To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what money is available for allocation in the final round of bids under the European regional development fund non-quota textile allocations scheme; what bids have been submitted for consideration; and if he will make a statement.

:£13·2 million of grant remains available under the textile non-quota special measure, for which applications worth £4·3 million have been received. £37·9 million of grant has already been awarded under this measure.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals there are for an EEC scheme to replace the European regional development fund non-quota textile scheme on its expiry.

I have been asked to reply.None. However, as stated in my answer on 3 March, at columns

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has on levels of production of (a) CFC 11, (b) CFC 12, (c) CFC 13 and (d) CFC 14 for each year since 1975 in (i) the EEC, (ii) the United States of America and (iii) the rest of the world.

Following is information on production of (a) CFC 11 and 12 and (b) CFC 113 and 114 in the European Community, the United States and globally.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has as to sales of (a) CFC 11, (b) CFC 12, (c) CFC 113 and (d) CFC 114 in (i) the United Kingdom, (ii) the EEC, (iii) the United States of America and (iv) the rest of the world, for each year since 1975.

Global sales of CFCs may be taken as roughly equivalent to the global production figures which I am giving in response to another question by the hon. Member. Separate figures are not available for the United States or (since the EC took collective action on CFCs in 1980) for the United Kingdom. Sales within the EC are as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to commission research to update the findings of his Department's pollution paper No. 15 of 1979; and if he will make a statement.

Pollution paper 15, published in 1979, reviewed research on chlorofluorocarbons and their effect on stratospheric ozone.The Department now supports a broadly based programme of research into stratospheric ozone; I refer the hon. Member to my replies of 2 November 1987, at column

To ask the Secretary of State for Ihe Environment what information he has on the cancer risks of rockwool and glasswool fibre padding; how many houses have this material installed; what steps he is taking to minimise any risk; and if he will make a statement.

I refer to the reply by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to my hon. Friend the Member for Banbury (Mr. Baldry) on 1 December 1987, at column 551, on the health risks to householders from man-made mineral fibre (MMMF) loft insulation. Rockwool and glasswool fibre padding are forms of MMMF widely used for loft insulation. They are also used in new buildings for cavity wall insulation. Only limited information is available on rockwool and glasswool cavity wall insulation but this indicates that the risk to health from them is of no more consequence than that from loft insulation. Information from Audits Great Britain Ltd. suggests that at the end of 1986 14 million households at most had these materials installed as loft insulation. The Department has no information on the number of houses with rockwool or glasswool cavity wall insulation. The risk to health from these materials is extremely small, but people handling them are advised to wear a face mask conforming to BS 6016 or BS 2091 to reduce the risks still further. The Secretary of State has published further advice in the booklet "All about loft, tank and pipe insulation," which is sent to persons seeking assistance under the homes insulation scheme.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the total amount spent by his Department in 1987 on management and computer consultancy contracts, excluding hardware and software purchases.

The Department's financial records relate to financial years. In 1986–87 DOE (Central) spent £5·7 million on management and other consultancies (including computing). The forecast outturn for 1987–88 is £4·7 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the total amount spent by the Property Services Agency in 1987 on management and computer consultancy contracts, excluding hardware and software purchases.

Expenditure by the Property Services Agency, on management and computer consultancy contracts, excluding hardware and software purchases, in 1987 was £3,572,487.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to table regulations allowing local authorities to charge administrative expenses of superannuation funds directly to those funds; and if he will make a statement.

The proposal to charge the administration expenses of local government superannuation funds to those funds was the subject of statutory consultations with representatives of local government and others in 1987. In the light of those consultations my right hon. Friend expects to make later this year the amending regulation effective from 1 April 1986 charging the above expenses to the funds.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment of what material the floating jetty for the RNAD, Coulport, is to be constructed; and if he will make a statement.

Tenderers are free to make offers using either concrete or steel for the pontoons.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information is available on attempts by the Government of the Netherlands to secure marmosets from the United Kingdom for the purpose of chemical warfare research; and if he proposes to take steps to prevent such animals being exported for such purposes.

The Department has no information on attempts by the Government of the Netherlands to secure marmosets from the United Kingdom for the purpose of chemical warfare research.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what specific proposals and projects are currently in operation to combat littering in the urban centres of the north-east.

