Asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he proposes to amend the Education (Mandatory Awards) Regulations to increase the time limit on the exemption from the previous study restrictions of convention refugees and asylees who have had to interrupt their studies abroad.

My right hon. Friend proposes to amend the awards regulations so that, with effect from 1 September 1982, convention refugees and asylees whose studies abroad were interrupted within the four years, instead of the present one year, immediately preceding their entering the United Kingdom will be exempt from the previous study restrictions on entitlement to a mandatory award. This is a modest, yet useful, improvement in the provisions made for convention refugees and asylees.

asked the Prime Minister what is Her Majesty's Government's current expenditure on research and development on (a) civilian and (b) defence projects.

The latest figures for net expenditure by Her Majesty's Government on research and development are the Estimates for the financial year 1981–82. In this period, defence R and D accounted for £1,725 million and civil R and D accounted for £1,591 million. The latest year in which the distinction between current and capital for R and D expenditure is available was 1978–79. In that year defence expenditure on R and D—classed as current—was £1,024 million. The comparable figure for civil R and D was £947 million.

asked the Prime Minister if she will compare the percentage of Her Majesty's Government's total expenditure on research and development on defence projects with other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries.

The comparison requested is available on page 45 of "Science and Technology Indicators—Basic Statistical Series—Volume A"—ref. DSTI/SPR/81.28—of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development which compiled the figures. A copy of this is available in the Library, but it should be noted that the percentages for the United Kingdom for the years 1979, 1980 and 1981 have been revised from 54.6, 54.2, 52.2 to 53.2, 54.1 and 52.0.

asked the Prime Minister when she had discussions with Mr. Leslie Chapman; what were the objects of the discussions; whether he was offered a job; when this is likely to begin; and whether she will make a statement.

I invited Mr. Chapman to see me in September 1979 to give me his advice on how to make public sector operations more efficient. He was not offered a job, but I regard his advice as valuable.

asked the Prime Minister what reply she has sent to the letter of Mr. Z. T. Neal of 21 Eton Grove, Hull, concerning the policy of Her Majesty's Government towards the National Health Service.

Mr. Neal forwarded a copy of a proforma letter about National Health Service pay. I have received a number of copies of this letter, to which I am not sending individual replies.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he is satisfied that the level of farm incomes in Wales in 1982 is sufficient; and if he will make a statement.

The figures for 1981–82 are not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans Her Majesty's Government have for participation in the World Bank's general capital increase.

Her Majesty's Government have acceded to a proposal by the World Bank's management that it should release up to one half of the United Kingdom's allocation of shares under the general capital increase. The United Kingdom's revised allocation will be 12,168 shares.This will enable the World Bank to accommodate the legitimate claims of other countries which wish to increase their shareholdings, and at the same time help to provide a balance of shares for those wishing to assume bank membership, without the bank having to seek a further increase in its authorised capital.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service whether she will introduce legislation to provide that if any public servant is found guilty of neglect or wrongdoing in an official capacity any costs and damages are paid for by those concerned and not from public funds.

No, the existing arrangements within the Civil Service already ensure that in such cases costs are not paid from public funds.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer in what ways the new system of planning public expenditure in cash differs from the system in operation before the public expenditure survey was introduced.

There was no comprehensive system of planning public expenditure before annual public expenditure surveys were introduced in 1961. Expenditure decisions were taken piecemeal. Only in a few cases were multi-year projections of expenditure made, and there was therefore little planning of future commitments. Cash planning retains the advantages of medium term planning, but also takes account of the availability of finance.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the consultative document on petroleum revenue tax expenditure reliefs, pipeline tariff and other non-oil receipts referred to in his Budget Statement is to be published; and if he will make a statement.

