asked Her Majesty's Government:What central government resources in (a) constant-terms money and (b) officials' time, were devoted in (a) 1964–70 and (b) 1980–86, to encouraging private sector capital investment in the northern part of Britain; and what central government resources in (a) constant-terms money and (b) officials' time, were devoted in (a) 1964–70 and (b) 1980–86, to public sector investment in the northern half of Britain.

I regret that this information is not available and could only be provided with disproportionate expenditure of time and resources.However, I can tell the noble Lord that the gross domestic fixed capital formation by central government and local authorities in the north of Britain at then current prices was: (£ million)

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they intend to take any action over the practice of collective licensing of the use of recorded music for broadcast and performance.

As part of its general concern over uncompetitive practices, the Government have today referred to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission certain practices in the collective licensing of public performance and broadcasting of such recordings.The reference has been made jointly by the Secretary of State for the Home Department and myself in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 78 of the Fair Trading Act 1973. It requires the MMC to submit to us a report on the general effect on the public interest of specified practices.These practices are those of:

asked Her Majesty's Government:What are the level of unemployment and the number of jobs unfilled in the counties of Berkshire and Cleveland respectively.

On the 11th February 1988 the number of unemployed claimants in the counties of Berkshire and Cleveland were 14,390 and 44,264 respectively. On 5th February 1988 the number of unfilled vacancies, excluding vacancies on the community programme, registered at jobcentres in the counties of Berkshire and Cleveland were 5,833 and 1,811 respectively.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many appeals have been made concerning constructive dismissal, what were the results and how long it took to deal with these claims.

Separate records are not kept of the number of constructive dismissal claims included in the unfair dismissal figures, or of the time taken to deal with them.However 29,392 unfair dismissal complaints to the industrial tribunals were disposed of in the 12 months ended 31st March 1987. Of these 9,287 proceeded to a hearing and 3,129 were upheld. Approximately one half of all complaints came to a hearing within 12 weeks of receipt and 90 per cent. within 26 weeks.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will make clear, well before the inauguration of a new American President, that in their view the anti-ballistic missile treaty should be observed "strictly", that they would not support the deployment of anti-ballistic missiles by either the United States or the Soviet Union beyond those permitted by that treaty, and that they do not endorse the view that nuclear weapons can be rendered "impotent and obsolete" through the deployment of weapons which would be in breach of the ABM treaty.

Our views on this subject are already clear. We place importance on the strict observation by all states of their treaty obligations: but as a non-party to the anti-ballistic missile treaty we have no locus to interpret it. Our position on anti-ballistic missile defences is set out in the Camp David Four Points agreed by my right honourable friend the Prime Minister and President Reagan in December 1984.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the "joint ocean surveillance information centre", where it is located, whether it is part of the NATO system, whether the Royal Navy participates in it, and what breadth of territorial sea it is programmed to recognise, and how it is funded.

The joint ocean surveillance information centre is a Royal Navy project funded by the UK. It would not be in the national interest to provide the other information requested.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether it is the case that in the context of a contract won by Messrs. Plessey Aerospace for "operational equipment worth more than £300,000" the firm have "not been told for which type of SDI weapon the equipment was intended" (

The contract referred to is to demonstrate a technology concept, not to provide operational equipment. UK participation in SDI research takes place within the framework of US obligations under the 1972 ABM treaty, and this contract is no exception.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the US SDI Delta 181 experiments carried out in February 1988 that made use of equipment ground-based in Bermuda and Ascension Island, were fully compatible with the ABM treaty, interpreted strictly.

The US Government have confirmed that the answer to the noble Lord's question is yes.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they are participating in or being kept informed about the programme being conducted by the US defence advanced research project agency into the survivability of stragetic nuclear submarines in the light of Soviet advances in antisubmarine warfare, given the limited number of offensive nuclear submarines the US proposes to deploy and what are the implications of this study for Britain's even more limited offensive nuclear submarine fleet.

Her Majesty's Government are aware of such research; but it would not be appropriate to discuss potential applications of this work to Royal Navy submarines.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What representations concerning persons detained at the Secretary of State's pleasure they have recently received from the Northern Ireland Association for the Care and Rehabilitation of Offenders and other voluntary bodies, and when they expect to respond to them.

We are aware in general terms, both from earlier representations and from recent newspaper reports, of the association's views on pleasure cases. The director of the association will be having a meeting shortly with NIO Prison Department officials to discuss a number of prisons issues including the review of pleasure and life sentence cases. We can trace no recent representations on the subject from any other voluntary organisation concerned with the treatment of offenders.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What steps they are taking to ensure continuity for the work of the Centre for the Deaf and Speech Therapy located at The City Lit., W.C.2, if affected by the proposed abolition of ILEA.

My right honourable friend the Secretary of State is currently holding discussions with representatives of the inner London boroughs about their intentions for education provision in their areas including adult education. This area of provision will also be taken into account in the guidance to be issued by the department, and in the development plans of each borough. The position of this institute and its various services will be one of the issues that will be given particular attention.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many arrests have been made by the Royal Ulster Constabulary for offences relating to the taking and driving of vehicles in each of last three years for which figures are available; and whether they will break the figures down by police divisions, showing how many persons were charged, cautioned or otherwise dealt with.

The information is not available in the form requested. The following table, however, shows the number of persons proceeded against in the lower court for the offence of taking and driving away, by police division.