Projects currently in operation to combat littering in the north-east include Operation Clean-up at Middlesbrough under the urban programme and Tidy Britain Group's projects on cleaning and renovating the railway corridor between Newcastle and South Tyneside and cleaning areas on the River Tyne, together with a Tidy Up Middlesbrough campaign. The Tidy Britain Group has an ongoing programme to combat litter in collaboration with all sections of the community in all the urban centres of the north-east.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has yet completed his consideration of responses to the consultative paper "Non-Domestic Rates: Amendments to the Rating Legislation in England and Wales", published in July 1987; and if he will make a statement.

I have today written to the hon. Member for Copeland (Dr. Cunningham) setting out the Government's conclusions, including some modifications to the Government's proposals in the light of consultees' views. These mainly concern the power to remit rates on grounds of hardship; local authorities' involvement in the determination of rateable values; the proposed limit on the period in which ratepayers may propose alterations to rateable values; the backdating of alterations to the valuation list; and the duty on local authorities to consult business ratepayers. I have placed copies of that letter in the Library. The changes will be given effect in the Local Government Finance Bill or in regulations made under it.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has received a response from the British Waterways Board to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission's report on the maintenance of the boards' waterways; and if he will make a statement.

I am grateful to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission for its wide-ranging investigation of BWB. The board has carefully studied the Commission's report under its new chairman, Mr. David Ingman, and I am placing copies of its initial response in the Library of the House.The commission proposed a major programme of changes and improvements, some of which BWB has already begun or identified as necessary, for implementation over the next two to three years. Its recommendations cover the definition of maintenance standards and tasks, achieving the optimum balance between in-house work and the use of contractors or consultants, the development of procedures for project appraisal, the basis for allocating resources to individual waterways, BWB's freight operations, the raising of revenue both from leisure use and from BWB's estate, the management of BWB's direct labour force and salaried staff, and some aspects of management systems and structure. The Government broadly endorse the commission's findings.BWB has accepted most of the commission's recommendations and has set in hand the process of management change. Key elements are the development of comprehensive plans for individual waterways as a basis for budgetary control and resource allocation, structural reorganisation, the appointment of new commercial and personnel directors, and the overhaul of cost control systems. I welcome the board's positive response to the report and its commitment to change. I support both its overall approach and the action it is taking to implement the report's recommendations. I attach particular priority to making progress with the recommendations on maintenance and contracting out, direct freight activities, project appraisal, and the management of BWB's estate.The Department is liaising with BWB on the development project appraisal procedures, and will review the guidelines on submission of schemes to the Department for approval in the light of the new arrangements. I shall also keep under review BWB's responsibilities for public road bridges over canals.Some of the commission's recommendations on BWB's financial and budgetary framework would require Government action. The commission thought it important that the guidance figures which BWB is given on grant levels for future years should be respected. It also recommended that the Government should consider the possibility of relating part of the grant to meeting the cost of non-revenue earning requirements and that BWB should be given an incentive to increase its income from users by being allowed to retain at least part of any such increase.These issues need further consideration in consultation with BWB. I recognise that BWB would like as much assurance as possible about future grant levels, subject always to public expenditure constraints. I also attach importance to incentives. The existing grant arrangements do, however, already allow BWB to use all receipts within the same financial year and to carry over to the following year, subject to approval, receipts from the sale of land. Further work is needed to assess the feasibility and practical value of splitting the grant between revenue and non-revenue earning requirements.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy whether he has met the Chairman of the Health and Safety Commission to discuss the report "Statement of Incidents at Nuclear Installations".

A range of nuclear issues was discussed when I met the HSC chairman in November 1987.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what action he intends taking following the Health and Safety Commission's recent publication, "The Tolerability of Risk from Nuclear Power Stations".

The document was published by the Health and Safety Executive. The Health and Safety Commission will be considering the document and comments thereon, including those of the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations, before formulating its own view. Comments have been requested by 6 May 1988.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what was the total amount spent by his Department in 1987 on management and computer consultancy contracts, excluding hardware and software purchases.

