Written Answers of 13 July 2000

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

  UK Institute of Arable Crops
  Dr. Tonge
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what financial assistance her Department provides for research by the UK Institute of Arable Crops. [130455]

  Mr. Foulkes
  We do not provide financial assistance in the form of core funding for the Institute of Arable Crops Research (IACR). Funding is provided for specific research projects with agreed objectives which contribute to achieving our overall objectives and also under consultancy contracts.

  IACR is currently involved in 12 research projects with a total value of £2,355,599 which are wholly or partly funded from our Renewable Natural Resources research programmes. Most of these involve research collaboration with other institutions in the UK or overseas. It is not possible to disaggregate the share of funding received by IACR in the time available.

  IACR also has some involvement in an Indo-UK collaboration on oilseed crops funded from our India programme which includes research and technology transfer and has a total value of £2 million over eight years.

  In addition IACR has a contract to provide us with specialist advisory and diagnostic services in the field of tropical plant virology and in response to inquiries from our partner countries. The value of this contract is currently around £40,000 a year.

  UN Drugs Control Programme
  Dr. Tonge
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what financial assistance her Department provides for the UN Drugs Control Programme; and what this funding is earmarked for. [130451]

  Mr. Foulkes
  Over the last three years we have provided £2.377 million to UNDCP in support of alternative development in Bolivia, Peru and Pakistan; £1.550 million to UNDCP in support of demand reduction and education in Peru and East Asia; and £0.196 million in support of strengthening law enforcement in China and East Asia.

CABINET OFFICE

  E-Government Strategy
  Mr. Derek Twigg
  To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what progress has been made on the toolkit for assessing IT professional skills in departments, proposed in the e-Government strategy published in April. [130796]

  Mr. Ian McCartney
  The Central IT Unit in the Cabinet Office, with support from CCTA, has now developed the toolkit and I am today placing copies in the Libraries of the House, and on the Information Age Government website at www.iagchampions.gov.uk. The toolkit has been extended to cover both the IT professional and business system management skills needed to implement department's e-business strategies, as recommended in the report "Successful IT: Modernising Government in Action" that I published in May.

  Appointments (Women)
  Mr. Allan
  To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many and what percentage of the(a) paid and (b) unpaid appointments which she has made to non-departmental public bodies since 1 May 1997 were women. [129844]

  Mr. Stringer
  Since I May 1997, my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office has appointed (or re-appointed) 90 men and 68 women to serve on the boards of non-departmental public bodies. Of these, 21 men (72 per cent.) and eight women (28 per cent.) were appointed to paid posts and 69 men (53 per cent.) and 60 women (47 per cent.) were appointed to unpaid posts.

  In addition, my noble Friend, Baroness Jay, the Minister for Women has appointed 16 women to serve on the Women's National Commission. Of these, one is a paid post.

  This Government are committed to increasing the representation of women in public life. In support of this, the Department has drawn up an action plan for increasing the number of women and ethnic minorities holding public appointments. The latest plans, together with the Government's overall plan, were published on 24 May 2000 in "Quangos: Opening up Public Appointments 2000–2003", copies of which are in the Libraries of the House.

  National Insurance
  Mr. Webb
  To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what has been the policy since 1989 on writing annually to those of her Department's staff who are paying reduced rates of National Insurance contributions, reminding them of the rules governing the payment of reduced rates, as recommended in the Inland Revenue guidance note on reduced rate National Insurance contributions for married women. [129492]

  Mr. Stringer
  My Department has no policy for writing annually to staff who are paying reduced rates of National Insurance.

CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

  Bishops (Allowances)
  Mr. Baker
  To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners, what account the Church Commissioners take of allowances paid to bishops by the House of Lords in setting their pay and allowances. [130404]

  Mr. Stuart Bell
  None. These allowances are paid to bishops to cover their overnight accommodation, subsistence, secretarial and travel costs incurred in the exercise of their duties as Members of the House of Lords. They are entirely separate from bishops' stipends and working costs paid by the Commissioners.

>TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Glass Industry
  Mr. Illsley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to award grants to new companies in the glass industry. [128951]

  Mr. Caborn
  My right hon. Friend has no such plans at present.

  Energy Needs (Gas)
  Mr. Blizzard
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the importance of gas in the UK's future energy needs. [128953]

  Mrs. Liddell
  Gas plays, and will continue to play, an important part in meeting the UK's energy needs. In 1999, gas accounted for 33.2 per cent. of UK primary energy requirements; and, from within that total, gas generation accounted for 38.5 per cent. of electricity supplied. A working paper produced by my Department suggests that the contribution of gas to primary energy demand in the year 2020 will be of the order of 47.5–49.2 per cent., and its share of fuel used for electricity generation to be in the range 57–64 per cent..

  Entrepreneurial Skills (Universities)
  Mr. Michael J. Foster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to equip universities with entrepreneurial skills. [128954]

  Ms Hewitt
  The Government's £25 million Science Enterprise Challenge initiative has established 12 centres of enterprise in UK universities.

  The Centres will:

  foster the commercialisation of research and new ideas;

  stimulate scientific entrepreneurship;

  incorporate the teaching of enterprise into the science and engineering curricula;

  help young entrepreneurs turn good ideas into good business.

  Package Holidays
  Mr. Roy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to meet package holiday industry representatives to discuss their pricing policies. [128955]
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  Mr. Caborn
  I have no plans at present to meet with travel industry representatives to discuss their pricing policies.

  Magnox Stations
  Mr. Stunell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of increased carbon dioxide emissions consequent upon the rescheduling of closure of Magnox nuclear power stations. [128956]

  Mrs. Liddell
  The projections within "Energy Projections for the UK: Working Paper", issued by my Department in March, include assumptions on the timing of closure of Magnox stations. The projected levels of carbon dioxide release in the Kyoto target period are unaffected by the recent announcements.

  Employment Law
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to propose extensions to the provisions of employment law with respect to information and consultation. [128957]

  Mr. Alan Johnson
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has no plans to propose extensions to the provisions of employment law with respect to information and consultation.

  Clothing and Textiles Industry
  Mr. Nicholas Winterton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he has taken through procurement policies by public bodies to assist the UK clothing and textiles industry. [128958]

  Ms Hewitt
  We shall be bringing together leading public purchasers of textiles and clothing to discuss how British companies can be more competitive when bidding for public contracts.

  Manufacturing Industry
  Mr. Bill Michie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to improve the long-term viability of manufacturing industry. [128959]

  Mr. Caborn
  We are assisting manufacturing industry to improve its long-term prospects by providing a stable macro-economic framework and by pursuing policies that help firms to innovate and grow.

  Post Offices
  Mr. Burstow
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he will publish the details of the financial package for post offices outlined in his statement on 28 June. [128960]

  Mr. Alan Johnson
  Funding provision for the measures in support of the post office network were referred to by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in his statement of 28 June 2000,Official Report, columns 907–09. The provision is being set aside and precise amounts will be announced once detailed proposals have been drawn up and approved.
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  Mr. Tyler
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many parishes lost their sub-post office(a) in the period between 1 May 1997 and 30 April 2000 and (b) in the previous three years. [128964]

  Mr. Alan Johnson
  I understand from the Post Office that it does not hold data on the location of sub-post offices by parish. The total number of post offices closed between end March 1997 and end March 2000 was 850 and in the three years between end March 1994 and end March 1997 the total number was 277.

  Mrs. Browning
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of sub-post office closures in each year since 1997 met the definition of unavoidable closures set out in the Performance and Innovation Unit's report into the post office network. [129419]

  Mr. Byers
  [holding answer 6 July 2000]: That information is not available as the PIU report gives a definition based on events which have not yet taken place.

  Mr. Lilley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many sub-post office closures in each year since 1990 were unavoidable as defined in his oral statement of 28 June 2000,Official Report, column 907–20, on the Post Office network. [129984]

  Mr. Byers
  [holding answer 10 July 2000]: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given above to the hon. Member for Tiverton and Honiton (Mrs. Browning) today.

  Small Business Service
  Mr. Laxton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress is being made by the Small Business Service in developing links with the Small Business Administration in the United States. [128961]

  Ms Hewitt
  David Irwin, Chief Executive of the Small Business Service, and I visited the SBA in March this year. We went to see first-hand the work of the SBA and to identify lessons from it and other business support initiatives which could be applied to the SBS.

  As announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on 5 July 2000 at the joint UK-US conference "Enterprise and Technology for All: Seizing the Opportunity" David Irwin is taking forward with Aida Alvarez, Head of the SBA, a number of initiatives for further collaboration such as staff twinning possibilities and liaison between the Small Business Council and the SBA's National Advisory Council.

  Business Regulation
  Mr. Bercow
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the level of regulation of business. [128962]

  Ms Hewitt
  According to the recent research by the OECD and the Economist Intelligence Unit the UK is already more lightly regulated than most of our competitors. We will continue to reduce the level of regulation on business wherever possible.

  Mr. Clappison
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures he is taking to simplify and reduce regulations affecting business. [128975]
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  Ms Hewitt
  We are continually looking for opportunities to reduce burdens on business. For example, we have increased the statutory audit threshold for companies from £350,000 to £1 million, benefiting up to 150,000 companies, with potential savings of up to £180 million a year.

  EU Applicant Countries
  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which EU applicant countries he or his predecessors have visited since May 1997. [128963]

  Mr. Byers
  DTI Ministers have visited a majority of the applicants since 1997 reflecting the importance of EU enlargement for business. My right hon. Friend the Minister for Trade has just returned from Hungary.

  Civil Aircraft
  Mr. Mudie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the future of the Civil Aircraft Research and Demonstration programme. [128965]

  Mr. Alan Johnson
  The Department's support for Civil Aircraft Research and Demonstration makes an important contribution to the competitiveness of the aerospace industry. Decisions on future funding will be made in the light of the Government's spending review.

  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what changes he proposes to make to the Civil Aircraft Research and Demonstration programme. [128978]

  Mr. Alan Johnson
  The Department's support for Civil Aircraft Research and Demonstration makes an important contribution to the competitiveness of the aerospace industry. Decisions on future funding will be made in the light of the Government's spending review.

  Creative and Communications Industries
  Fiona Mactaggart
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the contribution of the creative and communications industries to the UK economy; and if he will make a statement. [128967]

  Ms Hewitt
  The creative and communications industries contributed an estimated £25 billion to the economy in 1995. Work in this area is currently under review, with an update of its assessment planned for later this year. Early indications, drawing on National Statistics, are that the corresponding estimate for the most recently available data 1997 is £33 billion, accounting for approaching 5 per cent. of Gross Domestic Product. In addition the telecommunications services industry contributed 1.9 per cent. to GDP.

  The creative and communications industries are vitally important to the future economic prosperity of this country. We have joined together with DCMS and other Government Departments to try to help to maximise their competitive position. We have closely involved senior figures from the creative and communications industries in fora such as the Information Age Partnership, chaired

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  by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, and the Creative Industries Task Force, chaired by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.

  European Charter for Small Firms
  Mr. Cotter
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the European charter for small firms. [128968]

  Ms Hewitt
  The Government welcome the commitments in the European Charter for Small Enterprises agreed at the Feira Council to take action, both at the European and member state level, on areas such as better regulation, strengthening innovation and entrepreneurship, improving access to finance and enhancing business support. The Charter sends a clear signal of the European Union's positive attitude to enterprise and gives substance to the recent commitment to make the European Union the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world.

  Miners (Compensation)
  Mr. Ronnie Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress he has made in meeting retired miners health-related compensation claims. [128970]

  Mrs. Liddell
  The Handling Agreement for settling claims for respiratory disease were formally signed in September last year. To date we have received around 108,000 claims. So far over 52,000 spirometry tests, the first part of the medical tests, have been carried out. A further 12,000 appointments have been made at 34 centres nationwide. Together this represents over 90 per cent. of the total live claims received. Over 9,000 claimants have received full and final offers based on their spirometry result; of these 2,600 have been accepted. The remainder will progress to the full MAP.

  The full Medical Assessment Process, the second part of the tests, began in December. Healthcall, the Department's contractors, now have 26 centres operational. Initially some GPs and hospitals were uncertain about releasing the miners' medical records which are essential prior to making a MAP appointment. However we are now making appointments at a rate of 2,000 a month. We expect this to rise into the autumn. To date the Department has made damages payments totalling in excess of £63 million.

  We signed the Handling Arrangement for settling claims for Vibration White Finger in January last year. To date we have received some 80,000 claims. Nearly 15,000 claims have been settled, with damages totalling nearly £130 million.

  Mr. Ennis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many cases have been lodged to date by former miners living in Barnsley, East and Mexborough for compensation for(a) vibration white finger and (b) chronic bronchitis and emphysema. [129798]

  Mrs. Liddell
  In the Barnsley and Mexborough area, as at 10 July, the Department has lodged some 4,000 claims for vibration white finger and 5,200 for respiratory disease from former miners and their families. IRISC, the Department's claim handling agents, are not able to provide a breakdown for Barnsley, East.
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  To date in the Barnsley and Mexborough area the Department has made general damages payments in interim and full and final settlement for both diseases totalling over £10 million.

  Thailand
  Jane Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on UK business activity in Thailand. [128972]

  Mr. Caborn
  In 1999, Thailand was the UK's 39th largest export market with exports of £468 million. Exports for the first four-months of 2000 have shown an increase of 59 per cent. over the same period of 1999. Top export products are electrical machinery, power generation equipment, industrial machinery and leather goods.

  The UK ranks as the 5th largest investor in Thailand, being strongly represented in the retail, power and water sectors. The last year has also seen major investments in banking, with HSBC (£620 million) and Standard Chartered (£206 million) acquiring majority holdings in Thai banks.

  The recovery from economic recession in Thailand has been reflected in the levels of interest Trade Partners UK has seen from British companies looking to do business there, both in numbers of planned trade missions, exhibitions and seminars, and in the numbers of companies taking part.

  Rover Task Force
  Mr. Burden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received on the report of the Rover Task Force. [128973]

  Mr. Byers
  The Task Force Report has only recently been received.

  SMEs
  Mr. Casale
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to promote wider consultation with employees in small and medium-sized enterprises. [128974]

  Ms Hewitt
  The Government are committed to promoting a strong partnership culture in the workplace—including in small and medium enterprises.

  To this end we have established the Partnership Fund which aims to promote the goal of better employee communications. The fund makes available £5 million over four years to assist with the development of workplace projects including improved consultation of employees. 18 such workplace projects, have received funding, involve SMEs.

  We are also working to promote best practice by spreading the message about the achievements of the best companies, whether large or small. Business Links are able to provide guidance to appropriate sources of advice. The independent Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) also produces guidance material and works with employers to help modernise their employment practices. The 1998 review of the Service identified this as a priority area for ACAS.
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  In addition, small and medium enterprises are subject to the existing statutory framework for information and consultation of employees, as regards proposed collective redundancies (i.e more than 20 redundancies proposed at one establishment within a 90 day period), transfers of undertakings, health and safety and information for the purposes of collective bargaining.

  Business (North-east)
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what his policy is on increasing business formation in the North-east of England. [128976]

  Mr. Caborn
  A stable economic climate is vital to stimulate development. The DTI aims to promote enterprise and innovation and is particularly keen to support successful, sustainable business start-ups. It has set up the Small Business Service (SBS) specifically to champion and service the needs of small business and act as a strong voice on their behalf within Government. The Chief Executive of the SBS, David Irwin, has 20 years experience in the North-east of helping people to start up and grow their businesses. Small businesses make up nearly 99 per cent. of all businesses in the UK and employ more than half the total workforce. The North-east has fewer than its fair share of new start-ups. This fact is recognised by the Regional Development Agency, One NorthEast, who have published their Regional Economic Strategy. One of the key objectives is to address this problem and the new European objective 2 Single Programming Document will be an important vehicle to drive this forward.

  Family-friendly Employment Policies
  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has had with employers organisations about promoting family friendly employment policies. [128977]

  Mr. Alan Johnson
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has so far discussed the review of maternity pay and parental leave with the Confederation of British Industry, the British Chambers of Commerce and the Chief Executive of the Small Business Service. Officials from my Department have additionally discussed the review with the Federation of Small Businesses, the Forum for Private Businesses, the Engineering Employers' Federation, Opportunity Now, the Industrial Society, the Employers' Organisation for Local Government, the National Health Service and the Institute of Personnel and Development. They have also met a wide range of other interested organisations.

  Time Shares
  Ms Drown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will introduce legislation to create a right for people who purchase time shares to dispose of them at a later date. [128979]

  Dr. Howells
  There is no need to introduce new legislation. There is already a marketplace for timeshare resales and many existing contracts include cancellation clauses.

  Euro
  Sir Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the costs to industry and commerce of the adoption of the euro by the United Kingdom. [128969]

  Mrs. Liddell
  The cost of a changeover would depend on the detailed approach taken and the extent to which the euro had been considered in investment decisions prior to joining.

  MCI WorldCom/Sprint Merger
  Dr. Cable
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the implications for the competitive balance of the internet of the proposed merger between MCI WorldCom and Sprint. [129438]

  Dr. Howells
  This case fell to the consideration of the EC competition authorities under the EC Merger Regulation (ECMR). The Commission prohibited the proposed deal and announced this in a press notice on 28 June.

  The Commission's analysis in this case will be published in the Official Journal of the European Communities in due course.

  Business Environment Simplification Taskforce
  Mr. Fearn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the report from the European Commission's business environment simplification task force of July 1998. [130056]

  Ms Hewitt
  The Government welcome the recommendations of the BEST task force, particularly those on regulatory simplification and reform, and now looks forward to the first Annual Report on BEST which will be issued by the Commission later this year. Policies on business environment simplification are currently being developed under initiatives such as the proposed Multiannual Programme for Enterprise and Entrepreneurship for 2001–05 and the recently adopted European Charter for Small Enterprises.

  The Commission's draft Multiannual Programme proposes the introduction of a new BEST procedure, based on the identification and adoption of best practice in the enterprise field, with work towards simplification and regulatory reform being driven forward as part of the follow-up arising from the Lisbon Special Summit earlier this year.

  Credit Reference Agencies
  Mr. Fearn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will introduce legislation to make credit reference agencies accountable to Parliament. [130057]

  Mr. Alan Johnson
  I have no plans to introduce additional controls on the activities of credit reference agencies.

  Businesses which provide credit reference information about consumers already require licences issued by the Director General of Fair Trading under the Consumer Credit Act 1974. The Director General has to satisfy himself that a licensee is a fit person to engage in the activities covered by the licence and he can vary, suspend

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  or revoke licences where he considers that licensees have engaged in practices that appear to him to be deceitful or oppressive, or otherwise unfair or improper (whether unlawful or not). He therefore monitors the complaints he receives about licence holders and he has demonstrated that he is ready to take the necessary licensing action to protect consumers where he considers it justified.

  Departmental Payments
  Mr. Chope
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of correctly presented bills were paid by his Department in(a) 1998–99 and (b) 1999–2000 within 30 days of receipt of (i) goods and services, (ii) a valid invoice and (iii) other agreed payment terms. [130040]

  Ms Hewitt
  [holding answer 11 July 2000]: (a) I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Elmet (Mr. Burgon) on 23 July 1999, Official Report, columns 677–78W.

  (b) Departments and their agencies are currently collating this information for 1999–2000 and this will be made available to the House shortly.

  Weights and Measures
  Mr. Wilkinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the cost to British traders of the law requiring goods to be sold in metric units. [130267]

  Mr. Alan Johnson
  [holding answer 12 July 2000]: A compliance cost assessment was published by the Department of Trade and Industry in 1994, when the legislation was made to require loose goods to be sold in metric weights after 31 December 1999. The main cost for traders was identified as the conversion or replacement of imperial weighing machines. The average cost of conversion was estimated to be £100 per machine. The starting price for replacement was estimated to be £450 per machine. It was further estimated that 80 per cent. of machines were capable of conversion.

  Mr. Wilkinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what the total cost to his Department will be in the financial year 2000–01 of the salaries of the trading standards officers employed by his Department to enforce the law requiring the sale of goods in metric units; [130268]

  (2) how many trading standards officers are employed by his Department to enforce the implementation of the law requiring the sale of goods in metric units. [130271]

  Mr. Alan Johnson
  [holding answer 12 July 2000]: The Department of Trade and Industry is not responsible for enforcing the use by traders of prescribed units of measurement for the sale of goods. Enforcement is undertaken by the local authorities, as part of their wider responsibility for trading standards. Each authority decides how many staff it will employ on trading standards work, and the allocation of staff time (and therefore of staff costs) between the different areas of enforcement.

