asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether any grants have been made to Abbeyfield-type hostels or to "Extra-Care" homes for the elderly or to residential homes previously registered under Section 37 of the National Assistance Act 1948 and now registered under the Residential Homes Act 1980 as a result of Schedule 12 to the Housing Act 1980.

Grants for accommodation of this kind have been paid under the following legislation:—

(i) Housing association grants and hostel deficit grant under the Housing Act 1974.

(ii) Payment of the fees of individuals who are in need of care and attention, under the National Assistance Act 1948.

Under the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968 there are also powers to make grants and loans towards the capital costs of residential homes run by voluntary bodies and grants towards the cost of fire precaution works. Special grants are also available for the provision of amenities to be shared by residents and for means of escape from fire under the Housing Acts 1974 and 1980 but details of payments of these grants are not available.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they are able to report any pilot schemes for housing of sensorily handicapped persons which the Government are helping to promote either from their own or EEC resources.

The Housing Corporation, with central Government grant, support the provision of housing association hostels for frail elderly people, a proportion of whom suffer from sensory handicaps. In addition, a number of housing association hostels have been provided specifically for the sensorily handicapped. For example, a hostel for mult-ihandicapped blind people in Birmingham, with accommodation for 16 people, has been provided by Birmingham Royal Institution for the Blind Housing Association; a hostel for 7 pre-lingually deaf people, with additional handicaps has been provided in Wandsworth by the Harding Housing Association.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether during the first half of 1982–83 the Housing Corporation underspent or overspent on its capital programme; and what result is expected on this programme in the full year.

The Housing Corporation's net expenditure in England in the first six months of 1982–83 was £310 million against its original annual cash limit of £530 million. However, my right honourable friend announced on 15th November an increase in the corporation's cash limit for the current year to £680 million.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many airlines operating permits into the United Kingdom contain a clause that the holder should, in effect, abide by published tariffs; and whether they will list the airlines concerned at the latest convenient date.

As at 1st November 1982 there are 156 airline operating permits for scheduled passenger and/or cargo services into the United Kingdom that contain a clause requiring adherence to published tariffs. The airlines concerned, some of which hold more than one permit, are listed below:

• Aer Lingus,
• Aeroflot,
• Air Algerie,
• Air Florida,
• Air France,
• Air India,
• Air Lanka,
• Air Mauritius,
• Air New Zealand,
• Air Zimbabwe,
• Alia Royal Jordanian Airlines,
• Alitalia,
• American Airlines,
• Arrow Air,
• Austrian Airlines,
• Avair,
• Bangladesh Biman,
• Braniff International,
• Britair,
• CAAC,
• Cameroon Airlines,
• Cyprus Airways,
• Delta Airlines,
• Egyptair,
• El Al Israel Airlines,
• Ethiopian Airlines,
• Finnair,
• Flying Tiger,
• Garuda Indonesian Airways,
• Gemini Airlines,
• Ghana Airways,
• Gulf Air,
• lcelandair,
• Iran Air,
• Iraqi Airways,
• Kenya Airways,
• KLM,
• Kuwait Airways,
• Libyan Arab Airlines,
• Lufthansa,
• Luxair,
• Malaysian Airline System,
• Middle East Airlines,
• Nigeria Airways,
• NLM,
• Northwest Orient,
• Pakistan International Airlines,
• Pan American,
• Philippine Airlines,
• Royal Air Moroc,
• Sabena,
• SAS,
• Saudi Arabian Airlines,
• Singapore Airlines,
• South African Airways,
• Sudan Airways,
• Swissair,
• Syrian Arab Airlines,
• TAP Air Portugal,
• TAT,
• Thai Airways International,
• THY,
• Trans Mediterranean Airlines,
• Trans World Airlines,
• Trinidad and Tobago (BWIA) International Airways,
• Tunis Air,
• Uganda Airways,
• Varig,
• VIASA,
• Western Airlines,
• World Airways,
• Yemen Air,
• Zambia Airways,

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many airline operating permits into the United Kingdom contain no clause to the effect that the holder should abide by published tariffs; and whether they will list the airlines concerned at the latest convenient date.

As at 1st November 1982 there are 18 airline operating permits for scheduled passenger and/or cargo services into the United Kingdom that do not contain a clause requiring adherence to published tariffs. The airlines concerned, some of which hold more than one permit, are listed below:

• Air Canada,
• Air Jamaica,
• Air Malta,
• Balkan Airlines,
• Caribbean Airways,
• CSA,
• Japan Air Lines,
• JAT,
• LOT,
• Malev,
• Olympic Airways,
• Qantas,
• TAROM.

asked her Majesty's Government:Whether all licences issued by the Civil Aviation Authority to United Kingdom airlines include a requirement to charge only officially approved fares; and whether they will list those airlines holding licences including such a requirement at the latest convenient date.

Yes. As at 1st November 1982 the following United Kingdom airlines were licensed to operate scheduled passenger and/or cargo services.

