asked Her Majesty's Government:How many mentally handicapped people who do not suffer from any other mental disorder have been convicted of homicide and causing grievous bodily harm respectively in each of the last 20 years.

The only information readily available is given in the following table. In this table offences of violence against the person include offences other than homicide and causing grievous bodily harm; more detailed analysis would involve disproportionate cost. Those subnormal or severely subnormal convicted persons who were not admitted to hospital cannot be separately identified. In addition, some of the average of about nine persons per year who were transferred to hospital from prison department establishments under Section 72 or 72 and 74 of the Act suffering from subnormality or severe subnormality may have been convicted of an offence of violence against the person but their number could be identified only at disproportionate cost.Persons suffering from subnormality or severe subnormality but no other mental disorder received into hospital or made subject to guardianship under Sections 60 or 60/65 of the Mental Health Act 1959 having committed offences of violence against the person:

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they are aware that not all police officers, court officials, magistrates and judges understand the difference between mental handicap, mental illness, schizophrenia and psychopathic disorder and what steps will be taken to enable each of those categories of people in public service to obtain a proper understanding of those different mental conditions.

The Government recognise that those concerned with offenders need a broad understanding of the various forms of mental disorder and believes that this is generally the case. Training for police recruits already emphasises the need to be alert to the possibility of such disorder. The need for special care in questioning someone who appears to be mentally handicapped has been recognised in an administrative direction appended to the Judges' Rules. In accordance with a recommendation from the Royal Commission on Criminal Procedure, the possibility of introducing guidelines which might help police officers to identify the presence of mental handicap is being explored.The courts have expert medical advice readily available to them. Moreover, they are required to consider reports from two doctors, both of whom must identify the particular form of disorder from which an accused person is suffering, before they can make an order (under Section 60 of the Mental Health Act 1959) that such a person be detained in hospital for medical treatment or received into guardianship. Ways of dealing with mentally-abnormal offenders are included in the syllabus for the training of magistrates; and I shall draw my noble friend's views to the attention of the Judicial Studies Board.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will sponsor a study comparing the reconviction rates of juveniles, sentenced for similar offences, who are remitted to the care of the local authority by the courts, and who are placed in foster homes and community homes respectively.

No. The placement of juvenile offenders during the currency of their care orders varies from time to time, and is sometimes determined by factors which have little to do with the original offence. A study of reconviction rates would therefore be unlikely to produce useful information.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What arrangements have been made to allow consultations between representatives of nature conservation bodies (the Nature Conservancy Council, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the Royal Society for Nature Conservation and local nature conservation trusts) with regional water authorities, so that the effect of water authority capital and revenue river management and land drainage schemes on wildlife can be properly considered; and what plans are in preparation to extend or review such consultations in view of the new responsibilities for nature conservation which water authorities and internal drainage boards will have under the Wildlife and Countryside Act.

Responsibility for deciding what consultations should take place with conservation bodies, in pursuance of the statutory obligations which have been imposed by Section 11 of the Countryside Act 1968 and Section 22 of the Water Act 1973, rests with the individual water authorites and internal drainage boards. I understand that most water authorities have regular meetings with the Nature Conservancy Council in order to discuss their future maintenance programmes and river improvement schemes. In addition, when an application is made to my department for grant aid in respect of a scheme affecting a site in which conservation bodies may have an interest, the water authority or internal drainage board is required to show that it has consulted the appropriate bodies.Notes, for the guidance of water authorities and internal drainage boards in the procedures to be adopted in the light of the amendments made to the Water Act 1973 by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, have been drafted jointly by my department and the department of the Environment. These are about to be circulated to the statutory conservation bodies, the National Water Council and the Association of Drainage Authorities for comments.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When the Advisory Committee on Pesticides last published a report on the use of the persistent organo-chlorine pesticides in Britain, and when do the Government expect their next report on this subject to be published.

The last published report on these substances of the Advisory Committee on Pesticides was issued in 1969. Since then, the committee has continued to consider both the phasing out of these pesticides where suitable alternatives have become available, and their continued use in other cases. As a result, recommendations, which were issued under the Pesticides Safety Precautions Scheme, have been amended as necessary and data on their continued use have been published in my department's pesticide usage survey reports.The Government are now considering a recommendation in the Seventh Report of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution that the committee should publish periodic reports on its work, together with a further recommendation that it should review the total agricultural and industrial usage of organochlorine pesticides. Any report which the Government request in the light of the latter recommendation will be published.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What are the estimated average annual quantities of persistent organochlorines which are used in agriculture and horticulture in England and Wales including usage in mixtures and seed dressings, used in the period 1961–64 and 1965–69, or the nearest similar periods.

During 1967–69, the first period for which data from cyclical sample surveys are available, the estimated average annual usage of these substances for all agricultural and horticultural purposes in England and Wales was about 230 tonnes. In earlier years estimates covering the whole of the United Kingdom had been based on less systematic surveys and inquiries, and suggested that average annual usage during the period 1960–1964 was of the order of 450 tonnes.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will make a statement about illegal Dutch subsidies for horticulture.

As my right honourable friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food said in reply to a Question from Mr. Robert Dunn, MP, on 23rd November, we are determined to retain a viable and successful British glasshouse industry. We have, therefore, decided to continue to assist growers of protected crops by giving the maximum aid towards oil heating costs under European Commission guidelines. This aid in respect of oil which will be used in the year commencing 1st January 1982 will be worth up to £4 million to the industry.Meanwhile, we will continue to press the Commission to complete their legal action under Article 93 of the Treaty of Rome against the preferential tariff for gas supplied to Dutch glasshouse growers.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether it is their intention in future to require companies seeking offshore exploration licences to provide evidence of their support for, or involvement in, research of development projects; what kind of evidence would be required; whether qualifying research would need to be fundamental or might be applied; and whether it would need to be directly or indirectly related to Continental Shelf problems.

The arrangements for future offshore licensing, including the criteria against which all applications are assessed, are kept under review. It is too early to say what the arrangements will be for the next round of licensing.House adjourned at two minutes before nine o'clock.