Written Answers of 22 July 1999

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Coal Authority Report
  Maria Eagle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he plans to lay the Coal Authority's report and Accounts for 1998–99 before Parliament. [93058]

  Mr. Clapham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the Coal Authority's report and Accounts for 1998–99 will be laid before Parliament. [93062]

  Mr. Battle
  I have today laid a copy before each House of Parliament.

  Photovoltaic Installations
  Dr. Whitehead
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has held with the Energy Regulator on(a) two-way net metering and (b) industry charging and remuneration policy for photovoltaic installations. [91448]

  Mr. Battle
  Both issues are important in securing our objective that renewables and other forms of embedded generation can compete, in the long term, on equal terms with other forms of generation. The consultation paper "New and Renewable Energy—Prospects for the 21st Century", which I published on 30 March, invited comments on the issues surrounding the connection of embedded renewable generators to the electricity system. I am grateful to all those who responded.

  I am currently considering the various responses to the consultation paper which have been received and will make an announcement in due course. I will continue to discuss the issues arising with the electricity companies when I meet them. Metering is an essential component of a competitive market. The Government would like to see the full value of exported electricity being offered to consumers in order to encourage the uptake of photovoltaic installations in the UK.

  BNFL
  Mr. Gibb
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what new techniques, skills and strategies are being developed to manage more efficiently and effectively the liabilities of BNFL. [92053]

  Mr. Battle
  BNFL has established a Liabilities Management Unit to reinforce the strategic management of its liabilities. The key tasks are to provide assurance that liabilities are fully identified and quantified, and to provide value for money and continuous improvement in how the liabilities are discharged, drawing on the expertise of BNFL' s Research and Technology Group in key technologies and processes. BNFL is also involved with others in the nuclear industry in sharing best practice 574
  in this area and a number of best practice guides have been published. I have asked the company to write to the hon. Member with further information.

  Correspondence
  Mr. Alan Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the average time for a substantive reply to be sent to hon. Members' correspondence; what proportion takes more than(a) four weeks, (b) six weeks and (c) eight weeks; and what is his estimate of the number of letters received in a year from hon. Members. [92442]

  Mr. Byers
  I refer my right hon. Friend to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office to my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Gillian Merron) on 11 June 1999,Official Report, columns 403–06, which sets out performance against departmental targets for answering correspondence from right hon. and hon. Members in the 1998 calendar year. More detailed information about the percentage of correspondence replied to within the time scales specified could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

SOCIAL SECURITY

  Child Support Agency
  Maria Eagle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what are his plans to address the problem of the Child Support Agency's backlog of periodical reviews. [93100]

  Angela Eagle
  Until December 1998, child support legislation required the Agency to reconsider child support assessments every two years. This process meant gathering all the many pieces of information used to make an assessment afresh. In many cases, parents failed to return review forms or to provide the necessary information and the reviews have become increasingly difficult to complete as time has passed. As a result, there are now some 350,000 outstanding periodical reviews in the Child Support Agency.

  To address the backlog of periodic reviews and to release more of the Agency's resources for current work, however, I intend to bring forward legislation as soon as Parliamentary time allows retrospectively to repeal the provisions which govern this process. This will mean that there will no longer be a requirement to complete the outstanding reviews for past periods. However, the Agency will be taking forward a rolling programme over the next two years to review and update assessments from a current date. Where the parent with care is on benefit, this will happen automatically: parents who have applied voluntarily for child support will be offered the opportunity to have the assessment brought up to date. Also, any parent who wants to have the periodical review completed in their case can ask the Child Support Agency to complete this action and this will be done providing the information and evidence necessary to complete the process is supplied.

  Benefit Fraud Inspectorate
  Maria Eagle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he will publish the Annual Report of the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate. [93101]
  575
  Mr. Timms
  I have today published the second Benefit Fraud Inspectorate Annual Report.

  We published our strategy in March 1999 for tackling fraud and improving security within the DSS and local authorities. We are determined to make sure we get it right from the start. That means delivering an improved secure system including the use of robust checks and safeguards. The BFI is a significant part of our strategy. Their role is to publish reports which support the strategy by helping to raise standards of administration and by contributing to the continuing development of the new strategy.

  In this first full year of operation, considerable progress has been made. So far, the BFI has published 23 local authority reports, BA, CSA and CA reports, with a further 46 inspections either ongoing or due to be started by November 1999.

  Working in partnership with those they inspect is leading to improvements in benefit administration and counter fraud work standards. The report includes case studies demonstrating the BFI impact on local authorities, such as the introduction of prosecution and security strategies, improved recovery of benefit overpayments and better liaison and exchange of information between BA and local authorities.

  Copies of the published BFI Annual Report are available in the Library. Further copies are available on request.

  Pensions
  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what steps he will take to promote higher standards in occupational pension schemes following responses to the consultation on proposals for a Quality in Pensions accreditation scheme. [93102]

  Mr. Timms
  We have discussed with the pensions industry how best to develop improved standards in pensions. We have concluded we should develop best practice guidelines for occupational schemes that would be made widely available. I am pleased to announce the formation of a working group to take this work forward. The names of the working group members are as given. We have also published today a response to the consultation exercise which provides an analysis of the consultation responses and sets out our proposals for developing the best practice guidelines.

  Best Practice Guidelines Working Group:

  In addition to the Government Departments that are represented the external members are:

  Joanne Hindle—Association of British Insurers

  Derek Sloan—Association of Pension Lawyers

  Susan Anderson—Confederation of British Industry

  David Trevor—National Association of Pension Funds

  Rachel Low—Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority

  Ian Eggleden—Pensions Management Institute

  Peter Crutchett—Society of Pension Consultants

  Joanne Segars—Trades Union Congress.

  The group will also include a representative from the public service schemes and will be chaired and supported by DSS officials.
  576
  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how he proposes to ensure that combined pension forecasts are introduced effectively and with the minimum additional burden on employers and pension providers. [93103]

  Mr. Timms
  I am pleased to announce the formation of a Pension Forecasting Advisory Group which will include representatives from employers and scheme providers. The group will consider how our proposals for introducing combined forecasts might best be implemented to achieve wide and effective adoption. It will advise on what supporting information and facilities need to be provided to ensure that individuals make the best use of the new information. In addition to the Government Departments that are represented the external members are:

  Tony Tollerton—Association of British Insurers

  Susan Anderson—Confederation of British Industry

  Ben Jupp—DEMOS

  Ralph Turner—EMAP

  Keith Matthews—Financial Services Authority

  George Russell—Government Actuary's Department

  Ray Martin—National Association of Pension Funds

  Chris Armitage—Unigate.

  There will also be a representative from the public service schemes and members from the Inland Revenue and DSS who will chair and support the group.

  Invalid Care Allowance
  Mr. Kidney
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will set out the circumstances in which a full-time carer aged 16 years may receive invalid care allowance, the effect on entitlement of the carer undertaking a course of education, and the role of Benefits Agency staff in assisting such carers. [91870]

  Mr. Bayley
  Carers aged 16 who care for a severely disabled person for at least 35 hours a week may receive Invalid Care Allowance (ICA), subject to satisfying the other conditions of entitlement. A carer of any age will not be entitled to ICA if they undertake a course of full-time education, which for ICA purposes is defined as 21 hours a week.

  All carers who claim ICA are advised of the outcome of their claim and their right of appeal. In addition, the Benefits Agency are preparing a Multi-benefit bulletin to remind all staff of the other bodies who can help young carers and highlight the importance of being sympathetic to a young person's needs.

  War Pensions Agency
  Mr. Chope
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will place in the Library a copy of the final report of the review of the decision making and appeals process of the War Pensions Agency. [92407]

  Mr. Bayley
  Copies of the War Pensions Agency "Review of Decision Making and Appeals Process" Final Report has been placed in the Library today.

  Correspondence
  Mr. Alan Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the average time for a substantive reply to be sent to hon. Members' correspondence; what
  577
  proportion takes more than (a) four weeks, (b) six weeks and (c) eight weeks; and what is his estimate of the number of letters received in a year from hon. Members. [92450]

  Mr. Darling
  I refer my right hon. Friend to my written answer to the hon. Member for West Chelmsford (Mr. Burns) on 12 July 1999,Official Report, column 62.

  Pensions (National Insurance)
  Mr. Webb
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate for (i) flat-rate compensation payments and (ii) compensation payments relating to interest forgone(a) the total number of people who have received such payments arising from delays in payment of state retirement pensions because of problems with the NIRS2 computer system, (b) the total cost to date of such payments, and (c) the total cost which he expects to have accrued when the problems with the NIRS2 system have been resolved. [92530]

  Mr. Timms
  The total number of pensioners who have received flat-rate compensation payments is 166,989 at a cost of £1,669,890. In addition, a further £31,141.84 has been paid in compensation to pensioners following payment of arrears of benefit under the Departmental Special Payments Scheme.

  Up to 30 June, no compensation payments have been made relating to interest forgone.

  The total costs accrued because of the NIRS2 problems will not be known until recovery is complete.

  Mr. Webb
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security by (1) what date he expects all retirement pensioners to be in receipt of the full retirement pension to which they are entitled on the basis of their complete record of national insurance contributions; [92481]

  (2) if he will make a statement on progress made in resolving the delays to retirement pension payments associated with the introduction of the NIRS2 computer system. [92479]

  Mr. Timms
  I refer the hon. Member to the written answer my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave the hon. Member for North Thanet (Mr. Gale) on 21 April 1999,Official Report, column 591.

  Mr. Webb
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate(a) the number of persons currently in receipt of (i) the basic state retirement pension alone and (ii) the basic state retirement pension and SERPS, who are currently being underpaid because of problems with the NIRS2 computer system, (b) the average weekly amount by which such pensions fall short of the correct figure, (c) the total amount which has been underpaid since April 1998, (d) the number of pensioners so affected in the week in which that number reached its peak, (e) the number of pensioners with SERPS underpayments of (1) more than £90 per week, (2) more than £80 per week, (3) more than £70 per week, (4) more than £60 per week and (5) more than £50 per week. [92480]

  Mr. Timms
  The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is as follows.
  578
  We estimate that approximately 285,000 pensioners have been affected by the NIRS2 computer system problems. Underpayments are expected to be between 1p and, in exceptional cases, £100 per week.

  The total amount of Retirement Pension which has been underpaid between April 1998 and March 1999 is estimated to be in the region of £25 million.

  Child Poverty
  Mr. David Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimates he has made of the number and proportion of children living in poverty in(a) North West Leicestershire and (b) Leicestershire with Leicester; and what the comparable figures are for (c) the East Midlands and (d) England. [92080]

  Mr. Timms
  We recognise that poverty is a many faceted concept. One indicator used is to look at the numbers and proportions of individuals in households where the equivalised household income is below proportions of the contemporary national average. The tables show the numbers of children in households with below 50 per cent. and 60 per cent. of contemporary mean income. Information is not available for geographic areas smaller than regions.

  Dependent children below various percentiles of the income distribution, including the self-employed

  Percentages of each group

  Before housing costs

  After housing costs

  Below 0.5

  Below 0.6

  Below 0.5

  Below 0.6

  East Midlands

  Percentage

  23

  37

  29

  40

  Million

  0.2

  0.4

  0.3

  0.4

  England

  Percentage

  25

  38

  34

  43

  Million

  2.8

  4.3

  3.9

  4.9

  Dependent children below various percentiles of the income distribution, including the self-employed

  Percentages of each group

  Before housing costs

  After housing costs

  Below 0.5

  Below 0.6

  Below 0.5

  Below 0.6

  East midlands

  Percentage

  120

  36

  28

  39

  Million

  0.2

  0.3

  0.2

  0.3

  England

  Percentage

  23

  36

  34

  43

  Million

  2.2

  3.5

  3.3

  4.2

  1 Sample sizes are small for the East Midlands. The estimate is based on a sample of less than 100 households.

  Notes:

  1. All figures are estimates and are taken from the Households Below Average Income (HBAI) data set which is based on the Family Resources Survey (FRS). The FRS covers Great Britain, and the national average income used in the tables is that for Great Britain. It does not include Northern Ireland. 1996–97 is the latest year for which information is available. The figures presented will be subject to sampling error.

  2. The income measure used is weekly net (disposable) equivalised household income (that is to say income that is adjusted to reflect the composition of the household). It is standard HBAI practice to give results for income both before and after housing costs, in order

  579
  to allow for the effect of variations in housing costs between households. Results are also provided including and excluding the self-employed, reflecting the inherent uncertainty of income measures for the self-employed.

  3. Numbers and percentages below half average income before housing costs are sensitive to the choice of equivalence scale.

  4. Due to the sampling method and sample sizes used in the FRS, results are not available below government office regional level.

  5. Dependent children are defined as: an individual aged under 16 or an unmarried 16 to 18 year old on a course up to and including `A' level standard.

  Source:

  Family Resources Survey 1996–97

  An alternative indicate of child poverty is to look at numbers in families in receipt of Income Support or Jobseeker's Allowance.

  Children in families of Income Support or Jobseeker's Allowance (income based) claimants February 1999

  Number of children

  Percentage of all children

  North West Leicestershire Local Authority

  2,000

  13

  Leicester Local Authority

  20,000

  29

  East Midlands Government Office Region

  156,000

  18

  England

  2,132,000

  21

  Notes:

  1. Based on a 5 per cent. sample and therefore subject to a degreeof sampling error.

  2. Children are defined as aged 0 to 15 years.

  3. Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand.

  4. All children is defined as children aged 0 to 15 years in each allocated Local Authority/Government Office Region, based on Mid 1997 estimates.

  5. Local Authorities/Government Office Regions are assigned by matching postcodes against the 1999 postcode directory.

  Benefits (Wales)
  Mr. Alan Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate he has made of expenditure in Wales on each benefit administered by his Department. [92376]

  Mr. Timms
  The information is in the table.

  Estimated Social Security expenditure in Wales in 1998–99

  £ million

  Benefit

  Expenditure

  Retirement pension

  1,910

  Christmas bonus (contribution-based)

  10

  Widows benefit

  50

  Benefit

  Number of recipients (Thousand)

  Date

  Sample size (per cent.)

  Attendance allowance

  1,232

  February 1999

  5

  Child benefit

  7,060

  June 1999

  4

  Council tax benefit

  5,281

  August 1998

  1

  Death benefit

  16

  December 1998

  100

  Disability living allowance

  2,042

  February 1999

  5

  Disability working allowance

  16

  January 1999

  100

  Family credit

  788

  February 1999

  5

  Housing benefit

  4,425

  August 1998

  1

  Incapacity benefit

  2,300

  November 1998

  5

  Income support

  3,815

  February 1999

  5

  Industrial injuries benefit1

  276

  April 1998

  10

  Invalid care allowance

  374

  June 1999

  100

  Jobseeker's allowance2

  1,326

  February 1999

  5

  Maternity allowance

  13

  August 1998

  5

  580

  Estimated Social Security expenditure in Wales in 1998–99

  £ million

  Benefit

  Expenditure

  Jobseeker's allowance (contribution-based)

  30

  Statutory sick pay

  *

  Incapacity benefit

  710

  Maternity allowance

  *

  Statutory maternity pay

  30

  Guardians allowance (including child's special allowance)

  *

  Non-contributory retirement pension

  *

  Christmas bonus (not contribution-based)

  *

  War pension

  70

  Attendance allowance

  210

  Invalid care allowance

  70

  Severe disablement allowance

  70

  Disability living allowance

  450

  Disability working allowance

  *

  Industrial injuries disablement benefit

  60

  Industrial death benefit

  *

  Other industrial injuries benefits

  *

  Income support (under 60s)

  470

  Income support (over 60s)

  210

  Jobseeker's allowance (income-based)

  170

  Child benefit (including lone parent addition)

  370

  Family credit

  140

  Earnings top up payments

  *

  Vaccine damage payments and Blesma4

  *

  Independent living fund

  10

  Motability

  *

  Social fund

  10

  Winter fuel payments

  10

  Housing benefit

  510

  Council tax benefit

  100

  Total

  5,660

  Notes:

  1 Figures have been rounded to nearest £10 million

  2 Cash amounts below £10 million are indicated by '*'

  3 Figures may not appear to sum due to rounding

  4 BLESMA: British Limbless Ex-Servicemen' s Association payments

  Source:

  The figures are consistent with those published in the Departmental Report 1999.

  Benefits
  Mr. Alan Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his most recent estimate of the number of people receiving each of the benefits administered by his Department. [92375]

  Mr. Timms
  The numbers of recipients of each of the benefits administered by the Department are shown in the table.
  581

  Benefit

  Number of recipients (Thousand)

  Date

  Sample size (per cent.)

  Reduced earnings allowance1

  157

  April 1998

  10

  Severe disablement allowance

  372

  November 1998

  5

  State retirement pension3

  10,867

  March 1999

  5

  War pensions4,5,6

  302

  June 1999

  100

  Widows benefit

  268

  March 1999

  5

  1 Provisional figures

  2 Jobseeker's allowance represents all those claiming unemployment-related benefits. This includes Jobseeker's allowance (contributory), Jobseeker's allowance (income based) and those with National Insurance credits only.

  3 Figures are for all pensioners resident in GB and also overseas.

  4 Figures relate to payments made to war pensioners in the United Kingdom and overseas.

  5 Figures are based on management information supplied by the War Pensions Agency.

  6 Figures include war disablement pensions, war widows pensions and child allowances.

  Note:

  Earnings top-up figures are excluded, as it is a pilot benefit.

ENVIRONMENT, TRANSPORT AND THE REGIONS

  Regional Chambers
  Mrs. Anne Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he will designate the remaining regional chambers. [92872]

  Mr. Caborn
  I am pleased to announce that we have today issued:a direction to the South East of England Regional Development Agency designating the South East of England Regional Assembly as its regional chamber;
  a direction to the East of England Development Agency designating the East of England Regional Assembly as its regional chamber; and
  a direction to the South West of England Regional Development Agency designating the South West Regional Chamber as its regional chamber.

  Section 8 of the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998 provides that if the Secretary of State is of the opinion that there is a body which is representative of those in the RDAs area with an interest in its work, and that body is suitable to be given the role of regional chamber for the RDA, he may designate it.

  RDAs must take full account of regional interests. Regional chambers will provide a mechanism through which RDAs can take account of regional views and account for their activities. Ministers expect that each RDA will have regard to the chamber's view in preparing its strategy, consult the chamber on its corporate plan and give an account of its performance to the chamber.

  I am currently considering an application for designation from the remaining region and hope to make an announcement shortly.

  Secondary Materials (Waste Strategy)
  Mr. Pound
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when the results of the work commissioned by the Government into policy instruments to correct market failures in the demand for secondary materials, referred to in the draft Waste Strategy for England and Wales, will be published. [92880]

  Mr. Meale
  The report of the research commissioned by my Department from independent work commissioned by my Department from independent consultants 582
  ECOTEC Research and Consulting into "Policy Instruments to Correct Market Failure in the Demand for Secondary Materials" was published this week.

  The Government will consider this work further and we would welcome views on the report as part of the draft waste strategy consultation by 17 September 1999. The results of this consultation exercise will help to inform the development of the final waste strategy.

  Copies of the report have been placed in the Library.

  Energy Efficiency
  Dr. Iddon
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what progress has been made by Government Departments towards the target of improving energy efficiency by 20 per cent. in the nine years to 31 March 2000. [92881]

  Mr. Meale
  By 31 March 1998, energy efficiency in Government Departments had improved by just over 18 per cent. since 1990–91, as measured by the Total Cost Indicator.

  Full details are given in the tables which have been placed in the Library; the overall estate improvement is shown in Table 4. The tables give a summary.

  The tables include revisions to figures for earlier years revealing better performance than previously reported. In particular, the 1996–97 figure for the Army has been revised to take account of a large estate increase which had been inadvertently omitted, and this restores not only the Army's own steady progress but that of the whole government estate, to 17.5 per cent. instead of to 15.1 per cent. as previously reported in that year.

  Energy management in individual Departments is a matter for those Departments and their Green Minister. However, the Government aim to be at the forefront of good practice to improve energy efficiency, and progress is reviewed regularly by Green Ministers under the Chairmanship of my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment. We have developed and are now piloting new performance indicators which will, for the first time, enable comparisons with independent standards of good practice across the economy. These are likely to form the basis of the new campaign starting in April 2000.

  The results for the former Department of the Environment and the Department of Transport have now been consolidated for all earlier years to allow a

  583
  continuous series for the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions. DETR's overall performance in 1997–98 has slipped relative to 1996–97 as a result of the continuing relocation and rationalisation of its accommodation in London and elsewhere, in particular,

  Summary table: Government estate: energy efficiency performance1,16

  Performance against energy and cost indicators, relative to 1990–91 (positive, figures represent percentage progress)

  Adjusted for estate and weather correction

  Adjused for weather changes only

  Fossil fuel

  Electricity

  Total kWh

  Total cost

  CO2

  Total CO2

  Civil departments, including agencies

  1996–97

  1997–98

  1996–97

  1997–98

  1996–97

  1997–98

  1996–97

  1997–98

  1996–97

  1997–98

  1996–97

  1997–98

  MAFF—Main Estate4

  48

  48

  -12

  -11

  35

  35

  14

  14

  19

  20

  5

  24

  MAFF—Laboratories4

  16

  25

  I

  8

  12

  20

  6

  14

  17

  24

  22

  -36

  Cabinet Office

  29

  32

  -47

  -31

  10

  17

  -17

  -6

  -4

  10

  -65

  -52

  Culture, Media and Sport10

  2

  -33

  -20

  -4

  -8

  -19

  -16

  -10

  -15

  -11

  -15

  -11

  Customs and Excise

  43

  29

  3

  6

  25

  19

  11

  11

  16

  15

  -17

  -15

  Education and Employment

  28

  28

  -27

  -22

  2

  4

  -17

  -13

  -13

  -9

  -2

  7

  Employment Service

  18

  23

  -15

  -16

  9

  12

  -3

  -2

  0

  1

  -8

  -5

  Environment, Transport and Regions5

  41

  31

  8

  3

  30

  22

  18

  12

  23

  17

  38

  37

  DETR—HSE6

  15

  39

  22

  11

  18

  29

  20

  19

  24

  25

  26

  29

  DETR—QEII CC2,6

  -8

  -7

  -1

  9

  -3

  3

  -1

  7

  1

  9

  1

  9

  FCO

  16

  8

  -33

  -17

  -4

  -2

  -22

  -11

  -14

  -5

  -24

  -35

  Health7

  41

  35

  -75

  -83

  -3

  -10

  -46

  -53

  -32

  -39

  -14

  -21

  Home Office17

  5

  17

  -1

  3

  3

  13

  1

  7

  3

  11

  5

  9

  Home Office—Prisons2

  15

  10

  -20

  -19

  11

  6

  1

  -2

  13

  9

  -2

  -7

  Inland Revenue

  12

  -3

  17

  19

  14

  3

  16

  13

  17

  14

  28

  31

  International Development9

  29

  32

  38

  36

  32

  33

  35

  35

  35

  35

  68

  68

  Lord Chancellor's Department

  30

  37

  6

  11

  23

  29

  14

  20

  17

  23

  0

  -6

  National Savings

  4

  16

  28

  32

  17

  24

  24

  29

  24

  30

  28

  37

  Northern Ireland

  16

  18

  7

  12

  13

  16

  10

  14

  12

  16

  -1

  -1

  Scottish Office8

  19

  33

  -38

  -26

  4

  17

  -17

  -4

  -4

  8

  10

  25

  Scottish Court Service8

  39

  35

  36

  30

  38

  34

  37

  32

  38

  34

  14

  -2

  Scottish Prison Service

  11

  0

  -12

  -12

  9

  12

  3

  5

  5

  9

  0

  -2

  Social Security11

  18

  17

  -18

  0

  9

  12

  -5

  6

  -1

  9

  -21

  -12

  Trade and Industry

  71

  74

  27

  40

  56

  62

  40

  49

  43

  52

  65

  69

  Treasury

  17

  7

  -14

  -8

  8

  3

  -4

  -3

  0

  -1

  -13

  -14

  Welsh Office

  32

  49

  -4

  -18

  16

  19

  3

  -4

  7

  1

  24

  21

  Total

  20.8

  18.3

  -1.6

  3,2

  15.3

  14.6

  7.2

  9.1

  12.5

  14.0

  6.1

  5.6

  Summary table: Government estate: energy efficiency performance12, 13

  Percentage reduction relative to 1990–91 (positive, figures represent percentage progress)

  Adjusted for estate and weather correction

  Adjused for weather changes only

  Fossil fuel

  Electricity

  Total kWh

  Total cost

  CO2

  Total CO2

  Ministry of Defence

  1996–97

  1997–98

  1996–97

  1997–98

  1996–97

  1997–98

  1996–97

  1997–98

  1996–97

  1997–98

  1996–97

  1997–98

  Civil

  35

  59

  5

  -2

  25

  38

  14

  15

  9

  24

  0

  4

  Navy

  37

  37

  41

  40

  38

  38

  40

  39

  43

  42

  30

  30

  Army

  11

  17

  27

  26

  14

  19

  20

  22

  21

  24

  18

  20

  RAF

  26

  26

  14

  14

  23

  23

  19

  19

  20

  20

  29

  30

  Procurement Executive14

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  DERA

  -17

  -27

  -15

  8

  -16

  -11

  -15

  I

  -15

  0

  -15

  -17

  MOD Total

  20.3

  23.5

  23.6

  21.4

  21.1

  23.0

  22.2

  22.3

  24.1

  24.8

  22.8

  23.4

  Grand Total

  20.5

  21.9

  15.4

  15.5

  19.3

  20.4

  17.5

  18.1

  20.5

  17.6

  17.6

  17.9

  1 Progress is expressed as a percentage relative to the 1990–91 base year value of the performance indicator in question. Positive figures represent improvement. The standard indicator, against which the target to improve energy efficiency by 20 per cent. by 31 March 2000 is measured, is obtained by weather-correcting energy consumption and converting to costs using 'standard prices' for fuel (6p/kWh for electricity and 1.25p/kWh for all fossil fuels) then dividing by floor area. Conversation to money both reflects the relative costs of electricity and fossil fuel and their environmental impact, and the use of fixed prices eliminates the effects of tariff changes which distort the comparison of fuel bills.

