asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many strip searches were made of female prisoners in Her Majesty's prison, Armagh, in October; if he will give the number of persons involved and the number of times each person was searched; whether any prison contraband, smuggled item or illegal correspondence was discovered in any search, indicating which items; and in how many cases prisoners refused to be searched and had to be restrained while the search was being concluded.

During October, 30 strip searches were carried out on 18 female inmates in Her Majesty's prison, Armagh. Individual prisoners were searched the following number of times:

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement about the incident at Tamnamore, Dungannon on 19 October involving terrorists and the security forces which resulted in the death of Mr. Fred Jackson.

On the morning of 19 October a military patrol encountered a group it believed to be armed terrorists in a stolen van near Tamnamore, Dungannon. A pursuit ensued during which fire was exchanged between the soldiers and terrorists. Mr. Jackson was caught in this exchange of fire as he left his place of work and died from his wounds a short time later. The terrorists, who were acknowledged by the Provisional Irish Republican Army to be members of their organisation, abandoned their vehicle about a mile from the scene of the shooting and hijacked a further two vehicles in making good then-escape. It was subsequently determined that the fatal shot came from the weapon of a member of the Army patrol. As the incident is currently the subject of an investigation by the Royal Ulster Constabulary and as there has not yet been an inquest, it would be inappropriate for me to comment at this stage, other than to express my profound sympathy to Mr. Jackson's family on their tragic bereavement.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list for each of the faults (a) to (e) specified in his Department's letter of 5 October 1983, those authorities which have undertaken, are undertaking or are planing to undertake remedial works on Bison wall frame buildings with respect to each fault specified.

According the information available to the Department, none at present.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list those authorities which have appraised or are appraising their Bison wall frame dwellings for possible faults (a) in the connections between wall and floor panels and in the restraint of load-bearing walls, (b) in parapet fixing, (c) in the ties between inner and outer leaves of external cladding panels and (d) with spalling concrete or loose aggregate finishes.

I understand that Wrexham Maelor borough council, Montgomery district council and Lliw Valley borough council have appraised their dwellings with these possible faults in mind.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list those local authorities which have replied to his Department's letter of 5 October 1983 about Bison wall frame dwellings, together with the dates on which each reply was received.

This information is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what progress he has made in consultations with Delyn borough council on the release to the National Asociation of Bison Tenants and others of the report on Bison wall frame buildings prepared for the council by the Building Research Establishment.

Delyn has agreed to the information in the report being released.

asked the Attorney-General whether he will publish in the Official Report a list of European Economic Community measures enacted with the aid of article 235 of the Treaty of Rome since 1 January 1973.

Article 235 is the legal basis, or one of the legal bases, for several hundred European Economic Community measues, including most environmental, industrial, regional development and consumer protection legislation. An itemised list of such measures is not readily available, but if it can be made available, without disproportionate cost, I will send a copy to the hon. Member.

asked the Prime Minister how much public money is at risk in the rescue of Johnson Matthey bank.

Any losses which the Bank of England may incur as a result of the Johnson Matthey bankers rescue will be met on the governor's authority from the resources of the banking department of the Bank of England. The extent to which contingent liabilities on the banking department may be called is a matter for the Bank of England to judge.

asked the Prime Minister if she will estimate the number and percentage of families required to contribute to student grant who are also entitled to housing benefit; and how the number will be affected by the proposed changes to student grant regulations.

An estimate of the number of housing benefit recipients who are required to contribute to a student grant is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The proposed changes to the student grant regulations should not affect the number involved, since the threshold of the parental contribution scale is to be indexed broadly in line with earnings.

asked the Prime Minister if she will publish a table showing for a married man with three children aged 20 years, 17 years and 15 years, all in full-time education, net spending power from paid employment as a percentage of net spending power on supplementary benefit, with net spending power defined as gross earnings plus child benefit, less income tax, national insurance contribution, mortgage interest, rates, water rates, work expenses and parental contribution to student grant, and using the following assumptions: earnings of (a) £15,000 and (b) £20,000, mortgage £30,000, rates and water rates £550, work expenses £1,000 and parental contribution according to the student grant regulations proposed for 1985–86.

The information is in the table. The figures are based on 1984–85 tax and benefit rates.

asked the Prime Minister how many meetings have taken place under the auspices of the Anglo-Irish intergovernmental council since its inception; and what has been the outcome of these meetings.