The document is being published by the Inland Revenue today, and I have arranged for copies to be placed in the Library.The document discusses the treatment for purposes of the petroleum revenue tax of circumstances in which oil and gas-related assets are used otherwise than in the field for which they were first acquired.A number of deficiencies in the current legislation are identified. On the one hand, relief for expenditure on such assets—including, for example, pipelines and related facilities—may, under existing law, be more restrictive than seems desirable in the interests of the efficient development of North Sea resources. On the other hand, most receipts arising from the exploitation of such assets are not currently charged to tax. It has been concluded that early action is needed to rationalise both the expenditure relief system and the treatment of incidental receipts, and the Chancellor announced in his Budget Statement his intention to legislate next year—that is, in the 1983 Finance Bill.The document gives a firm indication of the main outlines of the approach which it is intended to adopt. This is to secure that expenditure on field assets will be allowed for PRT in full at the outset, whether or not their use may be shared or subsequently changed, and to bring into charge to PRT all incidental receipts attributable to such assets as and when received, including hire receipts, payments under a tariff or throughput agreement, or sales proceeds. Within this broad approach, the document identifies and discusses various detailed aspects, including a number of specific issues which need to be resolved. These include the treatment of transactions not at arm's length and of certain more mobile assets, and transitional or other special provisions which may be required in charging future receipts under existing agreements—particularly where expenditure relief has already been restricted—or receipts in respect of certain assets not currently within the scope of PRT—in particular, pipelines and related facilities associated with certain gas fields.In order to avoid unacceptable uncertainty on issues which are important to the industry's forward planning, and to prevent serious forestalling which could otherwise occur, it is proposed that legislation on these proposals, for the purpose both of relieving expenditure and charging receipts, should be introduced in next year's Finance Bill to have effect from today's date.The consultative document invites representations, in particular, on the specific issues identified as requiring resolution. These should be sent to the Inland Revenue by the end of September this year.An Inland Revenue press release issued today gives further details, including the price and availability of the document.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he hopes to introduce a revised non-industrial facilities agreement in the Civil Service; and whether he will ensure that it takes account of recommendations made in the recent Treasury and Civil Service Select Committee report on efficiency and effectiveness in the Civil Service.

A new non-industrial facilities agreement has now been negotiated with the trade union side of the national Whitley Council and came into effect on 30 April. The agreement is defined more precisely than the previous one and provides for greater overall control and for the accountability of union representatives for their time spent on industrial relations duties and trade union activities.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) men and (b) women prisoners have children aged 16 years and under.

The information requested is not collected centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women are currently serving a prison sentence in H wing of Durham prison; how many are classified as category A; and in what categories the remainder are.

Thirty-four on 29 April, six of whom were classified as category A prisoners and all of whom required secure conditions.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what grounds women prisoners are allocated to H wing of Durham prison.

On the grounds of the level of security they require, taking into account the women's length of sentence and their behaviour in custody.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what factors determine the categorisation of women prisoners.

Women are allocated to the appropriate closed or open establishment in the women's prison system on the grounds of the level of security they require, taking into account the length of their sentence and the possible consequences of an escape.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what were the estimated running costs per place per week in different types of penal establishments in the financial year 1980–81.

The information requested is contained in paragraph 81 of the "Report on the Work of the Prison Department" 1981—Cmnd. 8543—published on 29 April and is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for each of the years since the Immigration Act 1971 came into force, how many persons have been refused entry to the United Kingdom on the recommendations of port medical inspectors; and within these figures, how many were refused on grounds of mental ill-health.

The information requested is given in the following table:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will collect centrally and publish statistics on the expenditure of the Special Branch.

Expenditure on special branches forms part of overall police budgets which are approved by police authorities. All such expenditure is subject to audit under well established procedures. I am satisfied with these arrangements and I do not intend to change them.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what bodies or organisations, for the day-to-day work or administration of which he does not answer parliamentary questions, receive finance from his Department's Vote.