  2 Although figures have been prepared on a consistent basis, caution should be exercised in comparing the energy use of different Departments and Agencies because of differences in their estate and the nature of their work. For example, the operational needs of prisons and the QEII Conference Centre mean that they have a pattern of energy use which is different from that of a Department which has predominantly office accommodation. Expenditure on energy and investment figures are included for information only. Investment figures relate to clearly identifiable energy efficiency measures undertaken by Departments. Energy efficiency is an integral part of all major construction projects, including building refurbishment and plant replacement and the figure '0' for some Departments does not necessarily mean there has been no investment, just that the investment was not clearly identifiable.

  3 The average performance figure for the civil estate cannot be derived by simply adding together the individual Departmental progress and dividing by the number of Departments because this does not allow for the large variations in consumption. The correct figure is obtained by calculating the value of the performance indicator for the year in question and the base year, for the civil estate as a whole, and calculating the reduction relative to the base year.

  4 The energy performance for MAFF's 'Main estate' and its 'Laboratories' continues to improve through ongoing investment in energy schemes, monitoring of energy at local level and taking appropriate action as well as central initiatives including continued staff awareness programmes.

  584
  the need to run a number of old and new buildings in parallel while changes took place. However, the Department's two new headquarters buildings at Eland House and Ashdown House were fully occupied by the end of March 1998 so future results should reflect this.
  585

  5 The DETR's figures have been compiled from the former Environment and Transport Departments. The Department now has a greater proportion of air-conditioned buildings than in the base year, because of estate rationalisation, relocation to new HQ buildings and inclusion of some Government Offices for the Regions. Performance in 1997–98 was adversely affected by parallel operation of both old and new buildings while staff moved from one to the other.

  6 HSE was removed from the DfEE estate on the formation of that Department. QEII Conference Centre is reported separately because of its business led demands. The initial sharp rise in consumption following the 1990–91 base year was directly attributable to increased revenue earning activity, which has continued throughout the reporting period, and the more recent decline in consumption reflects the effect of energy conservation measures undertaken at the site.

  7 Rationalisation of the estate since the base year has led to staff moving from several naturally ventilated buildings to more densely occupied air-conditioned buildings, all equipped with information technology equipment.

  8 Base year is 1991–92.

  9 Base year in 1991–92. Data for Natural Resources Institute no longer included following its transfer to the University of Greenwich.

  10 Base year is 1994–95 by which time energy efficient lighting and other improvements already installed in buildings which are already fully air-conditioned with intensive IT usage.

  11 Workload is increasing, affecting occupancy and requiring offices to be occupied for longer, increasing the use of energy. Greater use of information technology, expansion of the use of air conditioning and the upgrading of lighting levels has increased electricity consumption.

  12 The Ministry of Defence (MOD) estate is different from the rest of the Government estate, and has been undergoing more radical changes. It is therefore treated in a slightly different way. In common with the civil estate, it has greatly increased its use of information technology.

  13 In civil departments, the effect of estate changes is allowed for by dividing consumption by floor area. In MOD, floor area is sometimes not meaningful (e.g. in relation to security or runway lighting) and also not often available, so estate changes are allowed for by being explicitly excluded from the calculations, i.e. the energy consumption of new facilities is removed, and for facilities no longer part of the estate, the consumption for the last full year of operation is added back. In most cases, such changes are small compared to the total and can often approximately cancel each other out.

  14 It is almost impossible to produce any meaningful results to date for MOD's Procurement Executive (PE) since it has suffered major estate gains and losses over the past 10 years and now consists largely of one recently built large office. The standard MOD methodology produces a meaningless 'no change' result (since the present estate is almost entirely different from the original).

  15 This shows the combined results for the whole of the Government estate based on the data in tables 1,2 and 3. It is not a simple average of the data, but reflects the proportion of total consumption represented by each part of the estate (see also note 3). Some Departments have a different base year, and the individually agreed base year has been used for the purposes of this table, where appropriate.

  16 In some instances the base year is not 1990–91, but for the purposes of tables 2 and 5 the agreed base year has been used in the calculation.

  17 The figures quoted here for the Home Office have been weather-corrected in the same way as for all departments. Figures quoted elsewhere were provisional, not yet weather-corrected and therefore showed higher apparent progress.

  Ryedale District Council
  Mr. Healey
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will provide financial assistance to Ryedale District Council under the Bellwin scheme for costs incurred following the severe flooding between 5 and 14 March. [92882]

  Mr. Meale
  I am satisfied that financial assistance under the Bellwin scheme is justified in the case of Ryedale District Council given the exceptional nature of the floods and the damage caused. A scheme will, therefore, be established under section 155 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989. Grant will be paid to the authority to cover 85 per cent. of the eligible costs above a threshold which have been incurred by the authority in dealing with the flooding.

  Building Standards
  Mr. Pickthall
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what steps he is taking to promote high standards of service from local authority building control departments and private sector approved inspectors. [93019]

  Mr. Raynsford
  My Department and the National Assembly for Wales are today publishing 'Building Control Performance Standards', on behalf of the Construction Industry Council, the Local Government Association and the Association of Corporate Approved Inspectors, whose Building Control Services Steering Group drew up the document.

  Building Control Performance Standards' sets out a series of eleven standards for the good conduct of building control, together with guidance to go with each of these standards.
  586
  The eleven standards in the new document cover:
  the need for building control bodies to draw up, and make public, a policy on the provision of their building control service in a manner that meets their legal duties and is effective in helping to achieve compliance of building work with the Building Regulations;
  the need for building control bodies to have adequate staff resources, supplemented if necessary by bought in support;
  the need for building control bodies to undertake appropriate consultations with other agencies;
  the need for clear feed back to the client following plans assessment, and for records of the plan checking process;
  the need for appropriate site inspection regimes, and prompt action on contraventions, with associated records;
  the need for appropriate certificates to be given to the direct client upon satisfactory completion of the work;
  the need for retention of records for an appropriate period;
  the need for suitable arrangements for continuous professional development and in-service training;
  the need for procedures for self review of performance; the need for adoption of quality management principles;
  the need for building control bodies to observe the normal professional standards and business ethics expected of service providers.

  Competition between local authority building control departments and approved inspectors is an important spur to efficiency, and beneficial to the builders and developers who are the immediate clients for the building control service. Building control must also be effective in helping to secure the compliance of building work with the requirements of the Building Regulations, which exist to promote the health, safety, welfare and convenience of building users, as well as energy efficiency.
  587
  Building Control Performance Standards' recognises that the building control function is the same whether it is carried out by a local authority or by an approved inspector. It sets out the ways in which all building control providers can work to achieve effective and efficient levels of service.

  My Department is writing today to local authorities in England and to approved inspectors to ask them to commit themselves to adopt and apply the performance standards and have regard to the associated guidance. The National Assembly for Wales is taking parallel action in Wales. The Local Government Association and the Construction Industry Council will be monitoring the response of local authorities and approved inspectors to this initiative.

  Officials of my Department and the National Assembly for Wales will be discussing with the Construction Industry Council, the Local Government Association, the Association of Corporate Approved Inspectors and other interested parties including the District Surveyors' Association and the Audit Commission, arrangements for a new advisory body on building control. This body will keep the performance standards and guidance under review and revise them as necessary. It will work with the bodies responsible for monitoring standards of service on the part of local authorities and approved inspectors, to maintain and raise building control standards.

  Supporting People Policy
  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how the Government intend to carry forward the implementation of their Supporting People policy. [93020]

  Mr. Prescott
  To ensure the most effective support for people living in our communities who need it, I am establishing a new reference group to work with the Government on implementing our 'Supporting People' policy.

  This is a cross-Government initiative, which will be co-ordinated by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR). It will work closely with the Departments of Health and Social Security, the Home Office and other parts of Government.

  The reference group will comprise individuals nominated by organisations representing local authorities, other statutory agencies, service providers, and those using support services. In due course we will also be inviting a number of people with experience of day-to-day operation of the services to participate in a small Practitioners' Group. By working closely with interested parties to develop the detail of the new arrangements, my Department will ensure that our long-term objective becomes a workable and effective reality.

  The introduction of the new funding arrangements for support services were announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Security in March, following extensive consultation.

  We received more than 500 responses to our "Supporting People" consultation paper. They showed strong support for the principles underlying our proposals, and recognition that, for the first time, the provision of support services is being given the priority it deserves.
  588
  I am today publishing a summary of responses to the consultation. Copies are being placed in the Library of the House, and will be sent to all those who responded.

  The consultation responses will assist the ongoing work to develop and implement the new, funding arrangements. These will ensure that many thousands of people will get the cost-effective and high quality services they need, to live dignified and independent lives.

  Greater London Authority Elections
  Mr. Fitzpatrick
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he has decided to proceed in negotiations with any of the companies which expressed interest in providing electronic equipment for use in the Greater London Authority elections. [93063]

  Mr. Raynsford
  The London Mayor and Assembly elections on 4 May 2000—subject to Parliamentary approval—provide an excellent opportunity to introduce a more up-to-date system of counting of votes, more in keeping with modern technology and systems.

  Following my announcement on 5 July 1999, Official Report, column 378; of our shortlist of potential suppliers of electronic equipment for the London Mayor and Assembly elections, we have been considering in more detail the equipment on offer from these suppliers. If the count for the London elections next year—which will comprise three ballots—is conducted in the traditional manual manner, it could take up to three days. That is why I am particularly pleased that three of the suppliers have offered electronic counting equipment. These machines have the capacity to scan many thousands of ballot papers an hour and so could reduce the count to a matter of hours. They are also more accurate than manual systems. We have therefore decided to proceed in negotiation with the three suppliers offering electronic counting equipment: Data & Research Services plc; Election Systems & Software Inc. with Unisys Ltd.; and Smurfit Ltd.

  The final decision on whether to award a contract is likely to be made in September when the proposals have been fully evaluated. We will be looking for value for money, and we will need to be absolutely confident that the chosen method is accurate and efficient. All the equipment we are considering has been tried and tested in elections elsewhere.

  River Tweed
  Mr. Beith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will place in the Library the scientific advice received from English Nature concerning the notification of the River Tweed as a candidate special area of conservation under the European Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild flora. [88617]

  Mr. Meacher
  [holding answer 28 June 1999]: With the agreement of the Scottish Executive, I have placed in the Library of the House a paper written by the Chief Scientist of Scottish Natural Heritage (English Nature's equivalent in Scotland) in 1995 setting out a scientific analysis of the case for proposal of the River Tweed as a Special Area of Conservation. That document is the best summary of the agency's advice. The Government and the

  589
  statutory nature conservation agencies subsequently discussed the various scientific factors which had to be taken into account in making a decision about whether to propose the site to the European Commission as a candidate Special Area of Conservation.

  The Government concluded that the River Tweed should not be proposed to the European Commission as a candidate Special Area of Conservation. The Government believed that there were a number of reasons why, applying the criteria for site selection specified in the Habitats Directive, the River Tweed was not an outstanding candidate for Special Area of Conservation status for Atlantic salmon. These included the relatively poor state of the spawning salmon stock, the very substantial modification by man of the watercourse, and discharges into the river environment. The Government have proposed five other rivers to the European Commission as candidate Special Areas of Conservation for salmon, which we believe better meet the selection criteria of the Habitats Directive.

  The implementation of the Habitats Directive in Scotland is now a matter for the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Executive.

  London Underground
  Mr. Brake
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment his Department has made of the likely impact on(a) numbers of trains run and (b) passenger kilometres of the closure of (i) the Circle Line during summer 1999, (ii) part of the Northern Line during summer 1999, (iii) part of the Bakerloo Line during autumn 1999 and (iv) part of the Victoria Line during autumn 1999. [90850]

  Mrs. Liddell
  This is a matter for London Underground. However, I understand that the impact on the number of trains run will be as follows:

  (i) The Circle Line has been suspended for essential safety work until 16 August 1999. Additional trains are operating on the Hammersmith and City Line and two extra trains on the District Line.

  (ii) 12 fewer trains than normal are operating on the Northern Line during peak periods. There are four fewer trains than normal at the weekends. This is to allow for essential maintenance and upgrading.

  (iii) No trains will run south of Victoria and there will be a reduced peak service on the rest of the line. The off-peak service north of Victoria will be as normal.

  London Underground inform me they have not assessed the impact of these closures on passenger kilometres.
  590
  Mr. Woodward
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to introduce women-only carriages on London Underground. [91494]

  Mrs. Liddell
  This Government takes the problem of crime on the underground very seriously and we are pleased to see that it has halved over the last decade.

  Introducing women-only carriages would be a matter for London Underground. I understand that they are expanding their CCTV network, upgrading the system at stations and introducing cameras to trains and other crime prevention measures.

  Mr. Woodward
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many extra District Line trains have run since the closure of parts of the Circle Line. [91088]

  Mrs. Liddell
  [holding answer 14 July 1999]: This is a matter for London Underground, but I understand that, from 5 July 1999, London Underground have been operating two additional trains throughout the day on the District Line between Putney Bridge and Mansion House.

  Mr. Woodward
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what were the average daily passenger figures for the Circle Line connecting(a) Tower Hill and Aldgate and (b) Gloucester Road and High Street Kensington over the last 12 months. [91051]

  Mrs. Liddell
  [holding answer 14 July 1999]: This is a matter for London Underground. However, I understand that the average number of daily passenger journeys between these stations over the last 12 months was:

  Number

  Gloucester Road to High Street Kensington

  29,000

  High Street Kensington to Gloucester Road

  24,000

  Total

  53,000

  Aldgate to Tower Hill

  23,000

  Tower Hill to Aldgate

  21,000

  Total

  44,000

  Circle Line services have been suspended to allow London Underground to complete the long overdue safety-related engineering works. Service disruption is always disappointing, but safety is, quite rightly, London Transport's top priority.

  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the level of provision of fire extinguishers on the London Underground. [91720]

  Mrs. Liddell
  London Underground operates under one of the toughest safety regimes of any underground metro system. Any changes to the provision of fire extinguishers on the underground are subject to the approval of Her Majesty's Rail Inspectorate.

  Mr. Woodward
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what was the total passenger capacity in either direction between Moorgate station and Kennington station of(a) Northern Line services between Monday 28 June and Friday 2 July and (b) Northern Line replacement bus services between Monday 5 July and Friday 9 July. [91518]

  Mrs. Liddell
  [holding answer 15 July 1999]: This is an operational matter for London Underground. Figures are not available to compare alternative passenger services. However, I understand that while bus services between Moorgate and Kennington have been busy in peak periods, there is sufficient capacity available to cope with the demand. Additional buses are on standby, if necessary.
  591
  Mr. Woodward
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if temperature levels on tubes during Thursday 8 July exceeded Health and Safety Executive limits. [91526]

  Mrs. Liddell
  [holding answer 15 July 1999]: This is a matter for London Underground. I understand that the Health and Safety Executive does not set temperature limits for the tube.

  Mr. Woodward
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if works on the Circle Line are running according to timetable; and if full Circle Line services will resume on 16 August. [91520]

  Mrs. Liddell
  [holding answer 15 July 1999]: This is a matter for London Underground, but I understand works are running to timetable and that LU anticipate resuming a full Circle Line service on 16 August, as planned.

  Mr. Woodward
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if works on the Northern Line are running according to timetable; and if full Northern Line Bank branch services will resume on 6 September. [91521]

  Mrs. Liddell
  [holding answer 15 July 1999]: This is a matter for London Underground, but I understand works on the Northern Line are on schedule and services should resume on Monday 6 September, as planned.

  Mr. Woodward
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many people travelled in either direction between Moorgate station and Kennington station or intermediate stations using(a) Northern Line underground services between Monday 28 June and Friday 2 July and (b) Northern Line replacement bus services between Monday 5 July and Friday 9 July. [91519]

  Mrs. Liddell
  [holding answer 15 July 1999]: This is an operational matter for London Underground. However, I understand that many of the passengers who would normally use this section of the Northern Line have access to underground services, including the 15 per cent. extra trains on the Northern Line Charing Cross branch.

  Before the temporary closure, 75,000 journeys were made daily on the Northern Line between Moorgate and Kennington. In the first week after the closure, 10,000 people a day used the replacement and existing services along the route.

  Mr. Woodward
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what is his policy on air conditioning on London Underground trains; and if he will make a statement. [91523]

  Mrs. Liddell
  [holding answer 15 July 1999]: This is a matter for London Underground, but I understand that air conditioning would not only be extremely expensive to install, but would cause severe operational constraints, particularly on the deep tube lines. However, LU are looking at various methods of cooling trains and tunnels, and this will include air conditioning where appropriate.

  Mr. Woodward
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many complaints were received by London Underground on Thursday 8 July about excessive temperatures on tube trains; and if he will make a statement. [91525]
  592
  Mrs. Liddell
  [holding answer 15 July 1999]: This is a matter for London Underground. I understand that they received a total of 20 complaints about the high temperatures on tube trains on Thursday 8 July.

  I appreciate passengers' frustration at the high temperatures that can occur on tube trains on very hot days and understand that London Underground are looking at ways of cooling trains and tunnels.

  Mr. Stephen Twigg
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what discussions he has had with London Underground regarding service(a) on the Piccadilly Line and (b) at Arnos Grove Station. [91444]

  Mrs. Liddell
  [holding answer 21 July 1999]: Piccadilly Line services are an operational matter for London Underground. However, my hon. Friend the Minister for Transport in London does meet with the managing director of LU every month, when they discuss tube services, including the Piccadilly Line.

  Neither myself nor other Ministers have specifically discussed services at Arnos Grove with LU. However, I understand that LU have developed a scheme to reduce congestion at this station and are currently considering how best to take this forward.

  Genetically Modified Crops
  Mr. Baker
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what is his policy on experiments in the genetic modification of plants so that honey from their nectar produces medicinally valuable products. [90721]

  Mr. Meale
  [holding answer 13 July 1999]: I have received no applications for consent to release this type of genetically modified (GM) plant. Any such applications would be subject to a scientific assessment of risk carried out case-by-case on the basis of an environmental risk assessment. It is likely that any such experiments would be carried out in containment.

  Joan Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what is the maximum number of fields and the maximum field size that will be permitted in the farm scale trials of genetically modified oil seed rape, maize and sugar beet; and which body will determine these numbers and sizes. [91415]

  Mr. Meale
  The farm scale evaluations of the impact of the management of genetically modified (GM) herbicide tolerant oilseed rape and maize on farmland are being guided by an independent scientific steering committee. The steering committee will determine the number of fields necessary to ensure the statistical validity of the study. Preliminary analysis has indicated that 20 paired comparisons of each crop in each year will be sufficient, although more detailed analysis of the appropriate sample size was called for by the steering committee and it may be necessary to revise the number in the light of this.

  In the current research programme, the intention is to carry out ecological studies in a realistic cropping scenario, that is within fields of a size representative of UK agricultural practices. A size of about 10 ha was chosen; in the case of maize, many fields are likely to be smaller—about 6–7 ha and, in the case of oilseed rape, fields may be larger than 10 ha.

  593
  Sugar beet is not being grown as part of the programme this year.

  Joan Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the farm scale test sites planned for autumn 1999 and the crops to be grown; if interim test results from earlier trials will be available before their planting; and if he will make a statement. [92095]

  Mr. Meale
  The release of genetically modified autumn sown oilseed rape will be carried out under a consent granted to AgrEvo. The legislation requires that the proposed sites are advertised in a local newspaper and that my Department discloses the locations on the public register. The sites for this autumn's releases have not yet been selected.

  It is unlikely that interim results will be available before the autumn sown crops are planted. The ecological studies being carried out in the spring sown crops are still being gathered and will continue to be gathered after harvest. Analysis of the results will then be carried out and reviewed by the Scientific Steering Group at their next meeting in October. It is not considered necessary to have the results of the wildlife studies in the spring sown crops before sowing the autumn sown crops. The different sowing times influence the wildlife in a crop quite significantly and great care needs to be taken in the interpretation of the results in this respect.

  Working Time Directive
  Mr. Woodward
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he plans to repeal United Kingdom rules on bus and coach drivers' hours and apply EU rules to all operations. [91490]

  Ms Glenda Jackson
  The Government said in the Transport White Paper that it would consult the industry on legislation to bring most of the operations subject to the UK rules on drivers' hours within the scope of the European Union rules.

  Mr. Woodward
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he plans to extend the Working Time Directive to the road transport sector. [91491]

  Ms Glenda Jackson
  The road transport sector is covered by two proposals on Working Time from the European Commission. The first (taken in the Social Affairs Council) amends the existing Directive to include all transport sectors except maritime. The Council has now reached political agreement on this proposal, but it is subject to the co-decision procedure with the European Parliament and therefore subject to final approval.

  The second proposal introduces further specific provisions, aimed at the road transport sector, on the average and maximum weekly limits; rest periods; provisions on night working; and derogations. These proposals are currently under discussion in the Transport Council.

  Buses
  Mr. Woodward
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) how many new bus registrations there were in England in(a) 1994, (b), 1995, (c), 1996, (d), 1997, (e) 1998 and (f) 1999 to date; [91394]

  (2) how many bus service registrations have been rejected by the Traffic Commissioners in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [91416]

  Ms Glenda Jackson
  The figures for new bus registrations are as follows:

  Financial year

  Registrations in England and Wales1

  1994–95

  4,917

  1995–96

  4,493

  1996–97

  4,465

  1997–98

  4,302

  1998–99

  5,169

  1 Prior to 1 May 1999, when an all Wales Traffic Area was established, the only dat on new bus registrations readily available covers both England and Wales.

  Note:

  During the period from 1 April to 30 June 1999 there were 1,088 new registrations. In the 12 months to June 1999, three applications for new bus service registration had been rejected.

  Mr. Woodward
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what proportion of the total bus subsidy in England supports services operating in(a) metropolitan areas, (b) non-metropolitan areas and (c) Greater London. [91407]

  Ms Glenda Jackson
  There are two elements of bus service subsidy: the support of services by local authorities from their own resources, for socially necessary services; and Fuel Duty Rebate (FDR), which is paid by central Government directly to the bus operators for the local bus services they operate. Figures for local authority support for 1997–98 (the latest year figures are currently available for) are:

  £ million

  Percentage

  Metropolitan areas

  98

  53

  Non-metropolitan areas

  86

  47

  Total

  184

  —

  Subsidy for buses in Greater London is provided as part of the London Transport grant. In 1997–98 London Transport buses made a gross operating profit of £0.1 million.

  The figure for FDR support in England in 1998–99 was £224.5 million. Statistics are not kept on the split of this total between services in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas and Greater London.