Since its inception in November 1981, there have been some 50 formal ministerial and official meetings held under the auspices of the Anglo-Irish intergovernmental council. The meetings have contributed to the development of good relations between the two Governments. The pattern of co-operation was set out in detail in the communique released after the Anglo-Irish summit meeting in November 1983, published as Command Paper 9094. During the past year, as made clear in the communique released after the recent summit meeting, this co-operation has continued.

asked the Prime Minister when she hopes to give the reply promised to the hon. Member for Linlithgow in her answer of 20 November concerning records of signals from HMS Conqueror.

I have written to the hon. Member.

asked the Prime Minister if she will publish in the Official Report a copy of her letter to the hon. Member for Linlithgow of 19 November concerning the General Belgrano.

Yes. Following is the letter:

Dear Mr. Dalyell,

Thank you for your letter of 30 October.

The answers to your questions are covered by the detailed Annex to my letter of 19 September to Mr. George Foulkes. On 2 May 1982, there were clear and unequivocal indications available to the Government that the Argentine Navy, including General Belgrano, provided a real and direct threat to the Task Force. In the light of that threat, the precise position and course of Belgrano at that time were irrelevant. That was why the report that Belgrano had reversed course was not made known to Ministers at the time. No evidence has at any time become available to the Government which would make Ministers change the judgement they reached on 2 May that the Belgrano posed a threat to the Task Force.

asked the Prime Minister whether the statement of the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, the right hon. Member for Waveney (Mr. Prior), in the House of Commons on 2 July, Official Report, column 123–30, continues to represent Her Majesty's Government's policy towards the report of the New Ireland Forum.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many young people left school in the Edinburgh and Leith areas last year; how many went into further education; how many secured full-time jobs; how many went on to youth training schemes; and how many are unemployed.

I regret that the information requested is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the location of denaturation centres for surplus EC food in Scotland.

The Government do not run, nor do they pay private sector operators to run, centres for the denaturing of foodstuffs. Denaturing is carried out by commercial firms engaged in the animal feedstuffs industry. Feedstuff manufacturing plants at Cupar and Turriff are registered with the Intervention Board for Agricultural Produce for the disposal of skimmed milk powder which cannot otherwise be sold.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will provide estimates or figures for the level of uptake amongst Scottish farmers for the milk supplementary levy (outgoers) scheme.

The scheme is intended to purchase 2–25 per cent.—29·8 million litres—of total Scottish milk quota. Some 370 applicants have offered a total of over 120 million litres. An initial invitation to proceed under the scheme has been extended to 169 applicants with quotas up to 268,000 litres and for whom dairying contributes at least a quarter of income. Of these applicants, 68 have accepted the offer to proceed, 36 have not done so and 65 await the outcome of their applications for additional quota before taking a decision.In the light of the response so far, the invitation has been extended to a further 15 applicants with quotas of up to 300,000 litres. Further invitations will subsequently be made to producers with higher quotas until the target of 29·8 million litres is reached, and it is too early to say what proportion of the total applicants will finally be able to proceed under the scheme.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will express an estimated total for the cost to his Department of the milk supplementary levy (outgoers) scheme.

It is estimated that payments under the scheme in Scotland will total ?3,874,000, spread over the five years 1984–85 to 1988–89.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has any evidence of reductions in the value of dairy cattle due to the introduction of quotas and the application of the milk supplementary levy (outgoers) scheme.

No figures are available relating to the value of dairy cattle. Between 1 April and 31 October 1984, the price of all cast cows sold liveweight in Scotland was on average 9 per cent, lower than in the corresponding period of 1983. While the introduction of milk quotas will undoubtedly have had an effect on these prices, there are other factors which affect them, such as the export demand for cow beef, which has fallen off in this period.No producer has yet ceased dairying under the milk supplementary levy (outgoers) scheme which, in any event, does not require a beneficiary actually to dispose of his herd.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if the question of emissions from large combustion plants was discussed at the meeting of the Energy Minister's Council on 13 November; and if he will make a statement.

