Written Answers of 19 June 2000

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

  Football Banning Orders
  Mr. Greenway
  To ask the Solicitor-General what guidance has been issued to Crown prosecutors about securing international football banning orders in respect of persons convicted of violence associated with football matches. [126869]

  The Solicitor-General
  Detailed internal guidance on the Football (Offences and Disorder) Act 1999, which widened the circumstances in which the courts can prevent those convicted of football-related offences from attending matches abroad, was issued to all Crown Prosecutors on 14 September 1999. This guidance stressed the importance of the legislation in relation to the Euro 2000 tournament, and advised prosecutors that the courts should be reminded of their duty to impose international football banning orders, whenever appropriate.

  Further guidance was circulated on 16 June 2000 informing all Crown Prosecutors of two statutory instruments which now allow criminal offences committed by English and Welsh football supporters in Belgium and the Netherlands to be used as the subject of international football banning orders imposed in our domestic courts.

ENVIRONMENT, TRANSPORT AND THE REGIONS

  GM Crops
  Mr. Yeo
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the dates on which the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment has met to discuss the contamination by GMOs of rape seed. [123833]

  Mr. Meacher
  [holding answer 25 May 2000]: Advanta were unable to give sufficient information at the meeting with officials on 17 April for ACRE to be consulted at that stage. Advanta were initially unable to state for certain what type of GMs were found, the level of GM presence (and how reliable the information was) or which seed batches were involved.

  When this information was available the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment were consulted through correspondence with the DETR on 10 May. This is normal procedure for seeking their views on issues outside their normal meeting schedule. The advice was clear on 17 May, prior to the Government's announcement, and ratified at their meeting on 25 May.
  2W
  ACRE's advice is that there is no risk to human health or the environment.

  Local Authority Grants
  Mr. Sanders
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the percentage changes in grants to local authorities, including revenue support grant, in each of the last three years, broken down by(a) London boroughs, (b) Metropolitan councils, (c) counties, (d) unitary authorities and (e) shire districts. [124989]

  Ms Beverley Hughes
  The table sets out the percentage change in the amounts of grants made by my Department to local authorities in each of the last three financial years. It has not been possible to provide the requested breakdown by local authority class, because information is not held in that form for all the grants concerned. In addition, local government reorganisation during this period means that any data provided on a local authority class basis would not be comparable year on year.

  Percentage

  Description of Grant

  1997–98

  1998–99

  1999–2000

  Disabled facilities grant

  2.2

  4.5

  13.2

  Housing investment programme (private sector renewal grant)

  -27.7

  -10.3

  -3.8

  Housing revenue account subsidy (rent rebate element)

  -4.8

  -11.8

  1.0

  Estates renewal challenge fund

  124.3

  -45.0

  -75.3

  Housing defects grants

  -64.6

  -53.6

  -38.5

  Gipsy site grant

  -68.1

  -76.3

  -33.3

  Home improvement agencies

  15.8

  18.2

  17.3

  Estates action

  -22.3

  -36.1

  -43.6

  European regional development fund

  7.1

  11.0

  31.8

  LA social housing grant

  4.1

  -8.0

  -2.0

  Loan charges: defective housing

  -2.4

  -2.5

  1.9

  Overhanging debt

  Rural bus challenge grant

  —

  2—

  176.2

  Rural bus subsidy grant

  —

  2—

  26.7

  Public transport facilities grant

  -12.7

  -84.6

  -77.7

  Transport supplementary grant

  -17.4

  -20.2

  1.6

  Metropolitan railways passenger services grant

  3—

  -11.7

  -9.1

  Industrial Development Act 1982 grant

  -66.2

  53.1

  -20.0

  Planning redevelopment grant

  261.7

  16.6

  4—

  Air quality grant

  -98.3

  -93.8

  Revenue support grant

  3.4

  4.6

  2.1

  National non-domestic rates

  -4.6

  5.8

  8.8

  Bellwin scheme of emergency financial assistance3

  -82.6

  74.4

  -15.2

  SSA reduction grant

  -45.8

  -11.5

  -39.4

  PFI special grant

  —

  6—

  185.4

  3W

  Percentage

  Description of Grant

  1997–98

  1998–99

  1999–2000

  Central support protection grant 7

  —

  —

  7—

  Total

  -0.1

  2.4

  4.1

  1One-off payment made to Burnley Council in 1999–2000.

  2New funds for public transport in rural areas in the form of Rural Bus Subsidy and Rural Bus Challenge Grants announced in 1998 Budget and first paid in 1998–99.

  3Since 1997–98 MRPS Grant has supported railway services in metropolitan areas outside London.

  4Schemes wound up. Last payments made in 1998–1999.

  5Figures take into account the special grant paid in 1996–97 and 1997–98 to local authorities affected by the Docklands and Manchester terrorist attacks in 1996.

  6Grant first paid in 1998–99.

  7Grant first paid in 1999–2000.

  Single Regeneration Budget
  Ms Buck
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what was the value of grants made through the single regeneration budget in(a) Kensington and Chelsea and (b) Westminster boroughs for (i) 1999–98, (ii) 1998–99 and (iii) 1999–2000; what is his estimate for 2000–01. [125420]

  Ms Beverley Hughes
  The following grants were paid in respect of single regeneration budget schemes in the boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster:

  £

  Kensington and Chelsea

  Westminster

  1997–98

  435,718

  9,000,000

  1998–99

  1,411,816

  5,900,000

  1999–2000

  1,522,352

  2,843,933

  2000–01 (estimate)

  1,376,500

  5,894,267

  Low Bridges
  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many strikes have been recorded on low bridges(a) over and (b) supporting railway lines from 1998–99 to 1999–2000. [125589]

  Mr. Hill
  The numbers of bridge strike incidents over and under railway lines are as follows:

  Year

  Overbridge

  Underbridge

  Total

  1998–99

  96

  1,332

  1,428

  1999–2000

  104

  1,533

  1,637

  Note:

  The figures for 1999–2000 are provisional.

  Asthma
  Angela Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what steps he plans to take to make schools safer for children with asthma. [125390]

  Mr. Hill
  The policies we are pursuing generally to improve air quality are set out in the Air Quality Strategy for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that 4W
  we published in January. The Strategy sets objectives for driving down levels of the most common air pollutants. This is an important step in protecting health, particularly of those most vulnerable to air pollution, such as children with asthma.

  My Department set up the School Travel Advisory Group in 1998 with colleagues in DfEE and DH, to advise on work to reduce car use, improve air quality and develop safer journeys to school.

  In addition in October 1999 colleagues in DH and DfEE launched a National Healthy School Standard as part of the Government's Healthy Schools Programme. Many activities related to this programme will help make the school environment safer for children with asthma.

  Diabetic Drivers
  Mr. Loughton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what research has recently been undertaken by his Department on the relationship between driving and diabetes; and if he will make the research available to the public. [125709]

  Mr. Hill
  [holding answer 12 June 2000]: No research has recently been undertaken by the Department. Projects will be initiated during this financial year. The specifications for the projects are currently being developed and they will address issues raised by The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee report on Diabetes and Driving. Tendering for this work is expected to take place in the early autumn.

  Mr. Loughton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what funding he is making available for research into the relationship between driving and diabetes. [125710]

  Mr. Hill
  [holding answer 12 June 2000]: The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee, in its report on Diabetes and Driving, recommended that the scope and depth of the fitness to drive research programme be enhanced and adequately funded. Provision has been made for £160,000 to cover the cost of the research projects on diabetes and driving which are being set up during this financial year.

  Land Rover Rail Link
  Mr. John M. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will indicate(a) when a public inquiry is likely to be set up into Land Rover's proposed rail link to the West Coast main line and (b) the likely venue of such an inquiry; and if he will make a statement. [125869]

  Mr. Hill
  On 10 February the Secretary of State announced his decision to hold a public inquiry into the application under the Transport and Works Act 1992 by Rover Group Ltd. for an Order to authorise a rail link from Land Rover's Solihull factory to the West Coast Main Line. At that time, Rover Group Ltd. owned the Land Rover business.

  Following the disclosure in March that BMW intended to dispose of the Rover Group and to sell the Land Rover business in a separate transaction, the application has been held in abeyance pending the outcome of the proposed sale. I understand that BMW and Ford have now signed an agreement for the sale of the Land Rover business.
  5W
  Once the completion of the disposal has been confirmed, it will be for the new owners of Land Rover to decide whether they wish to proceed with the proposed rail link. If they do, we will need to consider with them whether the Order applied for by the Rover Group can properly be taken forward, or whether that application should be withdrawn and a new one submitted. I shall keep the hon. Member informed of progress.

  Flaxmill Project, Shrewsbury
  Mr. Paul Marsden
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what representations he has received about the delayed funding from Advantage West Midlands for the Flaxmill project in Shrewsbury; and if he will make a statement. [125942]

  Ms Beverley Hughes
  As my hon. Friend will no doubt be aware, there have been several representations in connection with the funding package from Advantage West Midland (AWM). I refer him to my response of 13 June 2000,Official Report, column 548W, which states that the project has received an approval for a grant from AWM towards restoration of the building, to be given when funds are available.

  Mr. Paul Marsden
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to visit the Flaxmill project in Shrewsbury to view progress in saving the building; and if he will make a statement. [125944]

  Ms Beverley Hughes
  I currently have no plans to visit the Flaxmill project.

  Mr. Paul Marsden
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the significance of the Flaxmill building in Shrewsbury to the United Kingdom's national heritage. [125941]

  Ms Beverley Hughes
  I understand that the former Ditherington Flax Mill and attached former malt kiln were designated Grade 1 listed buildings on 10 January 1953. The cast iron framed building dates from 1797. The mill also includes several Grade II buildings at risk. All buildings appear on the English Heritage register as Grade A—buildings at risk of further rapid deterioration or loss of fabric with no solution agreed.

  Section 28
  Mr. Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what discussions he has had with(a) Childline, (b) the NSPCC and (c) Bamardo's about the repeal of section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988; and if he will make a statement. [126166]

  Ms Beverley Hughes
  The Government have had no discussions with Childline, the NSPCC or Bamardo's about the repeal of section 28. I understand that the organisations do not hold official positions on the repeal.

  M60 (Denton to Middleton)
  Mr. Bennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he expects 6W
  the M60 from Denton to Middleton to be open for public use; and if he expects it to be opened as a whole or in sections. [126094]

  Mr. Hill
  [holding answer 15 June 2000]: I have asked the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency, Mr. Peter Nutt, to write to my hon. Friend.

  Letter from Peter Nutt to Mr. Andrew Bennett, dated 19 June 2000:
  I have been asked by the Transport Minister, Keith Hill, to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the completion of the M60 between Denton and Middleton.
  We expect to open both sections at the same time later this summer.
  I shall write to you again when I have a firm date.

  Byker Heat Station
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 6 June 2000,Official Report, columns 195-96W, what assessment he has made of the possible occurrence of potential health risk to small children using the bridleway and allotments listed as having received toxic ash from the Byker Heat Station. [126006]

  Mr. Meacher
  [holding answer 15 June 2000]: Following discussions involving senior officials of the City Council and the Environment Agency, and having received advice from the Food Standards Agency, the Director of Public Health for the Newcastle and North Tyneside Health Authority and the Head of Public Health and Environment Protection for Newcastle City Council jointly issued precautionary advice on 6 April 2000 which included the recommendation that children aged two and under should not play in the named allotments to avoid contact with the ash.

  This precautionary advice is expected to remain in force until further investigations have been undertaken to enable proper assessment as to whether or not there has been any exposure to the dioxins and heavy metals, and therefore a potential risk to health. This will include further testing on eggs, soil and vegetables.

  London Underground
  Mr. Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 8 June 2000,Official Report, column 311W, concerning EU legislation relating to direct expenditure by London Underground, for what reason his answer did not list the legislation concerned. [126205]

  Mr. Hill
  [holding answer 15 June 2000]: The arrangements are, in principle, subject to a wide range of treaty provisions including, notably, Title V (Transport) and Title VI (Common rules on competition, taxation and approximation of laws). Specific legislation which may be relevant includes the state aid rules, the EC Merger Regulation and the Utilities Directive. Ultimately, it would, of course, be for the European Court of Justice to rule on the applicability of treaty provisions and associated legislation.

  Road Closures
  Mr. Paterson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will amend
  7W
  the road traffic regulations so that a formal road closure order is not required by the police to close roads for carnivals and parades organised by charities. [126204]

  Mr. Hill
  [holding answer 15 June 2000]: Local authorities have powers under section 21 of the Town Police Clauses Act 1847 to close roads for the purposes of local carnivals and fairs. Additional powers in the Road Traffic Regulation (Special Events) Act 1994 enable authorities to make orders to close roads for any sporting event, social event or entertainment which is held on a road. The police's powers to close roads are to enable them to deal promptly and safely with emergencies and public order matters.

  It is a matter for the local authority to decide whether to support a request to close a road for a carnival or parade organised by a charity and, if so, whether use of their powers under the 1847 Act or 1994 Act would be appropriate.

  We have no plans to amend the requirement on local authorities to make orders before they close roads. There are no Regulations governing the procedures local authorities must follow under these Acts. It is therefore entirely for the local authority to decide, in the light of the likely impact of the event on the community, the procedures to follow, including the level of publicity and notices in the press.

  We have no information on the numbers of parades and carnivals held every year on the road and consequently cannot estimate the cost to charities if local authorities charge, as they can do, for orders under the 1994 Act.