Apart from making payments for services provided by other Government Departments and public corporations, and specific grants to local authorities, my Department gives grants to a wide variety of non-official bodies and contributes to the cost of several international organisations. It is also the sponsor Department for a number of executive bodies listed in "Non-Departmental Public Bodies—Facts and Figures 1981", some of which receive finance from my Votes. While I answer questions on the general principles underlying these grants, I do not answer for their detailed administration.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is satisfied with present legislation governing the distribution, sale and licensing of counter-espionage, bugging and other devices, especially those involving the use of telephones and radio equipment

I am satisfied that the provisions of the Wireless Telegraphy Acts 1949 and 1967, and the relevant subordinate legislation, provide adequate powers to prohibit the use of radio for aural surveillance and the importation and manufacture of radio surveillance equipment operating between frequencies 88 and 108 MHz. The Government intend, when parliamentary time permits, to introduce legislation providing for the prohibition of the sale or advertising of such devices.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, pursuant to the reply to the hon. Member for Newham, North-West on 27 April, Official Report, column 230, he will give the reasons why he will not make provisions so that, on production of his House security pass, an hon. Member will be enabled to enter and examine any police station, or those within his constituency, without prior notification to those in charge at the moment of the visit.

Such provisions would anticipate our consideration of how the recommendations relating to lay visitors to police stations contained in Lord Scarman's report—Cmnd. 8427—might be implemented, and would not take account of a number of ingredients that any successful scheme for lay visitors should incorporate, including satisfactory safeguards for the privacy of persons detained in police stations.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will take steps to ban the use of animals in alcohol research;(2) how many animals are at present used for smoking experiments;(3) if he will seek to ban the use of animals in smoking experiments.

The latest available information about the number of experiments into tobacco and its substitutes relates to experiments commenced in 1980 and was published in tables 2 and 11 of "Statistics of experiments on living animals: Great Britain 1980" Cmnd. 8301. It would not be right to deprive the public of the safeguards that experiments and research into the risks to health involved in smoking and the use of alcohol are designed to afford, and we do not propose to impose any general prohibition on such experiments, which must, however, comply with the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy how much crude oil was refined at each of the oil refineries located in Wales during the latest year for which statistics are available; and how much of this oil was from the North Sea.

Information about the individual refineries is commercially confidential, but taking the five refineries together, total throughput of oil in 1981 amounted to 15·9 million tonnes. A precise figure of the North Sea oil share of this throughput is not available but it is estimated to have been about 45 per cent.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will estimate for each of the past three years as a result of the activities of Highland Craftpoint how many persons in the Highlands and Islands not previously in employment are now working as full-time craftsmen; and how many craftsmen from other parts of Scotland and elsewhere have become resident in the area.

Highland Craftpoint Ltd. advises and assists craftsmen in Scotland by providing a range of services embracing technical, marketing and training matters. These services are important for the development of a healthy craft industry in the Highland and Islands but there is no direct correlation with employment creation. Financial assistance for craft firms is provided by the Highlands and Islands Development Board and over the past three years the number of jobs created as a direct consequence of Board assistance has been as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many houses in Glasgow under the auspices of the Glasgow district council, the Scottish Special Housing Association and housing associations have been approved for improvement in each of the past six years.

The figures requested are shown below:

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how much food is being held in European Economic Community intervention stores in (a) the Strathclyde region and (b) Scotland; what is its current financial value; and if he will give a breakdown per type of foodstuff stored.

The following quantities were held in intervention stores in Scotland at 30 April 1982:

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many redundancies in Glasgow have been notified to the Manpower Services Commission since May 1979; and how many firms were involved.

[pursuant to his reply, 27 April 1982, c. 269]: There are no comprehensive statistics of redundancies. However, 726 instances of redundancy involving 10 or more people were notified to the Manpower Services Commission as due to occur in the Glasgow travel-to-work area between 1 May 1979 and 31 January 1982—the latest date for which information is available—with the loss of 40,172 jobs. These figures include redundancies leading to closure.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list for each year since the formation of the Ulster Defence Regiment the areas from which each company of 5 Battalion drew its recruits until the latest available date.