I represented the United Kingdom at the Energy Ministers' Council on 13 November.The council discussed energy aspects of draft directives on emissions from large combustion plant. I emphasised the need to ensure that measures adopted take full account of advances in scientific and technical knowledge and are cost-effective.The Council adopted a resolution on energy savings, defining guidelines to good practice in a number of areas. Following discussion about the need for Community support for investment in solid fuels, the presidency concluded that all member states were willing to achieve the aim of a balanced Community strategy in this area. The Council reaffirmed its commitment to principles designed to promote realistic pricing and avoidance of discriminatory practices. Approval was given to the latest round of Community support for projects to promote development of new technology in oil and gas exploration and development.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy (1) what are the projections for the growth in the supply of nuclear electricity between now and the year 2010;(2) how many nuclear reactors it will be necessary to build to accommodate the projected growth in amount of electricity produced by nuclear power stations between 1984 and 2010.

It is impossible to project with any accuracy the amount of electricity that will be produced by nuclear power in 2010.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement on the coal strike.

Since 5 November over 13,000 former strikers have returned to work; 43 per cent, of those employed in the industry are now not on strike.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy when he expects to announce a decision on support for lead city combined heat and power schemes.

Ten proposals have been received, including two for London, covering all the nine towns recommended for further study by the Atkins report. These are being evaluated by my Department and a statement will be made in due course.

asked the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State answering in respect of the Arts, if he has had any discussions with the director or board of trustees of the British Museum about the repainting of the entrance hall and the desirability of the recreation of the original polychromatic decorative scheme.

No.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessments he has made of the potential increased efficiency in preventing illegal importation of drugs for given levels of increase in the numbers of Customs officers.

Attempting to assess the relationship between a given increase in the number of Customs officers and increased efficiency in preventing illegal importation of drugs does not seem the best way forward. Customs need to identify those areas where its controls can most advantageously be strengthened. This is a continuous process with the constant adjustment of these controls to meet the changes in routes and methods used by smugglers which inevitably follow from successful action by Customs against existing methods.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what effect his statement on 12 November about the abolition of the £1 note will have on Ulster bank, Northern bank, Bank of Ireland and Allied Irish bank £1 notes issued in Belfast.

The decision to cease issuing the Bank of England £1 note does not alter the position of notes issued by banks in Northern Ireland, on which decisions are a matter for the banks concerned.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many £1 notes were issued in 1983.

Approximately 660 million.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why he is not prepared to consider a plastic £1 note, similar to that used in the Isle of Man.

Plastic notes are too easily forged and therefore unsuitable for a country with a large currency circulation.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, following the introduction of the English, Scottish and Welsh versions of the £1 coin, it is proposed to introduce a Northern Ireland version.

It is proposed to issue a Northern Ireland version of the £1 coin in either 1986 or 1987.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate for the current financial year, the yield to the Exchequer from the taxation of building society profits on gilt edged securities.

I regret that insufficient data are available from which to produce an estimate for the current financial year. Had profits on gilt edged securities in 1983–84 been subject to corporation tax, the yield would have been about £200 million, but this figure cannot be regarded as any indicator of the current yield.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the cost of allowing farm house cider, produced only from apples without the addition of artificial sweetner, containing no artificial colouring and which is not artificially carbonated, in amounts of less than 100,000 gallons per annum, a tax option of a percentage based levy on sale price, worked out as the average tax paid by the industrial cider companies.

Farm house cider is not specifically defined for revenue purposes and there is no official information on which to base a reliable cost estimate. The data available, mainly from trade sources, suggests that the loss of excise duty could be of the order of £300,000 per annum.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will provide details of the number of registered and unregistered cider makers for (a) 1978 and (b) the last year for which figures are available, broken down to show the distribution in each year for each of the shire counties in England.

Customs records indicate that on 31 March 1978 there were 55 registered and an estimated 35 exempt* cider makers, but information about their distribution by county is not available.On 19 November 1984 the number of registered and exempt* cider makers was as follows:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in view of the breach of the 1966 agreement between the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man concerning petroleum revenue tax, Her Majesty's Government will compensate the Isle of Man for a reduction in its share of the revenue accruing to the United Kingdom from its share of the continental shelf.

The agreement to which my hon. Friend refers related to licence revenues and not to petroleum revenue tax. The Isle of Man has throughout received its full entitlement under the agreement.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government concerning the collection of petroleum royalties relating to the area between the outer limit of the territorial waters of the Isle of Man and the median line between the island and the United Kingdom.

The collection of royalties for the area in question is the same as for other licensed areas of the United Kingdom continental shelf.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what statistical evidence is available to him about the correlation between the level and distribution of direct taxation on earned incomes and economic performance at the national and individual level.

