asked Her Majesty's Government:What progress has been made in establishing bail verification schemes at magistrates' courts and whether they propose to extend the number of such schemes in view of the urgent need to reduce the remand population in prisons.

In 1975 a Home Office circular commended to magistrates' courts a bail information scheme introduced experimentally at Camberwell Green magistrates' court. Between 1975 and 1980, 37 schemes were known to have been established. By 1980 some courts had already abandoned their schemes following the introduction of the Bail Act 1976, and others did so with the establishment of duty solicitor schemes. We have no information about the number of bail information schemes which are at present in existence. Their establishment or continuation is a matter for individual magistrates' courts to decide in the light of local needs.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will give particulars of personal data held by the Metopolitan Police in the form in which it will be supplied to the registrar under the Data Protection Bill when that measure becomes law.

No. It would be impracticable and premature to do so.

asked her Majesty's Government:When they will announce their decision whether or not to refer BTR's takeover bid for Thomas Tilling PLC to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission.

I announced on 5th May my decision not to refer the merger between BTR PLC and Thomas Tilling PLC to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, in view of the apparent dangers of substantial redundancies and closures which would follow the takeover by BTR of the Thomas Tilling Group to create the largest conglomerate in the United Kingdom, they will refer the proposed takeover to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission for advice on the public interest.

I announced on 5th May my decision not to refer the merger between BTR PLC and Thomas Tilling PLC to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether state physiologists working in schools could be asked to pay special attention to children in their second year of formal schooling, i.e. 7 years, and screen those children who as yet do not read and write to the required standards for any signs of specific reading and writing difficulties, so that those detected may receive prompt help.

The Education Act 1981, which became fully operative on 1st April 1983, placed a clear obligation on local education authorities and school governors to identify and provide for the special educational needs of the children for whom they are responsible. A joint circular issued on 31st January 1983 by the Departments of Education and Science and Health and Social Security stated that every school was likely to have some pupils with special educational needs and that local education authorities should provide guidance to their schools on the arrangements for identifying, assessing and meeting such needs. While recognising the key role of the teacher, the circular emphasised the need to involve other professionals, including educational psychologists, as appropriate. I am sending my noble friend a copy of the circular: no further advice appears called for at present.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether documents withdrawn from the Public Record Office concerning the issue of sovereignty over the Falkland Islands will be returned before the general election.

Documents withdrawn from the Public Records Office for use within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office are returned to the Public Records Office when they are no longer required.