asked Her Majesty's Government:How many prisoners, in the last complete year for which figures are available, were released on parole before they had served half their sentence.

The information requested could be made available only at disproportionate cost. The only information readily available is the analysis of the length of licence period in relation to the length of sentence for those determinate sentence cases recommended for parole in 1981, published in Appendix 3, Table 3 of the Report of the Parole Board 1981. The number of cases in which the period of licence exceeded one-sixth of the sentence length gives an indication of the number of prisoners granted parole before serving half their sentence. However, this is only approximate since in some cases, particularly for young offenders, the period of licence does not end after two-thirds of the sentence has passed. Moreover, the groups given in the table are such that only 1,644 cases can be identified in which the period of licence exceeded one-sixth of the sentence length and in a further 2,338 cases it cannot be established from the table whether or not the period of licence exceeded one-sixth of the sentence length.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they can confirm that drainage works carried out on Benbecula in the Western Isles during 1980 damaged the habitat of the red-necked phalarope, a species listed on Annex 1 of Directive 79/409/EEC, and whether the Nature Conservancy Council objected to these works.

I am advised that drain clearance works, to which the Nature Conservancy Council did not object, were carried out on the main field drain between Balivanich and Liniclate in Benbecula in 1980. I am further advised that the Nature Conservancy Council has found no evidence to indicate that this work damaged the habitat of the red-necked phalarope.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What bilateral or multilateral aid programmes supported by them positively educate people against the practices of female circumcision, excision and infibulation, and whether any relevant programme in the relevant countries deliberately refrain from doing so.

On a bilateral basis Her Majesty's Government have no specific projects to educate people against these practices. Multilaterally, the United Kingdom supports the World Health Organisation, the United Nations Children's Fund and the International Planned Parenthood Federation, all of which regard female circumcision as an unnecessary and dangerous practice. All are prepared to help Governments, and, in the case of the International Planned Parenthood Federation, Family Planning Associations, to develop programmes to counteract the practice. All carry out an educational role, both in collaboration with each other and independently to inform people about the harmful effects of female circumcision.I am not aware of any programme deliberately refraining from disseminating information on the subject.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will implement the recommendation of the Rayner Scrutiny of Fisheries R & D that staff at Burnham Laboratory should be recruited to increase the sampling of loads of industrial waste for dumping at sea from 1 per cent. to 7 per cent. and to return the monitoring programme to schedule; and, if so, when; andWhether they intend to implement the recommendation of the Select Committee on Science and Technology (1st Report, Session 1980-81) that samples of industrial wastes dumped at sea should be increased to 10 per cent. of the voyages made; and, if so, when.

Having considered the recommendation of the Select Committee, Her Majesty's Government have decided to increase the sampling of loads of industrial waste for dumping at sea to 7 per cent. I consider such a level of inspection satisfactory. This has entailed the creation of one additional inspectoral post at the Burnham Laboratory. Recruitment procedures for this post are in hand and an appointment has already been made to fill a temporary vacancy which arose after the Select Committee carried out its study.Before Her Majesty's Government reach any firm decisions on the remaining recommendations in the draft Report of the Rayner Scrutiny of Fisheries Research and Development, including those on the monitoring programme, consultations will be held with the industries concerned and the Trade Union Side of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether it is true that ordinary criminal cases, such as armed robberies, attempted rape and indecent assault, are being heard in "Diplock" courts, and if so how this will be avoided in future.

The Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1978 provides for the trial on indictment of certain offences (scheduled offences) to be conducted without a jury. Robbery is a scheduled offence where it is charged that an explosive, firearm, imitation firearm or weapon of offence was used to commit it. Attempted rape and indecent assault are not scheduled offences, but the Act provides that where separate counts of an indictment charge a scheduled offence and an offence which is not a scheduled offence, the trial is to be conducted as if all the offences charged were scheduled offences. This has led to the trial without a jury of one offence of attempted rape and one of indecent assault. Her Majesty's Government regard these legislative provisions as an appropriate part of the machinery of justice while it remains necessary to provide for some offences to be tried in Northern Ireland without a jury.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whose responsibility it is to examine whether or not there was a terroristic or political motive in an offence which

It is the responsibility of the Attorney-General for Northern Ireland to certify in any particular case which falls within the Notes 1 and 2 to Schedule 4 of the Northern Ireland (Emergency Powers) Act 1978 that an offence is not to be treated as a scheduled offence.

asked Her Majesty's Government:If they will make a Statement on the availability from 1st August 1982 of assistance to tourism projects by the English Tourist Board under Section 4 of the Development of Tourism Act 1969.

The Government place great importance on the development of the tourist industry which makes a valuable contribution to the national economy and to our balance of payments.Hitherto aid under Section 4 of the Development of Tourism Act 1969 has been confined to assisted areas. Following the decision on the review of assisted areas announced by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Industry, the Government have decided that support for tourism projects should no longer be tied specifically to assisted areas, but should be based on considerations more directly related to the needs of tourism. Accordingly suitable projects throughout the country will become eligible for consideration for this selective aid. An announcement on the detailed arrangements will be made as soon as possible. We are notifying the European Commission of this change in accordance with our Community obligations.House adjourned at twenty-four minutes past midnight.