asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the statement made on 6th October 1981 by the chairman of the Horserace Betting Levy Board at an official meeting with the Bookmakers' Committee under Section 27(3) of the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Act 1963 that the Report of the Royal Commission on Gambling (Cmnd. 7300) is a "dead duck" constitutes Government policy, and whether they will make a statement.

The Report of the Royal Commission on Gambling made a notable contribution to discussion of the problems posed by gambling. The Government's views on these problems were given by my right honourable friend the Home Secretary in a debate in another place on 29th October 1979. Work is proceeding on a number of the Commission's recommendations.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What steps they have taken and propose to take in order to secure the continued running of the Derby at Epsom and whether the evidence given to the working party appointed by the Epsom and Ewell Borough Council on the revision of the Epsom and Walton Downs Regulation Act was considered by the Horserace Betting Levy Board, and if so on what dates; whether the evidence given by the representative of United Racecourses Limited—a wholly owned subsidiary of the Horserace Betting Levy Board—was considered by the Board of United Racecourses, and if so on what dates; and whether the evidence was submitted to the Horserace Betting Levy Board for approval, and if so the date of submission and the date on which approval was signified.

I understand that the Epsom and Ewell Borough Council hope soon to promote a Bill designed to re-enact with modifications the Epsom and Walton Downs Regulation Act 1936. The joint evidence submitted to the council's working party by the Horserace Betting Levy Board and the Board of United Racecourses Limited was approved by both boards in July 1980. It is not, however, known what evidence was submitted separately by any representative of United Racecourses other than its board.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will ensure that the 20th Annual Report of the Horserace Betting Levy Board for the period 1st April 1980 to the 31st March 1981, which will be submitted by the Horserace Betting Levy Board to the Home Secretary and laid before Parliament under Section 31 of the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Act 1963, will contain a full report of the proceedings by which the Horserace Betting Levy Board has sought to secure the continued running of the Grand National at Aintree following the termination of the existing arrangements; andWhether they will ensure that the 20th Annual Report of the Horserace Betting Levy Board for the period 1st April 1980 to 31st March 1981, which will be submitted by the Horserace Betting Levy Board to the Home Secretary and laid before Parliament under Section 31 of the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Act 1963, will contain a full report of the proceedings by which the Horserace Betting Levy Board and its wholly owned subsidiary United Racecourses have sought to secure the continued running of the Derby at Epsom; and whether it will contain an account of the arrangements which were made for the Horserace Betting Levy Board and the board of United Racecourses to consider the evidence to be given by them to the working party appointed by the Epsom and Ewell Borough Council on the revision of the Epsom and Walton Downs Regulation Act before that evidence was given.

I understand that the board has already completed its 20th Annual Report and that it will shortly be submitted to my right honourable friend the Home Secretary.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will make a statement about the future running of the Grand National at Aintree following the termination of the existing arrangements, in view of the fact that the Horserace Betting Levy Board has on no occasion at its monthly meetings formally considered the future of the Grand National during the period 1st January 1980 to date, that no action was taken to obtain information about the existing arrangements until April 1981, and that the chairman of the Horserace Betting Levy Board did not arrange to meet the existing owner to discuss the acquisition of the racecourse until 1st September 1981; andWhat steps they have taken and propose to take in order to secure the continued running of the Grand National at Aintree following the termination of the existing arrangements, and whether the Horserace Betting Levy Board has submitted to the Home Secretary, in accordance with Section 25 of the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Act 1963, a request for the approval of the payment of £3 million for Aintree racecourse, and whether the statement made by the secretary of the Horserace Betting Levy Board at the press conference arranged by the chairman of the Horserace Betting Levy Board on 21st September at the Hyde Park Hotel that the Horserace Betting Levy Board would be prepared to increase its offer to £4 million has been considered by the Home Secretary and, if so, whether he has given his approval.

The Horserace Betting Levy Board is concerned about the future of the Grand National at Aintree and Her Majesty's Government share their concern. The Board is considering ways of securing the future of the race, but no formal approach has yet been made to my right honourable friend the Home Secretary.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will introduce a scheme for restoration of lost remission for prisoners in England and Wales, similar to that announced for prisoners in Northern Ireland on 6th October.

