asked the Secretary of State for Trade, during the recent dispute with the National Union of Seamen, how many (a) container ships, (b) tanker and (c) coastal vessels were detained in home and foreign ports.

There are no official statistics in this form. However, figures released by the General Council of British Shipping and the National Union of Seamen suggest that, at the height of the dispute, some 230 to 240 British ships were affected, at home and abroad.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade (1) what is the incidence rate per 100,000 of population of risk of death to seafarers on British ships arising out of disease or accident and natural causes for the years 1978, 1979 and 1980;(2) what is the total number of British and foreign seafarers, respectively, on vessels registered in the United Kingdom for the years 1978, 1979 and 1980;(3) how many deaths occurred on board British vessels for the years 1978, 1979 and 1980 respectively; and what proportion was due to natural disease and what proportion to accidental causes.

The number of deaths among crew members on board merchant ships registered in the United Kingdom were:

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will reconsider his sanction for the purchase by British Airways of Boeing 757 aircraft to allow further evaluation of the A300 or another suitable variant; and if he will consider giving additional financial support to allow such an aircraft to be considered.

The choice of aircraft for British Airways' fleet is in the first instance a matter for the commercial judgment of the British Airways board. I am not aware of any wish on the airline's part to change its order for Boeing 757 aircraft, to which it is already contractually committed.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if, in view of the serious situation of United Kingdom airlines, he will freeze existing air service licences for a period of two years with a view to enabling carriers to plan ahead and, in consultation with the Civil Aviation Authority, to introduce realistic fares.

No. In the first instance the licensing of air transport services is a matter for the Civil Aviation Authority.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if, taking into account the need to protect the industry and to ensure the long-term interests of both the travelling public and the taxpayer, he will set out guidelines for air services licensing.

The setting of guidelines for air services licensing is a matter for the Civil Aviation Authority. Under section 13 of the Civil Aviation Act 1980 it is the duty of the authority to publish from time to time a statement of the policies it intends to adopt. The first statement has to be published not later than six months after that section comes into operation and I am informed that work on its preparation is well under way.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government towards the introduction of new capacity to air services; and what account is taken of the considerable losses being sustained by existing carriers.

The criteria are set out in the Civil Aviation Act 1971, as amended by the Civil Aviation Act 1980. Section 3(1 )(a) of the former refers to

"an economic return to efficient operators on the sums invested in providing the services"

"the sound development of the civil air transport industry of the United Kingdom."

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he will move to appoint a Select Committee called the Freedom of Information Committee with terms of reference to include examination of documents and papers to ascertain whether or not these should be made freely available to hon. Members in support of the Government's declared policy of more open government.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish a table showing the prison population detained under Immigration Act powers by prison department establishment and country of origin at the latest convenient date for those who were (a) alleged illegal entrants, (b) recommended for deportation by the courts without custodial sentence, (c) recommended for deportation and custodial sentence discharged, (d) under section 3(5)(a) of the Immigration Act 1971, and (e) under section 3(5)(b) of the Immigration Act 1971.

On 12 February 1981 the information was as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many senior attendance centres there are; and what is the current average cost of an attendance centre order.

There are four senior attendance centres and three more are being planned. The latest information from which an estimate of the cost of an attendance centre order can be made relates to 1979. On a comparison of the total number of orders made in respect of senior and junior centres in 1979 with the total expenditure for the financial year 1979–80, the average cost per order at that time was about £35.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he proposes to make a statement of policy on the Wolfenden report on voluntary organisations and their role in contemporary society.

As I said in reply to a question by my hon. Friend on 6 November, the Wolfenden report does not lend itself to a single definitive policy statement by the Government, but I refer him to the speech I gave at a conference on 23 January on the development of local voluntary action, copies of which have been placed in the Library.The analysis of the response to the consultative document "The Government and The Voluntary Sector" was published in January and copies of this have also been deposited in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what kind of training police are given in dealing with domestic disputes.

Training of probationary constables includes theoretical and practical instruction in dealing with domestic disputes. This is supplemented by further practical training in forces, under the guidance of experienced officers.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times police in England and Wales have been called out because of domestic violence in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and if he will categorise the results of their intervention.

I regret that this information is not readily available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was (a) the population and (b) the number of offences recorded in each of the 25 districts in the Metropolitan Police district in 1979.

