asked Her Majesty's Government:Why an application for funds under Article 3 of Directive 75/268/EEC to protect and conserve sites of importance for nature conservation and areas qualifying for protection under Article 4 of EEC Directive 79/409/EEC has not been included in the draft Integrated Development Programme for the Western Isles.

The noble Lord's attention is drawn to Article 5 of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1939/81 which sets out the measures for which a contribution will be available from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund. The whole of the Western Isles is already designated as a less-favoured area under Article 3(4) of Directive 75/268(EEC).

asked Her Majesty's Government:What resources will be available under the Western Isles Integrated Development Programme to protect—

The arrangements with regard to the protection of the environment are set out in Chapter 10 and Annex 7 of the programme. It was estimated that the cost of monitoring the environmental impact and liaising with the project team would be of the order of £60,000 over five years. No specific financial resources have been "put aside" by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland.

asked Her Majesty's Government:From which source the Nature Conservancy Council is seeking funds to protect sites of importance for nature conservation in the Western Isles of Scotland, and why the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland (DAFS) expects other agencies to provide such funds when the Integrated Development Programme for the Western Isles is being promoted by DAFS and funded by the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund;Whether the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland have informed the Department of the Environment (DoE) that funds to protect any Sites of Special Scientific Interest or areas qualifying for protection under Article 4 of EEC Directive 79/409/EEC, threatened by projects promoted under the Western Isles Integrated Development Programme, have to be found from DoE sources; and

Her Majesty's Government are not aware of the substantial threat to any of the Sites of Special Scientific Interest in the Western Isles, whether from projects under the Integrated Development Programme or otherwise. No projects have yet been formulated under the programme, whose terms require all actions to be compatible with the protection of the environment. The implied need to provide significant extra funds to enable the Nature Conservancy Council to meet new threats to such sites is therefore hypothetical.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether Scottish Office officials have conveyed the Nature Conservancy Council's views on the Western Isles Integrated Development Programme to European Community officials in both the environment and the agriculture sections.

The programme was considered by officials in the Environment and Agriculture Directorates who were advised that the programme was prepared by a Steering Committee of officials, including observers from the Nature Conservancy Council. Chapter 10 of the programme contains a statement to the effect that satisfactory arrangements have been made to facilitate the resolution of environmental problems as they arise and confirms that the arrangements outlined therein are intended to complement existing provisions covering the National Nature Reserves, the Sites of Special Scientific Interest and the designated National Scenic Areas within the Western Isles.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether agricultural improvement schemes promoted through the Western Isles Integrated Development Programme will be subjected to a detailed cost-benefit analysis, using the standard test discount rate of 5 per cent. and a calculated project life of 50 years or less.

No.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether funds will be available under the Western Isles Integrated Development Programme to develop tourist amenities and craft industries, whether funds for this purpose will come from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund, and, if not, on which departmental Vote such expenditure will fall, and what estimate of such expenditure the Government have made during the life of the programme.

Estimates of likely expenditure on the development of tourist amenities and craft industries are given in the programme, copies of which are available in the Library. None of the funds for these purposes would be provided by the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund. Aid may be available from the Western Isles Islands Council, or from the Highlands and Islands Development Board whose expenditure is carried on the Scottish Office Vote under reference Class XV, Vote 3.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they are aware that the Nature Conservancy Council (NCC) have stated publicly that no funds have been allocated within the Integrated Development Programme (IDP) for the Western Isles to activate the mechanism contained in the Programme to ensure that measures taken under the IDP are compatible with the protection of the environment, and that the NCC's stated view is that "This is unsatisfactory and infringes important principles embodied in EEC Environment Policy and the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act"; whether this view has been passed on to the Agriculture Directorate and to the Environment Directorate in Brussels, and if not, why not;Whether they are aware that the Nature Conservancy Council (NCC) have stated publicly that the EEC Agricultural Directorate in Brussels have received a "misleading impression" of the NCC's views on the Western Isles Integrated Development Programme (IDP), whether they will confirm that this impression is not based on anything the NCC had said direct to the Agricultural Directorate, and whether they will confirm that the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland were responsible for passing the NCC's views on the IDP to officials in Brussels; andWhether they are aware that the Nature Conservancy Council have stated publicly that the integrated aims of the Western Isles Integrated Development Programme "are defeated by the fact that the only funds earmarked are those supporting agricultural and fisheries measures", whether this view has been passed on to the Agriculture Directorate and to the Environment Directorate in Brussels, and if not, why not.

