Written Answers of 16 June 1999

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Macedonia
  Mr. Bercow
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he initiated steps to remove controls on the export to Macedonia of all-wheel drive utility vehicles, heavy duty recovery vehicles and drop-sided trucks; and what assessment he has made of the effect this ban has had on relief efforts. [86734]

  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  The controls set out in Group 3, Part 1, Schedule 1 of the Export of Goods (Control) Order 1994 prohibit the export of certain vehicles to the Republic of Macedonia without an export licence. These controls do not constitute a ban. We do not believe that they have had a significant effect on the current relief effort in Macedonia.

  We began the process of lifting these controls in April 1999 in order to assist relief organisations working in Macedonia. Since then we have fast tracked relevant licence applications to allow the speedy export of vehicles for relief work in Macedonia.

  Register of European Commissioners' Interests
  Mr. Bercow
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects the Register of European Commissioners' Interests to be deposited in the Library. [86736]

  Ms Quin
  The register of European Commissioners' Interests is a public document which is regularly updated. It can be found on the Internet at the following address: http://europa.eu.int/comm/commissioners/interests-en.htm.

  Nuclear Plant (Turkey)
  Mr. Burden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received concerning Turkey's plan to build a nuclear plant at Akkuyu Bay; what assessment his Department has made of the potential risks of this project; and if he will make a statement. [86849]

  Ms Quin
  We have received representations from the Greek Government on the matter of the proposed nuclear power plant in Akkuyu. They have drawn attention to their publication, "Risks Associated with the Construction of a Nuclear Power Plant in Akkuyu, Turkey".

  We are aware that Turkey has been considering this project for some time as part of a wider strategy to increase energy production. Turkey is a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and has a full scope safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA). Any nuclear power plant in Turkey would be subject to full scope safeguards by the IAEA. Turkey has also recently applied to join the
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  Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and the Zangger Committee, the international nuclear export control regimes.

  We understand that the Turkish authorities are still evaluating bids for this project. We will continue to monitor its development.

  EU-Japan Summit
  Mr. Maclean
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish the latest agenda for the EU-Japan summit of 17 June, prior to the meeting. [86830]

  Ms Quin
  The provisional agenda for the EU-Japan Summit on 20 June 1999 is:

  1. Opening remarks (including new developments in EU-Japan relations)

  2. International situation

  Kosovo

  Russia

  Korean Peninsula

  Indonesia

  East Timor

  Macau

  3. Economic, trade and co-operation issues

  Macro-economic development in Japan, Asia and Europe

  Bilateral economic co-operation

  business dialogue

  deregulation

  Mutual Recognition Agreement

  WTO related issues (new round, accession)

  Peaceful use of nuclear energy

  Antarctic Environmental Treaty Secretariat
  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects the Antarctic Environmental Treaty Secretariat to be established; how many signatory states have ratified the Treaty; and if he will make a statement. [86893]

  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  Issues relating to a possible Antarctic Treaty Secretariat were discussed at the recent Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting, held in Peru in May. Both Argentina and Australia reiterated their offer to host the Secretariat, but no consensus was reached on either bid. The UK looks forward to a resolution of the matter and will continue constructive dialogue on it with other Treaty Parties.

  Forty-four countries have now ratified or acceded to the Antarctic Treaty, 27 of which have Consultative (voting) status; 37 countries have signed the Environmental Protocol to the Treaty; and 28 countries have either ratified or acceded to the Protocol.

WALES

  Food Standards Agency
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the impact upon small businesses of the flat rate levy to fund the new Food Standards Agency; and if he will make a statement. [86345]
  135
  Mr. Hain
  The Government have responded to the views put forward in the public consultation and have decided not to place a levy on retailers and caterers.

  Voluntary Services (Social Exclusion)
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the role of the voluntary services in tackling social exclusion; and if he will make a statement. [86347]

  Mr. Hain
  The voluntary sector has a key role to play in helping to tackle social exclusion and will be a key partner of the Assembly in taking forward its social inclusion work. The voluntary sector successfully leads numerous initiatives and projects to counter social exclusion at local level and across Wales. The Wales Council for Voluntary action makes an important contribution to policy making through its membership of our Advisory Panel on social exclusion.

  In March, my right hon. Friend announced additional funding of £1.5 million from the Social Inclusion Fund to support volunteering initiatives to encourage people to participate in their communities through joining in the work of local voluntary sector initiatives.

  Following the transfer of functions this will be a matter for the National Assembly for Wales.

  Climate Levy
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the impact of the world climate levy upon industry; and if he will make a statement. [86344]

  Ms Hewitt
  I have been asked to reply.

  The climate change levy will make a significant contribution to meeting the UK's legally-binding target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions set under the Kyoto Protocol and our domestic commitments to further reductions. It will entail no increase in the overall burden of tax on business, since it will be accompanied by a 0.5 percentage point cut in the main rate of employers' National Insurance Contributions. This will reduce the cost of hiring workers and encourage employment opportunities. Business will also benefit from an additional £50 million a year for schemes aimed at promoting energy efficiency and additional support for renewable sources of energy, like solar and wind power.

  The impact of the climate change levy on any one industry, firm or plant will depend on the tax rates set for different sectors. The Government are well aware of the need to protect the competitiveness of British industry and intend to set significantly lower rates of tax for those energy intensive sectors that agree targets for improving their energy efficiency. A number of energy intensive sectors are involved in these negotiations.

ENVIRONMENT, TRANSPORT AND THE REGIONS

  Genetically Modified Crops
  Mr. Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions under what 136
  Article of the Treaty consents for growing genetically modified crops are issued; when the relevant substantive resolution was agreed in each House of Parliament relating thereto; and what amendments have subsequently been made. [86236]

  Mr. Meacher
  All consents for the deliberate release into the environment of Genetically Modified Organisms are issued on the basis of the procedures laid down in Council Directive 90/220/EEC of 23 April 1990. The legal basis of the Directive is Article 95 (ex Article 100a) of the Treaty establishing the European Community. The Regulations implementing the Directive, detailed in the answer of 22 March 1999,Official Report, column 41, were adopted by negative resolution. The Directive was adapted to take account of technical progress by Commission Directive 94/15/EC of 15 April 1994.

  Joan Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the antibiotic marker genes, and the antibiotics to which they convey resistance, that have been used in the genetic modification of plant crops. [86321]

  Mr. Meacher
  The antibiotic marker genes and the antibiotics to which they convey resistance, that have been used in the genetic modification of plant crops released for research purposes in the European Community are listed in the table:

  Gene

  Antibiotic

  nptII

  Kanamycin

  bla

  Ampicillin

  hpt

  Hygromycin

  aad

  Streptomycin

  tet

  Tetracycline

  aad

  Spectinomycin

  nptIII

  Amikacin

  gen

  Gentamycin

  Mr. Baker
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what baseline studies of biodiversity in genetically modified crop test site areas are required to be carried out prior to genetically modified crops being planted. [86886]

  Mr. Meacher
  [holding answer 15 June 1999]All applications for consent to release a genetically modified plant must include a pre-planting environmental audit including details of the release site ecosystem including climate and fauna, details of any sexually compatible wild relatives or cultivated plant species present and the proximity of officially recognised biotopes or protected areas. Specific baseline studies of biodiversity at test sites are not required.

  Mr. Laurence Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what permissions have been granted to grow genetically modified food at Blunsdon, near Swindon; and if he will make a statement. [86413]

  Mr. Meacher
  [holding answer 11 June 1999]No consent to release a genetically modified crop has been issued in respect of Blunsdon, Wiltshire. The only such consent in Wiltshire relates to the release of GM spring oilseed rape at Lushill Farm, Hannington, Wiltshire, consent number 98/R19/18.

  West Coast Main Line
  Ms Keeble
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if the upgrade of the west coast main line is on schedule. [86854]

  Ms Glenda Jackson
  This is a matter for Railtrack. Railtrack has entered into both contractual commitments and licence undertakings in respect of the upgrade of the west coast main line. Ministers expect Railtrack to deliver on its obligations.

  Ms Keeble
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what effect the failure of Railtrack to complete the capacity review on time has had on the schedule for the upgrade of west coast main line. [86855]

  Ms Glenda Jackson
  I understand that Railtrack has assured the Rail Regulator and its customers and funders that delay in completing those strategic capacity reviews which it undertook to provide as part of its licence obligation will not delay the upgrade of the west coast main line, or compromise the ability to proceed with any of the enhancements explored in those studies.

  Lead Shot
  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he intends to lay before Parliament a Statutory Instrument on the use of lead shot in wetlands. [86417]

  Mr. Meacher
  [holding answer 14 June 1999]I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 10 June 1999,Official Report, columns 374–75.

  Cycle Routes
  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the length of dedicated cycle routes in(a) Greater London and (b) each London borough, (i) currently and (ii) in 1997. [86894]

  Ms Glenda Jackson
  I refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 3 March 1999,Official Report, columns 737–38, about the length of the London Cycle network at April 1998. While it is anticipated that the London Cycle Network grew to some 800 miles in 1998–99, lengths on a borough basis are being collected at the present time. Therefore, I will write to my hon. Friend setting out the figures for April 1999, with comparable April 1997 data, as soon as they are available.

  Bletchley and Bicester Railway Line
  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he expects to receive plans for the re-opening of the Bletchley and Bicester railway line; what level of expenditure on this line is planned by his Department; and if he will make a statement. [86895]

  Ms Glenda Jackson
  The East-West Rail Group, a consortium of local authorities, have proposed re-opening this section of line as part of their proposal for opening up an East-West rail route which would extend from Oxford to Ipswich via Bicester, Bletchley, Bedford and Cambridge. I understand they have arranged for Railtrack to carry out a feasibility study which is expected to be 138
  completed in a few weeks. Subject to the outcome of the feasibility study it will be for the consortium to seek sources of funding for any plans it decides to pursue. The Department will consider any proposals that may be put to it.

  Barking to Gospel Oak Line
  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has for the electrification of the Barking to Gospel Oak railway line; what proposals he has received for the opening of a station at Tufnell Park; and if he will make a statement. [86896]

  Ms Glenda Jackson
  There are no current plans to electrify the Barking to Gospel Oak railway line and no proposals have been received for a station at Tufnell Park.

  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what proposals he has received from the train operating company for new services to different destinations on the Barking to Gospel Oak line in the last 12 months. [86899]

  Ms Glenda Jackson
  None.

  Planning Applications
  Mr. Bill Michie
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement about his policy on calling in planning applications under section 77 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. [87392]

  Mr. Caborn
  My right hon. Friend's general approach, like that of previous Secretaries of State, is not to interfere with the jurisdiction of local planning authorities unless it is necessary to do so. Parliament has entrusted them with responsibility for day-to-day planning control in their areas. It is right that, in general, they should be free to carry out their duties responsibly, with the minimum of interference.

  There will be occasions, however, when my right hon. Friend may consider it necessary to call in the planning application to determine himself, instead of leaving the decision to the local planning authority.

  His policy is to be very selective about calling in planning applications. He will, in general, only take this step if planning issues of more than local importance are involved. Such cases may include, for example, those which, in his opinion:

  may conflict with national policies on important matters;

  could have significant effects beyond their immediate locality;

  give rise to substantial regional or national controversy;

  raise significant architectural and urban design issues; or

  may involve the interests of national security or of foreign Governments

  However, each case will continue to be considered on its individual merits.

  Passenger Movements (Stansted)
  Ms Blears
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he expects to make a decision on the application to raise the passenger air transport movement limit at Stansted. [87394]
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  Ms Glenda Jackson
  After careful consideration of BAA plc's application for an increase, and the responses to the consultation that was held on it, I have today laid before the House an Order allowing 120,000 passenger air transport movements at Stansted between August 1999 and February 2000, and increasing, from 1 March 2000, the annual limit from 120,000 to 185,000 per annum. The new limit should allow Stansted to expand to around 15 million passengers a year (mppa)—a limit for which it has had outline planning permission since 1985 and for which detailed planning approval was given in March.

  The purpose of the passenger air transport movement limit is to ensure that the development of Stansted does not outpace the ability of local infrastructure to cope with it. The Government are satisfied that the growth in road and rail traffic that will be generated will be satisfactorily accommodated, and that the overall effects of a 15 mppa airport are properly reflected in local development plans.

  Commission for Integrated Transport
  Mr. Geraint Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he will announce the remaining appointments to the Commission for Integrated Transport; and if he will make a statement. [87395]

  Mrs. Liddell
  I have today appointed Bill Bradshaw, Lawrence Christensen, Nicky Gavron, Stephen Joseph, David Leeder, Lilli Matson, Bill Morris, John O'Brien, Veronica Palmer, Mike Parker and Nick Reilly as members of the Commission for Integrated Transport.

  They will be joined by four ex officio members: the Chair of the SRA (Sir Alastair Morton), the Chairman of the CAA (Sir Malcolm Field), the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency (Lawrie Haynes) and the Chair of the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (Jane Wilmot).

  I am pleased that the new Commission is now able to start work. We have brought together a strong and balanced team with the experience to provide practical and constructive advice on making integrated transport a reality. The ex officio members will bring the expertise of their own organisations, but we have otherwise appointed members not as representatives of particular interests but as individuals with a breadth of knowledge of transport and its impacts.

  The 17-strong Commission will be a fresh and creative force in helping Government deliver the clean, safe, fair and efficient transport system the country needs. The Commission must build on the consensus established around last year's Transport White Paper, and I and my ministerial colleagues very much look forward to working with it.

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Mrs. Rosemary Nelson
  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland for what period after 15 March, the Royal Ulster Constabulary telephone hotline number which any potential witnesses to the murder of Mrs. Rosemary Nelson were urged to call was unstaffed; and for what reasons. [85453]

  Mr. Ingram
  [holding answer 25 May 1999]A contact line was established in March. A separate hotline was set up on 9 April following the arrival of Mr. Port. I understand that, where possible, it is manned during office hours, which are normally 0900 to 1700. The line is answered by non-RUC officers. Outside these hours the hotline works on an answering machine.

  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will make a statement on the involvement of officers of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in respect of the inquiry into the murder of Mrs. Rosemary Nelson. [85451]

  Mr. Ingram
  [holding answer 25 May 1999]The RUC have advised that, on the day Mrs. Nelson was murdered, the Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary contacted the Director of the FBI, who agreed to offer the Bureau's investigative expertise. As a result, a number of experienced agents arrived from the United States of America. They brought expertise in investigating acts of terrorism, including major case management. As the FBI's Legal Attaché, John Guido said on 12 April:"The FBI arrived fully prepared to provide as much assistance as they could by offering suggestions on investigative strategy, evidence collection and data management. Frankly, we found the RUC to be well prepared to handle the investigation."

  They were in Northern Ireland from 20 March to 16 April and noted that a very dedicated and professional inquiry team had been assembled to bring the killers of Mrs. Nelson to justice. Mr. Guido also said that the FBI had confidence that all appropriate lines of inquiry were being pursued and that the greatest chance of success lay with the RUC continuing the investigation. The FBI continue in an advisory role and there is regular contact with Mr. Port's team.

  Planning Applications
  Mr. Forsythe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) if the European Union Directive on landfill of waste will be taken into account when current planning applications are being decided; [85922]

  (2) what arrangements are in place to take account of the views of objectors and their public representatives when deciding on contentious planning applications; [85919]

  (3) from what date the European Union Directive on landfill of waste will be applied to planning applications in Northern Ireland. [85921]

  Mr. Paul Murphy
  The emerging draft European Directive on landfill of waste is, and will continue to be, a material consideration in the assessment of planning applications. The weight to be given to the draft Directive will be influenced by its status at any given time. Greater weight will, of course, be attached when the Directive has been adopted. As regards taking account of the views of
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  objectors and their public representatives when deciding contentious planning applications, all representations received, whether in favour of or against a proposal, are considered fully before a decision on an application is reached. If necessary, a public inquiry can be called.

  Special Advisers
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which of her Special Advisers travelled to Washington and New York on 15 March; and if she will list the meetings which her Special Advisers held with members and officials of the United States Government during this visit, the dates and locations of each meeting, and the names of the US ministers and officials at each meeting. [86288]

  Marjorie Mowlam
  I met Mr. S. Berger and Mr. J. Steinberg, the National and Deputy National Security Advisers at the National Security Council in Washington in March 1999. I also participated in other meetings including with Senators, Congressmen and the press. Mr. Warner accompanied me to these meetings.

  The New York leg of the visit was cancelled because of developments in Northern Ireland.

  Violent Incidents
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the number of incidents of assault, attacks on houses and other property and intimidation reported to the RUC in the Fountain Estate/Wapping Lane area of Londonderry for the period from 1 April to the latest available date. [87037]

  Mr. Ingram
  [holding answer 15 June 1999]Records indicate that there were eight incidents of assault in the Fountain Estate/Wapping Lane area of Londonderry from 1 April to 10 June 1999. No reports have been received by police of any incidence of attack on houses or other property nor of intimidation in that area during the period.

