asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether there is land at Rothiemurchus in Scotland within the area eligible for the Forestry Commission native pinewood grant, which meets the SSSI criteria laid down by the Nature Conservancy Council, but which has not been so notified, and, if so, why notification has not taken place and what acreage of land is involved.

The land at Rothiemurchus eligible for the Forestry Commission native pinewood grant amounts to 3,388 hectares; of this, 1,328 hectares are already within a National Nature Reserve and a further area of about 1,400 hectares is considered to meet the SSSI criteria established by the NCC.The council is involved in detailed discussions with the owner, the Forestry Commission and Countryside Commission for Scotland concerning the future management and conservation of the land of special interest. However, it is not practicable yet to define a precise boundary for the proposed SSSI. Further detailed discussions will be undertaken this summer following which the formal notification procedures are expected to take place.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they participated in the conference in Geneva to protect the environment of zones in the Mediterranean; whether they support the decision reached to give international support to such protection, and what this entails.

The United Kingdom is not a party to the Mediterranean Action Plan and does not therefore participate in meetings concerned with its implementation.Her Majesty's Government support the principles of the plan and welcome the international co-operation on environmental protection which it has fostered between Mediterranean coastal states.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What percentage of pupils whose families are of ethnic minority background and whose family first language is not English are in (

Statistics on the ethnic origin and first language of pupils are not collected nationally; hut, as respects the Inner London Education Authority, I understand that at January 1981 the percentage of pupils whose first language is not English in the county and voluntary schools maintained by the authority was 14.6 per cent. and 12.2 per cent. respectively.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they support the statement of the chief medical officer of the Department of Health that there is unequivocal evidence that lead in petrol is detrimental to children's health.

The chief medical officer has never stated that there is unequivocal evidence that lead in petrol is detrimental to children's health.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many students are admitted to the Joint Services Course for Remedial Gymnasts at the Queen Elizabeth Military Hospital, Woolwich, every year; how many students are on the course; and how many successfully complete the course.

Each course at the Joint Services School of Remedial Gymnastics at Woolwich lasts two years, a new course beginning every September. An average of 11 students attend each course and there are therefore about 20 students at the school at any time. Only two students have failed to complete the course successfully in the last four years.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What civilian hospitals have received students from the Joint Services Course for Remedial Gymnasts at the Queen Elizabeth Military Hospital, Woolwich, in the past year, as part of the students' practical training.

Students from the Joint Services School of Remedial Gymnastics have recently attended the following civilian hospitals and rehabilitative establishments as part of their training:

• Brook General Hospital,
• Dreadnought Seamen's Hospital,
• Farnham Park Rehabilitation Centre,
• Camden Road Rehabilitation Centre,
• Stoke Mandeville Hospital,
• Putney Home for Incurables,
• Wolfson Medical Centre,
• Royal Hospital Chelsea.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether staff employed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food are instructed to report to the police any instance they come across of suspected illegal poisoning of birds or other animals by farmers, landowners or people employed by them, and whether they will remind such staff, particularly those who undertake advisory visits to farms, of their obligation immediately to report such cases to the police.

As I stated in my reply of 29th March, officers of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food are, like any other citizens, expected to report to the police any suspected criminal activity that they may come across in the course of their official duties but which is not the direct responsibility of the department. The appropriate staff will be reminded of their obligation in the particular circumstances to which the noble Lord refers.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What plans exist for the reopening of the Gibraltar frontier and the implementation of other aspects of the Lisbon Statement.

It has been agreed between the British and the Spanish Governments that the start of negotiations on Gibraltar and the re-establishment of direct communicatons, which were due to take place on 20th April, should be postponed until 25th June. Her Majesty's Government remain committed, as in the Lisbon Statement, to starting negotiations aimed at overcoming all the differences between the two sides over Gibraltar, to reopening direct communications and to developing closer understanding between those directly concerned in the area. The Spanish Government have stated that they share this commitment.House adjourned at two minutes before eight o'clock.