  Home Ownership
  Mr. Redwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to promote home ownership. [126405]

  Mr. Raynsford
  Our policy on home ownership is set out in the Housing Green Paper "Quality and Choice: a Decent Home for All", launched by my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister on 4 April.

  Single Currency
  Mr. Redwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will estimate the costs of switching from the pound to the euro for his Department. [126401]

  Ms Beverley Hughes
  Should the UK decide to join the euro, the cost of a changeover would depend on the detailed approach taken to a changeover.

  Dioxin
  Mr. Baker
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Mr. Loughton) of 24 May 2000,Official Report, column 539W, on dioxin, if he will list the research programmes which assess and monitor the levels of dioxins in the environment which have been sponsored by his Department, stating in each case the level of sponsorship, for each of the last five years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [126262]
  8W
  Mr. Meacher
  Since 1995 DETR has sponsored the following research programmes to assess and monitor the levels of dioxins in the environment. Many are co-sponsored with other Departments and/or Agencies and include a range of organic contaminants in addition to dioxins. A year by year breakdown of costs is not readily available for all the projects but the overall contribution by DETR is indicated in brackets:Monitoring of hazardous air pollutants programme (HAPs) (around £250,000 per year);
  Compilation of EU dioxin exposure and health data (in kind support through HAPs programme);
  National air emissions inventory includes dioxins among many other pollutants (around £250,000 per year);
  Organics in sewage sludge (£123,000 over three years);
  Modelling of Persistent Organic Pollutants on a national and global scale (£160,000 over two years);
  Modelling human exposure to dioxins and PCBs: projection of future UK exposures (£30,000).
  Further programmes to begin this year include:
  Chemical contaminants in human milk: a pilot study towards establishing an archive of samples from the UK (around £80,000); UK soil and herbage pollutant survey (around £100,000)
  The results of these and additional programmes sponsored by other Government Departments and Agencies will feed into a UK position paper on dioxins and PCBs which is currently being drafted by DETR. The paper will estimate the effectiveness of abatement measures already taken to reduce emissions of dioxins and assess what further action is required.

  Waste Disposal
  Mr. Baker
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what was the percentage of waste produced by his Department which was(a) re-used and (b) recycled during the last year for which figures are available. [126635]

  Ms Beverley Hughes
  My Department is at present compiling and validating the figures for the annual greening operations report—published in November. The percentage of total office waste separated (and collected) for recycling in our headquarters buildings over each of the past two years was 37 per cent. and 46 per cent.

  Sir Paul Beresford
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on his Department's policy on the proximity principle relating to planning applications and permissions for new waste incinerators. [126466]

  Ms Beverley Hughes
  PPG10 "Planning and Waste Management" advises that waste management decisions should in part be based on the proximity principle. It should therefore be taken into account by waste planning authorities alongside other issues in deciding planning applications for all waste management facilities.

  Brownfield Development
  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on his policy on land value taxation and brownfield development. [126105]

  Ms Beverley Hughes
  The Government are considering the potential role which fiscal instruments could play in helping to regenerate our towns and cities
  9W
  and protect our countryside. Our forthcoming Urban White Paper will take forward the Government's programme for achieving an urban renaissance and our response to Lord Rogers' s Urban Task Force.

  The Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions has no plans to make a statement. Final decisions on taxation are a matter for the Chancellor.

  Private Finance Initiative
  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many local authority private finance initiative schemes(a) are in progress, (b) have been completed and (c) are currently awaiting approval by region, what is the (i) average cost per scheme and (ii) overall cost of approved schemes to date; how many of each type of scheme (1) have been approved, (2) are awaiting approval and (3) have been turned down; and what type of scheme has been approved in each region. [126106]

  Ms Beverley Hughes
  The information is as follows:

  (a) 126 local authority PH schemes have been endorsed by the inter-departmental Project Review Group. This means that they have been awarded central government financial support and that the local authorities concerned can proceed with the procurement for their schemes.

  (b) 38 schemes have reached contract signature and of these, 23 are in operation.

  (c) About 35 schemes are currently awaiting approval. The breakdown of these schemes by region is:

  Region

  Number

  Eastern

  3

  East Midlands

  3

  London

  4

  North East

  3

  North West

  7

  South East

  6

  South West

  1

  West Midlands

  5

  Yorkshire and The Humber

  3

  (i) The average cost per scheme of all the schemes endorsed so far is approximately £20 million. However, the schemes vary greatly in size, scope and type of service provided and the costs of individual schemes range from less than £1 million to more than £100 million.

  (ii) The overall cost of all the endorsed schemes is approximately £2.5 billion.

  (1) The breakdown of endorsed schemes by type of scheme is:

  Scheme

  Number

  Depot and Vehicle Services

  2

  Fire Service

  6

  Housing

  13

  Information Communication and Technology

  6

  Leisure

  2

  Magistrates Courts

  6

  Police schemes

  14

  Property rationalisation and libraries

  10

  Residential homes and other social services

  11

  Schools

  43

  Transport and street lighting

  6

  Waste Management

  7

  Total

  126

  10W
  (2)How many of each type of scheme are awaiting approval:

  Scheme

  Number

  Housing

  2

  Information Communication and Technology

  2

  Leisure

  6

  Schools

  7

  Transport and street lighting

  7

  Waste management

  3

  Cross-agency

  8

  Total

  35

  (3) All schemes which are selected for assessment need to satisfy various criteria. There are a number of stages in the approval process and schemes may be turned down at any of these stages. Records are not kept of the number of schemes that are turned down.

  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many local authorities have initiated PH schemes; and if he will make a statement. [126107]

  Ms Beverley Hughes
  86 local authorities, including fire, police and waste authorities and one passenger transport executive, have initiated PH schemes that have been endorsed by the inter-departmental Project Review Group. The total number of endorsed local authority PH schemes is 126. It should be noted that these figures exclude PFI schemes that are financially free standing or which do not require central government revenue support.

  Motor Vehicle Traffic
  Mr. Don Foster
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what the estimated annual percentage change in motor vehicle traffic was in(a) Great Britain and (b) each region for each year since 1984. [126108]

  Mr. Hill
  Regional estimates of traffic are not available for the years requested. The annual percentage changes for all GB roads for each year from 1984 to 1998 are shown in the table.

  Road traffic in Great Britain

  Year

  Percentage change

  1983

  —

  1984

  5.2

  1985

  2.2

  1986

  5.1

  1987

  7.7

  1988

  7.2

  1989

  8.3

  1990

  1.0

  1991

  0.2

  1992

  0.1

  1993

  0.0

  1994

  2.5

  1995

  2.0

  1996

  2.7

  1997

  2.3

  1998

  1.5

  Regional Development Agencies
  Dr. Kumar
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment
  11W
  he has made of the effectiveness of (a) the north-east regional development agency and (b) other regional development agencies; and if he will make a statement. [126497]

  Ms Beverley Hughes
  My Department has commissioned consultants to undertake an evaluation of the strategies and action plans produced by all eight RDAs, including One North East. Research is also being carried out by consultants into partnership working by RDAs in the development and production of their strategies. It is the aim that both pieces of research will be published and that the findings will contribute to a report on the RDA's performance in their first year of operation.

  The 2000–01 research programme of my Department's Local and Regional Government Research Unit also includes provision for a long-term evaluation of the operation and effectiveness of RDAs.

  Dr. Kumar
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the relationship between the north-east regional development agency and local regeneration partnerships; and if he will make a statement. [126498]

  Ms Beverley Hughes
  One North East sees the four sub-regional partnerships in the north east as having a key role in delivery of the Regional Economic Strategy, and is giving high priority to developing and supporting those sub-regional partnerships.

  My Department has employed consultants to undertake research on partnership working by RDAs in the development and production of their regional economic strategies. This will examine the extent and form of partnership working by all the RDAs, including One North East, with sub-regional and local partnerships, including those with a regeneration remit. We hope to publish this research in the autumn.

  The 2000–01 research programme of my Department's Local and Regional Government Research Unit includes proposals to undertake a review of the nature and form of governance relationships at the regional and sub-regional level, including partnership working with, and ownership by, local and regional stakeholders and the wider community.

  Cabinet Governance
  Dr. Kumar
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Cabinet governance in(a) Teeside area and (b) local authorities across the country; and if he will make a statement. [126493]

  Ms Beverley Hughes
  We have made no general assessment of initiatives individual councils are currently pursuing. These initiatives are being carried out under the existing legislative framework which is not designed for cabinet governance. The Local Government Bill[Lords] provides a framework tailor made for executive arrangements, including cabinet governance and directly elected mayors. There is considerable international experience of the benefits that these forms of governance can bring, particularly of the benefits directly elected mayors can bring for their local communities.

  Central Railway
  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if representatives of Central Railway attended his recent Rail Summit. [126533]

  Mr. Hill
  No.

  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 8 June 2000,Official Report, column 315W, on Central Railway, if officials of his Department have met representatives of Central Railway within the last two months; and if he will make a statement. [126564]

  Mr. Hill
  Officials from the Government Office for the South East and the Highways Agency held discussions earlier this month with representatives of Central Railway about its proposed rail project.

  Central Railway also took part in a seminar in May hosted by the Government Office for the West Midlands as part of its transport Multi-Modal Study.

  New Deal for Communities
  Mr. Loughton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how much has been spent on New Deal for Communities; and what projects qualify for funding under New Deal for Communities. [126545]

  Ms Beverley Hughes
  The New Deal for Communities (NDC) fosters the intensive regeneration of some of our poorest neighbourhoods, supporting projects that tackle such problems as poor job prospects, high levels of crime, educational underachievement, and poor health. To get funding, community based partnerships in eligible areas must first develop a long-term strategy for delivering sustainable change. Since November 1999, 16 pathfinder partnerships have received offers of long-term support and made a start on implementing their strategies. As at April 2000, spending under the NDC had reached £4.9 million.

  Treaty of Nice
  Mr. Redwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the matters currently decided by the Department of(a) the Environment, Transport and the Regions, (b) of Health and (c) for Education and Employment which would be decided by the EU if the present Draft Treaty of Nice is agreed. [126578]

  Ms Beverley Hughes
  The current Intergovernmental Conference, which will lead to the Treaty of Nice in December, is about reforming the European institutions in preparation for enlargement. It is not envisaged that this will entail any transferring of competence.

  Social Housing
  Mr. Redwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has for schemes enabling tenants of social housing to convert their rents to mortgages. [126793]

  Mr. Raynsford
  There is already such a scheme called "Rent to Mortgage". It was introduced by the previous administration in 1993 and was publicised at a cost of
  13W
  £414,000. Yet to date there have only been 51 sales. INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT Because of this lack of demand there are no plans to extend or expand such schemes.

  Shimizu v. Westminster City Council
  Angela Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what action he proposes to take following the House of Lords judgment in the case of Shimizu (UK) Ltd. v. Westminster City Council in 1997. [126967]

  Mr. Raynsford
  My Department and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport have today jointly issued a consultation paper inviting views on whether any further action should be taken by Government following the House of Lords ruling in this case. The paper proposes that an application for planning permission should in future be required for certain works of partial demolition within conservation areas, such as the demolition of boundary walls and fences.

  The proposals issued today are designed to address problems that have been identified as arising as a direct result of the Shimizu judgment. They are separate from, and do not prejudge, the broader review of heritage policy which my hon. Friend the Minister for the Arts announced in November 1999.

  Comments are requested by 14 August 2000. Copies of the consultation paper have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

  Millennium Experience
  Mr. Baker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment his Department has made of the advantages and disadvantages of changing the planned end date of the Millennium Experience exhibition at the Dome. [125931]

  Mr. Chris Smith
  There are no plans to close the Millennium Experience before 31 December 2000.

  Live Theatre
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the total public subsidy that will be paid to live theatre in England, and its total audience, in each of the last five years. [126322]

  Mr. Alan Howarth
  I have asked the Arts Council of England, as the national body responsible for supporting live theatre, to provide this information. When it is available, I will write to my hon. Friend, and place a copy of my reply in the Library of the House.

  Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester
  Mr. Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent representations he has received from the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, about its funding. [126868]

  Mr. Alan Howarth
  My right hon. Friend has received no recent representations from the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, about its funding.
  14W
  Mr. Colman
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what measures Her Majesty's Government proposes to ensure that those British contractors who have been debarred by the World Bank from future funding on grounds of fraud and corruption in the procurement of goods and services are restricted in access to UK bilateral aid funds, ECGD credits and funds from other multilateral development banks. [125781]

  Clare Short
  We welcome the action by the World Bank to investigate cases of alleged corruption. We have asked the Bank to make available to national authorities the information on which they have taken a decision to debar firms from procurement. We understand that the Bank is in discussion with other multilateral development agencies about corruption cases. It is up to the Board of each agency to reach its own conclusions based on the evidence, but we would support a robust line against corruption within their programmes. There are no procedures to limit access to ECGD facilities by any company debarred by the World Bank from receiving funds, but ECGD are looking at how to tighten up their anti-corruption procedures.

  We will consider information on the World Bank's and others' lists of debarred contractors, along with other commercial data, about any company or individual bidding for DFID work, before awarding a contract.

  Brazil
  Ann Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will give details of the Brazilian Government's land reform initiatives supported by her Department since 1997. [126019]

  Clare Short
  We have not supported any Brazilian Government land reform initiatives since 1997. Our current Country Strategy Paper for Brazil (published December 1998) states our aim to pursue specific opportunities to support the Brazilian Government's land reform programme in order to assist the needs of the poorest. However, despite discussions with INCRA, the National Land Resettlement Agency, we have not yet been able to identify a suitable entry point into this highly politically sensitive and difficult area.