The OECD and the European Commission both publish international comparisons of the level and distribution of taxation, including international comparisons of direct taxation on employment incomes. The Inland Revenue has recently published a note "International Comparisons of Direct Tax on Employment Incomes", based on this data. International comparisons of GDP growth rates are published by a number of international organisations from time to time.Evidence on individual work incentives is reported in a number of research studies. Some of the main findings were summarised in evidence given to the Treasury and Civil Service Sub-Committee (Session 1982–83) on the structure of personal income taxation and income support.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the complaints procedure relating to actions of Her Majesty's Customs and Excise in respect of the importation of materials by bookshops.

If an importer does not agree that something seized is liable to forfeiture, he may so claim in writing within one month. The commissioners are then obliged to submit the matter to a court for civil condemnation proceedings.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer which court decisions Her Majesty's Customs and Excise has used as comparisons when deciding on any prosecutions of bookshops for the importation of particular materials.

In deciding whether material is indecent or obscene, Her Majesty's- Customs and Excise is guided by the decisions of the courts in civil condemnation proceedings or, where known, in proceedings under the Obscene Publications Act. Moreover, its judgment may always be challenged by appeal against seizure, which must be decided by the courts.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether any legal advice has been sought by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise officers from outside the Customs and Excise Department on the principles to be followed when deciding upon any prosecutions of bookshops for the importation of particular materials; and if he will make a statement.

The Commissioners of Customs and Excise generally rely on the services of their solicitor's office for advice on legal matters. However, the opinion of counsel is sought in appropriate cases.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if there are any plans to reduce the level of value added tax paid by registered charities, especially by homes for the elderly; and if he will make a statement.

I have no such plans. I refer the hon. Member to my reply of 18 May, at columns 269–70, to the hon. Member for West Bromwich, East (Mr. Snape).

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will introduce legislation to provide that payment for quota under the milk supplementary levy (outgoers) scheme may be rolled over for capital gains tax purposes;(2) whether he will take steps to exempt from capital gains taxation those dairy farmers who successfully apply for the milk supplementary levy (outgoers) scheme.

Payments made under the milk supplementary levy (outgoers) scheme will be liable to either income tax or capital, gains tax. I have noted the hon. Member's suggestions, but I do not think that any departure from the normal rules would be justified.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much he expects to accrue to the Consolidated Fund as a result of the introduction of, and operation of, the milk supplementary levy (outgoers) scheme from capital gains tax payments.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the amounts at 1984–85 prices that could be raised by 1p on the standard rate of income tax in England for the financial years 1978–79, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84 and 1984–85.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will estimate how many more people could be resettled in jobs if the resources available to the Manpower Services Commission for the training opportunities scheme were concentrated on those courses which have the best results in getting people into jobs.

Just over half the 64,000 unemployed people who completed occupational training and work preparation courses under the training opportunities scheme in 1983–84 found jobs within three months. Changes are now under way to make the Government's adult training programmes more effective, and to increase the number of unemployed people helped. Once these changes are fully implemented, 125,000 unemployed people a year should benefit from training closely related to known employment needs; and the employment prospects of 125,000 employed people will also be improved through training programmes aimed at updating or extending their skills.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will provide information on the 50 geographical regions in Great Britain with the highest unemployment rates (a) on a constituency basis and (b) on the regional and sub-regional basis used in the "New Earnings Survey" in April, broken down between (i) men aged 18 years or over, (ii) women aged 18 years or over and (iii) workers aged under 18 years and show the relevant unemployment rates.

The information is not available on the geographical basis requested. Unemployment rates are calculated for travel-to-work areas, counties and regions; unemployment rates by age are available only at the national level.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many people at the latest available date were registered as unemployed in (a) Scotland, (b) Wales and (c) Northern Ireland; what percentage of the total population available for work in those parts of the country the figures represented; and what were the comparable figures for 1979, 1981 and 1983;(2) how many people at the latest available date were registered as unemployed in

The information is available in the House of Commons Library. However, the figures for all the years requested are not directly comparable particularly because of the change from the registrant-based to claimant-based unemployment count in October 1982.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many full-time male jobs in manufacturing have been lost in the United Kingdom since 1981; and how many part-time female jobs in all sectors have been created over the same period.