  A5 Nesscliffe Bypass
  Mr. Paul Marsden
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when the A5 Nesscliffe bypass, Shropshire, will be built; and if he will make a statement. [91540]
  595
  Ms Glenda Jackson
  As we announced on 10 December 1998,Official Report, columns 251–53, work on the A5 Nesscliffe bypass will start in 2001–02.

  The orders fixing the line of the road have been made and will be published on 5 August. The Compulsory Purchase Order will be made early next year. Procedures to acquire the land necessary to construct the scheme can then begin. Final confirmation of the precise start date will be subject to the satisfactory completion of the necessary contract process.

  Bus Lanes
  Mr. Woodward
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) of the new bus lanes created on(a) trunk roads and (b) non-trunk roads in England since 2 May 1997, how many were additional to existing carriageway lanes; and how many reduced the number of lanes available to other vehicles; [91522]

  (2) how many new bus lanes have been created on (a) trunk roads and (b) non-trunk roads in England, since 2 May 1997. [91429]

  Ms Glenda Jackson
  [holding answer 15 July 1999]: Since 2 May 1997, 14 new bus lanes have been created on trunk roads. Seven of these involved additional carriageway lanes and seven reduced the number of lanes available for other vehicles.

  Non-trunk roads are the responsibility of the local highway authority. Information is not kept in the form requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Road Noise
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what guidance his Department has issued in respect of the use of whisper concrete or asphalt for road construction and resurfacing projects in(a) rural areas and (b) urban areas; and if he will make a statement. [91913]

  Ms Glenda Jackson
  This is an operational matter for the Highways Agency. I have asked the Chief Executive, Mr. Lawrie Haynes, to write to my hon. Friend.

  Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mr. Peter Pike, dated 22 July 1999:
  The Transport Minister, Glenda Jackson, has asked me to reply to your recent question about guidance issued in respect of the use of whisper concrete or asphalt for road construction and resurfacing projects in either rural areas or in urban areas.
  Guidance on the use of both whisper concrete and asphalt for use in trunk road construction and maintenance is contained in two separate publications. General guidance over surfacing alternatives is given in the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges, Volume 7, HD 36/99. While specifications for these materials is included in the Manual of Contract Documents, Volume 1 and 2. No distinction is made between their use in rural and urban areas as the choice of surfacing is based on the particular requirements for each road. Both documents are published and available in the House of Commons library.
  If you require further information I suggest that you contact the Agency's Group Manager responsible for road surfacing, Graham Bowskill. He can be contacted on 0171 921 4746 and is familiar with both whisper concrete and asphalt road surfaces.
  596
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment his Department has made of the impact of noise from motorways and high speed roads in(a) urban areas and (b) rural areas; and if he will make a statement. [91912]

  Ms Glenda Jackson
  The Government have been well aware of concern about the level of traffic noise arising from motorways and other high speed roads. Our proposals for dealing with the problem arising from those roads for which the Secretary of State has responsibility were explained in "A New Deal for Trunk Roads in England". We announced the annual budget which was being ring-fenced for this purpose on 22 March 1999,Official Report, columns 50–51, together with criteria which would target the most serious and pressing cases.

  The Highways Agency has assessed a number of locations where traffic noise had been a particular cause for concern against the sift criteria. The Agency will shortly be undertaking detailed studies of those locations meeting the criteria where there are no immediate plans to replace the existing road surface with a quieter one. The studies are necessary to discover the most appropriate means of dealing with the problem. There has been no differentiation between urban and rural areas, but the studies will take into account the proximity of housing to the road.

  The Agency has also made good progress in the use of lower noise surfaces when maintenance is due on existing roads. Approximately three quarters of maintenance contracts undertaken since last year have used these new surfaces.

  Departmental Vehicles
  Mr. Burstow
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will publish the guidance(a) he and (b) his Green Minister have issued concerning the introduction of low and nil emission fuel technology into the Department's vehicle fleet. [90693]

  Ms Glenda Jackson
  [holding answer 19 July 1999]: My Department is committed to reducing the environmental impact of its own transport activities, through the implementation of green transport plans. One important aspect of our plan for DETR headquarters is to reduce business car use and its associated emissions to a minimum. My Department is producing guidance on greener vehicles and cleaner fuels to include in our "Green Guide for Buyers", which was distributed across government in February 1998. Both DETR's green transport plan for its headquarters and the buyers' guide can be found on the Internet at www.environment.detr.gov.uk.

  Local Government Act 1988
  Mr. Lepper
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what progress he has made with his plans to repeal section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988; and if he will make a statement. [91986]

  Mr. Meale
  The Government have made a clear commitment to repeal section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988, and plan to do so as soon as Parliamentary time permits.

  Appointments (Quangos)
  Mr. Singh
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many appointments to quangos he made between (i) 1 June 1997 and 31 May 1998 and (ii) 1 June 1998 and 31 May 1999. [92043]

  Mr. MealeMr. Singh
  The Secretary of State has made the following appointments to NDPBs, nationalised industries and public corporations sponsored by the Department:

  1 June 1997 to 31 May 1999

  1 June 1998 to 31 May 1998

  NDPBs:

  Executive

  71

  207

  Advisory

  75

  110

  Tribunals

  132

  207

  Nationalised Industries

  3

  9

  Public Corporation

  3

  5

  Total

  284

  538

  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many members of Britain's(a) ethnic minority communities and (b) Asian community he appointed to quangos between (i) 1 June 1997 and 31 May 1998 and (ii) 1 June 1998 and 31 May 1999. [92114]

  Mr. Meale
  The Secretary of State has appointed the following ethnic minority candidates to NDPBs, nationalised industries and public corporations sponsored by the Department:

  1 June 1997 31 May 1998 to

  1 June 1998 to 31 May 1999

  Asian Community

  7

  15

  Other ethnic minorities

  10

  13

  Total

  17

  28

  Full details of the Department's plan on equal opportunities are contained in "Quangos, Opening Up Public Appointments 1999–2002", published by the Government on 25 May 1999, a copy of which is deposited in the Libraries of both Houses. This sets out

  £ million

  1999–2000

  2000–01

  2001–02

  Land and Property Programme

  79.8

  82.0

  64.0

  Total NWDA administration budget, including for the land and property programme

  12.1

  11.9

  11.9

  Driving Tests
  Mr. Jenkins
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many non-United Kingdom passport holders have made an application to take a UK driving test in each of the last five years. [92024]

  Ms Glenda Jackson
  [holding answer 21 July 1999]: We do not collect those data.
  598
  our goals and objectives for improving representation of women, people from ethnic minority groups and people with disabilities.

  Official Documents
  Mr. Wilshire
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will publish a list of all those official documents of the last Administration which have been seen by(a) him, (b) other Ministers in his Department, (c) special advisers in his Department and (d) non-career civil servants appointed since May 1997 in his Department. [92179]

  Mr. Meale
  [holding answer 20 July 1999]: A large number of official documents were generated during the period of the previous Administration, many of which were published or put in the public domain. Since May 1997, the Department has been guided by the convention governing access to the papers of a previous Administration, as set out in the then Prime Minister's reply to a written question on 24 January 1980, Official Report, columns 305–07.

  English Partnerships
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what has been the budget for English Partnerships in the North West of England in each year since 1994; and what are the proposed budgets for the next three years. [91462]

  Mr. Meale
  [holding answer 21 July 1999]: English Partnerships' budget for the North West from 1994 to 1999 was as follows:

  £ million

  Year

  Administration and running costs

  Land and Property Programme

  Total

  1994–95

  n/a

  49.5

  49.5

  1995–96

  5.1

  51.1

  56.2

  1996–97

  6.1

  49.8

  55.9

  1997–98

  6.3

  78.1

  84.4

  1998–99

  6.2

  95.0

  101.2

  The proposed land and property programme for the North West for the next three years is as follows. The administration costs have been subsumed within those for the North West Development Agency (NWDA).

  Songbirds
  Mr. Viggers
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make representations to the French Government about its extensions to the season for shooting songbirds. [92414]

  Mr. Meale
  The measures member states should take to protect wild birds, including the extent of hunting seasons, are laid out in the EC Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds (79/409/EEC). It is the responsibility of the European
  599
  Commission to ensure that member states comply with the provisions of EC Directives, and my Department supports the Commission in this aim.

  Waste Incineration
  Mr. David Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what estimate he has made of the proportion of municipal waste incinerated with energy/heat recovery in each of the past 10 years; and what targets he has set for the next 10 years. [92075]

  Mr. Meale
  Reliable surveys of municipal waste arisings, and the management options selected for those wastes, have been conducted since 1995–96. The figures for the quantities of municipal waste incinerated are as follows:

  Percentage

  Waste management option

  1995–96

  1996–97

  1996–98

  Incineration with energy recovery

  5

  5

  6

  Incineration without energy recovery

  4

  3

  0.2

  The Government published their draft waste strategy for England and Wales, "A Way With Waste", on 30 June 1999. Within the draft strategy, the following targets and goals are identified:
  to recover 45 per cent. of municipal waste by 2010 (with a target of 40 per cent. recovery by 2005);
  to recycle or compost 30 per cent. of household waste by 2010 (with a target of recycling or composting 25 per cent. of household waste as soon as possible).

  A511 Bypass
  Mr. David Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the prospects for the completion of the A511 bypass around Ashby-de-la-Zouch. [92077]

  Ms Glenda Jackson
  Leicestershire County Council, along with all other local highway authorities, will be submitting its Local Transport Plan (LTP) by the end of July. If the bypass is included in the Council's LTP, my Department will very carefully consider the case for it against competing bids for major new schemes and other areas of expenditure. The announcement of the local transport settlement is due to be made shortly before Christmas.

  A6 Bypass
  Mr. David Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the prospects for an A6 bypass around Kegworth, Leicestershire. [92078]

  Ms Glenda Jackson
  The proposal for an A6 Kegworth bypass is to be considered as part of the Multi-Modal Study looking at North-South movements in the East Midlands which came about as part of the Roads Review. The study is due to start in the autumn and will take approximately two years to complete.

  Vehicle Excise Duty
  Mr. John M. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what the levels of vehicle excise duty are for 40 tonne lorries in other EU countries in 1999–2000. [91117]

  Ms Glenda Jackson
  The Government do not hold this information. However, the Department has recently commissioned research on lorry VED rates for the EC member states.

  Correspondence
  Mr. Alan Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what is the average time for a substantive reply to be sent to hon. Members' correspondence; what proportion takes more than(a) four weeks, (b) six weeks and (c) eight weeks; and what is his estimate of the number of letters received in a year from hon. Members. [92448]

  Mr. Meale
  I refer my right hon. Friend to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office to my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Gillian Merron) on 11 June 1999,Official Report, columns 403–06, which sets out performance against departmental targets for answering correspondence from right hon. and hon. Members in the 1998 calendar year. More detailed information about the percentage of correspondence replied to within the time scales specified could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

  Correspondence
  Mr. Alan Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what is the average time for a substantive reply to be sent to hon. Members' correspondence; what proportion takes more than(a) four weeks, (b) six weeks and (c) eight weeks; and what is her estimate of the number of letters received in a year from hon. Members. [92447]

  Mr. Foulkes
  I refer my right hon. Friend to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office to my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Gillian Merron) on 11 June 1999,Official Report, columns 403–06, which sets out performance against departmental targets for answering correspondence from right hon. and hon. Members, in the 1998 calendar year. More detailed information about the percentage of correspondence replied to within the time scales specified could be provided only at disproportionate costs.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  European Union Council
  Mr. Watts
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the forthcoming business in the Council of the European Union for August and list the major European Union events for the next six months. [93021]
  601
  Ms Quin
  European Calendar: August 1999-January 2000
  This calendar is primarily concerned with European Union matters, but certain other relevant events are also included. Events and dates quoted are based on the information available on the date of issue.

  August 1999

  No Council Business

  September 1999

  4–5 Saariselka Foreign Ministers (Informal)

  10–12 Turku ECOFIN (Informal)

  12–14 Tampere Agriculture Ministers (Informal)

  12–14 Brussels General Affairs Council

  13–17 Strasbourg European Parliament Plenary

  16–17 Turku Justice and Home Affairs Ministers (Informal)

  24–25 Tampere Education Ministers (Informal)

  27–28 Kuopio Ministers of Housing

  27–28 Brussels Agriculture Council

  30 September-1 October Helsinki Ministerial Conference on Equality between Women and Men

  October 1999

  Florence Trade Ministers (Informal)

  4–5 Luxembourg Justice and Home Affairs Council

  4–5 Tampere Regional Policy Ministers

  4–8 Strasbourg European Parliament Plenary

  6 Luxembourg Transport Council

  7 Luxembourg Internal Market

  8 Luxembourg ECOFIN

  11–12 Luxembourg General Affairs Council

  12 Luxembourg Environment Council

  15–16 Tampere Special European Council

  18–19 Luxembourg Agriculture Council

  22 Luxembourg Labour/Social Affairs Council

  24–25 Helsinki Energy Ministers Task Force Meeting

  25–29 Strasbourg European Parliament Plenary

  26 Luxembourg Fisheries Council

  28 Luxembourg Research Council

  29 Luxembourg Justice and Home Affairs Council

  November 1999

  3–4 Brussels European Parliament Plenary

  8 Brussels ECOFIN

  8 Brussels Consumer Affairs Council

  9 Brussels Industry Council

  11 Brussels Development Council

  12 Brussels Labour and Social Affairs Council (possible)

  11–12 Helsinki Ministerial Conference on the Northern Dimension

  15–16 Brussels Agriculture Council

  15–16 Brussels General Affairs Council

  15–19 Strasbourg European Parliament Plenary

  18 Brussels Health Council

  19 Brussels Youth Council

  22 Brussels Fisheries Council (possible)

  22–23 Brussels EU-ACP Ministerial Meeting (possible)

  602

  23 Brussels Culture/Audiovisual Council

  23 Brussels Youth Council

  25–26 Brussels Budget Council

  26 Brussels Education Council

  29 Brussels ECOFIN

  29 Brussels Labour and Social Affairs Council

  30 Brussels Telecommunications Council

  December 1999

  1–2 Brussels European Parliament Plenary

  2 Brussels Energy Council

  2 Brussels Research Council

  2–3 Brussels Justice and Home Affairs Council

  6–7 Brussels General Affairs Council

  7 Brussels Internal Market Council

  9–10 Brussels Transport Council

  10–11 Helsinki European Council

  13 Brussels ECOFIN

  13–14 Brussels Environment Council

  13–17 Strasbourg European Parliament Plenary

  14–15 Brussels Agriculture Council

  16–17 Brussels Fisheries Council

  16–17 Brussels EU-ACP Council (possible)

  January 2000

  14 Brussels Fisheries Council

  18 Brussels Budget Council

  24–25 Brussels General Affairs Council

  24–25 Brussels Agriculture Council

  28–29 Brussels Development Council (Informal)

  31 Brussels ECOFIN.

  Hong Kong
  Mr. Watts
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he plans to publish the fifth of the reports to Parliament on Hong Kong and the implementation of the Joint Declaration. [93022]

  Mr. Hoon
  The fifth report in this series, covering the period January-June 1999, was published today and a copy of the report has been placed in the Library. The report includes a foreword written by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary. I commend the report to the House.

  Human Rights
  Mr. Watts
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he intends to publish the Annual Report on Human Rights. [93023]

  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  The second Annual Report on Human Rights has been laid before the House as Command Paper 4404 today. Copies of the Report have also been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

  Greece (Military Agreements)
  Mr. Bercow
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Greek Government on their military agreement with Armenia and Iran. [90433]
  603
  Ms Quin
  None. The recent tripartite talks between Greece, Iran and Armenia form part of an on-going dialogue begun in 1995, focusing on co-operation in the energy, tourism, industry and communications sectors. There is no defence co-operation agreement.

  Kosovar Albanians
  Mr. Maples
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the number of Kosovar Albanians imprisoned in Serbia; and if he will make a statement. [91230]

  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  There have been unconfirmed reports of up to 5,000 people from Kosovo detained in Serbia. The ICRC has a list of around 2,000, and has visited over 300 prisoners in the past few days. I hope that Belgrade will co-operate fully with the ICRC and that any prisoners not legitimately held can be released immediately.

  Ocalan Trial
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment the Government have made of the conduct of the Ocalan trial, with particular reference to international standards; and if he will make a statement. [91907]

  Ms Quin
  We are aware of the observations of 21 June by members of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly that the conduct of the trial was correct and in accordance with the applicable Turkish law. We are also aware of the concerns raised by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights with regard to the treatment of Mr. Ocalan's lawyers. We understand that an appeal is now pending. It is in the first place for the Appeal Court to review the outcome of the trial. We will continue to monitor closely the appeal proceedings.

  We have made clear to the Turkish authorities the importance we attach to all proceedings being transparent and conducted in accordance with due process. We have also reiterated on numerous occasions our opposition as a matter of principle to the use of the death penalty.

  Visitor Entry Clearance
  Mr. Hilary Benn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his Department's policy in considering applications for visitor entry clearance where the applicant wishes to visit the United Kingdom for a family wedding, as a guest, on a particular date; and in what percentage of such applications in the past 12 months the entry clearance officer in Islamabad has offered an interview date after the date of the wedding. [92274]

  Mr. Hoon
  Every effort is made to offer an appointment at the earliest convenient opportunity. At peak periods for travel, waiting times may extend to three or four weeks. Since most visit visa applicants plan to travel on specific dates, it is only where there are compelling compassionate circumstances that interview appointments can be brought forward ahead of others who are waiting. For this reason we encourage travellers to apply for their visas well ahead of their intended date of travel.
  604
  Separate statistics are not held on the purpose of proposed visits and the number of applicants offered an interview date after the date of a particular event cannot therefore be established.

  East Timor
  Mr. Liwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will institute a judicial inquiry into the deaths of two British newsmen on 16 October 1975 in Balibo, East Timor; and if he will make a statement. [92703]

  Mr. Hoon
  We have no plans to do so.

  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has received as to the events in Balibo, East Timor on 16 October 1975; and if he will make a statement. [92704]

  Mr. Hoon
  We have received a number of letters from Members of Parliament, NGOs and the relatives of the two British journalists killed at Balibo in 1975. We keep in regular contact with the relatives and I have recently written to them.

  Iran
  Mr. David Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment the Government have made of the human rights situation of the BahÁ'i Community in Iran; what recent discussions he has held with the Iranian regime on this matter; and if he will make a statement. [92186]

  Mr. Hoon
  Iran is aware of our serious concern about the BahÁ'is. Persecution of individuals on religious grounds is totally unacceptable. The EU-sponsored United Nations Commission on Human Rights resolution on Iran adopted on 23 April reaffirmed international concern about their situation. We regularly raise with the Iranian authorities our concerns about the BahÁ'i community. I personally did so with the Iranian Ambassador on 24 May.

  Correspondence
  Mr. Alan Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the average time for a substantive reply to be sent to hon. Members' correspondence; what proportion takes more than(a) four weeks, (b) six weeks and (c) eight weeks; and what is his estimate of the number of letters received in a year from hon. Members. [92455]

  Mr. Hoon
  I refer my right hon. Friend to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office to my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Gillian Merron) on 11 June 1999,Official Report, columns 403–06, which sets out performance against departmental targets for answering correspondence from right hon. and hon. Members in the 1998 calendar year. More detailed information about the percentage of correspondence replied to within the time scales specified could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Visas (Documentation)
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what reason people making
  605
  visa applications on behalf of relatives living in India for entry to the United Kingdom are required to submit original documents rather than photocopies; and if he will make a statement. [92211]

  Mr. Hoon
  We prefer sponsors of visa applicants worldwide, not only from India, to submit documents in original form rather than photocopied because it is easier for entry clearance staff to establish their authenticity. It also saves the sponsor the time and expense of having photocopies made and notarised.

  Immigration Office, Islamabad
  Mr. Gapes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the reply to the hon. Member for Rochdale (Lorna Fitzsimons) 14 July 1999,Official Report, column 254, if he will explain why the relatives of Mr. Chugtai, a constituent, Mrs. Nighat Yasmin and Mrs. Rehana Ghaffar, were asked to report to the post in Islamabad for an interview 25 working days after lodging the application for visit visas; and if he will make a statement. [92359]

  Mr. Hoon
  I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Burton (Mrs. Dean) on 13 July 1999,Official Report, column 144. My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State will be writing shortly about the specific case raised by the hon. Member.

CABINET OFFICE

  The Buying Agency
  Mrs. Curtis-Thomas
  To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if the quinquennial review of The Buying Agency has been completed; and if the completed quinquennial review report will be made public. [91256]

  Mr. Kilfoyle
  The Quinquennial Review of The Buying Agency, which I announced on 29 October 1998, has now been completed. Cabinet Office, with the help of its consultants PricewaterhouseCoopers, has considered the performance of the Agency over the last five years and the options for the future of its function in the context of the Government's policy on civil procurement.

  TBA's main aims are to increase the volume of goods and services procured and to generate a return on capital employed through its Trading Fund. An evaluation of its performance over the five year period 1994–98 showed that over the first four years sales and income performance had been disappointing, due mainly to a substantial change in the Agency's market. Over the period as a whole, TBA met six of its thirteen financial targets, three of nine efficiency and productivity targets, six out of ten customer satisfaction targets and all nine targets for measures of internal quality and environmental management. The evaluation concluded that better measures and targets were needed to assess the efficiency and added value of the Agency's work.

  A review of prior options rejected abolition and privatisation which would deprive government of an instrument for central procurement. The consultants
  606
  considered that TBA's purchasing and energy procurement services have sufficient potential to justify retention of the whole Agency and therefore recommended that its agency status should continue subject to certain changes in business practice. The Review also concluded that the merger of TBA's functions with another department or agency was a matter for the review of civil procurement being conducted by Peter Gershon.

  Having considered the recommendations of the Review, I have decided that TBA should remain as an executive agency following the satisfactory completion of a comprehensive programme of short term business improvements aimed at developing its relationships with customers and suppliers and demonstrating the savings obtainable from its central purchasing. From 1 January 2000, it will become an executive agency of the new Office of Government Commerce on which my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury is making a separate statement.

  I am placing a summary of the consultants' report on prior options in the Libraries of the House.

  Departments (Public Access)
  Mr. Coaker
  To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what measures he is taking to make Government Departments more accessible to schools and members of the public, with particular reference to open days. [90890]

  Mr. Kilfoyle
  Each Government Department is responsible for its own policy on open days. Information on all aspects of the works of the Department is accessible through the Cabinet Office website. The Cabinet Office also participates in the London "Open House" weekend each September and offers work experience placements to children in secondary education.

  Red Boxes
  Mr. Woodward
  To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will make a statement on the rules concerning the carriage of ministerial red boxes by public transport. [91492]

  Mr. Kilfoyle
  Ministerial red boxes generally contain official papers or other material which may be sensitive or valuable and due care, therefore, needs to be given to their transportation. Where it is necessary to carry red boxes by public transport, they should be effectively disguised.

  Appointments (Quangos)
  Mr. Singh
  To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) how many appointments to quangos he made between (i) 1 June 1997 and 31 May 1998 and (ii) 1 June 1998 and 31 May 1999; [92044]

  (2) how many members of Britain's (a) ethnic minority communities and (b) Asian community he appointed to quangos between (i) 1 June 1997 and 31 May 1998 and (ii) 1 June 1998 and 31 May 1999. [92115]

  Mr. Kilfoyle
  The public bodies for which my right hon. Friend is responsible as Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster are: the Advisory Committee on Advertising; the Advisory
  607
  Committee for Justice of the Peace in Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside; the Better Regulation Task Force; and the Civil Service Appeal Board.

  The details of appointments made are given in the table. However, while appointments have been made from members of ethnic minority groups, I am unable to disclose the numbers, as to do so would risk identifying individuals without their consent.

  June 1997 to May 1998

  June 1998 to May 1999

  Advisory Committee on JPs

  39

  23

  Advisory Committee on Advertising

  0

  6

  Better Regulation Task Force

  16

  2

  Civil Service Appeal Board

  9

  12

  The Government have made some progress in increasing representation of women, members of ethnic minority groups and of people with disabilities. Full departmental plans on equal opportunities were published by the Government on 25 May 1999 and deposited in the Libraries of both Houses.