  Uganda
  Mr. Streeter
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of her Department's bilateral country programme aid for Uganda is spent by the Government of Uganda. [126454]

  Clare Short
  Our programme of bilateral assistance to Uganda is set at £57 million in the current financial year. Of this we anticipate that £38 million will be disbursed as budget support, flowing directly through the Government of Uganda consolidated fund. Over the next two financial years the programme is expected to increase to £60 million and £70 million respectively. Of these amounts, £42 million and £53 million respectively will be channelled through the Government of Uganda's budget. Thus the proportion flowing through the budget will rise from 67 per cent. in 2000–01 to 76 per cent. in 2002–03.

  Opinion Polls
  Mr. Streeter
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what has been the total cost of opinion polls conducted by her Department since 1 May 1997. [126447]

  Clare Short
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave him on 7 June 2000,Official Report, column 267W.

  Good Governance Programmes
  Mr. Streeter
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the need for programmes to promote good governance in(a) Ghana, (b) Rwanda, (c) Nigeria, (d) Uganda and (e) China; and what assessment she has made of the extent of Government corruption in each case. [126652]

  Clare Short
  The promotion of good governance is an objective of our published country strategies for Ghana, Rwanda, Uganda and China. The country strategy papers also explain the means by which we propose to address this. In Ghana, Uganda and Nigeria we are working with the World bank and other international development agencies on corruption assignments.

  We are also working with the World bank and other international development agencies to ensure that governance issues are properly reflected in poverty reduction strategies being prepared for decision on debt relief and for World bank and IMF lending.

  Bosnia-Herzegovina
  Mr. Maude
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what is the gap between aid provided and aid needs in 2000 for refugee return in Bosnia-Herzegovina. [126641]

  Clare Short
  The UNHCR's consolidated appeal for Bosnia-Herzegovina (BH) for 2000 is for $38 million to support 130,000 vulnerable displaced persons and refugees. $352,000 has so far been earmarked by donors for the appeal. We understand that UNHCR will transfer non-earmarked funds to the appeal. We do not have information on bilateral commitments separate from the UNHCR appeal. Our own bilateral commitment for 2000 is £800,000, bringing our total commitment to £1.6 million.

  Sierra Leone
  Mr. Streeter
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the extent of Government corruption in Sierra Leone. [126651]

  Clare Short
  We have made no specific assessment of the extent of corruption in Sierra Leone, but the Government there recognise the seriousness of the problem and requested help to deal with it. In response, we have helped the Government of Sierra Leone draft new anti-corruption legislation, and plan to help them set up the resultant Anti-Corruption Commission, which is due to become operational later in the year. We expect our support to continue over the next two to three years.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Gary Graham
  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will meet the British parliamentarians and lawyers concerned with the case of Gary Graham to discuss the international obligations that apply to the planned execution in Texas of Gary Graham. [125983]

  Mr. Battle
  We have written to the hon. Member for Gainsborough (Mr. Leigh), who has made representations on behalf of a number of hon. Members, inviting him to arrange an appointment to discuss the case of Gary Graham.

  Iran
  Mrs. Ellman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last made representations to the Government of Iran concerning the conduct of the trial of 13 Jews accused of spying for Israel. [126441]

  Mr. Hain
  This Government and our EU colleagues have raised with the Iranians at every appropriate opportunity our concerns about the trial on espionage charges in Shiraz of 13 Jews and eight Moslems. Iran is aware of the importance that we and our EU partners attach to this issue.

  Most recently the Director for Middle East and North Africa at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office raised the issue with the Iranian Ambassador on 1 June and the EU Presidency in Tehran presented demarches on behalf of all EU partners to the Iranian authorities on 29 April and 23 May.

  Mr. Clappison
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the situation of members of the Jewish community in Shiraz who are undergoing the legal process in Iran; what recent representations he has made to the Iranian Government concerning this case; and if he will make a statement. [126522]

  Mr. Hain
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Riverside (Mrs. Ellman) today,Official Report, column 16W.

  In addition, it has been reported that all the defendants have now appeared before the court and that defence statements have been lodged. We understand that two legal questions need to be resolved, following which, according to Iranian law, verdicts should be pronounced within one week.

  Cuba
  Mr. Fitzpatrick
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what legal assistance was given via the British Consular staff in Cuba to Ms Rachel McGee, prior to her trial there in September 1999. [126767]

  Mr. Hain
  Our consular staff are not legally trained and are not able to offer legal advice. We are able to provide lists of English speaking local lawyers.
  17W
  In Ms McGee's case our consular staff in Cuba provided to both Ms McGee and her family the details of the only law firm that is allowed to represent foreign nationals in Cuba. They also offered to facilitate payment for private legal services prior to her trial in September 1999.

  Sierra Leone
  Mr. Maude
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of progress made in establishing a Truth and Reconciliation Commission and National Human Rights Commission in Sierra Leone as envisaged by the Lome Peace Agreement. [126616]

  Mr. Hain
  Prior to the attacks mounted by the Revolutionary United Front in May, some limited progress had been made in the establishment of both Commissions. Britain has supported the efforts of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare for the establishment of an effective Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

  Mr. Maude
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) if he will list his officials who took part in observer missions during the negotiations in Lome between the Government of Sierra Leone and the Revolutionary United Front; [126609]

  (2) what role was played by the British Chargè d'Affaires in Lome, at the Lome peace negotiations. [126623]

  Mr. Hain
  Britain has no diplomatic representation in Lome. A senior official from London, and a visiting official from the British High Commission in Accra accredited to Togo, observed these negotiations.

  Mr. Maude
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) which officials from his Department received representations from the Justice Minister of Sierra Leone during the Lome talks; [126622]

  (2) what representations were made by the Sierra Leone Justice Minister to his Department regarding the progress of the Lome peace negotiations from April to July 1999. [126621]

  Mr. Hain
  The Minister of Justice led the Government of Sierra Leone delegation at the Lome peace negotiations. UK observers remained in close touch with the Minister of Justice throughout the negotiations.

  Mr. Maude
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the role played by his Department during the Lome negotiations on Sierra Leone. [126615]

  Mr. Hain
  Britain was among those present as observers during the negotiations in Lome between the Government of Sierra Leone and the Revolutionary United Front.

  Mr. Maude
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he received from the UN Commissioner on Human Rights, on Sierra Leone, following her visit there in June 1999. [126624]
  18W
  Mr. Hain
  My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and the then Minister of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Central (Mr. Lloyd), met the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in London on 15 July 1999.

  Discussion centred on the High Commissioner's impressions of the prospects for lasting peace and long-term reconciliation in Sierra Leone following her visit, and on the importance of international support to sustain the peace process and to rebuild the country.

  Mr. Maude
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what role he envisages for the Revolutionary United Front in implementing of the Lome Peace Agreement. [126617]

  Mr. Hain
  The leader of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), Foday Sankoh, is now in detention. It is our view that he must remain so until he is brought to justice. Nor, after the attacks by the RUF on United Nations peacekeepers and the RUF's clear violation of the Lome Peace Agreement, can there be any role for members of the RUF in the present Government of Sierra Leone.

  For those RUF combatants willing genuinely to disarm and to commit themselves to peace, a revised Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration programme must quickly be established to help them, and other combatants, move back into civilian life and to help train them for civilian employment.

  Mr. Maude
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the future of the Lome agreement. [126614]

  Mr. Hain
  The provisions of the Lome Peace Agreement include: a permanent cessation of hostilities; disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of all former combatants; creation of effective and democratically accountable Sierra Leone armed forces to protect the country in the future; democratic elections; and an international peacekeeping force to supervise the process.

  All these elements remain essential for any lasting peace in Sierra Leone.

  At the same time, we have made clear that, in the light of recent events, there can be no place for RUF Ministers in the present government; and that the Revolutionary United Front leader, Foday Sankoh, must face justice.

  Mr. Maude
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what assessment he has made of the possibility of bringing Foday Sankoh to justice; [126629]

  (2) what assessment he has made of the proposals to establish an international war crimes tribunal for Sierra Leone. [126613]

  Mr. Hain
  We welcome the Government of Sierra Leone's determination to bring to justice those responsible for the horrific atrocities in Sierra Leone. There are various judicial processes by which this could be achieved. We are discussing the options with the Government of Sierra Leone and the United Nations and have offered UK assistance.
  19W
  Mr. Maude
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what representations were made by his Department to(a) President Kabbah and (b) the Revolutionary United Front regarding granting of an amnesty to all the RUF members suspected of committing crimes in Sierra Leone prior to 7 July 1999; [126608]

  (2) what factors influenced the decision of the parties to the Lome peace accord to accept the inclusion of a general amnesty for members of the RUE [126618]

  Mr. Hain
  This was one of the many difficult choices made by the Government of Sierra Leone in the interest of securing a negotiated solution to a brutal eight year conflict.

  The Government of Sierra Leone recognised that the conflict could not be solved by military means alone, not least because it had little capacity to fight the Revolutionary United Front rebels. We are now leading international efforts to help create effective, accountable armed forces, so that the Government of Sierra Leone can restore law and order throughout Sierra Leone.

  Mr. Maude
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received of illegal arms shipments to Sierra Leone.
  [126620]

  Mr. Hain
  I am sure that the right hon. Gentleman will understand that the reports that the Government have received are sensitive in nature. It would be inappropriate for me to comment other than to reassure the right hon. Gentleman that appropriate action is being taken wherever possible.

  We will be passing as much information on alleged violations as possible to the UN Sanctions Committee.

  Mr. Maude
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what research his Department has undertaken on ways of preventing British weapons from falling into the hands of child soldiers. [126625]

  Mr. Hain
  We rigorously assess all arms export license applications against UK and EU criteria. These include the need to consider the risk that exported arms might be diverted to undesirable end-users, such as child soldiers. Similar considerations apply to exports of arms by the Government. The FCO and our posts overseas consult a wide range of contacts—both official and non-governmental—in order to inform the decision making process and thus reduce the risk of exports from the UK being diverted to undesirable end-users.

  Mr. Maude
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations were made to him by the Sierra Leone Government after 1 May on the deteriorating situation in Sierra Leone. [126619]

  Mr. Hain
  We have remained in close and regular touch with the Government of Sierra Leone throughout.

  Mr. Maude
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate his Department has made of the number of children fighting in(a) the Sierra Leone army, (b) militias supporting the Sierra Leone Government and (c) factions fighting against the Sierra Leone army. [126639]
  20W
  Mr. Hain
  We are totally opposed to the use of child soldiers wherever they may be employed. During my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary's visit to Sierra Leone on 8 June, President Kabbah reaffirmed his assurances that children would not be used by the Sierra Leone armed forces. The leaders of the two main factions loyal to President Kabbah gave similar assurances to the Foreign Secretary.

  Thousands of children have been forcibly recruited by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) during the conflict in Sierra Leone, and forced to fight. Several thousand children are believed to remain in RUF hands.

  Mr. Maude
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many times he has met President Kabbah of Sierra Leone since January 1999; where the meetings took place; and what was discussed. [126611]

  Mr. Hain
  Since January 1999, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has met President Kabbah on six occasions: in Abuja, in London, in New York, in Durban, in Cairo, and, most recently, in Freetown.

  Discussion at these meetings centred on the prevailing situation in Sierra Leone, and on Britain's efforts to help the Government of Sierra Leone build lasting peace and stability.

  Mr. Maude
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what factors underlay the decision to introduce a twin-track strategy on Sierra Leone; and when this strategy was introduced. [126612]

  Mr. Hain
  The international community and the region have long pursued a military/diplomatic twin track policy for achieving lasting peace in Sierra Leone. The ECOWAS Summit of 1998 endorsed the recommendations of ECOWAS Ministers of Foreign Affairs to combine the strengthening of the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) with efforts at dialogue.

  European ABM System
  Mr. Maude
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has received from(a) his European counterparts, (b) the US Government and (c) the Russian Government regarding the Russian proposal for creating a pan-European ABM system. [126606]

  Mr. Vaz
  The Russian Defence Minister, Igor Sergeyev, presented Russia's proposal in outline to NATO Defence Ministers in the NATO/Russia Permanent Joint Council on 9 June.

  On the basis of that presentation, NATO Permanent Representatives have had an initial discussion of the Russian proposal. Officials have also separately had preliminary bilateral discussions about the proposal with a number of NATO Allies, including the United States.

  Zimbabwe
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what commitments the Government entered into for providing financial support for land reform in Zimbabwe at the time of granting independence; what obligations remain for providing such
  21W
  funding; what further requests have been received from the Government of Zimbabwe; and if he will make a statement. [120086]

  Clare Short
  I have been asked to reply.

  I am informed that at the Lancaster House Constitutional Conference in October 1979, the UK Government undertook to assist with land resettlement alongside other donors—noting that scale of assistance required was beyond the scope of any individual donor. No specific figure was pledged. £20 million was offered through the 1981 Land Resettlement Grant; though this grant closed in 1996 with £3 million unused by the Zimbabwe Government. A further £27 million was provided during the 1980s as budgetary support to help the Zimbabwe Government meet their share of resettlement costs.

