asked Her Majesty's Government:

The publication of statistics collected for operational reasons by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis is a matter for him. My right honourable friend the Home Secretary, as police authority, was informed in advance of the commissioner's intention. Crime statistics always need to be interpreted with care.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What list of questions is used by Home Office officials when interviewing the wives of foreign husbands seeking leave to remain in the United Kingdom; whether they will place a copy of any instructions to these officers in the Library of the House of Lords, and whether they will ensure that where personal questions are asked of wives, female interviewers will be employed.

There is no standard list of questions. The interviewing officer will ask the questions he thinks necessary to establish whether the application meets the requirements of the Immigration Rules. Officers are instructed not to put questions about sexual matters. It is not our policy to make public administrative instructions issued to the Immigration Service. It would not be practicable to use only female interviewers to interview wives, but wherever possible a woman immigration officer or police officer will be present.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many Cypriot refugees resident in Britain on long-stay visitors' permits have been deported in the last year although they are unable to return to that part of the island where their homes are situated; and how many are under notice of deportation.

The information is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. Under present policy, no Greek Cypriot would be deported to the north of the Island and no Turkish Cypriot to the south.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the Labour and Trade Union Press Service is subsidised by NATO funds.

Yes. In 1981, the NATO grant to the Labour and Trade Union Press Service totalled £8,470.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will supply information relating to the increase in workload and staff reductions in the offices of the Department of Health and Social Security and the effect on the efficiency of the service.

The number of staff needed to do the work required in social security local offices is calculated and allocated on the basis of comprehensive and detailed statistical analyses and forecasts of the workload which cover a large number of factors, including the number of claims expected. Workloads vary considerably by type and duration of claim and the action that has to be taken. All these factors vary over time and as a result of legislative, policy and procedural changes.Staffing levels are reviewed and adjusted frequently, under arrangements negotiated and agreed with the central departments and the trades unions. Staff resources available also vary over time, and local and regional managers are responsible for making adjustments within and between offices to cope in the most efficient and effective way with variations in workloads and staffing.The DHSS complementing system was considered by the Public Accounts Committee in a report published on 10th March. We propose, however, to prepare a short guide to the system and I shall send one to the noble Lord when it is ready.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What plans exist to establish resettlement units in the Greater London area.

There are 8 resettlement units in Greater London providing 1,110 places for men and 65 places for women. There are no proposals to build further units in London. Camberwell resettlement unit is to close by 1985, and plans for alternative provision, largely by making funds available to voluntary organisations for them to provide new bed spaces in hostels and group homes, were announced by my honourable friend the former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Social Security on 20th November 1981.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What estimate has been made of the need for Government resettlement units for men and women (respectively) in the London area.

There are no established criteria for making any precise estimates of the need for resettlement units as opposed to other forms of accommodation for single homeless people. The Government take the view however that the existing level of provision, in conjunction with the plans for alternative accommodation to replace Camberwell Resettlement Unit, to which I have referred in my earlier reply to the noble Lord, is, and should continue to be, sufficient to meet the need for this kind of accommodation in the London area.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What are the terms of reference of the working party of officials set up to review existing arrangements with regard to the mooring of liquefied natural gas and other tankers in British internal and territorial waters, and specifically whether the working party will be reviewing compensation, and shipowners' liability, for:

My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Transport has asked the working party to review quickly the arrangements for dealing with proposals to moor vessels for storage of liquefied petroleum gas and other materials in coastal waters. I do not consider that the working party is the appropriate forum for the general questions of compensation and liability raised by the noble Lord.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will do their best to persuade the Eastern Scottish Express Coach Service management: (1) to introduce a temporary passenger halt at Carfraemill until the Leader Bridge at Lauder has been repaired; (2) thereafter to restore the through-Lauder service.

These are matters for the commercial judgment of the company concerned.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What progress they have made in efforts to help the British mercenaries serving long sentences in Angola.

We are continuing to do what we properly can to help. Consular visits are made at monthly intervals and we are regularly in touch with the families of the former mercenaries. We continue to urge clemency and are in contact with the Angolan Government about this.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether records and accounts of the pay of officer prisoners of war in the Second World War were kept, and if they were, whether they have been destroyed and, if so, when.

Records and accounts of the pay of officer prisoners of war in the Second World War were kept by the service departments and paying agents in the same way as for other service personnel. Some of the Admiralty pay ledgers have survived, but so far as is known all Army and RAF pay records have long since been destroyed, in accordance with the common practice of destroying pay records after a reasonable time. The dates of destruction are not known.House adjourned at eight minutes past ten o'clock.