I regret that it is not possible from existing data to provide detailed information in the form requested.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what was the value of the equipment issued to each company of 5 Battalion Ulster Defence Regiment in each year since the formation of the regiment; what value of equipment in each company and year was not returned to the stores when personnel resigned; and what types of equipment were not returned.

On discharge or resignation a member of the UDR is permitted to retain underclothes and boots. All other issue items must be returned. Some losses occur, although every effort is made to recover these items.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what has been, in each year since the formation of the Ulster Defence Regiment the average number of (a) training periods, and (b) patrols carried out by the members of each company of 5 Battalion Ulster Defence Regiment until the latest available date.

We do not keep records in a form that would enable this information to be given.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what was the number of recruits to each company of 5 Battalion Ulster Defence Regiment and the maximum number of persons in each company for each year from the formation of the Ulster Defence Regiment until the latest available date.

I regret that information with regard to recruiting figures is not kept in the form requested. It is not the practice to publish figures of individual company strengths.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what bodies or organisations, for the day-to-day work or administration of which he does not answer parliamentary questions, receive finance from his Department's Vote.

The Ministry of Defence makes grants or contributions to a variety of organisations listed or described in the Defence Estimates. Those for whose day-to-day work or administration the Secretary of State for Defence does not answer parliamentary questions are:

• NATO and other international bodies and organisations
• The Royal British Legion
• The Council of Voluntary Welfare Work
• The Royal Aeronautical Society
• The Scott Polar Research Institute
• The Royal United Services Institution for Defence Studies

asked the Secretary of State for Defence for how long the two Chatham dock workers working on HMS "Churchill" were exposed to radiation; and how the dose they received compares with that of a typical X-ray examination.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him on 22 April—[Vol. 22 c. 136–137.] I can confirm that the technical investigation has now been completed. I propose to give a full reply to the various issues that he has raised early next week, once I have studied the contents of the report.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give the latest per capita expenditure on defence for all NATO countries expressed in United States dollars.

The latest information is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will delay the disposal of the jet-foil HMS "Speedy" during the present crisis.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if the royal yacht "Britannia" still counts as a hospital ship.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether it is intended to return HMS "Bulwark" to service.

The feasibility of bringing forward HMS "Bulwark" if we require it, is under examination.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence to what extent the Sea Wolf point defence and anti-missile system is carried by Her Majesty's ships; and to what extent it is planned (a) to fit this system into new warships and (b) to fit it into existing warships.

(1) Sea Wolf is in service with the first (3) type 22 frigates and batch III Leander. It is planned to fit the system into the remaining type 22 frigates on build and to (4) further batch III Leanders on refit. All type 22s will in due course receive the improved version of the system currently being developed by Marconi Radar. The fitting of the system to other classes of ship is under consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish a list of industrial training boards to be abolished together with the number of women as a percentage of the total work force in each of the industries concerned.

Up-to-date figures are not available about the number of female employees as a percentage of the total work force in industries in scope to the 16 industrial training boards to be abolished. However, the following table gives the most recent figures obtainable, drawn from the boards' annual reports, and supplemented where possible by information obtained direct from boards.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of the goods and services covered by the retail price index is accounted for by the public sector, including rates and other charges for services.

The overall extent to which the RP1 is influenced by the public sector is not readily assessed, because prices for many goods and services are influenced, directly and indirectly, by both the public and private sectors. Goods and services mainly produced by the nationalised industries, and sold as such to households, account for 10·4 per cent. of the total household expenditure covered by the index. Local authority rates account for a further 3·3 per cent. Other details of the weights to be used in the index during 1982 were published on page 105 of the March issue of Employment Gazette.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how the numbers employed by the Health and Safety Executive currently compare with the numbers in 1975.

