asked Her Majesty's Government:What steps the Police Forces and the Home Office are taking to prevent the loss by premature retirement of police officers of the calibre of Superintendent David Webb of Handsworth.

It is for the individual police officer to decide his own time for retirement. My right honourable friend knows that chief constables share his views on the desirability of retaining experienced officers. He is glad that premature wastage of officers with 2–25 years service is at its lowest level for 10 years.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they are now in a position to announce the name of the chairman of the Alcohol Education and Research Council.

I am pleased to announce that my right honourable and noble friend the Lord Windlesham has agreed to accept this appointment and that my right honourable friend the Home Secretary has appointed him to serve as the council's first chairman. He hopes before long to be in a position to announce the names of the other council members.The Licensing (Alcohol Education and Research) Act 1981 came into operation on 1st October. My right honourable friend hopes shortly to appoint the liquidator under the Act.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will state, for each of the years 1970–71 to 1979–80, inclusive, the following particulars relating to the external trade guarantees issued or renewed by the Export Credits Guarantee Department:

Following are the particulars of all external trade guarantees for the 10 years in question:

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will list the countries in which both

The countries for which both GNP per capita and the Physical Quality of Life Index are available are given in Annex IV, Table 2 of the 1979 Review, Development Co-operation Efforts and the Policies of the Members of the Development Assistance Committee published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. A copy of the relevant statement has been placed in the House of Lords Library.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will supply bicycles for those unemployed who do not possess one or who may have sold it to eke out a living; and supply special bicycles for the disabled-unemployed; and provide special travel arrangements for the blind unemployed.

No.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What amounts of gold bullion originally belonging to Albania are still held by Her Majesty's Government; what claims are outstanding in respect of this gold, and what legal right the United Kingdom has to remain in possession of it.

The gold originally allocated to Albania by the Tripartite Commission for the Restitution of Monetary Gold (on which the British, French and American Governments are equally represented) is held to the Commission's account by the Bank of England. Her Majesty's Government do not hold any gold bullion which originally belonged to Albania. The United Kingdom has a claim against Albania for the damages awarded by the International Court of Justice in the Corfu Channel Case. I understand that there are certain American claims against Albania for property nationalised in the late 1940s. Italy has asserted a claim to the gold.

asked Her Majesty's Government:On what date they wrote to the Royal College of Radiologists asking for their expert advice on the technical considerations of the report,

Consultations with the Royal College of Radiologists and other experts already proceeding before the publication of the report to which the noble Lord refers continued thereafter. They culminated in a meeting held on 26th October under the chairmanship of the chief medical officer and attended by representatives of the Royal College, and by paediatricians and others.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the policy of the Department of Health and Social Security regarding the payment of supplementary benefit to persons whose command of English makes it unlikely that they will find gainful employment, and what is the statutory authority for this policy.

It is the policy of the Department to make payments of supplementary benefit to all persons who are entitled to them under the regulations. Under Section 5 of the Supplementary Benefits Act 1976, persons claiming benefit who are of working age (with certain exceptions prescribed by regulations) are required to register and to be available for employment. The regulations do not exempt claimants from these requirements solely because their English is poor, though under Regulation 6(k) of the Supplementary Benefit (Conditions of Entitlement) Regulations there are special and specific provisions for newly arrived refugees who need to attend classes for more than 15 hours per week in order to learn English, so as to fit themselves for employment.In accordance with Regulation 7(1) of the Supplementary Benefit (Conditions of Entitlement) Regulations a claimant is to be treated as available for employment if he is available to be employed within the meaning of Section 17(1)(

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many British citizens suspected, charged or convicted of criminal offences were being held in prison outside the United Kingdom by each foreign and Commonwealth country at 1st October 1981; and what is the range of the sentences being served by these British citizens in each country; andHow many British citizens suspected, charged or convicted of cannabis offences were being held in prison outside the United Kingdom by each foreign and Commonwealth country at 1st October 1981; and what is the range of sentences being served by these British citizens in each country; and How many British citizens suspected, charged or convicted of drug offences, excluding cannabis, were being held in prison outside the United Kingdom by each foreign and Commonwelath country at 1st October 1981; and what is the range of sentences being served by these British citizens in each country.