My Department expects its total expenditure in the 1987–88 financial year on management and computer consultancy contracts to be about £283,000.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if, when he next meets the chairman of British Coal, he will seek an assurance that the corporation will provide the general secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers, as a director of the Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation, with details of the number of members of each union in accordance with the memorandum and articles of association of CISWO as amended by Statutory Instrument No. 1225 of 1987, so that individual unions can satisfy themselves as to the fairness of allocation of seats; and if he will make a statement.

British Coal has provided to the unions concerned all the information required under the amended memorandum and articles of CISWO. That information, including the allocation of seats, was verified by the corporation's auditors as required by the articles. A procedure is incorporated in the articles for the unions to challenge the information provided. None did so.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) what information he has as to how many contracts for the building of Sizewell B have been awarded to date; what percentage of them have gone to East Anglian firms; and what is his estimate of the number of Suffolk residents being employed at Sizewell B;(2) if he will make a statement on the progress of building work at Sizewell B;(3) what is his assessment of the current and projected impact of the Sizewell B project on the labour market in

This is a matter for the CEGB, and I have asked the chairman to write to my hon. Friend.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy whether he intends to exercise his option, under the articles of association, to require Amersham International plc to redeem on 31 March his special rights preference share in the company.

I have no present plans to do so.

To ask the Attorney-General whether, in the light of the most recent Home Office statistics in relation to sentencing and the ethnic minorities, the Lord Chancellor intends to provide (a) guidelines and (b) training to magistrates; and if he will make a statement.

The magisterial committee of the Judicial Studies Board (which advises the Lord Chancellor on the training of magistrates) has in the last 12 months taken two initiatives to improve arrangements for the training of magistrates in sentencing and the ethnic minorities. In April last year the committee sent to all magistrates' courts committees, which are responsible for delivering training to magistrates locally, the first two in a series of cards to be issued, setting out a structured, step-by-step approach to decision making. One of these cards covered sentencing, and is designed to ensure that all relevant considerations relating to the offence, the offender and other matters are taken into account by magistrates in arriving at a sentence.In June last year the committee organised a seminar on training in ethnic minority cultures, attended by representatives of selected magistrates' courts committees. This subject is listed as an approved subject in the training syllabus, so it may be included by magistrates' courts committees in a training programme without prior application to the Lord Chancellor for approval. The seminar has been a stimulus to action and such training is increasingly being provided to magistrates.

To ask the Attorney-General what was the total amount spent by his office in 1987 on management and computer consultancy contracts, excluding hardware and software purchases.

Nil.

To ask the Attorney-General what was the total amount spent by the Lord Chancellor's Department in 1987 on management and computer consultancy contracts, excluding hardware and software purchases.

The total amount spent by the Lord Chancellor's Department in this financial year on management and computer consultancy, excluding hardware and software purchases, is £348,593·75.

To ask the Attorney-General what was the total amount spent by Her Majesty's Land Registry in 1987 on management and computer consultancy contracts, excluding hardware and software purchases.

The sum spent by Her Majesty's Land Registry on management and computer consultancy contracts in 1987 was £487·02.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will raise at the next meeting of the European Council the size of the United Kingdom's trade deficit with the EEC; and if she will make a statement.

No. The EC is our largest market, which takes about 50 per cent. of our exports; it is up to United Kingdom exporters to take further advantage of the market of 320 million people that the EC provides. The removal of remaining barriers to trade leading to the achievement of a single market in 1992 will afford plenty of opportunities to do so.

To ask the Prime Minister whether she has any plans to visit Scotland.

Yes.

To ask the Prime Minister whether she will list the Ministers who have paid official visits to China in each of the last five years and the year of each such visit.

According to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's records, the information requested is as follows:1983

To ask the Prime Minister what was the total amount spent by the Cabinet Office in 1987 on management and computer consultancy contracts, excluding hardware and software purchases.

The total amount spent by the Cabinet Office on management and computer consultancy contracts, excluding hardware and software purchases, during the calendar year 1987, was £355,000.

To ask the Prime Minister what was the cost to public funds of the dispersal of litter in St. James' park on Tuesday 22 March, prior to her attendance; and on which vote this expenditure will be borne.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Newham, North-West (Mr. Banks) on 28 March, at column 280. The cost of less than £60 will be met from the Department of the Environment's provision for expenditure on the royal parks (class X, vote 4).