• Air Bridge Carriers Ltd.,
• Air Commuter Ltd.,
• Air Continental Ltd.,
• Air Ecosse Ltd.,
• Air UK Ltd.,
• Alidair Ltd t/a Inter City Airlines,
• Aurigny Air Services Ltd.,
• British Air Ferries Ltd.,
• British Airways Board,
• British Airways Helicopters Ltd.,
• British Airtours Ltd.,
• British Caledonian Airways Ltd.,
• British Midland Airways Ltd.,
• Brymon Aviation Ltd.,
• Burnthills Highland Helicopter Service Ltd.,
• Casair Aviation Services Ltd.,
• Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd.,
• Dan-Air Services Ltd.,
• Euroflite Ltd.,
• Express Air Services Ltd.,
• GB Airways Ltd.,
• General Relays Ltd. t/a Genair,
• Guernsey Airlines Ltd.,
• Instone Airlines Ltd.,
• Jersey European Airways Ltd.,
• Lease Air/Eastern Airways Ltd.,
• Loganair Ltd.,
• Manx Airlines Ltd.,
• Metropolitan Airways Ltd.,
• Nightflight Ltd.,
• Spacegrand Aviation Services Ltd.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether any licences issued by the Civil Aviation Authority to United Kingdom airlines do not include a requirement to charge only officially approved fares; and whether they will list those airlines holding licences not including such a requirement at the latest convenient date.

No.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether there is any proposal to raise the advisory cost limit of £50 for answering parliamentary Questions.

Yes. The advisory figure of £50 was introduced in 1965 as the level at which the likely cost of a full reply to a parliamentary Question should be drawn to the attention of Ministers. This figure is clearly now out of date. it is accordingly being raised, as from the beginning of this Parliamentary Session, to £200.This does not alter the discretion of individual Ministers to decide that a particular Question should be answered in full regardless of cost.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and having played an active and constructive role in the search for an overall settlement in the Middle East, they will consider contributing to the multinational force in the Lebanon in response to the appeal of the President of Lebanon for an enlarged force to assist his country to proceed to reconstruction.

Her Majesty's Government have received a formal request from the Lebanese Government for a British contribution to the multinational force. The request is being considered carefully. No decision has yet been taken.The Government understand the role of an expanded multinational force to be to assist the Lebanese Government in the restoration of its authority throughout Lebanon. The ten members of the European Community, including Britain, are already committed to assisting the Lebanese Government in the separate task of reconstruction.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether it is their intention to rescind the issue of a passport to a child where the parents, having been considered as settled at the time of the child's birth, are later declared to be illegal entrants.

When a child becomes ineligible to continue to hold a British passport in the circumstances described the passport will normally be withdrawn at the first opportunity. But passport facilities would be restored if the child later acquired British citizenship by registration, which would be possible if the parent's immigration status were regularised and they became settled.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, in view of the proposed closure of the Gibraltar naval dockyard, they will designate Gibraltar as an assisted area, so that funds both from central Government and from the European Regional Development Funds may be available to mitigate the results of such closure.

It is not possible to make Gibraltar an assisted area since my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Industry is only empowered by Acts of Parliament to designate such areas in parts of Great Britain. The Government will, however, continue their policy of supporting and sustaining Gibraltar and will fulfil their commitment to find alternative ways of supporting the economy when the naval dockyard is closed.

asked Her Majesty's Government:On what grounds they base their belief that a declaration renouncing the first use of nuclear weapons would not increase international security as stated in their Answer of 21st October 1982 (

A declaration renouncing the first use of nuclear weapons would imply a willingness to be the first to use other types of weapon and would remove a deterrent to attack by Soviet conventional forces. Moreover, the West could not rely upon the Soviet Union observing such a declaration.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many executions have taken place in Iran under the present régime and whether they are aware that there is evidence of the systematic use of torture and what support they are giving to the United Nations Human Rights Commission in the matter.

We have no detailed information on the number of executions or the use of torture in Iran, though we have received many disquieting reports. We have repeatedly expressed our deep concern at the reports on human rights violations in Iran, and co-sponsored a draft resolution which was adopted at the recent session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, asking the United Nations Secretary-General to prepare a report on the human rights situation in Iran. The resolution also urged the Iranian Government to respect the human rights of all its citizens.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What has been the maximum number of remand prisoners held overnight in custody in police stations and at magistrates' courts on any one day since 1st July 1981; and on what date this took place.

The maximum number of prisoners held overnight in police custody since July 1981 was 293, on the night of 8th September 1982. Remand prisoners have normally constituted the majority of those held in police and court cells, but the information held centrally does not identify remand prisoners separately.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they endorse the view that, for those who continue to smoke, it is better for them to smoke cigarettes that are classified as low tar in the tar and nicotine table determined by the Government chemist.

Yes, but the benefits are very much less than those derived from not smoking at all.

asked the Leader of the House:Whether she will indicate how many hours on the Floor of the House in each of the last four complete Sessions were devoted exclusively to Northern Ireland affairs, including Statements and Question Time.

The Answer to the noble Lord's Question is given in the following table. Session 1978–79 was a short session from October to April.

Northern Ireland Business	Sessions
	1981/82	1980/81	1979/80	1978/79
Delegated Legislation	10.41	13.24	10.10	3.00
Public Bills	8.07	—	—	3.16
Debates (Including Unstarred Questions)	1.50	1.39	14.26	—
Starred Questions, Private Notice Questions and Statements	1.07	1.52	1.34	0.26
Totals	21.45	16.55	26.10	6.42
(The figures are in hours and minutes)