Information about job gains and job losses is not available from the Department's statistics, but an indication of the net changes can be seen by comparing levels of employees in employment at different dates.Other than at census of employment dates, a breakdown between full-time and part-time employees is not available for males and is available for females only for Great Britain. Between June 1981 and June 1984 the estimated number of males employed in manufacturing industries in Great Britain decreased by 421,000. Over the same period the estimated number of part-time female employees in employment in all industries in Great Britain increased by 360,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people at the latest available date have been registered as unemployed (a) for more than three years, (b) for more than two years and (c) for more than one year.

The information on unemployed claimants is available in the House of Commons Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many and what percentage, for each year since 1979, of (a) able-bodied people and (b) registered disabled people have been unemployed nationally and in the Manchester, Sheffield, London, Newcastle, Birmingham, Stoke on Trent, Leeds and Wakefield travel-to-work areas for (i) over three months, (ii) over six months, (iii) over one year, (iv) over 18 months and (v) over two years; and what these figures are for disabled people registered as (i) section 1 and (ii) section 2 disabled.

[pursuant to his reply, 21 November 1984, c. 195]: Separate unemployment figures for able-bodied and disabled people are not available.Comprehensive figures for registered disabled people have not been available since the introduction of voluntary registration of unemployed people at jobcentres and careers offices in October 1982. Analysis of total unemployment by duration for the old travel-to-work areas are available in the House of Commons Library, although direct comparisons back to 1979 are not possible mainly because of the change in the basis of the unemployment count in October 1982.Following is the available information on numbers of registered disabled people registered as unemployed between 1979 and 1982 for Great Britain, and for October 1982 only for the old travel-to-work areas.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what, for each year since 1979, is (a) the unemployment rate, (b) the number of registered disabled people and (c) the unemployment rate for registered disabled people, nationally and for the Manchester, Sheffield, London, Stoke-on-Trent, Newcastle, Birmingham, Leeds and Wakefield travel-to-work areas; and what are these figures for disabled people registered (i) section 1, and (ii) section 2 disabled.

[pursuant to his reply, 21 November 1984, column 795]: Overall unemployment rates for travel-to-work areas are available in the House of Commons Library. Figures for the new travel-to-work areas only go back to June 1983 and direct comparisons for the old travel-to-work areas back to 1979 are not possible, mainly because of the change in the basis of the unemployment count in October 1982. Unemployment rates for registered disabled people are not available.Following is the available information on numbers of registered disabled people in the old travel-to-work areas.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many young persons on youth training and youth opportunities programme schemes have been involved in accidents, including fatal accidents, since the inception of each scheme.

The information requested is available for the periods shown in the table:

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will take steps to ensure that the consultation procedures set out in the central study plan method of work are extended to include the following interested parties to enable the benefits of health and safety legislation to be adequately assessed (a) unions with members employed in small firms, (b) safety representatives in small businesses appointed under the safety representatives and safety committee regulations in 1977 and (c) employees in small businesses.

No changes are proposed.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many firms have been (a) granted and (b) refused licences to strip asbestos since 1 August.

Fifty licences without conditions and 1,366 licences with conditions attached have been issued to individual licence holders. One licence application was refused, but the company has since re-applied and now holds a six-month conditional licence.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many extra health and safety inspectors have been recruited specifically to deal with asbestos licensing since 1 August.

I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Sheffield, Central (Mr. Cabora) on 29 October, at columns 779–80.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the approximate number of hours lost through short-time working between April and August.

Details of hours lost through short-time working are available for operatives in manufacturing industries in Great Britain. Figures for the months specified were published in table 1.11 of the labour market data section of the October 1984 issue of Employment Gazette, a copy of which is in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the hard-to-work areas referred to on page 530 of the October Employment Gazette: and whether he will make a statement.

I hope it was not too hard to work out that the reference was meant to be to the revised travel-to-work areas.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) whether, in the light of the results of the recent Manpower Services Commission sample survey, he will give the most up-to-date breakdown of the destinations of youth training scheme leavers;(2) whether, in the light of the reports of the recent Manpower Services Commission sample survey, he will give his most up-to-date estimate of the number of youth training scheme leavers who have gone straight into employment.