  Departmental Performance
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will make a statement on the performance of the main departments and agencies against the six service standards for central Government over the last financial year. [92879]

  Department/Agency

  Target (working days)

  Total volume

  Percentage of responses within target

  Target 1999–2000 (working days)

  Agencies included

  Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food

  15

  118,644

  91

  15

  Yes

  Cabinet Office

  15

  5,774

  99.5

  15

  Yes

  Crown Prosecution Service1

  10

  2,017

  82.6

  10

  n/a

  Department for Culture, Media and Sport18

  18

  28,861

  71

  18

  No

  HM Customs and Excise

  10

  794,746

  91

  10

  n/a

  Ministry of Defence

  20

  8,769

  78

  20

  Yes

  Department of Education and Employment

  15

  108,000

  89

  15

  No

  Employment Service2

  10

  Not measured

  94

  10

  Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions

  15

  66,273

  78

  15

  No

  Driving Standards Agency

  15

  15,248

  99

  15

  DVLA

  15

  417,028

  97

  15

  Highways Agency

  15

  32,000

  83

  15

  Maritime Coastguard Agency

  15

  13,269

  93

  15

  Vehicle Inspectorate

  15

  2,567

  93

  15

  Foreign and Commonwealth Office

  20

  35,971

  87

  20

  No

  Government Offices for the Regions10

  Max 15

  N/A

  Between 81 and 100

  Max 15

  n/a

  Department of Health16

  20

  52,656

  63

  20

  Yes

  NHS Pensions Agency

  20

  15,364

  100

  20

  Home Office14

  20

  150,699

  23

  20

  No

  UK Passport Agency

  10

  71,503

  97

  10

  Prison Service

  20

  34,045

  85

  20

  Inland Revenue11

  20

  86,000,000

  80

  20

  n/a

  Intervention Board

  10

  13,318

  79

  10

  Lord Chancellor's Department

  20

  5,490

  72

  20

  No

  Court Service6

  10

  4,591,004

  97

  10

  Court Service HQ

  20

  6,995

  98

  20

  Land Registry

  3

  323,513

  94

  3

  Public Trust Office

  20

  87,926

  96

  20

  NI Court Service

  20

  97

  96

  20

  Public Record Office

  10

  28,045

  99.5

  10

  Department of Social Security17

  20

  26,984

  60

  20

  No

  Benefits Agency13

  10

  11,132,631

  81–88

  10

  Contributions Agency

  20

  377,831

  97

  20

  Child Support Agency8

  10

  Not recorded

  56

  10

  War Pensions Agency9

  10

  260,000

  71.4

  10

  Department of Trade and Industry

  15

  162,000

  92

  15

  No

  608
  Dr. Jack Cunningham
  I have arranged for a report on the performance of the main Departments and agencies to be placed in the Libraries of the House. This is the second report on performance against the six service standards and reflects our continuing commitment to openness and to reporting transparently on our performance.

  The report shows that, in many cases, performance in responding to correspondence from the public has improved over the past year. There have been some exceptional performances, although there have also been some disappointing results. Overall, there is still room for improvement, and all Departments and agencies are striving to do better this year. The performance of the main Departments and agencies is summarised in the table.

  Against the other standards, the report shows that users with pre-arranged meetings are usually seen within 10 minutes of their appointment, that all Departments have at least one telephone inquiry point, and that all Departments now have complaints procedures in place covering all their services. The report also shows some of the innovative ways in which Departments and agencies are consulting their users and making their services more accessible.

  The Modernising Government White Paper announced some changes to the standards for this financial year, in particular the introduction on 1 October 1999 of new standards covering the length of time users should wait to be seen in public offices, the setting up of e-mail inquiry points, and how long users of telephone inquiry points should have to wait before their calls are answered.
  609

  Department/Agency

  Target (working days)

  Total volume

  Percentage of responses within target

  Target 1999–2000 (working days)

  Agencies included

  Agencies15

  10

  1,020,000

  97

  10

  HM Treasury12

  15

  24,000

  See note

  15

  No

  Valuation Office

  15

  35,000

  87

  15

  Scottish Office

  20

  200,000

  76

  20

  No

  National Archives of Scotland

  10

  4,499

  87

  10

  Student Awards Agency

  15

  7,682

  94

  15

  Scottish Courts Service

  3 (Supreme Courts)

  Not collected

  19100

  3

  2 (Sheriff Courts)

  Not collected

  1996

  2

  Scottish Prison Service

  20

  6,347

  97

  20

  Welsh Office

  15

  90,745

  90

  15

  Yes

  Northern Ireland Departments and the NIO

  Department/Agency

  Target (working days)

  Total volume

  Percentage of responses within target

  Target 1999–2000 (working days)

  Department of Agriculture

  15

  5,944

  94

  15

  Department of Economic Development

  15

  30,000

  98

  15

  Department of Education

  15

  3,826

  98

  15

  Department of Environment

  15

  26,773

  95

  15

  Department of Finance and Personnel

  15

  66,646

  99

  15

  Department of Health and Social Services

  15

  2,246

  88

  5

  Northern Ireland Office3

  15

  205,221

  89.6

  15

  Child Support Agency

  10

  1,559

  79

  10

  Driver and Vehicle Licensing

  3

  14,344

  100

  3

  Prison Service4

  15

  2,400

  100

  15

  Public Record Office

  14

  3,000

  98

  14

  Rate Collection Agency

  10

  50,442

  89

  10

  Social Security Agency

  15

  21,451

  93

  15

  Training and Employment Agency5

  5

  Not known

  67

  5

  1 This figure represents complaints only.

  2 The Employment Service measures performance by asking an independent research company to sample 4,000 letters. The Chief Executive's Office received 657 letters and replied to 96 per cent. within a 15-day target (against a target of 95 per cent.).

  3 Includes NIO Core, Forensic Science Agency, and Compensation Agency. Performance is calculated by a mixture of 100 per cent. monitoring and sampling.

  4 Performance measured in two sampling periods.

  5 Performance measured by sampling.

  6 These figures represent correspondence received in the county courts only and exclude correspondence received at the Crown Court, High Court, Tribunals and Probate Offices.

  7 All Ministerial Cases (MCs) are monitored, others are measured by sampling. Have now introduced a 15-day target for all correspondence.

  8 Sample of 2,400 used to measure performance.

  9 Chief Executive correspondence: 808 letters replied to, 97.7 per cent. within 20-days target. Private Office, PCA and Official Correspondence: 2,296 items replied to, 97.9 per cent. in 10-day target. These figures based on 100 per cent. monitoring. General correspondence monitored by monthly sample

  10 Composite figures for all regional offices.

  11 Total correspondence received is the number of items of post received by the Department's network of offices and includes internal mail. Performance is measured by monthly sampling and holding replies are not counted as having met the standard.

  12 HM Treasury introduced a system to monitor correspondence in April this year.

  13 The Benefits Agency replies to 82.5 per cent. of general correspondence in 10 days, 88.3 per cent. of letters advising them of change of circumstances within 6 days and 81 per cent. of complaints within 7 days. These figures exclude parliamentary correspondence.

  14 This figure is based on returns monitored on new tracking systems for all correspondence and is not comparable with previous annual returns that were based on sampling.

  15 This represents the volume of correspondence received by four of the DTI's agencies (Companies House, Insolvency Service, Patent Office and Radiocommunications Agency).

  16 This represents all correspondence received centrally excluding campaign mail.

  17 This represents correspondence addressed to Ministers by members of the pubic about policy matters.

  18 Correspondence addressed to DCMS Ministers.

  19 Sampled.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

  R v. Doran Case
  Mr. Prosser
  To ask the Attorney-General if he will make a statement concerning the judge's ruling in the case of R-v-Doran and others to stay proceedings as an abuse of process; and what action he will take as a result. [93018]
  610
  The Attorney-General
  The Paymaster General and I have today agreed that an independent inquiry should be commissioned into the actions of HM Customs and Excise officials and counsel who appeared on behalf of the Prosecution at the abuse of process hearing and at the preceding first and second trials of that case. The inquiry will report to me and the Chairman of Customs and Excise and will have the following terms of reference.
  611
  "Having regard to the matters set out by The hon. Mr. Justice Turner in his ruling of 6 July 1999 to stay proceedings in the case of R v. Doran and Others as an abuse of process, to examine the actions of HM Customs and Excise officials and Counsel who appeared on behalf of the Prosecution at that hearing and at the first and second trials of that case, in particular in relation to:

  (1) technical surveillance conducted at hotels S, L and R, and in particular whether permission was granted by those hotels for that surveillance, and whether the surveillance was properly authorised;

  (2) the non-disclosure of material relating to those issues, and the related public interest immunity applications made in the course of proceedings;

  (3) the evidence given at the trials in relation to those issues;

  (4) what was said by Counsel in open court in relation to those issues;

  (5) the approach, and the circumstances leading to that approach, taken by Counsel to the abuse hearing before Mr. Justice Turner, and in particular their advice on the hotel issues and on whether additional witness statements should be taken in relation to the surveillance;

  (6) the circumstances which led to the decision to abort the first trial.

  and to make recommendations".

  His Honour Gerald Butler QC has been asked to conduct that inquiry and he will report within six months.

  A summary of the report and its recommendations will be made available to the House.

  Correspondence
  Mr. Alan Williams
  To ask the Attorney-General what is the average time for a substantive reply to be sent to hon. Members' correspondence; what proportion takes more than(a) four weeks, (b) six weeks and (c) eight weeks; and what is his estimate of the number of letters received in a year from hon. Members. [92441]

  The Attorney-General
  I refer my right hon. Friend to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office to my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Gillian Merron) on 11 June 1999,Official Report, columns 403–06, which sets out performance against departmental targets for answering correspondence from right hon. and hon. Members in the 1998 calendar year. More detailed information about the percentage of correspondence replied to in the timescale specified could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Gender Impact Assessment
  Jackie Ballard
  To ask the Attorney-General if he will list the subject of each gender impact assessment drawn up by his Department since June 1997, indicating in each case whether the outcome has been(a) put out to consultation and (b) published. [92001]

  The Attorney-General
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to her today by my noble Friend the Minister for Women.

  As part of the Government's commitment to ensuring that their policies are relevant to the lives that people live today, my Departments are working with the Women's Unit to develop good practices for carrying out gender impact assessments of their policies.

DEFENCE

  Armed Forces (Under-18s)
  Mr. Stinchcombe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the UK armed forces currently serving as part of the NATO peacekeeping force in Kosovo are under 18 years of age. [87702]

  Mr. Doug Henderson
  [holding answer 22 June 1999]: As at 15 June 1999, there were eight Naval Service personnel under 18 years of age serving on ships in the Kosovo region.

  As at 1 May 1999, there were 22 Army personnel under 18 years of age deployed in the Former Yugoslavia.

  As at 15 June 1999, no RAF personnel under age 18 were deployed in the Kosovo area.

  Mr. Menzies Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many members of the British contribution to SFOR were under 18 years of age on 23 June; and in which units; [89040]

  (2) how many members of the British contribution to KFOR were under 18 years of age on 23 June; and in which units; [89042]

  (3) how many members of (a) the Royal Navy, (b) the RAF and (c) the Army committed to operations in the South Eastern Europe theatre were under 18 years of age on 23 June. [89043]

  Mr. Doug Henderson
  [holding answer 30 June 1999]: Information is not available in precisely the detail requested: data on Naval Service personnel show the numbers on ships in the Adriatic; data on Army personnel show the numbers in theatre "former Yugoslavia"; data on RAF personnel show the numbers by country.

  As at 15 June 1999, there were 8 Naval Service personnel under 18 years of age serving on ships in the Adriatic.

  As at 1 June 1999, there were 17 Army personnel under 18 years of age deployed in the former Yugoslavia.

  As at 14 June 1999, no RAF personnel under age 18 were deployed in the former Yugoslavia.

  Premature Voluntary Retirement
  Mr. Key
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel have(a) applied for and (b) been granted (i) premature voluntary retirement and (ii) purchase of their discharge, for each of the three services by rank and by length of service in each of the last five years. [91135]

  Mr. Doug Henderson
  All applications for Premature Voluntary Retirement by eligible Naval Service and RAF Officers are granted. Not all applications for Premature Voluntary Retirement by Army Officers are granted, but only figures for the number of applications granted are available centrally.

  All applications for Premature Voluntary Retirement by eligible Other Ranks in all three Services are granted.

  I am placing details of the number of Premature Voluntary Retirements from the Armed Forces over the last five years in the Library of the House. This

  613
  information is available by rank but not by length of service. Details of Premature Voluntary Retirements by Army Officers are not available for the years 1994–95 and 1995–96. The figures provided do not include Gurkhas, Royal Irish (Home Service) personnel, Locally Employed Personnel, Reservists mobilised for duties associated with Bosnia, and Full Time Reserve Service personnel.

  Officers from all three Services are no longer required to purchase their discharge. Similarly, the Naval Service and the RAF no longer require Other Ranks to purchase their discharge. Only Army Other Ranks who enlisted on Notice Engagement prior to 1 January 1991 can apply to purchase their discharge, and details of those who have done so are not held centrally.

  Land Command
  Mr. Key
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will place in the Library a copy of the Commander-in-Chief Land's paper, "Building a Career of First Choice"; and if he will make a statement; [91568]

  (2) if he will place in the Library a copy of the Land Command paper on district restructuring reference number Land G3 (0 and D) 3031/12, dated 9 July. [92021]

  Mr. Doug Henderson
  [holding answer 20 July 1999]: The paper requested is a classified document including opinion and advice about proposed establishments for Army headquarters. The document was produced to inform internal discussion and advice and so I am withholding it under exemption 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

  Ministry of Defence Police Agency
  Liz Blackman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what key targets have been set for the MOD Police Agency for the financial year 1999–2000. [92082]

  Mr. Doug Henderson
  The following Key Targets have been set for the Ministry of Defence Police Agency.To achieve 38 per cent. MDP patrol activity from those officers devoted to patrolling.
  To achieve a compliance rate 5 per cent. above the average Home Department Police Force compliance rate set for the submission of Crown Prosecution Service files.
  To achieve at least a 38 per cent. solving rate against all reported crime.
  To maintain at least a 90 per cent. satisfaction rate from victims of crime in the service provided by the MDP.
  By 31 March 2000 to develop and implement a corporate index of efficiency that will then form the baseline for year on year improvements.
  To increase to 95 per cent. the customer satisfaction rate with the service provided by Area Policing Teams.
  To monitor the scale and incidence of crime within the Defence Estate, and relate this to the pattern of MDP deployment and activity in order to develop an analysis of trends to inform the setting of targets and the matching of resources to needs in future years.
  To recruit 15 per cent. of women and 1.5 per cent. of ethnic minorities within overall MDP recruitment; and to deliver by 31 December an action plan on the Forces' response to the Macpherson Report, including the recruitment and retention of officers from ethnic minorities.

  Army Retention Study
  Mr. Key
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the terms of reference are for the Adjutant-General's Army Retention Study; and when it will be completed. [91590]

  Mr. Doug Henderson
  [holding answer 19 July 1999]: The Army's Retention Study is a 6 month strategic review to examine the effectiveness of present policies, which will include carrying out field research, and making recommendations for any improvements. The study is being carried out by Hay Management Group and the Institute for Employment Studies. The work is scheduled to be complete by 30 November 1999.

  Defence Logistics Organisations
  Mr. Jenkins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the location of the permanent headquarters of the Defence Logistics Organisation. [93064]

  Mr. Doug Henderson
  As I announced on 5 May, we have decided to base the headquarters of the Defence Logistics Organisation (DLO) at Ensleigh in Bath, subject to consultation with the Trades Unions. We have now completed this period of formal consultation. Having fully considered the Trades Unions' representations, which included no major objections, I have decided that the collocation proposal should proceed. The permanent headquarters will therefore, be based at Ensleigh with a progressive move to be completed by 1 April 2000. The headquarters will be small and strategic and the vast majority of the DLO's staff will not be directly affected. The Trades Unions will continue to be continue to be consulted during the implementation of the transition to the new headquarters.

  The chosen location is the best site to enable the Chief of Defence Ligistics to achieve real long-term gains through the business improvements in acquisition management and logistic support which his organisation will help to drive forward.

  Departmental Education and Training
  Ms Dari Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to ensure the effectiveness of education and training for individuals in his Department. [93152]

  Mr. George Robertson
  We made clear in the Strategic Defence Review the importance that we attach to education and training for all those who work in the Ministry of Defence, in line with our policy for people and the Government's commitment to lifelong learning and education.

  Education and training must be tailored to meet operational and organisation needs and delivered to the right people, at the right time and in the most cost-effective manner.

  With this in mind, I am ordering a wide-ranging, fundamental study of education and individual training in my Department. It will commence in September 1999 and is likely to take 18 months to complete. The aim will be to consider how education and training can most

  615
  effectively meet the Department's requirements for timeliness, quality, value for money, doctrine and operational effectiveness, until at least the year 2010.

  This study will involve both the Armed Forces and civilians in the Department. It will seek opportunities for further joint Service education and training and greater synergy between education and training provided for Service and civilian personnel. It will also take into account best commercial practice.

  The first phase will be a scoping study lasting approximately 6 months. It will be headed by Mr. David Fisher. This will lead into the main study which will last for approximately 12 months and be headed by Rear Admiral Jonathan Band in the rank of Vice Admiral.

  I am placing a copy of the terms of reference for the scoping study in the Library of the House.

  Correspondence
  Mr. Alan Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the average time for a substantive reply to be sent to hon. Members' correspondence; what proportion takes more than(a) four weeks, (b) six weeks and (c) eight weeks; and what is his estimate of the number of letters received in a year from hon. Members. [92449]

  Mr. Spellar
  I refer my right hon. Friend to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office to my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Gillian Merron) on 11 June 1999,Official Report, columns 403–06, which sets out performance against departmental targets for answering correspondence from right hon. and hon. Members, in the 1998 calendar year. More detailed information about the percentage of correspondence replied to within the time scales specified could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Search and Rescue
  Mr. Hancock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the cost in each of the last five years of his Department's search and rescue capability in the UK. [80713]

  Mr. Doug Henderson
  [pursuant to his reply, 16 April 1999, c. 371]I regret to inform the hon. Member that the answer I gave was incorrect. The net cost of Search and Rescue (SAR) to my Department in the last five years is as follows:

  Year

  £ million

  1995–96

  47.349

  1996–97

  49.394

  1997–98

  51.683

  1998–99

  52.444

  Figures are not readily available for financial year 1994–95, although they are not expected to differ substantially from 1995–96 (appropriately reduced to take account of inflation). The figures include the cost of spares, personnel, fuel and other support costs for all primary SAR assets, that is, RAF SAR helicopters, the RAF Mountain Rescue Service and the Aeronautical Rescue Co-ordination Centre. However, figures for assets
  616
  that perform SAR as part of their wider duties, such as RN helicopters and the RAF Nimrod, cannot be readily identified and are not included.

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

  Market Research
  Mr. Don Foster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will list the title and purpose of each item of market and opinion research commissioned by or through his Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies since May 1997 stating in each case whether or not the results were published. [89690]

  Mr. Chris Smith
  [holding answer 5 July 1999]: The Government are committed to consulting and involving the public to help inform both policy formulation and the delivery of better quality public services. Responsive public services are an important part of the Modernising Government initiative.

  My Department, Agency and sponsored bodies conduct/commission market or opinion research only when it is justified by the needs of the policy or programme and do so in the most economical, efficient and effective way to achieve the purpose.

  Details of the individual pieces of market or opinion research have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

  BBC Internet Service
  Mr. Peter Ainsworth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations he has received from the BBC regarding the provision of a free BBC internet access service; and if he will make a statement. [91432]

  Mr. Chris Smith
  [holding answer 15 July 1999]: I have received no representations from the BBC on the provision of a BBC internet access service. The BBC has, however, explained that BBC Worldwide has reached agreement with Scottish Power Telecommunications for the supply of services, including internet connectivity, other internet based services, and a telephone support service. The service supplied by Scottish Power Telecommunications will be provided to the public by BBC Worldwide under its own brands. I have been assured that this is a wholly commercial arrangement with no licence fee funding and that the BBC's commercial policy and fair trading guidelines will apply in full.

  Public Bodies
  Mr. Burstow
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will list the non-departmental public bodies in existence on 1 May 1997 that(a) have been disbanded, indicating when they were disbanded, (b) will be disbanded in the next 12 months, (c) have had their functions transferred to (i) another non-departmental public body and (ii) a democratically elected body, (d) have been renamed but continue to perform a similar role and (e) have been unchanged; if he will indicate in (c)(ii) the relevant successor body; what new non-departmental public bodies

  617
  have been established since 1 May 1997; and how many non-departmental public bodies his Department currently is responsible for. [90672]

  Mr. Chris Smith
  [holding answer 19 July 1999]: The Government are committed to keeping the number of NDPBs to a minimum and to ensuring that those which remain are open, accountable and effective. Many of the new NDPBs established since 1 May 1997 are essential in helping the Government deliver their Manifesto commitments.

  As a result of the Comprehensive Spending Review, the Department announced a streamlining of the delivery mechanisms which will result in the restructuring of certain bodies my Department sponsors including in the areas of film, architecture and museums, libraries and archives. This restructuring is currently taking place, although some aspects are subject to legislation.

  The answer is as follows:

  (a) None (but see (c)(i))

  (b) Library and Information Commission

  Museums and Galleries Commission

  Royal Fine Art Commission

  Advisory Council on Libraries (subject to legislation)

  (c)(i) Royal Commission on Historical Monuments in England merged administratively with English Heritage with effect from 1 April 1999;

  The Crafts Council ceased to be directly sponsored by my Department with effect from 1 April 1999.

  The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council will be established no later than 1 April 2000 replacing the Museums and Galleries Commission and the Library and Information Commission.

  The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment will be established during 1999–2000 taking on the functions of the Royal Fine Art Commission.

  The Film Council will be established during 1999–2000 taking on some of the functions of the British Film Institute. The British Film Institute will cease to be directly sponsored by my Department with effect from 1 April 2000.

  Advisory Committee on Historic Wreck Sites to be transferred to English Heritage (subject to legislation). (ii) None.
  (d) The Treasure Valuation Committee (formerly the Treasure Trove Reviewing Committee)1
  New Millennium Experience Company (formerly Millennium Central Ltd.)2
  English Tourism Council (formerly the English Tourist Board)
  (c) Details of all other NDPBs in existence on 1 May 1997 sponsored by this department are listed in "Public Bodies 1998".

  The following NDPBs have been established since 1 May 1997:

  (i) National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts

  (ii) New Opportunities Fund

  (ii) Football Taskforce (to be disbanded during 1999)

  (iii) Historic Royal Palaces (formerly the Historic Royal Palaces Agency)

  (v) National Lottery Commission (formerly the Office of the Director of the National Lottery).

  618
  My Department is responsible for 53 public bodies which includes executive and advisory NDPBs and public corporations.
  1 The Treasure Trove Reviewing Committee was reconstituted as the Treasure Valuation Committee in September as a result of the Treasure Act 1996.
  2 Millennium Central Ltd. was reconstituted as the New Millennium Experience Company following the review of the Millennium Dome Project by the Government during May and June 1997.

  Appointments (Quangos)
  Mr. Singh
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many appointments to quangos he made between(a) 1 June 1997 and 31 May 1998 and (b) 1 June 1998 and 31 May 1999; and in each case of those how many were members of Britain's (i) Asian and (ii) ethnic minority communities. [92138]

  Mr. Chris Smith
  The information is noted on the following table, which includes all appointments which fall under my responsibility or where my role is to advise my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and, through him, Her Majesty The Queen. Where numbers of public appointees in any category are less than five, Government policy on disclosure of the ethnic origin is not to provide this data to avoid the risk of identifying individuals without their consent.

  Total

  Asian1

  All ethnic minorities

  1 June 1997–31 May 1998

  DCMS + HMQ

  2101

  Not disclosed

  5(4.9%)

  1 June 1998–31 May 1999

  DCMS + HMQ

  3158

  5(3.1%)

  7(4.4%)

  1 Asian includes Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Chinese

  2 Includes 13 appointments where information on ethnic background is not known or where appointees have declined to disclose this information

  3 Includes 21 appointments where information on ethnic background is not known or where appointees have declined to disclose this information

  My Department has published an action plan on equal opportunities in Quangos—Opening up Public Appointments 1999–2002, which was published by the Government on 25 May 1999 and deposited in the Libraries of both Houses. The action plan sets out DCMS objectives and targets for improving representation of women, people from ethnic minority groups and from people with disabilities.