The Health and Safety Executive came into being on 1 January 1975, and was formed by the transfer of 3,170 staff from Government Departments. Between 1975 and 1978 a further 324 staff were transferred, and the number of staff in post at April 1982 was 3,814.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what is the total number of redundancies since May 1979 in (a) the North-West, (b) Merseyside, (c) Kirkby and (d) Ormskirk;(2) how many redundancies are pending in

There are no comprehensive statistics of closures or redundancies. The available information on closures and redundancies, involving 10 or more employees, reported to the Manpower Services Commission as due to occur in the specified areas is given in the attached table.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (l) when he will be announcing the terms of the review of the National Council of Voluntary Organisations by the joint team from his Department and alcohol misuse organisations;(2) when he expects to complete his consideration of the report of the alcohol misuse organisations.

Copies of the report, by a team of two officials from the National Council for Voluntary Organisations and two from the Department, on the contribution the Department can most effectively make to future work by national voluntary bodies dealing with alcohol misuse, have been sent to a number of organisations. Comments have been invited by the end of June. The recommendations of the study team will be considered in the light of those comments, and decisions will be made as soon as possible after that date.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will make a statement on the effect of the dispute in the hospital service in the South-West of England.

Industrial action in the South-Western regional health authority has, until now, generally been limited to a few hospitals where it has taken the form of a two-hour stoppage amongst domestic, catering, transport and, in one hospital, laundry staff.There appears to have been little or no effect on patient services.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether there is sufficient whole blood available for use within the National Health Service in the South-West region of England.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will institute a departmental inquiry into the reasons why 7,411 qualified nurses are unemployed; if he will examine resources allocation to establish the extent to which the nursing sector has been cut compared with other sectors; and if he will make a statement.

I do not consider that a departmental inquiry into the reasons why qualified nurses are unemployed would serve any useful purpose. Health authorities are responsible for the distribution of resources to the different services within their areas. In planning their services they are expected to take account of departmental guidance, but health authorities must judge for themselves how best to use the resources allocated to them and to assess staffing levels in the light of local needs and priorities.The nurse staffing picture will obviously vary between localities and specialties, but the latest staffing figures centrally available show that the numbers of nursing and midwifery staff employed in the NHS in England continue to increase. Provisional figures for September 1981 show that the whole-time equivalent of all nursing and midwifery staff, including unqualified nursing staff and agency nurses and midwives, rose from 358,400 in September 1979 to 392,200 in September 1981, an increase of 33,800 over the two-year period. In 1980, the working week was reduced from 40 hours to 37½ hours and part of the increase will be accounted for by additional staff recruited as a direct result of this change.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what bodies or organisations, for the day-to-day work or administration of which he does not answer parliamentary questions, receive finance from his Department's Vote.

In addition to the wide variety of non-official bodies, local authorities and international organisations to which this Department gives grants, it is the sponsor Department for a number of executive bodies listed in "Non-Departmental Public Bodies: Facts and Figures 1981", which receive finance from our Votes. The Department is also responsible for funding health authorities. While it answers questions on the general principles underlying these grants and on the funding of the National Health Service, it does not answer for their detailed administration with the exception of health authorities, and even here it may be appropriate for hon. Members to address their initial inquiries to the authority concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many mastectomies have been carried out in England in each of the past three years.

Separate figures are not available for England. The latest available estimates for operations carried out in NHS hospitals in England and Wales are as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services by what means the Public Health Laboratory Service is administered; what is its relationship with the National Health Service; what is the statutory basis of the present arrangements; and whether it is his intention that the staff of the service should continue to sit on National Health Service Whitley Councils.

The Public Health Laboratory Service is administered by a board set up under legislation consolidated in section 5 of the National Health Service Act 1977, as amended by the Public Health Laboratory Service Act 1979. The representation of the staff on the Whitley Councils is a matter for the staff organisations concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how the pay award to doctors and dentists will be funded.

