asked Her Majesty's Government:What was the average daily population in Prison Department establishments in England and Wales of people detained under the Immigration Act 1971 and the average length of detention of such people discharged, in each of the years since 1971.

The average numbers of person detained in Prison Department establishments in England and Wales under the Immigration Act 1971 in each year since the Act came into force on 1st January 1973 are published annually in Prison Statistics, England and Wales (Table 1.4 of the issue for 1982, Cmnd. 9027). The average period of detention of such persons discharged in 1982 was 4 ½ weeks and of those discharged in 1981 it was 5 weeks; these averages do not include any time spent in police cells or immigration service detention units. Corresponding information for earlier years could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Between these date USSR vessels anchored in Loch Broom totalled 14, of which 11 were klondykers, two transport vessels and one an oil tanker. The klondykers were there to process fish bought from the west of Scotland herring and mackerel fisheries, the transport vessels were supplying cartons and barrels to the klondykers and taking on processed fish, while the tanker was supplying fuel oil to the klondykers.Landings by these vessels' crews are a matter for immigration officers who board each vessel on arrival and check the crew list. The number of landings by officers is not known, but any visits on shore are infrequent and of short duration.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What progress has been made in the implementation of the Education Act 1981; how many children have been made the subject of special reports; and how many special schools have been closed and what alternative arrangements have been made.

Some provisions of the Act were brought into force on 5th January 1982, and the remainder on 1st April 1983. My right honourable friends the Secretary of State for Education and Science and the Secretary of State for Wales have made regulations covering the assessment of children and the approval of special schools, and guidance on the Act and regulations has been given in a number of circulars and circular letters.After some seven months of the full implementation of the Act, the indications are that local education authorities have reviewed their procedures for assessing children, in consultation with the district health authorities, and that many authorities are reviewing the provision of special education for their areas. The Department of Education and Science has commissioned a research project to study developments in policy and practice in special education for 1983 to 1986.The number of children with statements of special educational needs, made under the Education Act 1981, will not be known until the returns for 1983, which are due in the spring of 1984, have all been received from the local education authorities analysed.To date, 37 special schools in England and three in Wales have been closed under the provisions of Section 14 of the Education Act 1981. Before the closures were approved, my right honourable friends the Secretaries of State were satisfied that suitable alternative arrangements were to be made. In most cases the pupils have transferred to other special schools for children with similar special educational needs, or to units in ordinary schools.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the present state of progress in considering European Community Document No. 5133/83 concerning a Commission proposal for a Council regulation on food aid policy and food aid management required for the implementation of the annual food aid programme.

In accordance with normal practice, the document was deposited in Parliament on 8th March and an explanatory memorandum was presented by my right honourable friend the Minister for Overseas Development on 18th March. Your Select Committee on the European Communities referred the document to its Sub-Committee "B" for consideration but unfortunately the sub-committee was unable to deal with it before the Dissolution. The Select Committee on European Legislation etc. in another place decided on 23rd March that the document was politically important but not for debate.The document was discussed by the Foreign Affairs Council on 21st June and, as was indicated by a Written Answer in another place on 23rd June, decisions were taken on the proposals in the document.The Government would normally have placed a scrutiny reserve on the decision until the Select Committee had scrutinised the document, but in this case my right honourable friend the Minister for Overseas Development wrote to my noble friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in her former capacity on 6th June, explaining that the Government felt that it would have been unreasonable for us to delay a decision on the annual food aid programme for several months. Decisions on policy parameters for the 1983 food aid programme were already overdue in June, because of teething troubles with the implementation of new management procedures for food aid, and until these decisions had been taken by the Council the Commission could not begin to implement the food aid programme, some of which would be required for emergencies. The Community has been criticised in the past for late implementation of its food aid programme and we did not wish to be the cause of further delay this year.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they share the view expressed by Mr. Cyrus Vance in his Ditchley Foundation Lecture that the Western Alliance urgently need to agree a sustainable long-range strategy in political, economic and military fields, to protect their economic interests and advance their common cause; and what steps, if any, are being considered towards this end.

Yes. Ministers and officials keep long-term Western strategy under constant review during frequent meetings with our partners in NATO, the European Community and many other fora. The Programme for Peace in Freedom adopted in NATO's Summit Declaration of June 1982 provides a framework for numerous studies to promote the shared Western values and political objectives on which our collective security rests. A network also exists through the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the European Community and the annual economic summits for discussing sound economic policies.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What progress is being made towards the implementation of UN policies in relation to Cyprus; and what part they are playing as a guarantor of the sovereign integrity of Cyprus.

The United Nations secretary General has recently strengthened his personal involvement in the search for a solution to the Cyprus problem. He has put some new ideas to the two communities. We stand ready to do anything the Secretary General considers might help him in his efforts.

asked Her Majesty's Government:In which category of nuclear weapons—strategic, intermediate-range or battlefield—they place Soviet ship- and submarine-launched cruise and other missiles carrying nuclear warheads; and why, in the FCO/Ministry of Defence leaflets on Defence and Disarmament Issues Nos. 4 and 5, weapons systems of this type are excluded.