The latest estimates of the destinations of young people leaving the youth training scheme are based on the recent sample survey of 3,500 young people in nine Manpower Services Commission areas who left individual programmes within the scheme between 1 April and 31 July 1984. This showed that, of those leavers responding:

• 56 per cent, were in full-time employment.
• 2 per cent, were in part-time employment.
• 4 per cent, were on another YTS scheme.
• 2 per cent, were on a full-time course at a college or training centre.
• 34 per cent, were unemployed (of whom about one-fifth—i.e. 7 per cent, of all respondents—intended to take up full-time education or training).
• 2 per cent, were doing something else.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will state for each industry the number of industrial training board training centres which have closed since 1979.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many appeal tribunal hearings related to decisions made by his adjudication officers have been convened during the last 12 months for which information is available; and what is his estimate of the total cost of these.

I have been asked to reply.As a result of industrial action within the Department, the most recent information available is for the 12-month period ended 31 December 1983 when 15,096 unemployment benefit appeals were heard.Information about the total cost of these appeals is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many persons were receiving after-care by the probation and after-care service in each metropolitan county area at 31 December in each year since 1974 by sex and type of contact and type of after care;(2) what was the average number of persons on remand awaiting completion of social inquiry reports by the probation and after-care service in each metropolitan county area in each year since 1974 by age, sex and type of offence;(3) how many persons were supervised by the probation and after-care service in each metropolitan county area at 31 December in each year since 1974 by sex and type of supervision.

I shall reply as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of convictions in each of the years 1973 to 1983 for knowingly selling alcohol to a person under the age of 18 years.

The information available to me, wliich may be incomplete, is given in the following table. It covers offences of selling liquor to a person under 18 years either on or off licensed premises.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of convictions in each of the years 1973 to 1983 for selling alcohol to an intoxicated person.

The information available to me, which may be incomplete, is given in the following table. It covers proceedings brought under section 172 of the Licensing Act 1964 and includes offences where a licensee permits drunken or violent behaviour as well as offences of selling liquor to a drunken person.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to introduce legislation following the recent report of the Criminal Law Revision Committee.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to a question on 22 November, at column 246, from the hon. Member for Liverpool, Riverside (Mr. Parry).

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many visa applications submitted by Libyans for entry into the United Kingdom are currently awaiting authorisation by Her Majesty's Government; how many of these are new applications; and how many have been submitted by Libyans seeking entry into the United Kingdom for a second or subsequent time.

The information is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will describe the new visa regime imposed for Libyans seeking entry into the United Kingdom since the severance of diplomatic relations between Libya and the United Kingdom in May.

My right hon. and learned Friend announced on 1 May a number of immigration restrictions on the entry and stay in this country of Libyan nationals. Visitors are granted visas for stays of shorter duration, adapted to the circumstances of each case. Applications from those who seek to come here as students, in particular, are subject to stringent checks, and Libyan students are not normally given permission to stay for more than one term at a time. Applications for visas must be made to a British consular post outside Libya, and all such applications are referred to the Home Office for a decision. All applicants for visas are asked to sign a declaration undertaking to refrain from the expression of any political opinion through violence. Similar restrictions apply to applications for extensions of stay from Libyan nationals in this country. These arrangements are kept under review.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the total number of Libyans admitted to the United Kingdom since the severance of diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and Libya in May, and if he will indicate (a) those who have been given entry for the first time and (b) those who had previously been granted visas authorising entry into the United Kingdom prior to May.

A total of 700 Libyan nationals was admitted to the United Kingdom in the period May to August 1984, following the severance of diplomatic relations with Libya on 22 April 1984. The information requested on admissions for the first time and on persons who had been granted visas prior to May 1984 is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many new visas were issued to Libyans for entry into the United Kingdom for each month in 1983 and 1984.

This is a matter for my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. However, I understand that the information requested is not available. Returns of visa statistics kept by posts abroad indicate the total number of visas issued, which are not broken down by nationality.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current average length of time for a visa to be granted to a Libyan seeking entry for the first time into the United Kingdom for (a) business purposes, (b) educational purposes, (c) medical purposes and (d) visiting and tourist purposes.

The information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Urgent compassionate and medical cases are given priority.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any charges of criminal damage have been brought against persons attempting to deface with paint cruise missiles and of defacing with paint soldiers' uniforms at the high security vehicle compound as a result of activities in the early hours of Tuesday 20 November at Longmoor Camp.