I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that the available information as is given in the following table. Reliable estimates for population are available only for London boroughs, so combined population estimates have been given for some districts.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) if his Department intends to take any steps to make teachers, doctors and the public aware of the problem of dyslexia;(2) what advice and guidance is available to local education authorities from his Department on the ways in which dyslectic children should best be helped.

Successive Secretaries of State for Education and Science have been guided by and have commended the reports of the Tizard (1972), Bullock (1975) and Warnock (1978) committees. The burden of their advice was that the term "dyslexia" could not usefully be employed for educational puposes, and that there were different kinds and degrees of learning difficulties which required skilled remedial teaching in ordinary schools or in special centres. The Tizard committee offered useful guidance and recommendations on helping children with such difficulties in its report "Children with Specific Reading Difficulties". My right hon. and learned Friend has commissioned a substantial programme of research aimed at throwing further light on these problems.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if, to mark the International Year of Disabled People, he will seek to increase the funding of research projects into the study of dyslexia.

My right hon. and learned Friend is concerned to ensure that the needs of all children with specific learning difficulties are better understood, and the Department is currently sponsoring a programme of research in this field at a total cost of over £0·5 million. The nine projects involved concentrate on the identification and assessment of such children and the examination of various methods of helping them.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received concerning methods of improving the supply of qualified teachers of chemistry, physics and mathematics in secondary schools; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. and learned Friend has received many helpful contributions. He recognises the need to reduce the shortage and a number of initiatives are in hand, including an extension until 1982–83 of the special training and retraining scheme for teachers of shortage subjects and the introduction in 1982–83 of a pilot scheme of national scholarships for students training to teach mathematics and physical sciences. Meanwhile, I am pleased that there is a marked increase in the numbers under training which, from 1981, should ease considerably the recruitment problems of local education authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list in the Official Report the average cost per student of the final year of those courses which lead to the qualifications of postgraduate certificate of education; and how many students attended the above courses in England and Wales in the most recent year for which he has figures.

Numbers of students on the final year of postgraduate initial teacher training courses in England and Wales in November 1979 were as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many students from Cyprus are currently studying at universities in England and Wales; and what were the numbers for each of the last 10 years.

Information for the current academic year in respect of the country of origin of overseas students is not yet available. Figures for the previous 10 years are given below and relate to both undergraduates and postgraduates. Until 1974–75 they are for United Kingdom universities, as figures for England and Wales are not readily available. However, the differences are not likely to be great as there were only 10 students from Cyprus at universities in Scotland and Northern Ireland in 1974–75.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer by how much the tax and price index has been reduced by excluding negative monetary compensatory amounts payable under the common agriculture policy, assuming that the current level of the monetary compensatory amounts does not reduce consumption below the 1980 level.

To the extent that monetary compensatory amounts affect the price of food, they affect both the TPI and the RPI in exactly the same way.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in calculating the full Exchequer cost of unemployment, he takes account of the loss of revenue from national insurance contributions and direct and indirect taxes, as well as of unemployment, supplementary and other benefits.

The estimates of the direct Exchequer cost of unemployment published in February's Economic Progress Report include the loss of revenue from national insurance contributions and surcharge and from direct taxes. Wider but less direct consequences, such as the loss of indirect taxes, are excluded, since they depend on the cause of the change in unemployment.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the size of the public sector borrowing requirement is affected by any increase in unemployment, assuming other policies remain unchanged.

It is. I refer the hon. Member to February's Economic Progress Report, which discusses the impact of the recession on the PSBR and the direct costs incurred by the Exchequer when unemployment increases.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer in what circumstances he would consider it appropriate for the United Kingdom to become a fully participating member of the European monetary system.

The United Kingdom authorities are willing to join the exchange rate mechanism of the European monetary system in circumstances where this can be done without damage to the United Kingdom's economy or economic policies and without threatening the stability of the exchange rate mechanism itself.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is satisfied with the sales of premium savings bonds; if he is contemplating any increase in the current level of interest; what plans he has for advertising the bonds; and if he will make a statement.

I shall let the hon. Member have a reply as soon as possible.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Ipswich (Mr. Weech), Official Report, 5 February 1981, c. 203, when he expects to publish proposals to extend the purposes for which a building society may be established under the Building Societies Act 1972.

