asked Her Majesty's Government:What steps they have taken to reinforce liaison between the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the British Council as promised in Cmd. 231 in October 1987, why this was thought necessary and whether they expect it to lead to more account being taken of the views of the Council and of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee.

As our response (Cmd. 231) to the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee's Report on cultural diplomacy makes clear, liaison betwen the FCO and the British Council at many levels, both in this country and abroad, is close. We are already reinforcing this as procedures for reviewing global priorities and resource allocations are refined, within the FCO and the British Council, and will continue to take account of their views, and those of others who contribute in this field. Our response also makes clear that we welcome the contribution made by the report of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will make representations to the United Nations and the European Parliament concerning the recent escalation in Iran of the persecution of members of the Baha'i religion.

We remain deeply concerned at the continued persecution of the Baha'i community in Iran. For the past five years we have co-sponsored the resolution on human rights in Iran at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) and, since 1985, similar resolutions at the UN General Assembly. We again co-sponsored the resolution on Iran adopted in the committee of the General Assembly on 27th November 1987. These resolutions urged the Iranian Government to respect the human rights standards set out in the instruments to which it is a party. We will continue to raise this issue at every suitable opportunity—bilaterally, in concert with our European partners and at the United Nations.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have yet received the report of the working group on mentally disordered offenders in the prison system.

A joint Home Office/DHSS working group of officials chaired by Dr. John L. Kilgour, CB, Director of Prison Medical Services, was set up last year to consider and report to Ministers on the problems presented by mentally disordered offenders in the prison system in England and Wales. There were two main objectives: to see what could be done to minimise the numbers of such prisoners, and to develop arrangements for their treatment while in custody and after.The working group's report describes various factors which bear on the issue and steps which are being taken, or should be put in hand, to bring about improvements. The Government accept the 16 recommendations made. In addition to measures for improving administrative procedures within the Home Office and the prison service, the recommendations include:Making sure that the courts are fully aware of the non-custodial options open to them, particularly their powers of remand to hospital for report or treatment under Sections 35 and 36 of the Mental Health Act 1983, and of the facilities available in the health system.Continuing as a priority the planned study by the Institute of Psychiatry, University of London, to produce over the next three years a psychiatric profile of the prison population.Further encouraging regional health authorities to develop a comprehensive network of provision to meet mental health-care needs in their regions.Establishing arrangements for patients in prison, on the request of the responsible medical officer, to be assessed by NHS medical staff so that where necessary plans can be made for their continuing care and support on release back into the community.The report is being made available, on request, to interested organisations and individuals. Copies have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will publish statistics to show how many British subjects have been granted residence and work permits in the Turkish and Greek parts of Cyprus in the years 1983–86; and how many Cypriot citizens (both Greek and Turkish) had permits to reside and work in the United Kingdom in the same period.

No information is held by the Government on the numbers of British citizens granted permission to reside or work in Cyprus. The available information for citizens of the Republic of Cyprus is of the numbers of work permit holders admitted to the United Kingdom each year, which is published annually in Table 1 of Control of Immigration: Statistics, United Kingdom (Cmd. 166 for the 1986 edition), and of the numbers accepted for settlement, which is shown in Table 21 of the same publication. Turkish Cypriots who travel on Turkish passports are included in the figures for nationals of Turkey. Persons accepted for settlement will include some who were originally admitted as work permit holders.

asked the Leader of the House:What arrangements are being made to ensure that the text of a Government Statement made in another place may be obtained forthwith when the Statement is not repeated in this House but is to be printed in

I have arranged for a copy of each such Statement to be placed in the Library of the House after it has been made in another place.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have now completed their assessment of what aid they can give hard fruit growers, crop growers, and others affected by the recent storms in southern and eastern England.

Since the occurrence of the storm of 15th-16th October the Government have been involved in assessing the extent and nature of the damage on the basis of information from Ministerial visits, from the industry and from official sources.Following this assessment, my right honourable friend the Minister has decided to introduce special storm damage compensation arrangements to help meet the cost of some of the destruction wrought by the storm of 15–16th October. These will apply to two areas where insurance is not normal commercial practice.First, for orchards we are introducing a flat rate payment of £2 per tree for the replacement with certified stock or its imported equivalent of any trees in commercial orchards which were destroyed or severely damaged in the storm. Because of the possible shortage of nursery stock, growers will be allowed until 31st March 1990 to complete work. Second, I can now confirm, further to my right honourable friend's Statement of 27th October, that grant rates of 60 per cent. will be offered for the replacement of storm damaged hedges, windbreaks and traditional stone walls. Grants will also be available for replacement of shelter belts. Where at least 50 per cent. of the trees in the shelter belts are broadleaved grant will be at 60 per cent.: in other cases grant of 30 per cent. will be available. Where individual trees in a shelter belt are being replaced the grant will be determined by the nature of the trees. Farmers and growers will have until 31st March 1989 to complete work and submit claims.For this second category we initially explored the possibility of special rates of grant under the agricultural improvement scheme. However, we have now chosen instead to make arrangements for both this sector and for orchards in the form of a separate storm damage recovery scheme. This will give a flexibility which will benefit recipients in a number of ways. For instance eligibility for aid will not he affected by grant already received, nor by the size of the enterprise, nor by the application of investment ceilings. Moreover, certain restrictions of coverage—such as the requirement to plant only particular varieties of orchard trees—can be waived in a separate scheme. Finally, it enables farmers and growers to concentrate on the urgent question of straightforward replacement of damaged items without the complications of meeting general farm improvement criteria.Prior notification of intended works will need to be given by 31st March 1988. Copies of associated documentation will be made available shortly in the Library of the House. Approval for these arrangements will be sought in a supplementary supply estimate for Class IV, Vote 3 and will rest solely on the authority of the estimate and the Appropriation Act.Third, in the glasshouse sector we recognise that growers who have a plan currently in force under the AIS scheme may face problems in meeting the closing date of 30th November 1988 because of setbacks caused by the storm and lack of availability of materials and labour. We are therefore proposing to extend the date of submission of grant claims for those with existing plans for six months to the end of May 1989.We recognise also that as a result of the storm damage holders of agriculture improvement plans will be unable to continue with their investment programmes in the form in which they were originally approved. We have therefore issued instructions to ensure that the rules can be administered flexibly in these cases in recognition of the