  Social Need Initiative
  Ms Corston
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she has reached a view on the priorities for the promoting social inclusion element of the new targeting social need initiative; and how these will be taken forward. [87560]

  Mr. McFall
  Following extensive consultation with a range of voluntary sector and other interests the Secretary of State has decided that the first four strands of work to be tackled under the Promoting Social Inclusion will be:

  action to alleviate the needs of Travellers

  a strategic approach to the needs of minority ethnic groups

  the problems of teenage parenthood

  strategies for making services more accessible to minority groups and others at risk of social exclusion—focusing firstly on how information can be presented and distributed in ways appropriate to their needs.

  Working Groups will now be set up to examine each of these areas and to recommend effective ways of tackling social exclusion.

  Driver and Vehicle Licensing
  Mr. Jim Murphy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what performance targets have been set for Driver and Vehicle Licensing Northern Ireland in 1999–2000. [87562]

  Marjorie Mowlam
  For 1999–2000 the following key performance targets have been set for the Agency:

  Output:

  1. To dispatch 96 per cent. of registration books for new vehicles in 16 working days from receipt.

  2. To dispatch 96 per cent. of refunds of vehicle excise duty in 10 working days from receipt.

  3. To dispatch 96 per cent. of vehicle excise licences in five working days from receipt of postal application.

  4. To dispatch 96 per cent. of duplicate vehicle registration books in six working days from receipt of applications.

  5. To dispatch 92 per cent. of all driving licences in nine working days from receipt of applications.

  6. To dispatch substantive replies to 97 per cent. of written inquiries for information from the drivers and vehicles registers in three working days from receipt.

  Efficiency:

  7. To limit maximum waiting time at Local Vehicle Licensing Offices so that 96 per cent. of customers are attended to within 22 minutes during peak periods (the first eight and the last two working days of each month) and within 10 minutes at other periods.

  8. To meet an overall efficiency gain of 2.5 per cent.

  Financial:
  9. To reduce the unit cost per vehicle excise enforcement case by 0.5 per cent. in real terms compared to 1998–99.

  Quality:
  10. To limit the error rate (errors on any item sent out by the Agency) to a maximum of 0.5 per cent. of total Agency output.

  Public Record Office
  Mr. Jim Murphy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what performance targets have been set for the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland in 1999–2000. [87563]

  Marjorie Mowlam
  For 1999–2000, the following performance targets have been set out for PRONI:

  Financial Performance
  To meet the challenge of managing the Agency's workload by:

  a) implementing the results of staff grading review so as to achieve a 3 per cent. efficiency gain while coping with a 4 per cent. increase in on-site public use of PRONI.

  b) Ensuring that expenditure is within the financial limits approved by the Department.

  Output

  To appraise at least 4,500 linear metres of records, including the reappraisal of records so as to eliminate low-grade material.

  To list and index at least 550 linear metres of records, including ensuring that 100 per cent. of all new "open" material is processed within one year of receipt.

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  Quality of Service

  To maintain the extra 4 hours opening per week beyond the standard 37½ hours.

  With the help of the computerised document request system, to improve the speed of on-site production to the public by reducing waiting time from 34 minutes to 30 minutes or less in 90 per cent. of cases.

  To process customer queries within 10 working days of receipt in 90 per cent. of cases and within 14 working days in 96 per cent. of cases, thus maintaining PRONI's Citizen Charter commitment.

  To ensure by 31 December 1999 the smooth completing of the annual release for 2000—c.2,000 records—as well as the on-going release of identified blocks of records at earlier than 30 years.

  As part of a 10-year storage improvement programme, to survey the conditions in which 10 per cent. of 33,360 metres of records are stored, and, in a related exercise, to take remedial action on upgrading, c.1,800 linear-metres of records as presently stored on mobile shelving or in plan cases in Balmoral Avenue so as to bring them up to defined standards of archival protection.

  To complete remedial conservation treatment (assessed overall as of medium technical difficulty) of at least 3,000 archive units, mainly from Grade 1 archives.

  To provide standards of service which ensure that the number of unsatisfied customers does not exceed 2 per cent. as reflected in signed customers satisfaction questionnaires.

  Efficiency
  To reduce by 3 per cent. (from £198 to 192), PRONI's composite Unit Cost in the areas of selecting and accessioning, records listing, records storage, document production, reader services. correspondence, outreach, public photocopying conservation and security microfilming.

  Industrial Research and Technology Unit
  Mr. Bennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what performance targets have been set for the Industrial Research and Technology Unit for the financial year 1999–2000. [87564]

  Mr. Ingram
  The Industrial Research and Technology Unit is an Agency within the Department of Economic Development. Its prime strategic target is to raise the level of industrial R & D in Northern Ireland and in addressing this target the Agency also aims to operate efficiently and effectively and provide a quality service. Against this background the following key targets have been set for the Agency:

  To achieve new user participation in the COMPLETE Programme of 20 per cent.

  To increase the average industry contribution to projects funded under the COMPLETE Programme by 1 per cent.

  To achieve an increase in R & D projects under the START Programme of 20 per cent.

  To achieve full cost recovery for Scientific Services.

  To maintain UKAS Accreditation for Scientific Services.

  Fair Employment
  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to her answers of 16 April 1999,Official Report, columns 364–65, if she will (a) estimate the cost of commissioning a study on the application of information technology across the field of equal opportunities monitoring in order to (i) assist employers in complying with monitoring requirements, (ii) assist analysis of monitoring returns, (iii) assist analysis of the operation of complaints mechanisms and (iv) assess the effectiveness of measures taken to address equality of
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  opportunity, (b) list publicly funded research studies of relevance and (c) estimate the cost of a literature search in this field. [87171]

  Mr. Ingram
  A major benefit of the new single Equality Commission will be to enable more effective monitoring across the whole equal opportunities field. We are committed to greatly increased use of information technology in all aspect of government and I would expect that the new Commission will see the development of appropriate computerised monitoring systems as a priority. I have no way of making an informed estimate of the cost of a study.

  I am not aware of any relevant publicly funded research studies or of any previously completed literature search. I am not able to make an estimate of the cost of the latter.

  Policing and Justice Review (Costs)
  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what are the financial estimates for(a) cost to completion and (b) the monthly breakdown of running costs and programme expenditure by main spending items since April 1998 for (i) the Independent Commission on Policing and (ii) the Review of Criminal Justice. [87168]

  Mr. Ingram
  The following table shows the spending profile of the Criminal Justice Review from April 1998 to March 1999. In effect the cost of the Review for the 1998–99 financial year is £390,262. The budget from April 1999 until the completion of the Review is £572,000, bringing the total cost to £962,000.

  Costs of the Criminal Justice Review

  £

  Costs from April 1998 to March 1999

  Month

  Running costs

  Programme costs

  Total

  April 1998

  0

  0

  0

  May 1998

  0

  0

  0

  June 1998

  109

  0

  109

  July 1998

  8,094

  20,593

  28,687

  August 1998

  306

  26,640

  26,946

  September 1998

  81

  2,181

  2,262

  October 1998

  1,990

  44,468

  46,457

  November 1998

  8,438

  28,224

  36,662

  December 1998

  270

  6,048

  6,317

  January 1999

  2,827

  56,723

  59,550

  February 1999

  10,658

  25,940

  36,598

  March 1999

  20,106

  126,566

  146,671

  Totals

  52,881

  337,380

  390,262

  Note:

  Totals may differ as a result of rounding

  With regard to the Independent Commission on Policing, the cost to completion is £2.874 million. The following is a table showing the breakdown of running costs and programme expenditure per month:

  £

  Month

  Running costs

  Programme costs

  Total

  June 1998

  14,382.85

  27,790.83

  42,173.68

  July 1998

  50,202.37

  113,647.89

  163,850.26

  August 1998

  22,178.71

  93,594.02

  115,772.73

  September 1998

  33,341.14

  56,252.76

  89,593.90

  October 1998

  34,478.57

  113,645.15

  148,123.72

  145

  £

  Month

  Running costs

  Programme costs

  Total

  November 1998

  61,520.10

  44,798.52

  106,318.62

  December 1998

  33,592.72

  89,111.74

  122,704.46

  January 1999

  30,459.07

  179,083.51

  209,542.58

  February 1999

  34,608.66

  145,632.27

  180,240.93

  March 1999

  54,679.21

  113,035.06

  167,714.27

  Totals

  369,443.40

  976,591.75

  1,346,035.15

  Equality Commission
  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will(a) place in the Library the written submissions to the Equality Commission Working Group meeting under Dr. Joan Stringer, (b) list the recommendations of the Working Group and (c) give the Government response to each. [87167]

  Mr. Ingram
  My officials are writing to those who made submissions to the Equality Commission Working Group and subject to their agreement I will place the submissions in the Library. The recommendations of the Working Group are listed in the Executive Summary of the Report, which is available in the Library. Many of the recommendations will be for the new Commission itself to consider and it would be inappropriate for Government to make a response to these. The recommendations that fall to Government are those that relate to appointments, induction training and resources. Appointments and induction training are being progressed and I will be monitoring the position on resources carefully to ensure that the new Commission is properly resourced to fulfil the current statutory obligations and implement important new responsibilities.

DEFENCE

  Homosexuality (Armed Forces)
  Mr. Bercow
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on his policy on employment of homosexuals in the armed forces. [86369]

  Mr. Doug Henderson
  The current policy is that homosexuals are excluded from the armed forces. As I have already made clear, the issue of homosexuality will be reviewed during this Parliament and there will be a free vote in Parliament on the subject.

  Defence Evaluation and Research Agency
  Mr. Hancock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the value of technology developed by the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency which has been made available to British industry by way of(a) licensing and (b) joint venture for each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [86370]

  Mr. Spellar
  The Defence Evaluation and Research Agency, DERA, does not assign a capital value to technology when transferred to industry. Instead, moneys are recouped by way of a running royalty over a number 146
  of years, sometimes as many as twenty. Details of the total licence income from UK industry for each of the last five years is detailed in the table:

  Financial year

  £000

  1994

  450

  1995

  1,205

  1996

  1,419

  1997

  1,300

  1998

  1,468

  The figures include income from non-equity joint ventures. DERA has been permitted to engage in equity joint ventures only since April 1999 and, so far, there has been no income from this source. Technology required by industry for government purposes is transferred free of charge; records are not kept of its theoretical value.

  Mr. Laurence Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what changes to pension arrangements for existing staff are planned if the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency becomes a public and private partnership; and if he will make a statement. [86670]

  Mr. Spellar
  [holding answer 11 June 1999]As the hon. Member is aware, we are currently conducting a consultation programme on proposals for a DERA Public Private Partnership. We hope to be in a position to make an announcement on DERA's future later in the year.

  Only after this will we be able to assess future pension arrangements for DERA staff.

  HMS Chatham
  Mr. Hancock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the forecast cost of the refit of HMS Chatham and its planned completion date; and if he will make a statement. [86385]

  Mr. Spellar
  The refit for HMS Chatham is due to be completed in late 1999, at a planned cost of £19.6 million. It is not possible to say whether additional unforeseen work, which may affect the final cost, will be required.

  HMS Campbelltown
  Mr. Hancock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what(a) delays and (b) cost over-runs there are in respect of the refit of HMS Campbelltown; what is the cost of the refit; when she will be ready for operational duties; and if he will make a statement. [86371]

  Mr. Spellar
  HMS Campbelltown is now fully operational. The refit, which was completed in December 1998, required some unforeseen additional work, which resulted in a delay of just over seven weeks. The final cost of the refit will not be known until all contractual aspects have been finalised but is expected to be about £23 million, which is within the overall budget.

  HMS Southampton
  Mr. Hancock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the refit of HMS Southampton will be completed; and at what cost. [86450]
  147
  Mr. Spellar
  HMS Southampton is currently on Sea Trials following her refit and will return to operational service in Autumn this year. As is normally the case, the sea trials will be followed by a period of defect rectification work. Expenditure to date is about £37 million, but the total project cost will not be known until any additional work is complete.

  Army Cadets (Safety)
  Mr. Kidney
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what reports he has received of the Coroner's inquest into the death of army cadet Claire Louise Shore; and what arrangements he will make for his Department to respond to the findings of the inquest. [86354]

  Mr. Doug Henderson
  The Coroner's inquest into the tragic death of Cadet Claire Louise Shore took place at the Coroner's Court Basingstoke, between the 17 and 20 May 1999. The inquest jury returned a verdict of "accidental death" and no specific recommendations were made by the Coroner. A Board of Inquiry (BOI) will however, now be held by my Department, to investigate the circumstances surrounding the accident and to make, where appropriate, any necessary recommendations to ensure that a similar incident does not reoccur. A copy of the BOI report would be made available to the family if they wish.

  Paternity Leave
  Mr. Bob Russell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what paternity provision is available for members of the armed forces(a) as a general right and (b) when there is medical advice that the health of the mother and baby, pre or post natal, requires the presence of the father. [86735]

  Mr. Spellar
  There is currently no national legal requirement to provide paternity leave and my Department has no policy to provide special leave for Service fathers. However, as a good employer, the Services seek, whenever possible, to grant a serviceman annual leave (or compassionate leave if appropriate) before or after childbirth. Operational commitments may, on occasions, make it impossible for every serviceman to be released from his duties.

  Harpoon Missiles
  Mr. Hancock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to upgrade the Harpoon missiles fitted to HM ships to give them Block II land attack capability. [87001]

  Mr. Spellar
  There are currently no plans to upgrade the existing Harpoon missiles fitted to HM Ships to Block II land attack capability.

  Block II Missiles
  Mr. Hancock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to fit Block II land attack missiles to HM ships. [87002]

  Mr. Spellar
  There are currently no plans to fit HM ships with Block H Harpoon land attack missiles.

  Kosovo
  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what advice will be given to returning Kosovan refugees and what precautions will be taken to protect them from contamination from depleted uranium in the region consequent on its use in ordnance and missiles; [86743]

  (2) what special equipment has been issued to service and other personnel in the former Yugoslavia to minimise the risk of contamination from depleted uranium; what other precautions were taken; what guidance was given to commanders; and if he will make a statement. [86741]

  Mr. George Robertson
  [holding answer 14 June 1999]The UNHCR is the lead agency responsible for the return of the refugees to their homeland. It will be for them to provide such advice as they judge to be necessary on the hazards which returning refugees may face.

  Although we believe that the health risks to our personnel from the use of depleted uranium ammunition in the Gulf War were very small we are making available to the UNHCR the March 1999 paper produced by the MOD's Gulf Veterans' Illnesses Unit in respect of testing for the presence of depleted uranium in UK veterans of that conflict. This contains detailed material which we believe may be of use to the UNHCR.

  As far as Service personnel are concerned, appropriate guidance is given to them on dealing with any potential hazards from depleted uranium which they might encounter in Kosovo. As a precaution, this guidance includes advice to wear respiratory protection and gloves when contact with vehicles damaged by depleted uranium ammunition is unavoidable. UK forces in theatre have been issued with the appropriate range of NBC clothing and equipment.

  "Costing the Earth"
  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if his Department has obtained a tape of the entire BBC Radio 4 programme, "Costing the Earth", broadcast on 7 June to which the Minister of State for the armed forces contributed. [86742]

  Mr. Doug Henderson
  [holding answer 14 June 1999]We do on occasion tape programmes, particularly those to which we make a contribution. We did not on this occasion as there are various ways of obtaining a tape should it be required.

  Depleted Uranium
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what epidemiologically valid trials have been conducted on service people who were exposed to depleted uranium debris in the Gulf War. [86951]

  Mr. Doug Henderson
  [holding answer 15 June 1999]The Ministry of Defence's portfolio of research programmes into Gulf veterans' illnesses matters currently comprises two major epidemiological studies looking at the health of UK Gulf veterans, a neuromuscular symptoms study, an independent review of research literature, and a programme to investigate possible interactions between the medical countermeasures which were used during the 1990–91 Gulf conflict. The Ministry of Defence is also supporting
  149
  a further epidemiological study of UK Gulf veterans which is being funded by the United States Government. However, none of these programmes, epidemiological or otherwise, is specifically aimed at investigating the health effects of depleted uranium.

  Nevertheless, all three teams conducting epidemiological research are well aware that depleted uranium is one of many possible exposures in the Gulf which have been put forward as a potential cause of Gulf-related illnesses, and they have and will continue to, take this into account in their studies. Possible exposure to depleted uranium at the time of the Gulf conflict was included in the questionnaires which the teams have sent, or are sending, to random samples of Gulf veterans and control groups.

  One of the epidemiological studies—that being conducted by a team from King's College, London—published their initial results in the Lancet in January. Of the 30 different exposures reported by those veterans who completed the survey, depleted uranium was the fourth least frequently reported.

  The need for further research work is kept under regular review by the Ministry of Defence and the Medical Research Council (MRC) which advises the Government on its overall strategy for Gulf health issues. So far, however, the MRC has not recommended that the Ministry of Defence commission any specific depleted uranium related research.