  Since taking office in May 1997, we made it very clear that we were willing to support land reform and resettlement in Zimbabwe, because Zimbabwe needs land reform to reduce poverty. We are willing to fund schemes which are focused on helping the poor. We also made it clear that we will only support a programme that is fair, transparent, cost effective, within the rule of law, and which will genuinely benefit the poor. Because these principles are not being fulfilled we cannot support the Zimbabwean Government's Land Reform and Resettlement Programme.

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Retail Fuels Market
  Mr. Hoyle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the size of the road transportation retail fuels market in Northern Ireland for(a) diesel and (b) petrol in (i) 1998 and (ii) 1999. [122934]

  Mrs. Liddell
  I have been asked to reply.

  Retail sales of petrol in Northern Ireland were 401,000 tonnes in 1998 and 329,000 tonnes in 1999. Retail sales of diesel were 122,000 tonnes in 1998 and 95,000 tonnes in 1999. The data are based on deliveries made into the Northern Ireland market.

  Departmental Vehicles
  Mr. Pearson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many(a) cars and (b) commercial vehicles operated by his Department were manufactured (i) in the UK, (ii) in the EU and (iii) elsewhere. [122256]

  Mr. Mandelson
  The information requested is set out in the table.

  Cars

  Commercial Vehicles

  Total

  UK

  2

  1

  3

  EU

  10

  1

  11

  Elsewhere

  1

  —

  1

  Total

  13

  2

  15

  Green Transport
  Mr. Moore
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the key buildings for which his Department(a) submitted and (b) did not submit green transport plans by March. [122617]

  Mr. George Howarth
  (a) Green transport plans have been submitted for:
  County Hall, Ballymena
  Rathkeltair House, Downpatrick
  (b) The following is a list of those key buildings for which green transport plans have not been submitted; the process has been affected by the creation of new Departments as a result of devolution and the subsequent movement of staff. However, for many of these buildings plans are currently being developed.
  Marlborough House, Craigavon
  Hydebank, Belfast
  Northland House, Belfast
  Altnaglevin, Londonderry
  Academy House, Ballymena
  College Street, Belfast
  Bullock House, Belfast
  County Hall, Omagh
  Commonwealth House, Belfast
  Calvert House, Belfast
  Hill Street, Belfast
  Boucher Road, Belfast
  Bedford House, Belfast
  Queens Court, Belfast
  Victoria Hall, Belfast
  McAuley House, Belfast
  Lincoln Buildings, Belfast
  Oxford House, Belfast
  Londonderry House, Belfast
  River House, Belfast
  Lancashire House, Belfast
  Boaz House, Omagh
  Adelaide House, Adelaide Street, Belfast
  Gloucester House, Chichester Street, Belfast
  Longbridge House, Belfast
  Commercial Union Building, Belfast
  IDB House, Chichester Street, Belfast
  Fermanagh House, Belfast
  Health and Safety Agency, Ladas Drive, Belfast
  Castle Court, Belfast
  Churchill House, Belfast
  Frances House, Belfast
  Magnet House, Belfast
  Plaza Building, Belfast
  Windsor House, Belfast
  York House, Belfast
  State Buildings, Belfast
  Andersonstown Road SSO
  Antrim SSO
  Armagh SSO
  Ballymena SSO
  Ballymoney SSO
  Bangor SSO
  Coleraine SSO
  Corporation Street SSO
  Dungannon SSO
  Enniskillen SSO
  Falls Road SSO
  Foyle SSO
  Hollywood Road SSO
  Knockbreda SSO
  Lame SSO

  23W
  Lisburn SSO
  Lisnagelvin SSO
  Lurgan SSO
  Magherafelt SSO
  Newry SSO
  Newtownabbey SSO
  Omagh SSO
  Portadown SSO
  Shaftesbury Square SSO Strabane SSO
  Lisahally Paid Order Unit
  Orchard House, Londonderry
  Greenmount College, Antrim
  Loughry College, Cookstown
  Agriculture and Food Science Centre, Belfast
  Sperrin House, Omagh
  Inishkeen House, Enniskillen
  Glenree House, Newry
  Kilpatrick House, Ballymena
  Waterside House, Londonderry
  Centre House, Belfast
  OSNI, Colby House, Belfast
  PRONI, Balmoral Avenue, Belfast
  Responsibility for this subject has been devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly and is therefore no longer a matter for the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

  Opinion Research
  Mr. Don Foster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will place copies of the results of all market and opinion research carried out by his Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies since May 1997 in the Library. [123812]

  Mr. Mandelson
  Copies of all published items relating to market and opinion research since May 1997 will be placed in the Library.

  Departmental Responsibilities
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what statistics relating to the responsibilities of his Department are collated by parliamentary constituency, indicating the dates covered in each case. [123836]

  Mr. Mandelson
  A comprehensive list of all statistics that can be collected by parliamentary constituency is not held centrally by Northern Ireland Departments, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Firearms Certificates
  Mr. Donaldson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many appeals were made to the Chief Constable on the removal of firearms certificates under the Firearms (N.I.) Order 1981 in each year from 1995 to date. [126656]

  Mr. Ingram
  Appeals against decisions by the Chief Constable to revoke firearm certificates or to refuse to 24W
  renew them are made to the Secretary of State under Article 55 of the 1981 Order. The following table sets out the number of such appeals since 1995:

  Year

  Revocation

  Refusal to renew

  Total

  1995

  47

  7

  54

  1996

  35

  5

  40

  1997

  75

  25

  100

  1998

  50

  23

  73

  1999

  34

  10

  44

  20001

  21

  6

  27

  1To 15 June 2000

  Informants
  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if the use of informants by RUC officers is governed by Home Office guidelines. [126235]

  Mr. Ingram
  The Royal Ulster Constabulary is subject to the five Codes of Practice on Covert Law Enforcement Techniques issued by the Association of Police Officers and Her Majesty's Custom and Excise. These are public documents.

  Union Flag
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on which Government buildings the Union Flag was flown on 2 June; and how many of these buildings are under(a) his direct control and (b) the control of the Northern Ireland Assembly. [125544]

  Mr. Mandelson
  The responsibility for flying the Union Flag rests with the department which has the main occupancy of each building and where that building has a flagpole. The Union Flag was flown on 2 June at Hillsborough Castle, Maghaberry, the Prison Service College, Maze and Magilligan. It was not practical to fly the flag at the YOC on that date due to defective equipment which has since been replaced. Following restoration of the political institutions on 30 May, the provision of details concerning the flying of flags on other public buildings on 2 June is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

  Young Offenders
  Mr. Beggs
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland for how long the convictions of young offenders are held on record; and what is the period after which applicants are not required to declare past offences when applying for public sector employment. [125743]

  Mr. Ingram
  All records of convictions are held in accordance with the terms of the publication "Weeding Rules for Criminal Records", a copy of which is available in the Library. The period for which young offenders' convictions are retained depends on the age of the person when he was convicted and the seriousness of the offence(s).

  A conviction where a person has been sentenced to more than 2 years imprisonment, or the equivalent, can never become spent. There are employments where spent convictions must be disclosed and professions in which spent convictions may be taken into account in assessing a person's suitability for admission. These are set out in

  25W
  the Rehabilitation of Offenders (Northern Ireland) Order 1978 and the Rehabilitation of Offenders (Exceptions) Order (Northern Ireland) 1979, both of which are also available in the Library.

  I am also placing in the Library of the House copies of the booklet "Your Way to a Fresh Start", which explains the operation of the legislation.

DEFENCE

  Shipbuilding
  Mr. Bradshaw
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Glasgow, Govan (Mr. Sarwar) of 25 May 2000,Official Report, column 612W, on shipbuilding, what progress has been made on placing the contract for the survey vessels. [127003]

  Mr. Hoon
  I am pleased to be able to announce that the prime contract for the procurement of two new specialist warships, known as Multi-Role Hydrographic and Oceanographic Survey Vessels, has today been awarded to Vosper Thornycroft (UK) Ltd. The contract includes the provision of 25 years contractor support for the vessels and is worth some £130 million in total over the life of the ships.

  Following a competition run by Vosper Thornycroft, the sub-contract to build the ships has been awarded to Appledore Shipbuilders in Devon. The ships, which are due to enter service in 2002 and 2003, will be named HMS Echo and HMS Enterprise.
  These important new warships demonstrate our commitment to the modern force structure that emerged from the Strategic Defence Review. They will be equipped with the latest survey systems, and provide a significantly enhanced surveying capability and much improved sea-keeping capability over the vessels which they will replace, which are old and increasingly costly to maintain. They will be part of the Fleet's front-line in a variety of world-wide operational roles, as well as undertaking specialist surveying tasks necessary to the long-term effectiveness of the Royal Navy.

  Construction of the new ships will sustain some 500 jobs directly in the shipyard and some 300 in other suppliers, mainly in the local area.

  Type 45 Destroyers
  Mr. Keetch
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the planned date by which the Principal Anti Air Missile System will be available to install in the first Type 45 destroyer; and if he will make a statement. [124994]

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

  Letter from Robert Walmsley to Mr. Paul Keetch, dated 19 June 2000:
  I am writing in response to your question to the Secretary of State for Defence with regard to installation of the Principal Anti Air Missile System (PAAMS) in the first Type 45 Destroyer. This falls within my area of responsibility as Chief of Defence Procurement and Chief Executive of the Defence Procurement Agency.
  26W
  It is planned that the various elements of the PAAMS system (including radars, the vertical launch and below deck equipment) will be installed in the first Type 45 Destroyer by early 2006. This date provides the time required for PAAMS integration, setting to work and trials to support the in-service date for the first-of-class ship of 2007.

  Collaborative Procurement Programmes
  Mr. Key
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will make a statement on United Kingdom participation in the United States' Future Combat System programme; [125319]

  (2) if he will make a statement on the future of the TRACER-FSCS programme. [125318]

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

  Letter from Robert Walmsley to Mr. Robert Key, dated 19 June 2000:
  I am replying to your questions to the Secretary of State for Defence on the collaborative TRACER/FSCS and the US FCS programmes. These matters fall within my area of responsibility as Chief of Defence Procurement and Chief Executive of the Defence Procurement Agency.
  On the future of the TRACER/FSCS collaborative programme, I can confirm that the United Kingdom requirement for a replacement armoured reconnaissance vehicle to form part of the UK's overall battlefield reconnaissance and surveillance capability remains extant. The current phase of the programme is of 42 months duration and is scheduled for completion in July 02. The programme is proceeding to schedule and both participating Governments are pleased with progress to date. In parallel, studies are being conducted to examine the potential use of unmanned air vehicles. The outcome of these studies will be used to inform the UK decision on the optimum mix of platforms, technology and sensors and the role that TRACER would play in the Army's future battlefield information gathering system. Any decision to proceed to the next project phase will be the subject of future national approvals.
  A feature of defence procurement is the need to accommodate new, sophisticated systems within the resources expected to be available. Competing demands on available resources inevitably lead to priorities being kept under review. The current budgetary review process in the US, which could have implications for the TRACER programme, is being closely monitored. We are in regular contact with the US DoD on this and their FCS programme. It would be premature at this stage to speculate on the prospect of UK involvement in the FCS programme.

  Animal Experiments
  Mr. Baker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Sittingbourne and Sheppey (Mr. Wyatt) of 5 June 2000,Official Report, column 17W, on Porton Down, if he will make a statement on (a) the species of animals involved in, (b) the number of and (c) the types of, experiments performed by the Chemical and Biological Defence Sector for the US Department of Defense. [125675]

  Mr. Spellar
  [holding answer 12 June 2000]: The work being undertaken by the Chemical and Biological Defence Sector, Porton Down, as referred to in my answer provided on 5 June, is being conducted through a contractor for the US Department of Defense. The aim of the work is to produce a fully licensed vaccine against a potential biological warfare agent. Such a vaccine would also be potentially useful in countries where the disease

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  is naturally present. The study at Porton Down involves evaluating the ability of the prospective vaccine to prevent disease and to investigate safety aspects of possible use.

  Details of the study are commercially sensitive and I am withholding this information under Exemption 13 of the Code of Practice of Access to Government Information.

  Depleted Uranium
  Mr. Alasdair Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many depleted uranium shells have been fired at hard targets in the Solway Firth from DERA's Kirkcudbright ranges; and what quantity of depleted uranium was used in each of the last five years; [125717]

  (2) if he will estimate the amount of depleted uranium particulate dust that has been released as a result of test firings of depleted uranium shells from DERA's Kirkcudbright ranges on hard targets in the Solway Firth in the last five years. [125718]

  Mr. Spellar
  Although the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) conducts the depleted uranium (DU) firings at Kirkcudbright, ownership of the range, since 1 April 1997, has rested with the Army.

  There have been no deliberate firings of DU at hard targets at Kirkcudbright and, therefore, in the normal course of events there is no release of particulate dust. However, there have been three occasions in the last five years when shells have misfired and hit either the ground or the target gantry. A small amount of DU dust will have entered the atmosphere as a result of these events. Remedial action has been taken in each case and the contamination removed to the satisfaction of the regulatory bodies, the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency(SEPA) and Dumfries and Galloway Council. Air samplers which have been running since 1997 have not detected any particulate DU in the atmosphere above background levels.

  A total number of DU shells fired at the range in each of the past five years is as follows:

  1995: 280

  1996: 147

  1997: 749

  1998: 134

  1999: 111

  E-mail
  Mr. Key
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when(a) the private offices of Ministers in his Department and (b) officials in the Main Building will be accessible by e-mail via the internet. [125809]

  Dr. Moonie
  [holding answer 13 June 2000]: Internet e-mail access has been available to Ministers Outer Offices and senior MOD officials since 22 March 1999 via a dedicated MOD Main Building network. This provides web browsing and e-mail for both the Cabinet Office sponsored Government Secure Intranet (GSI), and the internet from a single account at any of the dedicated network workstations. Currently, this network has 104 accounts. This is an interim solution while the Department
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  works to connect its main headquarters IT system, CHOtS, to the GSI and the internet, allowing e-mail only access to the internet for unclassified material.