My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced the Government's decision on the twelfth report of the doctors and dentists review body yesterday. We will shortly be making formal proposals to the profession that involve increases of 5.5 per cent. for most salaried doctors and dentists, and somewhat higher increases for the training grades in the hospital service.The allocations to health authorities announced already include provision for a 4 per cent. increase in salaries. The additional cost of the pay offer to health authorities in Great Britain will be some £22 million. The Government will provide additional funds to meet the greater part of this, but authorities will be asked to find just over £6 million from within existing allocations.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will now announce the plans for the disposal of the site of Battersea general hospital.

We have decided that part of the site of the former Battersea general hospital, which is at present held by the Property Services Agency of the Department of the Environment, shall be transferred back to the Department of Health and Social Security which will then own the whole site. The DHSS, in consultation with the district valuer, will then arrange to allocate the approximately half an acre of the site needed for the construction of a psychiatric day hospital, and for the subsequent disposal of the remainder of the site. Any net proceeds from the sale will, of course, accrue to the benefit of the NHS and would be used to offset in whole or in part the costs of the day hospital.

asked the Secreary of State for the Environment whether he has been approached about planning permission for project Mercury; and if he will make a statement.

Yes. The chief executive of Mercury has approached my Department seeking assistance in securing planning authorisation for a trunk telecommunications network to be established alongside major railway routes. Under the usual procedure numerous applications would be necessary, one to each of the local planning authorities through whose area the network would pass. I propose that the planning implications of the project should be considered as a whole and one decision made. I am accordingly consulting interested bodies and my proposal, subject to their views, is to lay before the House a special development order to grant planning permission for the network.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what bodies or organisations, for the day-to-day work or administration of which he does not answer parliamentary questions, receive finance from his Department's Vote.

In addition to the wide variety of non-official bodies to which my Department gives grants, local authorities and the services for which they are responsible, and international bodies; my Department sponsors a number of bodies which are listed in "Non-Departmental Public Bodies: Facts and Figures 1981", and also the British Waterways Board, which receive finance from my votes. While I answer questions on the general principles of the payments, I do not answer for the administration of the bodies concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what consultations have so far taken place in relation to the prescribed procedures and prescribed bodies referred to in section 6 of the Disabled Persons Act 1981; when he anticipates the conclusion of these consultations; and when this section of the Act will be implemented.

Public consultation on the implementation of section 6 of the Disabled Persons Act 1981 will begin shortly. Decisions will be taken in the light of the comments received.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what were Stockton borough council's housing capital receipts and gross housing capital expenditure in each quarter of 1981–82; and what were the totals for the full year.

Information for the full financial year 1981–82 is only now being returned, but I expect to be able to provide full year figures for individual authorities by the end of June.For information on housing capital expenditure and receipts in the first nine months of 1981–82, I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the member for Lichfield and Tamworth (Mr. Heddle) on 31 March 1982.—[Vol. 21, c.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what bodies or organisations, for the day-to-day work or administration of which he does not answer parliamentary questions, receive finance from his Department's Vote.

In addition to the payments made to a number of non-official bodies, international organisations, and the bodies which it sponsors listed in "Non-Departmental Public Bodies: Facts and Figures 1981", my Department makes grants to local authorities, and to certain transport and port undertakings and pension funds set out in the Estimates (Class VI, 3). While I answer questions on the general principles of the payments, I do not answer for the administration of the bodies concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport, how much crude oil was landed at the single-buoy mooring located near Amlwch, Anglesey, during the last year for which statistics are available; and what are the origins of this oil.

Statistics on the tonnage of crude oil landed at the Anglesey marine terminal during 1980 are given in "Port Statistics 1980" page 42 published jointly by the Department and the British Ports Association. A copy has been placed in the Library of the House. These statistics distinguish between foreign imports and coastwise or domestic traffic, but do not provide any finer breakdown by origin.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what bodies or organisations, for the day-to-day work or administration of which he does not answer parliamentary questions, receive finance from his Department's Vote.