  Mr. Wilkinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on(a) the seizure of weighing equipment by trading standards officers of his Department from traders whom
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  they believe to be in breach of the law requiring goods to be sold in metric units and (b) the procedures available to them to obtain the restitution of their property from his Department. [130269]

  Mr. Alan Johnson
  [holding answer 12 July 2000]: Weights and measures legislation includes powers for local authority inspectors of weights and measures to seize and detain equipment in circumstances where they believe the equipment is liable to be forfeited. This would apply, for example, to equipment being used without a valid stamp on it, to equipment which is false or unjust, or which was being used in the commission of fraud.

  Where prosecution followed, it would be for the courts to determine whether the equipment should be forfeited. Otherwise it would be returned to the owner.

  Appointments (Women)
  Mr. Allan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many and what percentage of the(a) paid and (b) unpaid appointments which he has made to non-departmental public bodies since 1 May 1997 were women. [129855]

  Mr. Alan Johnson
  [holding answer 12 July 2000]: Of the appointments I have made to non-departmental public bodies since 1 May 1997:

  (i) 54 were women to positions which received some remuneration (29.3 per cent. of remunerated appointments)

  (ii) 42 were women to unpaid positions (19.6 per cent. of unpaid appointments).

  This Government are committed to increasing the representation of women in public life. In support of this, the Department has drawn up an action plan for increasing the number of women and ethnic minorities holding public appointments. The latest plan, together with the Government's overall plan, was published on 24 May 2000 in "Quangos: Opening up Public Appointments 2000–2003", copies of which are in the Libraries of the House.

  Minimum Wage
  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to uprate the national minimum wage. [128952]

  Mr. Byers
  As indicated in the reply I gave to my hon. Friend on 30 March 2000,Official Report, column 237W, we have now asked the Low Pay Commission to continue to monitor and evaluate the impact of the minimum wage and to consider whether there is a case for a further increase in the rate next year. The commission will report by July 2001 and any further increase will be introduced in October 2001.

ENVIRONMENT, TRANSPORT AND THE REGIONS

  GM Crops
  Jackie Ballard
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to consult local authorities concerning GM trial sites. [127794]
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  Mr. Meacher
  Current legislation does not at present include provision for consulting local authorities over the location of GM trial sites.

  However, the Government have made clear their commitment to an open and transparent process for informing people about the trials. Locations of all proposed sites for research trials are advertised before sowing commences. Full details of the locations of farm scale evaluation sites are on the DETR website, along with detailed information about the programme. A number of public meetings were held during the spring, to which parish and ward councillors with a trial site in their area were invited. We remain committed to making as much information available to local people as possible and are currently drawing on lessons from the spring in planning for future planting rounds, including earlier notification.

  Secondments
  Mr. Don Foster
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Harrogate and

  Seconding organisation

  Grade of post

  Work area in DETR

  CRE Group Limited

  7

  Seconded out to EC DG Environment

  Bank of Scotland

  7

  Railways, Economics and Finance

  Unilever

  7

  Environment and Business

  District Audit

  7

  Local Government Capital Finance

  Kvaerner Construction

  7

  Construction Industry Sponsorship

  OVE Arup

  7

  Construction Industry Sponsorship

  Crown House Engineering

  7

  Construction Industry Sponsorship

  British Gas

  7

  Construction Industry Sponsorship

  Bovis Construction

  7

  Export Promotion Construction Materials

  Kvaerner Cementation Foundations

  7

  Export Promotion Construction Materials

  Geoffrey Reid Associates

  7

  Construction Industry Sponsorship

  Marks and Spencer

  7

  Planning Directorate

  Bellway Urban Renewal

  7

  Regeneration Directorate

  KPMG

  7

  Regeneration Directorate

  Building Research Establishment (2)

  7

  One to Export Promotion Construction Materials, one seconded out to EC DG Enterprise

  IPPR

  7

  Sustainable Development Unit

  ABROS

  HEO

  Regeneration Directorate

  Boots the Chemist Limited

  7

  Planning and Regeneration Directorates

  Hyder

  7

  Regeneration Directorate

  OPM

  7

  Regeneration Directorate

  Institute for Fiscal Studies

  7

  Central Economics and Policy

  Buro-Happold

  7

  Construction Industry Sponsorship

  Christiani and Nielsen

  6

  Construction Industry Sponsorship

  Development Trust Association

  7

  New Deal for Communities

  Homeless Network

  7

  London Rough Sleepers Unit

  Note:

  Earlier references to College of North East London, D. A. Dawson and Associates, National Grid and Waters Limited were included in error.

  Mersey Partnership
  Mr. Ben Chapman
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how much money has been(a) offered to and (b) taken up by the Mersey Partnership from public funds over each of the last five years; and from what sources. [129598]

  Ms Beverley Hughes
  Public funds offered to and administered by the Merseyside Partnership in the last five years are as follows.
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  Knaresborough (Mr. Willis), of 9 February 2000, Official Report, column 158W, on secondments, if he will give the names, grades and job titles of the staff seconded into his Department from each organisation mentioned, stating in each case the name of the section they were seconded to and a summary of the work that they were involved with. [128248]

  Ms Beverley Hughes
  [holding answer 29 June 2000]: Secondments and attachments are part of the Interchange Initiative, which promotes the exchange of people and good practice between the Civil Service and other organisations. All sectors of the economy are involved: Voluntary, Education, Health, Public and Private. Interchange is a key component of the reform agenda. The Modernising Government White Paper committed us to increasing interchange, in particular by bringing in more people on secondment and seconding more of our people out. Before an Interchange can occur, all parties must be satisfied that no conflict of interest arises.

  From the organisations cited in the answer of 9 February 2000, Official Report, column 158W, individuals seconded in to the Department worked in the following divisions or areas, at the grades indicated.

  £

  Year

  Objective 1

  Merseyside Development Corporation Contribution Fund

  Membership contributions1

  Totals

  1995–96

  609

  —

  415

  1,024

  1996–97

  543

  —

  415

  958

  1997–98

  605

  —

  412

  1,017

  1998–99

  869

  689

  406

  1,964

  1999–2000

  783

  2781

  382

  1,946

  1Membership contributions included local authorities, Merseyside TEC, English Partnership etc. and represent voluntary contributions as part of the partnership agreement

  2Residual value of fund £155,000

  Rogers Report
  Mrs. Ellman
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what steps he has taken to set up regional resource centres for urban development as recommended in the Rogers report, "Towards an Urban Renaissance". [129599]

  Ms Beverley Hughes
  The Government agree with the Task Force about the importance of improving urban development skills.

  At the national level we have commissioned a feasibility study of a recommendation made by the Social Exclusion Unit's Policy Action Team 16 (Learning Lessons), for the creation of a National Centre for Neighbourhood Renewal. This would provide the training, knowledge and skills needed to support neighbourhood renewal activity and would help to achieve many of the same ends as the Task Force's proposed Regional Resource Centres. Consultation meetings are taking place later this month on the results of the feasibility study.

  At the regional level there is also a great deal happening on the ground to improve urban development skills particularly in response to the Continuing Professional Development initiative. Academic institutions across the country are now getting together with regeneration practitioners and professional institutions in putting together relevant good practice guidance and training packages for everyone from existing professionals to community volunteers.

  The Government are also working closely with the professional institutions and local government to improve training in urban design skills and are considering, with the Local Government Association, the way resources can be deployed more effectively in the pursuit of excellence in this area. A skills seminar is being held by the Minister for Housing and Planning on 13 July to take this forward.

  Right to Buy
  Dr. Iddon
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what representations he has received on varying the discounts available under the Right-to-Buy Scheme in areas of high demand for housing; and if he will make a statement. [129471]

  Mr. Raynsford
  I am aware of no such representations to date, though we published our Housing Green Paper "Quality and choice—a decent home for all" earlier this year and we are considering responses as they come in. The Green Paper said that we do not intend to make any further substantial changes to the Right-to-Buy Scheme.

  Airports
  Laura Moffatt
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on progress to date with the airport study for the South-east. [129591]

  Ms Beverley Hughes
  As the then Minister for Transport announced on 11 March 1999, the South-east and East of England Regional Air Services (SERAS) study has started from the position that nothing is ruled in and nothing is ruled out.
  624W
  We are currently in the early stages of assessing a wide range of options, both at existing airports and possible new sites. We will proceed through successive sifts to narrow down options to a final shortlist, on which there will be a full public consultation before Ministers come to decisions.

  It is expected that the study will be completed by spring or summer 2001, to be followed by public consultation. The results will feed into an Air Transport White Paper, which will also take account of the Government's decisions in response to the Inspector's report on the Heathrow Terminal 5 Inquiry.

  Laura Moffatt
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what the earliest date will be that planning authorities near Gatwick Airport will be able to consider planning applications following the conclusion of the airport study of South-east airports. [129590]

  Ms Beverley Hughes
  The South-east and East of England Regional Air Services study (SERAS) is expected to be completed by spring or summer 2001, to be followed by public consultation. The results will feed into an Air Transport White Paper, which is intended to provide a framework for the future development of aviation and airports in the United Kingdom.

  Once the White Paper is published, regional planning guidance and local development plans will need to be reviewed to take account of policies that emerge from the White Paper.

  In the meantime, before the SERAS study has been completed and the White Paper published, planning applications for development in the Gatwick Airport area will be subject to normal provisions of the planning system and will be determined against existing national, regional and local policies.

  Revenue Grant Distribution
  Mr. Kidney
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many changes he has made to the system of revenue grant distribution to local authorities since 1997; and if he will give details of the changes. [129938]

  Ms Beverley Hughes
  There were 15 changes in the method of determining Standard Spending Assessments (SSAs) for the 1998–99 Local Government Finance Settlement; and 20 changes for the 1999–2000 Local Government Finance Settlement.

  The July 1998 Local Government White Paper announced a 3-year review of Revenue Grant Distribution. It said that the Government did not expect to make fresh changes to the method of calculation of SSAs except where there are changes in the functions of councils, or the funding of particular services.

  In 2000–01 there were therefore only limited adjustments to SSAs to accommodate the establishment of the Greater London Authority and related changes, most notably those arising from the alterations to the boundary of the Metropolitan Police District and the Essex, Hertfordshire and Surrey police areas.
  625W
  Changes in the method of determining SSAs are contained in circular letters to local authorities, dated 2 December 1997, 2 December 1998 and 25 November 1999, copies of which are in the Library. For convenience, copies of the relevant extracts have been placed in the Library.

  London Underground
  Mr. Jenkin
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the

  Date

  Location

  Line

  Cause

  Initial delay (mins)

  3 January 2000

  Baker Street/Finchley Road

  Metropolitan & Circle

  Object on track

  274

  6 January 2000

  Baker Street

  Metropolitan & Circle

  Computer system failure

  290

  19 January 2000

  Edgware Road sidings

  Metropolitan & Circle

  Train derailment

  355

  20 January 2000

  Gunnersbury

  Non LUL

  Fire/smoke alert

  277

  20 January 2000

  Baker Street/Edgware Road

  Metropolitan & Circle

  Signal problems

  400

  26 January 2000

  Baker Street

  Metropolitan & Circle

  Computer system failure

  473

  5 February 2000

  Stratford

  Jubilee

  Computer system failure

  271

  12 February 2000

  Liverpool Street

  Central

  Person on track

  319

  13 February 2000

  Aldgate

  Metropolitan & Circle

  Train derailment

  401

  23 March 2000

  Blackfriars/Temple

  District

  Flooding

  259

  29 March 2000

  Turnham Green/Richmond

  Railtrack

  Loss of traction current

  241

  9 April 2000

  Aldgate/Liverpool Street

  Metropolitan

  Points failure

  430

  19 April 2000

  Waterloo

  Waterloo & City

  Track circuit failure

  278

  15 May 2000

  Roding Valley/Woodford

  Central

  Person under train

  556

  Yorkshire and Humberside
  Mr. Quinn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the effectiveness of the Government Office for Yorkshire and the Humber in assisting regeneration projects in the region. [128642]

  Ms Beverley Hughes
  [holding answer 12 July 2000]: The Government Office for Yorkshire and the Humber (GOYH) continues to contribute effectively to maximising competitiveness and prosperity in the region, and supporting integrated policies for an inclusive society. In particular it has worked closely with Yorkshire Forward (the Regional Development Agency) to support it in its first full year of operation.

  During the past year GOYH has managed and developed the wide range of Government programmes and initiatives that contribute to the regeneration of the region. Examples include:

  New Deal for Communities (NDC): Bradford and Hull have each received £50 million and £55 million respectively over 10 years under the first round of NDC and Doncaster and Sheffield have been invited to submit bids for schemes.

  Housing Investment Programme: £207 million was allocated to local authorities for 2000–01, 46 per cent. more than the previous year.

  Regional Selective Assistance (RSA): RSA to the value of over £15 million was offered to businesses. This is expected to lead to capital investment of £207 million and the creation/safeguarding of over 6,200 jobs.

  European Funding: GOYH has worked hard with regional partners to ensure that all available resources under the last round of European funds were committed
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  unscheduled line closures on the London Underground that have occurred since 1 January; and if he will set out the (a) cause and (b) duration of each line closure. [130191]

  Mr. Hill
  [holding answer 11 July 2000]: This is an operational matter for London Underground who have supplied details of unscheduled line closures (defined for this purpose as delays of more than four hours) as set out in the following table.

  by the closing date of 31 December 1999. Over £560 million of funding has been committed to support a wide range of projects that maximise the benefits to the region. GOYH continues to work closely with partners to ensure that the new European programmes for 2000–06 are ready to start in 2000.

  Local Transport: Last year the region's local authorities received a total allocation of £109 million for their provisional local transport plans (LTPs). GOYH has continued to support the local authorities with the preparation of their full LTPs, which will cover the five years to 2005–06.

  Working with Local Government: GOYH has continued to support the modernisation of local government and has contributed to the assessment process for Beacon council and Invest to Save applications from local authorities.

  In looking to the future, the Government Office will continue to work closely with Yorkshire Forward and other partners to deliver the shared vision of "A world class, prosperous region".

  Fuel Costs
  Mr. Russell Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what measures he proposes to introduce to assist motorists in rural areas with fuel costs. [130406]

  Mr. Hill
  The Government recognise that transport provision is particularly important to people in rural areas because jobs and services are more widely dispersed than in urban areas. In the 10-Year Plan for transport, we are developing a package of measures to improve transport provision in rural areas and we shall be developing our ideas further in the forthcoming Rural White Paper.

  Bicycles on Trains
  Mrs. Anne Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what directions he is making to the Strategic Rail Authority to ensure that all new rail franchises require the operators to make adequate flexible space for bicycles available on their trains. [130532]

  Mr. Hill
  The Deputy Prime Minister gave Instructions and Guidance to the Franchising Director on 29 September 1999 about rail franchise replacement asking him to promote the use of bicycles by seeking the provision of reasonable facilities on board new rolling stock and at stations. The replacement franchise agreements will contain provisions relating to both the carriage of bicycles on trains and the provision of storage facilities for bicycles at railway stations.

  Regional Development Agencies
  Mr. Loughton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will publish(a) the minutes of his meeting with Regional Development Agency heads in Birmingham in June and (b) each of the business plans subsequently presented by those heads. [130438]

  Ms Beverley Hughes
  The Deputy Prime Minister and other Ministers met the Regional Development Agency Chairmen in Birmingham on 23 June, to launch a consultation document, "The RDAs as Strategic Drivers of Economic Development". A copy of the document has been placed in the Library of the House.

  It has been the practice of successive Administrations not to disclose confidential communication between departments and public bodies, consistent with Section 2 of Part II of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. We will, therefore, not be publishing the minutes of the meeting. The production of a business plan by each RDA is unrelated to this meeting. Two have been published and others are at various stages of preparation.

  Government Offices for the Regions
  Mr. Loughton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what the future role is of the Government Offices for the Regions; and what(a) are their proposed budgets and (b) were their budgets in each of the last five years. [130437]

  Ms Beverley Hughes
  Following the publication of the PIU Report "Reaching Out" we are developing the role of Government Offices (GOs) to ensure strengthened co-ordination of policy initiatives with a regional and local impact. The GOs are being given the lead role in bringing together other Departments' and Agencies' involvement at the local level, ensuring activities are complementary. All Departments whose responsibilities affect regional or local activities are committed to better co-ordination of key policies by involving Government Offices.

  On the issue of proposed budgets and budgets in each of the last five years, I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 12 July 2000, Official Report, columns 557–59W.

  Millennium Dome
  Mr. Loughton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) what urban regeneration funds have been made available from agencies under the control of his Department for the Millennium Dome and its environs; how such funds have been used; and what estimate he has made of the sale proceeds which will be recredited to his Department; [130439]

  (2) how much public funding through English Partnerships has been spent on the Millennium Dome and its environs. [130436]

  Ms Beverley Hughes
  English Partnerships, which is under the control of my Department, purchased the Greenwich Peninsula site from British Gas in 1997. Since then it has used part of its regeneration funding grant from my Department to remediate the site, provide roads, footpaths, services, landscaping, river wall walks, improvements to the A102 and permanent facilities such as a park. The part of the peninsula directly associated with the Millennium Dome covers land north of the Jubilee line and North Greenwich Transport Interchange. English Partnerships' expenditure for this area amounts to £15.53 million. The sales proceeds returning to the Department will be determined in the light of the Dome Legacy Competition.

  SERPLAN
  Mr. Loughton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when, and in what form, the Government will respond to the recent vote by SERPLAN rejecting his house building numbers for the South-east. [130440]

  Ms Beverley Hughes
  The Secretary of State will carefully consider all the views expressed by SERPLAN and in more than 900 other representations received on regional planning guidance for the South-east, before he reaches any conclusions.

  PFI Contracts
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what monitoring his Department undertakes of private finance initiative contracts undertaken by local government; and if he will make a statement. [130277]

  Ms Beverley Hughes
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 4 July 2000,Official Report, column 116W.

  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what the net present cost is of each project undertaken in his Department under the private finance initiative; what the value is of their public sector comparators in(a) pre-risk and (b) risk-adjusted terms; what risks have been identified as having been transferred; and if he will place information on other relevant costs for each private finance initiative project in the Library. [130255]

  Ms Beverley Hughes
  The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what clawback mechanisms exist under private finance
  629W
  initiative contracts within his Department in respect of (a) refinancing and (b) other contingencies; and if he will place copies of each private finance initiative contract in the Library. [130210]

  Ms Beverley Hughes
  General provisions exist within all the private finance contracts for payments to be made by the contractor in relation to termination on contractor default. The contract for the Croydon Tramlink includes an incentive share agreement whereby Transport for London will share in any refinancing benefits. Transport for London would also receive a share of any excess revenues obtained by the concessionaire. A refinancing of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) would benefit the Government by reducing the requirement for operating subsidy. In addition the CTRL contract allows Government to share in any construction cost underrun as well as a positive cashflow after 2021.

  The MOT computerisation contract includes provision for value for money reviews to be conducted at predetermined intervals which will examine profit compared with predicted profit which could result in payments back to the Vehicle Inspectorate. This contract also enables the Vehicle Inspectorate to share in the profits of any value added services deriving from the contract.

  In accordance with Treasury Taskforce Policy Statement No 5 (Provision of Information to Parliament), which sets out best practice in relation to departments' obligations to disclose information to Parliament, my Department has not deposited any information in the Library.

  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what the average cost to public funds is of external advisers in the negotiation of private finance intiative projects for roads projects expressed as a proportion of each contract's value. [130258]

  Mr. Hill
  Figures for individual contracts are not available. For the eight privately financed trunk road contracts awarded in England the cost of external advisers expressed as a proportion of the contracts' value is less than one per cent. of the net present value of expected payments over the 30 year life of contracts.

  Green Ministers
  Mr. Burgon
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when the last meeting of Green Ministers took place; what was discussed; and which departments were represented by(a) Ministers and (b) officials. [131071]

  Mr. Meacher
  Green Ministers held their second meeting of this year on 6 July. We discussed progress on integrating the environment into policy and the feasibility of reporting on transport emissions on the Government Estate. The Green Minister for the Department of International Development, my hon. Friend the Member for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley (Mr. Foulkes), spoke about the sustainable development priority (within the Government's National Strategy) of"working with others to achieve sustainable development internationally"
  630W
  and the Green Minister for the Department of Trade and Industry, the Minister for Small Business and E-Commerce, outlined progress on DTI's Sustainable Development Strategy.