US and Soviet ballistics missiles deployed on modern nuclear submarines are regarded as strategic and have thus been included in both SALT and START negotiations. Soviet missiles in this category are therefore included in Defence and Disarmament Issue Leaflet No. 5. The INF negotiations are at present primarily concerned with medium-range land based missiles and aircraft. Many Soviet submarines and ships are fitted with tactical missiles with ranges of well below 1000km which fit neither of these categories. They are primarily for use against other ships and submarines and, like nuclear-capable aircraft on US carriers which have a maritime role, have not so far been categorised in arms control negotiations. They are therefore excluded from the Defence and Disarmament Issue Leaflet No. 4, which considers only those INF systems under discussion in Geneva.

asked Her Majesty's Government:If they intend to take any new measures to deal with serious commercial fraud.

The Government understand the concern which has been expressed about the range of problems generated by allegations of serious commercial fraud. As one aspect of the matter, we have decided that it would be appropriate that the way in which courts deal with such cases be examined by an independent body and the Home Secretary and I have therefore decided to appoint a committee with the following terms of reference:"To consider in what ways the conduct of criminal proceedings in England and Wales arising from fraud can he improved, and to consider what changes in existing law and procedure would be desirable to secure the just, expeditious and economical disposal of such proceedings".I am pleased to say that the noble and learned Lord, Lord Roskill, has agreed to he chairman of this committee. The names of other members will be announced as soon as possible.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When the report of the Ordnance Survey Advisory Board on proposals for a trading fund for that organisation will be available.

The OSAB has now submitted its report and I am having copies placed in the Libraries of both Houses. The Government are considering this helpfull report and the recommendations which the Advisory Board makes about the financial structure of OS and will make a statement as soon as this is possible. I am taking steps to make the report available to the public from the Ordnance Survey at a small charge.

asked Her Majesty's Government what sum of money they have issued in grants under Section 4 of the Development of Tourism Act 1969; and how much each year has been reimbursed by the European Regional Development Fund.

The following figures show grants paid to tourism projects in England, Scotland and Wales under Section 4 since the sheme began in 1971. Alongside are figures for ERDG allocations to private sector tourism projects in Assisted Areas from 1975, when the Fund came into being, until August 1982 when Section 4 coverage was extended to the whole country.

Section 4 grants		ERDF allocations
1971/2	£319,090
1972/3	£740,315
1973/4	£1,262,180
1974/5	£1,205,901
1975/6	£2,226,449
1976/7	£2,920,070	1976	£289,321
1977/8	£3,378,780	1977	£83,531
1978/9	£3,965,575	1978	—
1979/80	£7,230,518	1979	£500,000
1980/81	£7,608,097	1980	£444,625
1981/82	£7,860,210	1981	£45,000
1982/83	£8,641,513	1982	£163,000

ERDF assistance is also available, by a different route, to local authorities and other public bodies for the creation of infrastructures in the Assisted Areas. Tourism infrastructures continue to receive ERDF support in this way.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the net annual loss to the British taxpayer since the grants under Section 4 of the Development of Tourism Act 1969 ceased to be eligible for assistance under the European Regional Development Fund.

Grants to tourism projects are made under Section 4 of the Development of Tourism Act 1969. The change referred to has had no discernable effect. No part of a member state's quota is required to be taken up in support of private sector tourism projects. Therefore, the change would not of itself affect the United Kingdom's right to take up its full quota. In any event any part of the United Kingdom's quota not taken up in any one year may be carried forward and claimed in subsequent years for any other type of eligible project.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether it is still their policy to ensure that no United Kingdom regions at present eligible are excluded from aid from the European Regional Development Fund.

At present, all areas qualifying for United Kingdom regional aid—including all Assisted Areas—are eligible for aid from the European Regional Development Fund. It is still the Government's aim that whenever an area is eligible for United Kingdom regional aid it should also be eligible for aid from the European Regional Development Fund.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How much the United Kingdom has received from the European Regional Development Fund in each year since British accession to the EEC; and whether such sums would continue to be paid to the United Kingdom if they no longer designated areas for regional assistance; andHow much the United Kingdom has received each year since accession from the European Regional Development Fund; and whether such sums would be granted if there were no areas in the United Kingdom appropriately designated in agreement with the institutions of the EEC.

Since the creation of the European Regional Development Fund in 1975, the Commission has committed the following sums to the United Kingdom under the Fund:

	£m
1975	39.9
1976	59.1
1977	55.3
1978	99.7
1979	162.9
1980	153.4
1981	201.6
1982	252.1
1983 (to end of July)	118.8

Further applications to the value of £168.5m have been submitted for 1983.Under the present ERDF Regulation, member states' receipts from the fund depend,

Asked Her Majesty's Government:What was the appropriate outturn of public expenditure for Great Britain for the current financial year for defence and for the National Health Service (

The plans for the United Kingdom in 1983–84 as set out in the last Public Expenditure White Paper (Cmnd. 8789) are £15,987 million for defence and £18,200 million for health and personal social services. Changes to cash limits announced on 7th July have been published (Official Report, 27/7/83; cols. 1569–1580). Revised public expenditure plans for 1983–84, incorporating the 7th July measures and other developments since the last White Paper, will be shown in the Autumn Statement. It is too early to publish an estimated outturn on these two programmes for the full year.