asked Her Majesty's Government:Why they have had difficulty in calculating the earliest release date of Mr. Steven Raymond, and whether they will now give the date.

Mr. Raymond's earliest release date is 5th July 1983. I will be writing to the noble Lord about the effect on that release date of a recent decision by the board of visitors at Wormwood Scrubs Prison to restore 49 days' forfeited remission.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

(a) How many fires have been reported in Strangeways Prison, Manchester during 1982;

(b) To how many of those fires was it necessary to summon the Greater Manchester Council Fire Service;

(c) What fire-fighting equipment is provided in this prison and how many of the prison staff are trained in fire-fighting techniques.

The information requested is as follows:

(a) Nine.

(b) Nine. The practice is to call the fire brigade to all fires no matter how small.

(c) Fire-fighting equipment at Manchester Prison consists of hydraulic hose reels, stand pipes and hoses, and fire extinguishers. Most prison officers have been trained in the use of fire-fighting equipment and new staff at the prison are being trained as quickly as possible after arrival.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many peace proposals have been received from the USSR and what have been the replies.

In recent months the Soviet Union has made four proposals for disarmament at meetings of the United Nations. We have said that we do not believe that a declaration renouncing the first use of nuclear weapons would increase international security. We have however welcomed the references to verification and on-site inspections in the Russian draft of a convention banning chemical weapons. We expect that we shall have an opportunity in the near future to make known to the Russians our views on their initiatives for a nuclear freeze, and for a Comprehensive Test Ban to be negotiated by the Committee on Disarmament.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What progress has been made in obtaining compensation for United Kingdom citizens in Cyprus who suffered loss and damage as a result of the Turkish invasion; how many claims have been sent to the Turkish Government and how many have not yet been met.

Some 1,000 United Kingdom citizens submitted personal claims to the Turkish Cypriot Claims Commission, which was established in 1978 to consider claims arising from the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974. By April 1981, of some 280 ex-gratia awards approved, 133 totalling about £430,000 had been paid. The Claims Commission was without a chairman from then until September 1982, during which period no claims were considered and no awards paid. The Commission has now resumed work under a new Chairman and to date 17 further awards totalling £42,000 have been paid. About £290,000 remains in the Turkish Cypriot budget for this year for compensation awards.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will publish in the

The table below shows the number of appeals lodged under the relevant statutory provision and the number allowed;

Year ending 31st March	Number of appeals lodged	Number of appeals allowed
1973	2	0
1974	1	0
1975	6	0
1976	5	0
1977	3	0
1978	7	0
1979	6	0
1980	12	0
1981	15	4
1982	14	0
1983*	1	1
*to September 1982.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they support, within the Council of Ministers, the proposals of the European Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs for a second poverty programme.

The Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs of the European Communities has not made any specific proposals for a second programme to combat poverty. Her Majesty's Government supported the conclusion of the Council of Ministers of 27th May 1982 that the report of the first programme to combat poverty should be examined by the Permanent Representatives Committee. This examination is still taking place.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What conclusions they have drawn from their discussions with the Local Auhorities Co-ordinating body on Trading Standards on the subject of the statutory control of the quantity of wine sold by the glass; what recommendations LACOTS have made; what is their estimate of the quantity of wine sold by the glass in 1961 and 1981; and what action they now propose to take.

The recent discussions endorsed the general conclusion of the LACOTS report that some form of control over sales of wine by the glass is desirable. My honourable friend the Minister for Consumer Affairs has, with the support of LACOTS, decided to explore with trade bodies the possibility of their developing a voluntary code of Practice based on price display backed by standard (or preferred) glass sizes. Information is not available as to the quantity of wine sold by the glass in 1961 and 1981.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What consultations they are having, and with whom, about changes in the law of building societies.

The Government have no proposals for changing the legislation governing building societies in this Parliament. A working group of the Building Societies Association is currently studying the constitution, powers and objects of societies. If legislation is introduced in due course, it would be preceded by consultation with the building society movement and other interested parties.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Who appoints commissioners of Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise, and by whom and by what procedure they may be removed.

Commissioners of Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise are appointed by the Crown on the advise of the Prime Minister. They hold office during Her Majesty's pleasure.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What progress has been made towards the implementation of the Education Act 1981.

Section 14 of the Education Act 1981, relating to the discontinuance of maintained special schools, was brought into effect on 5th January 1982. A series of regional conferences on the Act has been held, attended by local education authority and departmental representatives. A national conference of voluntary bodies is to be held on 15th November. Local education authorities are known to be reviewing their arrangements for special education in the light of the requirements of the Act. Following consultations with the local authority organisations and other interested bodies, regulations and a circular of guidance are being prepared on the assessment of children under the Act. Regulations on the approval of special schools and independent schools wishing to admit children with statements of special educational need are also in preparation. It had been hoped that these regulations would be ready in time to bring the remaining provisions of the Act into force in January next. This will not be possible and, in order to give the local authorities adequate time in which to take account of the regulations, my right honourable friends the Secretary of State for Education and Science and the Secretary of State for Wales now plan to bring these provisions into force at the beginning of April 1983.

asked Her Majesty's Government:In respect of what percentage of applications for farm capital grants the work for which grant was claimed was inspected by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in the period (a) October 1980 to September 1981 and (b) October 1981 to September 1982.

For the purposes of public protection it would he imprudent to disclose the level of inspections which are carried out.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether it is true that a ferry service has recently been re-established between Heysham, Lancashire and Northern Ireland:

I am not aware of any ferry service having recently been established between Heysham and Northern Ireland, although I understand that some interest has been shown in starting such a service.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will state the names of the chairman of the water authorities in England and Wales as at the last convenient date, together with particulars in each case of their salaries and other remuneration, and together with an indication in each case as to whether their appointments are regarded as being on a full or part-time basis.

The information asked for is as follows:

Water Authority and Chairman
North West: Mr. George Mann Severn-Trent: Sir William Dugdale Bt. Thames: Mr. Geoffrey Edwards	}part-time: 4 days a week, salary £24,980 (notional full-time rate £31,225).
Anglian: Mr. Bernard Henderson Southern: Sir Arthur Godfrey Taylor Yorkshire: Mr. Dennis Matthews Welsh: Mr. John Jones	}part-time: 3½ days a week, salary £20,504 (notional full-time rate £29,291).
South West: Mr. Len Hill	part-time: 3½ days a week, salary £19,150 (notional full-time rate £27,358).
Northumbrian: Mr. Michael Straker Wessex: Mr. Malcolm Anson	}part-time: 2½ days per week, salary £13,679 (notional full-time rate £27,358).

In addition to salary, chairmen of water authorities are entitled to travelling allowances as determined by Ministers (and which follow the rates set for local authority members) and they may claim reasonable expenses actually incurred for subsistence. The levels of salaries quoted are those which were effective from 1st April 1981.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will state in respect of each of the water authorities in England and Wales how many appointments carrying remuneration in excess of £20,000 a year are held by chairman, hoard members, and officers.

Seven chairmen of water authorities receive salaries in excess of £20,000.Members of water authorities receive no remuneration (except the chairmen of the regional and local land drainage committees, who are paid substantially less than £20,000 p.a.).The numbers of water authority officials earning in excess of £20,000 a year as at 31st March 1982 (the last convenient date for which detailed figures are available) are as follows:

Anglian	26	South West	9
Northumbrian	22	Thames	72
North West	28	Welsh	22
Severn-Trent	33	Wessex	18
Southern	19	Yorkshire	33