  The Committee also reviewed plans for a pilot on the public procurement of paper goods, including recycled paper, as announced in the Waste Strategy 2000 and considered the format for the 2nd Green Ministers' Report due to be published in the autumn. Support was also given to a proposal to share experience between departments on the implementation of Environmental Management Systems (EMSs), which should help spread good practice on implementing and certifying EMSs across the Government Estate.

  The next meeting will be held on 2 November 2000.

  The departments represented by Ministers were: Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions; Department for Culture, Media and Sport; Foreign and Commonwealth Office; Department of Health; Department for International Development; Law Officers' Departments; Lord Chancellor's Department and Department of Trade and Industry. Those represented by officials were: Chancellor's Departments, Home Office and Department of Social Security. The Whips Office was also represented.

DEFENCE

  Training Support Activities
  Mr. Key
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list(a) core and (b) non-core training and training support activities and services which will be included in the competition to seek a long-term strategic partner to run the Army Training Estate; and if he will indicate the website where these competitions have been advertised. [124362]

  Mr. Spellar
  [holding answer 5 June 2000]: The Department's core and non-core training and training support activities and services provided in support of the Army Training Estate are as follows:

  Core functions

  Contract (Partner) management

  Conservation and Environmental policy

  Exercise Planning

  Health and Safety Policy and Inspection

  Intelligent Customer Role

  Military Command and Control

  Ownership responsibilities for Secretary of State

  Range Clearance Policy and Explosive Ordnance Disposal

  Public Relations and Public Information Policy and Provision Strategy

  Non-core functions

  Accommodation provision

  Catering Services

  Communications

  Domestic Services

  Equipment Repair

  Information Technology development and support

  631W

  Office administration and support

  Property management

  Range Operations

  Stores management and services

  Surveillance

  Unarmed Guarding

  Utilities

  Transport provision and maintenance.

  None of the core functions will be included in the competition. All of the non-core functions will be considered for inclusion in the competition for a strategic partner. Some non-core work may be included in other Ministry of Defence (MOD) competitions.

  The competition for the strategic partner has not yet been advertised as MOD is currently engaged in consultation with the Trade Unions.

  BOWMAN
  Mr. Key
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what is the cost of the personal role radios that his Department intends to buy; [127608]

  (2) if staff requirement (L) 4083 vehicle integrated communications and information system continues to form part of the BOWMAN requirement; [127607]

  (3) if he intends to hold a competition for the BOWMAN requirement; [127609]

  (4) if the personal role radios to be procured will be compatible with both section and platoon nets; [127606]

  (5) what (a) was the original and (b) is the current budget for the BOWMAN requirement. [127610]

  Dr. Moonie
  This is a matter for the Chief Executive of the Defence Procurement Agency. I have asked the Chief Executive to write to the hon. Member.

  Letter from Robert Walmsley to Mr. Robert Key, dated 13 July 2000:
  I am replying to your questions to the Secretary of State for Defence about the BOWMAN communication project. This matter falls within my area of responsibility as Chief of Defence Procurement and Chief Executive of the Defence Procurement Agency.
  The personal role radio (PRR) is a short range radio designed to facilitate communications within sections and other small military teams. The PRR will be required to work with existing Clansman and BOWMAN man portable radios which will enable section commanders to pass information from the platoon net to the section and vice versa. The PRR is currently being procured through competition. It is therefore not possible now to give a definitive cost figure, but it is expected that the whole life cost will be in the order of £40M.
  The original budget for the procurement of the BOWMAN system was £1.9Bn at 1993/94 economic conditions. Allowing for inflation this equates to the current budget for the procurement of BOWMAN, as currently constituted, of £2.2Bn at 1999/00 economic conditions.
  ACSL is currently the preferred source for the supply of BOWMAN. Study contracts were placed earlier this year with Computing Devices Canada and Thomson CSP to ascertain whether alternatives to the current ACSL solution for BOWMAN might be available to compete for the requirement. These studies have reported and are being evaluated. We expect a decision on the way ahead for the BOWMAN project later this Summer.
  632W
  I can confirm that staff requirement (L) 4083 vehicle integrated communications and information system continues to form part of the BOWMAN requirement.

  Ceremonial
  Mr. Baker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost was of(a) Beating the Retreat and (b) Trooping the Colour for each of the last 10 years for which figures are available. [128787]

  Dr. Moonie
  [holding answer 3 July 2000]: Costs were not collected for the Queen's Birthday Parade (Trooping the Colour) and Beating the Retreat until 1996 and were not identified separately until this year. The total costs between 1996 and 1999 were:

  £

  1996

  33,400

  1997

  34,300

  1998

  35,200

  1999

  36,000

  For this year, the cost of the Queen's Birthday Parade was £31,200 and for Beating the Retreat £7,420, giving a total of £38,620.

  New Deal
  Mr. Brady
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many employees of his Department and its agencies have been recruited from the New Deal; and what percentage this represents of total staff. [129093]

  Dr. Moonie
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office to my hon. Friend the Member for Bradford, North (Mr. Rooney) on 6 July 2000,Official Report, column 286W.

  The number of New Dealers within my Department and its executive agencies represents 0.06 per cent. of total civilian staff.

  During the financial year ending March 2000, a target of 1 per cent. in respect of the recruitment of New Deal candidates into the appropriate grades was set. Actual achievement was 2.3 per cent.

  Tornado GR4
  Mr. Quentin Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the Tornado GR4's capability to launch Sea Eagle missiles; how much has been spent on enabling the Tornado GR4 to launch Sea Eagle missiles; and if this element of the upgrade programme is planned to continue. [129805]

  Mr. Spellar
  Software development work to allow the Sea Eagle missile to be launched by Tornado GR4 aircraft was incomplete at the time the missile was withdrawn from service and further work was halted. This development work was part of the overall software upgrade programme for the GR4 and the costs are not separately identifiable.

  Chain Gun
  Mr. Duncan Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the facilities(a) in the United

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  Kingdom and (b) elsewhere which (i) manufacture the chain gun and (ii) are capable of manufacturing the chain gun. [129669]

  Mr. Spellar
  [holding answer 7 July 2000]: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

  Tornado (Fraud)
  Mr. Menzies Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what investigations his Department's police fraud squad is conducting into allegations of accounting irregularities and financial malpractice on the Tornado maintenance programme; when the investigations began; when they will be completed; and if he will make a statement. [129043]

  Mr. Spellar
  This is an operational policing matter. I understand however that the Ministry of Defence Police Fraud Squad began investigating allegations of malpractice connected with the Tornado maintenance programme last month. At this stage it is not possible to say when the investigation will be completed.

  Centre for Defence Medicine
  Mr. Menzies Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence where the proposed Centre for Defence Medicine will be sited; when the centre is due to open; and if he will make a statement. [130092]

  Dr. Moonie
  The Centre for Defence Medicine will be located in Birmingham and is being developed in association with the University Hospital Birmingham NHS Trust (UHB) and its academic and clinical partners. The Centre is due to open as planned on 1 April 2001. Defence medical personnel will be working at the UHB's Queen Elizabeth and Selly Oak sites and some will be working very closely with the University of Birmingham and other academic partners. We continue to be extremely pleased with the way the project is developing and with the enthusiasm and commitment of our partners in Birmingham.

  West Indies Guard Ship
  Mr. Duncan Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which ships have fulfilled the role of the West Indies guard ship in the past 18 months; and if he will list the dates during which the ships have been on station. [130447]

  Mr. Spellar
  The ships that have fulfilled the role of the Atlantic Patrol Task (North) (previously known as the West Indies Guard Ship) in the past 18 months are as set out:

  Ship

  On station

  HMS Marlborough

  29 January 1999 to 17 June 1999

  HMS Northumberland

  17 June 1999 to 23 November 1999

  HMS Manchester

  15 February 2000 to 26 June 2000

  HMS Cardiff

  26 June 2000 to est. end November 2000

  Royal Fleet Auxiliary
  Mr. Duncan Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the current industrial dispute involving the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. [130448]

  Dr. Moonie
  The current industrial dispute involving Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) members of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary commenced in February this year following their rejection of the 1999 pay offer, which has subsequently been implemented by administrative action. The issue at the centre of the dispute is a demand by the RMT for additional Earned Voyage Leave. While nothing further can be done for 1999, RMT members have been guaranteed improvements to leave in addition to pay both for the current year and in years to come. It is disappointing therefore that they are continuing the action.

  RFA vessels that are directly involved in front-line operations or on humanitarian relief tasks have been exempted from the individual action by the RMT. Changes are being made to other vessels' movements and deployments when necessary to minimise the effect of such action. RMT members are however now taking continuous action. This will mean that ships in port will be prevented from sailing, as happened with Sir Geraint on 11 July. In these circumstances, my Department has no alternative other than to apply appropriate sanctions.

  The Ministry of Defence remains ready to talk to the RMT with a view to solving the dispute by negotiation.

  Royal Navy University Units
  Mr. Duncan Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to disband University Royal Navy units. [130445]

  Mr. Spellar
  There are no plans to disband University Royal Naval Units.

  HMS Sheffield
  Mr. Duncan Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the future role of HMS Sheffield will be. [130444]

  Mr. Spellar
  HMS Sheffield will continue to fulfil a wide range of general purpose and specialist roles in support of UK interests worldwide. In order to maintain her capability across a variety of defence missions, her weapons and sensor suites, including the Sea Wolf AAW missile system and her combat management system, will receive upgrades during the course of her next refit.

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

  Sport Action Zones
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many Sport Action Zones there are in the Greater London area. [129790]

  Kate Hoey
  There is currently one Sport Action Zone in Greater London: London South Central, which covers the areas of North Southwark and North Lambeth. It is one of the first 12 Sport Action Zones announced in January this year. It is eventually intended to designate 30 Zones across the country.

  Baltic Exchange
  Mr. Gray
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what reports he has received from English Heritage concerning whether the former Baltic Exchange building can be rebuilt; what conclusions were reached by English Heritage; and if he will place a copy of the reports in the Library. [R] [129708]

  Mr. Alan Howarth
  [holding answer 7 July 2000]: My Department has seen a copy of a recent letter sent to the City Corporation, in which English Heritage sets out its view on the current planning and listed building consent applications relating to the Baltic Exchange site. In forming that view English Heritage has had regard to (among other considerations) the extent to which the original building could be reconstructed. A copy of the letter has been placed in the Library.

  Football Competition Bids
  Mr. Sarwar
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assistance his Department has offered to the United Kingdom football associations for(a) recent and (b) future bids to host international football competitions in Britain. [129926]

  Kate Hoey
  No financial assistance was offered by my Department to the FA in respect of the bid to hold the European Championship Finals of 1996. However, my Department made a commitment to providing funding totalling £400,000 for the cultural programme which ran alongside the tournament in the eight host cities. Following the success of the 1996 bid, this amount was paid through the Association for Business Sponsorship for the Arts and the Sportsmatch scheme.

  Direct costs to the Government have arisen in respect of the previous Minister of Sport's visits to a number of countries in support of the bid. The cost of these visits was £102,780, although some other Government business was also conducted.

  My Department committed a total of £20,000 to assisting the FA's bid to hold the 2006 World Cup. That amount is in respect of the travelling expenses of the Prime Minister's Special Envoy, and £10,000 has been paid to date.

  Cricket Training
  Mr. McWalter
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the adequacy of cricket training facilities for young people outside school hours. [130105]

  Kate Hoey
  Outside school hours the largest providers of cricket training facilities are cricket clubs, and of the 6,600 affiliated clubs, around 4,100 have junior sections. In 1999 there were 157,000 youngsters who participated in these clubs.

  Funding is also available to cricket through the Lottery Sports Fund, one of whose priorities is young people. The Fund has made 527 awards to cricket facilities, worth a total of over £61 million, towards project costs of over £107 million.

  The ECB spends 11 per cent. of the £26 million per annum it receives from broadcasting revenue for the development of cricket. Approximately 2,000 coaches per
  636W
  year are qualified through the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) Coach Education Scheme and the majority of these go on to work with young cricketers in clubs. The ECB is investing £450,000 on Inner City Projects this year to increase the opportunities for young people to play cricket.

  Junior cricket is also eligible for funding from Sportsmatch, the Government's sports sponsorship incentive scheme. Since its inception in 1992 Sportsmatch has made 336 awards worth a total of over £2.08 million to grass roots and junior cricket applications in England, attracting a similar amount in commercial sponsorship.

  Works of Art (Theft)
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many people have been successfully prosecuted for the theft of works of art and artifacts from the national collections since 1990. [130061]

  Mr. Alan Howarth
  I have asked my officials to contact the National Museums and Galleries which are sponsored by DCMS to request information for a reply to my hon. Friend's question. I will write to him as soon as this is available, placing copies of my letter in the Library of the House.

SOCIAL SECURITY

  "Households Below Average Income"
  Mr. Goggins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when the latest edition of "Households Below Average Income" will be published. [130923]

  Mr. Darling
  "Households Below Average Income" for 1994–95 to 1998–99 has been published today and copies have been placed in the Library.

  Fresco Interiors
  Mr. Hilary Benn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) when Fresco Interiors will receive payment of their invoice of 14 May for flooring work undertaken at his Department's offices at Quarry Hill in Leeds; [130461]

  (2) if the contract for the maintenance of his Department's premises at Quarry House in Leeds contains a clause requiring the contractor, and any sub-contractors, to make prompt payment to suppliers for work undertaken; and if he will make a statement; [130462]

  (3) what his Department's policy is regarding prompt payment of sub-contractors used by contractors responsible for the maintenance of his Department's buildings; and if he will make a statement. [130463]

  Mr. Rooker
  The contract for the flooring work undertaken at Quarry House is between Fresco Interiors and G. S. Hall, the sub-contractor of Trillium who supply the Department with serviced accommodation. Payment of the invoice is therefore a matter for G. S. Hall.

  The Department does not have a universal set of standard terms and conditions for contractors and sub-contractors simply because different contracts, some of which can be very complex, require different provisions. We do however ensure that, wherever

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  possible, contracts include provision for payment of all sums within a specified period not exceeding 30 days from the date of receipt of a valid invoice. As a Department, we fully support the Government's prompt payment initiative and aim to pay all our bills on time and will endeavour to ensure that all contractors do likewise.

  Organophosphates
  Mr. Tyler
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what costs have been incurred, in each of the most recent three years for which figures are available, in making payments for industrial injury benefits to those suffering organophosphate poisoning from sheep dips. [130400]

  Mr. Bayley
  The information is not available in the format requested.

  The table shows the number of people in the last three years who were first diagnosed as having prescribed disease C3 (Poisoning by phosphorus or an inorganic compound of phosphorus or poisoning due to the anti-cholinesterase or pseudo anti-cholinesterase action of organic phosphorous compounds) which includes poisoning from sheep-dip.

  Industrial injuries Disablement Benefit. Number of cases first diagnosed as having prescribed disease C3 1997–1998 to 1999–2000

  Percentage assessment1

  Period covered

  Total number

  Less than 14 per cent.

  14 per cent. or more

  April 1997–March 1998

  3

  1

  2

  April 1998–March 1999

  4

  0

  4

  April 1999–March 2000

  4

  2

  2

  1Benefit is payable for a 14 per cent. or more disablement assessment.

  Note:

  DSS Information Centre. Figures based on a clerical 100 per cent. count.

  Pilot Projects
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security which pilot projects undertaken by his Department since 1997 have involved random assignment elements; and what assessment he has made of their effectiveness in promoting more effective policy making. [130311]

  Mr. Rooker
  The Pensioner Income Support Pilots (poorest pensioners) used the random assignment approach.

  The pilot ran for a year from May 1998. Four different approaches to encourage entitled non-recipient pensioners to claim Income Support were tested in nine areas. Pensioners identified as possible eligible non-recipients were randomly allocated to one of the four approaches. The pilot was fully evaluated and findings were published in December 1999 in the DSS Research Series (report no. 105).

  Findings from the evaluation informed the current Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) take-up campaign.

  Housing Benefit
  Ms Buck
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what plans he has to require local authorities to spend a greater proportion of their budgets on Housing Benefit exceptional hardship payments; and if he will make a statement; [130241]

  (2) what plans he has to prevent local authorities from retaining money unspent from their Housing Benefit exceptional hardship payment budgets; and if he will make a statement; [130242]

  (3) what plans he has to introduce an independent element to the review process for local authority Housing Benefit exceptional hardship payments; and if he will make a statement. [130245]

  Angela Eagle
  Using provisions in the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Bill, we propose, from April 2001, to replace the current system of exceptional hardship and exceptional circumstances payments with a new scheme of purely discretionary payments to meet housing costs, which are not part of the Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit schemes.

  Under these provisions, local authorities will be provided with a sum of money from central Government towards this expenditure, and we propose that they will be required to return any of the money that is not spent. Since local authorities will not be able to keep anything they do not spend, this should encourage them to use the money for the purpose intended.

  Although claimants will not be able to appeal the decisions made by local authorities on these discretionary payments, they will have an internal right of review. Local authorities will be able to revisit decisions and take account of representations made.

  Once these provisions are in place, we will be involving the Local Authority Associations in discussions on how we can ensure that the right criteria for payment are set and claimants made aware of their entitlement.

  Dr. Iddon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 10 March 2000,Official Report, column 843W, on housing benefit, (1) what assessment he has made of the impact of the introduction of the housing benefit verification framework on delays in paying housing benefit; and if he will make a statement; [130068]

  (2) what plans he has to monitor the impact of the introduction of the housing benefit verification framework on delays in paying housing benefit; and if he will make a statement. [130069]

  Angela Eagle
  The verification framework sets out what local authorities should be doing to safeguard the gateway into benefit.

  We recognise that implementing the framework may create some short term administrative delays in those local authorities which have not previously operated an adequate verification or checking system.

  The Department has commissioned in-depth research to provide more information on authorities' experiences of setting-up and operating the framework. This will include information on the impact on the time taken to determine claims.
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  Dr. Iddon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assessment he has made of the difficulties that claimants may have accessing Housing Benefit offices during their opening hours in order to comply with the requirements of the Housing Benefit Verification Framework; and if he will make a statement. [130065]

  Angela Eagle
  The administration of Housing Benefit is the statutory responsibility of local authorities. The provision of adequate access to services is a matter for individual local authorities.

  The Verification Framework does not require that clients must attend a benefit office in order to verify their entitlement to benefit. The Framework is flexible enough to allow each authority to provide the services most appropriate to its own area and clientele. These can include dealing with evidence gathering by post or by visiting, as well as by clients calling at an office. It is open to councils to provide alternative venues for clients who wish to produce documents in person. For example, some councils have trained staff in neighbourhood offices and libraries to collect and verify evidence on behalf of their benefit colleagues.

  Mr. Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 4 July 2000,Official Report, column 155W, what estimate he has made of the (a) cost, (b) technical difficulties and (c) improvement in accuracy of increasing the sample size of the area benefit reviews. [130175]

  Angela Eagle
  The estimated cost of the current Housing Benefit review programme is £1.5 million for 1999–2000. This represents set up costs of the project and costs associated with staff recruitment. The project is expected to cost £2.1 million per year thereafter at current prices.

  Real terms (1999–2000 prices)

  £ million

  1994–95

  1995–96

  1996–97

  1997–98

  Child Benefit

  7,048

  7,095

  7,190

  7,477

  Lone Parent addition within Child Benefit

  —

  —

  —

  334

  One Parent Benefit

  333

  347

  344

  5

  Family Credit

  1,661

  1,949

  2,262

  2,456

  Working Families Tax Credit1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Children's Tax Credit2

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Estimated Income Support expenditure on children3

  2,271

  2,353

  2,345

  2,269

  GDP

  792,228

  810,915

  833,333

  862,671

  1998–99

  1999–2000

  2000–01

  2001–02

  Child Benefit

  7,481

  8,216

  8,344

  8,401

  Lone Parent addition within Child Benefit

  306

  141

  108

  75

  One Parent Benefit

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Family Credit

  2,491

  1,957

  —

  —

  Working Families Tax Credit1

  —

  900

  4,792

  5,152

  Children's Tax Credit2

  —

  —

  —

  1,622

  Estimated Income Support expenditure on children3

  2,215

  2,380

  2,905

  3,120

  GDP

  882,095

  903,761

  925,183

  944,602

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  Technical difficulties are being overcome by incorporating Housing Benefit into the Benefits Agency's Area Benefit Review (ABR) programme. The ABRs are a rolling programme of benefit reviews, which provide estimates of losses due to claimant fraud and error. This procedure is well established and will use the technical expertise the agency has acquired over a number of years.