  Gulf veterans who are concerned that their health has been adversely affected by service during the Gulf conflict, including by possible exposure to DU, are entitled to seek a referral to the Gulf veterans' Medical Assessment Programme (MAP) for a full medical assessment. During this assessment, veterans receive a standard set of tests and are asked by the examining MAP physician to provide detailed information about possible factors, including depleted uranium, to which they may have been exposed during the Gulf conflict. Any further tests which are considered clinically appropriate by the examining MAP physician, including those to detect the presence of depleted uranium, are also arranged.

  Army Training and Recruiting Agency
  Mr. Dennis Turner
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the key targets are for 1999–2000 for the Chief Executive of the Army Training and Recruiting Agency. [87565]

  Mr. Doug Henderson
  The Chief Executive of the Army Training and Recruiting Agency has been set the following Key Targets for 1999–2000:

  1. To meet the Adjutant General's requirement for 620 commissioned officers.

  2. To meet the Adjutant General's requirement for 610 officers qualified for service in Field Force units following successful Special to Arm training.

  3. To meet the Adjutant General's requirement for the professional development training of 6,714 officers.

  4. To meet the Adjutant General's requirement for 10,831 regular soldiers qualified for service in Field Force units following successful Basic and Special to Arm training.

  5. To meet the Adjutant General's requirement for professional development training for 52,458 soldiers.

  6. To achieve a 3 per cent. annual aggregate improvement in ATRA efficiency measured on the ATRA Efficiency Index.

  Gulf Veterans
  Mr. Menzies Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what factors underlie recent trends in the number of referrals to the Gulf veterans' Medical Assessment Programme. [86224]

  Mr. Doug Henderson
  The Gulf veterans' Medical Assessment Programme (MAP) was set up by the Ministry of Defence in 1993 to provide as full a diagnosis as possible to Gulf veterans who are concerned about their health, or provide reassurance if no illness is found. It will continue for as long as it is needed.

  So far during 1999, a weekly average of five new patients have been referred to the MAP. The comparable figure for 1997 is about 19 and for 1998 is 12.

  The Ministry of Defence has made no assessment of the factors underlying this trend but has taken a number of steps over the last two years to highlight the MAP's existence and its purpose. Most recently, for example, the Department of Health's Chief Medical Officer's May Update highlighted the existence of an information pack to provide GPs and other health professionals with information they may find useful in dealing with Gulf veterans' health concerns. This pack includes a section on the MAP.

  As of 15 June, my Department had sent 176 copies of the information pack in response to requests from doctors. The pack is also available on the Ministry of Defence's Gulf veterans' illnesses webpage (http://www.mod.uk/policy/gulfwar/index.htm) and was highlighted in the memorandum "Current Activity relating to Gulf Veterans' Illnesses" which I published in April. Copies have also been sent to various Parliamentarians and placed in the Library of the House.

  Army (Re-enlistment)
  Sir Peter Emery
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many personnel who retired from the Army in the last 24 months have been persuaded to re-enlist; and if he will list the main places where they are now serving. [86146]

  Mr. Doug Henderson
  The number of Officers and Other Ranks who have left the Army within the last 24 months, and who have subsequently re-enlisted is as follows:

  Rank

  Numbers re-enlisted

  Officers

  2

  Soldiers

  597

  Some 84 per cent. of those who have re-enlisted are currently serving in Great Britain and Northern Ireland with a further 12 per cent. in Germany and theatres in the former Yugoslavia. The remaining 4 per cent. are serving in a variety of posts and theatres worldwide. These figures exclude mobilised Territorial Army (TA) and Reserve personnel.

  MOX Fuel Shipment
  Mr. Brake
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consultations he had with other departments regarding the shipment of MOX fuel to Japan. [86738]
  151
  Mr. Spellar
  [holding answer 11 June 1999]I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Blaenau Gwent (Mr. Smith) on 2 March 1999,Official Report, column 663, and the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for Energy and Industry to my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud (Mr. Drew) on the same day, Official Report, column 692.

PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL

  Millennium Compliance
  Helen Jones
  To ask the President of the Council, pursuant to her answer of 18 May 1999,Official Report, column 285, when she will publish the latest results of the market research tracking public perception of the millennium bug. [87248]

  Mrs. Beckett
  [pursuant to her reply, 15 June 1999, c. 71]I have placed copies of the Executive Summary of the April tracking research in the Libraries of the House.

  The results are broadly consistent with those for March, showing that concern among the public on this issue is still low.

  The results of the May tracking research will be published in the next few weeks and I will place copies of the Executive Summary in the Libraries of the House as soon as it is available.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Racial Attacks
  Dr. Cable
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many racial attacks for which people were prosecuted took place in London, broken down by police district,(a) in total, (b) per head of population and (c) per head of the ethnic minority population, in (i) 1998, (ii) 1997 and (iii) 1993. [85688]

  Kate Hoey
  The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police tells me that data on the number of prosecutions for violent racial crime are unavailable. The Metropolitan Police Service do not currently record information on the number of such crimes which were prosecuted in the courts.

  However, data are available on the number of charges and summons for violent racial crime, by police district and per 100,000 head of residential population for the financial years 1997–98 and 1998–99. Data are also available on the ethnicity of the victims of violent racial crime, per 1,000 head of resident ethnic population for those years. This information, provided by the Commissioner, is set out in the tables:

  Charges/summons for racial violent crime per 100,000 head of residential population; financial year 1997–98

  Area/division

  Division total

  Residential population estimate1

  Per 100,000 head of population

  Area 1 (Central)

  Belgravia

  2

  50,361

  4.0

  Notting Hill

  3

  64,407

  4.7

  152

  Charges/summons for racial violent crime per 100,000 head of residential population; financial year 1997–98

  Area/division

  Division total

  Residential population estimate1

  Per 100,000 head of population

  Chelsea

  0

  99,637

  0.0

  West End Central

  0

  4,817

  0.0

  Charing Cross

  1

  5,707

  17.5

  Marylebone

  1

  56,460

  1.8

  Paddington Green

  0

  94,954

  0.0

  Fulham

  0

  66,644

  0.0

  Hammersmith

  1

  90,277

  1.1

  Total

  8

  533,265

  1.5

  Area 2 (North West)

  Hampstead

  0

  85,791

  0.0

  Kentish Town

  5

  80,991

  6.2

  Holborn

  1

  22,905

  4.4

  Holloway

  1

  90,326

  1.1

  Islington

  3

  86,455

  3.5

  Harrow

  5

  210,900

  2.4

  Wembley

  0

  133,707

  0.0

  Kilburn

  2

  115,844

  1.7

  Hertsmere

  1

  193,623

  0.5

  Barnet

  4

  226,274

  1.8

  Ealing

  1

  162,175

  0.6

  Southall

  3

  136,702

  2.2

  Hornsey

  3

  109,710

  2.7

  Tottenham

  4

  110,091

  3.6

  Total

  33

  1,765,494

  1.9

  Area 3 (North East)

  Shoreditch and Hackney

  3

  85,567

  3.5

  Stoke Newington

  0

  106,102

  0.0

  Limehouse

  6

  84,409

  7.1

  Whitechapel

  4

  95,425

  4.2

  Barkingside

  1

  170,783

  0.6

  Chingford

  1

  119,572

  0.8

  Ilford

  3

  133,305

  2.3

  Leyton

  2

  99,851

  2.0

  Havering

  5

  230,222

  2.2

  Forest Gate

  1

  111,700

  0.9

  Barking and Dagenham

  3

  153,755

  2.0

  Plaistow

  2

  116,826

  1.7

  Edmonton

  2

  146,905

  1.4

  Enfield

  1

  175,602

  0.6

  Total

  34

  1,830,024

  1.9

  Area 4 (South East)

  Southwark

  2

  61,895

  3.2

  Peckham

  0

  105,873

  0.0

  Walworth

  0

  62,732

  0.0

  Catford

  7

  134,530

  5.2

  Lewisham

  2

  106,863

  1.9

  Bromley and Orpington

  2

  297,567

  0.7

  Plumstead

  6

  107,440

  5.6

  Greenwich

  2

  106,183

  1.9

  Bexley

  7

  217,216

  3.2

  Croydon

  1

  120,034

  0.8

  South Norwood

  3

  215,574

  1.4

  Epsom and Sutton

  0

  290,639

  0.0

  Total

  32

  1,826,546

  1.8

  Area 5 (South West)

  Heathrow Airport

  0

  685

  0.0

  Brixton

  0

  89,380

  0.0

  Streatham

  0

  91,168

  0.0

  Vauxhall

  1

  84,624

  1.2

  Spelthorne

  0

  208,828

  0.0

  Richmond-upon-Thames

  1

  88,998

  1.1

  Hounslow

  10

  183,774

  5.4

  153

  Charges/summons for racial violent crime per 100,000 head of residential population; financial year 1997–98

  Area/division

  Division total

  Residential population estimate1

  Per 100,000 head of population

  Kingston-upon-Thames

  5

  213,940

  2.3

  Battersea

  3

  183,438

  1.6

  Wandsworth

  3

  114,398

  2.6

  Hillingdon

  5

  151,101

  3.3

  Merton

  8

  249,437

  3.2

  Total

  36

  1,659,772

  2.2

  MPS total

  143

  7,615,101

  1.9

  Charges/summons for racial violent crime per 100,000 head of residential population; financial year 1998–99

  Area/division

  Division total

  Residential population estimate1

  Per 100,000 head of population

  Area 1 (Central)

  Belgravia

  11

  50,361

  0.22

  Notting Hill

  10

  64,407

  0.16

  Chelsea

  6

  99,637

  0.06

  West End Central

  9

  4,817

  1.87

  Charing Cross

  5

  5,707

  0.88

  Marylebone

  7

  56,460

  0.12

  Paddington Green

  21

  94,954

  0.22

  Fulham

  13

  66,644

  0.20

  Hammersith

  27

  90,277

  0.30

  Total

  109

  533,265

  0.20

  Area 2 (North West)

  Hampstead

  2

  85,791

  0.02

  Kentish Town

  25

  80,991

  0.31

  Holborn

  9

  22,905

  0.39

  Holloway

  14

  90,326

  0.15

  Islington

  12

  88,455

  0.14

  Harrow

  15

  210,900

  0.07

  Wembley

  4

  133,707

  0.03

  Kilburn

  6

  115,844

  0.05

  Hertsmere

  3

  193,623

  0.02

  Barnet

  11

  226,274

  0.05

  Ealing

  18

  162,175

  0.11

  Southall

  16

  136,702

  0.12

  Hornsey

  8

  109,710

  0.07

  Tottenham

  7

  110,091

  0.06

  Total

  150

  1,765,494

  0.08

  Area 3 (North East)

  Victims of violent racial crime per 1,000 head of resident ethnic population financial year 1997–98

  Ethnicity

  Per 1,000 head of resident ethnic population

  Sum of COUNT crime Area/division code

  White

  Black

  Asian

  Other

  Unknown

  Grand total

  White

  Black

  Asian

  Other

  Area 1 (CENT)

  Belgravia

  0

  0

  1

  0

  0

  1

  0.00

  0.00

  0.63

  0.00

  Notting Hill

  2

  3

  0

  0

  0

  5

  0.04

  0.47

  0.00

  0.00

  W.E. Central

  0

  0

  5

  0

  0

  5

  0.00

  0.00

  19.46

  0.00

  Charing Cross

  1

  1

  3

  0

  0

  5

  0.20

  0.33

  12.82

  0.00

  Marylebone

  1

  1

  0

  0

  0

  2

  0.02

  0.46

  0.00

  0.00

  Paddington Green

  1

  4

  1

  2

  0

  8

  0.01

  0.38

  0.20

  0.22

  Fulham

  1

  1

  0

  1

  0

  3

  0.02

  0.21

  0.00

  0.41

  Hammersmith

  1

  6

  1

  0

  0

  8

  0.01

  0.55

  0.33

  0.00

  1 total

  7

  16

  11

  3

  0

  37

  0.02

  0.43

  0.70

  0.10

  154

  Charges/summons for racial violent crime per 100,000 head of residential population; financial year 1998–99

  Area/division

  Division total

  Residential population estimate1

  Per 100,000 head of population

  Shoreditch and Hackney

  24

  85,567

  0.28

  Stoke Newington

  17

  106,102

  0.16

  Limehouse

  19

  84,409

  0.23

  Whitechapel

  9

  95,425

  0.09

  Barkingside

  3

  170,783

  0.02

  Chingford

  10

  119,572

  0.08

  Ilford

  3

  133,305

  0.02

  Leyton

  3

  99,851

  0.03

  Havering

  9

  230,222

  0.04

  Forest Gate

  11

  111,700

  0.10

  Barking and Dagenham

  16

  153,755

  0.10

  Plaistow

  9

  118,826

  0.08

  Edmonton

  11

  146,905

  0.07

  Enfield

  8

  175,602

  0.05

  Total

  152

  1,830,024

  0.08

  Area 4 (South East)

  Southwark

  19

  61,895

  0.31

  Peckham

  9

  105,873

  0.09

  Walworth

  13

  82,732

  0.16

  Catford

  32

  134,530

  0.24

  Lewisham

  21

  106,863

  0.20

  Bromley and Orpington

  15

  297,567

  0.05

  Plumstead

  32

  107,440

  0.30

  Greenwich

  21

  106,183

  0.20

  Bexley

  14

  217,216

  0.06

  Croydon

  15

  120,034

  0.12

  South Norwood

  29

  215,574

  0.13

  Epsom and Sutton

  6

  290,639

  0.02

  Total

  226

  1,826,546

  0.12

  Area 5 (South West)

  Heathrow Airport

  7

  685

  10.22

  Brixton

  7

  89,380

  0.08

  Streatham

  16

  91,168

  0.18

  Vauxhall

  11

  84,624

  0.13

  Spelthorne

  8

  208,828

  0.04

  Richmond-upon-Thames

  19

  88,998

  0.21

  Hounslow

  53

  183,774

  0.29

  Kingston-upon-Thames

  15

  213,940

  0.07

  Battersea

  16

  183,438

  0.09

  Wandsworth

  13

  114,398

  0.11

  Hillingdon

  18

  151,101

  0.12

  Merton

  33

  249,437

  0.13

  Total

  216

  1,659,772

  0.13

  MPS Total

  853

  7,615,101

  0.11

  155

  Victims of violent racial crime per 1,000 head of resident ethnic population financial year 1997–98

  Ethnicity

  Per 1,000 head of resident ethnic population

  Sum of COUNT crime Area/division code

  White

  Black

  Asian

  Other

  Unknown

  Grand total

  White

  Black

  Asian

  Other

  Area 2 (NW)

  Hampstead

  0

  1

  1

  0

  0

  2

  0.00

  0.22

  0.30

  0.00

  Kentish Town

  16

  5

  22

  3

  0

  46

  0.24

  1.03

  4.63

  0.72

  Holborn

  6

  1

  3

  0

  0

  10

  0.35

  0.70

  1.20

  0.00

  Holloway

  2

  2

  3

  1

  0

  8

  0.03

  0.16

  0.86

  0.21

  Islington

  14

  10

  13

  12

  0

  49

  0.19

  1.49

  4.75

  3.12

  Harrow

  10

  4

  11

  6

  0

  31

  0.08

  0.51

  0.30

  0.57

  Wembley

  3

  2

  0

  0

  0

  5

  0.04

  0.13

  0.00

  0.00

  Kilburn

  6

  5

  6

  1

  0

  18

  0.09

  0.20

  0.42

  0.12

  Hertsmere and Barnet

  8

  2

  14

  6

  0

  30

  0.02

  0.16

  0.47

  0.27

  Ealing

  1

  2

  4

  0

  0

  7

  0.01

  0.17

  0.40

  0.00

  Southall

  4

  7

  8

  0

  0

  19

  0.05

  0.72

  0.17

  0.00

  Hornsey

  5

  3

  0

  3

  1

  12

  0.06

  0.29

  0.00

  0.53

  Tottenham

  1

  8

  4

  4

  1

  18

  0.01

  0.30

  0.52

  0.52

  2 total

  76

  52

  89

  36

  2

  255

  0.06

  0.35

  0.43

  0.34

  Area 3 (NE)

