asked Her Majesty's Government:How many children in Northern Ireland have been admitted to care and how many discharged in each of the last five years; whether the figures increased or decreased compared with the previous five years; and what is the current annual cost of children in care.

The number of children in Northern Ireland admitted to and discharged from the care of the four Health and Social Services Boards in each of the last five years for which figures are available is as follows

Year ending 31st December	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983*	Total*
Admissions	1,016	1,143	1,070	894	964	5,087
Discharges	879	920	945	928	967	4,639
*Provisional figure

In comparison with the previous five years, these figures show a slight decrease in the total number of admissions and a slight increase in the total number of discharges.For the year ended 31st March 1984 (the most recent year for which information is available), the total identifiable cost to the Department of Health and Social Services of maintaining children in care is estimated to be approximately £9·3 million. This figure is made up of the running costs of residential homes and of payments to foster parents. It does not include the cost of non-residential social work staff time devoted to children in care and their families, and, in the case of voluntary homes, does not take account of costs met from voluntary funds.

asked her Majesty's Government:What steps they are taking to implement the recommendations of the Black Report on Children and Young Persons in Northern Ireland.

Some of the recommendations of the Black Report have already been or are being implemented. Legislation relating to other elements of the report is still being considered.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have decided on changes to the immigration rules to comply with the recent judgment of the European Court of Human Rights.

Yes. In order to comply with the judgment it will be necessary to change the immigration rules so that the provisions for the admission of husbands and wives for settlement are brought into line with each other. The Government therefore propose to allow husbands to join women who, though not British citizens, have permanent residence here, and to apply to wives seeking admission for settlement (other than wives to whom the provisions of Section 1(5) of the Immigration Act 1971 apply) the requirements, including the requirement to satisfy the entry clearance officer that the marriage was not entered into primarily for immigration purposes, which at present apply only to husbands. The opportunity will be taken to clarify and strengthen the provisions of the existing rules relating to maintenance and accommodation, and the entry clearance officer will need to be satisfied that adequate accommodation will be available for the partners to a marriage, and for any children, and that they will be able to maintain themselves without recourse to public funds.Similar changes, including the introduction of an entry certificate requirement for fiancées will be made to bring the provisions for the admission of fiancés and fiancées into line with each other.My right honourable friend the Home Secretary is satisfied that these changes, taken together, will enable us to comply with the judgment in a way that preserves the firm and fair immigration control to which the Government remain fully committed. We intend to lay before Parliament on 15th July a statement of the necessary changes to the immigration rules to give effect to these decisions.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, at the trial of Mr. George Tomkins, a Securicor guard testified that he had picked out a certain white man from photographs shown to him by the police; why this man was not arrested and why the Attorney-General declined to comment on this matter when asked to do so in a letter from a Member of Parliament.

The man concerned had already been arrested and charged with seven offences, of which one related to this robbery. He is currently serving a sentence of five years, of which three years was the component for his part in the relevant crime. The evidence available to the police only supported a charge of counselling and procuring, and it was for this that the man concerned was subsequently convicted. My right honourable and learned friend has repeatedly explained these and other facts in a protracted correspondence with the noble Lord. So far as regards the last part of the noble Lord's Question, my right honourable and learned friend concluded that there was no purpose in continuing the correspondence. I agree with his view.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, in the interests of justice and to prevent delays in the courts, they will take steps to shorten the Long Vacation.

There is a Long Vacation only in the High Court and the Court of Appeal, but not in the Crown Court, county court or below. In the High Court and Court of Appeal arrangements have existed for a long time now to ensure that civil business which needs to be immediately or promptly transacted is dealt with during the vacation and that the criminal division of the Court of Appeal sits during vacation when necessary. Since the passing of the Supreme Court Act 1981, provision has existed enabling the High Court and Court of Appeal to deal also with other business during vacation. Since then there has been a steady increase in the number of days when these courts or their judicial officers have been sitting. Rules of court also now enable much pre-trial and out-of-court business of the High Court to recommence at the beginning of September rather than October. I will continue to consider whether further steps would be helpful, and would remind my noble kinsman that I have recently set in train a major review of the civil justice system with a view to eliminating unnecessary cost, delays and complexity.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What discussions or consultations have there been within NATO, within the European Community, or bilaterally with the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany, about the security and other implications of the establishment of a Baltic rail-ferry link from Klopeida, Lithuania, to a port in Schleswig-Holstein, and whether, in the negotiations with the Soviet Union reported to be proposed on the subject, it will be insisted that Western personnel are present at the Lithuanian end.

The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany consulted us and other NATO allies on the security and other implications of the proposed link before agreeing to enter into negotiations with the Soviet Union. It is not for us to comment on the possible course of those negotiations, but we are confident that the Federal German Government is alert to any potential problems.