  We plan to sample 5,010 additional cases each year to estimate the level of fraud and error in standard Housing Benefit. This gives us a level of accuracy around the central estimate of between ±10 and 20 per cent. of the central estimate. For example if incorrect expenditure was estimated to be 10 per cent. of total expenditure we would expect the actual value to between 8 and 12 per cent. Increasing the sample size produces diminishing improvements in the accuracy of the estimates. For example, doubling the sample size to 10,000 cases would produce an estimated 25 per cent. improvement in the accuracy of the estimates, i.e. the level of accuracy would then be 7.5–15 per cent.

  Benefit Costs
  Jean Corston
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was, or is expected to be, the real terms cost at 1999–2000 prices of(a) Child Benefit, (b) One Parent Benefit and, following Table 2 in the DSS report and Expenditure Plans, the element for Lone Parents, included for Child Benefit from April 1997, (c) Family Credit and Working Families Tax Credit, (d) Children's Tax Credit and (e) the estimated cost included in Income Support for children, and, applying the Government Actuary's assumptions of both 1½ per cent. and 2 per cent. earnings growth, each of the above as a percentage of gross domestic product in each of the years 1994–95 to 2001–02. [130059]

  Angela Eagle
  The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the tables.
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  Expenditure as a percentage of GDP

  Percentage

  1994–95

  1995–96

  1996–97

  1997–98

  Child Benefit

  0.89

  0.87

  0.86

  0.87

  Lone Parent addition within Child Benefit

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  0.04

  One Parent Benefit

  0.04

  0.04

  0.04

  0.00

  Family Credit

  0.21

  0.24

  0.27

  0.28

  Working Families Tax Credit1

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  Children's Tax Credit2

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  Estimated Income Support expenditure on children3

  0.29

  0.29

  0.28

  0.26

  1998–99

  1999–2000

  2000–01

  2001–02

  Child Benefit

  0.85

  0.91

  0.90

  0.89

  Lone Parent addition within Child Benefit

  0.03

  0.02

  0.01

  0.01

  One Parent Benefit

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  Family Credit

  0.28

  0.22

  0.00

  0.00

  Working Families Tax Credit1

  0.00

  0.10

  0.52

  0.55

  Children's Tax Credit2

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  0.17

  Estimated Income Support expenditure on children3

  0.25

  0.26

  0.31

  0.33

  1Includes Disabled Persons Tax Credit as per table C12 of the Financial Statement and Budget Report March 2000.

  2As per tables A 13 and A 2.1 of the Financial Statement and Budget Report March 2000.

  3Children are dependants under 18 years of age. The increase in 2000–01 and later years is a reflection of the £4.35 per week increase in child personal allowance from October 2000 and the fact that from April 2000 the allowance for a child under 11 has been equalised with that for an 11–16 year old child.

  Notes:

  1. Expenditure is consistent with the Departmental Report 2000.

  2. Real terms expenditure is calculated using revised GDP deflators issued 29 June 2000.

  3. The relationship between earnings and benefit expenditure is complex and the information requested is not readily available.

  Child Benefit
  Jean Corston
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the rate of child benefit for(a) the first or only child of the family and (b) second or other children of the family (i) at 2000–01 prices and (ii) as a percentage of average male earnings in each of the years 1990 to 2000. [130060]

  Angela Eagle
  The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the tables.

  Rate of child benefit for the first child

  year

  Child Benefit for first child £ per week

  Child Benefit for first child at 199–2000 prices1 £ per week

  Average male earnings2 £ per week

  Child Benefit for first child as percentage of earnings

  April 1990

  7.25

  9.37

  295.80

  2.45

  April 1991

  8.25

  10.18

  318.90

  2.59

  April 1992

  9.65

  11.54

  340.30

  2.84

  April 1993

  10.00

  11.76

  353.90

  2.83

  April 1994

  10.20

  11.67

  363.00

  2.81

  April 1995

  10.40

  11.53

  376.30

  2.76

  April 1996

  10.80

  11.69

  391.30

  2.76

  April 1997

  11.05

  11.57

  408.70

  2.70

  April 1998

  11.45

  11.63

  427.10

  2.68

  April 1999

  14.40

  14.40

  442.40

  3.25

  April 20003

  15.00

  —

  4—

  —

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  Rate of child benefit for subsequent children

  Year

  Child Benefit for subsequent children £ per week

  Child Benefit for subsequent children at 1999–2000 prices1 £ per week

  Average male earnings2 £ per week

  Child Benefit for subsequent children as percentage of earnings

  April 1990

  7.25

  9.37

  295.80

  2.45

  April 1991

  7.25

  8.94

  318.90

  2.27

  April 1992

  7.80

  9.33

  340.30

  2.29

  April 1993

  8.10

  9.53

  353.90

  2.29

  April 1994

  8.25

  9.44

  363.00

  2.27

  April 1995

  8.45

  9.37

  376.30

  2.25

  April 1996

  8.80

  9.53

  391.30

  2.25

  April 1997

  9.00

  9.43

  408.70

  2.20

  April 1998

  9.30

  9.45

  427.10

  2.18

  April 1999

  9.60

  9.60

  442.40

  2.17

  April 20003

  10.00

  —

  4—

  —

  1The Retail Prices Index (all items) has been used, as published by the Office of National Statistics.

  2Weekly Average earnings for all Full-time Adult men, as published in the New Earnings Survey, by the Office of National Statistics.

  3The figures shown are based on prices for the latest full financial year, 1999–2000, as the 2000–01 data are not yet available.

  4Not available.

  Income Support
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of state for Social Security how many retired people are in receipt of Income Support in England and Wales. [130096]

  Mr. Bayley
  There are 1,272,300 pensioners in England and Wales benefiting from the Minimum Income Guarantee paid through Income Support.

  Source:

  Income Support Quarterly Statistical Enquiry February 2000.

  National Insurance
  Mr. Webb
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what has been the policy since 1989 on writing annually to those of his Department's staff who are paying reduced rates of National Insurance contributions, reminding them of the rules governing the payment of reduced rates, as recommended in the Inland Revenue guidance note on reduced rate National Insurance contributions for married women. [129494]

  Mr. Rooker
  The Department has standing instructions requiring staff to report changes in marital status.

  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to inform the married women who have retained the right to pay the reduced rate of National Insurance contributions of the consequences of their option with regard to future eligibility for incapacity benefit. [128596]

  Mr. Rooker
  A publicity exercise will be undertaken later this year. It will be aimed at all women who hold a valid election to pay National Insurance contributions at the reduced rate.

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Interactive Voice Response Systems
  Mr. Ben Chapman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many departmental telephone lines used by the general public are responded to by interactive voice response systems; [127401]

  (2) how many agencies of his Department use interactive voice response systems when dealing with telephone inquiries from the general public. [127400]

  Mr. Mandelson
  None.

  Departmental Vehicles
  Mr. Pearson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list for his Department and its agencies the approved list of manufacturers of(a) cars and (b) commercial vehicles; and if he will make a statement on his Department's leasing and purchasing policy. [128993]

  Mr. Mandelson
  The Northern Ireland Office and its agencies do not have approved lists of manufacturers for either cars or commercial vehicles. Vehicles are sourced using either UK national framework agreements or by open competitive tender. Procurement (i.e. purchasing or leasing) for the NIO is normally undertaken using the open procedure. The procurement practice for such contracts is governed by national and international regulations, in particular EC Directives. These Directives mean that government must conduct public purchasing according to three basic principles—openness and transparency of award procedures, genuine competition in contract award, and no unlawful discrimination.

  In certain circumstances (e.g. security) the restricted procedure is used. Where this procedure is used companies may apply to be included on a restricted list of approved suppliers. Their inclusion on such lists is subject to their meeting the required criteria.

  Telephone Steering Systems
  Mr. Ben Chapman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many of his Department's telephone lines used by the general public are responded to by touch tone telephone steering systems. [129628]

  Mr. Mandelson
  None.

  National Insurance
  Mr. Webb
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what has been the policy since 1989 on writing annually to those of his Department's staff who are paying reduced rates of National Insurance contributions, reminding them of the rules governing the payment of reduced rates, as recommended in the Inland Revenue guidance note on reduced rate National Insurance contributions for married women. [129482]

  Mr. Mandelson
  At present, no special arrangements operate to notify those members of staff who have elected to pay married women's reduced rate National Insurance contributions to keep the Department informed of changes to their marital status. All staff are informed at induction and are periodically reminded by general office notices thereafter of the necessity to keep the Department informed of any change in their personal circumstances which may have a bearing on the accuracy of records kept about them, or in relation to their pay or other entitlements or conditions of their employment.

  Lords Lieutenant
  Mr. Baker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much money his Department has spent in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available on(a) lords-lieutenant and (b) their deputies in Northern Ireland. [129681]

  Mr. Mandelson
  The information is contained in the table.

  There is no separate record of expenditure on the lords-lieutenant and their deputies.

  £

  Year

  Outturn expenditure

  1999–2000

  4,101

  1998–99

  5,780

  1997–98

  8,427

  1996–97

  13,824

  1995–96

  6,234

  1994–95

  10,336

  1993–94

  5,857

  1992–93

  5,177

  1991–92

  7,991

  1990–91

  4,106

PRIME MINISTER

  Government's Annual Report
  Mr. Caplin
  To ask the Prime Minister when he will publish the Government's annual report. [130231]
  645W
  The Prime Minister
  I have done so today. Copies have been placed in the Library and are available in the Vote Office.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Parliamentary Questions
  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many written parliamentary questions tabled to his Department between 19 October 1999 and 20 April 2000 have not received substantive answers, excluding those not answered on the grounds of(a) disproportionate cost, (b) that the information is not available, not held centrally, or not held in the form requested and (c) of commercial or other confidentiality. [127097]

  Mr. Morley
  [holding answer 21 June 2000]: I assume the right hon. Member is referring to parliamentary questions where Ministers have sent a holding reply, and will reply as soon as possible. If so, there have been seven such cases out of a total of 1,187 parliamentary questions answered by my Department in the period in question.

  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on how many occasions he has deposited papers in the Library in response to parliamentary questions tabled to his Department between 19 October 1999 and 20 April 2000. [127439]

  Mr. Morley
  [holding answer 23 June 2000]: For the period in question, my Department has deposited papers in the Library in response to parliamentary questions on 40 occasions.

  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many written parliamentary questions were tabled to his Department between 19 October 1999 and 20 April; and how many have not received substantive answers, citing disproportionate cost as the reason. [128017]

  Mr. Morley
  For this period there have been 1,189 written parliamentary questions tabled, and 21 did not receive substantive answers, citing disproportionate cost.

  New Deal
  Mr. Brady
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many employees of his Department and its agencies have been recruited from the New Deal; and what percentage this represents of total staff. [129098]

  Mr. Morley
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 6 July 2000,Official Report, column 286W.

  The number of New Dealers within my Department and its Executive Agencies as at 1 April 2000 represents under 1 per cent. of total staff.

  Soil Erosion
  Mrs. Anne Campbell
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to encourage the Environment Agency to issue advice 646W
  to farms in areas where soil erosion and runoff from the land exist about how to stop or alleviate erosion and runoff. [129608]

  Mr. Morley
  My Department and the Environment Agency are working closely together to ensure that appropriate advice is made available to farmers whose land may be vulnerable to erosion and runoff.

  Mrs. Anne Campbell
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will issue farms in those areas where there is soil erosion and runoff from the land with(a) codes of practice on protection of soil and water and (b) publications from his Department on controlling soil erosion. [129607]

  Mr. Morley
  My Department has already made available free of charge copies of the Water, Air and Soil Codes. In addition, advisory leaflets on controlling soil erosion, are also available free of charge. These leaflets have been promoted by a series of on-farm seminars, in areas which are vulnerable to erosion which were attended by farmers and the Environment Agency.

  Sheep and Goat Identification
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on sheep and goat identification. [131060]

  Ms Quin
  Consultation documents were issued by my Department on 17 April to seek views on proposals to introduce a requirement for the tagging or tattooing of all sheep and goats in England before they leave their holding of birth. The consultation period ended on 12 June.

  We have taken account of the comments given and we now intend to introduce new Sheep and Goat identification legislation in England in early September. Given the need to ensure that the industry has enough time to order and be supplied with the appropriate tags, we have decided that the tagging and tattooing requirements of the new legislation will not take effect until 1 January 2001. We will be writing to all sheep and goat keepers with full details of the new rules shortly.

  International Whaling Commission
  Ms Atherton
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the outcome of this year's annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission. [131061]

  Mr. Morley
  The International Whaling Commission's 52nd annual meeting was held in Adelaide from 3 to 6 July. I attended the meeting, together with officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department of the Environment, Transport and Regions and representatives of environmental organisations.

  Australia and New Zealand put forward a proposal to create a South Pacific Whale Sanctuary. This would have complemented the existing Southern Ocean Sanctuary by protecting the breeding areas and migration routes of whales that feed in the Southern ocean. It was endorsed by the South Pacific Forum, which represents all the range states affected by the proposed sanctuary. The UK was one of the co-sponsors of the proposal, and I spoke strongly in favour of it. But although it was supported by the majority of those voting, it unfortunately did not

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  receive the three-quarters of votes cast necessary for adoption. Both the Australian and New Zealand Governments indicated that they would be submitting the proposal next year; the UK will again be supporting it.

  The UK took the lead in proposing a resolution condemning Japan's whaling under special permit (so-called 'scientific' whaling) and urging Japan not to proceed with its plans for a new programme in the North Pacific; this would involve, among other things, taking for the first time sperm and bryde's, as well as minke, whales. In introducing the resolution, I made it clear that the UK Government regarded this as a serious development and one that we would continue to raise both bilaterally and in other fora. The resolution was adopted by a large majority, as was a similar resolution on Japanese whaling under special permit in the Southern Ocean Sanctuary.

  A resolution was adopted by consensus establishing a programme of further work on the Revised Management Scheme (RMS), which is being developed to regulate all aspects of any future commercial whaling. This followed a two day working group on the RMS which immediately preceded the IWC meeting itself. The resolution makes it clear that it does not affect, or in any way commit Governments to lift, the moratorium on commercial whaling. In agreeing to form part of the consensus we emphasised that the resolution did not commit us to accepting anything that we had not already agreed to, and that it did not preclude the inclusion of other elements in the RMS.

  At the meeting I reaffirmed the UK's opposition to whaling. There was only a limited discussion of the Irish proposals for a package of measures on whaling; we made it clear that the UK's position on these remains unchanged. I am pleased to say that efforts by Japan to secure a quota of 50 minke whales, despite the moratorium on commercial whaling, was again defeated by a substantial majority. We also strongly criticised Norway's continued whaling activities.

  I made clear the UK's continuing concern about the cruelty involved in whaling, and drew attention, in particular, to the need to improve the regulation and humaneness of hunts for small cetaceans such as dolphins and porpoises. Earlier in the meeting the UK made use of a video of a dolphin drive hunt in Japan which graphically illustrated the need for such improvements. Although it is primarily for the Government of the country concerned to regulate the killing of small cetaceans in its waters, I believe that the IWC has a useful role to play in helping to raise awareness of this issue and in improving standards.

  A number of other issues were considered. In particular, resolutions were adopted supporting the IWC' s research programme on the effects of environmental change and pollution on cetaceans; drawing attention to the need to improve the protection of North Atlantic right whales, one of the most critically endangered species of whales, from mortalities caused by ship strikes and entanglement in fishing nets; drawing attention to the need for improved measures to conserve freshwater cetaceans (river dolphins); and calling on Canada to reconsider takes of bowhead whales from highly endangered stocks by indigenous peoples.
  648W
  While the failure to adopt the South Pacific Sanctuary was disappointing, in other respects this was a successful meeting for the UK, and demonstrated the continuing commitment by the majority of IWC members to upholding the moratorium on commercial whaling. The next IWC meeting will be held in London in July 2001.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  European Court of Justice Cases
  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) if he will make a statement on the number of cases which are currently before the European Court of Justice, listing the arraigned party in each case and the date on which each case was notified to the Court; [127915]

  (2) if he will list, for each of the last 10 years, the number of cases brought to the European Court of Justice which have been ruled as inadmissible, giving details of the parties bringing the cases and the parties against whom they were brought. [127916]

  Mr. Vaz
  [holding answer 3 July 2000]: It will take some time to collate the information requested. I will write to my hon. Friend shortly with the information. Copies of the letter will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

  National Insurance
  Mr. Webb
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what has been the policy since 1989 on writing annually to those of his Department's staff who are paying reduced rates of National Insurance contributions, reminding them of the rules governing the payment of reduced rates, as recommended in the Inland Revenue guidance note on reduced rate National Insurance contributions for married women. [129487]

  Mr. Hain
  The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not issue any specific guidance on National Insurance obligations for married women. However all staff are expected to be aware of Diplomatic and Home Service Regulations. These require all officers to advise the administration of any changes in their marital status, including those that will have effect on their National Insurance contributions.

  Austria
  Mr. Bercow
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the sanctions imposed by EU member states against the Austrian Government. [129813]

  Mr. Vaz
  Measures were implemented by the 14 member states to limit the bilateral relationship as an expression of our concern at the inclusion of a far right party in the Austrian Government. Chancellor Schuessel has now accepted the EU 14's proposal that a group of "three wise persons", appointed by the President of the European Court of Human Rights, should report on the Austrian Government's commitment to common European values and on the evolution of the Freedom
  649W
  Party. We fully support this initiative, and will, together with our other EU partners, consider the report and its implications when it is submitted.

  Israel
  Dr. Starkey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what account Her Majesty's Government have taken, in connection with imports from Israel under preferences, of public communications by the Government of Israel stating that Israel issues certificates of origin according to its own definition of territoriality. [130178]

  Mr. Vaz
  The European Commission is responsible for enforcing the trade provisions of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, under which Israel exports goods to the EU. The UK is currently participating in a Commission-led verification exercise in respect of goods imported from Israel. In this context the UK is aware of the communications made by the Israelis.

  Dr. Starkey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures that do not rely on Israel's co-operation the Government have taken as a High Contracting Party to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 to ensure(a) that neither Britain's nor the European Community's own resources accrue to the benefit of Israel's illegal settlements and (b) that Israel's application of its own definition of territoriality in respect of its trade agreements with the EC does not persist under the EC-Israel Association Agreement that has just come into effect. [130179]

  Mr. Vaz
  The UK is not aware of any circumstances in which the UK or the EU's resources might accrue to the benefit of Israel's illegal settlements.

  The European Commission will continue to enforce the trade provisions of the new EU-Israel Association Agreement and is currently conducting a verification exercise to confirm the origin of certain products exported from Israel.

  Dr. Starkey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps Britain has taken to ensure that the European Community ensures that Israel conducts its preferential trade relations with the Community in a manner that accords with its agreements with the EC and with the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 in respect of products from settlements located in the territories occupied by Israel since 1967. [130197]

  Mr. Vaz
  The UK is participating in a European Community wide verification exercise initiated by the European Commission to confirm the origin of certain products exported from Israel.

  Zimbabwe
  Mr. Nigel Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many United Kingdom observers were accredited by the Zimbabwe authorities as election monitors. [130432]

  Mr. Hain
  No Britons were accredited by the Zimbabwe authorities as election observers, but there were Britons on the administrative staff of both the EU and the Commonwealth observer missions.

  Diamond Imports (Sierra Leone)
  Dan Norris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about the introduction of a United Nations embargo on the import of rough diamonds from Sierra Leone. [130797]

  Mr. Hain
  The United Nations Security Council adopted resolution 1306(2000) on 5 July which prohibits the direct or indirect import of all rough diamonds from Sierra Leone to the territory of member states. The resolution also decides that rough diamonds controlled by the Government of Sierra Leone through a Certificate of Origin regime shall be exempt from the measures when the UN Sanctions Committee on Sierra Leone has reported to the Council that an effective regime is fully in operation.

  Britain played a leading role in promoting resolution 1306 in the UN Security Council. Diamonds are at the heart of the tragedy in Sierra Leone and this resolution sends a powerful signal about the need to end the trade in conflict diamonds from Sierra Leone.

