asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have completed their consideration of the proposals made by Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons for England and Wales in his report for 1981.

The position of the Government on the main issues raised in the report of HM Chief Inspector and the action being taken to resolve them is set out in the foreword to the report. Consideration of the report's detailed proposals has now been completed and I am placing in the Library of the House a commentary by the Prison Department on each of the points raised by HM Chief Inspector.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What are their proposals for legislation on Part I of the Report of the Royal Commission on Criminal Procedure.

Parliament has a duty to ensure both that the police are provided with the legal powers they need and that those powers are accompanied by due safeguards for the citizen. Last year my right honourable friend produced a consultative memorandum on the Royal Commission's report generally, and as a result of considering the response we seek to carry the process of consultation further by preparing, as recommeded by the Royal Commission, two draft codes of practice with a view to legislation. The first deals with the questioning of persons suspected of crime and their treatment if in police custody, and would supersede the Judges' Rules; and the second with identification parades and other identification procedures. We have placed copies in the Library and will be sending others to the same wide range of bodies who received the consultative memorandum last year. In addition, copies will be available on request from Room 528, Home Office, 50 Queen Anne's Gate, London, SW1H 9AT.The legislation we intend, subject to the availability of resources, to bring forward would be accompanied by draft codes of practice, revised as necessary in the light of the consultations, so that Parliament may be aware of the duties we would propose to lay on the police in consequence of the legislation.We hope that these draft codes will assist the process of discussion as well as emphasise the extent to which the Government are committed to striking a balance between the interests of society in bringing offenders to justice and the rights of individuals suspected of crime. We hope also that steps we have in mind will be regarded as being for the convenience of the House. We are above all anxious that there should be a fully informed public debate on these difficult issues and that, as a result, noble Lords will feel the more prepared to scrutinise our proposals when they are brought before the House.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many post mortem examinations were carried out in each of the years 1972–81 inclusive, and in how many cases in each of those years the examination yielded additional information to that given on the medical certificate of the cause of death.

The numbers of post mortem examinations in England and Wales are as follows:

1972	161,996
1973	161,426
1974	162,070
1975	162,565
1976	167,574
1977	161,309
1978	168,927
1979	170,844
1980	166,318
1981	not available

These figures are derived from coroners' returns and information given at death registration.The numbers of cases where examinations have yielded extra information to that given on the medical certificate of cause of death are not recorded.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What progress has been made with the review of supporting services in Government Research and Development Establishments announced on 25th February last year and if they will make a statement.

The examining officers in departments have now reported to their Ministers. Sir Derek Rayner has presented my right honourable friend the Prime Minister and myself with a report on the wider management issues. His report is being published today.The results of the review are important. The examining officers proposed changes in the provision of supporting services to save at least £15 million a year in today's prices (including 1,500 posts) while continuing with our essential scientific research programmes. Once and for all savings recommended are worth about £7 million in today's prices. Sir Derek Rayner's report proposes a new management régime for the establishments to give Ministers better information about value for money from research projects, to provide clearer authority and accountability for the directors of research establishments, and to set up improved control systems. The review has cost about £350,000.The review has demonstrated the importance and success of the Government's efficiency strategy. By combining the scrutiny approach with more traditional methods like work measurement, the review has produced significant lessons and shown that substantial improvements are possible in areas where previous approaches have failed to exploit the full potential for improving efficiency. Departments are continuing this approach through a number of resource control reviews co-ordinated by the Management and Personnel Office. Ministers in charge of departments will be pursuing the recommendations and producing action documents. They will also consider how the recommendations can be applied to areas of support in R and D establishments not covered by the review. The Management and Personnel Office will aim to ensure that the optimum value is extracted from the general lessons of the review. I am grateful to the staff who, under the guidance of Sir Derek Rayner and the Management and Personnel Office, have produced these excellent results.House adjourned at twenty-six minutes past six o' clock.