asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether under the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials, a vessel which is reasonably suspected of carrying illicitly obtained nuclear material may be arrested by a signatory state's authorities in that state's territorial sea, contiguous zone, or exclusive economic zone, or on the High Seas.

The 1980 Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material will not come into force until it has been ratified by 21 states (Article 19). The convention deals with the creation of offences (Article 7) and with jurisdiction to try them (Article 8); it does not contain provisions relating to enforcement, for example, by arresting vessels. Such questions of enforcement are matters for the national law of each state party. On ratification we shall need to ensure that our law is in accordance with the requirements of Articles 7 and 8 as well as certain other provisions in the convention such as those relating to extradition.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, either alone or together with other European Governments, they are keeping under review proposals for the sea-level canal in Panama and the effects this might have on the waters of dependent and other territories in the Caribbean, the central Atlantic, and of the Gulf Stream.

Yes.

asked Her Majesty's Government:For which of the British dependent territories they have declared a 200-mile fishery zone, and for which they have not.

Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, the Pitcairn Islands, St. Helena and its dependencies, and the Turks and Caicos Islands have declared a 200-mile fishery zone with the approval of Her Majesty's Government. Belize, the British Antarctic Territory, the British Indian Ocean Territory, the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, and Montserrat have not declared such a limit.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Which local authorities have indicated that they endorse the request made by the Manchester City Council that nuclear weapons should not be manufactured or stationed within their boundaries.

The Government have received representations calling upon Her Majesty's Government to refrain from the manufacture or positioning of any nuclear weapons within their city boundaries from the following local councils, in addition to the Manchester City Council: the London Borough of Brent, the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Derby City, Durham County, Harlow, Kingston Upon Hull City, the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, Liverpool City, North West Leicestershire District, the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, South Yorkshire County, Worcester City, Wrexham Maelor.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What capital assistance they now offer to local authorities in rural or urban areas for small factory units which such authorities decide to build; what size limits are set; how application is to be made; and what sum of money the Government are making available for this purpose.

Local authorities can apply for grant under the urban programme towards the cost of building small factory units in urban areas with special social need. Grant is normally paid at the rate of 75 per cent. of the local authority's expenditure. No limits have been set on the size of factory units grant-aided under the urban programme. Proposals for factory schemes to be undertaken by the inner city partnership and programme authorities are contained in the draft inner area programmes which are submitted to the Department of the Environment annually. There is no set procedure for the making of applications for urban programme grant by any of the local authorities for districts designated under the Inner Urban Areas Act 1978. Applications from other urban authorities are made on a form UP1 and have to be submitted by the date specified in the Department's annual urban programme circular which, for schemes to start in 1981–82, was 31st December 1980.No specific sum has been set aside under the urban programme for small factory units being built by urban authorities. The amount required will depend upon individual authorities' decisions about the need for such schemes in their areas, the applications received and other priorities. But it is estimated that some £8·4 million representing about 4 per cent. of the total Urban Programme resources may be spent on local authority factory building schemes in 1981–82.So far as rural areas are concerned, it was announced on 3rd February 1981 that the development commission had been given approval to finance, jointly with local authorities, the provision of workshops not exceeding 1,000 square feet in Special Investment Areas. No specific sum of money has been earmarked for this scheme but the commission's share will have to be contained within its existing cash limit.House adjourned at nineteen minutes before ten o'clock.