asked Her Majesty's Government:How much money was saved in 1968 by the standing down of the Civil Defence Corps and what the cost would be of re-establishing it in 1985.

The Civil Defence Corps was a major item of expenditure in 1968 and its standing down was one of a number of measures taken by the Government of the day to put civil defence on a care and maintenance basis. The then Government achieved by those measures a reduction in grant aided local authority civil defence expenditure of £7.3 million and in central government civil defence expenditure off £10.5 million between the years 1967–68 and 1969–70. More detailed information is not readily available.No estimate has been made of the costs of re-establishing the Civil Defence Corps in 1985. The Government are not persuaded that such a step would be an appropriate or a cost-effective way of harnessing volunteer effort today.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the location of the strategic stockpiles of flour, sugar and other foods maintained by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food for use after a nuclear attack is known to officials of the Ministry who work outside London and other prime target areas.

:These locations are known to the officials of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food's headquarters and regional organisation who are responsible for supervising the management of the stocks.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether any indication has been received from the Inspector conducting the Sizewell Inquiry as to when his report is likely to be completed.

The Inspector has informed my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Energy that he hopes to be able to deliver his main recommendations to him before the end of this year.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How rate-capping will affect the provision of community-based projects for psychiatric patients expected to be discharged from hospitals subject to closure plans.

It will be for authorities who are affected by rates control to decide how staying within their expenditure limit will influence spending on particular services. Many authorities have already shown that it is possible to protect services for vulnerable people, including those suffering from mental illnesses, at the same time as restraining their expenditure.It should be remembered, too, that health authorities and voluntary organisations are also involved in providing community care services for mentally ill people.

asked Her Majesty's Government:In how many cases so far this year special severe weather heating allowances have been paid by the Department of Health and Social Security and what was the average payment.

The information requested is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Local social security offices are keeping records of the number and cost of payments made. When the period during which payments could be made is over, local offices will be asked to make a return so that the total number of payments made this winter and the cost can be ascertained.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What progress has been made since July 1984 in extending the provisions of the Copyright (Amendment) Acts 1982 and 1983 to Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Gibraltar, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man; what steps in particular have been taken to complete the necessary drafting action in respect of the Isle of Man, Gibraltar and Bermuda, whose Governments have already indicated their wish to up-date their copyright law in this way; whether the Governments of Jersey, Guernsey and the British Virgin Islands have been advised of these developments and whether they have been asked whether they also are prepared to take early action to ensure that the notable reduction of video piracy in the United Kingdom resulting from these Acts is not offset by its appearance in their own territories.

Extension to their territories of the Copyright Act 1956 (Amendment) Act 1982 and the Copyright (Amendment) Act 1983 has been requested by Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, Gibraltar and Montserrat. A decision from St. Helena is still awaited. Once this is received, a single statutory instrument will be prepared to extend these enactments to all those territories which have requested it. The Isle of Man authorities now wish to await the passing of the Copyright (Computer Software) Amendment Bill so that all three enactments may be extended by one statutory instrument. The Governments of the Channel Islands have been made fully aware of the purposes and terms of the Copyright (Amendment) Acts 1982 and 1983. Jersey has expressed an interest in the extension of the Copyright Act 1956 and the Amendment Acts, though a decison from Guernsey is still awaited.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether any Western European countries (

The Committee of Inquiry into the acquisition and occupancy of agricultural land, which reported in July 1979, set out in their report (paragraphs 426–441, Cmnd. 7599) the policies followed by a number of countries at that time on the purchase of agricultural land by foreign nationals.I regret that information about policies on the purchase of other types of land or of houses is not readily available.