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Thursday, 13th March,||&k Тиб The House met at three of the clock
The LORD CHANCELLOR O
Prayers-Read by the Lord Bishop of Derby.
AIRCRAFT OPERATORS'
STANDARDS
The Earl of SELKIRK: My Lords, I beg leave to ask the first Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
The Question was as follows:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any problems are being posed by so-called "cowboy" aircraft.
Lord TREFGARNE: My Lords, there is no evidence to indicate that the opera- tion of so-called "cowboy" aircraft is a widespread problem in the United King- dom. The Question derives, I believe, from the occasion at Bristol Airport on 11th October 1979 when a Boeing 707 struck a hedge and a number of approach lights as it took off. The aircraft con- tinued its flight to Kuwait without further incident. It arrived in the United Kingdom on 15th August, 1979 American- owned and registered, and during its stay in this country was leased to a Liechtenstein based company and re- registered under a Zaire registration, although there is some doubt as to the latter. I am assured by the Civil Aviation Authority, which has the matter under investigation, that it is an isolated incident and that it is not aware of any other such incident so far as the United Kingdom is concerned.
The Earl of SELKIRK: My Lords, may I thank the noble Lord. Is it a problem of any magnitude outside the United Kingdom? If I understand the noble Lord aright, these are aeroplanes flying under flags of convenience, with registration of convenience, and with maintenance of convenience. Do they present a hazard to aircraft outside the United Kingdom, even if not allowed inside the United Kingdom? H.L. 28 Y2
widespread hazard.'
SOUTH EAST ASIAN REFUGEES: RESIDENCE
3.9 p.m.
The Earl of SELKIRK: My Lords, I beg leave to ask the second Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
The Question was as follows:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many countries have granted permanent residence to refugees from South and East Asia.
Lord TREFGARNE: My Lords, according to the latest available informa- tion, 29 countries have granted permanent residence to 50 or more refugees from South East Asia since 1975. A further 21 countries have accepted smaller
numbers.
The Earl of SELKIRK: My Lords, may I ask whether any of the countries which have accepted refugees for resettle- ment are governed by the political philosophy of communism? May I ask further whether the present situation is fair to Hong Kong? Would the noble Lord agree that no country has shown more humanity, with all that that means in money, than both the people and the Government of Hong Kong? And yet today there are more refugees, in Hong Kong than in any other country, and the percentage of these refugees who have been found asylum is smaller than that percentage in any other country.
Lord TREFGARNE: My Lords, I cannot see from the list in front of me any country-except the People's Republic of China, which has accepted far more than any other country-which has a com- munist régime. I might want to consider that more carefully, but I cannot see any from the list. As for the position of Hong Kong, it is certainly true that they have played a quite remarkable role in this matter. The latest figures I have are
23A