I understand that the Council are content with, and indeed devised, the procedures set out in the programme: as to funds, the European Commission are well aware that we think it unsatisfactory that an integrated programme is not supported by integrated Community provision of funds.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will give an assurance that no site of special scientific interest in the Western Isles will be damaged as a result of lack of finance for the Nature Conservancy Council, when £56 million is to be spent in the Western Isles under an Integrated Development Programme.

There is already a firm assurance in the programme that the actions envisaged are compatible with protection of the environment.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will list all those species of birds which are listed on Annex 1 of Directive 79/409/EEC which occur on the Western Isles, and whether any measures to protect the habitats of these species and other migratory birds have been included in the Western Isles Integrated Development Programme.

The following species of birds which are listed in Annex 1 of Directive 79/409/EEC occur on the Western Isles:—

Great northern diver	Osprey
Cory's shearwater	Peregrine
Storm petrel	Crane
Leach's petrel	Avocet
Bittern	Pratincole
Night heron	Dotterel
Squacco heron	Golden plover
Little egret	Wood-sandpiper
Black stork	Red-necked phalarope
Glossy ibis	Sandwick tern
Spoonbill	Roseate tern
Greater flamingo	Common tern
Bewick's swan	Arctic tern
Whooper swan	Little tern
White fronted goose	Black tern
Barnacle goose	Eagle owl
White-tailed eagle	Snowy owl
Marsh harrier	Short-eared owl
Hen harrier	Kingfisher
Golden eagle	Blue-throat
	Barred warbler

No new measures to protect the habitats of these species and other migratory birds have been or need be included within the Integrated Development Programme which implies no new threat; existing arrangements reinforced by the project assessment procedure outlined in the programme should suffice.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the Nature Conservancy Council will be involved as appropriate in the administration of the Integrated Development Programme (IDP) for the Western Isles, and, if so, why this is not stated in paragraph 11.14 of the draft programme.

The organisations to which reference is made in paragraph 11.14 are those concerned with the preparation, receipt and examination of applications for assistance. As indicated in Chapter 10, arrangements have been made for consultation with the Nature Conservancy Council on environmental aspects.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether efforts in the last 12 months to find an economic means of restricting the growth of bracken in the Highlands of Scotland have yielded worthwhile results, and what further steps are contemplated.

An effective herbicide for the eradication of bracken has for some years been commercially available. Grant-aid of 50 per cent. in the less favoured areas (85 per cent. for crofters if part of a land improvement scheme) is available from my department. Nevertheless, there is evidence that the acreage of bracken infestation is increasing and this seems to be partly a consequence of smaller farm staffs as well as of the cost in relation to the benefit of bracken eradication.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many civil servants are employed in the Scottish Office, excluding the Prison Service and the State Hospital, Carstairs; and how this figure compares with the size of the staff of the European Commission.

At 11th December 1981, 11,393 staff were employed by the European Commission. At 1st December 1981, the corresponding figure for the Scottish Office, excluding the Prison Service and State Hospital, was 7,467 including 869 industrial staff: the figures for 1st May 1982 were 7,361 and 870, respectively.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What were the practical conclusions of the United Nations Environment Programme Conference, attended by more than 100 Governments, ending at Nairobi on 18th May 1982; and what contribution the British delegation made.

The Session of Special Character of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme on 10th to 18th May was held in commemoration of the Stockholm Conference. The session reviewed progress on tackling the problems of the environment over the past 10 years and considered likely environmental trends and the priority courses of action for the next 10 years. The United Kingdom delegation was led by the Right Honourable Tom King, MP, Minister for Local Government and Environmental Services. I will send a copy of Mr. King's speech to the noble Lord.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will reconsider their decision to refuse a visa to Adolfo Perez Esquivel, the Argentine Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1980, in view of his statement in

Sr. Esquivel's application for a visa to come to this country for a visit has been approved. At no time was it refused.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many local and parochial charities having a permanent endowment are registered with the Charity Commissioners in each of the following three groups as classified in the Pemsel case: charities for (

No distinction is made in the register between charities having a permanent endowment and those which have none. This information could be obtained only by examining the individual deeds, the cost of which would be disproportionate.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many schemes were sealed by the Charity Commissioners in each of the years 1979, 1980 and 1981 the effects of which were to amalgamate the charities for the poor of one parish with the charities for the poor of another parish or other parishes; and in how many such schemes were more than five parishes involved.