  The embargo on Sierra Leone rough diamonds is established for an initial period of 18 months. At the end of this period the Security Council will review the situation in Sierra Leone, including the extent of the Government's authority over the diamond-producing areas, in order to decide whether to extend the restrictions for a further period, and if necessary, to modify them or adopt further measures.

  The embargo is implemented in the UK by means of an amendment to the Open General Import Licence. Orders in Council under the United Nations Act 1946 will be made to implement the restrictions in the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories.

  Strategic Export Controls
  Ms Osborne
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the Government's response to the Defence, Foreign Affairs, International Development and Trade and Industry Committees' report (HC 225) on the 1997 and 1998 Annual reports on Strategic Export Controls will be published. [130973]

  Mr. Hain
  We will publish the response to the Committees' Report (HC 225) on Friday 14 July. It will be published as a Command Paper at 12.00 pm and copies will be available in the Vote Office and in the Printed Paper Office in the House of Lords.

  Diplomatic Representation
  Mr. Baker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list those British ambassadors and high commissioners who are(a) women and (b) members of an ethnic minority; and if he will express the number in each category as a percentage of the total number of ambassadors and high commissioners. [130401]

  Mr. Hain
  Out of a total of 144 Ambassadors and High Commissioners currently seven (4.9 per cent.) are women. A further seven women are head of subordinate posts.
  651W
  There are currently no Ambassadors or High Commissioners who have declared themselves to be of a minority ethnic origin.

  Mr. Spring
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list for each British embassy or high commission the(a) staff numbers, (b) salary costs and (c) running costs for the financial years (i) 1997–98, (ii) 1998–99, (iii) 1999–2000 and the projected levels for (iv) 2000–01 and (v) 2001–02. [130122]

  Mr. Hain
  Much of the information requested by the hon. Member is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The remainder of the information will take some time to collate. I will write to the hon. Member shortly with the information. Copies of the letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

  Drugs Control
  Dr. Tonge
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs where the UN Drugs Control Programme field trials using Fusarium Oxysporum have been conducted. [130452]

  Mr. Battle
  UNDCP research into Fusarium Oxysporum, including field testing, has been conducted at a US Government research station in Hawaii.

  Dr. Tonge
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) which UN-sponsored fungal herbicide field trial projects his Department supports to combat(a) coca, (b) opium and (c) marijuana; [130453]

  (2) pursuant to his answer of 8 June 2000, Official Report, column 309W, on drugs control, for what reason Her Majesty's Government are not funding research into Fusarium Oxysporum; and if he will list the fungal herbicides for which Her Majesty's Government are providing research funding via the UN Drugs Control Programme. [130454]

  Mr. Battle
  The UNDCP research into Fusarium Oxysporum is fully funded by the United States. Her Majesty's Government were not approached for funding of this research.

  UNDCP research into the viability of Pleospora Papaveracea, a naturally occurring fungus, as a control agent specific to opium poppy, is supported in part by UK funding, from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, of £100,000 which was granted in 1997. The UK is not funding UNDCP research into any other fungal herbicides.

  Dr. Tonge
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department has had with members of the UN Drugs Control Programme concerning the criteria used to decide where field trials of fungal herbicides to combat coca, opium and marijuana crops take place. [130456]

  Mr. Battle
  The decision on where field trials are held is made by the UNDCP and the authorities of the country where the trials are to take place. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office have not had discussions with UNDCP on this issue.

  However, we have made it clear that if research into Pleospora Papaveracea showed it to be harmful to the environment, the UK would withdraw support and press for closure of the research programme.

EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT

  Sure Start
  Maria Eagle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when he plans to authorise a further round of local Sure Start programmes. [130726]

  Yvette Cooper
  I have been asked to reply.

  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Employment and I have today invited applications to set up a Sure Start programme in each of the following 65 districts in England:

  Proposed List of Districts for Sure Start Round 3

  Allerdale

  Barnsley

  Bassetlaw

  Berwick-upon-Tweed

  Birmingham

  Blackburn with Darwen

  Bradford

  Brent

  Bromley

  Bury

  Camden

  Chester-le-Street

  Chesterfield

  Darlington

  Derby

  Doncaster

  East Lindsey

  East Riding of Yorkshire

  East Staffordshire

  Ellesmere Port and Neston

  Hackney

  Halton

  Haringey

  Hartlepool

  Havant

  Havering

  Herefordshire

  Hillingdon

  Kings Lynn and West Norfolk

  Kingston Upon Hull

  Knowsley

  Lambeth

  Lancaster

  Leeds

  Leicester

  Liverpool

  Manchester

  Middlesbrough

  Milton Keynes

  Newark and Sherwood

  Newham

  North Devon

  North Lincolnshire

  Northampton

  Oswestry

  Restormel

  Rossendale

  653W

  Rotherham

  Salford

  Sandwell

  Scarborough

  Sefton

  Sheffield

  Shepway

  Southend-on-Sea

  Southwark

  Stockport

  Stoke-on-Trent

  Swindon

  Tendring

  Tower Hamlets

  Warrington

  Waveney

  West Lancashire

  Wolverhampton.

  We have placed a copy of the guidance for this application round in the Library.

  These 65 applications are in addition to 59 trailblazer areas, which are now delivering services to children and families, and a further 70 second wave areas, which have now submitted their plans and are on course to start delivering services from the autumn.

  Ministerial Visits
  Mr. Sarwar
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the visit of the Minister for Employment, Welfare to Work and Equal Opportunities to the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations in June. [128090]

  Ms Jowell
  I visited the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations on 22 June in response to their kind invitation to be the keynote speaker at their annual conference on New Deal. During what proved to be a very successful conference I congratulated the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations and its member organisations for the significant contribution they had made to the successful delivery of New Deal in Scotland. I outlined the various measures that were being, or would be, taken further to improve the help New Deal can give to particularly disadvantaged young people and those who are long term unemployed. The SCVO video on the Voluntary Sector Option in Scotland was launched and an award presented to the 4000th young person to enter the option in Scotland. I looked forward to a continuation of the partnership working between SCVO, its members, the Employment Service and other New Deal partners that has been a special feature of the delivery of the option in Scotland.

  New Deal
  Mr. Alexander
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many employers in Paisley, South, or the nearest available geographical unit, have agreed to take on one or more subsidised employees from the New Deal for 18 to 24-year-olds in each month since January 1998; and how many employers have 654W
  agreed to take their first subsidised employee from the New Deal scheme for 18 to 24-year-olds in each month since January 1998. [128737]

  Ms Jowell
  The information is not available in the form requested but we do have aggregate information for the Johnstone and Paisley jobcentre catchment areas. Since April 1998, when the New Deal for young people was introduced nationally, a total of 237 employers have signed New Deal agreements and many of these have taken on one or more subsidised employees. Many employers signing agreements will also have taken on young people into unsubsidised jobs and in the Paisley, South constituency as a whole, over 400 young people have found jobs under the New Deal. This is a significant contribution to our manifesto commitment to help 250,000 young people into jobs through the New Deal.

  Mr. Alexander
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what recent research he has carried out into the reasons for those in the New Deal scheme leaving the scheme prematurely. [128736]

  Ms Jowell
  The purpose of New Deal is to move people swiftly into jobs and the design of New Deal enables young people to leave from all stages of the process to take jobs or for other reasons. Those that return to Jobseeker's allowance within three months go back on to New Deal at the point they left. However, young people do leave the process without telling us where they are going. They are under no obligation to do so but we are naturally concerned to know more about their circumstances. As a result we commissioned a study in 1999 which told us that 57 per cent. of leavers went into jobs and 8 per cent. into training. A second survey of leavers to unknown destinations from all three stages of the New Deal for Young People is currently under way.

  Mr. Allan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment which parliamentary constituencies fall within which New Deal units of delivery. [129461]

  Ms Jowell
  There is no neat fit between New Deal Units of Delivery and parliamentary constituencies. It is for this reason that quarterly New Deal statistics for each parliamentary constituency have been produced and placed in the Libraries alongside those on a Unit of Delivery basis. A list of Units of Delivery and those parliamentary constituencies that fall, all or for the most part, within their boundaries is contained in the table, copies of which have been placed in the Libraries.

  Jobcentres
  Mr. Loughton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) what guidance his Department has given to jobcentres regarding the advertising of jobs in the sex industry; and what definition of the sex industry is used in the guidance; [129110]

  (2) what his Department's policy is regarding the use of public funds to subsidise job placement schemes with firms in the sex industry. [129835]

  Ms Jowell
  [holding answers 4 and 10 July 2000]: Responsibility for the subject of these questions has been delegated to the Employment Service Agency under its Chief Executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
  655W
  Letter from Richard Foster to Mr. Tim Loughton, dated 12 July 2000:
  As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State for Education and Employment has asked Leigh Lewis to reply direct to your questions, about the guidance given to Jobcentres on the advertising of jobs in the sex industry; and what definition of the "sex industry" is used in the guidance and about what the Departments' policy is about the use of public funds to subsidise job placement schemes with firms in the sex industry. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to Leigh Lewis as the Chief Executive of the Agency, I am replying in his absence.
  Jobcentres are instructed not to deal with job vacancies associated with the sex industry. The guidance dates from 1996 and does not seek to define precisely the boundaries of the sex industry but has as its prime aim the need to avoid causing genuine offence or embarrassment to jobseekers.
  All job placement subsidies provided by the Government require there to be a vacancy or opening with an employer. As the Employment Service does not deal with vacancies in the sex industry the question of subsidies does not arise.
  I hope this is helpful.

  ONE System
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to his answer of 28 June 2000,Official Report, column 544W, concerning Welfare to Work and ONE, if he will list (a) the organisations and individuals consulted, (b) the organisations and individuals who attended the seminar on 18 January and (c) other organisations and individuals who have been asked for advice during the course of the review; and if he will make a statement. [130053]

  Ms Jowell
  Those who attended the seminar were:

  Richard Blundell, Institute of Fiscal Studies;

  Mike Campbell, Policy Research Institute, Leeds Metropolitan University;

  Martin Evans CASE, The London School of Economics;

  Dan Finn, Portsmouth University;

  Abigail McKnight, CASE, The London School of Economics;

  John Philpott, Employment Policy Institute;

  John van Reenen, University College, London;

  Anna Vignoles, The London School of Economics;

  Simon Wilson, freelance consultant;

  Helen Edwards, NACRO;

  Amanda Jordan, NatWest Group;

  Charles Lilley, KPMG together with officials from all the relevant Departments.

  The rest of the information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Career Guidance
  Mrs. Curtis-Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what steps he is taking to ensure that the level of career guidance available to 13 to 19-year-olds will be maintained by the Connexions service. [130226]

  Mr. Wicks
  The Government are committed to universal access to careers education and guidance for all young people. Every young person will get help to enable them to make well-informed decisions. We will be 656W
  drawing up a national statement of what young people can expect from the Connexions Service including access to impartial careers guidance.

  Mrs. Curtis-Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what steps he is taking to ensure that the knowledge and experience of career guidance practitioners will be utilised by the Connexions service. [130225]

  Mr. Wicks
  The Connexions Service will offer at least the same level of careers information, advice and guidance for 13 to 19-year-olds as is currently provided by the Careers Service. It will be a universal service with a focus on removing any barriers to learning faced by young people.

  The new Connexions Service will offer challenging new posts to be filled by people with the appropriate competence and skills, including people from the existing Careers Service, Youth Service and other statutory, community and voluntary organisations.

  A major training programme for the personal adviser is being developed and the DfEE recently published a consultation document on the development of the professional framework for personal advisers. The document had been developed through discussion and consultation with representatives from the Youth Services, Careers Services and others and invites views and advice from a range of people including existing practitioners in both professions.

  Mrs. Curtis-Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on how the independence and impartiality of career guidance practitioners will be maintained under the provisions of the Learning and Skills Bill [Lords]. [130227]

  Mr. Wicks
  Impartiality is a fundamental element of the Government's approach to guidance. The Connexions Service will offer at least the same level of impartial careers information, advice and guidance for 13–19 year olds as is currently provided by careers services. Local managers from the Connexions Service will agree with schools how school based personal advisers will be deployed and how the impartiality of guidance will be ensured.

  The Learning and Skills Council has a power under the Learning and Skills Bill to secure for adults, the provision of facilities for providing information, advice or guidance about education or training or connected matters (including employment). The arrangements for ensuring the quality and impartiality of that provision will be for the Learning and Skills Council to agree with those organisations delivering it.

  However, impartiality is and will continue to be a key principle underpinning publicly funded information, advice and guidance services. The Government have invested £54 million over the period 1999–2002 on the development of local information, advice and guidance services to adults. A key priority for that money is to raise the quality of information, advice and guidance provision through the development of national quality standards, underpinned by the principle of impartiality, against which providers of information, advice or guidance to adults are required to be accredited by March 2002.

  Bargaining for Skills Project
  Mr. Hilary Benn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has for the future funding of North-west Bargaining for Skills by the Learning and Skills Council; and if he will make a statement. [130252]

  Mr. Wicks
  For the current year, Training and Enterprise Councils in the North-west have been able to meet only half the cost of the Bargaining for Skills projects, due to other pressing financial commitments. My Department will ensure that the balance is found to sustain the programme for the rest of this year.

  Trade Unions have a unique and pivotal role to play in encouraging and facilitating learning opportunities at work. Nowhere has this been more effectively demonstrated than through the success of the Union Learning Fund and Bargaining for Skills Projects. Workforce development will be at the heart of the remit of the Learning and Skills Council, and we are currently discussing with the TUC the role that unions can play in supporting this.

  Nursery Nurses
  Mr. Mudie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what consultations are taking place on a new job title for nursery nurses. [129006]

  Ms Hodge
  No such consultations are taking place. Job titles for all paid support staff are decided locally, taking account of any national agreements reached between employers' organisations and unions.

  Teacher Suicide Rates
  Mr. Willis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what the annual suicide rate has been of(a) teachers and (b) head teachers in (i) all schools, (ii) primary schools and (iii) secondary schools in each year since 1989; how many suicides there were in each case; and if he will make a statement. [129843]

  Ms Estelle Morris
  [holding answer 11 July 2000]: Information on teachers in service who commit suicide is not available centrally.

  Telephone Steering Systems
  Mr. Ben Chapman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many agencies of his Department use touch tone telephone steering systems when dealing with telephone inquiries from the general public. [129637]

  Mr. Wills
  ES is the only agency of the Department for Education and Employment that uses touch tone telephone steering systems when dealing with telephone inquiries from the general public. The ONE call centre (benefit inquiry line) currently being piloted makes use of such a system.

  Mr. Ben Chapman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many of his Department's telephone lines used by the general public are responded to by touch tone telephone steering systems. [129619]
  658W
  Mr. Wills
  Within the Department for Education and Employment there are two departmental telephone lines used by the general public which are responded to by a touch tone telephone steering system. The Overseas Labour Service and the Qualifications for Work systems both make use of such systems.

  Asylum Seekers
  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what guidance he has issued to local education authorities about services to asylum seekers and their dependants. [130114]

  Jacqui Smith
  [holding answer 11 July 2000]: Children of asylum seekers are entitled to the same educational opportunities as all other children. The Department has funded a number of publications by the Refugee Council aimed at helping children of asylum seekers access education. Officials here recently met representatives of the Refugee Council and the Local Government Association to discuss whether or not further guidance on the education of children of asylum seekers would be helpful to Local Education Authorities.

  The Secretary of State has recently announced that £1.5 million is to be made available in this financial year to improve access to education for children of asylum seekers who are dispersed to cluster areas under the support arrangements in the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. Up to £500 is available for each child. The money will go to schools to help with extra language lessons, and to help children settle in quickly.

  Asset Management Plans
  Mr. Allan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to his answer of 21 June 2000,Official Report, column 205W, what the deadline is for the submission of asset management plans by local education authorities. [130208]

  Jacqui Smith
  [holding answer 12 July 2000]: Our target is that, by December 2001, 90 per cent. of authorities' AMPs should be satisfactory in relation to DfEE performance standards. Our interim target, however, is that by December 2000, 90 per cent. of authorities' AMPs should be operational at least in respect of condition, suitability and sufficiency assessments.

  Pupil Statistics
  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many pupils sat(a) GCSE and (b) A level exams early in the academic cycle; what was the youngest age at which the exams were sat; and how many students, as a percentage of all GCSE and A level students, sat exams early in (1) 1995–96, (2) 1996–97, (3) 1997–98, (4) 1998–99 and (5) 1999–2000. [127254]

  Ms Estelle Morris
  [holding answer 27 June 2000]: The information requested on GCSEs and GCE A level is shown in the following table.
  659W

  1995–1996

  1996–1997

  1997–1998

  1998–1999

  (a) GCSE entrants

  Number of candidates who sat at least one exam before age 15

  30,630

  40,817

  40,890

  44,744

  Percentage of all candidates

  3.7

  5.0

  5.2

  5.7

  Youngest age at which sat exam

  9

  12

  10

  8

  (b) GCE A level entrants

  Number of candidates who sat at least one exam before age 17

  7,559

  7,944

  7,568

  8,470

  Percentage of all candidates

  2.9

  2.9

  2.8

  3.2

  Youngest age at which sat exam

  11

  9

  12

  11

  Data for 1999–2000 are not yet available.

  PFI Contracts
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what the average length of time is between(a) the completion of the outline business case and the signing of the final contract and (b) the publication in the Official Journal of the European Community and the signing of the final contract, where applicable, of private finance initiative contracts for schools. [130253]

  Jacqui Smith
  To date, 16 schools private finance initiative contracts have reached final contract signature in England, taking on average 22 months from placing initial notices in the Official Journal of the European Community. Because many of these projects were advertised before the current arrangements for reviewing outline business cases were introduced in late 1997, it is not possible to provide a meaningful average length of time between outline business cases being approved and final contract signature. However, since the current arrangements were introduced, a typical schools project takes around three months for the outline business case to be assessed and approved.

  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what monitoring is undertaken of private finance initiative contracts for schools, further education colleges and higher education; and if he will make a statement. [130278]

  Mr. Wicks
  Responsibility for monitoring PFI projects lies with the relevant procuring body. For schools, monitoring is the responsibility of Local Education Authorities or other procuring bodies. The Department informs the Department for the Environment, Transport, and the Regions about services and payments arising from new projects, so that the overall level of revenue commitments can be monitored.

  The Further Education Funding Council supports colleges in developing projects and monitors educational achievement, financial returns and the efficient use of property.

  The Higher Education Funding Council for England monitors progress by requiring higher education institutions to submit progress reports on PFI contracts as part of their annual financial forecasts.

  The Department works closely with LEAs and the Funding Councils to ensure that procedures are in place to monitor progress and value for money effectively.
  660W
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what clawback mechanisms exist under private finance initiatives within his Department in respect of contingencies other then refinancing; and if he will place copies of each private finance initiative contract in the Library. [130263]

  Mr. Wicks
  The Employment Service has entered into three Private Finance Initiative contracts since 1997. It has established private finance deals for the delivery of procedural guidance via networked personal computers, for the delivery of all IT and related services, and for pay and personnel records.

  None of these contracts has clawback mechanisms other than the normal agreements to reduce the charges made under each contract in the case of failure to meet agreed service levels.

  I will be unable to place copies of these contracts in the Library, as they contain information that is considered commercially confidential.

  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what use of equity finance has been made in his Department's private finance initiative projects; and if he will make a statement. [130256]

  Mr. Wicks
  The Employment Service has entered into three Private Finance Initiative contracts. None of these projects makes use of equity finance.

  Learning and Skills Council
  Mr. Purchase
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when he will announce the appointment of the Chief Executive of the Learning and Skills Council. [130798]

  Mr. Wicks
  Today, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Employment has appointed John Harwood as Chief Executive (Designate) of the Learning and Skills Council.

  Mr, Harwood is currently Chief Executive of Oxfordshire County Council. He will bring the vision and breadth of experience that will he needed to set up and lead this important new public body. He brings a great deal of experience from a lifetime in public service, as well as a wide understanding of post-16 learning. Working with the Council's Chair Designate, Bryan Sanderson, he will be able to build a modern, effective organisation.