I shall answer the three questions together and give details of British subjects held prisoner for drugs and other offences in overseas gaols on 5th October, the most recent date on which statistics are available.Figures for different types of drug offences, the drugs involved and the range of sentences in each country are not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.The information is as follows:

asked Her Majesty's Government:What has been the progress to date of building work at the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital; and when it is expected that the hospital will be fully operational.

The main scheme commenced on 7th September 1981, and the hospital is expected to be fully operational in the summer of 1983.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Why British citizens resident but not employed in another member state of the European Community but continuing to pay Class 3 contributions to the United Kingdom social security scheme can receive health care in that member state after, but not before, a pension becomes payable; whether they will estimate the number of British citizens under pensionable age so resident; and whether they will take steps to propose amendments to the appropriate Community regulations to end this anomaly.

The arrangements for health care for people who go from the United Kingdom to live or work in other European Community countries are governed by the EC regulation on the application of social security schemes to employed persons and their families. (An extension to cover the self-employed has been agreed but not yet implemented.)The payment of Class 3 contributions to the United Kingdom's social security scheme does not of itself give title to health care benefits to United Kingdom nationals who take up residence in another member state of the Community. Unless there is also a title to a relevant contributory benefit by virtue of previous contributions paid as an employed earner, under the regulation the United Kingdom is not responsible for the health care of such a contributor. In these circumstances his title to health care will depend on whether he satisfies the conditions of the other state's scheme. Should he, however, become entitled to a United Kingdom retirement pension by virtue of those Class 3 contributions and of employed earner's contributions which he previously paid, and not be entitled to a pension from the state in which he resides, under the regulations the United Kingdom would then be responsible for his health care. I regret that statistics of United Kingdom Class 3 contributors under pensionable age resident in other Community countries are not available.The Commission proposed in 1978 that the scope of the Community regulations should be extended to include the insured non-employed; but I am afraid the Council were unable to agree to the proposal when it was discussed at a meeting last year.

asked Her Majesty's Government:To what extent it is anticipated that British forces may be involved as part of the peace-keeping force scheduled to be deployed in Sinai when the occupying forces withdraw next April.

Along with a number of other Western countries, Her Majesty's Government have received a request from the United States Government to contribute to a peace-keeping force in the Sinai. We have been discussing this request with our European partners in the light of the European commitment to Venice, and a statement will be issued once a final decision has been made.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have any intention, and if so when, of increasing the disallowance entitlement for people on Supplementary Benefit who are in receipt of payment from charities so that it takes into account the increase in the Retail Price Index that has taken place since the entitlement was last set in 1975.

The Government reviewed all the supplementary benefit disregard levels in the course of introducing the revised supplementary benefit scheme last November. To increase the levels of disregards has a cost in terms of increased expenditure on benefits, and successive Governments have taken the broad view that in a means-tested scheme of last resort it is better, so far as possible, to concentrate scarce resources on improving the scale rates which benefit everyone rather than raising the disregards which benefit only those people who already have other resources. Nevertheless, we shall continue to keep the disregards under regular review.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will cause to be erected on the M4 Motorway a notice warning westbound motorists (especially foreign visitors) of the primitive catering facilities to be found at Heston; and making such excuse as ingenuity can devise.

The half-mile signs for Motorway Service Areas indicate, by means of symbols, the range of facilities offered, but not, of course, the quality. The sign at Heston correctly indicates the catering facilities which the operator is currently providing, pending reconstruction of the building which burnt down in May.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is their policy for housing in villages and rural areas (whether or not designated under the Housing Act 1980) generally and with particular regard to people who are not able to buy their own homes because of insufficient income or savings in relation to current house prices.