[pursuant to his reply, 16 February 1981, c. 203]: As I said in my reply on 8 August 1980—[Vol. 990, c. 416]—the Government have no immediate plans for primary legislation on building societies. Nor do I have any immediate plans to publish proposals for such legislation.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how many driving test examiners in the United Kingdom are able to hold examinations in languages other than English; and whether he will list those languages and the locations of the examiners;(2) how many driving test examiners in Wales are able to provide examinations in Welsh as well as in English;(3) what delay, if any, takes place for applicants for driving test examinations who indicate on their application forms that they wish the examination to take place in languages other than English.

Five driving examiners in Wales conduct tests in Welsh or English. One Welshspeaking examiner works from each of the driving test centres at Bangor, Haverfordwest and Mold and two such examiners work from Ammanford. There is no reason why a request for a Welsh-speaking examiner should delay a driving test.Driving examiners in Great Britain may conduct tests in English or Welsh—(if they can speak Welsh fluently)—but not in any other language. However, a candidate may be accompanied by an interpreter during his driving test, provided that the interpreter is not his instructor.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what immediate steps he proposes to deal with the urgent financial problems of the Port of London Authority and the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company.

Both authorities are engaged on urgent studies of the steps needed both in the short and longer term to restore these ports to economic viability, and of the financial resources required to secure this in each case. This work is being done with the help of accountants appointed by me and I expect to receive the further proposals by the beginning of March.In the meantime, both port authorities have made it clear that a large part of their current operating losses arises from the costs of employing people for whom there is no work now, and unlikely to be work in the future. Substantial numbers of severances are an urgent necessity in both ports if PLA and MDHC are to return to viability.The two port authorities have concluded that it would be right for registered dock workers in the two ports to be offered for a limited period a special supplement to the severance payments currently available under the industry's national voluntary severance scheme.These special supplements, up to £5,500 per man, will be available for a maximum of two months and will be financed separately from the NVSS. In recognition of the special financial and structural problems of these two ports, I have agreed, as a once-and-for-all measure, to provide sufficient funds for this purpose.I shall be introducing legislation to authorise the necessary expenditure as soon as possible. The Government will not be taking any further decisions affecting the two port authorities until after I have received and considered their further plans and proposals.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has yet approved the application from Norfolk county council for the designation of a trial area under the Transport Act 1980.

Yes, I have today approved the application from Norfolk county council for the designation as a trial area of an area in the north-west of the county, including the towns of Swaffham and East Dereham, and a small area in central Norwich. From 1 April bus services in the trial area, including ones to and from Norwich, will be able to run without road service licences. The trial area will continue for at least two years.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what representations he has received concerning the regrading of the Wear Valley district council area as a special development area.

In addition to the recent question on this subject from the hon. Member, my right hon. Friend has received written representations from the chairman of the Durham county council and the Wear Valley district council.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he has had drawn to his attention page 1 of Edition 76, January 1981 of Transport Training, the newspaper of the Road Transport Industry Training Board; whether this publication is in receipt of any public funds; and if he will make a statement.

I have seen Edition 76 of Transport Training.Most industrial training boards publish similar newspapers as a means of conveying information about training matters. Neither my Department nor the Manpower Services Commission exercises editorial control over the contents of such publications. The cost of their production is part of the operating costs of the industrial training boards which are currently met from public funds—subject to cash limits—although in the case of

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what effect his expansion of the youth opportunities programme will have on the youth unemployment in (a) Burton-on-Trent and (b) Uttoxeter.

The expansion of the youth opportunities programme will provide some 440,000–450,000 young people with an opportunity in 1981–82. Regional and area plans are still under discussion.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people not engaged in farming have been killed or injured by beef breeding bulls in England and Wales, using any period during the last 10 years for which statistics are conveniently available; and if he will make a statement.

Between January 1970 and December 1979 no fatal or non-fatal accidents involving beef breeding bulls were recorded by Her Majesty's Agricultural Inspectorate as having occured to people not engaged in farming in England and Wales.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many civil servants are currently responsible for the implementation of the health and safety at work legislation; and what is the annual cost of their salary bill.

