asked Her Majesty's Government:

No information is available about the number of refugees who have applied for or who have been granted naturalisation. The qualifications for naturalisation, which apply to all applicants, including refugees, are laid down in the Second Schedule to the British Nationality Act 1948. They include requirements of five years' residence, good character and knowledge of English.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether foreign prisoners have the right to an interpreter in proceedings before a board of visitors.

Prison Rule 49(2) provides that at an inquiry into a charge against a prisoner he shall be given full opportunity of hearing what is alleged against him and of presenting his own case. Where a prisoner has difficulty in understanding English he is given assistance, whether by members of the adjudicating panel, prison staff, other inmates or an interpreter, to enable him to participate in the proceedings.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What were the total imports of cotton textiles from Turkey into the EEC and the United Kingdom respectively during each of the last five years.

Figures for 1981 are not yet available; information for the previous five years is:

asked Her Majesty's Government:What arrangements there are for paying the school fees of children of serving officers killed on active service.

Boarding school allowance is paid to assist a serviceman to overcome particular difficulties arising from the liability to frequent postings at home and overseas. In the event of his death the allowance is continued for a further full term to help the family to adjust. Payment towards the cost of private education is not approved for a longer period since there is no longer a requirement arising from service conditions that precludes normal stable attendance at a day school.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether it is not in fact the case that lead-associated health considerations played a part in the decision of countries such as the United States of America and Japan to introduce lead-free petrol.

In replying to a supplementary question from the noble Baroness on 29th March, I inadvertently left the House with the impression that the only reason why the United States and Japan had introduced lead-free petrol was in order to deal with photochemical smog. It is true that this was their primary reason for introducing lead-free petrol, but I should have made clear that—like us—they also wanted to reduce total lead emissions because of the possible risk of adverse health effects which they posed.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the three documents on Comprehensive Disarmament to be presented by the Geneva Committee to the renewed United Nations' Special Session on Disarmament in June will be published or made available in the Libraries of the two Houses of Parliament.

I would refer the noble Lord to the reply which I gave on 20th May. The Committee on Disarmament has agreed to submit a draft Comprehensive Programme of Disarmament to the United Nations Second Special Session on Disarmament, incorporating the proposals of the three main groups within the committee. It had not proved possible to reconcile the three sets of proposals. A copy of that draft (CD/283) has already been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether a British Government representative indicated that the United Kingdom was not interested in the Falklands; whether the Argentine invasion, the consequent casualties and the resignation of the previous Foreign Secretary and his colleagues all stem from this indication: and what action they are taking in the matter.

I am not aware of any statement to this effect by any representative of Her Majesty's Government.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What evidence they have seen, if any, that poison gas or biological weapons have been used against guerrilla forces and civilians in Laos, Cambodia and Afghanistan; and whether they will make a statement, if it seems that the 1925 Geneva Protocol and the Biological Weapons Convention of 1972 have been contravened.

Careful and independent study of information released to us by the United States Government has now led us to believe that chemical weapons, probably including mycotoxins, have been used in South-East Asia. We are continuing to look closely at the extremely disturbing American reports of chemical warfare in Afghanistan.The use of chemical weapons is a flagrant contradiction of the civilised standards reflected in the 1925 Protocol. Moreover, the use of toxins in South-East Asia would represent a breach of the 1972 Convention banning biological and toxin weapons.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What policy they propose to raise the status of standards in the United Kingdom in order to strengthen the competitiveness of United Kingdom products both at home and in world markets.

Her Majesty's Government are convinced that standards supported by quality assurance have a central role to play in the international competitiveness of British industry. Good standards that reflect the requirements of the international market place encourage the application of sound technologies. They help firms to achieve the levels of quality reliability and safety in design and manufacture which increasingly are a prerequisite of successful competition in world markets. By eliminating unnecessary variety, they can reduce manufacturing cost and increase productivity, keeping our prices keen.A strong standards system does not emerge of its own accord. Nor is it just a matter of creating the right institutional and legal framework. Principally, it is now a question of attitudes. Manufacturers and users in the public and private sectors and those who use standards, many of which are international in origin, for regulatory purposes in central and local government must each give their full support to the system. The Government, for their part, are committed to enhancing the status of standards in the United Kingdom and are therefore developing proposals to this end. I will publish these shortly in a consultative document.A central feature of the Government's proposals will be an agreement with the British Standards Institution (BSI), as the national standards-making body. BSI would be asked to review through its committees the corpus of national standards to verify that these are appropriate for use in legislation, public procurement and overseas trade. The Government for their part would pursue two major objectives. First, to make much wider use of standards and independent certification and approval in its regulatory functions. This does not mean an extension of areas covered by mandatory standards but generally that those who comply with standards should have greater certainty of where they stand, especially in the matter of legal proceedings. Second, to rely more on standards and independent certification and approval in its procurement activities. In some areas practice and policy are already moving in this direction. Among other questions to be considered will be the feasibility of a scheme for giving official recognition to certification and approval bodies, possibly backed up by a new national mark.The Government will also be asking other public regulatory and purchasing authorities, the nationalised industries and the public corporations, to help to promote wider industrial efficiency by relating their requirements to standards. They will also be asked to consider whether more of their standards requirements could not be met within the national standards-making process, thus contributing to a stronger body of national standards.The status of standards in the United Kingdom reflects and is reflected in the participants in the standards-making process. Users, whose views are of particular importance, tend to be under-represented. As a consequence of the greater weight it intends to give to standards, the Government have reorganised their own machinery for dealing with standards-related issues and will be strengthening their contribution to the BSI committees responsible for writing standards. The consultative document will seek a commensurate response from other participants, reflecting their own intention to use the standards concerned. I am confident that BSI is managed and organised in such a way as to be well able to nurture the new approach.The Government believe that a strong national standards policy will enhance the reputation for quality of British goods and thereby support the efforts of British industry in world markets. The forthcoming consultative document will propose means of achieving this end. The Government hope that it will command the widespread support in all sectors of the economy which will ensure its success.The House adjourned at eleven minutes before nine o'clock.