  Work is also in hand to provide web browsing of the internet, using separate workstations on a dedicated RESTRICTED only version of CHOtS, CSV8 Open. CSV8 Open will initially not be able to provide access to the GSI, but work is in progress to establish this link by 4th Qtr 2000.

  The provision of the standard CHOtS and CSV8 Open solutions are both subject to the successful completion of pilot testing, currently being undertaken within MOD.

  In addition to these initiatives, internet access, where needed and backed by an approved business case, has been provided by stand-alone PCs purchased through an MOD catalogue. These stand-alone internet PCs will either be replaced by the CHOtS initiatives mentioned above or will become part of a fully managed network—the Decant Migration Network (DMN)—which will support CHOtS Open. It is intended that the DMN will be provided when staff move out of Main Building into the decant buildings during its redevelopment.

  RAF Neatishead
  Mr. Salmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) when the defence housing at RAF Neatishead was disposed of; and how many dwellings were disposed of; [125567]

  (2) when the defence housing at RAF Neatishead was last renovated prior to disposal; and what the cost was of the renovations; [125568]

  (3) how much was received by his Department in total and by unit for each house disposed of at RAF Neatishead. [125569]

  Dr. Moonie
  [holding answer 13 June 2000]: There are no married quarters sited at RAF Neatishead. Personnel serving at that unit are housed in Service Family Accommodation (SFA) at either nearby Coltishall or Norwich, which has 644 properties available to accommodate families serving at RAF Coltishall, RAF Neatishead and other Service establishments in the area.

  The majority of the Married Quarters Estate (some 57,000 properties or 95 per cent. of the total married quarter estate) in England and Wales was sold to Annington Homes in November 1996 on a 999 year lease. The Ministry of Defence retained the freehold. The properties were sold as a package with the receipt of some £1.6 billion going direct to the Exchequer rather than the Ministry of Defence; properties were not individually priced, so no unit cost is available.

  Prior to 1996, SFA was managed by the three Services individually, and the costs of maintaining them was included in the wider provision for maintenance of Defence Establishments as a whole. It is not possible therefore to separate the costs incurred in maintaining SFA serving RAF Neatishead prior to the leasehold sale to Annington Homes.

  Clothing and Textiles
  Mr. Duncan Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what development work is currently being carried out by the Defence Clothing and Textile Agency on new glove designs for the armed forces. [126212]

  Mr. Spellar
  Development work is being carried out by the Research and Technology Group of DCTA, on four different Glove Designs, as follows:NBC Protective Outer Glove Mk5
  A new glove is being developed to replace the current black rubber NBC Glove Mk2. The new design will give similar protection from chemical warfare agents, but will be thinner and less restrictive in fine handling tasks. Made from synthetic elastomers, it will also be flame-retardant and capable of being coloured. The Mk5 handwear is expected to enter service in 2003.
  Gloves, Gauntlet (Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment)
  One new Gauntlet being developed to replace two Gauntlets at present in service. It will be a combined pattern of the present gloves, and will rationalise the present materials employed.
  Gloves, Combat Mk11
  The present in-service glove is a complicated construction, made up of many components. It is difficult to make and is believed to be over specified for the use to which it is put. Trials of new designs, materials and constructions are underway, together with trials of several other gloves for comparative purposes.
  Male and Female Parade Dress Gloves
  At present, there are least 12 to 14 types of parade gloves in Black, Brown and White. It is hoped these can be reduced to two basic styles in Black, Brown and White by rationalising patterns, materials and fastening systems.

  Mr. Duncan Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) which companies, and from which countries, submitted bids for the contract for the Mark II Combat glove; [126216]

  (2) for what reasons Feuchter was awarded the contract to supply the Mark II Combat glove; [126209]

  (3) what is the value of the contract to supply the armed forces with the Mark II Combat glove; how many pairs have been ordered; and from which companies; [126215]

  (4) what visits personnel from his Department made to foreign factories and manufacturing outlets during the process of awarding contracts for the Mark II Combat glove; [126213]

  (5) what representations he has received about the quality and fit of the Mark II Combat glove. [126211]

  Mr. Spellar
  The current DCTA contract awarded to Feuchter for the supply of the Mark II Combat glove was placed in November 1998 (reference: STIA/1279) following competitive tender action. Complaint bids were received for the subject contracts from the following companies:Feuchter Gmbh and Co KG, Bavaria, Germany
  Burfield and Co (Gloves) Ltd., Martock, Somerset, UK
  Vaughan Tapscott Gloves, Torrington, Devon, UK
  Southcombe Brothers Ltd., Stock-Sub-Hamdon, Somerset, UK
  DCTA's Quality of Product Support branch have made several visits to the companies tendering for the contracts for Mark II Combat gloves. During the period May 1997 to April 1999, a total of three visits were made to Zova, the sub-contractor used by Feuchter. One of these visits was specifically to scrutinise manufacturing processes for the Combat gloves. Records exist of visits to two other firms involved in the tendering process for these
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  contracts: three visits have been made to Burfield and Co (Gloves) Ltd. since 1997, and two have been made to Southcombe Ltd.

  The contract was split between the two lowest tenders: Feuchter Gmbh and Co KG for the quantity of 163,877 pairs, and Burfield and Co (Gloves) Ltd., for the quantity of 41,800 pairs. While Burfield submitted the cheapest priced offer, their tender had stated that they did not have the capacity to produce the full DCTA requirement in the timescale required. They were, however, given the contract for the maximum quantity which their tender had specified, which was the 41,800 pairs. As Feuchter had submitted the next lowest tender, and had stated that they had the capacity to meet DCTA's requirement, they were awarded the contract for the remainder of the requirement.

  The total value of current contracts for the Mark II Combat gloves is £5,198,384. The breakdown of values and quantities is as follows:
  Feuchter Gmbh and Co KG
  Total value: £4,108,804
  Quantity: 171,977 pairs
  (Contract ST1A 1279)
  Burfields and Co
  Total value: £1,089,580
  Quantity: 48,300 pairs
  (Contract ST1A 1280)
  Both contracts included an option for supply of a further 7,500 pairs of Mark H Combat gloves (total 15,000 pairs) for delivery in Financial Year 2000–01 and therefore is a further option in the contracts for Financial Year 2001–02.

  Although reports were received by DCTA of a little tightness of fit being experienced in the early stages of production of the Mark II Combat gloves, no items necessitated rejection or return to place of manufacture. The reporting of defective items is facilitated by Defect Reports, which are raised by users of products in the three Armed Services. There are no records of any Defect Reports having been received for the Mark II Combat glove.

  Mr. Duncan Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what assessment his Department makes of the past record and experience of clothing and textile manufacturers in competition for clothing contracts; and if he will make a statement; [126210]

  (2) what account his Department takes of security of supply considerations when deciding to acquire clothing and textiles from foreign suppliers. [126214]

  Mr. Spellar
  DCTA have confirmed that full account is taken of Clothing and Textile manufacturers' past records and experience in terms of delivery, quality performance and price competitiveness, both at the time firms are considered for award of an Invitation to Tender and when considering competitive bids received.

  As part of the procurement strategy for any clothing item, the overall risk assessment comprises many elements. The risks are managed as a series of processes, one of which includes a review of past performance of potential suppliers. All potential suppliers are subjected to the same consideration of providing evidence of operating an accredited quality system. This is usually satisfied

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  through ISO 9000 registration. This risk reduction mechanism is used throughout the Ministry of Defence as part of the approved NACNOC policy.

  In addition, in light of the Government's recent announcement of a 12 point plan for the UK Textile and Clothing Industry, I will be reviewing our current procurement policies.

  Gulf War Syndrome
  Dr. Gibson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of recent evidence from the USA on the correlation between chemical cocktails and Gulf War Syndrome. [126043]

  Mr. Spellar
  I will assume my hon. Friend is referring to the research undertaken by Dr. Abou-Donia of Duke University, North Carolina, which was mentioned in a recent BBC radio programme. Dr. Abou-Donia examined the interaction of Pyridostigmine Bromide (PB), (the active ingredient of Nerve Agent Pre-treatment Sets tablets) with permethrin and DEET (N-Diethyl-m-toluamide), two non-organophasphate pesticides used during the 1990–91 Gulf Conflict. Dr. Abou-Donia published his findings in an article entitled, "Neurotoxicity Resulting from Coexposure to Pyridostigmine Bromide, DEET and Permethrin: Implications of Gulf War Chemical Exposures" in the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health in April 1996. The research had a number of significant limitations: the doses administered to the animal subjects were in quantities and in a manner very different from that which Service personnel may have experienced; there were no data to support the suggestion that PB inhibits the metabolism of DEET and permethrin; the dosage route and schedule of administration of chemicals were different to those Service personnel may have experienced; and the toxicities experienced by animals were acute in nature whereas many veterans' health concerns have emerged months, or more, after their service in the Gulf.

  A further study addressing the interaction of PB and DEET entitled "Acute effects of an Insect Repellent, N, N-Diethal-m-toluamide, on Cholinesterase Inhibition Induced by Pryidostigmine Bromide in Rats" by Chaney et al from the University of Mississippi Medical Center was published on 1 June 2000. I will write to my hon. Friend once my Department has reached a considered view of this work and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

  Defence Electronic Commerce Service
  Mr. Keetch
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he will announce the placement of a contract for the Defence Electronic Commerce Service IT system. [124797]

  Mr. Spellar
  [holding answer 7 June 2000]: I announced on 30 May that Cap Gemini Ernst & Young has been selected as the preferred supplier of the Defence Electronic Commerce Service to the MOD. Subject to a successful conclusion to negotiations, we hope to place a contract under PPP arrangements, and commence delivery of the service, in early July.

  Sea Harrier Aircraft
  Mr. Duncan Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what replacement air to surface ship strike capability he plans to procure for Sea Harrier aircraft.
  [125082]

  Mr. Spellar
  [holding answer 8 June 2000]: There are no plans to procure a replacement air to surface ship strike capability for Sea Harrier aircraft.

  UAVs
  Mr. Duncan Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the Army's original inventory was of Phoenix UAVs; what the current inventory is; and what plans he has to procure(a) further Phoenix UAVs and (b) next generation UAV systems for the armed forces.
  [125704]

  Mr. Spellar
  Nine complete Pheonix systems with 198 Air Vehicle Taxis (ACTs) and 198 Air Vehicle Pods (AVPs) were originally purchased for the Army. Currently the Army has nine systems, 177 AVTs and 182 AVPs. There is currently no plan to procure further Pheonix AVTs or AVPs. We propose to let contracts in the near future to examine possible solutions for delivering the future tactical UAV capability.

  Mr. Duncan Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the purchase cost is of each of the Army's Phoenix UAVs; how many Phoenix UAVs were lost in operations during the Kosovo campaign; when the Phoenix UAVs entered into(a) trials and (b) operational service with the Army; and how many Phoenix UAVs have been lost since they have been in operational service. [125703]

  Mr. Spellar
  The contract for Phoenix UAVs was awarded in 1985 on a firm price basis. The cost of the individual UAVs was £164,000 plus VAT, exclusive of design and development costs.

  Ten Phoenix UAVs were lost or destroyed during operations in support of the Kosovo campaign in 1999. A further three UAVs have since been lost during operations in Kosovo in 2000.

  Phoenix UAVs entered into trials with the Army in the early nineties. These were completed in July 1997. Phoenix was formally accepted into service in December 1998.

  Over 200 missions have been flown in the 18 months since Phoenix entered service. During this period a total of 16 Phoenix UAVs have been lost or destroyed (13 during operations and three in training).

  Mr. Duncan Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of(a) Phoenix UAVs used by UK forces and (b) UAVs utilised by other NATO nations during the Kosovo campaign. [125705]

  Mr. Spellar
  Operational reports have indicated that Phoenix is effective as a general reconnaissance and surveillance system. Its real-time imagery capability proved of considerable benefit in a wide variety of tasks including campaign analysis and safe surveillance over and beyond suspected mined areas. Detailed assessment of the system is continuing.
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  The utility and effectiveness of the Phoenix system in 1999 was recognised by the headquarters of KFOR, who asked for the system to return to theatre, which it did in May this year.

  It would not be appropriate for us to comment on the effectiveness of equipment used by our Allies.

  Sierra Leone (Malaria)
  Mr. Key
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he was first informed that armed forces personnel contracted malaria in Sierra Leone; and if he will make a statement. [126057]

  Mr. Hoon
  [holding answer 15 June 2000]: I was first informed on 26 May that Service personnel deployed to Sierra Leone had contracted malaria. At that time, there were seven confirmed cases among personnel who had deployed there.

  Mr. Keetch
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many troops deployed to Sierra Leone returning to the UK have so far been diagnosed as having signs of malaria; and if he will make a statement. [125190]

  Mr. Hoon
  [holding answer 9 June 2000]: As of 12 June, 27 cases of malaria had been confirmed among the 4,500 personnel who had been deployed to Sierra Leone; a further three unconfirmed cases had been admitted to hospital for investigation. No anti-malaria tablet guarantees 100 per cent. protection: mefloquine, the preferred anti-malaria drug for the Sierra Leone region, is estimated to afford only 90–95 per cent. protection against malaria. In West Africa, where rates of transmission for malaria are far higher than in any other region, some cases of malaria are to be expected. Therefore the number of cases confirmed are within the medically expected numbers.