The chief constable of Hampshire tells me that no charges have so far been preferred as a result of incidents at Longmoor camp on 20 November. My right hon. and learned Friend was informed by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence that there is no record of incidents as described by the hon. Member having taken place.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) on which date or dates and in which areas the various sections of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 will be brought into effect; and by what date the Act is expected to be fully operational;(2) what additional training custody officers will undergo in order that they may fulfil their responsibilities under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act; and what will be the nature and duration of such training;(3) what additional training Metropolitan police officers will undergo in order that they be fully acquainted with the new powers and duties contained in the Police and Criminal Evidence Act; arid what is the nature and duration of such training.

Our present intention is to bring the provisions of the Act into force in three stages, commencing on 1 January 1985. The provisions to be brought into force on that date will include section 106, which requires arrangements to be made in each police area for obtaining the views of the community on policing, and a number of miscellaneous provisions which can appropriately and sensibly come into effect in advance of the major parts of the Act.The second stage of implementation will be on 1 March 1985 and will principally include part IX of the Act: the establishment of the Police Complaints Authority and other changes to the police complaints and discipline procedures.The third stage will include the outstanding provisions of parts I to VIII— with the exception of subsections (11) to (14) of section 37, which are dependent upon provisions of the Children and Young Persons Act 1969 not yet in force, and section 60, which provides for the tape-recording of police interviews with suspects and which will be subject to a separate programme of implementation in the light of the progress of the field trials now taking place in various police areas. In deciding on the timing of this third stage I have had regard to the need for a service-wide training programme. The Home Office's instructor training unit at Harrogate is preparing a training package for use by all provincial police forces.The training is likely to amount to 14 hours teaching time followed by on-the-job training. This includes up to seven hours teaching of particular relevance to custody officers. A corresponding package is being prepared by the Metropolitan police for all officers serving on that force.The date for the third stage of implementation to which I have asked forces to work is 1 January 1986, which is also the date on which I propose to ask Parliament to agree that the four codes of practice which section 66 requires me to issue shall come into force.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the essential elements of the proposed arrangements for the implementation of section 48 of the Criminal Law Act 1977.

As previously announced, my right hon. and learned Friend's intention is to implement section 48 so that advance disclosure of the prosecution case will be available to defendants charged with offences triable either way before they are required to indicate whether they wish to be tried in the magistrates' court or the Crown court. It is intended to begin by providing for disclosure to be made either by a summary of the case or by copies of witness statements. Discussions on the proposals are taking place with interested parties as a preliminary to the making of the necessary rules. It continues to be our aim that the rules should be made and in force by next May. They will be reconsidered in the light of experience and no later than at the time of the introduction of the Crown prosecution service, with a view to prescribing a single method of advance disclosure for use in all cases.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement On the proposed use of instant cautions and multi-agency panels for dealing with juveniles in the Metropolitan police district.

The Metropolitan police introduced an early cautioning scheme for juveniles on 1 November. Where the offence is not serious, most first time juvenile offenders are eligible for an instant caution, which will be administered at the police station and without reference to the juvenile bureau. Other cases are still referred to the Metropolitan police's juvenile bureau for further consideration.The Metropolitan police are also considering the introduction of multi-agency juvenile panels on an experimental basis in four districts. Cases of juvenile offenders would be referred to a juvenile panel if the juvenile bureau considered that prosecution was appropriate. The panel would either support prosecution or recommend a caution combined with some form of supervised activity. The viability of such schemes will clearly depend on all the agencies involved as well as the police.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out in full the Metropolitan Police identification parade code, the origins of the code and why terms such as mulatto, quadroon and octoroon are still used; if the code is being reviewed; and if he will make a statement.

The section of the Metropolitan police commissioner's general orders dealing with identification parades reflects directly the rules and administrative guidance laid down in Home Office circular 109/1978, a copy of which i s in the Library of the House. This circular was issued in the light of recommendations of the departmental committee on evidence of identification in criminal cases— the Devlin committee— published on 26 April 1976.The code of practice on identification to be made under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 will replace existing provisions on identification parades. The code has been published in draft and a copy is in the Library of the House. It has no reference to the terms to which the hon. Member refers.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library a copy of the uniform custody record on which is recorded all details relating to a person's detention in police custody.

The Association of Chief Police Officers is preparing a custody record suitable for adoption by all police forces in England and Wales when the provisions of parts IV and V of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 are brought into force. When this work has been completed, I shall place a copy of the record in the Library of the House.