs purposes (which are a matter for my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer) although they are later sent to my Department for the preparation of shipping statistics. A requirement to compile details of the names, addresses and nationalities of all ferry passengers would impose a considerable burden on the shipping companies, and an inconvenience to the travelling public without making any direct contribution to safety. Nevertheless I will consider the possibility further in the light of the disaster at Zeebrugge.