  Shoreditch and Hackney

  13

  14

  11

  6

  0

  44

  0.23

  0.70

  2.43

  1.50

  Stoke Newington

  6

  4

  3

  1

  0

  14

  0.09

  0.17

  0.40

  0.16

  Limehouse

  31

  14

  46

  1

  0

  92

  0.50

  1.82

  4.33

  0.26

  Whitechapel

  21

  3

  13

  1

  0

  38

  0.39

  0.58

  0.39

  0.35

  Barkingside

  1

  0

  10

  0

  0

  11

  0.01

  0.00

  1.30

  0.00

  Chingford

  4

  2

  3

  1

  0

  10

  0.04

  0.26

  0.43

  0.29

  Ilford

  1

  0

  7

  2

  0

  10

  0.01

  0.00

  0.27

  0.43

  Leyton

  8

  1

  6

  0

  0

  15

  0.13

  0.06

  0.38

  0.00

  Havering

  2

  3

  13

  1

  0

  19

  0.01

  1.39

  4.39

  0.46

  Forest Gate

  9

  6

  29

  2

  2

  48

  0.17

  0.31

  0.84

  0.38

  Barking and Dagenham

  5

  7

  22

  2

  0

  36

  0.03

  1.96

  4.42

  1.08

  Plaistow

  4

  9

  22

  2

  0

  37

  0.05

  0.66

  1.28

  0.32

  Edmonton

  8

  0

  2

  4

  0

  14

  0.07

  0.00

  0.22

  0.67

  Enfield

  3

  3

  9

  2

  0

  17

  0.02

  0.66

  2.54

  0.72

  3 total

  116

  66

  196

  25

  2

  405

  0.08

  0.45

  1.06

  0.43

  Area 4 (SE)

  Southwark

  5

  10

  1

  7

  0

  23

  0.10

  1.51

  0.56

  3.35

  Peckham

  4

  3

  1

  2

  0

  10

  0.05

  0.13

  0.39

  0.12

  Walworth

  2

  5

  6

  1

  0

  14

  0.04

  0.43

  3.95

  0.37

  Catford

  11

  9

  0

  1

  1

  22

  0.10

  0.58

  0.00

  0.26

  Lewisham

  6

  5

  2

  0

  0

  13

  0.08

  0.21

  1.01

  0.00

  Bromley and Orpington

  7

  4

  2

  2

  0

  15

  0.02

  0.80

  0.48

  0.37

  Plumstead

  11

  16

  8

  4

  0

  39

  0.12

  2.19

  1.25

  0.93

  Greenwich

  7

  5

  2

  2

  0

  18

  0.07

  1.12

  0.79

  0.69

  Bexley

  6

  11

  8

  1

  0

  26

  0.03

  5.25

  1.42

  0.33

  Croydon

  4

  2

  0

  0

  0

  6

  0.04

  0.49

  0.00

  0.00

  South Norwood

  1

  2

  8

  1

  0

  12

  0.01

  0.09

  0.51

  0.11

  Epsom and Sutton

  0

  1

  6

  0

  1

  8

  0.00

  0.32

  1.13

  0.00

  4 total

  64

  73

  44

  21

  2

  204

  0.04

  0.57

  0.61

  0.39

  Area 5 (SW)

  Brixton

  10

  6

  2

  0

  0

  18

  0.18

  0.22

  0.99

  0.00

  Streatham

  4

  2

  1

  0

  0

  7

  0.06

  0.15

  0.20

  0.00

  Vauxhall

  3

  2

  1

  0

  0

  6

  0.05

  0.12

  0.38

  0.00

  Spelthorne

  1

  1

  0

  0

  0

  2

  0.01

  3.08

  0.00

  0.00

  Richmond-upon-Thames

  3

  3

  6

  1

  1

  14

  0.02

  2.14

  1.62

  0.21

  Hounslow

  11

  16

  27

  6

  0

  60

  0.07

  2.73

  0.75

  0.64

  Kingston-upon-Thames

  6

  4

  8

  4

  1

  23

  0.03

  2.39

  1.47

  0.50

  Battersea

  2

  8

  0

  2

  0

  12

  0.02

  0.49

  0.00

  0.45

  Wandsworth

  2

  9

  9

  2

  0

  22

  0.02

  0.71

  1.04

  0.29

  Hillingdon

  6

  7

  19

  1

  1

  34

  0.03

  1.72

  0.94

  0.15

  Merton

  7

  13

  27

  3

  0

  50

  0.05

  1.21

  2.74

  0.31

  5 total

  55

  71

  100

  19

  3

  248

  0.04

  0.64

  1.00

  0.30

  Grand total

  318

  278

  440

  104

  9

  1,149

  0.05

  0.49

  0.79

  0.33

  156 157

  Victims of violent racial crime per 1,000 head of resident ethnic population financial year 1998–99

  Ethnicity

  Per 1,000 head of resident ethnic population1

  Sum of COUNT crime Area/division code

  White

  Black

  Asian

  Other

  Unknown

  Grand total

  White

  Black

  Asian

  Other

  Area 1 (CENT)

  Belgravia

  7

  29

  7

  1

  1

  45

  0.16

  15.83

  4.40

  0.35

  Notting Hill

  10

  15

  18

  9

  1

  53

  0.19

  2.37

  13.66

  1.92

  Chelsea

  6

  20

  14

  10

  1

  51

  0.07

  6.88

  6.28

  1.38

  W.E. Central

  9

  23

  4

  6

  2

  44

  2.25

  203.54

  15.56

  13.70

  Charing Cross

  14

  11

  11

  3

  2

  41

  2.83

  91.67

  47.01

  7.50

  Marylebone

  20

  13

  17

  23

  0

  73

  0.44

  5.98

  6.00

  3.70

  Paddington Green

  29

  36

  17

  31

  1

  114

  0.41

  3.40

  3.34

  3.41

  Fulham

  27

  33

  34

  15

  0

  109

  0.47

  6.77

  25.11

  6.22

  Hammersmith

  59

  65

  31

  20

  3

  178

  0.83

  5.91

  10.15

  4.10

  1 total

  181

  245

  153

  118

  11

  708

  0.41

  6.13

  8.52

  3.08

  Area 2 (NW)

  Hampstead

  9

  11

  11

  1

  0

  32

  0.13

  2.44

  3.28

  0.15

  Kentish Town

  49

  67

  84

  20

  1

  221

  0.73

  13.84

  17.70

  4.83

  Holborn

  29

  17

  20

  6

  1

  73

  1.67

  11.95

  8.03

  3.63

  Holloway

  27

  30

  38

  12

  1

  108

  0.39

  2.47

  10.84

  2.53

  Islington

  29

  48

  46

  28

  1

  152

  0.40

  7.16

  16.82

  7.27

  Harrow

  31

  41

  85

  20

  2

  179

  0.20

  5.18

  2.33

  1.91

  Wembley

  13

  30

  30

  5

  0

  78

  0.19

  1.91

  0.79

  0.44

  Kilburn

  19

  31

  33

  13

  3

  99

  0.28

  1.25

  2.31

  1.60

  Ealing

  35

  47

  59

  14

  1

  156

  0.27

  4.08

  5.88

  1.30

  Southall

  14

  27

  67

  9

  1

  118

  0.19

  2.78

  1.46

  1.17

  Hornsey

  21

  26

  19

  9

  2

  77

  0.24

  2.54

  3.26

  1.58

  Tottenham

  35

  42

  32

  18

  8

  135

  0.52

  1.56

  4.19

  2.35

  Hertsmere and Barnet

  74

  61

  106

  32

  4

  277

  0.21

  5.01

  3.57

  1.45

  2 total

  385

  478

  630

  187

  25

  1,705

  0.29

  3.22

  3.08

  1.78

  Area 3 (NE)

  Shoreditch and Hackney

  52

  64

  30

  32

  2

  180

  0.91

  3.18

  6.63

  7.99

  Stoke Newington

  34

  43

  32

  18

  0

  127

  0.49

  1.87

  4.23

  2.94

  Limehouse

  82

  29

  101

  8

  0

  220

  1.32

  3.77

  9.52

  2.10

  Whitechapel

  73

  38

  43

  4

  0

  158

  1.35

  7.30

  1.29

  1.39

  Barkingside

  18

  18

  28

  5

  0

  69

  0.11

  6.14

  3.63

  1.43

  Chingford

  20

  21

  31

  6

  0

  78

  0.20

  2.75

  4.46

  1.74

  Ilford

  26

  18

  27

  1

  0

  72

  0.27

  2.50

  1.06

  0.21

  Leyton

  29

  41

  34

  7

  1

  112

  0.47

  2.42

  2.13

  1.41

  Havering

  20

  20

  52

  7

  1

  100

  0.09

  9.29

  17.57

  3.24

  Forest Gate

  42

  39

  58

  6

  2

  147

  0.80

  2.03

  1.69

  1.08

  Barking and Dagenham

  23

  46

  55

  22

  2

  148

  0.16

  12.90

  11.06

  11.87

  Plaistow

  33

  63

  96

  6

  4

  202

  0.41

  4.61

  5.59

  0.96

  Edmonton

  35

  23

  32

  22

  0

  112

  0.29

  1.93

  3.58

  3.66

  Enfield

  20

  26

  32

  23

  0

  101

  0.12

  5.75

  9.03

  8.30

  3 total

  507

  489

  651

  167

  12

  1,826

  0.35

  3.36

  3.54

  2.88

  Area 4 (SE)

  Southwark

  38

  88

  20

  26

  1

  173

  0.74

  13.25

  11.19

  12.44

  Peckham

  30

  53

  12

  1

  2

  98

  0.40

  2.28

  4.68

  0.21

  Walworth

  26

  49

  22

  5

  1

  103

  0.55

  4.20

  14.48

  1.86

  Catford

  37

  78

  30

  13

  0

  158

  0.33

  4.99

  12.73

  3.32

  Lewisham

  48

  68

  40

  24

  2

  182

  0.63

  2.87

  20.29

  4.39

  Bromley and Orpington

  39

  43

  31

  19

  2

  134

  0.14

  8.55

  7.52

  3.55

  Plumstead

  42

  113

  64

  21

  0

  240

  0.47

  15.45

  10.11

  4.86

  Greenwich

  64

  80

  44

  11

  1

  200

  0.66

  17.90

  17.48

  3.79

  Bexley

  24

  23

  49

  7

  0

  103

  0.12

  10.98

  8.69

  2.34

  Croydon

  41

  36

  47

  10

  2

  136

  0.38

  8.78

  10.09

  2.29

  South Norwood

  45

  47

  62

  8

  1

  163

  0.27

  2.21

  3.96

  0.89

  Epsom and Sutton

  11

  20

  50

  18

  0

  99

  0.04

  6.48

  9.38

  2.67

  4 total

  445

  698

  471

  163

  12

  1,789

  0.28

  5.44

  8.65

  2.99

  Area 5 (SW)

  Heathrow

  7

  4

  10

  3

  1

  25

  14.46

  173.91

  83.33

  52.63

  Brixton

  29

  32

  14

  3

  0

  78

  0.52

  1.19

  6.93

  0.64

  Streatham

  26

  45

  17

  7

  0

  95

  0.38

  3.28

  3.45

  1.78

  Vauxhall

  45

  60

  31

  8

  2

  146

  0.73

  3.61

  11.74

  1.95

  Spelthorne

  7

  6

  21

  3

  0

  37

  0.08

  18.46

  12.62

  2.90

  Richmond-upon-Thames

  19

  34

  42

  12

  0

  107

  0.11

  24.27

  11.31

  2.46

  158 159

  Victims of violent racial crime per 1,000 head of resident ethnic population financial year 1998–99

  Ethnicity

  Per 1,000 head of resident ethnic population1

  Sum of COUNT crime Area/division code

  White

  Black

  Asian

  Other

  Unknown

  Grand total

  White

  Black

  Asian

  Other

  Hounslow

  77

  88

  202

  38

  0

  405

  0.49

  15.00

  5.64

  4.03

  Kingston-upon-Thames

  35

  35

  80

  24

  1

  175

  0.18

  20.88

  14.73

  3.00

  Battersea

  36

  59

  36

  5

  5

  141

  0.41

  3.59

  7.62

  1.13

  Wandsworth

  36

  56

  54

  10

  3

  159

  0.29

  4.43

  6.26

  1.43

  Hillingdon

  23

  49

  122

  11

  2

  207

  0.11

  12.07

  6.06

  1.66

  Merton

  38

  58

  75

  15

  1

  187

  0.25

  5.38

  7.62

  1.55

  5 total

  378

  526

  704

  139

  15

  1,762

  0.27

  4.76

  7.06

  2.18

  Grand total

  1,896

  2,436

  2,609

  774

  75

  7,790

  0.31

  4.25

  4.65

  2.42

  1 1997 mid-year estimate based on 1991 census.

  Note:

  Victims are not necessarily resident in the division where the offence took place.

  UK Passport Agency
  Mr. Kidney
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he made of the performance of the UK Passport Agency before deciding that the agency should administer the new Criminal Records Bureau. [86336]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  The decision to ask the United Kingdom Passport Agency (UKPA) to manage the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) was taken for a number of reasons. The work of the Bureau involves similar business processes to those which the UKPA, notwithstanding its current temporary operational difficulties, has a good track record in providing. The Agency also has experience of procuring information technology using public-private partnership arrangements which will be appropriate for the setting up of the CRB, and sound financial management systems.

  Mr. Kidney
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what this year's performance targets are for the UK Passport Agency for dealing with applicants by(a) telephone, (b) post and (c) personal attendance; and what assessment he has made of the UK Passport Agency's performance against each of these targets in the current year. [86351]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  I am awaiting proposals from the United Kingdom Passport Agency's Chief Executive on targets for 1999–2000 which take account of the Agency's decision on the full introduction of the new computerised issuing arrangements to all of its six passport offices. In the meantime, the Agency is working to its 1998–99 targets for dealing with applicants by telephone, post and personal attendance. These are set out in the Annexe to the Agency's 1998–99 Business Plan, copies of which are in the Library.

  As I have explained in my letter of 10 June to hon. Members, the Agency has encountered some teething problems in piloting new computerised passport issuing arrangements at its Liverpool and Newport offices. Productivity has been below expectations and arrears of work have developed. In addition, the Agency is dealing with high seasonal demand for passports.

  Because of the backlog of work, and recent media attention the Agency has been swamped with telephone and written inquiries, and large queues have formed
  160
  outside each of the offices. Although the position is now improving, the Agency is not yet meeting its performance targets.

  My letter indicated what action the Agency is taking to improve its performance.

  Miss McIntosh
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he has taken to reduce delays and improve the service to members of the public in dealing with the Passport Agency; what plans he has to compensate customers for loss arising from failures in the Agency's service; and if he will make a statement. [86475]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  As I have explained in my letter to hon. Members of 10 June, the United Kingdom Passport Agency is taking a number of measures to improve its service to customers, and reduce delays in processing passport applications.

  It is prioritising applications by its customers' declared travel dates, and is meeting those dates for 99.99 per cent. of passports issued. 300 additional staff are being deployed, examination processes are being streamlined, and the Agency is working extended hours. In order to clear quickly straightforward renewal applications, certain existing passports are being extended for two years. Current delays will reduce as a result of actions being taken, and the seasonal nature of the Agency's work. The Agency's total work arrears are less than one months normal output.

  As regards compensation, the Agency's policy, where it has clearly been at fault and provided unsatisfactory service, is to compensate customers for reasonable additional expenditure incurred. Each case is considered on its merits.

  Schengen Information System
  Mr. Bercow
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the restrictions proposed to be placed on Court of Auditors auditing powers over the Schengen Information System. [86448]

  Mr. Straw
  It is for the Council of Ministers, as composed of the 13 Schengen States, to decide unanimously on any provision which would ensure that Court of Auditors auditing powers would apply to those
  161
  budgetary arrangements which do not form part of the European Community budget, and are not therefore subject to European Community budget rules. They have done so in relation to expenditure on, inter alia, the installation and functioning of the "Help Desk Server" of the Schengen Information System Management Unit, where such a provision was required.

  National Front
  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the follow-up to the March 1998 police report about the arrest in Ealing of a National Front member with alleged association with a serving police officer; and if 1 Area TSG was advised. [86970]

  Kate Hoey
  The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police tells me that inquiries were carried out to establish the extent of any connection between the suspect and any police officer and that no such connection was discovered. The management of the then Number One Area Territorial Support Group were informed of these inquiries at the time.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the suspect classified as CRO No. 108485/74A, born in August 1953, Ealing Police Station Custody Record 755/98, was charged with an offence; if the extent of his relationship with police officers was established; when his house was searched and how many officers were involved; and what was the nature of his work in an Islamic centre. [86968]

  Kate Hoey
  The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police tells me that the Crown Prosecution Service was consulted about this case and that they declined to prosecute as they considered the evidence available was insufficient; no relationship between this suspect and any police officer was established; the suspect's house was not searched and the police are not aware of any connection with any Islamic centre.

  Ealing Racial Equality Unit
  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what investigations were conducted into the racist hate-mail and graffiti directed at the Ealing Racial Equality Unit; and with what results. [86969]

  Kate Hoey
  The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police tells me that on 27 April 1999, three National Front stickers had been fixed to the front door, over a 'Blair Peach' poster, at the Ealing Racial Equality Centre. Forensic examination proved to be impracticable because of the way in which the stickers had been removed before police officers were present; and examination of Closed Circuit Television tapes produced negative results.