The arrangements announced by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland were in response to a situation peculiar to Northern Ireland. There already exists in England and Wales a system whereby prisoners may apply for restoration of remission forfeited as a punishment.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they can confirm the statement made in another place on 31st July 1981, that during the recent troubles a branch of the Police Federation on Merseyside would not permit special constables to patrol in cars with regulars and whether this is in accordance with their policy.

Chief constables determine how special constables should be deployed. I understand from the chief constable of Merseyside that in his force they sometimes go on motor patrol with regular officers, and that—as in other forces—they gave valuable assistance during the recent disturbances.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether one of the bunkers at Ullenwood near Cheltenham has become Sub-Region H.Q. No. 72; whether Bolt Head near Salcombe is the seat of Regional Government 7 or Sub-Regional H.Q. No. 71; whether Sub-Regional H.Q. No. 31 at Skendelby, Lincolnshire, is currently manned, and who will occupy this deep bunker in the event of nuclear war.

It is not in the public interest to provide information on current plans for the location of wartime headquarters. They are not staffed in peacetime. In a war emergency each would be manned by representatives of key departments and services under the control of a Minister.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will publish:

(i) No reliable estimates can be made of the number of United Kingdom and Colonies citizens with right of abode who were born outside the United Kingdom.(ii) Summary figures for the number of registrations at missions abroad of births of children born to citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies are given in the table below; however, such totals are under-estimates of births to citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies overseas because there are no birth registers at missions in certain Commonwealth countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Zimbabwe. The information in the table below could be broken down for individual countries only at disproportionate cost.

REGISTRATION OF BIRTHS AT MISSIONS ABROAD
Thousands
			In Commonwealth countries(1)	In Non-Commonwealth countries	Total
1970	…	…	4·8	10·7	15·5
1971	…	…	3·5	11·1	14·6
1972	…	…	2·7	11·6	14·3
1973	…	…	2·7	12·4	15·1
1974	…	…	2·2	12·1	14·3
1975	…	…	2·1	12·6	14·6
1976	…	…	1·9	13·0	14·9
1977	…	…	1·5	13·2	14·7
1978	…	…	1·5	13·0	14·5
1979	…	…	1·2	12·3	13·5
(1)Excluding Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Zimbabwe.

(iii) For estimates of the number of United Kingdom and Colonies citizens resident in the nine other member states of the European Community, I would refer my noble friend to the reply given to a Question by the noble Lord, Lord Bethell, on 18th February 1981 (

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will publish statistics on admissions to the United Kingdom of various nationalities in the period 1st October 1980 to 31st March 1981.

Following is the available information:

ADMISSIONS TO THE UNITED KINGDOM OF SELECTED NATIONALITIES, 1ST OCTOBER 1980–31ST MARCH 1981
People not accepted for settlement
Country issuing passport		Admitted for 6 months	Persons admitted for other than 6 months		Total accepted for settlement	Total(1) admitted
			Visitors (incl. Business visitors	Others
Australia	…	83,670	1,200	15,120	900	100,890
Bangladesh	…	6,080	720	880	2,660	10,350
Canada	…	92,470	480	5,440	160	98,550
Cyprus	…	8,010	2,860	1,660	40	12,580
Ghana	…	9,860	2,600	1,420	30	13,920
Hong Kong	…	8,860	1,580	6,110	270	16,820
India	…	60,480	6,850	7,210	880	75,430
Iran	…	2,250	5,260	5,190	70	12,770
Iraq	…	4,400	2,970	2,900	10	10,280
Mauritius	…	4,420	740	880	50	6,100
New Zealand	…	18,840	360	6,460	590	26,240
Nigeria	…	57,170	9,360	9,780	30	76,340
Pakistan	…	22,310	4,660	3,930	3,350	34,240
Sri Lanka	…	5,960	1,330	1,640	40	8,980
USA	…	556,920	3,390	55,790	330	616,420
Total Commonwealth		438,830	36,090	72,740	7,200	554,860
Total Foreign	…	1,506,080	84,090	155,650	7,480	1,753,310
Total NCWP	…	266,160	38,700	49,660	8,910	363,430
Total ISC	…	88,870	12,230	12,030	6,890	120,010
(1)The figures in this table have been rounded; because of this the sum of the constituent items may not agree with the totals shown.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the decision to proceed no further with the conversion of Ministry of Defence camps into prisons under Section 33(2) of the Prison Act 1952 indicates a fall in the prison population to such an extent that over-crowding is no longer a problem; and whether they can provide figures to justify such an assumption.