To ask the Prime Minister when the commissioner appointed under the Interception of Communications Act 1985 will present his annual report; and if she will make a statement.

A copy of the 1987 annual report by Lord Justice Lloyd has been laid before the House today in accordance with section 8(7) of the Interception of Communications Act 1985. The confidential appendix to the report has been excluded from that copy in accordance with section 8(8) of the Interception of Communications Act 1985. I am grateful to the commissioner for his work on the report and the reassurance it contains, that care is taken by all concerned to observe not only the letter but also the spirit of the Act. The commissioner's report suggests a small number of improvements to the procedures observed in dealing with these cases. Careful consideration is being given to ways of implementing these suggestions.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 29 March.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 29 March.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 29 March.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 29 March.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 29 March.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 29 March.

This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others, including the Prime Minister of Fiji and the Mayor of Shanghai. In addition to my duties in the House I shall be having further meetings later today.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what recent representations he has received about safety standards for electrical installations; and if he will make a statement.

I regularly receive correspondence from colleagues, trade associations and members of the public concerning safety standards for electrical installations, most recently arising from the exhibition on safety and electricity presented by the Electrical Contractors Association in the Upper Waiting Hall between 2 and 6 November last, arranged by my hon. Friend.In response to these inquiries, I have welcomed the efforts to promote greater awareness of the dangers of electricity and the potential hazards arising from the misuse of electrical equipment. In order to emphasise the importance of this area, my own Department, in collaboration with the industry, will shortly be launching an electrical safety canpaign with the specific aim of heightening people's awareness of the benefits to be gained by the installation of residual current devices in providing additional protection against electric shocks.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what information he has as to (a) the number of employees in the British telecommunications industry per telephone subscriber and (b) the comparable figure for West Germany and France.

The latest edition of the "International Telecommunication Union's Yearbook of Common Carrier Telecommunication Statistics" gives the following information:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) what has been the level of United Kingdom exports to China in each of the last five years in (a) records, (b) television programmes and (c) films;(2) what has been the level of

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he will list the number of trade delegations to China that his Department has supported in each of the last five years.

The numbers of outward missions to China supported by the Department for the period were:

Information on the value of exported goods to China by industries, as defined in the standard industrial classification, is not available: figures have been compiled using standard international trade classification revision 2 divisions equating to the broad industrial sectors. Information on the value of services and the "performance fee" value of television programmes and films exported to China is not available. Television programmes are not identified in the Overseas Trade Statistics; figures for recorded videos have been provided and may include television programmes. The available information is given in the following tables:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many United Kingdom companies have established joint ventures in China in each of the last five years.

The information is not readily available.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he will list the British trade fairs supported by the British Overseas Trade Board in China in each of the last five years.

The trade fairs held in China over the past five years which attracted support through the British Overseas Trade Board are as follows:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what discussions he has had with the Chinese Government about the problems of unauthorised publication of British books in China.

Chinese law does not extend copyright protection to foreign works and such works may therefore be published in that country. Contact on the subject of copyright has been made over a number of years with the Chinese Government, both at ministerial and official level. Recently, the Chinese Government have made good progress in drawing up a comprehensive law for the protection of both domestic and foreign works. In doing this, they have consulted widely with international experts. We understand that they hope to have the new law in force by 1990 and that they intend to join one of the international copyright conventions. We will continue to encourage the Chinese Government in this process.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what was the total amount spent by his Department in 1987 on management and computer consultancy contracts, excluding hardware and software purchases.

My Department's expenditure on consultants employed to improve the efficiency of the Department in the financial year 1987–88 is estimated to be £6,463,000, of which £5,280,000 is for computer consultancy contracts, excluding hardware and software purchases.Expenditure on management consultants is not recorded separately from other consultancy spend.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what was the total amount spent by the Office of Fair Trading in 1987 on management and computer consultancy contracts, excluding hardware and software purchases.

This is a matter for the Director-General of Fair Trading, and 1 will ask him to write to my hon. Friend.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what was the total amount spent by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission in 1987 on management and computer consultancy contracts, excluding hardware and software purchases.

Nil.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps are being taken to ensure that, in Government plans to rehabilitate and revitalise the inner cities, provision will be made to meet the needs of disabled people.

