asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will advise governors of penal establishments in England and Wales to provide certificates of posting when requested to do so by prisoners.

A certificate of posting has to be obtained from a Post Office by a member of staff, and we do not think this would be justified in circumstances where it would create an additional demand on staff resources. We shall therefore advise governors, in due course, that certificates of posting may be obtained only where this can be done without additional staff costs.

asked Her Majesty's Government:On how many Members of Parliament MI5 holds files, and whether the Prime Minister has access to these files; andWhat action they are taking to limit and reduce the internal surveillance activities of the secret service.

In line with the policy which successive Governments have followed, it is not the practice to disclose detailed information about security matters.Under the terms of its directive, the task of the security service is the defence of the realm as a whole from external and internal dangers arising from attempts at espionage or sabotage, or from actions of persons or organisations, whether directed from within or without the country, which may be judged to be subversive of the state. The directive also makes clear that the work of the service must be strictly limited to what is necessary for the purposes of the foregoing task, and that Ministers do not concern themselves with the detailed information which may be obtained by the security service in particular cases.In its work on subversion, the service applies the definition of subversive activities given in your Lordships' House by the noble Lord, Lord Harris of Greenwich, on 26th February 1975:

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the New Forest buckhounds are allowed to chase fallow does, many of which are heavy in fawn, during the close season; how many instances of does being chased by hounds in these circumstances have been reported to the Forestry Commission, and what action has been taken as a result.

The buckhounds are not allowed to hunt does and no close-season incidents have been reported to the Forestry Commission. In winter, when the deer congregate near places of habitation and cause damage to gardens, the Commission has on occasions requested the buckhounds to move the deer on; this does not constitute a permission to hunt.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, when British Gas is privatised, they intend also to privatise onshore natural-gas pipelines and, if so, how; and what protection is proposed for the consumer.

The legislation under consideration will transfer all of the present assets of British Gas to a new company which will in turn be transferred to the private sector through the sale of shares to the public and employees. New regulatory arrangements will be established to protect gas consumers both as regards prices and the terms and conditions of supply.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will confirm that part of the area paid for at public expense to provide interpretative facilities at the Inverdruie Ranger Centre has now been converted for use as a pottery and crafts shop, whether this conversion was carried out with the agreement and support of the Countryside Commission for Scotland, and what arrangements have been made for the continuation of interpretative facilities and the ranger service displaced by the shop.

The conversion of part of the interpretative facilities at Inverdruie for commercial purposes was agreed with the Countryside Commission for Scotland, subject to monitoring over a season and return to the Commission of an agreed proportion of the grant originally provided for the interpretative facilities. The Commission are satisfied that the provision for these facilities and the ranger service remains suitable and adequate and that the commercial venture is proving a useful and popular element in the total visitor facilities.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they can confirm that half of the interpretative centre at Loch An Eilein, Cairngorm National Nature Reserve, provided at public expense, has been converted to a shop selling sweets and souvenirs, whether this was done with the agreement and support of the Nature Conservancy Council and the Countryside Commission for Scotland, and what arrangements are now being made to provide the interpretative facilities for the public that have been displaced by the shop.

The arrangement under which the Nature Conservancy Council and the Countryside Commission for Scotland were involved in assisting the interpretative centre at Loch An Eilein ended in 1984. The agreement or support of the two bodies was therefore not required for any conversion of the premises. The Nature Conservancy Council are looking for new facilities in the Aviemore area.