The Health and Safety Executive and its agencies currently employ a total of 4,140 civil servants on implementing health and safety at work legislation at an annual salary cost for 1980–81—including national insurance and superannuation—of £44·6 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what powers of entry are available to health and safety at work officers; and whether he is satisfied with these powers.

officers appointed as inspectors under section 19 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 may be authorised under the terms of their appointment to exercise the powers of entry set out in section 20 of that Act. I am satisfied that these powers are suitable for carrying into effect the relevant statutory provisions of the 1974 Act.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many men and women respectively are on short-time working within the Sandwell, Dudley travel-to-work area; and what percentage of those in full-time employment this represents.

I regret that the information is not available. Statistics on short-time working are available nationally and regionally, but not for parts of regions.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many young people within the Sandwell education authority area are (a) registered at careers centres, (b) engaged in youth opportunities schemes and (c) seeking full-time employment; and how many vacancies for full-time employment remain unfilled in that area.

At 15 January the number of young people registered as unemployed at careers offices within the Sandwell education authority area was 1,694. The unemployment statistics do not distinguish between those seeking full-time and part-time employment. At 9 January the numbers of notified vacancies remaining unfilled at employment offices and careers offices in the area were 158 and 11, respectively. The vacancy statistics for January do not distinguish between those for full-time and part-time work, but at 7 November 1980, when there were 212 unfilled vacancies at employment offices and nine at careers offices, 32 of those at employment offices were for part-time work. The vacancy figures relate only to those notified to employment offices and careers offices; vacancies notified to employment offices are estimated to be about one-third of all vacancies in the country as a whole. Because of possible duplication the figures for employment offices and careers offices should not be added together.I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that information about the numbers of young people currently engaged in youth opportunities schemes in the Sandwell education authority area is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many registered disabled persons are registered at employment offices within the Sandwell, Dudley travel-to-work area; and what percentage of the unemployed those disabled represent.

On 15 January 1981, the latest date for which figures are available, there were 955 registered disabled people unemployed, representing 3 0 per cent. of the total of unemployed people in the Sandwell, Dudley travel-to-work area.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many men and women are registered as unemployed in the Sandwell, Dudley travel-to-work area; what percentage of unemployment each category represents; and how many unfilled vacancies there are for each of these categories.

At 15 January there were 25,120 males and 9,568 females registered as unemployed in the Dudley and Sandwell travel-to-work area. The unemployment rates were 12·9 per cent. for males and 8·7 per cent. for females.At 9 January the numbers of notified vacancies remaining unfilled at employment offices and at careers offices in the area were 420 and 13, respectively. Vacancies notified to employment offices are estimated to be about one-third of all vacancies in the country as a whole. Because of possible duplication the figures for employment offices and careers offices should not be added together. Vacancies are not distinguished by sex.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what salaries were paid to staff at the Manpower Services Commission in the latest financial year for which figures are available;(2) what is the cost of funding pensions of staff at the Manpower Services Commission.

I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that the provisional total expenditure on salaries in the 1979–80 financial year is £117·5 million—excluding national insurance; and that the provisional total of contributions in respect of superannuation for their staff in the same year is £21·5 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many offices are currently occupied by the Manpower Services Commission; and what are their rateable values.

I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that its staff currently occupy 1,206 offices. It is not possible to provide the total rateable value without disproportionate expenditure.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the cost of the Manpower Services Commission in each year since its formation.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer which my hon. Friend gave to him on 11 February.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many official cars are available to staff at the Manpower Services Commission.

The Manpower Services Commission has two official cars. One of these is used primarily by the chairman, but when he is not using it it is available to senior officers of the commission based in London. The other car is based in Sheffield, and is used by senior officers of the commission on official business.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services why it took his Department until 26 January to reply to the question from the hon. Member for Newham, North-West due for an answer on 22 January concerning social welfare benefits to a man with two wives and 39 children; why the reply contained only a statement that the hon. Member would be written to; why by 9 February no such letter had been received by the hon. Member; and whether he will make a statement.

The question tabled on 20 January could not be answered until 26 January when the nature of the

"communication given to the hon. Member for Newham, North-West"

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what action he has taken since his visit to Croydon in August 1980 in order to secure equitable funding for Croydon area health authority from the funds made available to the regional authority.