  We aim to announce the Executive Directors of the local Learning and Skills Councils through the summer. A list of the successful candidates will be placed in the House Libraries.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Lords Lieutenant
  Mr. Baker
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 7 July 2000,Official Report, column 356W, regarding lords lieutenant, if he will make a statement on the selection procedure which applies to the appointment of (a) lords lieutenant and (b) deputy lieutenants. [130402]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  Lords Lieutenants are appointed by The Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister. In England, the Prime Minister's Secretary for Appointments carries out the consultation process within the county on behalf of the Prime Minister. Nominations of candidates for Lords Lieutenant can, when a vacancy occurs, be made to the Secretary for Appointments, the relevant Clerk to the Lieutenancy and the outgoing Lord Lieutenant.

  The appointment of Deputy Lieutenants is a matter for the Lord Lieutenant, subject to the non-disapprobation of The Queen.

  Prisoners (Useful Activity)
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average number of hours of useful activity each week is in each British prison. [130020]

  Mr. Boateng
  The average weekly purposeful activity hours per prisoner in 1999–2000 for establishments in England and Wales are given in the table.

  Ashfield and Forest Bank prisons opened late in 1999–2000 and are not included in this analysis.

  Average weekly purposeful activity by establishment for England and Wales 1999–2000

  Prison name

  Purposeful activity

  Altcourse

  25.5

  Askham Grange

  41.5

  Acklington

  23.8

  Albany

  19.2

  Ashwell

  30.8

  Aylesbury

  18.4

  Belmarsh

  12.8

  Blundeston

  24.5

  Bedford

  22.9

  Blantyre House

  43.6

  Brockhill

  18.1

  Bristol

  20.9

  Birmingham

  15.2

  Bullingdon

  14.4

  Brinsford

  16.8

  Blakenhurst

  22.1

  Bullwood Hall

  19.6

  Brixton

  11.1

  Buckley Hall

  31.7

  Chelmsford

  16.8

  Cardiff

  20.2

  Camp Hill

  19.9

  Cookham Wood

  24.4

  Coldingly

  43.8

  Castington

  19.8

  Channings Wood

  34.9

  Canterbury

  19.9

  Dartmoor

  19.9

  Drake Hall

  35.9

  Durham

  18.7

  Doncaster

  18.3

  Dorchester

  19.5

  662W

  Average weekly purposeful activity by establishment for England and Wales 1999–2000

  Prison name

  Purposeful activity

  Deerbolt

  21.1

  Dover

  23.4

  Downview

  29.8

  Erlestoke

  28.4

  Standford Hill

  39.7

  East Sutton Park

  40.2

  Everthorpe

  26.3

  Eastwood Park

  21.6

  Exeter

  15.0

  Elmley

  21.7

  Ford

  38.8

  Frankland

  19.4

  Feltham

  15.2

  Full Sutton

  18.7

  Foston Hall

  25.7

  Featherstone

  26.1

  Garth

  21.2

  Gloucester

  29.4

  Guys Marsh

  27.9

  Grendon

  35.3

  Glen Parva

  16.0

  Gartree

  28.4

  Hollesley Bay

  33.8

  Huntercombe

  26.3

  Hatfield

  40.6

  Hewell Grange

  41.8

  Holme House

  16.6

  Hindley

  24.0

  Hull

  22.5

  Highdown

  16.4

  Highpoint

  20.9

  Haslar

  16.1

  Haverigg

  33.8

  Holloway

  15.5

  Kirkham

  44.3

  Kirklevington

  52.5

  Lancaster

  23.2

  Leicester

  19.3

  Leeds

  14.5

  Lancaster Farms

  20.6

  Lindholme

  26.9

  Lincoln

  24.9

  Long Lartin

  16.5

  Latchmere House

  74.1

  Low Newton

  25.5

  Lowdham Grange

  24.7

  Liverpool

  22.6

  Littlehey

  25.5

  Lewes

  18.7

  Leyhill

  38.8

  Moorland

  23.1

  Morton Hall

  41.4

  Manchester

  22.2

  Maidstone

  22.3

  Mount

  18.6

  New Hall

  23.1

  Nottingham

  20.6

  Northallerton

  17.6

  North Sea Camp

  41.0

  Norwich

  19.2

  Onley

  17.4

  Portland

  22.8

  Parkhurst

  21.5

  Preston

  16.8

  Parc

  36.2

  Kingston

  23.9

  Pentonville

  20.4

  Rochester

  17.5

  Reading

  31.7

  Ranby

  25.7

  Risley

  22.3

  Send

  31.6

  663W

  Average weekly purposeful activity by establishment for England and Wales 1999–2000

  Prison name

  Purposeful activity

  Stafford

  24.8

  Stoke Heath

  22.5

  Stocken

  22.1

  Swaleside

  21.3

  Shepton Mallet

  20.7

  Swinfen Hall

  30.2

  Styal

  21.7

  Sudbury

  43.4

  Swansea

  20.8

  Shrewsbury

  23.2

  Thorn Cross

  45.3

  Usk

  37.5

  Verne

  30.9

  Weare

  20.7

  Wellingborough

  25.0

  Winchester

  15.2

  Wakefield

  20.0

  Wealstun

  32.9

  Woodhill

  17.9

  Wayland

  24.0

  Wymott

  29.8

  Werrington

  37.9

  Wolds

  28.9

  Whitemoor

  21.4

  Wormwood Scrubs

  19.3

  Whatton

  29.9

  Wandsworth

  18.4

  Wetherby

  27.9

  Dangerous Driving
  Mr. Loughton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the progress of the inter-departmental working party on penalties for causing death by dangerous driving and related driving offences; and when he expects to produce a report. [130435]

  Mr. Charles Clarke
  The work of the review of penalties for road traffic offences is almost complete. The Government hope to publish a consultation document, setting out the proposals of the review, shortly.

  UN Drugs Control Programme
  Dr. Tonge
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what financial assistance his Department provides for the UN Drugs Control Programme; and what this assistance is earmarked for. [130450]

  Mr. Charles Clarke
  In 1999–2000 the Home Office provided £1,171,000 for United Nations Drugs Control Programme (UNDCP) projects, allocated as follows:

  £000

  Modernisation of the police academy and the strengthening of precursor control (in Brazil) (AD/BRA/98/D31 and D33)

  478

  Drug law enforcement in Pakistan (AD/PAK/98/D86)

  480

  Strengthening drug law enforcement (AD/RER/D41)

  113

  Regional clearance system for the control of movement of vessels (in the Caribbean) (AD/CAR/97/C49)

  100

  In addition £127,000 was contributed to the general fund of the UNDCP.

  Police (Feira Report)
  Mr. Bercow
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if police officers will operate(a) in national uniforms and (b) under a common code of practice under the provisions of the Feira Presidency proposals. [129920]

  Mr. Charles Clarke
  The Feira Presidency report makes no proposals as regards uniforms or codes of practice for police officers from European Union member states deployed on international civilian policing operations.

  Mr. Bercow
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he intends to increase police numbers in order to provide the manpower indicated in Section C of the Feira Presidency conclusions. [129923]

  Mr. Charles Clarke
  The Presidency Report to the Feira European Council on "Strengthening the Common European Security and Defence Policy" looks at establishing concrete targets for civilian police capabilities as part of a wider initiative on international non-military crisis management operations. The United Kingdom will be working with European Union partners to achieve the target agreed at Feira. The Presidency Report does not impose any national quotas which would oblige us to increase the number of United Kingdom officers who will be available for peace keeping missions abroad. We will continue to contribute to such operations on a voluntary basis.

  Mr. Bercow
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the conditions under which police officers from other EU states would operate in the UK, as proposed in the Feira Presidency conclusions. [129812]

  Mr. Charles Clarke
  The Feira Presidency Report contains recommendations and proposals which will enable the European Union to contribute more effectively to international peace and security by enhancing its contribution to crisis management operations led by international and regional organisations. There is no suggestion that officers from European Union states should operate as part of such a mission in the United Kingdom or any other European Union state or that the circumstances in the European Union are such that they would be required in such a capacity.

  Children's Homes
  Dr. Cable
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of missing children from children's homes have been investigated by the police since 1970; how many had led to the missing children being traced; and how many are currently under investigation. [129768]

  Mr. Charles Clarke
  There is no evidence of such information having been recorded or held centrally. The information could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost. However, we have accepted the recommendations of the Waterhouse Report which identified the need for the police and care homes to create a record of missing children. We will take forward the recommendations through an inter-agency review of best practice in conducting complex abuse investigations. A Review Group is being established to take forward this work,
  665W
  bringing together representatives from the Home Office, Department of Health, Local Government Association, Association of Directors of Social Services and the Association of Chief Police Officers.

  Police Training College, Hendon
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers have attended training programmes at the Metropolitan Police training college at Hendon in the last 12 months. [129823]

  Mr. Charles Clarke
  In the 12 months ended 31 March 2000, 9,342 officers from the Metropolitan Police attended courses at the Peel Centre, Hendon.

  The courses attended included probationer training, detective courses, driver and traffic training, dog training, firearms, computer and management courses.

  Domestic Violence
  Mr. Kidney
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on progress in reducing the incidence of domestic violence in England. [129937]

  Mr. Boateng
  The Government have made available from the Crime Reduction Programme £7 million for projects addressing domestic violence and rape and sexual assault by known perpetrators. I was pleased to announce the successful bids on 10 July. Of these, 25, costing a total of £5.3 million, deal with aspects of domestic violence. We expect this major commitment to lead to more women reporting these offences and in the longer term to a significant fall in the actual number of offences being committed.

  This initiative complements a range of Government measures to ensure that the problem of domestic violence is tackled effectively, including in the last four months new multi-agency guidance, a new resources manual for Health Service professionals and a new Home Office Circular to

  Table 1: Percentage change in recorded crime rates 1996–97 to 1998–99 and percentage change in police numbers

  Number offences per 100,000 population

  Police numbers

  1996–97

  1998–99

  Percentage change

  Percentage change

  Fall/rise

  1 Kent

  9,140

  7,040

  -23

  -1.8

  Fall 1

  2 Gwent

  10,477

  8,508

  -19

  0.3

  Rise

  3 Gloucestershire

  9,583

  7,867

  -18

  -2.5

  Fall 2

  4 Lincolnshire

  7,796

  6,412

  -18

  -4.8

  Fall 3

  5 Northumbria

  11,201

  9,271

  -17

  4.4

  Rise

  6 West Mercia

  7,367

  6,166

  -16

  -0.8

  Fall 4

  7 South Yorkshire

  11,248

  9,538

  -15

  0.3

  Rise

  8 Hampshire

  7,666

  6,525

  -15

  0.6

  Rise

  9 Bedfordshire

  9,341

  7,957

  -15

  -4.8

  Fall 5

  10 Cleveland

  13,358

  11,465

  -14

  -3.0

  Fall 6

  11 Lancashire

  8,585

  7,379

  -14

  -0.1

  Fall 7

  12 Cambridgeshire

  9,713

  8,379

  -14

  -2.1

  Fall 8

  13 Avon and Somerset

  10,323

  8,926

  -14

  0.4

  Rise

  14 Surrey

  5,355

  4,638

  -13

  2.6

  Rise

  15 Devon and Cornwall

  6,573

  5,703

  -13

  0.8

  Rise

  16 Hertfordshire

  6,110

  5,307

  -13

  -2.0

  Fall 9

  17 Essex

  6,578

  5,722

  -13

  -2.4

  Fall 10

  18 Durham

  8,326

  7,262

  -13

  7.4

  Rise

  19 North Wales

  6,375

  5,575

  -13

  1.6

  Rise

  20 Nottinghamshire

  13,575

  11,983

  -12

  -4.2

  Fall 11

  21 North Yorkshire

  7,341

  6,558

  -11

  -0.1

  Fall 12

  22 Metropolitan Police District

  11,264

  10,084

  -10

  -2.3

  Fall 1

  666W
  the police. Our other initiatives and commitments are set out in the joint Home Office/Women's Unit publication, "Living with Fear: an integrated approach to tackling violence against women", published in June 1999.

  Crime/Police Manpower
  Tony Wright
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent evidence he has collated on the correlation between the level of crime and(a) police numbers and (b) police funding. [129496]

  Mr. Charles Clarke
  In response to the intervention of the right hon. Member for Southwark, North and Bermondsey (Mr. Hughes) in the debate on the Crime Reduction Strategy on 29 November 1999,Official Report, columns 21–38, officials in my Research, Development and Statistics Directorate assembled information on changes in police numbers and recorded crime rates between (i) 1996–97 and 1998–99; and (ii) 1993–94 and 1998–99. The analysis is set out in Tables 1 and 2. Table 1 shows that 12 of the 21 top performing forces had falls in police numbers over the last two years, whereas in the other group of 22 forces, 14 had falls. At the individual force level, however, there seems little obvious statistical link between performance and police numbers. Table 2 shows that, over five years, there is little difference in the number of forces with falls in numbers in the top 21 forces and the bottom 22. Again, though, there is a very mixed picture overall, with the statistical relationship between police numbers and changes in crime over this period weak.

  Other analysis by the Research, Development and Statistics Directorate around the same time also looked at the correlation at police force level between the changes in numbers of crimes, police numbers and police funding. The results are in Table 1. They show no association that carries much statistical weight when comparing forces. The strongest association is between increasing budgets leading to increasing officers.

  Historic figures on overall police numbers in England and Wales and the total number of recorded crimes are in the Library.
  667W

  Table 1: Percentage change in recorded crime rates 1996–97 to 1998–99 and percentage change in police numbers

  Number offences per 100,000 population

  Police numbers

  1996–97

  1998–99

  Percentage change

  Percentage change

  Fall/rise

  23 Dorset

  7,098

  6,386

  -10

  -0.4

  Fall 2

  24 Suffolk

  5,709

  5,143

  -10

  0.9

  Rise

  25 Norfolk

  7,249

  6,534

  -10

  -3.5

  Fall 3

  26 Leicestershire

  9,738

  8,796

  -10

  2.3

  Rise

  27 West Midlands

  11,597

  10,511

  -9

  2.9

  Rise

  28 Staffordshire

  8,773

  7,969

  -9

  1.2

  Rise

  29 Cheshire

  6,657

  6,050

  -9

  1.2

  Rise

  30 Cumbria

  7,852

  7,147

  -9

  -1.5

  Fall 4

  31 Warwickshire

  7,666

  7,081

  -8

  -2.0

  Fall 5

  32 Wiltshire

  5,943

  5,503

  -7

  -0.3

  Fall 6

  33 Sussex

  8,092

  7,494

  -7

  -7.7

  Fall 7

  34 Dyfed-Powys

  3,967

  3,737

  -6

  2.2

  Rise

  35 Thames Valley

  8,224

  7,750

  -6

  1.4

  Rise

  36 Merseyside

  9,757

  9,240

  -5

  -0.5

  Fall 8

  37 West Yorkshire

  12,311

  11,679

  -5

  -4.4

  Fall 9

  38 Derbyshire

  8,072

  7,670

  -5

  -1.8

  Fall 10

  39 South Wales

  10,099

  9,780

  -3

  0.2

  Rise

  40 Humberside

  13,801

  13,483

  -2

  -3.4

  Fall 11

  41 Northamptonshire

  9,178

  9,150

  0

  -3.3

  Fall 12

  42 Greater Manchester

  12,437

  13,071

  5

  -1.6

  Fall 13

  43 City of London

  91,405

  115,282

  26

  -9.4

  Fall 14

  England and Wales

  9,515

  8,584

  -10

  -1.0

  —

  Changes between 1996–97 and 1998–99

  Number offences per 100,000 population

  Police numbers

  1996–97

  1998–99

  Percentage change

  Percentage change

  Fall/rise

  Top 21 forces

  8,790

  7,464

  -15

  -0.2

  -88

  Average

  -15

  -0.5

  -4

  Bottom 21 forces

  10,015

  9,363

  -7

  -1.4

  -1,122

  Average

  -5

  -1.4

  -51

  Table 2: Percentage change in recorded crime rates 1993–94 and percentage change in police numbers

  Number offences per 100,000 population

  Police numbers

  1993–94

  1998–99

  Percentage change

  Percentage change

  Fall/rise

  1 Northumbria

  14,658

  9,271

  -37

  6.7

  Rise

  2 Durham

  11,024

  7,262

  -34

  13.4

  Rise

  3 Kent

  10,346

  7,040

  -32

  1.8

  Rise

  4 Gloucestershire

  11,519

  7,867

  -32

  -4.7

  Fall 1

  5 Surrey

  6,644

  4,638

  -30

  -0.4

  Fall 2

  6 Devon and Cornwall

  7,876

  5,703

  -28

  -0.9

  Fall 3

  7 Dyfed-Powys

  5,082

  3,737

  -26

  6.3

  Rise

  8 Cheshire

  8,180

  6,050

  -26

  8.9

  Rise

  9 Bedfordshire

  10,750

  7,957

  -26

  -9.5

  Fall 4

  10 Avon and Somerset

  11,853

  8,926

  -25

  -1.1

  Fall 5

  11 Lincolnshire

  8,451

  6,412

  -24

  -5.4

  Fall 6

  12 Essex

  7,504

  5,722

  -24

  -1.6

  Fall 7

  13 Hampshire

  8,420

  6,525

  -23

  6.2

  Rise

  14 Warwickshire

  9,131

  7,081

  -22

  -13.2

  Fall 8

  15 Nottinghamshire

  15,406

  11,983

  -22

  -4.4

  Fall 9

  16 Wiltshire

  7,022

  5,503

  -22

  -8.9

  Fall 10

  17 Suffolk

  6,547

  5,143

  -21

  -1.5

  Fall 11

  18 South Yorkshire

  12,133

  9,538

  -21

  4.8

  Rise

  19 Thames Valley

  9,843

  7,750

  -21

  -4.1

  Fall 12

  20 North Wales

  7,079

  5,575

  -21

  2.9

  Rise

  21 South Wales

  12,326

  9,780

  -21

  -4.8

  Fall 13

  22 Lancashire

  9,240

  7,379

  -20

  2.4

  Rise

  23 Norfolk

  8,142

  6,534

  -20

  -4.5

  Fall 1

  24 Derbyshire

  9,479

  7,670

  -19

  -3.4

  Fall 2

  25 North Yorkshire

  8,098

  6,558

  -19

  1.4

  Rise

  26 Leicestershire

  10,854

  8,796

  -19

  9.2

  Rise

  668W 669W

  Table 2: Percentage change in recorded crime rates 1993–94 and percentage change in police numbers

  Number offences per 100,000 population

  Police numbers

  1993–94

  1998–99

  Percentage change

  Percentage change

  Fall/rise

  27 Cleveland

  14,130

  11,465

  -19

  -0.9

  Fall 3

  28 Dorset

  7,870

  6,386

  -19

  -1.4

  Fall 4

  29 Hertfordshire

  6,524

  5,307

  -19

  2.5

  Rise

  30 West Yorkshire

  14,276

  11,679

  -18

  -1.3

  Fall 5

  31 Cumbria

  8,670

  7,147

  -18

  -4.1

  Fall 6

  32 City of London

  139,333

  115,282

  -17

  -12.9

  Fall 7

  33 Metropolitan Police District

  12,123

  10,084

  -17

  -5.9

  Fall 8

  34 West Mercia

  7,409

  6,166

  -17

  -1.7

  Fall 9

  35 West Midlands

  12,416

  10,511

  -15

  4.4

  Rise

  36 Humberside

  15,839

  13,483

  -15

  -3.2

  Fall 10

  37 Staffordshire

  9,293

  7,969

  -14

  1.3

  Rise

  38 Cambridgeshire

  9,417

  8,379

  -11

  0.9

  Rise

  39 Northamptonshire

  9,943

  9,150

  -8

  -2.8

  Fall 11

  40 Greater Manchester

  13,804

  13,071

  -5

  -2.3

  Fall 12

  41 Merseyside

  9,735

  9,240

  -5

  -10.3

  Fall 13

  42 Gwent

  8,815

  8,508

  -3

  25.6

  Rise

  43 Sussex

  7,562

  7,494

  -1

  -5.4

  Fall 14

  England and Wales

  10,605

  8,584

  -19

  -1.6

  —

  Changes between 1993–94 and 1998–99

  Number offences per 100,000 population

  Police numbers

  1993–94

  1998–99

  Percentage change

  Percentage change

  Fall/rise

  Top 21 forces

  9,969

  7,464

  -25

  0.2

  74

  Average

  -26

  -0.5

  4

  Bottom 21 forces

  11,070

  9,363

  -15

  -2.5

  -2,039

  Average

  -14

  -0.6

  -93

  Table 3: Forces ranked by percentage change in (a) number of recorded notifiable offences; (b) number of police officers, and (3) police force budgets: 1993–94 to 1998–99

