asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have now received Sir Cyril Philips's first Report on the operation of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1984.

Yes. Copies of Sir Cyril Philips's report have been placed in the Library of the House and in the Printed Paper Office. My right honourable friend the Home Secretary will respond to it very shortly.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What steps they have taken to bring about greater consistency in police cautioning practices.

In June 1984 my right honourable friend the Home Secretary published a consultative document, Cautioning by the Police. This document contained a report of a working group of chief officers of police and Home Office officials; a draft circular and guidelines to chief officers on the cautioning of both juveniles and adults; and a summary of research conducted into police force cautioning policy and practice.The consultative document was given wide circulation, and comments on it were received from agencies and individuals working in the criminal justice field. The draft circular and guidelines have been revised in the light of comments received. The revised circular and guidelines were issued to chief officers of police yesterday. Copies have been placed in the Library of the House.We are grateful to chief officers of police for their co-operation in taking this work forward and to all the organisations and individuals who offered their observations on the consultative document. We look to the new guidelines to help bring about more consistent and effective cautioning practices and my right honourable friend has asked HM Inspectors of Constabulary to pay particular attention to this in their inspection of forces.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will state the number of persons found suffering from Hansen's disease in the United Kingdom in each of the last 10 years; and what percentage have been cured.

The number of cases of Hansen's Disease (Leprosy) registered in the United Kingdom in each of the last 10 years is as follows:

Year	Number of cases
1975	22
1976	26
1977	22
1978	20
1979	27
1980	28
1981	23
1982	27
1983	17
1984	18

Leprosy takes a considerable time to treat, with some sufferers requiring treatment for life. About 78 per cent. of all registered cases are reported as no longer requiring medical treatment or surveillance.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Why unearned income of married women is deemed to be that of their husbands for income tax purposes.

It follows from current tax law which generally treats a married couple as a single unit for income tax purposes.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will state their latest estimate for the growth of demand for gas between 1985 and 2000.

Projections of gas demand were published by the Department of Energy in its Proof of Evidence for the Sizewell B public inquiry, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What proportion of demand for gas they estimate will be met by supplies from United Kingdom fields in 1990, 1995 and 2000.

The recent record levels of exploration and appraisal activity suggests that the United Kingdom could come near to meeting its total demand for gas in the 1990s from indigenous fields as compared with three-quarters so far in the 1980s.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will publish their best estimate of the cost per therm of gas supplies from future oil fields on the United Kingdom continental shelf.

The cost of producing associated gas from offshore oilfields varies widely between different projects depending upon factors such as gas-oil ratios, gas reinjection plans, transportation options, and gas processing requirements. It is not possible to give a generally applicable best estimate of the cost per therm of such supplies.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether it is their policy that British Gas should continue to have the ability to plan for the security of North Sea Gas supplies as far ahead as possible and to expend their market as far as is reasonable in relation to anticipated supply.

The Government believe that the British Gas Corporation can confidently plan on having access to sufficient gas supplies in the North Sea and other areas offshore of Britain to meet the needs of gas consumers well into the future.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether there would be any alteration in the price relationship between Sleipner gas and UK continental shelf gas purely as a result of exchange rate movements and if so what would be the extent of such alteration.

Not necessarily. The degree of change in the price relationship would depend upon the precise terms of the two contracts under comparison.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What impediments, if any, there are to the conclusion of a contract for the supply of gas from the Sleipner field to British Gas.

I refer the noble Lord to the statement made in another place and repeated in this House on Monday, 11th February 1985 (HL col. 31–32).

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they expect to authorise the conclusion of a contract for the supply of gas from Sleipner to British Gas.

I refer the noble Lord to the statement made in another place and repeated in this House on Monday, 11th February 1985 (HL col. 31–32).

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they expect to disburse some of the funds made available for further study of city combined heat and power schemes.

The Government will make grant aid available to the Belfast, Edinburgh and Leicester consortia once suitable contract arrangements have been agreed; these should be completed in a month or two. Disbursement of the funds will then depend upon the rate at which the consortia carry out their work programmes.