  Former Personnel (Private Sector Employment)
  Mr. Ben Chapman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the conditions that apply to senior officials from his Department applying to join private sector companies. [126021]

  Mr. Duncan Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on former personnel of the Defence Procurement Agency and Defence Clothing and Textile Agency joining commercial organisations with which they had dealings as civil servants. [126208]

  Dr. Moonie
  Under the Cabinet Office rules on the acceptance of outside appointments by Crown servants, all Ministry of Defence non-industrial civilian staff and officers in the Armed Forces are required, within two years of leaving the Department, to apply for permission before taking up employment with an organisation connected with their official duties or with a foreign government or foreign publicly-owned organisation. In addition, senior officials are required under these rules to apply for permission to take up any paid employment on leaving the Department.

  Mr. Ben Chapman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many(a) senior Ministry of Defence officials and (b) officials from his Department's procurement organisation have joined private sector companies in the last five years. [126020]
  34W
  Dr. Moonie
  Under the Cabinet Office rules on the acceptance of outside appointments by Crown servants, all Ministry of Defence non-industrial civilian staff and officers in the Armed Forces are required, within two years of leaving the Department, to apply for permission before taking up employment with an organisation connected with their official duties. The rules only require senior officials whose applications are approved by the Prime Minister to confirm that they have taken up a new appointment on leaving the Ministry of Defence. Records of applications form such officials are only readily available from 1 January 1998, which show that 14 have notified Ministry of Defence that they have taken up appointments in the private sector.

  Northern Ireland
  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 5 June 2000,Official Report, column 15W, concerning the mission statement of the Army in Northern Ireland, what his definition is of the normality to be restored; and on how many occasions the mission objective has been reviewed since the Belfast Agreement. [126221]

  Mr. Hoon
  Normality, in the context of the Army's mission statement, is the ability of the RUC to carry out their duties without support from the armed forces.

  There has been no requirement to review the mission statement since the Belfast Agreement. However, the level of support provided to the RUC to fulfil that mission is regularly reviewed and has reduced substantially since the Belfast Agreement.

  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the use of informants by military intelligence officers operating in Northern Ireland is governed by Home Office guidelines. [126222]

  Mr. Spellar
  I am withholding this information under Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

  BAe 146
  Mr. Wilkinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the airworthiness directives his Department has issued relating to BAe 146 aircraft operated by No. 32 (The Royal) Squadron of the RAF about(a) engine icing and (b) the ingestion of fumes from the engines into the cabin. [125987]

  Mr. Spellar
  [holding answer 14 June 2000]: RAF BAe 146 flight crew, including those of 32 (The Royal) Squadron, adhere strictly to the limitations imposed by the manufacturer on flight above 26,000 feet in known or forecast icing conditions. They are also fully aware of the advice offered by BAe Systems on action to take in the event of ingestion of engine fumes into the cabin. There have been no reported problems of either kind on RAF BAe 146 aircraft.

  Service Personnel (Medical History)
  Mr. Key
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made with the project to issue every serviceman and women with an ID tag which will record on the chip current medical history including inoculations and current medication. [126052]
  35W
  Dr. Moonie
  [holding answer 15 June 2000]: The possible development of an ID tag or card to store medical information electronically is being considered in the context of plans to provide the Defence Medical Services with a comprehensive and integrated information system.

  Service Accommodation
  Mr. Swayne
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received from the Army Families Federation regarding the quality of housing available to service families. [126508]

  Dr. Moonie
  The Chair of the Army Families Federation wrote to the Secretary of State for Defence at the beginning of November 1999 on the importance of investment in housing. The Chairs of the Service family associations raised this with my hon. Friend the Minister for the Armed Forces in the Families Forum of the Service Families Task Force on 15 November 1999. My hon. Friend reiterated the MOD's commitment to the upgrade programme for Service families accommodation, recognising its importance to Service families. The issue was also raised at the Army Families Federation Conference on 26 May 2000 where my hon. Friend said that around 60 per cent. of Service Families Quarters were categorised as Standard 1 or close to it (this means that each property meets a series of strict criteria covering factors such as energy efficiency, double glazing and modern bathroom facilities); that approximately 2,400 properties had been upgraded or rebuilt during the financial year 1999–2000 (630 above target); that by the end of that year some £200 million had already been spent on Service family accommodation; and that a minimum of over £60 million would be invested in the programme in the current year.

  Service Families (Anti-depressants)
  Mr. Swayne
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the quantities of anti-depressants prescribed to members of service families by MOD medical facilities in each of the last five years. [126510]

  Dr. Moonie
  This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Bilateral Defence Relations (Czech Republic and Poland)
  Mr. Hancock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on joint working with(a) Poland and (b) the Czech Republic on military matters; and how many United Kingdom personnel are working in (i) Poland and (ii) the Czech Republic on training and related matters. [125379]

  Mr. Spellar
  The UK has developed strong bilateral defence relationships with the Czech Republic and Poland. We co-operate on a range of activities designed to support what they themselves are doing to achieve full integration with NATO. This includes provision of places for both nationalities at the Royal College of Defence Studies, as well as providing English language training and organising other staff exchanges and visits. Another example is the development of links between the Czech and British Army units assigned to the Allied Command Europe Rapid Reaction Corps.
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  We place great value on the practical co-operation we have enjoyed with the forces of the Czech Republic in operations in the Balkans. We are also proud of our involvement with the Poland-Ukraine Peacekeeping Battalion which has included joint exercising taking place successively in all three countries over the last few years.

  The number of UK military personnel in either the Czech Republic or Poland at any given time is not held centrally.

  Internet Access
  Mr. Key
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when all military personnel will have access to the internet in(a) Bosnia, (b) Cyprus, (c) Incirlik (Turkey), (d) Kuwait, (e) Saudi Arabia, (f) Sierra Leone, (g) the Falkland Islands, (h) Brunei, (i) Germany and (j) Gibraltar. [125785]

  Mr. Spellar
  Personnel in Cyprus, Brunei, Germany and Gibraltar have access to internet facilities via local service providers, as do the majority of personnel in the Falkland Islands. Personnel serving in Incirlik, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia also have access to e-mail and internet facilities via the US forces NIPRNET service.

  Currently, internet access is available only for approximately 800 personnel deployed in the Banja Luka area of Bosnia. Full internet access is planned to be available to all personnel, except those serving in dispersed locations such as the hilltop sites (approximately 200 individuals), by the end of August 2000.

  We have no plans to provide internet facilities for personnel serving in Sierra Leone.

  Anglo-Irish Meeting
  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the name and rank were of the person who arranged the meeting on 30 July 1974 in the Republic of Ireland, described in his answer of 19 July 1999,Official Report, column 424W; and what were the name, rank and unit of each person who accompanied Major Peter Maynard. [126223]

  Mr. Spellar
  I understand that this informal meeting was arranged and attended by a mutual acquaintance. I am withholding further details in accordance with exemptions 4, 12 and 14 of Part II of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

  Naval Procurement Contracts
  Mr. Welsh
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many naval procurement contacts for military vessels were made with Scottish yards in each of the last 10 years. [125573]
  37W
  Dr. Moonie
  [holding answer 14 June 2000]: In the last 10 years the following contracts for new RN or RFA vessels have been placed where the construction is being/has been undertaken in Scottish yards:

  Vessel

  Order date

  Prime contractor

  Ship yard location

  Royal Naval Vessels

  3 x Type 23 Frigates

  January 1992

  Yarrow shipbuilders Ltd.

  Scotstoun

  Landing Platform Helicopter—HMS Ocean1

  May 1993

  Kvaerner Govan

  Govan

  3 x Type 23 Frigates

  February 1996

  Yarrow Shipbuilders Ltd.

  Scotstoun

  10 x Landing Craft Utilities Mk10

  May 1998

  Bae SEMA

  Ailsa Troon

  Royal Fleet Auxiliary Vessels

  Auxiliary Oiler2

  March 1997

  Marconi Marine (VSEL) Ltd.

  Govan

  1The order for HMS Ocean was for the construction of the Hull, propulsion and Domestic systems and excluded the fitting of the weapon systems

  2Following conflicting demands at their Barrow yard Marconi Marine (VSEL) Ltd. transferred the construction to the Govan yard in summer 1999

  RAF Feltwell
  Mr. Baker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer of 13 June 2000,Official Report, column 559W, on RAF Feltwell, how many visits, during each of the last five years, were made to RAF Feltwell by (a) hon. Members, (b) Members of the House of Lords, (c) members of the US House of Representatives,
  (d) members of the US Senate and (e) representatives of the US Government. [126601]

  Mr. Spellar
  The Ministry of Defence has no record of any visits by hon. Members or by Members of the House of Lords. The Ministry of Defence does not maintain records of visits by representatives of the US Government or members of the US House of Representatives or US Senate.

  Mr. Baker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer of 13 June 2000,Official Report, column 559W, on RAF Feltwell, on how many days in each of the last 12 months RAF personnel visited RAF Feltwell; and what was the last date on which RAF personnel were stationed at RAF Feltwell. [126600]

  Mr. Spellar
  RAF Feltwell falls within the administrative responsibility of the RAF Commander Lakenheath who regularly visits the base in the course of his day to day duties. The last RAF personnel to be based at RAF Feltwell were members of the 204th Signals Unit, which disbanded on 17 March 1975.

  Mr. Baker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer of 5 June 2000,Official Report, column 22W, on RAF Feltwell, what was the costs to the RAF of the administration of RAF Feltwell for each of the last five years. [126602]
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  Mr. Spellar
  RAF Feltwell is administered as part of RAF Lakenheath and as such the cost of its administration cannot be separately quantified.

  European Convention on Human Rights (Cyprus)
  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Kingston-upon-Hull North, of 9 June 2000,Official Report, column 388W, for what reason the European Convention on Human Rights is not extended to the sovereign base areas in Cyprus. [126291]

  Mr. Spellar
  The Sovereign Base Areas are retained solely for military purposes, and it has therefore been considered inappropriate to include them in the notifications of the extension of the European Convention on Human Rights.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Oilseed Rape
  Mr. Brake
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what studies he has commissioned into the medical impact on the population of planting of oilseed rape; what controls are applied to planting of oilseed rape; and if he will make a statement. [125396]

  Ms Quin
  The most recent study funded by MAFF was conducted by the Medical Research Council Institute for Environment and Health (IEH), University of Leicester. This took stock of UK and foreign research and was held in conjunction with medical experts to review the epidemiological studies and consider what, if any, further research was needed.

  The study concluded from the available evidence that sensitisation to oilseed rape pollen alone, in the absence of sensitisation to other pollens or other common allergens, appeared to be rare.

  There are no legal restrictions on the growing of oilseed rape. Oilseed rape is widely grown in the UK and in other member states. It forms part of a cereals rotation and is a valuable crop in its own right.

  GM Crops
  Mr. Malcolm Bruce
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to rescind permission for planting and growing GM crops on farms contaminated with GM products through the planting of oilseed rape. [123764]

  Ms Quin
  [holding answer 5 June 2000]: None. Farmers do not need permission to grow conventional crops and the GM rapeseed involved in the recent incident was planted inadvertently. The Government could act in relation to the growing of the affected rapeseed crops or others only if there were a risk to public health or the environment. The Government have been advised that this is not the case.
  39W
  We have, however, explained carefully the position regarding potential marketing of the affected crop, and the arrangements we have secured in relation to entitlement to AAPS payments to farmers.

  Joan Ruddock
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what the outcome was of the visit to Canada by a departmental seeds expert to investigate the production of contaminated oilseed rape seeds by Advanta; and if he will make a statement. [126097]

  Ms Quin
  [holding answer 19 June 2000]: We are considering the findings of the visit to Canada. Further investigations are being carried out by the Canadian Authorities.

  Common Agricultural Policy
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the cost to the UK of its funding of the Common Agricultural Policy in 1999. [125982]

  Ms Quin
  The United Kingdom contributes to the EU budget as a whole, and not to any particular part. The budget for 1999 was set at euro 85.5 billion (around £59 billion), of which the CAP accounted for euro 40.5 billion (around £28 billion). The UK's contribution to the overall EU budget was 12.68 per cent., after the effect of the Fontainebleau abatement was taken into account.

  Upper Mole Flood Plain
  Mr. Blunt
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food for what reasons the Environment Agency has not provided copies of the Upper Mole Flood Plain Study and associated maps, known as the Babties report, to members of Reigate and Banstead Borough Council; and when these will be made available. [126058]

  Mr. Morley
  The Environment Agency issued maps of the "100 year" floodplain for the Upper Mole and main river tributaries to Reigate and Banstead Borough Council in April 1999. The Agency expects the associated final report from Babties to be delivered in about three weeks; a copy will be provided to the council. It will be available to residents with whom a further meeting is planned for 4 July.

  Farm Incomes
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what changes took place in average farm incomes in real terms in each year from 1988 to 1999 in the deciles of the(a) largest and (b) smallest farms. [126000]

  Ms Quin
  [holding answer 15 June 2000]: The information is available only for full-time farms. Average Net Farm Incomes, in real terms, of full-time farm
  40W
  businesses in England for the deciles are given in the table. Estimates for the years before 1990–91 are obtainable only at disproportionate cost. Farm income estimates for 1999–2000 will be available early in 2001.