I assume that my hon. Friend is referring to my visit on 19 August. Responsibility for allocating resources to the Croydon area health authority rests with the South-West Thames regional health authority, which has to balance the needs of all areas within the region. I have asked officials of the Department to discuss with the regional health authority the need for the Croydon area health authority to be provided with adequate resources to improve facilities and staffing levels at St. Lawrence's hospital.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether, in view of his conviction on a charge of withholding information relating to murder, Captain Andrew Snowball will be permitted to retain his commission.

This is a matter for decision by the Army Board of the Defence Council, which awaits the submission of a case through the normal chain of military command. A decision will be made as soon as the usual procedures allow.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what measures have been taken to reduce spending in Her Majesty's Forces in the areas of training, mobility and catering.

Restrictions have been placed on training and mobility in the current financial year as part of the measures to restrain cash spending. A study of the implications of adopting contract catering at some establishments is being carried out.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the estimated outturn cost of defence for the current year; and how the figure compares with the previous two years.

The latest forecasts indicate that defence spending in 1980–81 is likely to be in the order of £11,400 million at current prices. The outturns for 1978–79 and 1979–80 were £7,455 million and £9,178 million respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for defence what further cuts in defence expenditure are proposed.

The Government's plans for future defence expenditure remain as set out in my statement on 20 January.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he intends to take to keep within cash limits.

I expect an overspend on the 1980–81 cash limit. Measures to keep this to a minimum include a continuing severe restraint on new commitments and a reduction in levels of activity by the Armed Forces.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if the United Kingdom intends to establish defence bases in the Indian Ocean area over the next five years.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what items he expects to discuss when next he meets the United States Secretary for Defence.

I expect our discussions to cover a wide range of defence issues relating to Western security.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the estimated change in the number of persons who will be employed full-time in the Armed Forces over the next 12 months; and what effect he expects this change to have on the recruitment policies of the Aimed Forces.

The precise manpower requirements of the three Services are currently being calculated. The figures will be published in the Statement on Defence Estimates.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is his latest assessment of the defence and defence cost implications of a civil airport at Stansted operating at 15 million, 25 million and 50 million passengers per annum.

An assessment of the defence and defence cost implications is given in appendix A to the report of the Study Group on South East Airports, a copy of which was placed in the Library on 17 December 1979. Further consideration of the defence implications will be a matter for the inspector at the forthcoming public inquiry.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whom the United Kingdom's nuclear capability is designed to deter.

The United Kingdom's nuclear capability forms part of NATO's nuclear forces, which are designed to deter any aggressor from launching an attack on the Alliance. There is no doubt in my mind that the gravest existing potential threat is posed by the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many young people in Wales were recruited to the Armed Forces in 1980; and what were the figures for each of the previous 10 years.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Caernarvon (Mr. Wigley) on 10 November 1980.—[Vol. 992, c.57.] Latest available figures show that careers information offices in Wales recruited 2,103 Service personnel in the period April-December 1980. This figure does not include officers who are recruited centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what are the recruitment figures for the Royal Navy, the Army and the Royal Air Force in Wales for 1978, 1979 and 1980, respectively: and how many were recruited at each recruiting office in Wales.

The information requested is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what estimates he has now made of the employment effects of the recent decision to cut expenditure on the Sea King replacement helicopter programme.

The total of jobs directly engaged in this programme in British industry has been reduced by about 385 as a result of the decision taken to reduce expenditure with effect from 1 October 1980. The latest information available from the firms affected is that staff have been successfully redeployed to other work and that there have been no redundancies.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about the capacity of Her Majesty's Forces for rapid intervention in critical areas.

I have nothing to add to the answer my right hon. Friend the then Secretary of State for Defence gave to my hon. Friend the Member forThanet, East (Mr. Aitken) on 28 October 1980.—[Vol. 991, c. 181–83.]

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is his long-term policy for offsetting the cost of any defence equipment purchased from the United States of America apart from the arrangements set out in the memorandum of understanding.

It is our policy to secure an equitable balance of defence trade between Britain and America using the framework provided by our 1975 memorandum of understanding. On each individual purchase we negotiate the most advantageous offset terms possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if a decision has been made as to the new calibre of round to be adopted by North Atlantic Treaty Organisation forces; and what were the considerations taken into account.