  Behavioural Orders
  Mr. Coaker
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the extent of the use to date of the provisions of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 relating to(a) child curfews, (b) anti-social behaviour orders and (c) parenting orders. [86921]
  162
  Mr. Boateng
  The child curfew provisions were brought into force on 30 September 1998. Local authorities wishing to impose them must consult locally and seek the Home Secretary's approval. No applications have yet been received. They are available to form part of integrated local action to reduce crime and disorder, and local authorities will wish to take into account the wider crime and disorder reduction strategies currently being developed under the provisions of the Act.

  The anti-social behaviour order provisions were introduced on 1 April 1999. One order has been made so far. It is for the police or local authority to decide whether to apply for one. We plan to review their use and effectiveness, and the extent to which they have been used, during their first two years.

  Parenting orders have been available since 30 September 1998 and introduced progressively since then in nine youth justice pilot areas. By the end of May 1999, 67 orders had been made—a significant level of use for a pilot scheme. The results of the piloting, due to run for 18 months, will inform the process of national implementation and help to identify good practice.

  Rapparee Cove, Devon
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the status of the human remains found at Rapparee Cove, Devon, in 1997. [86856]

  Mr. George Howarth
  The remains, consisting of a small number of bones, were removed on the authority of a Home Office licence. They are currently subject to scientific examination at the University of Bristol, where further tests to determine the origin of the remains are being planned.

  Inside Out Trust
  Jane Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the work of the Inside Out Trust with prison inmates. [86847]

  Mr. George Howarth
  I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave her on 14 June 1999,Official Report, column 59.

  Trial By Jury
  Sir Nicholas Lyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of defendants charged with either way offences he estimates will obtain legal representation to argue the matter(a) before the magistrates and (b) on appeal before the Crown Court; and what is his estimate of the change in costs of the proposed procedure. [86778]

  Mr. Boateng
  I refer the right hon. and learned Member to the reply I gave him on 15 June 1999,Official Report, columns 96–97.

  Fox Hunting
  Mr. Salter
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received from the Middle Way group of hon. Members on the subject of fox hunting; and what meetings he has had with them. [86776]

  Mr. Straw
  I have met a variety of groups to discuss the subject of fox hunting. I met the Middle Way group on 8 July 1998.

  Passports
  Mr. Swayne
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make temporary arrangements to enable children who have reached the age of 16 years to continue to travel on a parent's passport until the current backlog of passport applications has been processed; and if he will make a statement. [86844]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  I have no plans to make temporary arrangements for children who have reached the age of 16 years to continue to travel on a parent's passport. It is common international practice to require children who have reached 16 to have their own passport. This has been the very long established practice of the United Kingdom and it would be very difficult to ensure the acceptance by immigration officials throughout the world of a United Kingdom passport where a child having reached 16 remained on a parent's passport. Families could experience difficulties at exit and entry points with the relevant authorities questioning the validity of passports. Also, the numbers of children reaching 16 who are included in passports and wish to travel urgently would be relatively small and seeking to introduce temporary measures to deal with these would not be effective in easing current operational pressures.

  Immigration and Nationality Directorate
  Fiona Mactaggart
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will place on the internet, the change in instructions to staff at the Immigration and Nationality Directorate on dealing with applications from people whose children have been living in the United Kingdom for seven years, announced on 24 February. [87008]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  The instructions to staff relating to the handling of deportation and illegal entry casework are being reviewed with a view to publishing those parts which are not operationally sensitive. This review will take some time to complete. I have, therefore, asked for this particular instruction to be dealt with separately and for a copy to be placed on the internet as soon as possible.

  Fire Safety Legislation
  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received regarding proposals for a new Fire Safety Act; and if he will make a statement. [87166]

  Mr. George Howarth
  I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Coventry, South (Mr. Cunningham) on 17 May 1999,Official Report, column 264. We have received a number of representations from fire service interests and others. We
  164
  will bring forward legislation to consolidate and rationalise fire safety law when parliamentary time permits.

  Young Offenders
  Fiona Mactaggart
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will publish figures for 1998 on the average time taken from arrest to sentence for persistent young offenders. [87561]

  Mr. Straw
  Figures on how long it took to deal with persistent young offenders in 1998 will be published on Thursday 17 June. Copies of the press notice announcing the figures, and of the statistical press notice issued by the Lord Chancellor's Department detailing the method of calculation of the figures, will be placed in the Library.

  Immigration Policy
  Mr. Miller
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will announce the outcome of his review of immigration policy in relation to the unmarried partners concession. [87566]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  It has been decided that, in order to demonstrate a commitment akin to marriage, it is not necessary to demonstrate a prior cohabitation period of four years, and the prior cohabitation period has, therefore, been changed to two years. The probationary period before settlement may be granted has been increased to two years, which means there will be a four year cohabitation period before the grant of settlement. Where applicable, these new arrangements will be taken into account when deciding whether or not to initiate enforcement action.

  The other provisions of the concession remain unchanged.

  Ms Moran
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will announce the outcome of his review of immigration policy in relation to overseas spouses who suffer domestic violence in the first 12 month probationary period. [87593]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  We have decided to introduce a concession, which will be outside the Immigration Rules, for overseas spouses who wish to remain in the United Kingdom, but who wish to leave their partner because of domestic violence before completion of the 12 month probationary period. In order to benefit under this concession, the overseas national will need to provide objective evidence that he or she has been the victim of domestic violence. This is essential if such applications are to be dealt with swiftly and with fairness and consistency.

  The concession will come into force with immediate effect. An applicant whose marriage breaks down during the probationary year as a result of domestic violence may be granted indefinite leave to remain exceptionally, outside the Immigration Rules, provided the domestic violence occurred while the marriage was subsisting and the applicant is able to produce one of the following forms of evidence that domestic violence has taken place: an injunction, non-molestation or other protection order (other than an ex parte or interim order); or a relevant court conviction; and full details of a relevant police caution.

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  Where a prosecution is pending against the sponsor the applicant may be granted further periods of six months limited leave to remain, subject to the same conditions, until the outcome of the criminal prosecution is known. Where a hearing seeking an injunction, non-molestation order or other protection order is pending, a decision on the application will be delayed pending the outcome of that hearing.

  In addition to helping victims of domestic violence, we have decided, in the interests of compassion and fairness, that where an applicant is widowed during the probationary period he or she may also be granted indefinite leave to remain exceptionally outside the Immigration Rules, provided that the Secretary of State is satisfied that the marriage was subsisting at the time of the sponsor's death.

  These arrangements will also be applied to those who have been admitted to join a person settled here under the unmarried partners concession which I announced on 10 October 1997.

  Overstayers
  Mr. Clappison
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of persons subject to immigration control who (i) have overstayed for seven years or more since the expiry of their leave to remain and (ii) have otherwise overstayed for seven years or more. [87139]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  As at January 1999, the number of overstayers against whom deportation action had been initiated, but not completed, stood at 20,700. Some of these cases are subject to legal challenge.

  There is no reliable estimate of the number of overstayers against whom enforcement action has not yet been initiated, nor of those who have overstayed for seven years or more.

  Probation Service Computer Programme
  Sir Peter Emery
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he is taking to overcome the weaknesses in the computer programme newly set up for the Probation Service. [86147]

  Mr. George Howarth
  The roll out to the 54 Probation Services in England and Wales of a new national Case Record Administration and Management System, (CRAMS), started in March 1997. CRAMS is designed to enable services to handle and communicate on a wide range of information relating to offenders at all stages in the criminal justice process. It is currently in operation in 37 services and a further six services are undergoing training.

  Work to develop the system is on-going. Work currently in progress includes: an upgrade to make it more user friendly, to enhance reporting facilities and meet the provisions of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and a link to police criminal records.

  Northern Ireland Service Review Commission
  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what ruling was provided by the Northern Ireland High Court in response to his application 166
  for judicial review of decisions taken by the Northern Ireland Sentence Review Commission; if he will place a copy of the court ruling in the Library; and what is his estimate of costs incurred in this legal action. [87157]

  Mr. George Howarth
  A copy of the ruling of 23 March 1999 of the High Court of Justice in Northern Ireland in the matter of an application by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department for judicial review of four determinations made by the Northern Ireland Sentence Review Commissioners has been placed in the Library.

  The legal costs incurred by the Secretary of State in these proceedings are estimated to be £5,000. The Secretary of State was also ordered to pay the costs of the applicants. These have yet to be finally determined. I will write to my hon. Friend when this information is available.

TREASURY

  EU Directive (Taxation of Interest)
  Mr. Denzil Davies
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made, for the purposes of the draft EU directive on the taxation of interest payments, of the percentage of Eurobond holders who are individuals resident in the EU. [85834]

  Dawn Primarolo
  No reliable estimates exist, but it is known that a very large proportion of Eurobonds are held by institutional investors rather than individuals.

  VAT
  Mr. Maude
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what external legal advice he has received regarding the VAT treatment of(a) speculative and (b) supportive foreign exchange transactions following the judgment of the European Court in the First National Bank of Chicago case (Case C-172/96). [85676]

  Dawn Primarolo
  As is usual following European Court decisions, external legal advice was not sought. Internal legal advisers are on hand and the legal finding of the Court is clear.

  Mr. Maude
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to Her Majesty's Customs and Excise Business Brief 16/98, what representations he has received with regard to VAT on foreign exchange transactions following the judgment of the European Court in the First National Bank of Chicago case (Case C-172/96). [85677]

  Dawn Primarolo
  Following Customs' Business Brief 16/98, representations have been received from one interested trade body and one firm of Accountants.

  ECOFIN
  Mr. Rammell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the outcome of the ECOFIN Council held in Brussels on 25 May; and if he will make a statement. [85827]

  Ms Hewitt
  The Chancellor and the Paymaster General attended the Economic and Finance Council meeting in Brussels on 25 May 1999.
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  Seven draft reports from ECOFIN to the Cologne European Council were considered:

  (i) the 1999 BEGs were approved with a few amendments, including a revision to the text on Italian public finances to reflect the possibility of lower growth impacting on Italy's deficit;

  (ii) the European Employment Pact was briefly discussed ahead of the joint SAC-ECOFIN meeting which followed ECOFIN;

  (iii) the report on Implementation of the Framework for Financial Markets: Action Plan, and draft Council conclusions were approved without amendment;

  (iv) the progress report on reinforced tax policy cooperation was agreed subject to amendment of a paragraph on energy taxation to make clear that the Presidency's compromise proposal was discussed but not agreed;

  (v) the report on the International Financial System was approved without amendment;

  (vi) an oral report from the Chairman of the Economic and Finance Committee on the HIPC initiative set out the areas of agreement and remaining difference among EU member states. It was agreed that the Cologne Conclusions should record where there was agreement;

  (vii) the Commission report on Financing Investment in Infrastructure was discussed. It was agreed that further study was required after the Cologne Council.

  Eight tax items were discussed:

  (i) the Paymaster General presented the second interim report of the Code of Conduct Group to ECOFIN. The report was welcomed. The Group will present its final report to ECOFIN in November;

  (ii) on the taxation of savings, the Chancellor said the UK would submit a paper on international bonds to a working group in June;

  (iii) the draft Council conclusions on the taxation of interest and royalties were adopted without amendment;

  (iv) ECOFIN requested that Coreper re-examine the Energy taxation dossier in light of the Presidency's compromise text and the views of Ministers;

  (v) the Presidency's compromise proposal on tobacco excise duties was agreed;

  (vi) the consensus necessary to reopen the issue of the abolition of Duty Free was not reached;

  (vii) the proposal for a reduced VAT rate on labour intensive services was remitted back to Coreper for further discussion with a request for a list of eligible services;

  (viii) Spain put forward a proposal for a high level group on tax fraud. The Presidency asked Coreper to look at the detail of the proposal.
  The necessary regulations and decision relating to the establishment of a European anti-fraud office by the Commission on 1 June were approved. The Council thanked the Commission for its progress report on the Sound and Efficient Management initiative (SEM 2000) and welcomed the contribution made by this initiative to improving financial management. The Presidency and the Commission urged agreement in the Finnish Presidency of the renewal of the EIB's external lending mandates.

  ECOFIN was followed by a joint session of the Social Affairs Council and ECOFIN. The joint Council discussed the proposal for a European Employment Pact.

  Mr. Hood
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the outcome of the ECOFIN Council held in Luxembourg on 14 June; and if he will make a statement. [87286]

  Ms Hewitt
  There was no meeting of ECOFIN on 14 June. The next meeting of ECOFIN is scheduled for 12 July. Under the standing arrangements, the agenda 168
  will be made available to the Clerk of the House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee when determined by Coreper, approximately one week before the meeting. Copies of the agenda will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

  National Minimum Wage
  Mr. Rowlands
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in his Department and its associated bodies and agencies have benefited from the introduction of a national minimum wage. [86092]

  Ms Hewitt
  Approximately 1,700.

  European Central Bank
  Mr. Bercow
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reason a European Commissioner is entitled to be present at the meetings of the Governing Council of the European central bank; what means will determine which Commissioner will be present; if he has voting rights; if he is remunerated; what rules of confidentiality apply to him; and if he will make a statement. [86731]

  Ms Hewitt
  In accordance with Article 113 (Ex 109b) of the EC Treaty, a member of the European Commission may participate, without having the right to vote, in meetings of the Governing Council of the ECB. The participation of the Commission in the Governing Council contributes to the process of inter-institutional dialogue. In line with this provision, the Commissioner for monetary affairs has attended meetings of the Governing Council, but has not received separate or additional remuneration for so doing. The participation of the Commission in meetings of the Governing Council is subject to the confidentiality regime outlined in Article 10.4 of the ESCB Statute (Protocol No.3 to the EC Treaty).

  European Commission
  Mr. Bercow
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the pay rates of Cabinet staff of European Commissioners. [86728]

  Ms Hewitt
  Members of Cabinets in the European Commission are either permanent Commission staff, or employed as 'temporary agents'. If they are permanent staff, they are paid in accordance with the Commission Staff Regulations, with rates determined by their grade. If they are temporary agents, they are appointed in accordance with the Staff Regulations, their position on the pay scale being determined in line with their age and experience according to strict guidelines that apply to all community appointments. Rates of pay for individual Cabinet members are a matter for the Commission and the individual concerned.

  Withholding Tax
  Mr. Bercow
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 18 May 1999,Official Report, column 338, if he will make a statement on developments at the 25 May ECOFIN Council on the withholding tax. [86770]

  Dawn Primarolo
  The ECOFIN Council conclusions recognise that the treatment of international bonds as provided for under the draft Directive on the taxation of
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  savings in its present form could adversely affect the competitiveness of EU financial markets, in particular wholesale markets. It is clear that the Council and the European Commission now accept our case that this problem must be resolved.

  Climate Change Levy
  Sir Nicholas Lyell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the percentage by which manufacturing industry's costs would increase as a result of his proposals for a climate change levy, in respect of changes in the cost of(a) electricity, (b) coal and (c) gas. [86771]

  Ms Hewitt
  The Government believe that all sectors of the economy will need to play their part in helping to meet the legally-binding target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions set under the Kyoto Protocol and our domestic commitment to further reductions. The climate change levy is expected to save around 1.5 million tonnes of carbon a year by 2010, thereby making a significant contribution to meeting the Government's targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

  The climate change levy will entail no increase in the burden of tax on business as a whole, since the revenues will be fully recycled to business via a 0.5 percentage point reduction in the main rate of employers' National Insurance Contributions. Business will also benefit from additional £50 million for schemes aimed at promoting energy efficiency and support for renewable sources of energy, such as solar and wind power.

  The final incidence of the levy on particular sectors will depend on the rates set for different sectors.

  The Government recognise the need for special consideration to be given to energy intensive industries given their high energy usage and exposure to international competition. We intend to set significantly lower rates of tax for energy intensive sectors that agree targets for improving their energy efficiency. Negotiations are currently underway with the main energy intensive sectors.

  Mr. Swayne
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from glasshouse growers concerning the proposed climate change levy; and if he will make a statement. [86392]

  Ms Hewitt
  The Chancellor has received a number of responses from glasshouse growers in the course of the consultation on the climate change levy. These will be considered along with the other responses to the consultation.

  Counterfeiting
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of how secure plastic bank notes are against counterfeiting; if they were considered as a replacement for the current £20 note; and if he will make a statement. [86649]

  Ms Hewitt
  The Bank of England continues to monitor carefully polymer (plastic) substrates for banknotes. In terms of security against counterfeiting, these type of banknotes are incompatible with certain traditional and well-proven security features (eg thread and watermark).170
  However, the Bank are continually assessing the effectiveness of the different type of security features polymer offers.

  The polymer substrate was considered for the £20 variant, but was discounted because of incompatibility with the theme of the current (Series E) note designs. The new £20 note is a variant within the existing series and is not the start of a new series of notes. It contains a number of additional security features which offer enhanced protection against counterfeiting and will cause less confusion to the public than an entirely new type of note.