  Official Documents
  Mr. Wilshire
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will publish a list of all those official documents of the last administration which have been seen by(a) him, (b) other Ministers in his Department, (c) special advisers in his Department and (d) non-career civil servants appointed since May 1997 in his Department. [92183]

  Mr. Chris Smith
  [holding answer 20 July 1999]: A large number of official documents were generated during the period of the previous administration, many of which were published or put in the public domain. Since May 1997, the Department has been guided by the convention governing access to the papers of a

  619
  previous administration, as set out in the then Prime Minister's reply to a written question on 24 January 1980, Official Report, columns 305–07.

  Football World Cup
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what is his latest estimate of the cost to public funds of the campaign to bring the 2006 Football World Cup to the United Kingdom. [91225]

  Mr. Banks
  The Football Association advise that, up to the end of 1998, they have spent £3,053,522 on the 2006 World Cup bid, of which £1,328,404 has been provided by Sport England's Lottery Sports Fund. The total budget for the 2006 campaign is some £9.4 million.

  Correspondence
  Mr. Alan Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what is the average time for a substantive reply to be sent to hon. Members' correspondence; what proportion takes more than(a) four weeks, (b) six weeks and (c) eight weeks; and what is his estimate of the number of letters received in a year from hon. Members. [92444]

  Mr. Chris Smith
  I refer my right hon. Friend to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office to my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Gillian Men-on) on 11 June 1999,Official Report, columns 403–06, which sets out performance against departmental targets for answering correspondence from right hon. and hon. Members in the 1998 calendar year. More detailed information about the percentage of correspondence replied to within the time scales specified could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  CCTV
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 11 June 1999,Official Report, column 434, on CCTV, which cameras, other than CCTV ones, have been granted type approval for providing evidence in speeding cases; and what assessment he has made of their reliability. [91758]

  Mr. Boateng
  Before type approval is granted to a speed enforcement camera under section 20 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988, it is subject to testing to assess its accuracy and reliability. This involves testing by the police and by an independent laboratory against standards set by the Police Scientific Development Branch. Only equipment which meets such standards is granted type approval. All type-approved equipment for speed enforcement is calibrated annually and police procedures for dealing with evidence from cameras provide for further checks on the accuracy and reliability of the equipment.

  The speed cameras that have been granted type approval are:

  Gatsometer BV

  Serco Speed Enforcement System

  Truvelo Combi S

  Truvelo Combi S-mc

  620

  Speed Violation Detection Deterrent (SVDD)

  Traffiphot "S"

  Autovision 2

  Autovision 3

  Lastec

  LaserCam.

  New Deal (Young People)
  Mr. Bercow
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals his Department has recruited under the New Deal for Young People. [91887]

  Mr. Straw
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office to my hon. Friend the Member for Slough (Fiona Mactaggart) on 25 May 1999,Official Report, column 116.

  Since then, the number of people recruited to the Home Office under the New Deal for Young People has increased to five (of whom three were 18–24 years and two were 25 or over).

  Handguns Amnesty
  Mr. Alan Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with members of the Association of Chief Police Officers concerning a future amnesty for owners of illegally held handguns. [91929]

  Kate Hoey
  The Home Office is in regular contact with the Association of Chief Police Officers on a range of firearms matters. The need for a national amnesty for the owners of illegally held handguns is being assessed as part of a general amnesty for all firearms. No firm decision has yet been taken regarding timing. In the meantime, the Government will respond sympathetically to any calls from the police for local amnesties where there is a high level of community and public support.

  Keith Birchall
  Mr. Mullin
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reasons it took from January 1998 to June 1999 to decide whether Keith Birchall should be granted compensation. [91826]

  Kate Hoey
  Mr. Birchall's application for compensation for a wrongful conviction was made on 20 February 1998. In October 1997, a review had begun of the interpretation of section 133(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, which provides that compensation shall be paid where a conviction has been"reversed … on the ground that a new or newly discovered fact shows beyond reasonable doubt that there has been a miscarriage of justice".

  This review involved obtaining legal advice, consultation with other Departments and Ministers, and internal consideration. Mr. Birchall's application was one of a number that could not be determined until the review was concluded in April 1999; I am sorry that it took so long to do so.

  Justice and Victims Unit
  Mr. Mullin
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff are currently working in the Justice and Victims Unit; and what are their responsibilities. [91825]

  Mr. Boateng
  There are currently 28 staff in the Justice and Victims Unit of the Home Office. Their responsibilities are:

  A. Victims Issues, including compensation

  1. Court Compensation orders

  2. Review and oversight of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme

  3. Victims Charter

  4. Victims of crime policy issues

  5. Administration of grant to 'Victim Support'

  6. Witness support services in the Crown and Magistrates courts

  7. Administration of grant to 'Support After Murder and Manslaughter'

  B. Miscarriages of Justice

  1. Oversight of the Criminal Cases Review Commission

  2. Policy and case work relating to:

  a. Compensation for wrongful conviction or charge

  b. The exercise of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy

  3. Casework relating to alleged wrongful conviction in the Channel Islands and Isle of Man

  C. Prosecution policy; reducing delay in the criminal justice system; procedure in the magistrates courts

  1. Policy issues relating to the relationship between the police, Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the courts, and Home Office interest in the reform of the CPS

  2. Reducing delay in the criminal justice system:

  a. Narey measures, including new indictable-only procedures;

  b. Time limits on criminal proceedings

  3. Bail in criminal proceedings

  4. Policy on police cautioning of adult offenders

  5. Policy on criminal procedures in magistrates courts (adults)

  6. Criminal legal aid (Home Office interest)

  7. Crediting of remand time towards sentences

  8. Television links between courts and prisons

  D. Policy on criminal evidence and procedure in the Crown Court and Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)

  1. Procedure in the Crown Court and Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)

  2. Criminal evidence, including oaths

  3. Disclosure of prosecution material in criminal proceedings

  4. Juries, including juries in fraud trials and election for jury trial

  5. Appeals, including unduly lenient sentences

  6. Procedures for vulnerable or intimidated witnesses, including implementation of 'Speaking up for Justice' and Part II of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Bill

  7. Child witnesses (excluding child defendants)-evidence and procedure in criminal proceedings

  E. Trials Issues Group

  1. Trials Issues Group

  2. Joint Performance Management

  3. Police Prosecution File Standards

  4. National Register of Public Service Interpreters (Home Office interest).

  Criminal Justice Act 1988
  Mr. Mullin
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library a copy of the recent review of section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988. [91828]

  Kate Hoey
  This review was conducted by means of communications between Ministers and officials of various Departments, and legal advice to Ministers. The Code of Practice on Access to Government Information indicates that such internal discussion and advice is exempt from the commitment to provide information in that Code. The review did not lead to any change of policy or practice.

  Miscarriages of Justice (Compensation)
  Mr. Mullin
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many wrongfully convicted people, excluding motoring or summary offences, have been granted compensation since 1990; and what is the average time taken to process a claim. [91827]

  Kate Hoey
  There have been 154 successful applications for compensation for wrongful conviction or charge, under the statutory or the ex-gratia schemes, since 1990. (This figure excludes a large group of successful applications stemming from the quashing of a high number of convictions for drink-driving in Greater Manchester, between 1987 and 1989, but not any other motoring or summary offences.) The average time from the date of these applications to the decision to pay compensation is 210 days. Once such a decision has been taken, the time taken to make the final payment of compensation depends primarily on how quickly the successful applicant submits the full details of the claim (to allow the independent assessor to determine quantum) and accepts the subsequent award. The average time from the date of those successful applications since 1990 in respect of which a final payment has been made, to the final payment, is 895 days.

  Mr. Mullin
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department following the Bentley case, what assessment he has made of the benefits of granting compensation where miscarriage of justice has been caused by judicial error. [91797]

  Kate Hoey
  It is my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary's policy to pay compensation for a wrongful conviction caused by judicial error, under the ex-gratia arrangements announced by the then Home Secretary (Mr. Hurd) in his reply to Mr. Tim Smith on 29 November 1985,Official Report, columns 689–90, in cases where the judicial error is of an exceptional nature. The Divisional Court in the case of R v. Home Secretary ex parte Garner & Others held that it would be "a very rare case indeed" where the judicial misconduct is of the exceptional nature required to justify an ex-gratia payment.

  Special Services (Costs)
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes are proposed in the charging policy for the policing of football matches for the 1999–2000 season; how those charges are assessed; and if he will make a statement. [91915]
  623
  Kate Hoey
  It is for chief constables to decide when to charge for special services such as the policing of football matches. The scale of charges is determined by the police authority. Under Home Office guidelines, the level of charges should represent the full economic cost of providing the special service.

  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes are proposed in policing costs for road closures for sporting and public events; and if he will make a statement. [91916]

  Kate Hoey
  I understand that the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) has issued guidance that the current practice by police forces of using their powers to achieve road closures during sporting events, such as football matches and other public events, is inappropriate. The ACPO advice is that, for planned events, it would be more appropriate for the organisers to apply to the relevant local authority for a road closure order. The fees and charges involved would be a matter for the local authority to determine.

  Trial by Jury
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the percentage of cases where election is made for trial by jury and the defendant changes the plea to guilty prior to the start of the trial. [91914]

  Mr. Boateng
  Crown Prosecution Service statistics for 1998 show that 18,500 defendants elected trial in 1998 in addition to 47,185 either-way cases directed to the Crown Court by magistrates. During the same period, 76 per cent. of defendants in either-way cases pleaded guilty before the commencement of the Crown Court trial.

  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what financial savings are projected as a result of the proposed changes in the right to trial by jury. [92130]

  Mr. Boateng
  The information requested is not currently available. Detailed estimates of the costs and savings of the proposed procedure are still under consideration.

  Forum on Animal Experiments
  Dr. Starkey
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he is proposing as a follow-up to the Forum on Animal Experiments held on 11 July(a) to reduce the number of animals used in experimentation and (b) to co-ordinate research on alternatives to animal experimentation. [91918]

  Mr. George Howarth
  For the reasons I outlined in my reply to the hon. Member for Lewes (Mr. Baker) on 11 May 1998,Official Report, column 51, the total number of scientific procedures involving animals is not a true measure of the effectiveness of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. The total number of procedures is dependent on a number of factors, including the implications of scientific breakthroughs and the buoyancy of United Kingdom industry.

  We will, however, continue to work to minimise the amount of suffering caused and the number of animals used by ensuring that alternatives (which replace animal
  624
  use, reduce the number of animals needed for a particular purpose and refine protocols to lessen suffering—the 3Rs) are used wherever possible.

  Following the Forum I hosted on 9 July, I am keen to see whether it might be possible to co-ordinate more effectively the various programmes of work aimed at developing, testing or validating alternatives. I have already written to a number of colleagues in other Departments to obtain information on their funding of such work and have asked officials to write over the summer to other bodies that sponsor, commission or undertake such work, including charities, animal welfare bodies and industry. I will also be asking the Animal Procedures Committee for advice on this matter.

  Dr. Starkey
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what further meetings he is planning with animal welfare organisations, research organisations and others with an interest in animal experimentation as a follow-up to the Forum on Animal Experiments held on 11 July. [91917]

  Mr. George Howarth
  In the last 12 months, I have met with a number of such organisations and I have visited a number of establishments designated under the terms of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. I expect to continue to do so. I do, as far as possible, maintain an "open door" policy and generally find meetings with all those with an interest in the use of animals in scientific procedures to be very useful and constructive.

  1 am currently giving consideration to the possibility of holding further events, similar to the Forum, but have no firm plans at this stage.

  Police Officers (Early Retirement)
  Mr. Wyatt
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures are being taken to prevent early retirement by police officers under investigation by the Police Complaints Authority. [91836]

  Kate Hoey
  Retirement cannot take place where a police officer is suspended. Under the Police (Conduct) Regulations 1999, a chief police officer has the power to suspend an officer where there has been a complaint which indicates that the officer's conduct does not meet the standards set out in the regulations, whether or not the matter has been investigated. In the case of early retirement on ill health grounds, police authorities have discretion to delay retirement until misconduct proceedings have been concluded.

  Juvenile Secure Accommodation
  Mr. David Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 8 March 1999,Official Report, columns 28–29, concerning juvenile secure accommodation, what progress there has been on reform of juvenile secure accommodation; and if he will make a statement. The Secretary of State for the Home Department, [92120]

  Mr. Straw
  I set out our programme of reform of juvenile secure accommodation in my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Stretford and Urmston (Ms Hughes), on 29 July 1998,Official Report, columns 255–56 and to my hon. Friend, the Member for Shipley (Mr. Leslie), on 8 March 1999, Official

  625
  Report, columns 28–29. We had decided in principle that the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales should, from April 2000, become the commissioning and purchasing body for secure accommodation for children and young people on remand or under sentence. This should help to achieve the appropriate volume, type and spread of accommodation in the longer term, so that individual needs can be met more effectively.

  The Board has provided advice on how to operate this. I have placed a copy in the Library. We endorse its approach as the basis for implementing, commissioning and purchasing next April. The Board will now consult local authorities and other relevant bodies on its proposals.

  UN Conventions
  Mr. Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if Her Majesty's Government have ratified(a) the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and (b) the UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women on behalf of (1) Gibraltar, (2) Jersey, (3) Guernsey and (4) the Isle of Man; and if he will make a statement. [92100]

  Mr. George Howarth
  Her Majesty's Government has not ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) or the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) on behalf of Gibraltar, Jersey or Guernsey. The UNCRC and CEDAW were extended to the Isle of Man on 7 September 1994 and 7 May 1986 respectively.

  Appointments (Quangos)
  Mr. Singh
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many appointments to quangos he made between(a) 1 June 1997 and 31 May 1998 and (b) 1 June 1998 and 31 May 1999; and in each case of those how many were members of Britain's (i) Asian and (ii) ethnic minority communities. [92139]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  There were a total of 126 appointments made to Home Office non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) between 1 June 1997 and 31 May 1998. Six of the appointees were Asian and six were from other ethnic minority backgrounds.

  195 appointments were made to NDPBs between 1 June 1998 and 31 May 1999. Twenty-one of the appointees were Asian and 27 were from other ethnic minority communities.

  The Home Office Public Appointments Equal Opportunities Plan for 1999–2002, which was published on 25 May 1999, sets the Department the objectives of achieving 9 per cent. membership of ethnic minorities across its major public bodies (excluding the Commission for Racial Equality) and 9 per cent. for all its public appointments. On the latest available information, the figures achieved are respectively 10 per cent. and 14 per cent.

  Correspondence
  Mr. Waterson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to respond to correspondence about Mr. and Mrs. Janneh. [92029]
  626
  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  I have now written to the hon. Member.

  Mr. Alan Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average time for a substantive reply to be sent to hon. Members' correspondence; what proportion takes more than(a) four weeks, (b) six weeks and (c) eight weeks; and what is his estimate of the number of letters received in a year from hon. Members. [92454]

  Mr. Straw
  I refer my right hon. Friend to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office to my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Gillian Merron) on 11 June 1999,Official Report, columns 403–06, which sets out departmental performance against the targets set for answering correspondence from right hon. and hon. Members in the 1998 calendar year. More detailed information about the percentage of correspondence replied to within the time scales specified could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Asylum Seekers
  Mr. Coleman
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many deportation orders are outstanding against asylum seekers whose applications have been refused; and if he will list(a) how long they have been outstanding and (b) his Department's estimated timetable for when they will be carried out. [92103]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  The available information relates to persons recorded on the Immigration and Nationality Directorate's central immigration enforcement database (HOMIES) who have an unenforced deportation order outstanding against them and who have also had an asylum application initially refused. Some 1,575 such persons were recorded on HOMIES on 4 January 1999, the latest reliable snapshot figure. The breakdown by length of time since signing of the deportation order is given in the table.

  In addition to those cases where further representations are being considered or where the decision to remove is subject to legal challenge, in many of these cases the subject of the deportation order has absconded and his or her present whereabouts are unknown. In some instances, it is even possible that the individual concerned has left the country of his or her own accord without the knowledge of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate. In these circumstances, a timetable for completing the removal of the outstanding cases would have little meaning.

  Persons recorded as having a deportation order outstanding against them and having had an asylum application initially refused, by length of time since the deportation order was signed, as at 4 January 1999

  Time elapsed since deportation order signed1

  2Number of persons

  0 to 1 year

  235

  1 to 2 years

  310

  2 to 3 years

  465

  3 to 4 years

  255

  4 to 5 years

  175

  Over 5 years

  135

  Total

  1,575

  1 Time elapsed between the date the deportation order was signed and 4 January 1999, the date of the database snapshot

  2 Figures are rounded to 5

  627
  Mr. Coleman
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers who are waiting for their applications to be processed are currently held in one of Her Majesty's prisons; and if he will list(a) in which prisons they are located and (b) how long they have been in their current accommodation. [92101]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  The available information relates to the snapshot of all asylum seekers detained solely under Immigration Acts powers, at any location in the United Kingdom, as at 29 June for port applicants and 30 June for in-country applicants. 351 such persons were recorded as awaiting an initial decision on their asylum application; the lengths of time they had been continuously detained solely under Immigration Acts powers are given in the table. Regrettably, information relating specifically to asylum seekers detained in prisons is available only at disproportionate cost.

  Number of people recorded as being detained1.2 on 29 June 19993 and 30 June 19933 who were awaiting an initial asylum decision4 by length of detention5

  Length

  Number of persons

  0 to I month

  72

  1 to 2 months

  60

  2 to 6 months

  105

  6 to 12 months

  92

  Over 12 months

  22

  Total

  351

  1 Persons detained solely under the powers contained in Schedule 2 or 3 of the Immigration Act 1971.

  2 These figures are approximate because of the delay in recording receptions into, and releases from, detention and the large number of persons detained for a short period.

  3 Port figures obtained at 29 June 1999. After entry figures obtained at 30 June 1999.

  4 Principal asylum applicants only.

  5 In some cases the date a person enters detention may be understated due to the method of recording

  Mr. Coleman
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many asylum seekers who are waiting for their applications to be processed are currently being housed by local authorities in temporary accommodation in London; and if he will list the numbers in each of the boroughs; [92104]

  (2) how many children of asylum seekers who are waiting for their applications to be processed are currently in the care of local authorities. [92102]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  This information is not available to the Home Office. Currently, asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute may receive support in one of two ways. Those who apply at their port of entry are eligible for social security benefits and can find their own accommodation. Those who apply in-country may be supported by local authority social services departments under the terms of the National Assistance Act 1948 or the Children Act 1989. Asylum seekers make applications for support by local authorities direct to an individual local authority. The Home Office does not co-ordinate this information centrally.

  Corruption
  Mr. Colman
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he plans to publish the Government's628
  proposals for consolidation and amendment of the law on corruption; and what length of consultation he proposes prior to introducing legislation. [92124]

  Mr. George Howarth
  An interdepartmental Working Group is currently considering the reform of the criminal law of corruption. We expect to receive their conclusions shortly. The Government hope to publish a discussion paper towards the end of the year, and will ensure that adequate time is allowed for responses.

  First Offences
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people who appeared before magistrates courts in England and Wales were convicted on their first offence and sent to prison in 1998. [91987]

  Mr. George Howarth
  Estimates from the criminal histories of offenders in 1997 showed that there were around 3,700 people who appeared before magistrates courts in England and Wales who were given an immediate custodial sentence on their first court appearance for a standard list offence.

  Compulsory Voting
  Mr. Love
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list and publish the research he has commissioned into the practice of compulsory voting in other countries; and if he will make a statement; [92132]

  (2) what plans he has to increase public awareness of the issues raised by compulsory voting; and if he will make a statement. [92131]

  Mr. George Howarth
  The Government are aware of academic research which has been published on voting practices in other jurisdictions, including compulsory voting, but has not commissioned any direct research on the subject. My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has welcomed the recommendation by the Home Affairs Select Committee in its report on Electoral Administration and Law, published last year, that there should be a public debate on this subject, but we have no present plans to mount any public awareness campaigns on the issue.

  Prisons (Health Care)
  Mr. Hesford
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when the(a) Joint Prison Health Policy Unit and (b) Joint Prison Health Care Task Force was established; [92198]

  (2) if he will list the members of (a) the Joint Prison Health Policy Unit and (b) the Joint Prison Health Care Task Force. [92209]

  Mr. George Howarth
  Following the review on the future organisation of prisoners' health care, my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary announced in a reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Basildon (Angela Smith) on 29 March 1999,Official Report, columns 556–58, that a Joint Prison Health Policy Unit and a Joint Prison Health Care Task Force would be established in the course of 1999.

  To enable an early start to be made with prison health reform, acting appointments to the positions of head of the Prison Health Care Task Force and Prison Health

  629
  Policy Unit were made on 14 July 1999. Mr. Peter Coe is leading the Task Force, and Dr. Michael Longfield the Policy Unit, pending substantive appointments to be made following an open competition. Both posts are being advertised in the course of July 1999. Other staff appointments are expected to be made in the course of this autumn.

  Official Documents
  Mr. Wilshire
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish a list of all those official documents of the last Administration which have been seen by(a) him, (b) other Ministers in his Department, (c) special advisers in his Department and (d) non-career civil servants appointed since May 1997 in his Department. [92175]

  Mr. Straw
  [holding answer 20 July 1999]: A large number of official documents were generated during the period of the previous Administration, many of which were published or put in the public domain. Since May 1997, the Department has been guided by the convention governing access to the papers of a previous Administration, as set out in the then Prime Minister's reply to a written question on 24 January 1980, Official Report, columns 305–07.

  Immigration and Nationality Directorate
  Mr. Gapes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on changes in the membership of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate Complaints Audit Committee. [92878]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  Ms Mercy Jeyasingham has been appointed as a new Member of the Complaints Audit Commission to replace Blair Greaves, whose five-year appointment has come to an end. Ms Jeyasingham is the Chief Executive of the Association for All Speech Impaired Children. She was formerly the Director of Education and Information at the National Eczema Society and the Head of Care Standards at Hammersmith and Fulham Social Services.

  Forensic Science Service
  Gillian Merron
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he plans to lay before Parliament the Annual Report for the Forensic Science Service. [92877]

  Mr. Straw
  I have today laid before Parliament copies of the Forensic Science Service's (FSS) Annual Report and Accounts for 1998–99.

  The FSS met its financial target to recover its full costs and widened its accreditation through external bodies. However, it did fail to achieve the efficiency gain target and service delivery target. This was a challenging year for the FSS—expanding its work force by 400 and absorbing the associated recruitment and training costs. This is part of a two-year strategy to increase the capacity of the FSS to meet demand and eliminate backlogs of certain types of scientific work. The targets and plans agreed for 1998–99 were ambitious, and while the FSS failed to achieve two key targets mentioned above, it has already demonstrated a rapid improvement in quality of service during the latter part of 1998–99 and early
  630
  1999–2000. I am confident that this, and the move to Trading Fund from 1 April 1999, should be the springboard for further successes.

  The targets for 1999–2000, the agency's first year of trading fund, are:

  FSS Agency targets 1999–2000

  Targets

  1. Financial indicators

  Return on capital employed

  Minimum 3 per cent.

  Efficiency gain (three year rolling target)

  Minimum 10 per cent.

  2. Quality of Service indicators

  Turnaround time

  24 days

  Achieve 90 per cent, agreed delivery dates

  3. Milestone targets

  Put in place service level agreements with

  Put in place routine and robust customer police forces satisfaction measurement processes

  4. Quality indicators

  Maintain external quality accreditation

  Tote
  Mr. Laurence Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the amount to be received by the Exchequer from the sale of the Tote. [R] [91095]

  Mr. George Howarth
  No estimate of this kind has yet been made. Further work is currently being undertaken to determine the best method for a sale of the Tote. Until that is completed, we shall not be in a position to indicate how the sale proceeds will be allocated.

  Fox Hunting
  Mr. David Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foxes he estimates have been killed as a result of hunting with dogs in each of the last 10 calendar years by hunts based in(a) the county of Leicestershire, (b) the East Midlands and (c) England. [91822]

  Mr. George Howarth
  The information requested is not collected centrally.

TREASURY

  Structural Funds
  Mr. Alan W. Williams
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will review the Departmental Expenditure Limit for the Welsh Office for 2000–01 to take into account recent decisions on structural funds. [91107]

  Mr. Milburn
  No. The National Assembly for Wales Departmental Expenditure Limit for 2000–01 was fixed in last year's CSR and is not open to review.

