asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will list and describe the applications on the Metropolitan 'C' Division computer that do not involve national security, and if in each case they will provide:

The computer facilities dedicated to 'C' department of the Metropolitan Police provide separate data bases which support the Fraud Squad; the Central Drugs Intelligence Unit: the Special Branch; the Special Intelligence Section which has responsibility for collating intelligence relating to organised international crime; the South East Regional Intelligence Unit; and one of the four area analytical and targeting units set up to deal with burglary and street crime. Personal data relating to persons, addresses, vehicles and other items of property are held where they are considered relevant to the prevention and detection of crime and the apprehension and prosecution of offenders. The data, which are supplied by police officers, informants and other sources, are for the use of police officers and certain civilian employees of the police and may be disclosed to other law enforcement agencies as appropriate. Information derived from data held may be disclosed to the law enforcement agencies of foreign countries but only in connection with the investigation of serious crime and with the agreement of a senior officer. Responsiblility for all the computer facilities of the Metropolitan Police rests with the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, and if so how, the impression has been given that Category A prisoners in English prisons who apply for transfer to Norther Ireland are moved frequently from prison to prison, with the result that their applications are delayed or impeded by administrative action.

I hope that no such impression has been given, because it would be completely false. Consideration of requests for transfer to Northern Ireland should not be delayed because of prisoners' movements within the dispersal prison system, which are determined by entirely unconnected operational factors.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will list the assistance provided towards educational costs for (i) civil servants, (ii) diplomats, (iii) the armed forces and (iv) British EEC officials serving abroad.

The assistance provided towards educational costs for civil servants, diplomats and members of the armed forces when serving abroad is mainly in the form of boarding school allowances within fixed maxima. The current maxima are set out below:

	£ per year
Civil servants and armed forces
First and second child	2,238
Third child	2,661
Fourth and subsequent children	2,772
Diplomatic service (each child, depending upon school attended)
Boys senior	3,678
Girls senior	3,530
Boys junior	3,310
Girls junior	3.177

Apart from the differences in rates between civil servants and members of the armed forces, on the one hand, and diplomats, on the other, there are also other significant differences between the two groups and also between all three groups in the rules governing eligibility for boarding school allowances. Unlike United Kingdom civil servants, diplomats and members of Her Majesty's armed forces, British officials in the EC Institutions are not employees of Her Majesty's Government and we do not therefore assist directly with their educational costs. I understand that officials in the EC institutions receive an educational allowance, currently BF 4,360 per eligible child per month.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the estimated yield in dividends and interest on the many thousands of million pounds which have been invested overseas by British financial institutions since the abolition of exchange controls; whether these fruits of investment are included in the estimates of invisible exports and if not why not.

Estimates of the yield on financial institutions' overseas portfolio investments are not available. From official statistics it is only possible to make a very rough comparison of annual earnings and the market value of portfolio assets.Estimates of total annual earnings by financial institutions from portfolio investment overseas are published in the City table (Table 6.1) of the United Kingdom Balance of Payments "Pink Book" 1982 edition, and amounted to £550 million in 1981. They cover dividends and interest, but not capital gains, from all such investment, including investment made prior to the abolition of exchange controls. They are part of total United Kingdom earnings of interest, profits and dividends, which, in turn, are included in United Kingdom invisible earnings in the balance of payments accounts.The estimated market value of all United Kingdom portfolio assets overseas is published in Table 11.1 of the "Pink Book", and amounted to £16·5 billion at end-1980 and £22 billion at end-1981. Of these assets, about 80 per cent. were held by United Kingdom financial institutions. Estimates for 1982 are not yet available.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they understand that while a strategic nuclear weapon is quite distinct from an intermediate-range or "theatre" nuclear weapon in the thinking of the US Government in that the former can reach American territory while the latter cannot, for the Soviet Government there can be no similar distinction because all NATO "theatre" or intermediate-range nuclear weapons can reach Soviet territory.

Definitions of strategic nuclear weapons were jointly agreed by the United States and the Soviet Union in the SALT Treaties. Soviet intermediate-range nuclear weapons, which can reach NATO Europe from the Soviet Union and which were excluded from SALT, heavily outnumber comparable NATO systems. In addition there is no doubt that many Soviet strategic systems are targeted on Western Europe. It is not true that all NATO "theatre" nuclear weapons have the range to reach Soviet territory.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they intend to open an embassy in Managua, Nicaragua and whether they will make a statement of their present intentions and the state of their discussions with the Nicaraguan Government about this matter.

As indicated in paragraph 42 of Cmnd. 8819, we will consider arrangements and possible alternatives for our diplomatic representation in Nicaragua in the light of any recommendations made by diplomatic service inspectors, who are due to inspect foreign and commonwealth posts in Central America in June and July this year.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Which was the Government department responsible for the subject matter of each of the eight cases to date in which the United Kingdom has been found to have been in breach of European convention on Human Rights.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has overall responsibility for the conduct of all proceedings in cases concerning the European Convention on Human Rights. When the Commission communicates a case to the United Kingdom and seeks information regarding admissibility and merits, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office acts as the agent, and consults other Government departments as and when necessary. The following departments were consulted with regard to the eight cases in question:

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will now answer the Written Question to which they did not address themselves in their Answer of 17th March (col. 924) namely:"Whether the possible launching of cruise missiles requires the specific and immediate agreement of the Prime Minister, or whether the 'use' of the bases already agreed covers the possible eventuality."

My Answer of 17th March provided the noble Lord with a full reply to his Question. It explained that any use of nuclear weapons systems operating from United States bases in the United Kingdom would be governed by the understanding summarised in the joint communique issued in January 1952. As the communique makes clear, the understanding provides for a joint decision to be made in an emergency by Her Majesty's Government and the United States Government in the light of the circumstances at the time.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will indicate when the results of the survey they announced on 12th January into deaths following atmospheric H-bomb tests will be published.

To avoid statistical bias it will be necessary to examine the records of about 27,000 British servicemen and civilians. Half of the records will relate to participants in the British atmospheric nuclear tests in the 1950s, and these will be compared with the records of a similar group of non-participants. The survey and subsequent scientific analysis is expected to take some two to three years. It is intended to publish the results.