The Government's policy for housing in rural areas, as elsewhere, is to secure the best use of the necessarily limited resources available. A central aim of policy is the widening of opportunities for low cost home ownership by measures such as the provision of starter homes and the promotion of shared ownership. Such schemes can bring home ownership within reach of many who could not otherwise afford it, at minimum cost to local authorities and housing associations.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will state the quantities and types of persistent organo-chlorines imported into the United Kingdom in each year from 1970 to 1980.

I regret that this information is not available: the statistics of overseas trade do not in general distinguish organo-chlorines as a group or organo-chlorine insecticides in particular from other halogenated derivatives of hydrocarbons.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many tons of persistent organo-chlorines were used for agricultural purposes in each year from 1970 to 1980.

Information is not available in the form requested. Estimates of pesticides usage in agriculture and horticulture derive primarily from cyclical sample surveys under which the aim is to cover each of the various groups of crops every three to five years. During the survey periods 1971–1974 and 1975–1979 the estimated average annual quantities of persistent organo-chlorines, which are used in agriculture and horticulture in England and Wales including usage in mixtures and seed dressings, were about 100 tonnes and 91 tonnes respectively.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will confirm that there has been no significant drop in the levels of DDE (the main metabolite of DDT) in sparrowhawks and kestrels in the last 10 years.

Available data, notably from the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology and my department's science laboratories, do not provide a basis for any reliable conclusions. In particular, and until recently, the data related mainly to birds which happen to have died for whatever reason and had been supplied or obtained for laboratory examination. Within the available samples, which are not necessarily representative, the indications are that DDE residues may have declined in kestrels over the past decade, but not in sparrowhawks. Current studies are designed in order to provide wider and more reliable data including, incidentally, DDE residues in birds upon which these two species prey and which migrate to the United Kingdom from countries which make more extensive use of pesticides containing DDT.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they approve the use of the persistent organo-chlorine clordane to poison worms on lawns and turf, and whether they agree that such use is explicitly forbidden by Annex B of the EEC Directive on the use of persistent organo-chlorines.

Chlordane is among those persistent organo-chlorine substances which are listed in Annex B to European Community Directive 79/117 and which cannot therefore be used for plant protection purposes except in certain specified circumstances. No such uses of chlordane are permitted in the United Kingdom but, during the preparation of this directive, the use of this substance for the purposes to which the noble Lord refers was deemed to be outside its scope. The Government are satisfied that cleared products containing chlordane can safely be used for controlling earthworms in lawns and turf provided recommended precautions are followed.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many applications for agricultural grant aid for operations affecting sites of special scientific interest have been referred by the applicants to the Nature Conservancy Council (NCC) since the new procedures affecting such applications were introduced by the Government last year, in how many such cases the application has been (

As potential claimants for capital grants have to notify their proposed works direct to the Nature Conservancy Council (NCC), which only consults my Agricultural Development and Advisory Service in the more difficult cases, most of the information requested is not available within my department.However, no claim for grant affecting a site of special scientific interest (SSSI) has been approved under the new procedures where there was an outstanding objection by the NCC. The other information which is requested is being sought from the NCC and I will write to the noble Lord when it is available.

asked Her Majesty's Government:(i) what proportion of all applications for agricultural grant aid, made since the new procedures withdrawing the requirement for applications to receive prior approval from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) were introduced, have been checked by (

I regret that the information is not available in the form requested. The new procedures under the capital grant schemes require those who intend to carry out work on a farm, which includes a site of special scientific interest (SSSI), to consult the Nature Conservancy Council (NCC) before starting work. Experience during the first year's operation of these procedures indicates that the NCC is being consulted as required under the schemes and I am not aware of any claim for grant being presented which affected an SSSI, where the work intended had not first been notified by the applicant to the NCC. The NCC copies to MAFF its correspondence with potential grant claimants in order that claims can be checked against the agreement which was reached with the NCC. Statistics of the number of checks so made are not available.The NCC is currently compiling comprehensive lists of owners and occupiers of land on which an SSSI is situated. As these become available my department will carry out routine checks on claims for grant from such owners or occupiers in order to ensure that consultation has taken place.House adjourned at five minutes past seven o'clock.