  Married Couples Allowance
  Mr. Gerald Howarth
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on his plans for the married couples allowance. [91108]
  631
  Dawn Primarolo
  The recent Budget contained a generous package of tax and benefit reforms designed to target more help to families with children. As part of this package, the married couples allowance and related reliefs—which were not fulfilling their purpose—will be replaced by a new children's tax credit worth up to £416.

  Low-income Families
  Mr. Best
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures he has put in place to help working families on low incomes. [91109]

  Mr. Healey
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures he plans to increase the net income of people in low-paid work. [91116]

  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on progress with his plans to help working families on low incomes. [91128]

  Ms Stuart
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to help working families on low incomes. [91098]

  Mrs. Roche
  In October, we are introducing the Working Families Tax Credit with the new, generous child care tax credit. It will benefit nearly 1.5 million families on low incomes, almost twice as many as under the old system, and around 3 million children. It will provide a Minimum Guaranteed Income for a family with someone in full time work of £200 a week—£80 more than they would receive on Income Support. On average, families will gain £24 per week.

  Together with the National Minimum Wage, the largest ever increase in Child Benefit, and tax and NICs reform, the WFTC will help lift around 800,000 children out of poverty.

  The WFTC is a central part of a programme of extra support for families being delivered by the Government: by the end of this Parliament we will be spending an extra £6 billion a year on Britain's 13.8 million children.

  Pollution
  Mr. Baker
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to ascribe an economic value to pollution. [91110]

  Ms Hewitt
  Government guidance on appraisal and evaluation encourages the valuation of all costs and benefits where possible, and qualitative assessment of those costs and benefits where monetary valuation is not practicable.

  Windfall Tax
  Mrs. Organ
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the use made of the funds raised by the Windfall Tax; and what further plans he has for their use. [91111]

  Mrs. Roche
  The Windfall Tax has enabled the Government to embark on the New Deal—the biggest ever programme to get unemployed and economically inactive people into work. The Windfall Tax has also enabled the Government to inject much-needed capital 632
  into over 10,000 schools across the country, enhancing our drive to raise pupil standards so that children begin to acquire the skills they will need to succeed later in life.

  Early findings on the New Deal for Young People are largely positive, but we will need to wait for further evaluation in the Autumn to provide more accurate figures. The latest figures for young people show that 105,000 young people have secured jobs through the New Deal and a further 89,000 are gaining valuable training experience through one of the other options.

  The Government have constantly extended and developed programmes under the New Deal since taking office. Its purpose is to give people new hope and new chances, and a route out of poverty and benefit dependency. This principle will guide future policy development, as resources allow.

  Mr. David Taylor
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what further plans he has for the use of the proceeds of the windfall tax. [91105]

  Mr. Gordon Brown
  The Windfall Tax, which raised £5.2 billion, has enabled the Government to embark upon the New Deal—the biggest ever programme to get the unemployed into work. Over 284,000 have now entered the New Deal on the young persons scheme, and there are nearly 100,000 of the long-term unemployed. The Windfall Tax has also enabled the Government to put much-needed capital investment into over 10,000 schools. We will launch the New Deal for the over-50s in the autumn. Therefore, we are continuing to expand the New Deal over the next few months.

  Travel (Low Income Groups)
  Mr. Peter Bradley
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the proportion of income spent on travel by low income groups in(a) urban and (b) rural areas; and if he will estimate the percentage of that expenditure which was accounted for by the fuel duty escalator since its introduction. [91113]

  Ms Hewitt
  The latest available data on household spending patterns by gross income decile group are published in tables 1.1 to 1.3 of Family Spending 1997–98. For those households in the lowest gross income decile, approximately 12 per cent. of gross income was spent on motoring, fares and other travel costs. Approximately 0.5 of a per cent. of gross income was spent on the amount of fuel duty attributable to the fuel duty escalator. Separate estimates for urban and rural areas are not available.

  Hypothecation
  Dr. Tony Wright
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his policy is on introducing hypothecation into the tax system. [91115]

  Dawn Primarolo
  In general, the Government determines their expenditure according to need, not according to the sources of their revenue. However, we will continue to look at each case on its merits.

  Budget Statement
  Mr. Bill O'Brien
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received over the proposals in his Budget statement of 9 March relating to work; and if he will make a statement. [91120]
  633
  Mrs. Roche
  Treasury Ministers have received a number of representations. Measures announced in the Budget will provide a better deal for working people. From October, every family with children and with full-time earnings will have a minimum income guarantee of £200 per week under the Working Families Tax Credit. People in work will have seen the gains from the new 10p rate of Income Tax in their May pay packets, and, from next April, the basic rate will be cut to 22p to reward work and ensure working families are better off. Over 450,000 people have already benefited from the New Deal and over 130,000 have found jobs.

  Bank of England
  Mr. McNulty
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on his policy of independence for the Bank of England. [91121]

  Ms Hewitt
  Many groups have commented and made representations to the Government on the monetary policy framework, of which the great majority have welcomed the Chancellor's decision to grant the Bank of England more independence. Because we have given the Bank of England operational responsibility to set interest rates to pursue the Government's inflation target, the public can be confident that low inflation will be delivered in practice. Inflation is currently close to target and expected to remain so.

  Community Initiatives
  Mr. Sheerman
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what tax incentives he has proposed to encourage businesses to support community initiatives. [91122]

  Mrs. Roche
  There is already a wide range of tax incentives to encourage businesses to support community initiatives, and many businesses make use of them.

  This Government are considering as part of the Review of Charity Taxation how the tax system can best encourage businesses to support charitable causes. As part of this review, we issued a consultation document on Budget day which set our various proposals for further discussion, inviting responses by 31 August 1999.

  EU Anti-fraud Office
  Mr. Ben Chapman
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the role of the EU Anti-fraud Office. [91123]

  Ms Hewitt
  The ECOFIN Council adopted a Regulation on 25 May regarding a new European Anti-fraud Office which will be operationally independent within the Commission. The Office was established on 1 June. The final form of Office is in line with the Chancellor's initiative at the January ECOFIN Council.

  The Office will be responsible for investigating fraud in the Community institutions and recommending follow-up action to be taken as a result of its investigations. It will also assist member states to co-ordinate anti-fraud work in respect of the EU budget and contribute to the design and development of methods of fighting fraud and other illegal activity.

  Working Families Tax Credit
  Mr. Lock
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress he is making with the implementation of the Working Families Tax Credit. [91124]

  Dawn Primarolo
  The Working Families Tax Credit will be introduced from October 5 this year, providing much needed assistance to an additional 500,000 low and middle-income families. The Tax Credits Act 1999, which will bring WFTC into existence, received Royal Assent on 30 June.

  Growth Forecast
  Mr. Amess
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received about his latest forecast for growth. [91125]

  Ms Hewitt
  The Chancellor of the Exchequer receives numerous representations on all aspects of UK economic developments, including growth prospects.

  Employment Growth
  Mr. Gapes
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he next plans to meet EU Finance Ministers to discuss prospects for growth in employment in Europe. [91127]

  Ms Hewitt
  To help promote best practice and job creation throughout Europe, the Chancellor will be discussing with other EU Finance Ministers Employment Guidelines for 2000 at ECOFIN on 8 November.

  Health Insurance
  Mr. Efford
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will introduce an ombudsman for individuals denied payments by permanent health insurers under the powers invested in him by the Insurance Companies Act 1982; and if he will make a statement. [91129]

  Ms Hewitt
  There are currently (i) a non-statutory Insurance Ombudsman, (ii) a Personal Insurance Arbitration Service and (iii) a Personal Investment Authority Ombudsman. To simplify redress for consumers, the Financial Services and Markets Bill provides for the establishment of a single Ombudsman Scheme. In establishing that scheme, the Financial Services Authority will be able to specify the types of activities, carried on by authorised persons, which fall within its remit. We envisage that will include complaints relating to Permanent Health Insurers.

  EU (Payments)
  Sir Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the(a) gross and (b) net amount paid to the EU in the most recent calendar year for which figures are available. [91130]

  Mr. Milburn
  Details of the United Kingdom's gross and net contributions to the EC Budget for the 1998 calendar year are set out in Table 3 of the White Paper "European Community Finances" (Cm 4382).

  Resource Accounting
  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the implications of moving to Resource Accounting for public borrowing for investment. [91112]

  Mr. Milburn
  Our plans for public borrowing for investment are defined by the fiscal rules that will continue to be adhered to. Forecasts for net investment and net borrowing are as set out in the Financial Statement and Budget Report. The move to Resource Accounting and Budgeting will ensure that the full economic costs of capital are properly measured and provide the correct incentives to manage capital properly once purchased.

  Regional Development Agencies
  Dr. George Turner
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to consult Regional Development Agencies in the preparation of his economic targets. [91126]

  Ms Hewitt
  The Regional Development Agencies will be producing their first Regional Economic Strategies by the autumn, and these will be updated over time. The Government have asked that the strategies include a clear analysis of the regional economy. This will provide the Treasury with information which will contribute to the development of Government economic policy.

  Private Finance Initiative
  Ms Lawrence
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will respond to the reviews undertaken by Sir Malcolm Bates and Peter Gershon, examining, respectively, the conduct of the Private Finance Initiative and Civil Procurement; and if he will make a statement. [93099]

  Mr. Milburn
  I am today placing in the Library of the House copies of Sir Malcolm Bates' Report and Peter Gershon's Report. We have accepted in full all the recommendations and our plans for taking forward these are set out in a document "Modern Government, Modern Procurement" which has also been placed in the Library.

  Gibraltar
  Mr. Gill
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on progress towards Gibraltar becoming passported to provide banking services. [88848]

  Ms Hewitt
  HMG intend to approve shortly the passporting of banking services into the UK by Gibraltar-based credit institutions.

  Appointments (Quangos)
  Mr. Singh
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many members of Britain's(a) ethnic minority communities and (b) Asian community he appointed to quangos between (i) 1 June 1997 and 31 May 1998 and (ii) 1 June 1998 and 31 May 1999; [92116]

  (2) how many appointments to quangos he made between (i) 1 June 1997 and 31 May 1998 and (ii) 1 June 1998 and 31 May 1999. [92045]
  636
  Ms Hewitt
  The Government announced in their publication "Quangos: Opening up Public Appointment 1999–2002" (copies deposited in the Libraries of both Houses) their commitment to the equal representation of women and men in public appointments and a pro rata representation of members of ethnic minority groups. In moving towards achieving these commitments, the Chancellor's departments have set an ambitious overall goal that each of the Chancellor's departments' public bodies should include at least one appointment from a member of the ethnic minorities by 2003, and that ethnic minorities should account for a minimum of 4 per cent. of appointments to larger bodies. In 1998, about 5.4 per cent. of all appointments by the Chancellor's departments and agencies were held by members of the ethnic minorities.

  The table gives details of those appointments made to NDPB's of the Chancellor's departments and agencies over the periods requested. Information on the number of appointments by ethnic origin cannot be provided since the number of new appointees in each category is less than five:

  Appointments

  NDPB

  1 June 1997 to 31 May 1998

  1 June 1999 to 31 May 1999

  Policyholders Protection Board

  4

  1

  Royal Mint Advisory Committee

  3

  2

  Statistics Advisory Committee

  2

  0

  Official Documents
  Mr. Wilshire
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a list of all those official documents of the last Administration which have been seen by(a) him, (b) other Ministers in his Department, (c) special advisers in his Department and (d) non-career civil servants appointed since May 1997 in his Department. [92169]

  Ms Hewitt
  [holding answer 20 July 1999]: A large number of official documents were generated during the period of the previous Administration, many of which were published or put in the public domain. Since May 1997, HM Treasury has been guided by the convention governing access to the papers of a previous Administration, as set out in the Prime Minister's reply to a written question on 24 January 1980, Official Report, columns 305–07.

  Correspondence
  Mr. Alan Williams
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the average time for a substantive reply to be sent to hon. Members' correspondence; what proportion takes more than(a) four weeks, (b) six weeks and (c) eight weeks; and what is his estimate of the number of letters received in a year from hon. Members. [92457]

  Ms Hewitt
  I refer my right hon. Friend to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office to the hon. Member for Lincoln (Gillian Merron) on 11 June 1999,Official Report, columns 403–06, which sets out the performance against departmental targets for answering correspondence from right hon. and hon. Members in the 1998 calendar year. More detailed

  637
  information about the percentage of correspondence replied to within the time scales specified could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Monetary Policy
  Mrs. Anne Campbell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the conduct of monetary policy since May 1997. [91118]

  Mr. Milburn
  The new monetary policy framework has enhanced the credibility and transparency of monetary policy and is delivering results: inflation is low and close to target, inflation expectations have fallen and long-term interest rates and mortgage rates are at their lowest for over 30 years.

  Inland Revenue (Bournemouth)
  Mr. Chope
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reason the Bournemouth office of the Inland Revenue is described as Inland Revenue South East. [92411]

  Dawn Primarolo
  The two Inland Revenue offices in Bournemouth are called Bournemouth 1 & 2 and are within the area of responsibility of the Director of the Inland Revenue South East Regional Executive Office.

  Financial Services
  Ms Keeble
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to ensure access to financial services in poorer communities. [91119]

  Ms Hewitt
  We are studying the reports of the two Treasury-led Policy Action teams, established following the September 1998 report of the Social Exclusion Unit, "Bringing Britain together".

  Organic Farming
  Joan Ruddock
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people were employed in the organic farming and foods sector in(a) 1997–98 and (b) 1998–99; and how many are forecast to be employed in 1999–2000. [92094]

  Mr. Morley
  I have been asked to reply.

  The information is not available in the form requested. However, our records show that in 1997–98, 292 farmers in the UK had land registered as organic or in conversion to organic farming. The equivalent figures for 1998–99 and to date for 1999–2000 are 733 and 1,165.

HEALTH

  Prescription Costs
  Mr. Hammond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the average total cost per item, net of VAT, dispensed during the most recent year for which figures are available for(a) prescriptions issued by dispensing doctors and (b) prescriptions issued by prescribing doctors. [87967]

  Mr. Denham
  The information requested is not available centrally.

  Support Services
  Dr. Fox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the terms of reference for the current review of market testing of support services for NHS support services; when the review will be completed; if he will publish the results and conclusions of the review; and if he will make a statement. [89818]

  Mr. Denham
  The key results and conclusions of the National Health Service Executive internal review of market testing will be included within new guidance on NHS support services which will be published later this year.

  Consultant Charges
  Mr. Gibb
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if consultant surgeons and other consultants working in the private sector are obliged to publish their charging arrangements; and what assessment he has made of the extent of differential pricing for operations and consultations charged to insurance compared with charges made directly to patients. [91275]

  Mr. Denham
  Consultants working in private sector healthcare are not obliged to publish their charges and are free to charge whatever they wish and to offer preferential rates if they see fit to do so. The Department has no powers to intervene in contracts outside the National Health Service.

  Gender Impact Assessment
  Jackie Ballard
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the subject of each gender impact assessment drawn up by his Department since June 1997, stating in each case whether the outcome has been(a) put out to consultation and (b) published. [91680]

  Ms Jowell
  The Government are committed to ensuring their policies are fair and inclusive and responsive to this issue. This aim is contained in guidance (published 1998) which helps Departments consider the impact of their policies on women and other groups, and is a cornerstone of the Modernising Government White Paper.

  The Women's Unit undertook to supplement this general guidance by developing more specific guidelines for policy makers on how to consider the needs and requirements of women.

  A cross-departmental project led by the Women's Unit will produce these guidelines by drawing together principles of good practice and will illustrate their application through a series of case studies.

  Final guidelines on gender impact appraisal together with a project report and the progress being made by Departments to assess the impact of their policies on women will be circulated to Government Departments and placed in the Library when complete.

  Progress will also be reflected in future Modernising Government milestone reports.

  Invoice Payments
  Mr. Hammond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the performance of NHS trusts in complying with Government targets on payment of invoices. [91723]
  639
  Mr. Denham
  The Public Sector Payments Policy (PSPP) target is for 95 per cent. of bills to be paid within contract terms or 30 days where no terms have been agreed.

  National Health Service performance in paying bills promptly has improved significantly over the last few years. Currently the NHS pays 83 per cent. of its bills within 30 days—85 per cent. if the value of bills is taken into account. This is a significant improvement on the 79 per cent. performance reported in 1997–98.

  NHS Executive regional offices monitor closely the PSPP performance of individual NHS trusts and work with poor performing NHS Trusts to improve compliance with the policy.

  Children in Care
  Mr. Love
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what records are kept of the drugs administered to children in care; and if he will make a statement; [91714]

  (2) in what circumstances a parent of a child in care may refuse prescribed medical treatment for the child; and if he will make a statement; [91715]

  (3) what safeguards are in place to ensure that children in care are protected from receiving (a) inappropriate medical treatment and (b) incorrect prescribing of drug treatment; and if he will make a statement. [91716]

  Mr. Hutton
  Whenever possible, children placed in local authority care should be given a medical examination and a written health assessment before they are placed. A child should then be medically examined every six months up to the age of two, and at least every twelve months thereafter. Once assessed, the medical needs of children in local authority care should be set out in the general care plan for each child. Children would be registered with a general practitioner and any necessary medical treatment and drug prescribing would be carried out under the supervision and guidance of the child's general practitioner or, if a child is in a hospital, under the supervision and guidance of the appropriate hospital medical staff.

  Details have to be kept of all medicinal products administered to children placed in a residential home, and by whom they are administered. This must be recorded in writing on each occasion in a central record and on the child's individual record. Where a medicinal product may not be safely self-administered by a child it should be undertaken only by a member of staff of the home or by a doctor or nurse. Children aged 16 and over are in general entrusted with the retention and administration of their own medication, and should be provided with a secure place to keep medication.

  Children of 16 and 17 are entitled to consent on their own behalf to medical treatment, as are those under 16 who have sufficient understanding of what is proposed. Where a child is subject to a care order, the local authority acquires parental responsibility for the child and may consent to treatment on behalf of the child, including in circumstances where the child's parent has refused to consent.

  Nurse Consultants
  Mr. Swayne
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is his target for the recruitment of nurse consultants; what estimate he has made of the impact on NHS employment costs of this initiative; and if he will make a statement. [91543]

  Mr. Denham
  It will be for National Heath Service bodies to determine the number of nurse, midwife and health visitor consultants they wish to employ. Terms and conditions of employment are being negotiated and we will issue guidance to the NHS about establishment of such posts when these have been completed.

  Student Nurses (Greater London)
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many student nurses are working at NHS hospitals within the Greater London area. [91773]

  Mr. Denham
  There are currently 9,972 whole time equivalent nurses and midwifes studying for degrees or diplomas within London. During their period of training, a student nurse or midwife would either be on a clinical placement or in a university carrying out academic work.

  Cancer Care
  Mr. Love
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has commissioned on the impact on cancer services(a) in Greater London and (b) the South East of the decision to designate St. Bartholomew's as a cancer centre; when the research will be published; and if he will make a statement. [91780]

  Mr. Denham
  The National Health Service Executive's London Regional Office is undertaking a review of the planned commissioning of cancer services in North East and North Central London. The review forms part of the assessment of the current development programmes at Bartholomew's and The London NHS Trust, University College London Hospitals NHS Trust and Havering Hospitals NHS Trust. Ministers will receive a report upon the review's completion.

  Mr. Paul Marsden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the Government bodies involved in formulating cancer care policies and strategies, with a brief outline of each organisation's work; and if he will make a statement. [92036]

  Mr. Hutton
  We recognise the importance of seeking expert advice to assist in the development of policy for cancer detection and care. The National Cancer Forum has been established to advise on the on-going implementation of the Policy Framework for Commissioning Cancer Services. It includes leading cancer clinicians, specialist nurses, representatives from cancer research, voluntary and patient organisations, and regional National Health Service representation. The National Cancer Forum is chaired by the Chief Medical Officer.

  The Cancer Care Action Group is a forum which brings together a larger group of voluntary organisations with the NHS Executive regional structure. It is chaired by the Chief Nursing Officer and its role is to advise, and make recommendations to the National Cancer Forum, on key issues on developments in cancer and palliative care

  641
  policy at a national level and the implications for voluntary sector organisations, and to represent those with cancer and their carers in so doing.

  The United Kingdom National Screening Committee, chaired by Dr. Henrietta Campbell, Chief Medical Officer for Northern Ireland, advises UK Health Ministers about the introduction, modification or withdrawal of national screening programmes. The Advisory Committee on Breast Cancer Screening and the Advisory Committee on Cervical Screening are both currently chaired by Professor Martin Vessey. Their role is to advise on the development of the breast and cervical screening programmes. The Advisory Committee on Cancer registration advises on the strategy and development of the national cancer registration scheme.

  Acute Care
  Mr. Norman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is set by the NHS as the minimum acceptable(a) distance between hospital beds in acute care wards and (b) accommodation space per patient in acute care wards. [91934]

  Mr. Denham
  Health Building Note (HBN) No. 4 "Adult Acute Wards" (1990) stipulates a minimum requirement for bed space (in multi-bedded wards) as 2900 mm x 2500 mm. More recent guidance published in 1995 in HBN 40 volume 2 indicates that this should be increased to 2900 mm x 2700 mm to reflect the increasing use of hoists, extra space around the bed for access and movement and in recognition of the space needs for those who depend on walking frames and wheelchairs to assist mobility.

  Accommodation space per patient in an acute ward will vary depending on several factors, eg the mix of single rooms with en-suite facilities and multi-bedded bays, the extent of support area provided, the physical layout of the ward and the total number of beds.

  HBN 4 provides a notional figure of 23.96 square metres per bed.

  HBN 4 and HBN 40 are available in the Library.

  Mr. Norman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is(a) the minimum acceptable provision of bath facilities in an acute care hospital ward and (b) the maximum acceptable number of patients per bath and per toilet facility. [91933]

  Mr. Denham
  Health Building Note (HBN) 4, "Adult Acute Wards" (1990), recommends one bathroom and one assisted bathroom for 24 or 28 bedded wards.

  HBN 4 also includes a schedule of accommodation that indicates two bathrooms to 28 patients, one being an assisted bath, but that basic ratio would need to be considered by planners in the light of the specific medical requirements of the ward.

  More single bedrooms with en-suite facilities are being provided in new ward accommodation and this will affect the general level of toilet provision. HBN 4 schedule of accommodation indicates a ratio of one toilet to 3.5 patients in a 24 bedded ward which has 3 single rooms with en-suite facilities.

  Copies of HBN 4 are available in the Library

  Ambulance Travel Times
  Mr. Norman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of the population has a blue light ambulance travel time greater than 40 minutes from home to the nearest accident and emergency department. [91976]

  Mr. Denham
  The information requested is not available centrally.

  Beta Interferon
  Mr. Todd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients are recorded as having been prescribed beta interferon through the NHS for the latest period for which data is available. [91876]

  Mr. Denham
  The information requested is not available. Beta interferon is mainly prescribed and dispensed within hospitals. Hospital dispensing data, and the number of patients for whom drugs are prescribed, are not held centrally.

  Patient Survey
  Mr. Paul Marsden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if patient groups were consulted on the development of the NHS survey of patients; and if he will make a statement. [92050]

  Mr. Denham
  A reference group, including representatives from the National Consumer Council, community health councils and the College of Health has advised on the general population and coronary heart disease surveys. A separate working group, including a number of cancer patient bodies, is currently working with the National Health Service Executive on the best approach to surveying patients with cancer. Qualitative research to establish the views of patients has also been undertaken in designing each of the surveys.

  Mr. Paul Marsden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps were taken to ensure that a fair representation of minority groups, with particular reference to(a) ethnic minorities, (b) those with sight and hearing difficulties and (c) those with learning difficulties, were included in the NHS survey of patients. [92049]

  Mr. Denham
  The patient survey questionnaire was issued to respondents drawn from the electoral roll. A comparison with independent data sources on a range of variables—such as ethnicity, social class, economic activity, and household composition—confirmed that the sample was nationally representative. A helpline was set up by the consortium administering the survey specifically to assist people who may have had difficulty in completing the questionnaire.

  Code of Practice on Openness
  Mr. Paul Marsden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the Code of Practice on Openness in the NHS is distributed and made accessible to the general public; and if he will make a statement. [92037]

  Mr. Denham
  A leaflet for the public which summarises the Code of Practice on Openness in the National Health Service is widely available on NHS premises and in general practitioners' surgeries.
  643
  Copies of the Code of Practice on Openness itself are available to any member of the public, on request from the Department or any NHS trust or health authority.