  Percentage change

  Rank of crime decrease1

  Rank of change in police numbers increase1

  Rank of change in budget increase1

  Crime

  Numbers

  Budget

  Northumbria

  1

  5

  10

  -37.3

  6.7

  28.3

  Durham

  2

  2

  2

  -34.0

  13.4

  35.1

  Kent

  3

  13

  16

  -30.7

  1.8

  25.3

  Gloucestershire

  4

  34

  25

  -29.4

  -4.7

  23.7

  Surrey

  5

  17

  37

  -28.9

  -0.4

  20.5

  Devon and Cornwall

  6

  18

  36

  -26.1

  -0.9

  21.5

  South Wales

  7

  35

  33

  -25.9

  -4.8

  21.9

  Dyfed-Powys

  8

  6

  21

  -25.3

  6.3

  24.3

  Cheshire

  9

  4

  3

  -24.9

  8.9

  33.1

  Bedfordshire

  10

  40

  11

  -23.8

  -9.5

  28.1

  Avon and Somerset

  11

  20

  20

  -22.7

  -1.1

  24.6

  Essex

  12

  24

  28

  -21.7

  -1.6

  23.2

  Nottinghamshire

  13

  32

  14

  -21.7

  -4.4

  26.4

  South Yorkshire

  14

  8

  8

  -21.4

  4.8

  29.9

  Lincolnshire

  15

  37

  31

  -21.3

  -5.4

  22.7

  North Wales

  16

  10

  15

  -21.0

  2.9

  25.5

  Warwickshire

  17

  43

  43

  -20.6

  -13.2

  12.6

  Hampshire

  18

  7

  7

  -20.3

  6.2

  30.1

  Lancashire

  19

  12

  19

  -19.5

  2.4

  24.9

  Cleveland

  20

  19

  22

  -19.5

  -0.9

  24.1

  Suffolk

  21

  23

  40

  -19.2

  -1.5

  18.6

  Wiltshire

  22

  39

  30

  -18.9

  -8.9

  22.9

  Norfolk

  23

  33

  9

  -17.6

  -4.5

  28.5

  West Yorkshire

  24

  21

  24

  -17.5

  -1.3

  23.7

  Derbyshire

  25

  29

  12

  -17.5

  -3.4

  27.8

  Thames Valley

  26

  31

  29

  -17.5

  -4.1

  23.1

  North Yorkshire

  27

  14

  38

  -17.4

  1.4

  19.2

  Cumbria

  28

  30

  34

  -17.2

  -4.1

  21.9

  Leicestershire

  29

  3

  6

  -16.6

  9.2

  31.3

  670W 671W

  Table 3: Forces ranked by percentage change in (a) number of recorded notifiable offences; (b) number of police officers, and (3) police force budgets: 1993–94 to 1998–99

  Percentage change

  Rank of crime decrease1

  Rank of change in police numbers increase1

  Rank of change in budget increase1

  Crime

  Numbers

  Budget

  Hertfordshire

  30

  11

  5

  -16.2

  2.5

  32.2

  Dorset

  31

  22

  23

  -16.0

  -1.4

  23.8

  West Midlands

  32

  9

  18

  -15.3

  4.4

  25.0

  West Mercia

  33

  25

  27

  -15.0

  -1.7

  23.5

  Humberside

  34

  28

  26

  -14.6

  -3.2

  23.7

  Metropolitan Police District

  35

  38

  42

  -14.3

  -5.9

  14.5

  Staffordshire

  36

  15

  13

  -13.6

  1.3

  26.5

  Merseyside

  37

  41

  41

  -7.2

  -10.3

  18.1

  Cambridgeshire

  38

  16

  17

  -6.5

  0.9

  25.0

  Greater Manchester

  39

  26

  32

  -5.4

  -2.3

  22.0

  Northamptonshire

  40

  27

  35

  -4.8

  -2.8

  21.8

  Sussex

  41

  36

  4

  2.9

  -5.4

  32.8

  City of London

  42

  42

  39

  12.0

  -12.9

  19.1

  Gwent

  43

  1

  1

  19.6

  25.6

  59.4

  England and Wales

  —

  —

  —

  -17.6

  -1.6

  22.3

  11 = biggest

  Notes:

  1. Budgets:

  1992–93 CIPFA Police Statistics Actuals

  1998–99 CIPFA Police Statistics Estimates (estimates of net expenditure)

  Budgets are in cash terms, not real terms

  2. Police numbers:

  Do not include secondments

  3. Crimes:

  Based on old counting rules for both years

  Relate to numbers of crimes recorded, not per capita rates

  Gwent is an outlier because of boundary changes with South Wales

  Appointments (Women)
  Mr. Allan
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of the(a) paid and (b) unpaid appointments which he has made to non-departmental public bodies since 1 May 1997 were women. [129846]

  Mr. Straw
  [holding answer 12 July 2000]: The information showing paid and unpaid appointments made to non-departmental public bodies from 1 May 1997 and the percentage of women appointed is shown in the table.

  This Government are committed to increasing the representation of women in public life. In support of this, the Department has drawn up an action plan for increasing the number of women and ethnic minorities holding public appointments. The latest plans, together with the Government's overall plan, were published on 24 May 2000 in "Quangos: Opening up Public Appointments 2000–03", copies of which are in the Library.

  19971

  1998

  1999

  2000

  Total Appointments

  239

  524

  497

  238

  Paid

  Total

  66

  161

  102

  44

  Male

  54

  124

  71

  38

  Female

  12

  37

  31

  6

  Percentage Female

  18

  23

  30

  14

  Unpaid

  Total

  173

  363

  395

  194

  Male

  98

  210

  205

  98

  Female

  75

  153

  190

  96

  Percentage Female

  43

  42

  48

  49

  1From 1 May 1997

  Football Hooligans
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Orpington (Mr. Horam) on 26 June 2000,Official Report, column 396W, on football hooligans, what the basis is for his estimate of the percentage of young males who have a criminal record. [130090]

  Mr. Straw
  [holding answer 12 July 2000]: The estimate is based on information contained in Home Office Statistical Bulletin 14–95 which reports an analysis of the criminal histories of a large sample of offenders born in 1953, 1958, 1963, 1968 and 1973. The data confirm that 26 per cent. of men born in 1968 had a conviction for a standard list offence by the age of 24, 33 per cent. of those born in 1963 had a conviction for such an offence by the age of 28 while the comparative figures for those born in 1958 were 31 per cent. with a conviction by the age of 25.

  Party Conferences (Policing)
  Mr. David Atkinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much grant will be paid to Dorset Police towards the cost of policing the Conservative Party Conference in Bournemouth in autumn 2000; how much grant was paid in respect of the Labour Party Conference in Bournemouth in 1999; and if he will make a statement. [130186]

  Mr. Charles Clarke
  The Dorset Police Authority will receive a special grant of up to £900,000 as a contribution towards the additional costs of the police security operation at this year's Conservative Party Conference.
  673W
  The Dorset Police were given a special grant of £1.6 million towards the additional costs of policing the Labour Party Conference in 1999.

  Speed Cameras
  Ms Drown
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police vehicles have activated speed cameras in(a) Wiltshire and (b) England and Wales in the last year for which figures are available. [130176]

  Mr. Charles Clarke
  The information is not available centrally.

  Rural Policing
  Mr. Kidney
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the distribution of the money that he has identified for additional spending on rural policing in the current financial year, with particular reference to Staffordshire police. [130070]

  Mr. Charles Clarke
  With additional funds made available through the budget, the opportunity has arisen for the Government to recognise the special needs of rural policing. My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary therefore agreed to make £15 million available for the remainder of this year to enhance the policing service in rural areas at no cost to the metropolitan forces.

  I expect to make an announcement on the final allocation of this additional funding to the House next week.

  Metropolitan Police
  Dr. Cable
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his estimate for planning purposes of net pensions fund obligations, pensions less contributions, for(a) the Metropolitan police and (b) all UK police forces in (a) 2000–01, (b) 2001–02, (c) 2005–06 and (d) 2010–11; and how these obligations will be financed. [127330]

  Mr. Charles Clarke
  [pursuant to his reply, 28 June 2000, c. 523W]: I must amend an error in that answer.

  The final sentence should read
  The provision of revenue funding for the police forces in Scotland and Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the devolved Administrations.

  Crime Statistics
  Mr. Hope
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements he has made for publication of the Home Office Statistical Bulletin

  Unrestricted Principals and Equivalents (UPEs)1 and percentage of which aged 64 or over as at 1 October 1999 England

  Numbers (headcount) and percentages

  Region/Health authority

  All UPEs

  UPEs aged 64 or over

  Percentage of UPEs aged 64 or over

  Northern and Yorkshire

  Bradford HA

  288

  2—

  0.3

  Calderdale and Kirklees HA

  304

  5

  1.6

  County Durham Health Commission

  324

  2—

  0.9

  East Riding HA

  300

  9

  3.0

  Gateshead and South Tyneside HA

  192

  2—

  0.5

  674W
  containing the recorded crime statistics for England and Wales for the period April 1999 to March 2000; and if he will make a statement. [130922]

  Mr. Straw
  The decision as to when the statistics on recorded crime are to be published is taken by the Director of Research, Development and Statistics at the Home Office and is announced well in advance, as was the date of 18 July for the publication of the crime statistics from March 1999–March 2000. Ministers are informed but not consulted about such dates. This follows the new arrangement to protect the integrity of national statistics which I established in 1997.

  In the light of the fact that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer is now planning, Parliamentary time allowing, to make a statement on public spending, on the afternoon of 18 July, the Director of Research, Development and Statistics, Professor Paul Wiles, has decided that the statistics will be published on 18 July as was originally announced, but at 00:01 hours rather than 11:00. An embargoed press briefing will be provided on 17 July so that the statistics can be reported on the morning of 18 July. At the same time as embargoed press copies are made available, they will also be sent to the Opposition. To ensure that Parliament is properly informed, copies of the crime statistics will be placed on the Home Office website and in the Library at 00:01 hours on 18 July.

HEALTH

  GPs
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what percentage of GPs in each health authority area in England are due to retire by 2005. [129611]

  Mr. Denham
  Although there is no fixed retirement age for general practitioners they are removed from the health authority medical list on reaching 70 years of age if providing general medical services as a principal. Similarly doctors employed by personal medical services pilots or under the salaried doctor scheme cannot work past the age of 70. Numbers of GPs who will reach the age of 70 years by 2005 are available in the table. However these do not take account of doctors who may retire before age 70 by choice or for medical or other reasons, nor is any allowance made for those GPs who may exercise the option to retire and so claim their pension and gratuity but who may return to the health authority medical list 28 days later and continue working until they fully retire. In addition there is no retirement age for doctors who return to work as assistants or locums.
  675W

  Unrestricted Principals and Equivalents (UPEs)1 and percentage of which aged 64 or over as at 1 October 1999 England

  Numbers (headcount) and percentages

  Region/Health authority

  All UPEs

  UPEs aged 64 or over

  Percentage of UPEs aged 64 or over

  Leeds Healthcare

  430

  17

  4.0

  Newcastle and North Tyneside HA

  275

  2—

  0.7

  North Cumbria HA

  211

  2—

  0.5

  North Yorkshire HA

  462

  2—

  0.9

  Northumberland HA

  190

  0

  0.0

  Sunderland HA

  137

  5

  3.6

  Tees HA

  297

  2—

  0.3

  Wakefield Health Care

  182

  2—

  1.1

  Northern and Yorkshire Regional Office Total

  3,592

  51

  1.4

  Trent

  Barnsley HA

  115

  2—

  2.6

  Doncaster HA

  153

  6

  3.9

  Leicestershire HA

  500

  2—

  0.8

  Lincolnshire HA

  347

  2—

  0.3

  North Derbyshire HA

  196

  2—

  0.5

  North Nottinghamshire HA

  198

  2—

  2.0

  Nottingham HA

  347

  9

  2.6

  Rotherham HA

  115

  2—

  0.9

  Sheffield HA

  338

  7

  2.1

  South Humber HA

  164

  7

  4.3

  Southern Derbyshire HA

  305

  2—

  0.7

  Trent Regional Office Total

  2,778

  45

  1.6

  Eastern

  Bedfordshire HA

  298

  5

  1.7

  Cambridgeshire HA

  398

  2—

  0.5

  East and North Hertfordshire HA

  285

  5

  1.8

  Norfolk HA

  456

  2—

  0.7

  North Essex HA

  480

  8

  1.7

  South Essex HA

  346

  17

  4.9

  Suffolk HA

  390

  0

  0.0

  West Hertfordshire HA

  303

  7

  2.3

  Eastern Regional Office Total

  2,956

  47

  1.6

  London

  Barking and Havering HA

  185

  15

  8.1

  Barnet HA

  187

  7

  3.7

  Bexley and Greenwich HA

  216

  10

  4.6

  Brent and Harrow HA

  275

  10

  3.6

  Bromley HA

  159

  2—

  0.6

  Camden and Islington HA

  228

  14

  6.1

  Croydon HA

  169

  12

  7.1

  Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow HA

  390

  26

  6.7

  East London and The City HA

  386

  30

  7.8

  Enfield and Haringey HA

  265

  15

  5.7

  Hillingdon HA

  122

  2—

  3.3

  Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster HA

  185

  12

  6.5

  Kingston and Richmond HA

  187

  2—

  2.1

  Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham HA

  432

  9

  2.1

  Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth HA

  330

  15

  4.5

  Redbridge and Waltham Forest HA

  231

  22

  9.5

  London Regional Office Total

  3,947

  206

  5.2

  South Eastern

  Berkshire HA

  451

  6

  1.3

  Buckinghamshire HA

  396

  2—

  0.3

  East Kent HA

  316

  2—

  1.3

  East Surrey HA

  220

  2—

  0.9

  East Sussex, Brighton and Hove HA

  402

  5

  1.2

  Isle of Wight Health Commission

  81

  0

  0.0

  North and Mid Hampshire HA

  303

  0

  0.0

  Northamptonshire HA

  311

  2—

  1.3

  Oxfordshire HA

  371

  2—

  1.1

  Portsmouth and South East Hampshire HA

  302

  2—

  0.3

  Southampton and South West Hampshire HA

  326

  2—

  0.6

  676W 677W

  Unrestricted Principals and Equivalents (UPEs)1 and percentage of which aged 64 or over as at 1 October 1999 England

  Numbers (headcount) and percentages

  Region/Health authority

  All UPEs

  UPEs aged 64 or over

  Percentage of UPEs aged 64 or over

  West Kent HA

  537

  20

  3.7

  West Surrey HA

  348

  6

  1.7

  West Sussex HA

  415

  2—

  0.2

  South Eastern Regional Office Total

  4,779

  56

  1.2

  South Western

  Avon HA

  595

  7

  1.2

  Cornwall and Isles of Scilly HA

  310

  2—

  0.6

  Dorset HA

  444

  2—

  0.5

  Gloucestershire HA

  339

  2—

  0.9

  North and East Devon HA

  317

  2—

  0.3

  Somerset HA

  313

  5

  1.6

  South and West Devon HA

  375

  2—

  0.5

  Wiltshire HA

  348

  0

  0.0

  South Western Regional Office Total

  3,041

  22

  0.7

  West Midlands

  Birmingham HA

  581

  23

  4.0

  Coventry HA

  171

  9

  5.3

  Dudley HA

  158

  5

  3.2

  Herefordshire HA

  106

  0

  0.0

  North Staffordshire HA

  238

  9

  3.8

  Sandwell HA

  157

  5

  3.2

  Shropshire HA

  250

  6

  2.4

  Solihull HA

  114

  2—

  2.6

  South Staffordshire HA

  298

  6

  2.0

  Walsall HA

  129

  6

  4.7

  Warwickshire HA

  267

  9

  3.4

  Wolverhampton HA

  124

  5

  4.0

  Worcestershire HA

  300

  2—

  0.7

  West Midlands Regional Office Total

  2,893

  88

  3.0

  North West

  Bury and Rochdale HA

  210

  6

  2.9

  East Lancashire HA

  276

  15

  5.4

  Liverpool HA

  253

  7

  2.8

  Manchester Health

  278

  13

  4.7

  Morecambe Bay HA

  186

  2—

  1.1

  North Cheshire HA

  161

  2—

  0.6

  North West Lancashire HA

  246

  2—

  0.8

  Salford and Trafford HA

  240

  5

  2.1

  Sefton HA

  145

  2—

  1.4

  South Cheshire HA

  387

  6

  1.6

  South Lancashire HA

  164

  2—

  2.4

  St. Helen's and Knowsley HA

  184

  6

  3.3

  Stockport Health

  167

  2—

  1.2

  West Pennine HA

  228

  8

  3.5

  Wigan and Bolton HA

  284

  12

  4.2

  Wirral HA

  196

  2—

  1.5

  North West Regional Office Total

  3,605

  94

  2.6

  England

  27,591

  609

  2.2

  1Unrestricted Principals and Equivalents (UPEs) includes Unrestricted Principals, PMS Contracted GPs and PMS Salaried GPs.

  2Denotes less than five and greater than zero.

  Note:

  GP principals are removed from Health Authority lists at aged 70 and Stats(GMS) have identified the number of Unrestricted Principals and Equivalents (UPEs) who are aged 64 and over as at 1 October 1999, who by 2005 will be aged 70 years.

  Source:

  Department of Health General and Personal Medical Services Statistics.

  National Insurance
  Mr. Webb
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the policy since 1989 on writing annually to those of his Department's staff who are paying reduced 678W
  rates of National Insurance contributions, reminding them of the rules governing the payment of reduced rates, as recommended in the Inland Revenue guidance note on reduced rate National Insurance contributions for married women. [129486]
  679W
  Mr. Denham
  The Department employs a small minority of women who pay reduced rate National Insurance contributions. The Department writes periodically to these staff reminding them of the rules governing the payment of reduced rates and whom they need to notify if their circumstances have changed.

  Hernia Operations
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hernia operations have taken place in NHS hospitals in the Greater London area in the last 12 months. [129791]

  Mr. Denham
  The London Region was created on 1 January 1999 and the latest available data are for 1998–99 when London was covered by the North Thames and South Thames Regions. The numbers of hernia operations performed in National Health Service trusts in these regions are shown in the table for 1998–99.

