asked Her Majesty's Government:In view of the statement of the Minister, Department of Education and Science, on 28th January. 1981 (Lords

Since 1973 many inspections and surveys in primary schools conducted by Her Majesty's Inspectorate have included children's reading. National surveys of reading have also been conducted by the National Foundation for Educational Research as a result of funding by the Department of Education and Science. The initial teaching alphabet is one of a number of approaches used in the teaching of reading, but it is not used sufficiently often to allow comment on its efficacy in general surveys. There is no reason to suppose that a special study undertaken now would significantly modify the findings of the major Schools Council report: ita, An Independent Evaluation by F. W. Warburton and V. Southgate, published in 1969.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What steps are being taken to obtain financial assistance from the EEC towards the expansion of the existing Anglo-European College of Chiropractic, now in train at Bournemouth, to provide for anticipated additional students from and for Europe.

None. The European Community does not generally contribute to the costs of specific institutions.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether as reported in the

Yes; but this particular problem needs to be kept in perspective. Any risk of damage of the kind to which the noble Lord refers arises only if certain ester formulations have been used in the vicinity of susceptible crops; and then only if subsequent weather conditons are such not only that vaporisation occurs but also that any drift is borne in the direction of the crop concerned. In practice damage from drifting herbicides more frequently results from spray droplets. I have personally been concerned with urgent action, in association with the various interests concerned, to alert farmers to the risk of damage resulting from any form of herbicide drift and to ways of avoiding it.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What steps are now being taken to improve the monitoring of contamination caused by drifting sprays.

For some years the department has operated a local régime for handling pollution incidents relating to agriculture, including contamination caused by drifting sprays. In this way our regional and local offices already obtain any available information from incident reports reaching the Ministry and other public or commercial organisations concerned. Existing procedures are, however, being extended so that information on spray drift incidents, including details of any associated damage, reaching ADAS officers will be brought together centrally so that the national situation can be monitored.House adjourned for the Easter Recess at seventeen minutes past two o'clock until Monday, 27th April.