asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether it is true that the South African Government has unilaterally established a government in Namibia with legislative powers except on defence and foreign affairs, and if so how they propose to respond.

The South African Government announced on 18th April their decision to establish an interim internal administration in Namibia. As we made clear to the South African Government at the time, we shall not recognise the new administration. We remain committed to the United Nations plan, which is the only internationally acceptable basis for Namibian independence.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How they respond to the Tory Reform Group's memorandum opposing the abolition of wages councils.

The response from the Tory Reform Group, which calls for major reform of wages councils powers, will be considered along with the other responses to our consultative paper on wages councils.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What steps are being taken at present in schools to educate children about the problems caused to people who suffer from physical, sensory or mental disability and/or handicap and the ways in which these problems may be alleviated, and what steps are being taken to improve this education.

A variety of approaches has been adopted. Sometimes these issues form part of personal and social education and sometimes they are treated as an aspect of health education; and attempts to increase pupils' awareness are also made in school assemblies and within programmes of community service. In the recent White Paper, Better Schools (Cmnd 9469), the Government have drawn attention to the purposes of learning at school, one of which is to help pupils to understand the interdependence of individuals. It is for local education authorities and individual schools to consider in detail how that aim should be met.