asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, in view of the withdrawal of ferry services between Belfast and Liverpool, the Department of Social Services in Northern Ireland will make payments to permit relatives travelling from Northern Ireland to visit prisoners serving sentences of imprisonment in Great Britain to travel by air; how many such visits would be allowed per year, and what is the estimated total cost in fares.

I recognise that the withdrawal of this service will inconvenience prisoners' relatives travelling to and from England, as it will many other travellers. However, I am satisfied that no change need be made in the existing assisted visits scheme.The Larne/Stranraer sea link and associated rail and coach services remain available. Moreover, it is already the practice to pay for travel by air if the cost of surface travel plus overnight accommodation exceeds the air fare or where, exceptionally, travel by air to save time is essential.During the period 1st June to 31st October 1981, financial assistance totalling about £600 was granted in respect of visits by persons in Northern Ireland to close relatives in prison in Great Britain.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they still accept the principle of a mixed economy, and, if so, whether they will provide details of those industries which in their opinion should continue in the public sector.What are the criteria by which they determine to privatise (sell off) the whole or part of a publicly owned industry or undertaking.

Privatisation represents by far the most effective means of extending market forces, and in turn of improving efficiency and the allocation of resources. In addition, it furthers the Government's objective of wider share ownership. These criteria are applied to individual cases according to circumstances, and the judgments concerned are essentially empirical. The Government's flexible approach is exemplified by the wide range of forms privatisation has taken, including the sale of approximately half the equity in British Aerospace and Cable and Wireless, a management buy-out of the National Freight Company, the merger of Seaspeed with a private sector company, Hoverlloyd, and the establishment of the British Steel Corporation's private subsidiary Allied Steel and Wire Limited. In some cases, the objective of extending market forces may not involve any transfer of control; for example, where a nationalised industry's statutory monopoly is abolished to allow the build-up of private sector competition.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What progress has been made in the setting up of the postal code system and when it is expected that it will be in operation throughout the whole country.

That is a matter for the Post Office under the powers of automony granted it by the Post Office Act 1969. I understand, however, that 46 mechanised letter sorting offices are now using the postcode system and that the Post Office plans that the mechanisation programme, which covers 84 offices, will be completed by about 1985. It is not intended that all letter sorting offices will be mechanised, nor can all traffic be handled mechanically.

asled Her Majesty's Government:In what way the parents of two children in the Oxford district attending state schools may expect help from the Department of Special Education in view of the fact that these children are both suffering from specific reading, writing and spelling difficulties (that is, dyslexia).

I understand that a wide range of special provision is made by the Oxfordshire Local Education Authority for children with specific learning difficulties. It includes special tuition in remedial departments, resource centres, and withdrawal classes in secondary schools and some primary schools; tuition by peripatetic remedial reading teachers in primary schools and part-time attendance at the Oxford Reading Centre. Children with severe specific learning difficulties may be withdrawn for a time for full-time attendance at the Oxford New Reading Centre. The provision made for individual children will depend on their needs and locality. If the noble Lord will let me have more details about the two children who are the subject of this Question, I shall be pleased to make further inquiries.House adjourned at eighteen minutes before ten o'clock.