  Net farm incomes of full-time farm businesses in real terms (at 1999–2000 prices) England

  Largest 10 per cent. Of farms

  Smallest 10 per cent. of farms

  Average net farm income (£/farm)

  Percentage change from previous year

  Average net farm income (£/farm)

  Percentage change from previous year

  1990–91

  77,400

  —

  6,200

  —

  1991–92

  74,600

  -4

  2,400

  -62

  1992–93

  93,900

  +26

  3,800

  +60

  1993–94

  90,500

  -4

  2,500

  -35

  1994–95

  117,100

  +29

  4,400

  +78

  1995–96

  161,900

  +38

  6,700

  +52

  1996–97

  110,800

  -32

  6,700

  0

  1997–98

  55,000

  -50

  1,300

  -81

  1998–99

  38,700

  -32

  600

  -53

  Note:

  The smallest ten per cent. of farms are represented by small samples and income estimates are subject to larger than normal sampling errors.

  Source:

  Farm Business Survey

  Farm Subsidies
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what percentage of subsidies to farmers in each of the past five years was distributed to the deciles of(a) the largest and (b) the smallest farms. [126001]

  Ms Quin
  [holding answer 15 June 2000]: The information is obtainable only at disproportionate cost.

  Horticulture (North-west)
  Mr. Stunell
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of job losses in the horticultural industry in the north-west consequent upon the introduction of the climate change levy. [124595]

  Ms Quin
  [holding answer 15 June 2000]: It is not possible to say with precision what the effect of the climate change levy on the horticulture industry in the north-west will be, as this will depend, among other things, on the extent to which horticultural businesses in the region make use of the various incentives offered under the levy to improve energy efficiency. Further, subject to State Aids clearance from the European Commission, a specific package to help the horticulture industry has been announced.

  BSE
  Mr. Drew
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what recent discussions he has had with the United States(a) Department of Agriculture and (b) Food and Drugs Administration on comprehensive risk analysis relating to BSE. [123391]

  Ms Quin
  [holding answer 23 May 2000]: None.

PRIME MINISTER

  Serbia
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will hold discussions with the Government of Bulgaria about the lifting of sanctions against Serbia. [124405]

  The Prime Minister
  [holding answer 14 June 2000]: The Government are in regular contact with the Bulgarian government on a wide range of issues. I have no immediate plans to hold talks with the Bulgarians specifically on this subject.

  Daily Press Briefings
  Mr. Baker
  To ask the Prime Minister what his policy is in respect of attendance at daily press briefings by his official spokesman. [126802]

  The Prime Minister
  My Official Spokesman is responsible for ensuring the press are briefed regularly; either by him, or his press office team.

  Lockerbie
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will place in the Library his correspondence with Pamela Dix of the Lockerbie relatives on the Lockerbie Trust. [126252]

  The Prime Minister
  I have not written to Pamela Dix.

  Central Railway
  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 8 June 2000,Official Report, column 355W, on Central Railway, when members of the Number Ten Policy Unit met representatives of Central Railway.
  [126540]

  The Prime Minister
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 8 June 2000,Official Report, column 355W.

  Poverty
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the recent UNICEF report on Poverty in The United Kingdom. [126570]

  The Prime Minister
  This report shows that in the last 20 years child poverty has trebled in the UK. The data used in the report relate to 1995 and reflect the situation under the previous administration.

  I have already made a commitment to eradicating child poverty within 20 years, and halving it within 10. The report confirms this government have made a very good start and that the measures we have already announced will lift around one million children out of poverty by 2002.

  The report also highlights the importance of work for those who can as the best way of reducing child poverty. We are already tackling this through the New Deals, the Working Families Tax Credit and the minimum wage. Increases in the income-related benefits and Child Benefit will help those for whom work is not yet an option. By the end of this parliament we will be spending £7 billion extra on families with children.

EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT

  Higher Education
  Mr. Ian Bruce
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what the trend is in(a) numerical and (b) percentage terms of applications for higher education places from social classes L11, L6, L7, L3, L5 and L4; and what assessment he has made of which changes in Government policy are affecting the trends. [125181]

  Mr. Wicks
  [holding answer 9 June 2000]: The available information on full-time students is contained in the following table, and covers only those who apply to full-time and sandwich undergraduate courses through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS); data on the family background of applicants to part-time courses are not held centrally.

  UK domiciled applicants to full-time and sandwich undergraduate courses in the UK

  Year of entry

  Social Class

  1994

  1995

  1996

  1997

  1998

  1999

  Numbers

  I Professional

  50,270

  50,245

  49,931

  48,423

  47.024

  46,533

  II Intermediate

  142,661

  140,137

  138,995

  150,294

  147,309

  144,804

  IIIN Skilled non-manual

  43,388

  42,377

  42,969

  49,567

  47,057

  47,102

  IIIM Skilled manual

  61,784

  61,915

  58,235

  60,735

  58,894

  58,540

  IV Partly skilled

  28,340

  28,785

  28,340

  32,200

  31,012

  30,805

  V Unskilled

  7,208

  7,644

  7,033

  7,904

  7,305

  7,451

  Total known

  333,651

  331,103

  325,503

  349,123

  338,601

  335,235

  Unknown

  31,672

  38,598

  39,382

  49,204

  50,987

  53,456

  Total

  365,323

  369,701

  364,885

  398,327

  389,588

  388,691

  Percentages1

  I Professional

  15.1

  15.2

  15.3

  13.9

  13.9

  13.9

  II Intermediate

  42.8

  42.3

  42.7

  43.0

  43.5

  43.2

  IIIN Skilled non-manual

  13.0

  12.8

  13.2

  14.2

  13.9

  14.1

  IIIM Skilled manual

  18.5

  18.7

  17.9

  17.4

  17.4

  17.5

  IV Partly skilled

  8.5

  8.7

  8.7

  9.2

  9.2

  9.2

  V Unskilled

  2.2

  2.3

  2.2

  2.3

  2.2

  2.2

  Total

  100.0

  100.0

  100.0

  100.0

  100.0

  100.0

  1Excluding applicants with unknown social class

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  This Government are committed to ensuring that everyone who is capable of benefiting from higher education will have the opportunity to do so. Widening participation on a sound basis requires policies across a broad front, from improving school performance through to funding formulae that target help on those students that need it most. This is a complex area and the results will not be immediate. We will of course continue to monitor applications in order to evaluate the longer term impact of our action.

  Mr. Allan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list for each institution of higher education in Great Britain the(a) total budget and (b) amount of budget deficit for each year since 1995 for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [126176]

  Mr. Wicks
  The income and expenditure of each higher education institution in Great Britain is set out in "Resources of Higher Education Institutions" published annually by the Higher Education Statistics Agency. Copies are in the Library of the House.

  Commonwealth Students
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many commonwealth students are studying at universities in the UK for whom the UK has contributed towards the cost of college fees. [125766]

  Mr. Wicks
  The UK Government currently contribute towards the costs of college fees, and in some cases maintenance, for 2,037 commonwealth students at UK universities. There are five main Government schemes open to commonwealth students, as listed. The first three are exclusively for commonwealth students. In addition, there are a number of scholarship schemes operated by recognised charities from which commonwealth students may benefit.

  Number of commonwealth students 2000

  Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan (DFID/FCO)

  843

  DFID Shared Scholarship Scheme (DFID/Universities)

  170

  Montserrat Emergency Award Scheme (DfEE)

  171

  British Chevening Scholarships (FCO)

  502

  Overseas Research Students Awards Scheme (DfEE)

  351

  Disabled People
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what discussions he has had with local education authorities in the Greater London area to ensure that all possible assistance is given to enable disabled people to enter further and higher education; and if he will make a statement. [125765]

  Mr. Wicks
  Local education authorities are active in securing the transition of young people with special educational needs, including many disabled young people, from school to further and higher education. They must have regard to the Code of Practice on the Identification and Assessment of Special Educational Needs, which sets 44W
  out a transition planning process to support this group of learners. A revised Code will come into effect in September 2001 which will set out strengthened arrangements. These arrangements will, in part, be informed by provisions in the Learning and Skills Bill, which should receive Royal Assent in July.

  The Bill includes a range of provisions to improve the learning opportunities available for people with learning difficulties and disabilities, including their transition from school to other learning. In addition, the Government are committed to legislate as soon as Parliamentary time allows, in response to the Disability Rights Task Force's recommendations in respect of further and higher education, which featured in its report published in December 1999.

  Over half of local education authorities in England, Wales and Scotland have responded to the recent consultation exercise on how those recommendations should translate into specific legal rights and duties. Those responses will help inform and refine the legislation.

  Connexions Service
  Mr. Prior
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what will be the role and responsibilities of(a) personal advisers, (b) learning mentors and (c) Connexions advisers in the Connexions Service; and to whom each will be contractually accountable. [125865]

  Mr. Wicks
  The document "Connexions: The best start in life for every young person" published in February this year contained information on the role and responsibilities of the personal adviser working within the Connexions Service. We have started work on developing the new profession for personal advisers and this week we aim to publish the consultation document, "Connexions Service: Professional Framework for Personal Advisers—proposals for consultation" asking for views on the profession. This document outlines proposals for a comprehensive training programme which aims to ensure that personal advisers have the appropriate skills and knowledge for the role and meet agreed standards for the profession.

  Learning mentors work alongside teaching staff and are responsible for helping pupils to overcome barriers to learning both inside and outside the school. They are employed in schools covered by the Government's Excellence in Cities initiative and report to the headteacher or a member of the senior management team. Learning mentors are available to all secondary age pupils who need them and they devote the majority of their time to those individuals needing extra support in order to realise their full potential.

  We will be asking for Connexions Partnership to include in their proposals information about which organisations will employ personal advisers. We expect some personal advisers will be employed directly by the Connexions Service, some will be seconded from partner organisations and some will be employed by organisations which hold a subcontract or franchise for the delivery of some Connexions services.

  Education Action Zones
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans the Government have to announce a third bidding round for Education Action Zones; and if he will make a statement. [125960]

  Ms Estelle Morris
  We have no current plans for a third bidding round for Education Action Zones.

  Pupils (Expenditure)
  Mr. Allan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list for(a) Great Britain and (b) each local education authority the real terms expenditure per pupil for (i) 1979, (ii) 1990 and (iii) each year since 1992 for which figures are available. [126177]

  Ms Estelle Morris
  The information requested is not readily available. I will write to the hon. Member when I am able to reply and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

  Leeds LEA
  Mr. Hilary Benn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list the statutory functions that will remain with Leeds Local Education Authority under the new arrangements for education services announced on 14 June. [126823]

  Ms Estelle Morris
  The announcement on 14 June of a new joint venture company to deliver education services to schools in Leeds, set out the broad framework for the way forward. Detailed discussions will continue as to precisely which statutory functions will transfer to the new company to allow it effectively to discharge its responsibilities for service delivery and increasing attainment.

  Computers for Teachers Scheme
  Mr. Chaytor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) how many applications he has received under the Computers for Teachers scheme from schools in Bury, North; and how many refund payments have been made within one month of the submission of the application; [124770]

  (2) how many applications he has received under the Computers for Teachers scheme; how many refund payments have been made within one month of the application; how many refund payments are still pending; and what is the current average length of time for making refund payments. [124771]

  Mr. Wills
  [holding answer 14 June 2000]: Data relating to the number of applications from constituency areas are not held centrally.

  The Computers for Teachers scheme has been very popular and early indications are that over 27,000 computers have been purchased under the scheme from the authorised suppliers. The scale of the response has unfortunately meant that there have been delays in processing payments. The Department very much regrets these delays and has taken urgent action to put in place measures which will ensure that:
  Any teacher who submitted a claim which was received in the Department before 12 May will either have their claim cleared for payment or have been contacted to resolve any issue related
  46W
  to their claim, by 23 June. It should be noted that "cleared for payment" means that the payment will have been entered into the BACS system and will then take between three and 10 days to clear into an individual's bank or building society account.
  Any teacher whose claim was received in the Department between 13 and 31 May will have their claim cleared for payment or will be contacted by 30 June.
  Any teacher whose claim was received in June will have their claim cleared for payment or will be contacted within the four week timescale originally anticipated.

  Music Colleges
  Mr. Hilary Benn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if the(a) Royal Academy of Music, (b) Royal College of Music, (c) Trinity College of Music, (d) Royal Northern College of Music, (e) Birmingham Conservatoire, (f) Guildhall School of Music and Drama and (g) Leeds College of Music has its own concert hall. [126034]

  Mr. Wicks
  Trinity College of Music performs at a variety of venues including the South Bank Centre, and St. Johns, Smith Square, London but will have its own concert hall when it moves to the Old Naval College Greenwich. Leeds College of Music also performs at a number of venues.

  All the other named institutions have their own concert halls.

  Mr. Hilary Benn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how much capital investment the(a) Royal Academy of Music, (b) Royal College of Music, (c) Trinity College of Music, (d) Royal Northern College of Music, (e) Birmingham Conservatoire, (f) Guildhall School of Music and Drama and (g) Leeds College of Music has received in each of the last five years for which information is available. [126050]

  Mr. Wicks
  The funding for these institutions comes from a variety of sources both public and private. Information on the total amount of capital investment received by each of the specified institutions is not available centrally.