  Money Laundering
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the problem of cyber-laundering of money and assets; what proposals he has for(a) national and (b) international measures to combat it; and if he will make a statement. [86857]

  Ms Hewitt
  (a) The Government are determined to tackle money laundering in all its forms. The obligations under the Money Laundering Regulations 1993 to report all suspicious transactions, to keep records, to train staff and to establish the identity of customers apply irrespective of whether the business is carried out electronically or otherwise. The Government will be looking at whether additional measures are needed to tackle the laundering of money by electronic means in the course of discussions with other member states on a possible Second EC Money Laundering Directive. Meanwhile the Financial Services and Markets Bill will enhance the powers of the Financial Services Authority to combat money laundering carried out through financial institutions, including those offering services over the internet.

  (b) The UK chaired a meeting of anti money laundering experts from the member countries of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in November 1998. That meeting discussed, among other things, the threat from cyber-laundering and shared experiences in combating it. A report on that meeting was published by the FATF in February 1999 and is available on the FATF's internet website.

  The Government are committed to the prevention of cybercrime as a whole. To this end, it is participating in the negotiation of a Council of Europe Cybercrime Convention. Domestically, the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) chairs a tripartite forum with government officials and the Internet Service Providers to develop measures for law enforcement and protection of internet users.

  Offshore Betting
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the potential loss of revenue from offshore betting; what plans he has to prevent such loss; and if he will make a statement. [87104]

  Dawn Primarolo
  The Government keep the revenue yield from General Betting Duty under constant review. The transfer offshore of a single telephone betting business will have a minimal effect on government revenues.
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  The extent of overseas bookmaking operations is constrained by a prohibition on them advertising in the United Kingdom. The scope of this prohibition is the subject of an impending challenge in the High Court. The Government will take the outcome of this case into account when deciding on appropriate courses of action to safeguard the revenue.

  Greater Manchester Transport Submissions
  Mr. Woolas
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what timetable he is proposing for the announcement of decisions on allocations in the financial year 1999–2000 from the Capital Modernisation Fund with respect to the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive submissions. [87003]

  Mr. Milburn
  I will announce decisions on first round bids from the Capital Modernisation Fund shortly.

  Royal Mint
  Mr. Chope
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if it is the policy of the Government that the Royal Mint should be able to restrict the availability of special coinage to personal visitors to the Millennium Dome; and if he will make a statement. [87108]

  Ms Hewitt
  [holding answer 15 June 1999]The United Kingdom £5 Millennium coin will be struck at the Royal Mint in Llantrisant and in the Millennium Dome. Coins struck at the Royal Mint will be made generally available in line with normal practice for commemorative coins. Coins struck in the Dome will bear a special mintmark and will be available only to visitors to the Dome. No restrictions will be placed on the number that can be minted at the Dome.

  Capital Gains Tax
  Ms Lawrence
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to take action against the avoidance of capital gains tax through the purchase of trust losses. [87559]

  Dawn Primarolo
  There is mounting evidence that the tax rules which provide for capital losses realised within trusts to pass to beneficiaries in certain circumstances are being widely abused for the purpose of avoiding capital gains tax. Avoidance schemes are being set up and marketed specifically to take advantage of these rules by enabling people to purchase interests in trusts with losses. In some cases very large losses are being manufactured within trusts to exploit these rules. If successful, these schemes could lead to a very significant loss of tax revenue.

  The Government are not prepared to tolerate this sort of avoidance activity which undermines the integrity of the tax system and creates unfairness between taxpayers. A new clause will shortly be tabled for Report to tackle this abuse. The new Clause will restrict the circumstances in which losses accruing to trusts can be transferred to beneficiaries and the use which beneficiaries can make of such losses.

  The Inland Revenue are today issuing a Press Release giving details of the new Clause.

  Parliamentary Questions
  Mr. Brady
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many parliamentary questions have been tabled to his Department for written answer on a named day since 15 April; and what percentage of them received a substantive response on that day. [87328]

  Ms Hewitt
  74 of the 121 named day questions (61 per cent.) tabled since 15 April have been answered substantively on the due day. 78 per cent. of such questions were answered within two days of the named day.

  Income Tax Form
  Sir Peter Emery
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reason the Inland Revenue has introduced Income Tax Form SA106/BMSD12/98. [87137]

  Dawn Primarolo
  Income Tax form SA106/BMSD12/98 was introduced as part of the Self Assessment tax return to enable taxpayers to declare foreign income and claim tax credit relief.

SCOTLAND

  Ministerial Responsibilities
  Mr. Maclean
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the responsibilities of each Scottish Office Minister after 1 July. [86845]

  Dr. Reid
  I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Woodspring (Dr. Fox), by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 25 May 1999,Official Report, column 98.

  Dover House
  Mr. Maclean
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the uses that Government departments, other than his Department, will make of Dover House after 1 July. [86836]

  Dr. Reid
  Scottish Executive Ministers and their officials will have access to Dover House when they have official business in London.

  Scottish Executive (Travel Expenses)
  Mr. Swayne
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish the estimated cost of travel expenses for the new Scottish Executive for the period up to 1 July. [86917]

  Dr. Reid
  It is not possible at this time to make a reliable estimate of such costs during the period in question.

  From 1 July 1999, this will be a matter for the Scottish Parliament.

  Scottish Parliament
  Ms Roseanna Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will make a statement on the
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  arrangements for the transfer of responsibility for the new Scottish Parliament to the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body; [86903]

  (2) if he will list the contracts for work on the (a) construction, (b) design and (c) preparation for construction and related matters for the new Scottish Parliament Building, indicating when each contract was signed, which are still under negotiation and at what stage those negotiations are; and if he will make a statement. [86904]

  Dr. Reid
  Legal and financial responsibility for the new Scottish Parliament building at Holyrood transferred from Scottish Office Ministers to the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body on 1 June 1999. Requests for information on the Holyrood Project should in the first instance be made through the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

  Overseas Aid (Fraud)
  Mr. Bercow
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proposals she has to ensure that opportunities for fraud in respect of the overseas aid budget are reduced. [85980]

  Mr. Foulkes
  We have strong and clear control systems designed to ensure propriety and value for money in the expenditure of our budget. Our internal auditors keep these under review and they are regularly updated.

  Debt Relief
  Mrs. Fyfe
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the likely progress at the G7 summit in ensuring recognition that debt repayment conditions should not entail less money being available for basic health and education programmes. [85982]

  Mr. Mullin
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent progress has been made on debt relief for the poorest countries; and if she will make a statement. [85984]

  Helen Jackson
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will support proposals to link the relief of indebtedness in developing countries to measures to invest in primary education and health care. [86001]

  Mrs. Ann Winterton
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proposals her Department has for developing new mechanisms to ensure a greater linkage between debt relief and poverty reduction. [85972]

  Clare Short
  We are pressing for a revised Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative (HIPC) to provide at least twice as much debt relief, twice as fast, and for the provision of debt relief to be more tightly linked to policies which help reduce poverty.
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  We are pleased that, at their meeting in Frankfurt on 12 June, G7 Finance Ministers were able to agree that a substantial improvement to HIPC is required. G7 Leaders will be discussing it further this week and we look forward to the announcement of a package on debt relief at the weekend. The final details of the new HIPC package will be settled at the annual meetings of the World Bank and IMF in September. The Chancellor and I also announced last week that we will be contributing a further $100 million to the Trust Fund in order to help the Multilateral Development Banks meet their share of the cost of the HIPC debt relief.

  Mr. Savidge
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans she has to raise at the forthcoming G7 summit proposals to strengthen the linkage between debt relief and the 2015 international development targets; and if she will make a statement. [85987]

  Clare Short
  We anticipate that the discussion on debt at the G8 Summit in Cologne will build on the Communiqué from the World Bank's Development Committee in April, which noted the need for faster, deeper and wider debt relief and emphasised the link to poverty reduction. It is essential that debt relief leads to more resources being invested in programmes to eradicate poverty and achieve the international development goals. We are taking every opportunity to press this issue with our international partners.

  Mr. Bill Michie
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions she has had with representatives of non-governmental organisations concerning debt relief; and if she will make a statement. [86000]

  Clare Short
  I have had many meetings with NGOs to discuss debt relief. Most recently the Chancellor of the Exchequer and I met Comic Relief and the Director of the NGOs which form the British Overseas Aid Group (BOAG). We discussed the UK objectives on enhancing the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. We are seeking agreement to lower the debt to export ratio to 150 from 200 per cent. and the fiscal ratio to 200 from 280 per cent. We believe that this will provide heavily indebted poor countries with a permanent exit from their debt problems. We are also pressing for debt relief to be provided in a way that will free up resources for poverty eradication in the early years. We made clear the important contribution made by the Churches and NGOs in their international campaign for improved debt relief.

  Afghanistan
  Mr. Swayne
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the aid made available to Afghanistan in the last two years. [85983]

  Mr. Foulkes
  We have made available more than £11 million in humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan over the last two years.

  The assistance has been provided through agencies such as the International Red Cross and the United Nations for emergency medical assistance, demining and refugee

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  protection. In addition, we have provided funds to non-governmental organisations working in rural development, health/sanitation and the education sector.

  Humanitarian Aid
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans she has for humanitarian aid for the states of the former Yugoslavia. [85985]

  Clare Short
  We are committed to respond to humanitarian needs wherever the need exists in the states of the former Yugoslavia and elsewhere. Our objective is and remains to enable the refugees from Kosovo to return to a safe and secure environment.

  An emergency assessment team is currently in Kosovo making an evaluation of the most urgent humanitarian needs. We will continue to work closely with the UNHCR and other international organisations and donors.

  Millennium Volunteers Programme
  Mr. St. Aubyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussion she has had on proposals to include volunteers on overseas aid projects in the Millennium Volunteers Programme. [85986]

  Clare Short
  The Department for International Development provides £26 million support for the volunteers working on overseas development projects. Experience has taught us all that such volunteers should be skilled and experienced. This makes overseas volunteering largely inappropriate for the Millennium Volunteers Programme but final decisions have not yet been made.

  Women's Education
  Fiona Mactaggart
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what priority she gives to the education of women in poor countries in the distribution of her aid budget. [85988]

  Clare Short
  Our education policy is focused on the achievement of the internationally agreed target of universal primary education by 2015 and gender equity in primary and secondary education by 2005. These are the two major benchmarks against which we will measure our progress.

  Education is a basic human right for all children. There is also clear evidence that the education of girls, and women, leads to major improvements in family health, child survival and overall economic development.

  Nigeria
  Dr. Cable
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans she has to assist the newly elected Government in Nigeria with(a) economic reconstruction and reform and (b) debt relief. [R][85989]

  Clare Short
  We recognise the many problems facing the newly elected Government, in particular the scale of poverty which has been increasing in Nigeria for many years. President Obasano has pledged a new approach to economic issues but has yet to announce his programme.176
  Alongside the IMF, World Bank, European Union and other partners, we are ready to support the process of economic change and rebuilding government capacity.

  We are helping Nigeria rejuvenate its moribund debt recording and management system in order to reconcile its external position with creditors. The next step will be for the Government to complete the current IMF programme so that detailed discussions can begin on dealing with Nigeria's debts.

  Kosovo (Environmental Consequences)
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to her oral answer of 12 May 1999,Official Report, column 303, concerning the organisations which will pay for clearing up the Danube, what discussions she has had with (a) the European Commission, (b) EU member states, (c) the International Monetary Fund, (d) the World Bank and (e) regional banks on this matter. [85991]

  Clare Short
  We are working closely with the European Commission, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and other EU member states to determine the reconstruction needs in the region, which will include environmental matters. We expect the costs for this to be assumed by the IFIs, EU and other donors, together with the countries of the region.

  I met yesterday with Klaus Töpfer the Head of United Nations Environment Programme which is taking lead responsibility for urgently reviewing the environmental conditions of the condition of the Danube. He informed me that claims of large scale oil pollution were not substantiated.

  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans her Department has to assist in the environmental clearing-up in Kosovo and the surrounding region after the end of hostilities. [85998]

  Clare Short
  I met yesterday with Klaus Töpfer Head of Environment Programme which is the lead UN agency responsible for the environment. He is taking urgent steps to review and report on the environmental consequences of the conflict in Kosovo and Serbia.

  Genetically Modified Foods
  Mr. Khabra
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what research her Department has(a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the impact of genetically modified foods in developing countries. [85992]

  Clare Short
  We are planning to commission a study of the costs and benefits to the livelihoods of poor people in developing countries arising from so-called "terminator" gene technologies. We are helping to fund an assessment by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics of the risks to biodiversity of introducing transgenic pigeonpea cultivars into traditional cropping systems in India and are also funding an analysis of the impact in the Philippines of genetically male fish (tilapia).
  177
  Mr. Alan W. Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations she has received on the recent report by Christian Aid on food and genetic engineering. [85993]

  Clare Short
  I have not received any representations on the recent report by Christian Aid on food and genetic engineering. I have received a number of letters from the public expressing concerns about genetic engineering.

  My officials recently held a consultation meeting with representatives from 10 non-governmental organisations, including a representative from Christian Aid, on our policy on GMOs and developing countries. This provided an opportunity to clarify the approach outlined in our published briefing note and to emphasise that the principle which guides all our activities is poverty elimination. The discussions were very constructive and helpful.

  Hurricane Mitch
  Mr. Watts
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on her Department's actions to help with reconstruction in the Central American countries affected by Hurricane Mitch. [85994]

  Clare Short
  Our contribution to the initial phase of reconstruction has totalled £4.2 million. In addition to immediate emergency assistance, we have provided grants to the United Nations Children's Fund for emergency repairs to water and sanitation infrastructure and to restore primary health and education services. We also provided funds for a programme of emergency repairs and rehabilitation to rural roads and bridges, and a cash for work incentive targeting particularly neglected municipalities. Regionally we have given grants to the Pan-American Health Organisation to support national health authorities, particularly for epidemic control, and to the United Nations Development Programme to support co-ordination.

  Following our recommendation, the World Bank set up a Trust Fund to help countries affected by Hurricane Mitch meet their debt service payments to international financial institutions. We committed £10 million to this purpose. Bilateral Governments have also agreed to forgo debt repayments for the next two years.

  In the long term we plan to spend some £6 million in the region over the next two years on measures to help with the long term reconstruction. This will include projects in health, capacity building and disaster prevention.

  Banana Crop (Caribbean)
  Mr. Bill O'Brien
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the economic position of small farmers in the Caribbean who are dependent on the banana crop. [85995]

  Clare Short
  We fully recognise the considerable uncertainty and concern among banana farmers in the Caribbean as a result of recent World Trade Organisation ruling. We are collaborating closely with the European Commission and other member states to try to identify new trading arrangements which, with the endorsement of the different parties involved, will hold out the prospect of a viable future for a restructured Caribbean banana 178
  industry. This exercise is complex, given the range of different interests involved. We are continuing to consult closely with Caribbean Governments in the search for an acceptable solution. We are also actively involved, with the EC, in encouraging and supporting the necessary local restructuring of the banana industry to enable it to compete under a new regime.

  Developing Countries (IT)
  Mr. Boswell
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she is taking to extend awareness of information technology in developing countries. [85996]

  Clare Short
  We are promoting awareness and the effective and appropriate use of information technology in developing countries as an integral part of many of our mainstream development projects, especially in the fields of education and governance. We also play an active role in the key multilateral initiatives addressing this issue.

  Commonwealth Development Corporation
  Angela Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of future prospects for the Commonwealth Development Corporation in Cuba. [85997]

  Clare Short
  The Commonwealth Development Corporation has been working in Cuba since 1996, and we expect it to continue to do so. The focus of its work will continue to be on its financing business, undertaken as a joint venture with a local bank, which is expanding its activities. CDC will also look for equity investment opportunities on a selective basis.

  IMF
  Mr. Burstow
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment her Department has made of the role of the IMF in leading the international community's efforts to help poor countries meet the 2015 international development targets. [85999]

  Clare Short
  Following last year's review of the IMF's Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility, it was agreed that the IMF should take more account of the social impact of their programmes, consider the quality of Government expenditure and protect budgets in high priority areas such as health and education. We are encouraging the IMF to work more closely with the World Bank to ensure that, in designing structural adjustment programmes, they take account of the impact on the poor. Following proposals put forward by the UK, the World Bank is developing good practices of social policy, in consultation with the IMF. We envisage that these principles will be drawn upon by the World Bank and the IMF in the design of programmes. We continually emphasise the need for the IMF to build consensus for reform programmes, through discussion and consultation with civil society, so that they lead to economic growth which benefits the poor.

  Porta Farm, Harare
  Mr. Nicholas Winterton
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what financial or other
  179
  assistance has been provided by her Department for the Porta Farm Development near Harare, Zimbabwe. [85990]

  Clare Short
  Through our Small Grants Scheme, we have provided £3,700 for construction of classrooms for pre-school and primary school children, and improved water and sanitation facilities at Porta Farm.