  Finished Consultant Episodes (FCEs) by primary operations performed by NHS trust, England 1998–99

  North and South Thames

  Hernia operations T19–T21 (OPCS4)

  RA1 Epsom Health Care NHS Trust

  227

  RA2 Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Trust

  297

  RAJ Southend Hospital NHS Trust

  511

  RAL The Royal Free Hampstead Hospital

  272

  RAP North Middlesex Hospital NHS Trust

  241

  RAQ North Hertfordshire NHS Trust

  349

  RAS The Hillingdon Hospital NHS Trust

  247

  RAU Central Middlesex Hospital NHS Trust

  218

  RAX Kingston Hospital NHS Trust

  205

  RAZ St. Helier NHS Trust

  470

  RC3 Ealing Hospital NHS Trust

  210

  RC4 East Hertfordshire NHS Trust

  368

  RDC Wellhouse NHS Trust

  483

  RDD Basildon and Thurrock General Hospital

  501

  RDE Essex Rivers Healthcare NHS Trust

  587

  RDF Forest Healthcare NHS Trust

  332

  RDL Eastbourne Hospitals NHS Trust

  343

  RDM Hastings and Rother NHS Trust

  324

  RDU Frimley Park Hospital NHS Trust

  446

  RFW West Middlesex University NHS Trust

  284

  RFZ Northwick Park and St. Marks NHS Trust

  473

  RG1 Mid Kent Healthcare NHS Trust

  382

  RG2 Greenwich Healthcare NHS Trust

  366

  RG3 Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust

  363

  RG4 Redbridge Health Care NHS Trust

  411

  RG7 Havering Hospitals NHS Trust

  565

  RG9 Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust

  244

  RGU Brighton Health Care NHS Trust

  599

  RGV Thanet Healthcare NHS Trust

  325

  RGW Kent and Canterbury Hospitals NHS Trust

  429

  RGX Eastbourne and County Healthcare NHS Trust

  22

  RGZ Queen Mary's Sidcup NHS Trust

  285

  RHE Crawley Horsham NHS Trust

  265

  RHG Richmond Twickenham and Roehampton NHS Trust

  87

  RHH East Surrey Hospital and Community NHS Trust

  173

  RJ1 Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Trust

  528

  RJ2 Lewisham Hospital NHS Trust

  582

  RJ5 St. Mary's Hospital NHS Trust

  370

  RJ6 Mayday Healthcare NHS Trust

  417

  RJ7 St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust

  562

  RJZ King's Healthcare NHS Trust

  376

  RKE Whittington Hospital NHS Trust

  322

  RN7 Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust

  313

  RNH Newham Healthcare NHS Trust

  218

  RNJ The Royal Hospitals NHS Trust

  457

  RP4 The Great Ormond Street Hospital

  106

  RPA Medway NHS Trust

  486

  RPC The Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Trust

  15

  RPD Kent and Sussex Weald NHS Trust

  332

  680W

  Finished Consultant Episodes (FCEs) by primary operations performed by NHS trust, England 1998–99

  North and South Thames

  Hernia operations T19–T21 (OPCS4)

  RPF South Kent Hospitals NHS Trust

  418

  RPL Worthing and Southlands Hospital

  363

  RPR The Royal West Sussex NHS Trust

  300

  RPS Mid Sussex NHS Trust

  145

  RPW St. Albans and Hemel Hempstead NHS Trust

  228

  RPY The Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Trust

  3

  RQ8 Mid Essex Hospitals NHS Trust

  588

  RQL Mount Vernon and Watford Hospitals NHS Trust

  315

  RQM Chelsea and Westminster Healthcare NHS Trust

  255

  RQN The Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust

  330

  RQW The Princess Alexandra Hospital

  370

  RQX Homerton Hospital NHS Trust

  218

  RRV University College London Hospital

  230

  RT3 Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust

  0

  RTK Ashford and St. Peter's Hospitals

  454

  RTL Thames and Gateway NHS Trust

  0

  North and South Thames

  21,205

  Notes:

  1. The figures for 1998–99 are provisional, no adjustment has as yet been made for shortfalls in data (ie the data are ungrossed).

  2. An FCE is defined as a period of patient care under one consultant in one health care provider. The figures do not represent the number of patients, as one person may have several episodes within the year.

  3. Hernia has been defined as OPCS codes T19–T21 inclusive.

  Source:

  Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health

  Ritalin
  Angela Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received regarding the use of Ritalin. [129960]

  Ms Stuart
  We have received a number of representations, mainly from parents, expressing concern over the clinical evidence for using Ritalin. I am pleased that given this concern the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) is appraising the drug as part of its 2000 work programme. It will issue authoritative advice, which should ensure that professionals treating children and adolescents with emotional and behavioural disorders have an evidence-based approach to using Ritalin. NICE is scheduled to report its findings in October.

  Continence Services
  Mr. Burstow
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people receive continence pads through the NHS. [130093]

  Mr. Hutton
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 10 November 1999,Official Report, column 654W.

  Circular Implementation
  Mrs. Ann Cryer
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many reports he has received from the Social Services Inspectorate about the implementation of Circular HSC1999/162:LAC(99)28; and how many of them indicate that the circular is not being properly implemented. [130403]

  Mr. Hutton
  No formal reports have been received. However, the Social Services Inspectorate regularly undertakes detailed assessment of local social service
  681W
  authorities' performance including services for learning disabled people. In addition a survey of the use of the Direction on Choice to which the circular refers was carried out in 1998 and this was followed up by a series of regional seminars in the summer of 1999 to disseminate the lessons learnt. We are also developing a national learning disability strategy to be launched later this year which will aim to eliminate inconsistencies in service delivery.

  Labelling
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the meeting between the Minister of State and the hon. Member for Linlithgow on 19 June, what discussion he has had with EU trade organisations concerning the labelling of medicines tested on animals. [128966]

  Yvette Cooper
  Pursuant to the meeting between the Minister for Trade and my hon. Friend, I can confirm that I have held no discussions with European Union trade associations concerning the labelling of medicines tested on animals.

  Beta Interferon
  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many EU countries do not publicly fund the treatment by beta interferon of people with MS. [128938]

  Mr. Denham
  The information requested is not available centrally.

  NHS trust

  OBC approval date

  OJEC notice date

  Signing of final contract

  Bromley

  March 1995

  September 1995

  November 1998

  Norfolk and Norwich

  January 1995

  February 1995

  January 1998

  Hereford

  January 1995

  June 1995

  April 1999

  Greenwich

  April 1995

  March 1995

  July 1998

  South Manchester

  March 1994

  April 1995

  December 1998

  Barnet and Chase Farm (Wellhouse)

  December 1995

  February 1995

  February 1999

  Carlisle

  January 1994

  January 1996

  November 1997

  Calderdale

  December 1994

  July 1995

  July 1998

  Dartford and Gravesham

  March 1995

  September 1995

  July 1997

  South Buckinghamshire

  September 1994

  January 1995

  December 1997

  North Durham

  January 1994

  December 1994

  March 1998

  South Tees

  October 1994

  March 1995

  August 1998

  South Durham (Bishop Auckland)

  January 1994

  December 1994

  May 1999

  Worcester

  June 1995

  July 1995

  March 1999

  Swindon and Marlborough

  December 1993

  October 1994

  October 1999

  King's

  July 1995

  September 1995

  December 1999

  St. George's

  December 1995

  March 1996

  March 2000

  Leeds Community

  January 1996

  October 1996

  March 2000

  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if private finance initiative was considered for the Rochdale, Royal Berkshire, Central Sheffield and the Guys and St. Thomas hospital projects. [130249]

  Mr. Denham
  The private finance initiative was considered for each of the above hospital projects. In each case it was found that the publicly funded option offered the better solution.

  Parliamentary Question
  Mr. Baker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons the question tabled by the hon.
  682W
  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in the UK with MS currently receive beta interferon; what this represents as a percentage of MS sufferers; and what the equivalent figure is in(a) France, (b) Germany and (c) the US. [128939]

  Mr. Denham
  We estimate that between 1,700 and 1,800 people in England are currently receiving beta interferon on the National Health Service, equivalent to around 3 per cent. of all patients with multiple sclerosis in England.

  We understand that the percentage of patients with multiple sclerosis receiving beta interferon in France and Germany respectively is 12 per cent. and 13 per cent.

  We do not held information for the United States of America.

  PFI Contracts
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average length of time is between(a) the completion of the outline business case and the signing of the final contract and (b) the publication in the Official Journal of the European Community and the signing of the final contract, where applicable, of private finance initiative contracts for hospitals. [130254]

  Mr. Denham
  The dates for approval of the outline business case, the notice in the Official Journal of the European Community and the signing of the final contract for the major private finance initiative hospital schemes (capital value over £25 million) are shown in the table.

  Member for Lewes on 21 February, for answer on 1 March, about bovine offals, reference 111898, has not been answered. [130396]

  Yvette Cooper
  I have answered the hon. Member's question today,Official Report, column 685W. I apologise for the delay.

  BSE
  Mr. Baker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason his Department sought exemption for medicines from the ban on specified bovine offals when this was introduced for the food chain. [111898]
  683W
  Yvette Cooper
  [holding answer 1 March 2000]: The long established convention that Ministers generally are not given access to papers of a previous administration that would reveal former Ministers' opinions means that I do not have the information to answer this question. However I have already asked that all possible information on this topic be released directly to the BSE inquiry.

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

  Derbyshire Magistrates Courts
  Mr. Todd
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when a decision will be made on proposals for the Private Finance Initiative for Derbyshire magistrates courts. [130170]

  Jane Kennedy
  Best and Final offers were returned by the remaining two bidders on 16 June 2000. The preferred bidder will be selected on 17 August 2000. Subject to the successful outcome of negotiations, contract close is expected in December 2000.

  Mr. Todd
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what the estimated cost is of the investigation, preparation and assessment of the proposals for the Private Finance Initiative for projects connected with Derbyshire magistrates' courts. [130172]

  Jane Kennedy
  The estimated cost of the investigation, preparation and assessment of the proposals for the Private Finance Initiative for Derbyshire is £940,000.

  Mr. Todd
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what estimate he has made of the change to the annual operating costs of the Derbyshire magistrates court service following the Private Finance Initiative. [130173]

  Jane Kennedy
  No information on the likely change to the annual operating costs of the Derbyshire Magistrates Courts Committee following the Private Finance Initiative will be available until the conclusion of the negotiations with the bidders.

  Departmental Payments
  Mr. Chope
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what percentage of correctly presented bills were paid by his Department in(a) 1998–99 and (b) 1999–2000 within 30 days of receipt of (i) goods and services, (ii) a valid invoice and (iii) other agreed payment terms. [130033]

  Mr. Lock
  [holding answer 11 July 2000]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, to my hon. Friend the Member for Elmet (Mr. Burgon) on 23 July 1999, Official Report, columns 677–78W.

  Departments and their agencies are currently collating this information for 1999–2000 and this will be made available to the House shortly.

  Tribunals Review
  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list the organisations consulted on the Review of Tribunals. [130098]
  684W
  Jane Kennedy
  The Review of Tribunals team have sent copies of their consultation paper to over 1,500 organisations and individuals. The list of those consulted includes Government bodies, the judiciary, consumer groups, the legal professions, charities, trade unions, and academics. A list of those consulted is available on the team's website: tribunals-review.org.uk.

TREASURY

  Migration
  Mr. Drew
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the annual level was of migration of(a) people and (b) households into the South-East from (i) London and (ii) the rest of England in each of the last three years. [129750]

  Miss Melanie Johnson
  [holding answer 10 July 2000]: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.

  Letter from Len Cook to Mr. David Drew, dated 13 July 2000:
  As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question about the annual level of migration of people and households from London to the South East, and from the rest of England to the South East. (129750).
  The attached table (i) presents the information for the movement of people that you require for each of the last three years. The latest year for which estimates are available is 1998. Data are presented for moves from London and the rest of England, to the South East Planning Region. The data show a net gain of people from London but a net loss of people to the rest of England. The estimates of internal migration within the United Kingdom are based on the movement of NHS doctors' patients between the former Family Health Service Authorities. They should not be regarded as a perfect measure of migration as there is variation in the delay between a person moving and registering with a new doctor.
  Moves between the individual Government Office Regions (GORs) and the rest of the United Kingdom are published in Key Population and Vital Statistics, which is available in the House of Commons Library.
  There are no annual data on household migration. The only data that are available come from the 1991 Census. The estimates of wholly moving households, between 1990 and 1991, are shown in the attached table (ii). For comparison the estimates of people moving are also shown for 1991.

  (i) Number of people moving into the South East Planning Region 1

  Thousand

  1991

  1996

  1997

  1998

  From London

  108.3

  125.8

  132.0

  129.7

  To London

  67.2

  77.1

  76.8

  80.1

  Net gain from London

  41.1

  48.8

  55.2

  49.6

  From the rest of England

  251.0

  288.3

  293.6

  299.6

  To the rest of England

  275.2

  301.5

  315.0

  323.0

  Net loss to the rest of England

  -24.2

  -13.2

  -21.4

  -23.4

  1South East Planning Region is made up of Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Essex, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex.

  Source:

  National Health Service Contact Register
  685W

  (ii) Number of wholly moving households into the South East Planning Region (1991)

  Thousand

  Number

  From London

  25.4

  To London

  10.8

  Net gain from London

  14.6

  From the rest of England

  20.7

  To the rest of England

  30.0

  Net loss to the rest of England

  -9.3

  Source:

  1991 Census

  Pensions Provision
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the extra yield from reducing the earnings limit on which income tax deductible personal pension payments are based to(a) £70,000, (b) £60,000 and (c) £50,000; and if he will make a statement. [129826]

  Miss Melanie Johnson
  [holding answer 10 July 2000]: I regret that it is not possible to provide a reliable estimate.

  Staff Secondments
  Mr. Don Foster
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough (Mr. Willis) of 27 March 2000,Official Report, columns 46–47W, on secondments, if he will give the names, grades and job titles of the staff seconded into his Department from each organisation mentioned, stating in each case the name of the section they were seconded to and a summary of the work that they were involved with. [128254]

  Miss Melanie Johnson
  [holding answer 29 June 2000]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough (Mr. Willis), on 27 March 2000, Official Report, columns 46–47W. The new members of staff were seconded into HM Treasury pay ranges D or E.

  Names and job titles cannot be provided. Secondments and attachments are part of the Interchange Initiative which promotes the exchange of people and good practice between the Civil Service and other organisations. Before and after Interchange can occur all parties must be satisfied that no conflict of interest arises.

  Continence Services
  Mr. Burstow
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) pursuant to his answer of 18 May 2000,Official Report, column 268W, on VAT, how many people qualify to receive zero-rated continence pads; [130091]

  (2) what criteria are used to classify people as incontinent. [130124]

  Dawn Primarolo
  It is a matter for individuals living in their own homes and suffering from incontinence to declare they are chronically sick or disabled and therefore entitled to purchase zero-rated continence products. These declarations are held by the retailers and it is not known how many people are eligible for or claim this VAT relief.

  Parliamentary Questions
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 4 July 2000,Official Report, column 178W, if he will list his Department's targets for answering (a) named day parliamentary questions, (b) ordinary written parliamentary questions and (c) Lords written questions; and if he will make a statement. [130279]

  Mr. Timms
  I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave him on 11 July 2000,Official Report, columns 507–08W.

  "Adding It Up"
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action is being undertaken to implement the recommendations of the Performance and Innovation Unit report entitled "Adding It Up"; and if he will make a statement. [130314]

  Mr. Andrew Smith
  An implementation group, chaired by the Chief Economist in the Treasury Public Service Directorate, and including experts from different departments and from academia, is being set up to promote and follow up the 41 conclusions of the "Adding It Up" report. Action falls to HM Treasury, the Cabinet Office, the Office for National Statistics, and to departments; good progress is being made.

  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which stakeholders will be involved in decisions made on allocations of resources from the Evidence-Based Policy Fund; when he will announce the detailed use of the first tranche of funding; and if he will make a statement. [130315]

  Mr. Andrew Smith
  An implementation group, chaired by the Chief Economist in the Treasury Public Service Directorate, and including experts from different departments and from academia, is being set up to promote and follow up the conclusions of the "Adding It Up" report, and to advise upon the allocations of the Evidence-Based Policy Fund. Successful bids from the first tranche of funding will be announced in the autumn.

  Civil List
  Mr. Alan Williams
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the estimated surplus will be at the end of 10 years on the Civil List, assuming an average price increase of 2.5 per cent. per annum and a yearly 3 per cent. rate of return on the invested surplus. [130316]

  Mr. Timms
  The precise outcome would depend on the exact profiles of wage and price inflation, and of interest rates. If the assumptions stated applied uniformly across the period, and assuming that earnings growth is uniform and consistent with the 2.5 per cent. per annum increase in prices, the surplus at the end of 2010 can be calculated to be £8 million.

  UK Growth Rate
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the standard deviation of the United Kingdom's growth rate over the previous economic cycle; and if he will make a statement. [130261]
  687W
  Miss Melanie Johnson
  [holding answer 12 July 2000]: Over the economic cycle between 1986 Q2 and the first half of 1997, the Treasury estimates the standard deviation of the quarter on quarter growth of GDP (in 1995 prices and seasonally adjusted) was 0.62.

  Since the first half of 1997 GDP growth in the UK has been less variable than over the previous economic cycle, with an estimate standard deviation to date of 0.27.

  Bank Closures
  Mr. Ruane
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the proportion of bank closures in the past year which have been in Objective 1 areas. [129711]

  Miss Melanie Johnson
  [holding answer 7 July 2000]: The information is not available.

  Road Fuel Testing
  Mr. Alasdair Morgan
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on how many days HM Customs and Excise road fuel testing units were operational within Dumfries and Galloway region during(a) 1997, (b) 1998 and (c) 1999; how many prosecutions were brought for illegal use of red diesel during those years; and what the total value was of penalties and duty recovered during each of those years. [129801]

  Mr. Timms
  Detection figures are not available for regions. For the 1998 and 1999 figures, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 27 June 2000,Official Report, column 476W. For 1997 the vans were operational for a combined 367 days. 194 detections were made leading to penalties and duty recovered of £374,871. Two cases are pending prosecution.

  Telephone Steering Systems
  Mr. Ben Chapman
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many of his Department's telephone lines used by the general public are responded to by touch tone telephone steering systems; [129623]

  (2) how many agencies of his Department use touch tone telephone steering systems when dealing with telephone inquiries from the general public. [129641]

  Miss Melanie Johnson
  The Treasury has one such system. Of the Chancellor's seven agencies, Customs and Excise, Inland Revenue and National Savings use touch tone steering systems.

  Endowment Policies
  Mr. Truswell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will make a statement on(a) the position of mortgage holders with endowment policies whose paid-up value has not covered or is not anticipated to cover the full repayment of their mortgage, (b) the consequences for those mortgage holders left with such a shortfall and (c) discussions he has had with the providers of such policies regarding assistance to customers in this position; [130081]

  (2) if he will make a statement on (a) the extent to which mortgage endowment policies have been mis-sold on the basis that their eventual paid up value could not reasonably be expected to cover the full amount of the mortgage and (b) the redress available to those who believe they have been mis-sold such a policy. [130082]

  Miss Melanie Johnson
  I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Monmouth (Mr. Edwards) on 23 May 2000,Official Report, columns 415–16W.

  New Deal
  Mr. Brady
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many employees of his Department and its agencies have been recruited from the New Deal; and what percentage of total staff this represents. [129141]

  Miss Melanie Johnson
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office to my hon. Friend the Member for Bradford, North (Mr. Rooney) on 6 July 2000,Official Report, column 286W.

  Third-world Debt
  Mr. Fabian Hamilton
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proposals he will make at the G8 Summit in July to obtain better financial arrangements for the world's poorest countries. [129088]

  Miss Melanie Johnson
  The Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer have both informed the Japanese Presidency of the G7 that they wish to use the opportunity of the Okinawa Summit to review and encourage progress on the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt initiative. The UK Government want to see as many countries as possible qualify for debt relief by the end of the year, in line with the G7 target set at Cologne.

  The Chancellor also took the opportunity at a meeting of G7 Finance Ministers at Fukuoka last weekend to set out specific UK proposals on providing assistance for those HIPC countries where conflict is undermining the process of developing an effective commitment to poverty reduction which is needed in order to qualify for debt relief.

  Type 45 Destroyer Programme
  Type 45 Destroyer Programme
  Sure Start Round 3
  Sure Start Round 3
  Educational Policy and Children's Emotional Well-being
  Educational Policy and Children's Emotional Well-being
  Equal Opportunities: Promotion
  Equal Opportunities: Promotion
  Disabled People: Numbers
  Disabled People: Numbers
  Liverpool Street Station Approaches: Cleanliness
  Liverpool Street Station Approaches: Cleanliness
  RDAs and National Park Authorities: Co-operation
  RDAs and National Park Authorities: Co-operation
  Sheep and Goat Identification
  Sheep and Goat Identification
  Small Animal Carcase Incinerators: Air Pollutants
  Small Animal Carcase Incinerators: Air Pollutants
  BSE: Veterinary Treatment of Affected Holstein Cow
  BSE: Veterinary Treatment of Affected Holstein Cow
  Car Sales and Price Comparisons
  Car Sales and Price Comparisons
  Millennium Dome: Staff Bonuses
  Millennium Dome: Staff Bonuses
  Departmental Cars
  Departmental Cars
  Volatile Substance Abuse
  Volatile Substance Abuse
  Children's Mental Health: Staff Recruitment
  Children's Mental Health: Staff Recruitment
  Variant Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease in Leicestershire
  Variant Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease in Leicestershire
  Chemical Weapons Convention
  Chemical Weapons Convention
  Iraq
  Iraq
  Armenian Massacre, 1915
  Armenian Massacre, 1915
  FCO Travel Advice Notices
  FCO Travel Advice Notices
  Human Rights: Sanctions and Dialogue
  Human Rights: Sanctions and Dialogue
  Government Annual Report
  Government Annual Report
  Hereditary Peers Sitting in the House of Lords
  Hereditary Peers Sitting in the House of Lords
  Tobin Tax
  Tobin Tax
  Afro-Caribbean and Asian Population Numbers in UK
  Afro-Caribbean and Asian Population Numbers in UK
  Financial Services and Markets Bill
  Financial Services and Markets Bill