In addition to the wide variety of non-official bodies and international organisations to which the Department gives grants or makes contributions, it is the sponsor Department for a number of executive bodies listed in "Non-Departmental Public Bodies; Facts and Figures 1981", which receive finance from our Votes. While my right hon. Friend answers questions on the general principles underlying these payments, he does not answer for their detailed administration.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether, in view of the negotiation by the Wells Fargo California Bank of a 35 million dollar loan to Argentina, he will request the United States Government to stop such a loan until such time as the Government of the Argentine implement the resolution of the United Nations Security Council and leave the Falkland Islands.

I understand that the loan agreement for $35 million in which the Wells Fargo Bank is participating was signed in March, before the Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has received a request from the Swedish Government in connection with Captain Alfredo Astiz and his alleged responsibility for the death of Dagmar Hegelin; and, if so, what was the nature of the request.

I can confirm that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has received a request from the Swedish Government concerning an Argentine national captured during operations in South Georgia.We are considering the matter and will reply to the Swedish Government as soon as possible.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what further steps he will take to safeguard United Kingdom crops against the possible invasion of Colorado beetles into the United Kingdom from the Continent.

A temporary ban on imports of certain Italian vegetables was introduced on 30 April following findings of large numbers of Colorado beetles in Italian produce. This demonstrates that effective action is quickly taken when there is a serious threat of infestation. As part of our regular campaign at this time of year, our plant health and seeds inspectors are constantly on the alert at ports and markets, and publicity is undertaken to ensure special vigilance by traders and the public. There are standing contingency plans for eliminating any outbreaks in growing potato crops.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what safeguards he will provide to protect British horticulture when Spain becomes a member of the European Community.

In the forthcoming negotiations we shall do all that we can to safeguard the interests of British horticulture.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will take steps to protect the United Kingdom pigmeat industry in view of the outbreak of foot and mouth disease in Denmark and of the economic effect of heavy supplies of Danish pigmeat on the market.

I have already taken the initiative in persuading the Commission to introduce private storage aid arrangements for pigmeat and to increase substantially export restitutions. This has already helped to stabilise the market. I shall continue to monitor the situation closely.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether the figures for income of farmers and their spouses given in table 21 of Cmnd. 8491, the annual review, includes corporations and partnerships; what was the estimated number and'` profitability of such corporations and partnerships in 1981; and what proportion of the total is accounted for by spouses.

Table 21 of the "Annual Review of Agriculture 1982" White Paper—Cmnd. 8491—measures the output, input and income of the industry as a whole. The farming income figure therefore includes the incomes of corporations and partnerships, hut it is not possible to apportion it between corporations and partnerships, on the one hand, and individuals, on the other, or between farmers and their spouses.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will publish in the Official Report figures for each of the categories listed in table 3 of Cmnd. 8491, the 1982 annual review, the number of holdings worked by persons not wholly or mainly engaged in farming, together with the relevant statistics in that table excluding these holdings.

I regret that the information requested is not available.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will arrange for records to be kept of the number of animals slaughtered by religious slaughter methods in the United Kingdom.

No. I do not believe that such records would serve a useful purpose.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will ask the Farm Animal Welfare Council, in the course of its consideration of the welfare of livestock at the time of slaughter, to seek scientific evidence to establish whether pain and suffering is involved when the throat of a fully conscious animal is cut.

With the help of my Department, the Farm Animal Welfare Council is already seeking scientific evidence on this and related matters as part of its current inquiry into the welfare aspects of religious methods of slaughter.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will take steps to halt the fall in the numbers of fat cattle coming forward for slaughter.

Beef producers' returns have already recovered during the 1981–82 marketing year, during which the variable beef premium, the suckler cow premium and the highest ever level of hill livestock compensatory allowances have been in force. Further measures to assist beef producers will be considered in the common agricultural price negotiations.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will take steps to make illegal the description of battery eggs as farm fresh.

I am content with the relevant provisions of Council Regulation 2772/75 which lays down detailed marketing standards for hens' eggs, including those to which the description "fresh eggs" may be applied.