  NHS Direct
  Mr. Paul Marsden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the NHS Direct service will be available to the public in Shropshire; and if he will make a statement. [92040]

  Mr. Denham
  The roll-out of NHS Direct in the West Midlands Region is proceeding according to plan and NHS Direct will be available in the whole of the region by the end of the year 2000. Shropshire Health Authority, working closely with local stakeholders including general practitioners, is contributing to the planning of the provision of NHS Direct in the area, and this work is currently progressing well.

  Patient Information
  Mr. Paul Marsden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the new guidance from the General Medical Council on patient information; and if he will make a statement. [91982]

  Mr. Denham
  The General Medical Council (GMC) consulted the Department in the course of developing new guidance on "Confidentiality: Providing and Protecting Information". The guidance, which updates previous guidance issued by the GMC, provides helpful clarity on a number of issues that are of concern to the medical profession.

  Antibiotics
  Mr. Paul Marsden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment of risk to human health he has made of the use of antibiotics used as growth promoters in farm animal food products; and if he will make a statement. [92038]

  Ms Jowell
  The Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food's (ACMSF) report on microbial antibiotic resistance in relation to food safety will be published shortly. The use of antibiotics as growth promoters is one of the topics covered in the report. Both the Veterinary Products Committee and the ACMSF have taken public health concerns into account when advising the Government on the use of antibiotics as growth promoters.

  National Electronic Library for Health
  Mr. Paul Marsden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how patients and members of the public will be consulted on the development of the National Electronic Library for Health; and if he will make a statement. [91985]

  Mr. Denham
  The National Electronic Library for Health is one of the major initiatives highlighted in the new National Health Service Information Strategy "Information for Health", which places great importance on information for the public. The National Electronic Library for Health project team is working closely with the NHS Direct initiative and the Centre for Health Information Quality to ensure that the Library properly addresses patient information needs. The project team 644
  receives feedback from the public and patient interest groups through those initiatives, and from clinicians and information specialists who work directly with the public.

  In addition, a colloquium on the interests of patients, carers, service users and the public was held on 21 April 1999. This was attended by representatives of Community Health Councils, voluntary groups and patient self help groups. There is also a public website on the internet at http://www.nelh.nhs.uk which describes the proposed strategy for the Library in detail.

  Appointments (Quangos)
  Mr. Singh
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many members of Britain's(a) ethnic minority communities and (b) Asian community he appointed to quangos between (i) 1 June 1997 and 31 May 1998 and (ii) 1 June 1998 and 31 May 1999; [92117]

  (2) how many appointments to quangos he made between (i) 1 June 1997 and 31 May 1998 and (ii) 1 June 1998 and 31 May 1999. [92046]

  Mr. Denham
  The information requested is given in the tables. The Department's most recently set goals and objectives for ensuring recruitment from all sections of society were published by the Government on 25 May in "Quangos: Opening Up Public Appointments 1999–2002" copies of which are available in the Library.

  Appointments to NHS Boards and NDPBs

  Appointments made during the period 1 June 1997 to 31 May 1998 Ethnic

  White

  minority2

  Asian3

  Total

  NHS Boards1

  968

  114

  53

  1,082

  NDPBs

  137

  24

  11

  161

  Total

  1,105

  138

  64

  1,243

  Appointments made during the period 1 June 1998 to 31 May 1999 Ethnic

  White

  minority2

  Asian3

  Total

  NHS Boards3

  1,243

  179

  78

  1,422

  NDPBs

  117

  15

  6

  132

  Total

  1,360

  194

  84

  1,554

  1 Does not include three month health authority re-appointments made on 1 April 1998.

  2 Includes those from the Asian community.

  3 Made up of the ethnic categories of Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Chinese.

  Pontefract and Pinderfields Hospitals
  Mr. Trickett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will provide guidance to Wakefield Health Authority in relation to their next strategic outline case for capital finance for Pontefract and Pinderfields Hospitals. [92065]

  Mr. Denham
  On 16 July 1999 senior officers of the National Health Service Executive met the chief executives of the Wakefield Health Authority and the Pinderfields and Pontefract Hospitals National Health Service Trust. Items discussed included how the Wakefield Health Authority might progress its case for new capital finance.

  Health Authority Finance
  Mr. Trickett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on his Department's timetable for the next round of health authority bids for capital finance. [92097]

  Mr. Denham
  An announcement will be made in due course on the timing of future waves of capital prioritisation.

  Clinical Negligence
  Mr. Malins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 2 July 1999,Official Report, columns 399–400, on clinical negligence, what was the nature of the comparison made by the NHS Executive between the costs of commercial versus public sector insurance for clinical negligence risks; when it was carried out; what was the indicative margin between NHS-provided clinical negligence insurance premiums and comparable commercial cover; and if he will list the features of NHS-provided clinical negligence cover that cannot be provided by commercial insurers. [92108]

  Mr. Denham
  [holding answer 20 July 1999]: The decision to establish the clinical negligence scheme for NHS trusts as a voluntary risk pooling scheme took account of the fact that no established commercial insurance arrangements were available for clinical negligence. As I said in my answer of 2 July 1999, Official Report, columns 399–400, the NHS Executive has consistently discouraged trusts from using commercial insurance for clinical negligence risks on value for money grounds.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the cost to the NHS of clinical negligence claims, indicating separately the cost of legal fees, for 1997–98; and what is the estimated cost for 1998–99. [92112]

  Mr. Denham
  Clinical negligence costs charged to expenditure in the 1997–98 summarised accounts for the National Health Service in England amounted to £144 million. Information on the cost of legal fees is not available. Accounts for 1998–99 are not yet available.

  Mr. Oaten
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was paid by NHS trusts in premiums for clinical negligence cover through the clinical negligence scheme for trusts for the latest year for which data is available. [92305]

  Mr. Denham
  The amount charged to National Health Service trusts in 1998–99 was approximately £15.2 million.

  Official Documents
  Mr. Wilshire
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish a list of all those official documents of the last Administration which have been seen by(a) him, (b) other Ministers in his Department, (c) special advisers in his Department and (d) non-career civil servants appointed since May 1997 in his Department. [92176]

  Mr. Denham
  [holding answer 20 July 1999]: A large number of official documents were generated during the period of the previous Administration, many of which were published or put in the public domain. Since May 1997, the Department has continued to be guided by the
  646
  convention governing access to the papers of the previous Administration, as set out in the then Prime Minister's reply to a written question on 24 January 1980, Official Report, columns 305–07.

  Operating Department Practitioners
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will establish a statutory scheme for registration of operating department practitioners; and if he will make a statement. [92440]

  Mr. Denham
  We expect the employment of operating department practitioners to be confined to qualified and competent practitioners and propose to consult on guidance to health authorities and National Health Service trusts about the practical steps required to implement this effectively. We will keep the matter of statutory regulation under review for the longer term.

  Medical Devices Agency
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the 1998–99 Annual Report and Accounts of the Medical Devices Agency. [92873]

  Ms Jowell
  We have received the Report and Accounts of the Medical Devices Agency and copies have today been laid before both Houses of Parliament in accordance with the requirements of Sections 5(2) and 5(3) of the Exchequer and Audit Departments Act 1921. Copies have also been placed in the Library.

  NHS Estates Executive Agency
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the Annual report and Accounts 1998–99 for the NHS Estates Executive Agency. [92874]

  Mr. Denham
  We have received the report and copies have today been laid in accordance with the requirements of Section 5 of the Exchequer and Audit Departments Act 1921. Copies have also been placed in the Library.

  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the Corporate Plan 1999–2000 to 2001–02, Key Tasks and Targets for 1999–2000 and Business Plan 1999–2000 for the NHS Estates Executive Agency. [92876]

  Mr. Denham
  We have agreed the Agency's Corporate Plan 1999–2000 to 2001–02, Key Tasks and Targets for 1999–2000 and Business Plan 1999–2000 and have placed copies in the Library.

  NHS Pensions Agency
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the Annual Report and Accounts of the NHS Pensions Agency. [92875]

  Mr. Denham
  We have approved the Report and Accounts which has today been laid before both Houses of Parliament in accordance with the requirements of Sections 5(2) and 5(3) of the Exchequer and Audit Departments Act 1921. Copies have also been placed in the Library.

  Adverse Incidents
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many investigations into adverse incidents have been carried out by each NHS regional office in each of the last 10 years. [92111]

  Mr. Denham
  Inquiries into adverse incidents are usually carried out by or on behalf of National Health Service trusts and health authorities rather than by NHS Executive regional offices. Regional offices may be involved in making sure such inquiries take place where there are statutory or other requirements for them to do so.

  Accident and Emergency (Leicestershire)
  Mr. David Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will assess the adequacy of the current emergency and accident services for North West Leicestershire; and what changes are planned thereto. [92079]

  Mr. Denham
  The provision of accident and emergency services for Leicestershire is an integral part of Leicestershire Health Authority Health Improvement Programme which is reviewed annually by the National Health Service Executive and agreed with local primary care groups.

  As part of the national accident and emergency modernisation programme Leicester Royal Infirmary has been made an award of £3.7 million to modernise accident and emergency services to meet likely future demand.

  Correspondence
  Mr. Alan Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the average time for a substantive reply to be sent to hon. Members' correspondence; what proportion takes more than(a) four weeks, (b) six weeks and (c) eight weeks; and what is his estimate of the number of letters received in a year from hon. Members. [92451]

  Ms Jowell
  I refer my right hon. Friend to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office to my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Gillian Merron) on 11 June 1999,Official Report, columns 403–06 which sets out performance against departmental targets for answering correspondence from right hon. and hon. Members, in the 1998 calender year. More detailed information about the percentage of correspondence replied to within the time scales specified could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

SCOTLAND

  Data Series
  Jackie Ballard
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what new data series separated by gender, race, disability and age have been commissioned by his Department since June 1997. [90537]

  Dr. Reid
  None.

  Parliamentary Questions
  Mr. Brady
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many parliamentary questions were tabled to his Department for written answer on a named day 648
  between May 1997 and 14 April 1999; and what percentage of them received a substantive response on that named day. [91058]

  Dr. Reid
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my predecessor my right hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, Anniesland (Mr. Dewar) on 15 April 1999,Official Report, column 309, which covered the period May 1997 to 31 March 1999. Ten parliamentary questions were tabled to my Department for written answer on a named day in the remaining period 31 March 1999 to 14 April 1999. Of these, 70 per cent. received a substantive reply on the named day.

  New Deal (Young People)
  Mr. Bercow
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many individuals his Department has recruited under the New Deal for Young People. [91883]

  Dr. Reid
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office to my hon. Friend the Member for Slough (Fiona Mactaggart) on 25 May 1999,Official Report, column 116.

  Crown Estate
  Mrs. Ray Michie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on his responsibilities with regard to the Crown Estate. [92206]

  Dr. Reid
  Although the functions of the Crown Estate Commissioners in managing the Crown Estate are reserved, properties and interests which form the Crown Estate in Scotland are subject to the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament. However, the power of direction over the Crown Estate Commissioners will remain with the United Kingdom Government and is exercised jointly by the Chancellor of the Exchequer and myself.

  Correspondence
  Mr. Alan Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the average time for a substantive reply to be sent to hon. Members' correspondence; what proportion takes more than(a) four weeks, (b) six weeks and (c) eight weeks; and what is his estimate of the number of letters received in a year from hon. Members. [92453]

  Dr. Reid
  I refer my right hon. Friend to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office to my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Gillian Merron) on 11 June 1999,Official Report, columns 403–06, which sets out performance against departmental targets for answering correspondence from right hon. and hon. Members in the 1998 calendar year. More detailed information about the percentage of correspondence replied to within the time scales specified could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

  Gender Impact Assessment
  Jackie Ballard
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list the subject of each gender impact assessment drawn up by his
  649
  Department since June 1997, indicating in each case whether the outcome has been (a) put out to consultation and (b) published. [92000]

  Mr. Vaz
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to her today by my noble Friend the Minister for Women. As part of the Government's commitment to ensuring that its policies are relevant to the lives that people live today, my Department is working closely with the Women's Unit to develop good practices for carrying out gender impact appraisal. When developing policies, we have considered how they would affect different parts of the community, although since new guidance on Equal Treatment was promulgated in November 1998, we have not had occasion to carry out any formal Gender Impact assessments.

  Legal Aid
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what responses he has received from the public on his reforms of the legal aid system. [92014]

  Mr. Vaz
  Since the publication of the White Paper "Modernising Justice" on 2 December 1998, and the introduction of the Access to Justice Bill in the other place on 3 December 1998, my predecessor and I have received 337 letters about the reforms of the legal aid system from members of the public, directly and through their MPs.

  Appointments (Quangos)
  Mr. Singh
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many appointments to quangos he made between(a) 1 June 1997 and 31 May 1998 and (b) 1 June 1998 and 31 May 1999; and in each case of those how many were members of Britain's (i) Asian and (ii) ethnic minority communities. [92144]

  Mr. Vaz
  Of the non-judicial public appointments to the Lord Chancellor's non-departmental public bodies, 303 were made in the first period, of which five were Asians and none were other ethnic minorities, and 199 were made in the second period, of which six were Asians and five other ethnic minorities.

  My Department's plan on equal opportunities was included in the plan published by the Government on 25 May 1999 and deposited in the Libraries of both Houses.

  Correspondence
  Mr. Alan Williams
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what is the average time for a substantive reply to be sent to hon. Members' correspondence; what proportion takes more than(a) four weeks, (b) six weeks and (c) eight weeks; and what is his estimate of the number of letters received in a year from hon. Members. [92445]

  Mr. Vaz
  I refer my right hon. Friend to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office to my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln 650
  (Gillian Merron) on 11 June 1999, Official Report, columns 403–06, which sets out performance against departmental targets for answering correspondence from right hon. and hon. Members in the 1998 calendar year. More detailed information about the percentage of correspondence replied to within the time scales specified could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL

  Orders in Council
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the President of the Council how many orders in council have been made since 1 January 1998. [92244]

  Mrs. Beckett
  927, up to and including the Council held on 21 July 1999. The Orders are broken down as follows:

  Orders relating to the appointment and swearing in of Privy Councillors: 531(5.7 per cent.)

  Orders relating to Royal Charters: 65 (7 per cent.)

  Statutory Orders relating to domestic business: 171 (18.4 per cent.)

  Statutory Orders relating to overseas business: 42 (4.5 per cent.)

  Orders relating to the Channel Islands: 85 (9.2 per cent.)

  Orders relating to University Statutes: 31 (3.3 per cent.)

  Orders relating to appointments: 34 (3.7 per cent.)

  Orders under the Burial Act 1853: 25 (2.7 per cent.)

  Orders approving schemes of the Church Commissioners: 274 (29.6 per cent.)

  Orders giving consent to Royal Marriages: 5 (0.5 per cent.)

  Civil Service Orders: 4 (0.4 per cent.)

  Orders approving Judicial Committee reports: 129 (13.9 per cent.)

  Sealing Orders for Proclamations: 6 (0.6 per cent.)

  Prorogation of Parliament: 1 (0.1 per cent.)

  Orders on ecclesiastical matters: 1 (0.1 per cent.)

  Orders relating to the Royal Navy: 1 (0.1 per cent.)

  1 This does not equate to the number of new Privy Councillors, since some Councillors are appointed by Order and sworn in at a subsequent Council. In such cases there will be two Orders.

EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT

  New Deal
  Mr. Hilary Benn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the number and proportion of young people who on leaving the New Deal employment option then move on to unsubsidised employment. [90317]

  Mr. Andrew Smith
  In the period January 1998 to April 1999, of the 5,800 young people who have left the New Deal employer option for known destinations, 50 per cent. moved into unsubsidised employment. In addition, 2,500 left for unknown destinations. A recent independent and reliable survey showed that 43 per cent. of leavers into unknown destinations had, in fact, left the New Deal for paid employment.

  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans the Government have to increase the clarity of information made available to firms wanting to join the New Deal. [90192]
  651
  Mr. Andrew Smith
  [holding answer 13 July 1999]: The main vehicle for providing information to employers wanting to join New Deal is the "New Deal for Employers" booklet. This was produced in consultation with employers in order that the information contained in it is useful and relevant and presented in a clear, user-friendly way. A telephone survey of employers showed that 95 per cent. of employers were positive about its presentation. 83 per cent. said that they found the content relevant or very relevant.

  In addition to this main item of literature, the Employment Service staff, including Business Managers, pro-actively communicate with both large and small employers. This includes meetings with large groups and one-to-one discussions to explain the New Deal and provide a contact within the Employment Service to whom the employer can address any questions.

  The New Deal Task Force is stimulating wider engagement in the New Deal through employer coalitions in major cities, and through contact groups of Human Resource Directors, small and medium employers, and intermediary bodies with employer customers.

  The Task Force and Employment Service are working with key employers and employer organisations in major growth sectors such as hospitality, construction and retail to improve the information and enhance the engagement of employers in the New Deal in these sectors.

  Mr. Stephen Twigg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what help will be given to widows, widowers and carers by the recently announced New Deal 50-plus; and if he will make a statement. [93059]

  Number of entries at GCE A level in mathematics, physics and chemistry and, as a percentage of all entries in each year shown in England and Wales

  Mathematics

  Physics

  Chemistry

  All entries

  19701

  Number of entries (000s)

  64.4

  41.5

  30.8

  441.9

  Percentage of all entries

  14.6

  9.4

  7.0

  —

  19801

  Number of entries (000s)

  86.2

  52.3

  45.1

  589.3

  Percentage of all entries

  14.6

  8.9

  7.6

  —

  19922

  Number of entries (000s)

  69.8

  38.9

  39.8

  704.5

  Percentage of all entries

  9.9

  5.5

  5.6

  —

  1998

  Number of entries (000s)

  67.4

  32.7

  40.4

  760.7

  Percentage of all entries

  8.9

  4.3

  5.3

  —

  1 Data are not directly comparable with figures for 1992 and 1998 due to changes in data sources.

  2 Figures for 1986 to 1991 were not published in this format, so are unavailable. 1992 data are therefore provided as they are comparable to 1998 data.

  Source:

  Department for Education and Employment; National Assembly for Wales; Welsh and English Examining Boards.

  Maintained-school Places (Costs)
  Mr. Clappison
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the average cost of(a) a place in a maintained school in the secondary sector and (b) a place in a maintained school in the secondary sector to age 13 years according to the most recent figures. [91672]
  652
  Mr. Andrew Smith
  We will be giving extra help to carers receiving Invalid Care Allowance and widows and widowers receiving the proposed new Bereavement Allowance and Widowed Parent's Allowance by opening up access to the New Deal 50-plus. I expect this to be in place from the autumn of this year.

  Mr. Boswell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the work done to date by the Training Standards Council to establish a system for evaluation of local partnerships for New Deal. [92311]

  Mr. Andrew Smith
  The Training Standards Council published in June "Partners for Quality", a framework developed specifically for the inspection of education and training provision within the New Deal for Young People Options. The inspection programme starts in October 1999.

  A-levels
  Mr. Alan W. Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many students were submitted for examination at A level in(a) mathematics, (b) physics and (c) chemistry in England and Wales in (i) 1970, (ii) 1980, (iii) 1990 and (iv) the latest year available; and in each case what was that figure as a percentage of the total A-level entries in all subjects in that year. [91146]

  Mr. Mudie
  The information available for GCE A-level examinations by selected subject in England and Wales is shown in the table.

  Ms Estelle Morris
  It is not possible to differentiate by age the average cost of pupils. However, the average cost per secondary school pupil in England based on 1998–99 budget figures was £2,930.

  Right to Study Initiative
  Mr. Alan Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many 16 and 17 year
  653
  olds will qualify over the next year for the Right to Study Initiative in (a) England and Wales, (b) the North-East of England and (c) the Tynemouth constituency. [91941]

  Mr. Mudie
  The latest estimate, at the end of 1997, was that 110,000 employees in England were aged 16 or 17, not qualified to level 2, and not working towards a level 2 qualification. Comparable figures for Wales and particular regions of England are not available.

  Higher Education
  Mr. Alan Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many students enrolled in full-time higher education courses to study(a) physics and (b) mathematics in England and Wales in each of the years from 1993 to 1998. [91943]

  Mr. Mudie
  The information is given in the following table.

  Full-time entrants to higher education courses1 England and Wales2

  Year of entry

  19933

  1994

  1995

  1996

  1997

  1998

  Subject of study4

  Physics

  4,684

  4,205

  3,957

  3,650

  3,801

  3,650

  Mathematics

  5,633

  4,955

  4,842

  5,313

  5,268

  4,822

  1 Postgraduate and undergraduate courses

  2 Excluding a small number of HE students in Further Education Colleges

  3 Excluding a small number of HE students in HEIs in Wales. Figures for 1993–94 were collected on a different basis to those in later years

  4 Excluding combined courses which contain mathematics or physics in combination with other subjects

  Appointments (Quangos)
  Mr. Singh
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many appointments to quangos he made between(a) 1 June 1997 and 31 May 1998 and (b) 1 June 1998 and 31 May 1999; and in each case of those how many were members of Britain's (i) Asian and (ii) ethnic minority communities. [92136]

  Mr. Mudie
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State made a total of 96 appointments and re-appointments to non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) between 1 June 1997 and 31 May 1998. Of these, one was of Asian origin, from a total of two who were of ethnic minority origin.

  From 1 June 1998 to 31 May 1999, my right hon. Friend made a total of 119 appointments and re-appointments to NDPB s. Of these, nine were of Asian origin, from a total of 19 who were of ethnic minority origin.

  Child Labour
  Mrs. Mahon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if the Government will(a) ratify the ILO Convention on the Worst Forms of Child Labour and (b) encourage other Governments to ratify the Convention. [92125]

  Mr. Andrew Smith
  I hope to be in a position to make an announcement on ratification of Convention 138 in the near future.

  Official Documents
  Mr. Wilshire
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will publish a list of all those official documents of the last administration which have been seen by(a) him, (b) other ministers in his Department, (c) special advisers in his Department and (d) non-career civil servants appointed since May 1997 in his Department. [92180]

  Mr. Mudie
  [holding answer 20 July 1999]: A large number of official documents were generated during the period of the previous Administration, many of which were published or put in the public domain. Since May 1997, the Department has been guided by the convention governing access to the papers of a previous Administration, as set out in the Prime Minister's reply to a written question on 24 January 1980, Official Report, columns 305–07.

  Long-term Unemployed
  Mr. Stephen Twigg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what new measures he is taking to help the adult long-term unemployed. [93160]

  Mr. Andrew Smith
  We consulted widely on new Employment Zones with personal job accounts (PJAs) earlier in the year. I am today launching our invitation to tender to run the new Zones at a conference in London. A copy of the bidding procedures will be placed in the Library. There will be 12 Zones in England, two in Wales and one in Scotland, which will help 48,000 long-term unemployed people in areas where the problem still exists despite the improvement in the economy. The new Zones will offer both those who run them and those who benefit from them real flexibility in the way existing funds are used to move from benefits to employment. After a first step lasting no more than three months, those who have not left the register will move on to a personal job account with a fully costed action plan agreed between participants and their personal advisers. Personal job accounts will enable unemployed people to take more responsibility for their path back to employment. We intend to run Employment Zones in the following areas from April 2000: Brighton and Hove; Birmingham; Brent; Caerphilly, Blaenau Gwent and Merthyr Tydfil; Doncaster; Glasgow; Haringey; Liverpool and Sefton; Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland; Newham; North West Wales; Nottingham City; Plymouth; Southwark and Tower Hamlets.

  Employment Service
  Mr. Stephen Twigg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will publish the revised Employment Service Framework Document; and when the five-year review of the Employment Service is to take place. [93061]

  Mr. Andrew Smith
  A revised Framework Document for the Employment Service (ES) will be published on 30 July and copies will be placed in the Library. The document includes the ES' s current Aim and Objectives, new financial arrangements, and arrangements for liaison with Scotland and Wales following devolution.

  The next five-year review of the Employment Service will be completed not later than 31 December 2000.

  Student Loans
  Mr. Boswell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many student loans are now overdue; if he will provide a breakdown of the amounts by bands; and what steps are being taken by his Department and the Student Loans Company to recover them. [92309]

  Mr. Mudie
  At 31 March 1999, 125,000 accounts were overdue out of a total of 999,400 due to repay. These figures are provisional and include loans sold to the private sector. The breakdown of amounts overdue by banding is not available, but the Company had collected 90 per cent. of moneys due by 31 March 1999.