The NATO conference of national armament directors has decided that 5·56 mm is to be the new second calibre for small arms, and that the Belgian SS109 ammunition should act as the basis for standardisation. This decision was reached after a very extensive programme of military and technical tests on the weapons and ammunition presented for evaluation by interested governments. Although the present 7·62 mm calibre will remain a NATO standard, the new calibre will enable lighter and more compact small arms to be deployed.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what savings will be made by the amalgamation of 41 Commando Royal Marines; and where, in future, reserves for the commando brigade will be found.

I cannot add to the reply I gave on savings on 27 January to my hon. Friend the Member for Tynemouth (Mr. Trotter).—[Vol. 997, c. 377-78.] No change is contemplated in the arrangements for providing reserves for the Commando Brigade.

asked the Secretary of State of Defence whether he plans a loan scheme to enable members of Her Majesty's Forces to purchase their own homes several years prior to retirement or completion of engagement.

The Armed Forces already have a number of assisted house purchase schemes which provide for an interest free advance of pay, up to a maximum limit of £3,500, for those eligible. In the Army and RAF such schemes are available to all those aged 50 or over within two years of retiring from a pensionable commission or engagement. For the Navy, because of its different housing policy, advances are available to all those aged 25 or over. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence announced on 2 December 1980, the need to keep defence expenditure within its cash limit has meant that proposed improvements to these schemes will not be introduced as quickly as we would have wished.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the latest estimated cost to British public funds of siting United States cruise missiles in the United Kingdom.

I have nothing further to add to what my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House said in reply to a question by the hon. Member for Tottenham (Mr. Atkinson) on 15 July 1980.—[Vol. 988, c. 1225–26.]

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what staff and vessels exist for the surveillance and protection of Northern Ireland fisheries; and what co-operation is extended by the Irish Republic, particularly in the Foyle area.

The Royal Navy inshore fishery protection squadron, consisting of between 8 and 10 "Ton" class minesweepers, carries out fishery protection duties in inshore waters around the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland. The fisheries inspectorate of the Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland works in close co-operation with the Royal Navy and with the fisheries inspectorate of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. When the Royal Navy is patrolling waters adjacent to Northern Ireland, an inspector from the Department of Agriculture is on board the patrol vessel.Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic exchange information on fishing activities in the vicinity of fishery limits between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. In the Foyle area responsibility for protecting fisheries rests with the Foyle Fisheries Commission, a joint Northern Ireland/Republic of Ireland body. The commission, which is working under very difficult circumstances, has the support and co-operation of the security forces on both sides of the border.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland why the Rules of the Supreme Court (Northern Ireland) (Revision) 1980 (c) have been exempted from article 6(2) of the Statutory Rules (Northern Ireland) Order 1979.

For the convenience of those who wish to refer to them, the Rules of the Supreme Court (Northern Ireland) (Revision) 1980 were printed in both paper bound and loose leaf formats. In the circumstances, it was considered unnecessary to duplicate them in the 1980 annual volume of statutory rules. It is estimated that, as a result, the selling price of that volume will have been reduced by approximately £10.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what sums and for what purposes have been expended by the Londonderry Harbour Authority in each of the last three years or financial years and the present year to date on the piers at Moville, Co. Donegal; whether any of those sums were only part of the total expenditure of the particular purpose to which it was applied; and who in such cases paid the remainder.

The information is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether any revision to the cash limit for Northern Ireland departmental services is to be made.

Yes. Subject to parliamentary approval of the Northern Ireland Spring Supplementary Estimates, the cash limit has been reduced by £14·8 million to £1,581·2 million. I should like to emphasise that this reduction arises from a switch of resources from cash limited to non-cash limited services, and does not involve any reduction in the total level of resources available to Northern Ireland Departments.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons have been charged in connection with the throwing of 34 petrol bombs at the security forces in Londonderry on 1 February.

[pursuant to his reply, 16 February 1981]: No one has been charged in connection with the throwing of petrol bombs on 1 February 1981. Two persons have been charged with riotous behaviour and a further two with disorderly behaviour following the incidents in Londonderry that day.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales whether he is satisfied with the amount of industrial investment undertaken by the Welsh Development Agency as against its role, for example, in providing new factory space.

Yes.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 17 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 17 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 17 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 17 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 17 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 17 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 17 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 17 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 17 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 17 February.