asked Her Majesty's Government:For how many days Mr. Abdul Qayum Butt, who has committed no offence, has been detained in Ashford Remand Centre; what countries have been approached to see whether they might offer him asylum; what is the maximum length of time they consider it proper to keep a person who is admitted to be a refugee within the meaning of Article 1 of the United Nations Convention on Refugees detained in a prison, and what they will do with Mr. Butt if no other country is prepared to accept him.

Mr. Abdul Qayum Butt was detained under Immigration Act powers at Ashford Remand Centre from 4th June to 19th October 1982, a total of 137 days. Approaches to possible countries of resettlement have been made by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and it would be inappropriate for my right honourable friend to answer on the High Commissioner's behalf.Mr. Butt is a person to whom Article 32(3) of the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees is considered to apply; he is being given a reasonable period within which to seek legal admission to another country and his detention was considered to be a necessary internal measure to be taken during that period. As the noble Lord will be aware, my right honourable friend has again reviewed Mr. Butt's case and, taking account of the representations he had received and the assurances he had been given, has directed that Mr. Butt should be released from custody and granted temporary admission to await further the outcome of UNHCR's efforts on his behalf. He was released on 19th October.I do not consider it useful, at this stage, to speculate on what might be done should no other country be found prepared to accept Mr. Butt.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Which police stations have been used in the Metropolitan Police District and elsewhere, to hold remand prisoners since July 1981, and how many prisoners have been held in each.

Since 1st July 1981 an average of about 45 prisoners, mainly remand prisoners, have been held each night in police cells. Of these, about 41 on average were held in police stations and magistrates' courts in the Metropolitan Police area and the remainder elsewhere, namely in the City of London, Essex, Hertfordshire, Surrey, Sussex and Thames Valley police force areas and, on two occasions in December 1981, in the Mancheser area. Complete information is not held centrally on the individual police stations which have held such prisoners and it could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the Protection of Animals Act 1911 or any other Act provides protection to horses used in show jumping against ill-treatment and injury caused by raising the height of the jumps to levels which are likely to cause unnecessary suffering: andWhether the doping of horses, competing in show jumping, with Phenyl Butazone or other painkilling drugs to enable them to continue in competitions in spite of injury contravenes the law.

The Protction of Animals Acts 1911 to 1964 (and the equivalent legislation in Scotland) provide for the protection of horses used in show jumping against offences of unnecessary suffering. It is for the courts to decide whether the actions referred to constitute offences under the Act.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will indicate what measures have been undertaken by Northern Ireland departments to monitor appropriately at educational establishments and at industrial levels the actions taken to implement the declared objectives of the Northern Ireland Youth Training Programme and whether they will state also what research projects have been initiated or sponsored by Northern Ireland departments to assess the practical results of the YTP (N1) that may enable any necessary reappraisal and adjustments of the present programme.

A number of measures are used to monitor the extent to which the objectives of the Youth Training Programme are being achieved. The programme is monitored centrally (a) by the Manpower Advisory Council and in particular by its Standing Committee on YTP and (b) by representatives of the Departments of Economic Development and Education, acting together in an interdepartmental executive. The programme is monitored on a local basis by 13 local liaison committees. In addition, the progress of individual trainees is monitored by careers officers and by feedback through the new profiling system. No research projects have been initiated, but formal evaluation arrangements for YTP are presently under active consideration, and some initial work has already started.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will publish the number of applications for selective financial assistance that have been considered during each of the periods: 1979–80; 1980–81 and 1981–82 (latest date), by each of the following:—1. The industrial development advisory committee of the Department of Commerce, Northern Ireland;2. The finance committee of the Local Enterprise Development Unit (Northern Ireland);3. The board of the Northern Ireland Development Agency under the following headings:—

The information requested by the noble Lord is set out below as far as possible in the form requested.1. INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEEI would refer the noble Lord to the information provided in the reports on industrial development assistance by the Department of Commerce for the years ending 31st March 1980, 31st March 1981 and 31st March 1982, copies of which are available in the House of Lords Library. Additional information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.2. LOCAL ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT UNIT

Applications	1979–80	1980–81	1981–82	1982–83
				(6 months)
Approved	128	121	201	170
Refused	5	5	8	6
Financial Assistance (£m)	5·1	4	6·2	3·2

The following table shows the breakdown by area of applications approved. A similar breakdown of area for applications refused could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

	1979–80	1980–81	1981–82	1982–83
				6 months
Northern Ireland	124	119	195	162
Great Britain	2	1	3	5
Republic of Ireland	2	1	3	3

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many hospitals are now vacant in each of the major cities in England, Scotland and Wales.

I regret that information for England is not available centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate expense. Information for Wales and Scotland is as follows:

Major City		No. of vacant hospitals
WALES
Cardiff	. .	. .	none
Swansea
Newport
Wrexham
SCOTLAND
Glasgow	..	..	two
Edinburgh	..	..	none
Aberdeen	..	..	none
Dundee	..	..	three

asked Her Majesty's Government:What were the conclusions of the United Nations Conference at Geneva on the aged and what is their attitude towards them.

I assume the noble Lord is referring to the United Nations World Assembly on Aging held in Vienna from 26th July to 6th August this year, at which the United Kingdom was represented by my honourable friend Mr. Geoffrey Finsberg, MP. The Assembly prepared an International Plan of Action on Aging which is being submitted for adoption to the current session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Her Majesty's Government will be considering the plan's implications in the light of the General Assembly's deliberations.

asked Her Majesty's Government:To confirm that they had not given formal permission to the Crown Estate Commissioners to erect fences on Crown Common to the west of Plynlimon in Wales before 12th October, 1982, and whether they are aware that fencing had been erected on this land before that date.

I confirm that no such permission had been given by 12th October. The Welsh Office was informed on that date that fencing had been erected on the land.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What steps they are taking to deal with the disease of Leptospirosis in farm and domestic animals; what evidence there is that the disease is spreading; and what threat it poses to humans.

For some years research into Leptospirosis has been carried out at the Ministry's Central Veterinary Laboratory at Weybridge and the Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland's Laboratory at Belfast. The research is designed to improve methods of diagnosis, determine the prevalence of infection and the methods by which it can be controlled. The work is being directed primarily towards Leptospirosis in cattle because of the problems of mastitis, abortion and premature calving it can cause. Vaccine trials have been undertaken which suggest that vaccination might prove to be the only practical method of control. The problems associated with the disease continue to be the subject of international discussion, research and collaboration. The development of the disease in this country is not clear but it is most common in cattle. The disease can occur in humans, most notably those involved in the dairy industry, through transmission from cattle. In most cases the manifestations of the disease are not serious.