Several Government inner city programmes include schemes specifically targeted on the disabled, such as the urban programme, skills and training initiatives and support for arts and sports. I have invited comments from the Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation on the action for cities proposals.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what information he has concerning the decision of the Oldham magistrates' bench interviewing committee that no one who is an elected member of the Oldham metropolitan borough council will be considered for appointment as a magistrate.

I have advisory committees to assist me with the selection of persons for appointment as magistrates. In doing so they follow certain guidelines, of which the main criterion is suitability for office. Subject to this, I desire my committees to balance the bench so that it broadly reflects the make-up of the community of the area. For example, it would be wrong to have an overlarge proportion of persons on the bench involved in the work of local government.My committee at Oldham selects candidates for appointment on merit, follows the guidelines and does not bar elected members of the local authority from appointment.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if his Department has considered an application for an exhibition relating to the Advertising Standards Authority to be displayed in the Upper Waiting Hall.

Yes. Arrangements have been made for such an exhibition in the Upper Waiting Hall to take place from Monday 25 April to Friday 29 April 1988.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if the invitation list to the EC internal market conference in Lancaster house on 18 April includes trade union representatives or Opposition hon. and right hon. Members of the House.

[holding answer 28 March 1988]: The Lancaster house conference is primarily for senior business people. The general secretary of the Trades Union Congress has also received an invitation. My right hon. and noble Friend has invited all right hon. and hon. Members to a separate briefing at Lancaster house on the afternoon of 18 April.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what submissions he has made to the European Commission on the proposed directive on the authorisation of investment intermediaries.

[holding answer 25 March 1988]: The Commission has put forward no proposals for a directive dealing specifically with investment intermediaries. The Commission is considering a possible directive on investment services, but this has not yet been submitted to the Council of Ministers.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the remaining inspectors at the fire inspectorate will be replaced when they retire.

I assume that the hon. Member is referring to members of Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Fire Services. A number of serving members of the inspectorate will be retiring in the near future and it is intended that each will be replaced.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will update his Department's 1968 statistical bulletin on the ethnic origins of the prison population; and if he will make a statement.

We have no plans to update the detailed analyses of the ethnic origin of prisoners contained in Home Office statistical bulletin 17/86. Information on the ethnic origin of the population in prison department establishments by type of prisoner and by offence group for sentenced prisoners is now published annually in "Prison Statistics, England and Wales" (tables 1.11 to 1.13 of the 1986 issue, Cm. 210) copies of which are in the Library. The latest available information for 1987 is given in my reply to the question from the hon. Member for Hackney, South and Stoke Newington (Ms. Abbott) on 3 December 1987 at column 681.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list those (a) district, (b) London borough and (c) metropolitan district authorities which have an operational emergency centre.

The information requested is as follows. It is based on local authorities' returns due by 1 October 1987 under the Government's planned programme for implementation of the Civil Defence (General Local Authority Functions) Regulations 1983.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list those (a) county and (b) fire and civil defence authorities that have (i) an operational county main emergency centre and (ii) an operational county standby emergency centre; and if he will list those London group emergency centres that are currently operational.

The information requested is as follows. It is based on local authorities' returns due by 1 October 1987 under the Government's planned programme for implementation of the Civil Defence (General Local Authority Functions) Regulations 1983.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will identify those local authorities that will receive civil defence grant towards the construction or conversion of emergency centres during each of the years 1988–89, 1989–90 and 1990–91; and if he will indicate the likely scale of the provision involved in each year.

We expect grant-eligible expenditure on emergency centres to total about £3·5 million for each of the financial years mentioned but details will not be available until relevant expenditure for each authority has been approved.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will identify those local authorities that have received civil defence grant towards the construction or conversion of emergency centres during each of the years 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87 and 1987–88; and if he will indicate the scale of the expenditure involved in each year.

The local authorities concerned are listed as follows. Expenditure attracting grant at the rate of 75 per cent. totalled £1·7 million in 1984–85, £2·1 million in 1985–86 and £3·3 million in 1986–87. The expected figure for 1987–88 is £3·5 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many local authority emergency centres have been inspected by officials from his Department; and if he is satisfied with the facilities provided by local authorities for emergency communications and control.