The full information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost, but total numbers of charities amalgamated or grouped in each of the years in question were as follows:

• 1979–612 charities by means of 136 schemes.
• 1980–795 charities by means of 145 schemes.
• 1981–703 charities by means of 174 schemes.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will list the items of service which a general practitioner is required to provide free of charge to his or her National Health Service patients.

A doctor may not, other than under or by virtue of the provisions of the National Health Service (General Medical and Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 1974, demand or accept a fee or other remuneration for any treatment, including maternity medical services, whether under the Terms of Service for Doctors or not, which he gives to his National Health Service patients, except:—

(a) from any statutory body for services rendered for the purpose of that body's statutory functions;

(b) from any body, employer or school for a routine medical examination or persons for whose welfare the body, employer or school is responsible, for an examination of such persons for the purpose of advising the body, employer or school of any administrative action they might take;

(c) for treatment which is not of a type usually provided by general practitioners and which is given—

(i) pursuant to the provisions of Sections 1 and 2 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968(a), or

(ii) in a registered nursing home which is not providing services under the Health Service Acts, if (in either case) the doctor is serving on the staff of a hospital providing services under the Health Service Acts as a specialist providing treatment of the kind the patient requires and if within seven days from giving the treatment the doctor supplies the Family Practitioner Committee, on a form provided by it for the purpose, with such information about the treatment as it may require;

(d) under section 155 of the Road Traffic Act 1972(b);

(e) from a dentist in respect of provision at his request for an anaesthetic for a person for whom the dentist is providing general dental services;

(f) when a doctor treats a patient under paragraph 4(2) of the National Health Service (General Medical and Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 1974, in which case the doctor shall be entitled to demand and accept a reasonable fee (recoverable under paragraph 33 of those regulations) for any treatment given and for any drugs and appliances supplied, if he gives the patient a receipt on a form supplied by the family practitioner committee;

(g) for attending and examining (but not otherwise treating) a patient at his request at a police station in connection with proceedings which the police are minded to bring against him;

(h) for treatment consisting of an immunisation for which no remuneration is payable by the family practitioner committee in pursuance of the statement made under Regulation 24 of the National Health Service (General Medical and Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 1974 and which is requested in connection with travel abroad;

(i) for circumcising a patient for whom such an operation is requested on religious grounds and is not needed on any medical ground.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many blood donors are on the panels of each of the regional blood transfusion services in England.

At 31st December 1980 (the latest date for which figures are available) the estimated donor panel of each of the regional blood transfusion centres in England was as follows:

Northern	153,339
Yorkshire	117,008
Trent	137,279
East Anglia	78,819
NW Thames	184,242
NE Thames	192,450
SE & SW Thames	324,991
Wessex	77,830
Oxford	125,029
South Western	150,917
West Midlands	134,059
Mersey	139,200
N Western	300,196

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many admissions to hospital have followed accidents to micro-light aircraft during the last 12 months.

I regret that this information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What attitude they take to the French proposal, put forward at the meeting of the development committee of the International Monetary Fund in Helsinki, for the establishment of a special soft-loan fund free from the special influence exercised by the United States over the International Development Association.

Various proposals have been put forward by several countries to deal with the situation in which the United States contribution to the Sixth replenishment of IDA is likely to be spread over more than the three-year period originally envisaged. The French proposal is initially concerned with those countries, of which there are very few, which have not released in full their second contribution to the replenishment. All these proposals are likely to be discussed by officials at a meeting early in July.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Which countries have now paid to the International Development Association the full amount pledged for the second year of the current replenishment; which countries, while not paying in full, are proposing to pay proportionally more of their commitment than the United States; and which countries are restricting their payments to the same extent as the United States.

Virtually all donor countries contributing to the International Development Association Sixth Replenishment have now allowed their second (current) contribution to be used in full, except, (a) Japan, which intends to release proportionally more of its contribution than the United States; and (b) France, the Federal Republic of Germany and Canada, which are continuing to restrict their contributions proportionately to that of the United States. Ireland, Portugal and Venezuela have yet to declare their intentions.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, in answering the noble Lord, Lord Paget, on 26th May 1982, the noble Viscount, Lord Trenchard, was indicating any change in the present arrangements governing political control of the conduct of the Falklands operations, specifically with regard to a possible attack on mainland Argentina.

No, my Lords. I did not intend to indicate any change in political control over the Rules of Engagement in any respect.House adjourned for the Whitsun Recess at three minutes before six o'clock.