  Kosovar Refugees
  Dr. Julian Lewis
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans her Department has for provision for the Kosovar refugees during the winter; and if she will make a statement. [85978]

  Clare Short
  The UNHCR is the internationally designated lead agency responsible for co-ordinating provision for the refugees from Kosovo and also for the return of the refugees to Kosovo. We have worked to try to support and improve their efforts. We have provided £40 million of assistance to date and on Monday we announced a further £50 million to support the process of return to Kosovo. Details of our spending which has been channelled through the most effective agencies are available in the Library. Provision is being made for the advent of winter conditions from October onwards.

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

  Sportsmark
  Mr. Spring
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will list those schools which have received(a) a Sportsmark and (b) an additional Gold Star award since May 1997. [86694]

  Mr. Chris Smith
  I am very pleased to say that over a thousand schools have now achieved a Sportsmark or Sportsmark Gold award. A full list of successful schools has today been placed in the Libraries of the House.

  Mr. Spring
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans he has to extend the Sportsmark scheme to primary schools. [86693]

  Mr. Chris Smith
  We have no plans to extend the specific Sportsmark scheme to primary schools. However, Sport England are currently working on an Activity award for primary schools. The scheme will give national recognition to schools offering a quality programme of physical activity. They hope to introduce the award during the autumn term 1999.

  Tourism
  Mr. Spring
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the net effect on the balance of payments of British visitors going abroad and overseas visitors coming to the United Kingdom in(a) 1996, (b) 1997 and (c) 1998. [86697]

  Janet Anderson
  The Office for National Statistics has estimated, using data from the International Passenger Survey and other sources, that the direct contribution to the UK balance of payments arising from tourism activities is as shown in the table. This is not a full account of the balance of payments effects of tourism,180
  which would need to include, for example, overseas trade in tourism goods and the international investment flows of tourism companies.

  £ million

  1996

  1997

  1998

  Exports: earnings from overseas visitors to UK

  13,770

  13,805

  14,432

  Imports: expenditure by UK residents going abroad

  16,729

  17,402

  20,008

  Balance of trade in services

  -2,959

  -3,597

  -5,576

  Source:

  Office for National Statistics 1996, 1997, 1998.

  Holiday Statistics
  Mr. Spring
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many British individuals took holidays abroad in the first three months of(a) 1998 and (b) 1999; and what their estimated expenditure was in these two periods. [86696]

  Janet Anderson
  The estimates currently available from the International Passenger Survey, conducted by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), are shown in the table. A breakdown of 1999 visits by main purpose of visit, to reveal holiday visits, is not yet due to be published by ONS.

  January-March 1998

  January-March 1999

  Total number of visits abroad by UK residents

  9.1 million

  10.3 million

  Total expenditure of which:

  £3.7 billion

  £4.2 billion

  Holiday visits abroad by UK residents

  5.1 million

  n/a

  Holiday expenditure

  £2.1 billion

  n/a

  Source:

  International Passenger Survey, Office for National Statistics

  Millennium Experience
  Mr. Reed
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps have been taken to involve communities across the UK in the Millennium Experience. [87393]

  Janet Anderson
  The New Millennium Experience Company has established a series of initiatives, as part of their National Programme of events and activities, which reaches across the UK. This includes McDonald's Our Town Story which invites towns everywhere to tell their story locally and to the world on the Our Town Story stage at the Dome during 2000. A list of all participating education authorities and library boards was placed in the Libraries of the House on 19 May.

  Sport England
  Mr. Spring
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will list the percentages of Sport England's grant-in-aid which was spent on(a) staff costs, excluding national centres, (b) administrative expenses,
  (c) publicity, promotions and communications, (d) grants to national governing bodies, (e) grants to the National

  181
  Coaching Foundation, (f) sports science, (g) sports medicine, (h) national centres, (i) grants to other national sports bodies, excluding NGBs and (j) regional support in 1998–99. [86695]

  Mr. Chris Smith
  The information the hon. Member requested on Sport England's grant-in-aid expenditure is included in the following table.

  Sport England grant-in-aid expenditure

  Actual 1998–99 percentage

  rrRegional Field Staff

  12

  National Field Staff

  5

  Public Information/Communication/Research

  3

  Corporate services (Finance/IT/Audit/Human Resources/Office Services)

  5

  (a) Total Staff Costs

  25

  (b) Administrative Expenses Rent/Rates/Running costs

  11

  (c) Publicity/Promotion/Communications Communications Programme

  4

  (d) Grants to National Governing Bodies Complementing grant-in-aid provided by UKSC

  16

  (e) Grants to National Coaching Foundation Complementing grant-in-aid provided by UKSC

  5

  (f) Sports Science/Sports Medicine

  (g) Complementing grant-in-aid provided by UKSC Sports Medicine

  1

  (h) National Centres Total net costs

  10

  (i) Grants to other National Sports Bodies excluding NDB's

  Includes the following:

  Central Council for Physical Recreation

  Sports Aid Foundation

  Commonwealth Games Council for England

  Community Sports Leadership Award Scheme

  Youth Sport Trust

  English Federation of Disability Sports

  National Youth Games

  Panathlon Foundation

  7

  (j) Regional Support

  Includes the following:

  Regional Grants

  Facility Planning and Development

  Equity (including Disability Grants)

  Volunteer and Community Development Work

  21

  Total

  100

SOCIAL SECURITY

  "Support in Bereavement"
  Mr. O'Hara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will provide an analysis of responses made to the "Support in Bereavement" consultation document (Cmd 4104). [86126]
  182
  Angela Eagle
  A summary of responses to the consultation document "A new contract for welfare: Support in Bereavement" is available in the House Library, together with a list of those organisations who responded to the consultation paper.

  Copies of responses are available on request from The Widows' Benefit Consultation Team, 3rd Floor, The Adelphi, 1–11 John Adam Street, London, WC2N 6HT.

  Invalid Care Allowance
  Mr. Goggins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the level of earnings which would be defined as gainful employment for the purpose of claiming invalid care allowance if it had been increased in line with inflation in each year since the last increase; and what the additional cost to public funds would have been in the current year. [86852]

  Mr. Bayley
  The level of weekly net earnings below which it could be possible to be eligible for Invalid Care Allowance would currently be £59 if it had been increased in line with inflation since the last increase. It is not possible accurately to estimate the level of additional public expenditure which would have been incurred as a result.

  Mr. Goggins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when the level of earnings which is defined as gainful employment for the purpose of claiming invalid care allowance was last increased. [86851]

  Mr. Bayley
  The level of earnings defined as gainful employment for the purpose of claiming Invalid Care Allowance was last increased on 12 April 1993.

  Benefit-related Mail
  Mr. Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he expects every local authority to have an agreement with the Post Office for preventing redirection of benefit-related mail. [86902]

  Angela Eagle
  Our aim is for all local authorities to operate the "do not redirect" service. The Department has written to every authority strongly encouraging them to take up this initiative but it is a matter for individual authorities to decide whether to take part based on local circumstances. To date, 90 local authorities have signed up to the service and a number of other authorities are in the process of doing so. If the current take-up rate were to continue we would expect the majority of local authorities to be operating the service within 12 months.

  Earnings Top-Up
  Mr. Hope
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what arrangements have been made for renewing awards when the Earnings Top-Up pilot ends. [87594]

  Angela Eagle
  Earnings Top-Up (ETU) is a three-year pilot which was introduced in October 1996 to explore the effects of an in-work benefit for people without dependent children. The pilot was designed to run from 8 October 1996 to 4 October 1999 in eight areas and full evaluation findings will be available during 2001.
  183
  When the pilot was first set up, the plans included three renewal awards for people receiving Earnings Top-Up when it closed down. However, since May 1997, a range of new initiatives to help low paid workers has been introduced. Measures already introduced include the National Minimum Wage and Tax and National Insurance Contribution changes. In view of this, ETU renewals at the end of the pilot will be restricted to a single six month award.

  Companies the Government have made payments to for consultancy regarding the computerisation of the Benefits Agency in the last three years

  Project

  Contract dates

  Contract award value (£)

  Successful company

  Current status

  Programme Accounting Group (PAG)—Consultancy Support

  12/11/1996 to 31/12/1996

  36,450

  KPMG

  Finished

  Programme Accounting Group/Programme Accounting

  21/10/1996 to 21/12/1996

  63,508

  SEMA

  Finished

  Computer System (PACS)—Consultancy Support

  21/10/1996 to 31/12/1996

  138,300

  KPMG

  Programme Design Authority (PDA)—Implementation Group Support

  —

  135,000

  Andersens

  Finished

  Card Access Payment System (CAPS)—Programme and Card Payment Delivery Review

  11/11/1996 to 28/2/1997

  122,800

  Ernst & Young

  Finished

  Card Access Payment System (CAPS)—Migration Conformance Manager

  1/4/1997

  78,000

  PA Consulting

  Finished

  Programme Accounting Group (PAG)—IT Consultant

  1/4/1997 to 30/6/1997

  31,500

  PricewaterhouseCoopers

  Finished

  Card Access Payment System (CAPS)—Consultancy Support

  9/6/1997 to 8/6/1999

  19,767,220

  Andersens

  Ongoing

  613,662

  A.S.E.

  Ongoing

  Financial and Management Information System (FAMIS)—Study of Private Sector Partnership potential

  20/5/1997 to 27/6/1997

  34,900

  KPMG

  Finished

  Card Access Payment System (CAPS)—Migration Strategy

  3/2/1997 to 31/3/1997

  263,221

  Andersens

  Finished

  Programme Accounting Group

  12/2/1997 to 28/3/1997

  29,750

  KPMG

  Finished

  Audit Trail Analysis System (ATAS)—Tool Development

  17/3/1997 to 11/4/1997

  30,000

  ICL

  Finished

  Programme Accounting Group (PAG)—Consultancy Support

  14/7/1997 to 31/1/1998

  63,000

  KPMG

  Finished

  Programme Accounting Group (PAG)—Technical Architect

  15/9/1997 to 30/4/1998

  135,240

  A.S.E.

  Finished

  Banking and Accountancy Branch (BAB)—Implementation Management

  3/2/1998 to 31/3/1998

  76,150

  SEMA

  Finished

  Review of BA IS/IT Strategy

  11/8/1998 to 4/9/1998

  16,500

  PA Consulting

  Finished

  Card Access Payment System (CAPS)—Review of Change Management

  2/2/1999 to 8/3/1999

  18,800

  Admiral

  Finished

  Banking and Accountancy Branch (BAB)—IT Consultant

  15/2/1999 to 26/3/1999

  29,023

  PA Consulting

  Finished

  BA Decision Making and Appeals Implementation Programme

  8/6/1998 to 30/11/1999

  360,000

  Andersen Consulting

  Ongoing

HEALTH

  Health Council
  Mr. Hood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the outcome of the Health Council held in Luxembourg on 8 June; and if he will make a statement. [86639]

  Ms Jowell
  I attended the Health Council on 8 June in Luxembourg, on behalf of the United Kingdom.

  The Council reached political agreement on the draft Recommendation on limitation of exposure of the general public to electromagnetic fields. This will be adopted at a future Council, subject to the lifting of the UK's Parliamentary scrutiny reserve. The Council also adopted Resolutions on antibiotic resistance and on future Community action in the field of public health and held an initial exchange of views on priorities and resources for the latter. It also adopted Conclusions on health protection requirements in Community policies. The Commission reported on the progress of the European Union—United States Task Force on Communicable Diseases and on the Community's own communicable diseases surveillance network. The Commission also presented a paper on health and enlargement, following which the Council

  Benefits Agency (Computerisation)
  Dr. Cable
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security to which companies the Government have made payments for consultancy regarding the computerisation of the Benefits Agency in the last three years; how much was paid to each company; what the current status of the project is; and if he will make a statement. [85437]

  Angela Eagle
  [pursuant to her reply, 8 June 1999, c. 306–07]The information is in the table.

  went into an informal session to which Health Ministers from the accession candidate countries had been invited. They identified common health problems, particularly increased levels of communicable diseases, smoking, and drug and alcohol misuse.

  In formal session again, the Commission said that publication of its report on the state of migrants' health in the Community would be delayed to include the health needs of refugees, in the light of the Kosovo crisis. Both the Commission and Belgium gave an oral update on the current situation following the contamination of food with dioxins in Belgium. After an oral report from the Commission on Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies in the Community, the UK updated the Council on the number of cases of variant Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease in the UK. The Council also stated its support for the World Health Organisation's "Tobacco Free Initiative".

  Gynaecologists (North Yorkshire)
  Miss McIntosh
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what procedures are in place for the recruitment of consultant gynaecologists in North Yorkshire NHS trusts; and if he will make a statement. [86476]
  185
  Mr. Denham
  The standard National Health Service recruitment procedures are in place.

  Central Public Health Laboratory
  Mr. Gardiner
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the present recruitment and retention position at the Central Public Health Laboratory; and if he will investigate the feasibility of bringing medical laboratory staff within the pay and conditions arrangements of the Pay Review Body structure. [86920]

  Mr. Denham
  Medical Laboratory Scientific Officer staff at the Central Public Health Laboratory are employed by the Public Health Laboratory Service Board. Their recruitment and retention is a matter for that body.

  These staff are employed under the Professional and Technical Staffs B Whitley Council terms and conditions, which apply to all similar staff within the National Health Service. The management side of the Whitley Council has made a pay offer for 1999–2000 based on issues specific to these staff, including recruitment and retention, affordability, NHS output targets and the economic context.

  We are also discussing with all NHS unions proposals to modernise the NHS pay system published on 15 February 1999 in "Agenda for Change".

  St. Dunstan's
  Mr. Bob Russell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons he has refused the application for financial assistance from St. Dunstan's Charity for Service War Blinded under Section 64 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968. [86923]

  Mr. Hutton
  No application for Section 64 funding has been received from St. Dunstan's in relation to its own work of providing training and long-term care for men and women who lost their sight while serving in the armed forces. However the Diana Gubbay Trust for the Blind, which is administered by St. Dunstan's to provide care to former members of the armed forces and the civilian forces whose blindness is not attributable to service, has applied for core funding in each of the last two years.

  The funds available under section 64 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968 are finite and many more applications are received from voluntary organisations than it is possible to meet. We considered both applications from the Diana Gubbay Trust very carefully, but concluded that other applications were stronger.

  DTP Vaccine
  Mr. Ian Stewart
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if the batch of DTP vaccine withdrawn by the Bath and West Community NHS Trust was(a) whole cell or (b) acellular vaccine; which pharmaceutical company supplied the vaccine; and when the vaccine batch was manufactured. [86862]

  Ms Jowell
  This batch was a combined diphtheria/tetanus/whole cell pertussis vaccine manufactured by Behring and distributed in the United Kingdom by Wyeth Vaccines. It was manufactured on 18 June 1998.

  Calendar Packs
  Mr. Ben Chapman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the practice among pharmacists of dispensing calendar packs instead of the doses prescribed by doctors. [87014]

  Mr. Denham
  Calendar packs are typically produced for medicines taken over long periods or for defined course lengths. Because the days of the week are printed alongside the tablets, splitting the packs could result in patients receiving partial strips of tablets labelled with confusing and inappropriate assortments of days of the week. It is long-standing practice, as permitted by their terms of service, for community pharmacists to dispense the nearest number of complete packs or sub-packs in situations where the quantity prescribed differs from the quantity in the pack and where, in their opinion, it was not the intention of the prescriber that only the exact quantity be dispensed. We have had no reports that this has caused any clinical difficulties.

  NHS Pensions Agency
  Fiona Mactaggart
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the key targets for 1999–2000 for the NHS Pensions Agency. [87398]

  Mr. Denham
  We have agreed the Agency's key targets for 1999–2000, and have placed copies in the Library.

  Written Questions
  Mr. Brady
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many parliamentary questions have been tabled to his Department for written answer on a named day since 15 April; and what percentage of them received a substantive response on that day. [87330]

  Ms Jowell
  Since 15 April 1999, 172 parliamentary questions have been tabled to this Department for answer on a named day. Of these 151, or 88 per cent., have been answered substantively on that day.

  Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust
  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many(a) doctors and (b) nurses there were in the Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust Area on 31 March (i) 1997 and (ii) 1999; and what was the capital spending in the Trust area in (1) 1996–97 and (2) 1998–99. [87045]

  Mr. Denham
  The information requested is shown in the table.

  Year

  Doctors

  Nurses

  Capital spend (£ million)

  1997

  1240

  11,310

  12.0

  1999

  2—

  2—

  7.3

  1 Data are for 30 September 1997 as the census is taken each year at 30 September. Data for following years are unavailable because they have not yet been published, or, in the case of 1999, not yet collected.

  2 No data available.

  Asylum Seekers
  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the cost to his Department for each year since 1996 of support for asylum seekers who are not eligible for social security benefits. [86891]

  Mr. Hutton
  The Department has paid grants to local authorities in respect of support for asylum seekers under the Children Act 1989 and National Assistance Act 1948 in 1996–97, 1997–98 and 1998–99. Details of the total amounts paid are shown in the table.