Visits by officials to local authority emergency centres occur in support of detailed consideration of a number of issues, including the installation of new communications equipment, but no comprehensive record is kept of the instances. Progress made by local authorities in meeting their statutory responsibilities to establish, equip and maintain emergency centres is monitored under the Government's planned programme for implementation of the Civil Defence (General Local Authority Functions) Regulations 1983.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, in the light of recent evidence, including opinion polls, showing a higher than average incidence of the fear of crime in inner cities, he will take further steps to improve his crime prevention measures through the urban programme or other means.

In reply to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Derby, North (Mr. Knight) on 7 March 1988, at columns 3–4, my right hon. Friend reported the launch of the Government's safer cities programme which is specifically designed to tackle crime and the fear of crime in inner city areas with high crime levels. The programme will comprise safer city projects in 20 areas, to be established over the next three years. these will aim to complement and strengthen a range of initiatives, funded both from Government funds (including the urban programme) and the private sector.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many subject access requests under the terms of the Data Protection Act each police force has received to date; and whether he will make a statement.

The information is not at present available centrally. It is being sought from forces and I shall write to the hon. Member as soon as it is available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total amount spend by

I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that the Metroplitan police spent £1,673,923 on management and computer consultancy contracts in 1987.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons of Iranian nationality claiming to be refugees have arrived in the United Kingdom from Turkey in each of the past four years; how many were given asylum in the United Kingdom; how many were returned to Turkey; and what representations he has received regarding the Turkish practice of returning such people to Iran.

As applicants for asylum are recorded by nationality and not by country of embarkation, the figures requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Whilst we have received representations on individual cases of Iranian asylum-seekers from Turkey, I am unaware of any case of an Iranian refugee being sent back to Iran following return to Turkey from this country. Turkey is a signatory to the 1951 UN convention on refugees. There is a UNHCR presence in Turkey to which any Iranian may look for assistance.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he intends to take in relation to the letter ref. MLB.JD dated 19 January 1985 from the prosecuting solicitors' office Gwent police authority to an applicant for a firearms certificate.

Responsibility for the administration of the Firearms Act 1968 is vested with chief officers of police. My right hon. Friend has no authority to intervene in individual cases.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide a table depicting police force strength in numbers of officers for all regions of the United Kingdom and the percentage increases or decreases these figures represent from 1979 to the latest available date.

My right hon. Friend has responsibility only for England and Wales, for which the information is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what effects the imposition of a visa requirement on the nationals of India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Ghana and Nigeria have had at ports of entry to the United Kingdom particularly with regard to the delays which were experienced on immigration control during 1985 and 1986.

Visa requirements were introduced in October 1986 for nationals of India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Ghana and on 1 February 1987 for Nigeria. Since introduction there have been very substantial improvements at the Heathrow and Gatwick terminals in easing congestion, reducing delays at peak periods and improving conditions for passengers, their friends and relatives meeting them, and for the staff at the immigration service.In 1986 a total of about 24,000 persons were refused entry and removed; in 1987 the figures had dropped to just over 19,000. Because of the pressure on the control in 1986 many of those who arrived before October were not refused entry and removed until the following year. The fall in the refusal rate is therefore even greater than the apparent 20 per cent.The figures for Heathrow terminal 3 given in the table are illustrative of the reduction in casework at the major terminals dealing with passengers from the five countries.At terminal 4, which also handles intercontinental traffic, the position was very similar. Summer 1986 saw a steady increase in the volume of difficult casework. Some 466 passengers were referred for further examination in June swelling to 847 in the first two weeks in October. By contrast the same figures for the second half of 1987 remained relatively constant varying between extremes of 270 and 316 cases per month. A random sample of passengers arriving on Saturdays during last September revealed that only five passengers from Bangladesh, India and Pakistan were referred to the further examination area whereas 241 such passengers were set aside for further examination on the corresponding four days of September 1986.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the total spent by his Department in 1987 on management and computer consultancy contracts, excluding hardware and software purchases.

The Department's expenditure on such centrally managed consultancy contracts in 1987 was £30,938·21. It is not possible to identify without disproportionate costs fees paid on management and computer consultancy contracts in respect of projects not centrally managed.