Overcrowding remains a very serious problem despite a marginal reduction in the population of Prison Department establishments from 45,600 on 17th July to 43,800 on 15th October. The extra strain on the prison service of manning further camps could not, however, be justified at present.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will outline the procedures required to be completed for (a) a stateless person and (b) a stateless minor to obtain the travel documents enabling that person or minor to depart from and to re-enter the United Kingdom, and what is the approximate amount of time taken between the initial application and completion of such procedures.

A stateless person resident in the United Kingdom may apply to the Home Office for a travel document. Application forms are obtainable from the Travel Document Section of the Home Office at Lunar House, Croydon. The completed form needs to be accompanied by two certified photographs and the fee of £11. Most applications, whether from adults or minors, are currently dealt with in six to eight weeks.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What are the qualifications of the Charity Commission to give advice to trustees of charitable trusts who seek advice upon what is prudent or imprudent in matters of investment.

Under Section 1 of the Charities Act 1960 the Charity Commissioners have the general function of promoting the effective use of charitable resources by, inter alia, giving charity trustees advice. The Commissioners inform me that advice given to trustees who ask for guidance on investment necessarily depends on the particular circumstances, including the powers of the charity in question, but is generally based on the Commissioners' experience in financial matters, their contacts with the financial world, and all the other sources of information available to them.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What were the conclusions of the United Nations Conference on new sources of energy, held in Nairobi in August; how many nations attended; and what contribution to the discussions was made by the British delegation.

The Nairobi Conference agreed, by consensus, to adopt a programme of action to foster the use of new and renewable sources of energy. In this context it agreed that:

• —countries must adapt to a transition away from the current major dependence on oil towards other sources of energy:
• —new and renewable sources of energy should make a significant contribution, although that should not be overstated in the short term; developing countries would still need access to conventional sources:
• —national programmes, drawn up by Governments, for developing new and renewable sources of energy were of primary importance; also important was the role of the private sector:
• —the objectives of the programme should be to strengthen international co-operation for the promotion of research and development and the transfer of technology: and
• —a programme should be implemented calling for action in five priority areas: energy assessment and planning; information flows; research, development and demonstration; the transfer, adaptation and application of routine technology; and education and training.

Official delegates from 125 member states attended the conference, as well as representatives from a large number of international organisations and nongovernmental bodies. The United Kingdom made a number of specific contributions to the conference. A national paper was prepared, setting out our approach to the use of renewables in the United Kingdom; a directory of United Kingdom expertise in the field was produced and distributed; and an exhibition was mounted, showing the United Kingdom's experience in new and renewable energy, with special reference to the needs of developing countries. In the conference itself, the British delegation played a prominent part in the discussions leading up to the adoption of the programme of action, and Mr. David Howell made a speech on behalf of the United Kingdom and, by virtue of our presidency, on behalf of the Community as a whole, in which he announced that £2 million of the United Kingdom's aid funds had been earmarked for energy planning and resource assessment in developing countries.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What action is being taken to remove the anomalies at present existing in respect of investment in building societies by (

It is not proposed at present to alter the existing arrangements, but I have noted the noble Lord's views.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What steps they are taking to reduce the high percentage of NATO's budget borne by the United Kingdom and described by the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee as neither "just nor reasonable".

Her Majesty's Government keep this question under constant review. We look forward to co-operating with the Parliamentary Select Committee on Foreign Affairs in its further scrutiny of it.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will give details of the comparative costs or transferring to private consulting engineers the design and supervision of construction of over £2,000 million of new motorways and trunk roads, with the costs of the similar work previously carried out by the Road Construction Sub-Units of the Department of Transport.

There will be a once-for-all cost (including redundancy payments to sub-unit staff and transitional costs) in arranging the transfer of this work to private consulting engineers. This is estimated at about £5 million. As regards the cost of carrying out design and supervision of construction of the schemes involved in the transfer, it is not possible to make a valid direct comparison of the costs that would have been incurred by sub-units with a declining workload and by consulting engineers with a continuing one. The Government expect that the transfer of work to the private sector will produce the benefits of a keener and more competitive approach to highways work.House adjourned at four minutes past six o'clock.