asked Her Majesty's Government:What aspects of the book

I am informed that further allegations made by the authors of Babies for Burning are under investigation by the Director and it would not be proper for me to comment on them at this stage.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What are the total annual United Kingdom imports from, and exports to, Canada and what proportion of such goods were admitted duty free by each country.

In 1977 United Kingdom imports from Canada were valued at £1,230 million cif and exports to Canada at £713 million fob. To establish how much of this trade was free of duty would entail undue cost. United Kingdom imports are subject to the EEC Common Customs Tariff (CCT), of which the median rate for industrial goods is about 8 per cent. Products which are free of duty and are prominent among our imports from Canada include metalliferous ores, pulp for paper making, unwrought copper and nickel, and some timber products. Analysis of United Kingdom imports in 1974 on the basis of the present CCT indicates that approximately 59 per cent of industrial products imported from Canada in that year would currently be free of duty. A similar figure may be assumed to apply to the current pattern of imports of industrial products. Import duties on United Kingdom industrial exports to Canada are currently concentrated between 10 per cent. and 15 per cent., but some mainly industrial items enter duty-free.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Why the Minister at the Home Office responsible for immigration has not yet replied to letters dated 1st August, 9th November, 7th December 1977 and 3rd February 1978, about the case of Professor Luis Massera (a former Uruguayan Deputy who is in prison and said to be in very poor health) other than an interim answer on her behalf from another Minister dated 24th August 1977 saying that urgent inquiries were being made.

My right honourable friend the Home Secretary has written to the noble Lord.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will investigate the circumstances in which the prison authorities at Pentonville Prison lost the passport of a Nigerian who was detained there pending his deportation; how much longer the detainee has spent in custody as a result of this negligence and what remedies are open to any person who is detained in prison prior to his deportation for an additional period following the loss of his passport, bearing in mind the difficulty a deported person would face in bringing a civil action in a British court.

A deportation order was signed on 21st March against a citizen of Nigeria who is currently held at Pentonville Prison after being convicted of overstaying and being recommended by the court for deportation. He indicated on 7th April that he did not wish to exercise his right of appeal against the destination to which he was to be sent, and instructions were given to the police on the same day to give effect to the deportation order.His passport could not immediately be found, but while the police proceeded with the other arrangements for the man's removal the passport was located at the prison among his belongings. This incident did not result in adding to the length of the man's detention (he is due to be removed on 10th May—the earliest available date for the flight). In these circumstances, the last part of the Question does not arise.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will list the names of the organisations who were consulted by the DHSS in connection with the Medicines (Radioactive Substances) Order 1978.

I am pleased to provide the names of the organisations which have been consulted by my Department in connection with the Medicines (Radioactive Substances) Order 1978. The list is as follows:

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many foreigners and Commonwealth citizens are currently serving sentences of up to 1 year, 1–2 years, 2–5 years, and more than 5 years respectively, in Her Majesty's prisons.

Information on the nationality of prisoners is not recorded centrally. The information which is available is given in the table below.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, pursuant to their Answer of 26th April 1978 (

It was not the intention that departments should forward automatically to the Civil Service Department copies of their records of factual and analytical material which they had made available as a result of Sir Douglas Allen's letter of 6th July 1977; but they were asked to keep some sort of record of the relevant items made available. Where, however, the material was of an unusual kind departments were asked to forward a copy to the CSD for information. So far no such material has been received. No central record is kept of material which departments have decided not to publish.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many officers or men in the categories listed below: (

Figures are not available for the year ending 30th April 1978; the latest information for the year ending 1st April 1978 is as follows. The figures for officers or men who left the Service comprehend all forms of discharge including those who left on completing their normal engagements.