asked Her Majesty's Government:How many refugees from Eastern European countries have been admitted to the United Kingdom during the lsst two decades.

Detailed statistics on the numbers of persons granted asylum in the United Kingdom have been maintained only since 1979. According to our records the figures for 1979, 1980 and 1981 were as follows:

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will state, for each of the years the Immigration Act 1971 came into force:

The information requested in parts (i), (ii) and (iii) of the Question is given in Table I below. Information about appeals in respect of deportation orders (Part (iv) of the Question) has been provided by the Immigration Appellate Authorities and is given in Table II and III below. I regret that the information requested in part (v) is not reedily available.IMMIGRATION ACT 1971(

asked her Majesty's Government:What arrangements they propose for the future safeguarding of the collections in the India Office Library and Records.

The India Office Library and Records is a department in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. It includes the records of the East India Company and the India Office since the former's foundation in 1600. Its present accommodation is approved by the Lord Chancellor as a place of deposit of public records in accordance with Section 4(i) of the Public Records Act 1958. In order that these valuable collections may be managed in association with one of the world's great research libraries, Her Majesty's Government have agreed to a proposal that with effect from 1st April 1982 they should be deposited with the British Library, to be held on trust by the British Library Board. The board welcomes this proposal, and sees the collections as a major enhancement of the British Library's own internationally famous resources. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the British Library Board have agreed the following arrangements for this deposit:"(i) The printed books, documents and objects for which the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs is responsible, which are at present in or in the care of the India Office Library and Records and which relate to those countries and territories which at any time before 15th August 1947 came within the area of interest at any given time of the India Office and the East India Company (hereinafter referred to as "the Collections") will be deposited by the Secretary of State with the British Library Board to be held by the Board on trust for the Secretary of State, who will retain the beneficial title to the Collections. However, privately owned items on loan to the India Office Library and Records, and records in or in the care of the India Office Library and Records and withheld from public inspection in accordance with the Public Records Act 1958 and 1967, are excluded from these arrangements.(ii) The Board will preserve and maintain the Collections and provide public access to them in so far as resources granted to it by Parliament permit.(iii) The Board will provide the Secretary of State with an annual report on the Collections.(iv) The Secretary of State may, upon giving due notice in writing to the Board, withdraw from the Board that part of the Collections which was in the possession of the India Office on 15th August 1947, and the Board will maintain the identity of this material against such an eventuality. Upon the withdrawal of the material, it will cease to be held by the Board on trust for the Secretary of State.(v) In the event of such a withdrawal the Secretary of State will meet all costs related to the withdrawal including redundancy payments to members of staff if necessary, while the Board may, at its own expense and subject to any applicable provisions of the law of copyright, make copies of the items to be withdrawn.(vi) The necessary instruments to give effect to these heads of agreement will be drawn up as soon as possible, and will enter into force on a date to be mutually agreed".The staff of the India Office Library and Records will be offered contracts in the employ of the British Library on terms and conditions similar to those they have at present. There will be no change in the availability of the collecting to the students, scholars and ordinary readers from many countries who have hitherto made use of them.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

The noble Lord may have seen from my reply to the noble Lord, Lord Windlesham, on 17th February (Official Report, col. 640) that Her Majesty's Government have decided to send observers to the forthcoming election in El Salvador. It will be for the observers to say how far the elections are representative.We do not rule out the possibility of a negotiated settlement, nor do we consider it to be excluded by the decision to hold elections. However, the El Salvador Government and opposition elements have not so far reached a mutually acceptable basis for negotiations.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What response has been given to the request by the Delhi Conference representing 44 developing countries that new efforts be made to launch global negotiations between developing and industrialised nations in view of the failure of the Cancun Conference to make arrangements for such negotiations.

We endorse the call by the participants at the New Delhi Conference for renewed efforts to start global negotiations. Since the Cancun Summit, which provided the initial impetus to resume preparations, we and our Community partners have been seeking to persuade all concerned to launch global negotiations on mutually agreed terms. We shall continue to do so.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, in view of the evidence of continued conflict and heavy loss of life in East Timor six years after Indonesia's annexation, they will ask the UN Security Council to press for negotiations and freedom of choice by the inhabitants.

No. We do not believe that such a course would contribute to the settlement of this question which is primarily a matter for the Governments of Portugal and Indonesia.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they intend to revise Department of the Environment Circular 108/77

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they accept the findings and recommendations of the Nature Conservancy Council's report on lead poisoning in swans, and, if so:

The Government have welcomed the Nature Conservancy Council's report on lead poisoning in swans. The report looks to the possibility of split-lead-shot being phased out on a voluntary basis. The Government have already been greatly encouraged by the constructive attitude to the report shown by the angling community, especially towards publicity for the excellent code prepared by the National Anglers' Council. It will be for the Nature Conservancy Council to monitor progress and to meet its resource needs for this from within the funds voted by Parliament.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will state at 1982–83 prices by how much the Nature Conservancy Council requested its grant in aid be increased for 1982–83.

As I indicated in my reply to the noble Lord on 11th February, the NCC asked for its grant-in-aid to be increased by between £950,000 and £1,130,000 at 1981–82 prices. At 1982–83 prices this would have represented an increase of approximately £1,025,000 to £1,220,000.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have put forward a list of protection areas for wild birds as required by the EEC Council Resolution of 2nd April 1979 on the implementation of Directive 79/409/EEC on the conservation of wild birds, and if so, what areas have been included in their list.

The following 19 sites have been included in a list put forward in response to the Resolution; they are sites covered by the Ramsar Convention. The Government are now considering what further sites to notify.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many housing authorities in England and Wales are making use of the "North Wiltshire Scheme" for securing short-term lettings of houses; and how many dwellings were used in this way at the most recent date known.

I regret that no current estimate is available.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether all United Kingdom academic and technical qualifications are recognised in the Republic of Ireland and vice-versa, and if not, why not; and whether they will list those qualifications that are not mutually recognised.

In the United Kingdom it is for Government and the autonomous educational institutions, professional and other bodies concerned to decide on the acceptability of foreign qualifications for their purposes. Similar principles apply to the recognition of technical qualifications. Though the question of recognition of British qualifications in the Republic of Ireland is a matter for the authorities concerned, in the case of academic qualifications both countries are signatories of the Council of Europe's 1953 Convention on the Equivalence of Diplomas Leading to Admission to Universities (Cmnd 9168) and of the 1959 Convention of the Academic Recognition of University Qualifications (Cmnd 1591). No record of qualifications so recognised is maintained, but in 1979 the Commission of the European Community published a study which suggests that the principles of these two conventions are generally followed by the responsible bodies in both countries.House adjourned at twenty-nine minutes before ten o'clock.