  £ million

  Grant paid

  1996–98

  1997–98

  1998–99

  Unaccompanied children

  3

  1.587

  20.157

  Families with children

  4.137

  28.440

  80.074

  Single adults

  5.627

  39.577

  89.813

PRIME MINISTER

  Kosovo
  Mr. Bercow
  To ask the Prime Minister what measures he is planning as part of a general settlement on Kosovo, to encourage displaced persons to return to their homes. [86367]

  The Prime Minister
  NATO's KFOR is helping to create a secure environment in which refugees and displaced persons can return home. The United Kingdom is working closely with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to facilitate such returns, including by helping to carry food and other essential supplies into Kosovo.

  Kashmir
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Prime Minister if he proposes to discuss the issue of Kashmir at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in November. [86993]

  The Prime Minister
  The draft agenda for the next meeting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government has not yet been circulated. We are not aware of any plans to discuss Kashmir.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Business Links
  Mr. Cotter
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the total income of Business Links nationally broken down by(a) his Department's grants, (b) EU and other public funding, (c) charges to customers and (d) grants from Business Link national partners for (i) 1997–98 and (ii) 1998–99; and what estimate he has made for 1999–2000. [86637]

  Mr. Wills
  The total amount of funding provided for the Business Links programme by the Department in the periods 1997–98 and 1998–99 were £129.2 million and £121.1 million respectively. For 1999–2000, the Department has earmarked £139 million for Business 188
  Links programme funding, which includes an element of funding specifically for developing services of the new Small Business Service.

  Business Links are private, independent organisations and the Department does not collect statistics on income from EU and other public funding or on grants from Business Link national partners. But we estimate that total Business Link company fee income from customers to be of the order of £21 million in 1997–98, £31 million in 1998–99 and £36 million in 1999–2000.

  Information Society Local Support Centres
  Mr. Cotter
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many departmental Information Society Initiative Local Support Centres have been established; and how many more are planned. [86635]

  Mr. Wills
  Eighty Information Society Initiative (ISI) Local Support Centres have been established. A further 20 are planned and these should be open by the end of 1999 to give a UK wide network of 100 Local Support Centres.

  Climate Change Levy
  Mr. Redwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received from industry concerning the proposed climate change levy. [87031]

  Mr. Battle
  My Department is having extensive discussions with business on the impact of the climate change levy, and the accompanying reduction in employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs), which were announced by my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his Budget, 9 March 1999,Official Report, columns 173–90.

  Tax forms part of the Government's strategy on climate change. However, we have said that we wish to implement the climate change levy in a way which minimises any adverse impact on the competitiveness of UK business. The Government will continue to listen to the views of business and as raised in response to HM Customs and Excise's consultation on the levy, which ended on 28 May. Final decisions on the design of the levy, including its rates, will be taken for inclusion in the Finance Bill 2000 in the light of these representations.

  Mr. Redwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the impact on jobs of the proposed climate change levy. [87032]

  Mr. Battle
  My Department has received many representations from business on the impact of the climate change levy, some of which have raised concerns about its impact on employment.

  The levy will form part of our strategy on climate change. We are also developing negotiated agreements and emissions trading as means by which business can contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We want to give business the chance to develop the cost-effective solutions to emissions reductions and to make the most of the new business opportunities which should flow from climate change in the years to come: new markets and new goods and services, which may have positive implications for employment.

  Benefit Swipecard
  Mr. Rendel
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the reduction in revenue to post offices under the proposed swipecard. [86929]

  Mr. Ian McCartney
  [holding answer 14 June 1999]The Horizon platform, which is planned to be installed throughout the Post Office network by 2001, is compatible with both magnetic swipecard and smartcard technology.

  As announced on 24 May 1999, Official Report, column 21, the project will no longer incorporate the magnetic swipe benefit payment card. Existing paper based methods of paying benefits in post offices will continue until 2003 after which the Benefits Agency intends to move over a period of two years to a more modern and efficient way of paying benefits using the existing automated credit transfer system. This will enable payments to be made into bank accounts. A number of banks already allow access to personal accounts at post offices, and the period to 2003 will allow the Post Office to develop its relationship with the banking industry and the range of services it offers to personal customers.

  The contractual arrangements between the Post Office and its banking partners for providing access to bank accounts at post offices will remain a commercially confidential matter between the parties.

  Company Law
  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the need to amend company law to provide for the validity of meetings and their subsequent decisions conducted by tele-conferencing and related technology. [87135]

  Mr. Ian McCartney
  The DTI's view is that the general law already provides for general meetings of shareholders to be held in more than one physical site, provided that these are appropriately linked. Subject to the company's Articles, meetings of directors may be conducted in a medium the directors think fit, for example, by telephone or by video conference.

  In March 1998, the DTI launched a fundamental review of company law which is being taken forward by an independent Steering Group. The Steering Group is considering all wider policy issues surrounding the role and place of the general meeting of shareholders and the mechanisms for company decision making, including the implications of modern technologies for statutory rules for meetings.

  Written Questions
  Mr. Brady
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many parliamentary questions have been tabled to his Department for written answer on a named day since 15 April; and what percentage of them received a substantive response on that day. [87325]

  Mr. Battle
  Between 15 April and 15 June, 126 questions for answer on a named day were tabled to this Department, 49 per cent. of these received a substantive answer on the named day.

  Regional Development Agencies
  Mr. Donaldson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures his Department has taken to increase co-ordination between the various regional development agencies following the implementation of devolution. [87046]

  Mr. Wills
  The Chief Executive of the Invest in Britain Bureau (IBB), which is jointly managed by the DTI and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, continues to chair the Committee on Overseas Promotion (COP). The role of COP is to co-ordinate UK promotion of inward investment and avoid unnecessary duplication of effort by publicly funded promotional bodies. Members include representatives from the agencies for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the eight Regional Development Agencies in England and London First Centre. We are also encouraging the Regional Development Agencies in England to continue to explore and build on closer collaboration on overseas marketing and representation with neighbouring regions.

EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT

  Local Management of Schools
  Mr. Tyler
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans the Government have to integrate the grant for reducing infant class size into the rate support grant to local education authorities to enable this funding to be provided through the local management of schools formula. [86682]

  Ms Estelle Morris
  [holding answer 14 June 1999]We are providing specific grant funding to enable Local Education Authorities to meet our pledge to limit the size of infant classes to 30 or below by September 2001. No decisions have yet been taken on the mechanisms for funding smaller infant class sizes beyond 2001–02 but revenue funding will continue to enable schools to continue to employ teachers taken on as a result of the class size policy.

  New Deal (Young People)
  Mr. Green
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to his answer of 21 May 1999,Official Report, column 474, on the New Deal for Young People, when he expects to be able to provide the number of New Deal trainees in various sectors of industry. [85559]

  Mr. Andrew Smith
  [holding answer 8 June 1999]Improved information on the number of New Deal job starts by employers should be available by October, depending on progress on upgrading the Labour Market System. For the longer term, the Employment Service is working with its IT supplier to enhance further the full range of its management information systems.

  Mr. Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the(a) median and (b) average length of time spent on the Gateway of the New Deal for 18 to 24-year-olds by those for whom no eventual destination is known. [85863]
  191
  Mr. Andrew Smith
  For the period ending March 1999 the median length of time spent on the New Deal Gateway by those young people who leave for an unknown destination is 71 days. The mean average length of time is 85 days.

  Secondary Schools (Leicestershire)
  Mr. Garnier
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list for each secondary school in Leicestershire for the academic year 1999–2000(a) its official pupil capacity, (b) the number of pupils actually at the school, (c) the average cost per pupil and (d) the number of (i) teachers and (ii) full-time equivalents employed. [86641]

  Ms Estelle Morris
  Information for individual schools is not published centrally. Information for 1999–2000 has not yet been collected. The most recently available information is shown in the following table.

  LEA maintained secondary schools only. Leicestershire Local Education Authority area. Academic Year 1997–98

  Numbers

  Total pupil capacity

  43,224

  Total number on roll

  38,981

  Average cost per pupil

  1£2,296.70

  Total number of teachers

  2,695

  FTE number of teachers

  2,279.9

  1 Provisional data

  Employment Action Plan
  Siobhain McDonagh
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will place copies of the United Kingdom's Employment Action Plan in the Library. [87396]

  Mr. Andrew Smith
  Copies of the UK Employment Action Plan, which sets out the Government's policies for implementing the 1999 Employment Guidelines agreed at the European Council held in Vienna in December 1998, have been placed in the Library. The Plan contains the latest information on policies for employment, encouraging entrepreneurship and labour market adaptability, lifelong learning and equal opportunities.

  European Union Youth Council
  Siobhain McDonagh
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the outcome of the EU Youth Council meeting on 27 May. [87397]

  Mr. Mudie
  I attended the Council of Youth Ministers in Brussels on 27 May 1999.

  The Council adopted common positions on the Commission's proposals to establish a new Youth programme, and the next phase of the Daphne programme of measures to combat violence against women and children. Council also considered a Presidency Memorandum stressing the importance of addressing youth issues in the context of employment policy, and noted that the Commission will adopt a Communication on implementing measures to combat child sex tourism.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Broiler Chickens
  Mr. Etherington
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many broiler chickens were dead on arrival at UK poultry slaughterhouses in (i) 1997 and (ii) 1998. [86207]

  Mr. Rooker
  The information requested is as follows:

  Total throughput

  Dead on arrival

  1997

  Great Britain

  709,291,374

  1,350,338

  Northern Ireland

  60,270,049

  172,701

  1998

  Great Britain

  713,047,348

  1,128,655

  Northern Ireland

  61,774,233

  115,176

  Please note that the total throughput figures provided for Great Britain for 1997 and 1998 are not directly comparable, owing to the method for collecting these data having changed slightly.

  BSE (USA)
  Mr. Letwin
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is taking to investigate reports of the presence of BSE in the USA. [86872]

  Mr. Rooker
  [holding answer 14 June 1999]We have asked the United States Government to comment on the recent reports of the presence of BSE in the USA. The United States has not reported any cases of BSE to the international veterinary organisation, the OIE.

  Genetically Modified Foods
  Joan Ruddock
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the antibiotic marker genes, and the antibiotics to which they convey resistance, that have been used in the genetic modification of crops from which genetically modified foods available in the United Kingdom have been produced. [86318]

  Mr. Rooker
  Of the GM foods available in the UK, the npt II gene which confers resistance to kanamycin is present in the tomatoes used to produce tomato paste, but is not detectable in the paste itself. There are no ARMs in Monsanto's GM soya bean. The GM maize developed by Ciba Geigy (now Novartis) contains the ampr gene, which confers resistance to ampicillin, although the gene is degraded and thus no longer capable of functioning when processed into food ingredients.

  Joan Ruddock
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what food safety tests were carried out on Monsanto's genetically modified Round-up Ready soya bean after spraying with Round-up herbicide; what was the nature of the tests; what data has been supplied
  193
  by Monsanto; and on what date the information was supplied; [86320]

  (2) what tests have been conducted to assess the safety of feeding genetically modified Round-up Ready soya beans to animals; who conducted the tests and when; and what data has been supplied on the feeding of Round-up Ready soya bean following spraying of the crop with Round-up. [86319]

  Mr. Rooker
  The Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes considered data provided by Monsanto on its genetically modified Round-up Ready soya bean, including that obtained from feeding studies on animals, over the period 1994–96. The information that was assessed also encompassed the results of proximate analysis, including an analysis of phytoestrogen levels, on seeds obtained from field trials of GM soya which had been treated with the herbicide Round-up.

  Mr. Baker
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if all foods on sale which contain genetically modified soya beans have had those soya beans subject to safety testing after being sprayed with the herbicide they are designed to resist; and if he will make a statement. [86747]

  Mr. Rooker
  [holding answer 15 June 1999]Yes. In 1996, the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes considered data supplied by Monsanto on its genetically modified Round-up Ready soya bean after spraying with Round-up herbicide and, contrary to recent reports in the press, found that levels of phytoestrogen were comparable to those in conventional soya beans. The data have been deposited in the British Library (SUP No.11093).

  Dairy Farmers
  Mr. Blunt
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what measures the Government are taking to assist dairy farmers who are suffering as a result of low milk prices. [86437]

  Mr. Rooker
  [holding answer 15 June 1999]Apart from the operation of the Common Agricultural Policy, the price milk producers receive for their products is a commercial matter.

  Written Questions
  Mr. Brady
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture. Fisheries and Food how many parliamentary questions have been tabled to his Department for written answer on a named day since 15 April; and what percentage of them received a substantive response on that day. [87322]

  Mr. Morley
  One hundred and five. Of those eligible for answer on or before 15 June 1999, 51 per cent. received a substantive reply on the named day.

CABINET OFFICE

  Monsanto
  Mr. Baker
  To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will list the trips, facilities, gifts and other offerings of a financial value provided by Monsanto to civil servants since 1 May 1997. [85962]

  Mr. Kilfoyle
  The information requested in respect of all civil servants is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. As far as I am aware, since 1 May 1997 no civil servant working in the Prime Minister's Office or the Cabinet Office and its agencies, has accepted any trips, facilities, gifts or other offering provided by Monsanto.

  Archway Tower
  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) what is the total expenditure on the refurbishment of Archway Tower, Junction Road, N19 over the past three years; what rental income has been received over that period; and what rental income is expected for the duration of the current lease; [86897]

  (2) what expenditure has been made on rent for Archway Tower, N19, in each year since 1995; and what rent he expects to pay for the remaining period of the lease. [86898]

  Mr. Kilfoyle
  Responsibility for these matters has been delegated under the terms of the Framework Document to the Property Advisers to the Civil Estate. I have asked its Chief Executive, Mr. John Locke, to write to my hon. Friend.

  Letter from John C. Locke to Mr. Jeremy Corbyn, dated 16 June 1999:

  The Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office, Peter Kilfoyle, has asked me to reply to your questions about expenditure and rental income on Archway Tower.

  Further to my letter of 4 March 1999 I can advise that capital expenditure from 1 April 1998 to date now totals £4.3 million. Refurbishment work to ten floors was completed in April 1999 and PACE have recently let the contract for the final phase of work, following competitive tendering.

  In my previous letter, I outlined the impracticality of re-using the building until after completion of the first phase of refurbishment. There was therefore no income during this period. However, there are now ten floors available for sub letting and our agents DTZ Debenham Thorpe are currently marketing them on our behalf. These floors total 4,210 sq m (45,230 sq ft) for which PACE are seeking a rent of £134.56 per sq m (£12.50 per sq ft). The floors are being offered to Government Departments as well as the private sector with the aid of brochures, advertisements, mail-shots and distribution of CD Roms. Once the final phase of five floors (1,684 sq m 18,092 sq ft) is complete and the building fully let, the total rental income should amount to £791,525 pa. This level of income should be achievable for the duration of the Secretary of State's Lease, which is subject to rent review.

  Rental expenditure for each year since 1995 has been £884,000 pa for the building, with an additional £29,400 pa for 49 car parking spaces. The Secretary of State's Lease is subject to two further rent reviews at 25 December 1999 and 25 December 2004. At the next review, the landlord may seek an uplift in rent and Property Consultants, DTZ Debenham Thorpe are currently advising PACE on rental value for the review. The expectation is that the current rent paid of £884,000 pa should not increase, but it is not possible to forecast whether there is likely to be an increase from the rent review in December 2004.

  European Court of Human Rights: UK Obligations
  European Court of Human Rights: UK Obligations
  Turkish Straits: Annulment of Navigation Regulations
  Turkish Straits: Annulment of Navigation Regulations
  Agent Orange
  Agent Orange
  Scottish Adjacent Waters Boundaries Order
  Scottish Adjacent Waters Boundaries Order
  Health Council, 8 June
  Health Council, 8 June
  NHS Pensions Agency Key Targets
  NHS Pensions Agency Key Targets
  Palliative Care
  Palliative Care
  Duty Free Sales
  Duty Free Sales
  Smoke Detectors
  Smoke Detectors
  Withholding Tax
  Withholding Tax
  Meat Contamination in Slaughterhouses
  Meat Contamination in Slaughterhouses
  Meat Hygiene
  Meat Hygiene
  Polish Import Duties
  Polish Import Duties
  The Tote
  The Tote
  Extradition Conventions: Ratification
  Extradition Conventions: Ratification
  Prisoner Statistics
  Prisoner Statistics
  Probation Officers Seconded to Prisons
  Probation Officers Seconded to Prisons
  Pentonville Prison
  Pentonville Prison
  Wales: Planning Appeals
  Wales: Planning Appeals
  Sex Offences Review: External Reference Group
  Sex Offences Review: External Reference Group
  Kairos-APAC Trust Prison Programmes
  Kairos-APAC Trust Prison Programmes
  Foreign Nationals in UK Prisons
  Foreign Nationals in UK Prisons