asked Her Majesty's Government:How many places were available and how many pupils there were, at the most recent date, in each of the publicly-funded primary and secondary schools (including voluntary aided, direct grant and any other public-sector schools as well as controlled schools) within the area of the Belfast Education and Library Board which were not listed in their reply of 17th June.

I regret that information on the number of places in some voluntary schools is not readily available and I will write to the noble Lord.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, since large parts of the prison Standing Orders and Circular Instructions as they were in September 1977 have now been published by the European Commission as Appendix IV to the Commission's report on the cases of

We are reviewing the restrictions on correspondence to and from prisoners in England and Wales in the light of these cases. The revised Standing Order and an abbreviated guide to its contents will be published and will be made available to prisoners.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the circular letter from Mr. J. D. F. Turnham of P.3 Division of the Home Office to Governors and Wardens of all Prison Department establishments dated 3rd September 1975, reference PDG/68 114/5/19, is still in force; and whether this means that in order to comply with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, a convicted foreign national or citizen of the Irish Republic or of a Commonwealth country must be permitted to correspond with his accredited representative on any matter, including complaints about prison treatment which have not been ventilated internally, while British prisoners may not write to Members of Parliament about such complaints unless a petition to the Secretary of State has been refused, or the complaint has already been ventilated before the Board of Visitors, or the possibility of any effective action either within the prison or at Head Office to grant the prisoner's wishes no longer exists; and whether they will amend the standing orders so as to give British prisoners the same right to make complaints as citizens of other countries.

The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations imposes on us the obligation not to stop any correspondence between a citizen of a foreign country held in custody and the accredited representative of his country. The provisions on correspondence between prisoners in England and Wales and Members of Parliament are being reviewed in the light of cases considered by the European Commission of Human Rights, but it would be premature to announce details of the proposed changes at this stage. All prisoners have the right to complain about their treatment to the Governor, the Board of Visitors or, by petition, to my right honourable friend.

asked Her Majesty's Government:If the Charity Commission issues any document for circulating to trustees who may ask for guidance or information of a general nature upon the powers, duties and responsibilities of trustees, particularly in respect of matters of investment.

The Government are informed by the charity commissioners that leaflets entitled, Responsibilities of Charity Trustees, and, Investment Management by Charity Trustees, are supplied to charity trustees who ask for guidance or information. Copies of both documents have been sent to my noble friend and placed in the Library.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the average rate of interest per annum respectively received by charities from a capital fund (

The Government are informed by the charity commissioners that the information requested is not available. The rate of interest obtainable on any fund depends on a wide variety of factors, including the mode of investment. The choice of investment is a matter for the charity trustees who should have regard to the purposes of the fund, the need for diversification and the requirement to consider proper advice as provided by Section 6 of the Trustee Investments Act 1961.The charity commissioners cannot express any general view on what minimum interest rate might call for inquiries. Whether inquiries should be made in any particular case would depend on all the circumstances. If my noble friend has a particular case in mind, he might like to write to the chief charity commissioner.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will give an assurance that no facilities will be afforded in any of HM Prisons for the making of a commercial film about the murders committed by the prisoner Sutcliffe, as suggested in a newspaper report.

Yes. It is not our policy to provide filming facilities relating to the offences or circumstances of individual prisoners.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What conclusions on the effects of unemployment on health they have been able to draw from the Department of Health's cohort study of men who registered as unemployed during the autumn of 1978.

The DHSS Cohort Study was not primarily designed to examine the effects of unemployment on health. However, respondents were asked about their state of health and preliminary analyses of the answers to these questions provide little or no evidence that unemployment affected health during the year that the circumstances of those concerned were kept under review. The department is currently considering what further work needs to be done in this area.

asked Her Majesty's Government:For each quarter from January 1976, how many unemployed people refusing suitable employment or neglecting to avail themselves of opportunities of work that exist were referred to an insurance officer; and what percentage of these eventually lost their benefit.

The information requested is given in the table below:

asked Her Majesty's Government:For each year since 1961, how many people have been prosecuted for failing to maintain themselves and their family.

Under Section 25 of the Supplementary Benefits Act 1976, persons may be prosecuted if they persistently refuse or neglect to maintain themselves or their dependents. Broadly similar provisions were contained in Section 30 of the Ministry of Social Security Act 1966 and in Section 51 of the National Assistance Act 1948.There are two categories of people who may be prosecuted under this legislation: claimants who are unemployed and who refuse or neglect to obtain employment; and non-claimants who are liable relatives—mainly deserting husbands who fail to maintain their wives and children. The numbers of prosecutions for the years in question were as follows:

The sharp decline in the number of prosecutions of unemployed claimants since 1971 mainly reflects the increasing use of unemployment review officers since then. Their primary task is to get people back into work whenever possible and prosecution is now regarded as very much a last resort.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When the guidelines for port medical officers were last updated, and whether they will place the latest issue in the Library of the House of Lords.

The responsibilities of port medical officers are set out in the national and international public health legislation which they enforce; no guidelines are issued centrally. Instructions are, however, issued to medical inspectors of immigrants concerning medical examination under the Immigration Act 1971. An appendix to the Yellowlees Report, a copy of which is already in the Library of the House of Lords, contains the instructions issued in 1974.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the co-opted members of an education committee who are employees of the county council are entitled to vote in the committee on all subjects, including finance.

Such members are entitled to vote on all subjects considered by the committee, except where, by virtue of Section 105 of the Local Government Act, 1972, they are disabled by reason of a pecuniary interest and that disability has not been removed, in England by the Secretary of State for the Environment, or in Wales by the Secretary of State for Wales. The position is similar in Scotland as regards the co-opted members of the education committees of the Regional and Island Councils.House adjourned at a quarter before eleven o'clock.