  The Student Loans Company follows rigorous collection procedures. Its procedures currently are comparable with industry standards and will increasingly reflect the influence of the private sector owners of sold loans in improving collections practice.

  British Sign Language
  Mr. Boswell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what information he has collected on the number of persons currently qualified in British Sign Language and to what levels; and what action he is taking to encourage the attainment of these qualifications. [92312]

  Mr. Mudie
  The Department does not have information on those holding qualifications in Sign Language. A number of qualifications in Sign Language and aiding communication for deaf people are included in Schedule 2(a) of the 1992 Further and Higher Education Act and are therefore eligible for funding by the Further Education Funding Council. The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority has supported the Council for the Advancement of Communication with Deaf People in developing individual units in Sign Language which are designed to aid take-up of qualifications.

  Commission for Racial Equality
  Mr. Boswell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what reply he has sent to recent representations from the Commission for Racial Equality on ethnicity and employment in higher education. [92379]

  Mr. Mudie
  Ministerial colleagues and I have received copies of the Commission for Racial Equality's summary report on ethnicity and employment in higher education. Most of the recommendations are for higher education institutions and their representative bodies. We have agreed to meet the Commission once the full report is published.

  Correspondence
  Mr. Alan Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the average time for a substantive reply to be sent to hon. Members' correspondence; what proportion takes more than(a) four weeks, (b) six weeks and (c) eight weeks; and what is his estimate of the number of letters received in a year from hon. Members. [92443]
  656
  Mr. Mudie
  I refer my right hon. Friend to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office to my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Gillian Merron) on 11 June 1999,Official Report, columns 403–06, which sets out performance against departmental targets for answering correspondence from right hon. and hon. Members in the 1998 calendar year. More detailed information about the percentage of correspondence replied to within the time scales specified could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Executive Agencies
  Ms Bridget Prentice
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he will publish the 1998–99 Annual Report and Accounts for the Pesticides Safety Directorate. [93153]

  Mr. Nick Brown
  I am pleased to announce that the 1998–99 Annual Report and Accounts for the Pesticides Safety Directorate were laid before Parliament today. Copies are available in the Library of the House.

  I should like to congratulate all staff on their achievements during the year.

  Mr. Edwards
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he will publish the 1998–99 Annual Report and Accounts for the Central Science Laboratory. [93154]

  Mr. Nick Brown
  I am pleased to announce that the 1998–99 Annual Report and Accounts for the Central Science Laboratory were laid before Parliament today. Copies are available in the Library of the House.

  I should like to congratulate all staff on their achievements during the year.

  Mr. Hopkins
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he will publish the 1998–99 Annual Report and Accounts for the Meat Hygiene Service. [93155]

  Mr. Nick Brown
  I am pleased to announce that the 1998–99 Annual Report and Accounts for the Meat Hygiene Service were laid before Parliament today. Copies are available in the Library of the House.

  I should like to congratulate all staff on their achievements during the year.

  Mr. Savidge
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he will publish the 1998–99 Annual Report and Accounts for the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science. [93156]

  Mr. Nick Brown
  I am pleased to announce that the 1998–99 Annual Report and Accounts for the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science were laid before Parliament today. Copies are available in the Library of the House.

  I should like to congratulate all staff on their achievements during the year.
  657
  Caroline Flint
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he will publish the 1998–99 Annual Report and Accounts for the Farming and Rural Conservation Agency. [93157]

  Mr. Nick Brown
  I am pleased to announce that the 1998–99 Annual Report and Accounts for the Farming and Rural Conservation Agency were laid before Parliament today. Copies are being placed in the Library of the House.

  I should like to congratulate all staff on their achievements during the year.

  Mrs. Dean
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he will publish the 1998–99 Annual Report and Accounts for the Veterinary Medicines Directorate. [93158]

  Mr. Nick Brown
  I am pleased to announce that the 1998–99 Annual Report and Accounts for the Veterinary Medicines Directorate were laid before Parliament today. Copies are available in the Library of the House.

  I should like to congratulate all staff on their achievements during the year.

  Cattle Movement Service
  Mr. Caton
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will set out the standards of service for the British Cattle Movement Service. [93159]

  Mr. Rooker
  The British Cattle Movement Service is making available its standards of service to organisations in the cattle industry and other groups with an interest. I am putting a copy of the BCMS Citizen's Charter in the Library of the House today.

  BCMS is committed to issuing all cattle passports within 10 working days of receipt of a valid and complete passport application, and also to updating its database of cattle movements in all cases within 10 working days of receiving a valid and complete notification that an animal has moved. These are demanding standards, which I am confident BCMS will meet.

  Copies of the BCMS Citizen's Charter will be sent to all cattle farmers in Great Britain later in the year.

  Meat Hygiene Service
  Mr. Paterson
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has given to Meat Hygiene Service personnel on their future roles under the Food Standards Agency. [88291]

  Mr. Rooker
  MHS personnel have been provided with a detailed question and answer briefing outlining their future roles under the Food Standards Agency (FSA). As the date for the launch of the Agency gets closer, further information will be provided.

  Mr. Paterson
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will instruct all operational staff of the Meat Hygiene Service to record in writing complaints made to them by staff or management of slaughterhouses, meat cutting plants and poultry processing plants concerning the conduct or performance of Meat Hygiene Service staff and to forward those records to the Chief Executive of the Meat Hygiene Service for response within 658
  a reasonable time, and require that those records be available for inspection by auditing staff of the Joint Food Safety and Standards Group. [88292]

  Mr. Rooker
  No; this is not necessary. The Meat Hygiene Service (MHS) has already established modern customer complaints procedures which provide arrangements for dealing with complaints quickly at the point of service delivery, and those needing to be raised formally and escalated for senior management attention.

  A simple guide was issued to all MHS customers in March 1999 outlining how customers can make complaints or comment about MHS services. These procedures meet the latest best practice principles promoted by the "Service First" unit of the Cabinet Office and are part of the MHS Quality Management System, which was registered by the British Standards Institution to the international standard BS EN ISO 9002:1994 in June 1998. The MHS is committed to continual improvement in delivering quality services, and it will continue to keep under review the effectiveness of its complaints mechanisms.

  Genetically Modified Crops
  Joan Ruddock
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what reports he has received on research conducted in the People's Republic of China about(a) the yields of genetically modified crops and (b) the quantities of chemical treatments used for such crops as opposed to non-genetically modified crops. [91731]

  Mr. Rooker
  I have received no such reports about research conducted in the People's Republic of China.

  Joan Ruddock
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of reports from the industry that genetically modified crops grown in the United States and in China produce higher yields and are treated with lower levels of chemicals than the equivalent non-genetically modified crops grown in the same countries. [92098]

  Mr. Rooker
  I have received no such reports from either the United States or the People's Republic of China.

  However, a summary of a US Department of Agriculture Report comparing GM and non-GM crops appears on the internet and indicates that there was no difference in yield and pesticide use in some areas; a significant increase in yield in six out of 18 areas; and a decrease in pesticide use in some regions. UK farming conditions are different to those in the US and it is difficult to tell how relevant the results may be to this country.

  OTMS
  Miss McIntosh
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he has taken towards ending the over-30-month scheme; and if he will make a statement. [91899]

  Mr. Rooker
  The over-30-month scheme (OTMS) is an EU scheme, the rules of which are set by the European Commission. The Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee have identified criteria against which the controls on beef over-30-months of age can be reviewed in the future and began addressing this at its meeting in March. However, the Committee recognise that this will
  659
  require careful study and will almost certainly need to be considered at several meetings. In the light of the Committee's conclusions, and after consultation with all interested parties, the Government will consider what changes to the OTMS (if any) could be made consistent with the continued protection of public health and which they might then recommend to the Commission for their consideration.

  Antibiotics
  Mr. Paul Marsden
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what safety assessments he has made of the use of antibiotics as growth promoters in farm animals; and if he will make a statement. [92039]

  Mr. Rooker
  The use of additives in animal feedingstuffs, including antibiotic growth promoters, is controlled in the EU by Council Directive 70/524/EEC as amended. No feed additive is permitted unless it satisfies criteria of safety and efficacy. Recent concerns about the development of microbial resistance to antibiotics has led to a ban on the use of four antibiotic growth promoters in the EU, which took effect on 1 July 1999. The Government are advised on the use of antibiotics as growth promoters by the independent scientific Veterinary Products Committee, which is keeping the matter under close review.

  Bovine Tuberculosis
  Mr. Bob Russell
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer of 24 June 1999,Official Report, column 449, to the hon. Member for Rochdale (Lorna Fitzsimons), if he will suspend badger culling while alternatives are considered in response to recommendation 69 of the Standing Committee to the Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats. [92032]

  Mr. Rooker
  No. The Government believe that their present strategy and actions in controlling bovine TB, including the badger culling trial, represent the best means of finding a scientifically sound and sustainable policy for the long term. The Agriculture Select Committee report "Badgers and Bovine Tuberculosis" (HC 233) endorses this view. The Government have responded to the Bern Convention recommendation explaining why the action they are pursuing is fully consistent with the provisions of the Convention.

  Sir Richard Body
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he proposes to take to counter the rise in TB in dairy herds. [92432]

  Mr. Rooker
  In August 1998, the Government announced a five-point strategy of research and controls to deal with bovine tuberculosis, taking forward the recommendations of Professors Krebs and Bourne. This strategy was recently endorsed by the House of Commons Agriculture Select Committee as representing the best way forward. The Government's response to the Committee's report was published on 5 July (HC612) and sets out the steps being taken to control this disease.

  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what were the conclusions of the MAFF programme on the link between badgers and the spread of bovine TB at East Offaly in the Irish Republic. [92221]
  660
  Mr. Rooker
  Professor Krebs reviewed the data from previous large-scale badger clearances, including in the area of East Offaly in the Irish Republic. His conclusion was that the sum of evidence"strongly supports the view that badgers are a cause of herd breakdowns".
  Krebs noted, however, that the absence of adequate experimental controls in previous badger clearances, including the East Offaly clearance, made it impossible to eliminate alternative explanations for the observed fall in herd breakdown rates or to quantify the contribution that badgers made to bovine TB. He recommended a controlled experiment to test rigorously the effectiveness of different strategies in Great Britain and to provide a sound basis for future policy.

  The Government accepted the Krebs' recommendations, and established the Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB, chaired by Professor John Bourne, to oversee their implementation and advise on other relevant scientific work. The work now in hand, including a randomised badger culling trial and new epidemiological and disease control research, aims to provide the information needed to secure a sustainable future policy to control TB in cattle.

  Official Documents
  Mr. Wilshire
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will publish a list of all those official documents of the last Administration which have been seen by(a) him, (b) other Ministers in his Department, (c) special advisers in his Department and (d) non-career civil servants appointed since May 1997 in his Department. [92185]

  Mr. Nick Brown
  [holding answer 20 July 1999]: A large number of official documents were generated during the period of the previous Administration, many of which were published or put in the public domain. Since May 1997, the Department has been guided by the convention governing access to the papers of a previous Administration, as set out in the then Prime Minister's reply to a written question on 24 January 1980, Official Report, columns 305–07.

  Farm Medicines
  Mr. Drew
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received about the cost of farm medicines; and if he will make a statement. [91993]

  Mr. Rooker
  [holding answer 21 July 19991: We have received representations about comparatively high prices of veterinary medicinal products in the UK and we are carefully considering the issues and whether further action is called for. However, the pricing of veterinary medicinal products is not controlled by either UK or European Community legislation. Decisions on the wholesale costs of veterinary medicines are matters for the companies manufacturing the products, taking into account commercial factors such as development and production costs and anticipated volume of sales in the member state concerned.
  661
  Mr. Drew
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the relative prices for farm medicines in the United Kingdom and the Irish Republic; and if will make a statement. [91994]

  Mr. Rooker
  [holding answer 21 July 1999]: There are no price controls on veterinary medicines in the EU. Prices generally reflect the market conditions and distribution practices in each member state. A comparison of wholesale prices in the UK and the Republic of Ireland shows that some products are cheaper in Ireland and others are cheaper in the UK.

  BSE (USA)
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on what dates his Department asked the United States Government to comment on the recent reports of the presence of BSE in the USA; to which United States department these requests were addressed; and on what dates the United States Government replied. [92250]

  Mr. Rooker
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him on 12 July 1999,Official Report, column 88.

  Farming (Financial Support)
  Joan Ruddock
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the level of Government financial support allocated for the year 1998–99 for(a) organic farming and (b) conventional farming; how much has been spent to date; and how much is expected to be so allocated in 1999–2000. [92405]

  Mr. Rooker
  The forecast for the UK for programmes on agriculture for 1998–99 is £762.2 million, and £660.0 million for 1999–2000, of which £1.9 million and £4 million respectively is for aid for conversion to organic farming. These figures are for national expenditure and do not include contributions from the Guarantee Section of the EAGGF. With EAGGF contributions, the figures for aid for conversion to organic farming are £3.8 million for 1998–99 and £8 million for 1999–2000.

  In addition, organic farmers are entitled to receive all support payments available generally to farmers.

  Labelling
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what UK regulations govern the labelling of produce deriving from(a) other European states, (b) applicant countries to the European Union and (c) elsewhere. [92223]

  Mr. Rooker
  General labelling rules for food sold within the European Union are set out in Directive 79/112/EEC. They apply no matter where the food has come from, and are implemented here by the Food Labelling Regulations 1996 (as amended).

  Cattle Identification
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the charges in each EU member state for passport and tagging of calves. [92219]
  662
  Mr. Rooker
  Most member states charge their farmers for cattle identification, although often on bases which cannot be compared with the proposed charges for passports here. For member states for which we have information, the position in early 1999 was:

  Austria: Farmers pay for ear tags: no charge otherwise.

  Belgium: Charge of about £0.85 per animal per year.

  Denmark: Charge of £1.50 per animal per year, plus £2 per passport (issued for exported cattle).

  Finland: Tagging and registration fee of around £2.50 per animal

  France: £2.30 per animal.

  Germany: Around £1.60 per animal but some additional costs recovered from levies paid by farmers.

  Luxembourg: No charge.

  Netherlands: £1.70 per animal per year.

  Sweden: Charge for registering animals:

  up to £0.90 for registration by phone or letter;

  £5.40 for passports (issued for exported cattle).

  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will assess the advantages of putting out the Cattle Moving Database to private tender. [92220]

  Mr. Rooker
  The Cattle Tracing System (CTS) is currently administered by the British Cattle Movement (BCMS), which is part of MAFF. The CTS has been in operation for less than a year. Any assessment of the current arrangements for administering it, and alternatives, would be premature.

  Pesticide Tax
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what other European countries are subject to a pesticide tax; and at what levels. [92222]

  Mr. Rooker
  I understand that, currently, Denmark, Sweden and Norway tax all pesticides, while Belgium applies a tax to non-agricultural uses of the herbicides atrazine, diuron, isoproturon, simazine and pentachlorophenol. The latest rate of tax in each country is understood to be as follows:

  Denmark

  ad valorum tax on highest retail value:

  insecticide: 54 per cent.

  herbicide: 33 per cent.

  Non-agricultural use: 3 per cent.

  Sweden

  20 Swedish hone (about £1.50) per kg active ingredient

  Norway
  basic rate = 15 Norwegian hone (about £1.20) per ha—varied according to banding:
  Seed treatment pesticides and biological products—basic rate x 0.5
  Products constituting low risk to health and environment—basic rate x 1.0
  Products constituting high risk to health/low risk to environment or, low risk to health and high risk to environment—basic rate x 4.0
  Products of high risk to health and to environment—basic rate x 8.0
  There are higher rates pro-rata for household use.
  663
  Belgium 1999

  10,000 Belgian francs (about £160) per kg of active ingredient.

  I am not aware of specific pesticide taxes in other European countries.

  Beef (Export)
  Mr. Yeo
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when abattoirs other than St. Merryn's in Cornwall will be approved for the processing of beef for export; and what estimate he has made of the number of abattoirs which will be approved for the processing of beef for export in the year following 1 August. [92336]

  Mr. Nick Brown
  It is up to abattoirs to apply for approval. If they do so we will deal with their application as quickly as possible.

  Mr. Yeo
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) when he expects the remaining restrictions on the export of beef to be lifted; [92373]

  (2) if he will make a statement on his policy pressing for the export of beef-on-the-bone and of live cattle to be resumed. [92374]

  Mr. Nick Brown
  In my statement to the House on 14 July 1999,Official Report, column 405, I made it clear that I am working for the day when we are able to trade in beef on equal terms with other member states. I will put proposals to the European Commission for further relaxations of the export ban when I judge that we have a strong case which can be justified by science. In particular, the resumption of trade in beef on the bone, and beef from cattle more than 30 months old, will need to be informed by the views of the Government's scientific advisers.

  Mr. Yeo
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what the final inspection and approval by his Department needed before an abattoir can export beef will involve; and for what reason these inspections had not been carried out in preparation for the lifting of the beef export ban. [92344]

  Mr. Nick Brown
  To gain approval, a slaughterhouse must demonstrate that it has the facilities and control procedures to meet the requirements of the DBES. The assessment of premises seeking approval, which will include an inspection visit, will be made by a specially trained officer of the State Veterinary Service.

  It was not possible to carry out these inspections or to grant approval until we had received and considered the recommendations in the Commission Inspectors' final report.

  Mr. Yeo
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if cattle over 30 months old can be exported. [92342]

  Mr. Nick Brown
  No live cattle can be exported. Beef exported under the Date-based Export Scheme must be from cattle aged under 30 months at the time of slaughter.

  Mr. Yeo
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment his Department has made of the impact on animal welfare of the only abattoir licensed to process beef for export being located in Cornwall. [92345]
  664
  Mr. Nick Brown
  Statutory rules are in place concerning the welfare of livestock during transport and at slaughter. They apply irrespective of where in the country the animals are transported or where the slaughter is taking place.

  Mr. Yeo
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what help the Government plan to give to beef exporters in Great Britain. [92337]

  Mr. Nick Brown
  My Department has sent detailed advice about the Scheme to all abattoirs that may be eligible to participate in the Scheme and set up a helpline to give advice. Abattoirs can, free of charge, make test applications to determine the proportion of their animals which might be DBES eligible. This is designed to help them make their commercial decisions, and my officials are prepared to offer any further advice necessary to help abattoirs and other meat processing establishments in their consideration of how they might benefit from the Scheme. The Department has established a Beef Export Liaison Group to exchange views of those involved in beef exports which will monitor progress of the DBES and identify key markets. In addition, I and my colleagues will be taking every opportunity to promote the Date-based Export Scheme (DBES) to industry here and customers abroad.

  Mr. Yeo
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when European Commission inspectors were invited to Britain to examine the facilities through which beef exports would be channelled. [92335]

  Mr. Nick Brown
  The inspection arrangements were the outcome of discussions and correspondence between my officials and Commission officials during January and February, which covered points of detail on the proposed operation of the scheme and the scope of and timetable for the inspection. We agreed with the inspectors that they would come at the end of March or during April. The date was subsequently confirmed for the week commencing 12 April.

  Mr. Yeo
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what help the Government will provide with the running costs of the export scheme for slaughterhouses during the initial period of export build up after 1 August. [92338]

  Mr. Nick Brown
  The Government's policy is to recover the costs of operating the Date-based Export Scheme (DBES) from those who choose to benefit from it. The Government have, however, spent more than £1 million on developing the scheme, including the IT systems which are necessary to support it, which will not be recovered through charges.

  Mr. Yeo
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he expects British beef supplies to be resumed to British service men serving abroad. [92339]

  Mr. Nick Brown
  The provisioning of the armed forces is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence. The worldwide ban will be lifted from 1 August, so it will be legally possible to export beef for the use of British service men serving in the European Union and, subject to the rules of the Governments of the countries concerned, to service men serving in third countries.

  Beef (School Meals)
  Mr. Yeo
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he will write to local authorities to encourage them to put British Beef back on their school menus; and if he will place a copy of his letter in the Library. [92340]

  Mr. Nick Brown
  Ultimately it is for Local Authorities themselves to decide whether or not to have beef, or indeed any other food products, on school menus. Nevertheless, I am currently preparing a letter to Local Authorities setting out the case for British Beef, following my earlier representation on this matter. Once this has been issued, I will place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.

WALES

  New Deal (Young People)
  Mr. Bercow
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many individuals his Department has recruited under the New Deal for Young People. [91881]

  Mr. Michael
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office to my hon. Friend the Member for Slough (Fiona Mactaggart) on 25 May 1999,Official Report, column 116.

  An additional three people were recruited by the Welsh Office between 25 May and 30 June. Of the eight people. six were recruited under the New Deal for 18–24s and two under the New Deal for 25-plus.

  On 1 July, all staff working for the Welsh Office in Wales transferred to the National Assembly for Wales.

  Waterhouse Report
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he expects to publish the Waterhouse report; if the report will be published bilingually; and if he will make a statement. [87795]

  Mr. Michael
  As soon as the Tribunal of Inquiry submits its report, it will be presented to Parliament and published as quickly as possible.
  666
  The degree of bilingual publication will be considered in the light of the desirability of early publication in the public interest and of the Welsh language scheme.

  National Assembly for Wales
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when the Government plan to issue the concordats for the National Assembly for Wales; and if he will make a statement. [90897]

  Mr. Michael
  I refer the hon. Gentleman to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhynmey (Mr. Rowlands) on 7 July 1999,Official Report, column 1019.

  Correspondence
  Mr. Alan Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the average time for a substantive reply to be sent to hon. Members' correspondence; what proportion takes more than(a) four weeks, (b) six weeks and (c) eight weeks; and what is his estimate of the number of letters received in a year from hon. Members. [92452]

  Mr. Michael
  I refer my right hon. Friend to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office to my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Gillian Merron) on 11 June 1999,Official Report, columns 403–06, which sets out performance against departmental targets for answering correspondence from right hon. and hon. Members in the 1998 calendar year. More detailed information about the percentage of correspondence replied to within the time scales specified could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Objective 1 Status
  Mr. Alan Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what information has to be supplied to the EU Commission before 1 November relating to the West Wales Objective One status application; and if he will make a statement. [92377]

  Mr. Michael
  By 1 November, the National Assembly will need to submit a full single programming document for objective 1 to the European Commission. This will need to meet the Commission's requirements as laid out in the Vade Mecum.

  Objective 1 status has already been secured. Release of the funds depends on the acceptance by the Commission of the submitted plan.

  Human Cloning: Expert Advisory Group
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  Fluoridation of Water
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  Medical Devices Agency: Annual Report and Accounts
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  NHS Estates Agency: Corporate Plan
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  NHS Estates Executive Agency: Annual Report and Accounts
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  NHS Pensions Agency: Annual Report and Accounts
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  Anti-smoking Measures
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  Smoking-related Illnesses: Cost
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  South African Driving Licences
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  A.2, Blackheath: Traffic Island Lighting
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  M.4 Bus Lane: Journey Times
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  Wild Mallard
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  Benefit Take-up
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  Diplomatic Immunity
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  East Timor
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  British Council: Chairmanship Terms and Conditions
  British Council: Chairmanship Terms and Conditions
  Uganda
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  Balkan Stability Pact
  Balkan Stability Pact
  Human Rights: Second Annual Report
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  European Union: Forthcoming Council Business
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  Hong Kong: Fifth Report
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  Syrian President's Meeting with Lord Levy
  Syrian President's Meeting with Lord Levy
  Lord Levy's Visit to Jordan
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  Cabinet Members' Scottish Responsibilities
  Cabinet Members' Scottish Responsibilities
  Ageism in Politics
  Ageism in Politics
  Baltic States: Chief of Defence Staff's Visit
  Baltic States: Chief of Defence Staff's Visit
  Kosovo
  Kosovo
  School-related Revenue Grants to LEAs
  School-related Revenue Grants to LEAs
  School-related Capital Grants to LEAs
  School-related Capital Grants to LEAs
  School-related Borrowing Limits for LEAs
  School-related Borrowing Limits for LEAs
  Forensic Science Service: Annual Report
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  Immigration and Nationality Complaints Audit Committee
  Immigration and Nationality Complaints Audit Committee
  Juvenile Secure Accommodation
  Juvenile Secure Accommodation
  National Museums and Galleries: Readmission to Temporary Exhibitions
  National Museums and Galleries: Readmission to Temporary Exhibitions
  Television Soap Operas
  Television Soap Operas
  Manchester United: Fixtures
  Manchester United: Fixtures
  Parliamentary Cost Comparisons
  Parliamentary Cost Comparisons