  Further Education Funding Council
  Mr. Hilary Benn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will publish the Treasury rules on economic appraisal of projects as they apply to the Further Education Funding Council's capital programme. [126049]

  Mr. Wicks
  The Further Education Funding Council (FEFC) assesses applications for capital support for projects submitted by further education colleges against a range of criteria based on the Treasury's guide for Government departments. The Guide is called "Appraisal and Evaluation in Central Government Departments—A Treasury Guide" and is a published document available from the HMSO.

  British Association for Early Childhood Education
  Mr. Chope
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how much grant his Department has paid to the British Association for Early Childhood Education in each of the last four years; and how much is being paid in the current year. [125974]
  47W
  Ms Hodge
  [holding answer 15 June 2000]: The Department has provided the following financial support to the British Association for Early Childhood Education (BAECE) since 1996:

  Early education grant

  £

  1996–97

  44,180

  1997–98

  51,413

  1998–99

  51,300

  1999–2000

  59,112

  2000–01

  90,000

  Total

  296,005

  Learning and Skills Council
  Mr. Sawford
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what steps he is taking to ensure that schools and colleges are represented on learning and skills councils. [126278]

  Mr. Wicks
  Appointments to the Learning and Skills Council and its local councils will be merit-based following open competition. We intend to appoint members who have understanding and experience of the wide variety of interests in post-16 education and training, including people with experience in a senior capacity in schools and further education.

  Nursery Education
  Mrs. May
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many nursery schools have closed in each of the last three financial years in each local education authority; and how many closures of nursery schools are currently being proposed by local education authorities. [119491]

  Ms Hodge
  [holding answer 17 April 2000]: The maintained nursery schools that have closed in the financial years 1997–98, 1998–99 and 1999–2000 are listed in the tables, copies of which have been placed in the Library. There are no proposals for nursery school closure currently under consideration as far as the Department is aware. All the nursery school closures were linked to the establishment of alternative nursery units at other schools except one where the nursery school was closed as there were surplus nursery places in the area.

  The nursery schools that have closed over the three years represent 4.6 per cent. of the total number of nursery schools in England. Since 1997, four new nursery schools have been established. An extra 8,297 four-year-old places have been created since 1997.

HEALTH

  Meat Hygiene Service
  Mr. Paterson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the Meat Hygiene Service takes to ensure that there are no conflicts of interest affecting the work of Official Veterinary Surgeons. [122046]
  48W
  Ms Stuart
  [holding answer 15 May 2000]: I am advised by the Food Standards Agency that, all official veterinary surgeons (OVSs) working on behalf of the Meat Hygiene Service (MHS) are contractually obliged to avoid any conflicts of interest. Any allegations of potential conflicts will be fully investigated by the MHS and appropriate action taken.

  In addition to this, all OVSs have to be Members of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and as such are bound by the stringent ethical obligations placed upon them by their professional Codes of Practice.

  Vaccinations
  Mr. Ruane
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what childhood vaccinations have been withdrawn on safety grounds since childhood vaccinations were started. [122159]

  Yvette Cooper
  [holding answer 15 May 2000]: The childhood vaccination programme predates the modern licensing system for medicines. Comprehensive records are not available for this entire period.

  In the last decade no vaccines have had their licences withdrawn owing to safety issues. However, in September 1992, following concerns of a possible association between the Measles, Mumps, Rubella vaccines which contained the Urabe mumps vaccine strain, and aseptic meningitis, all vaccines containing this strain were replaced in the vaccination programme. Vaccines containing this strain were recalled and no further vaccine has been supplied to the National Health Service.

  Mr. Baker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what evidence his Department has evaluated on a causal link between routine vaccination and brain-damage. [122911]

  Yvette Cooper
  [holding answer 19 May 2000]: The Medicines Control Agency and Committee on Safety of Medicines continuously monitor the safety, quality and efficacy of all medicines including vaccines. For vaccinations, the independent expert advisory committee, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation also considers issues relating to vaccination policy, including safety and efficacy. The evidence evaluated includes data from spontaneous reports from the yellow card scheme, the published medical literature, pre- and post-marketing clinical trials and epidemiological studies.

  Evidence does not support a causal association between any of the recommended childhood vaccines and long-term damage other than the risk of vaccine—associated paralytic polio which occurs in one out of approximately every million immunisations.

  Mr. Baker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children have suffered brain damage following a routine vaccination in each year since 1990; and if he will break this figure down by the vaccine given in each case. [124763]

  Yvette Cooper
  [holding answer 7 June 2000]: Since 1990, there has been one case of brain damage and one case of mental handicap reported to the Medicines Control Agency/Committee on Safety of Medicines following vaccination in United Kingdom children aged 12 years or under.
  49W
  The case of brain damage was reported in association with measles, mumps and rubella in 1996. The case of mental handicap was reported in 1995 following polio immunisation.

  Spontaneous reports are of suspected adverse drug reactions: they do not necessarily mean that the drug is the cause of the reaction.

  Ms Osborne
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the health authority areas in the UK where the MMR vaccine can be administered in single doses. [125804]

  Yvette Cooper
  [holding answer 13 June 2000]: Delivery of Measles, Mumps and Rubella as three separate vaccines has never been recommended in the UK. Single antigen measles and mumps vaccines are not licensed in the UK. The importation of unlicensed single antigen measles and mumps vaccines is restricted by Medicines Control Agency under the Medicines Act. As a result the Department is not aware of any health authority which either recommends or gives MMR as three separate vaccines.

  Mr. Drew
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the procedures for trials of new vaccines. [126256]

  Yvette Cooper
  Before new vaccines can be studied in human subjects in the United Kingdom, approval should be sought from the Medicines Control Agency by submitting relevant scientific data to the Agency for evaluation. Applicants are obliged to report any serious unexpected adverse reaction associated with the administration of the product.

  Water Fluoridation
  Mr. Etherington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will list the research projects funded by his Department since 1990 that have investigated the causes of mottling, opacities and dental fluorosis in children and young adults; [124641]

  (2) when he last met representatives of the water companies in England and Wales; and what matters were discussed; [124621]

  (3) what plans he has to restrict or control the ingestation of fluoride, mouth washes and dental floss by (a) adults and (b) children; [124640]

  (4) what plans he has to amend sections 87 to 91 of the Water Industry Act 1991; and if he will make a statement; [124620]

  (5) if he will commission research into the incidence of hip fractures in women aged 50 to 64 years in (a) fluoridated and (b) unfluoridated areas in England and Wales. [124622]

  Yvette Cooper
  The Department has commissioned the National Health Service Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, at the University of York, to conduct a systematic review of the evidence on the safety and efficacy of fluoride in drinking water. The review will cover studies on hip fractures, including studies undertaken in the United Kingdom. It is expected to report in July. We will review policy on fluoridation including any need for further research and advice on the use of topical fluoride in the light of the report's conclusions.
  50W
  The Department has not funded any recent research projects into the causes of mottling, opacities and dental fluorosis in children and young adults, but the systematic review is covering these matters.

  I met with the chief executive of Water UK on 24 May to discuss the progress of the review.

  Mr. Hilary Benn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has commissioned into the fluoridation of water and the intake of fluoride from sources other than water; and if he will make a statement. [124882]

  Yvette Cooper
  The fluoride concentration of drinking water, whether occurring naturally at levels up to the maximum permitted concentration of 1.5 milligrams per litre, or artificially supplemented to a concentration of 1 milligram per litre, principally affects dietary intake of fluoride through consumption of tapwater, and of domestically-prepared soft drinks, beverages and meals. The intake of fluoride from retail food is estimated from the UK Total Diet Study. The estimate from data gathered between 1978 and 1980 is included in Chapter 36 of Department of Health Report on Health and Social Subjects 41 "Dietary Reference Values for food energy and nutrients for the United Kingdom" (sixth impression and later revisions, 1994 onwards). Copies are available in the Library. The Food Standards Agency has recently completed a survey of fluoride levels in the 1997 Total Diet Study and will report the results in full once they have been assessed.

  The Department has commissioned the National Health Service Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, at the University of York, to conduct a systematic review of the evidence on the safety and efficacy of fluoride in drinking water, which is expected to report in July.

  Oral Cancer
  Mr. Paul Marsden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to reduce(a) the incidence of and (b) the mortality rate for oral cancer; and if he will make a statement. [124471]

  Yvette Cooper
  Some cases of oral cancer are linked to smoking, the chewing of tobacco and betel quid and heavy alcohol consumption.

  The reduction of smoking is one of our top priorities and a number of measures are in place including up to £50 million new money for a major campaign to shift attitudes and change behaviour and up to £60 million new money for National Health Service smoking cessation services.

  We are funding a number of voluntary organisations to produce ethnic minority health materials aimed at improving information on oral cancer including material on paan chewing with tobacco which is widespread among Bangladeshi communities.

  We plan to publish a consultation paper later this year prior to the publication of a national strategy on alcohol misuse.

  From October 2000, all patients suspected of having oral cancer should be given an outpatient appointment within 14 days of their general practitioner making an

  51W
  urgent referral. The National Institute of Clinical Excellence is expected to produce guidance for commissioners of head and neck cancer services in 2002.

  Waiting Lists
  Mr. Harvey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many patients are waiting for admission to hospital, broken down by specialty and health authority area; and if he will make a statement; [124418]

  (2) how many patients are waiting for admission to hospitals in each health authority in England for (a) child health treatment, (b) cancer treatment, (c) cardio-thoracic treatment, (d) treatment of the elderly, (e) general medical treatment, (f) general surgery and urology and (g) neurosurgery and neurology; and if he will make a statement. [124419]

  Mr. Denham
  [holding answers 6 June and 7 June 2000]: All the available data are published on the Department of Health website at www.doh.nhsweb.nhs.uk/nhs/waitingtimes and in the Library in the quarterly publication entitled: "Hospital Waiting List Statistics: England (Responsible Population Based) Quarter Ended 31 March 2000". The latest data are for the end March 2000.

  Hepatitis C (Norwich)
  Dr. Gibson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to tackle the problems of the hepatitis C infection in Norwich among intravenous drug users; and if he will include hepatitis C infection in a general programme on blood-borne viruses. [124889]

  Yvette Cooper
  Norfolk health authority funds specific initiatives to prevent and control blood-borne viruses, including hepatitis C, among injecting drug misusers. These initiatives include needle exchange schemes; outreach services; an immunisation programme against hepatitis B; information and advice on preventing blood-borne virus transmission; testing for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV; and training and guidance for health professionals.

  We recognise that blood-borne viruses, in particular hepatitis C, are a public health issue in relation to injecting drug misusers. We are therefore commissioning research specifically about hepatitis C and injecting drug misusers, who currently form the largest source of new cases.

  We have also asked the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) to consider the use of combination drug therapy (interferon alpha plus ribavirin) for the treatment of hepatitis C. NICE is also looking at evidence-based clinical guidelines for the management of patients with hepatitis C. NICE's recommendations, which are due this autumn, and the clinical guidelines will provide authoritative guidance to health care commissioners and clinicians.

  Hereford Hospital
  Mr. Keetch
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received over the number of acute beds for the new Hereford hospital; and if he will make a statement. [125128]
  52W
  Yvette Cooper
  The British Medical Association Herefordshire Division held a meeting on 31 May at which I understand it was agreed they would write to me asking me to review the provision of hospital beds in Herefordshire.

  The important issue for the health service in Herefordshire is the number of patients who need to be treated and the appropriateness of their care. In line with this the services and bed provision for Herefordshire have been reviewed, validated and agreed between the health authority, acute trust, and the community health council.

  The agreed plan for Herefordshire has two key elements: consolidating split site acute services and investing in intermediate care in rural and city locations. Intermediate care investment includes provision of modern community hospitals at Ledbury and Kington, additional community health staff, fast response hospital-at-home teams and joint use of re-ablement beds with the local authority.

  The report of our National Beds Inquiry, set up to review assumptions about the demand for inpatient care and the implications for hospital bed numbers, was published for consultation on 10 February 2000. Consultation will focus on how health services, and specifically hospital beds, should be developed over the next 10–20 years.

  Abortion Clinics
  Mr. Amess
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many complaints he has received against abortion clinics in the past year; which clinics were concerned in each case; and what the nature of each complaint was. [125408]

  Yvette Cooper
  The Department has only received one complaint in the last year and as this is currently being investigated it is inappropriate to comment further.

  Mr. Amess
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the fees that are paid to private abortion clinics for the receipt of fetal tissue by NHS organisations.
  [125407]

  Yvette Cooper
  No fees are paid to private abortion clinics. The "Code Of Practice On The Use Of Fetuses And Fetal Material In Research And Treatment" issued by the Department in July 1989 states there should be no monetary exchange for fetuses or fetal tissue.

  Mr. Amess
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what statutory provisions govern the disposal of the bodies and organs of induced-aborted babies. [125405]

  Yvette Cooper
  Before 24 weeks gestation, there are no specific legal requirements but we recommend that full account be taken of any personal wishes that have been expressed about disposal of foetal tissue. If appropriate the options available should be raised with parents especially where there is an identifiable body at later gestations. If no personal wishes have been expressed foetuses should be incinerated.

  Terminations carried out after 24 weeks gestation (the legal age of viability) are registered as stillbirths and the law requires the body to be buried or cremated.
  53W
  Mr. Amess
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the abortion clinics which send fetal tissue to the fetal tissue banks at(a) the Medical Research Council based at Hammersmith Hospital, (b) the Institute of Child Health, London and (c) the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. [125406]

  Yvette Cooper
  The Marie Stopes Park View Clinic supplies foetal tissue to the Medical Research Council tissue bank based at Hammersmith Hospital. No abortion clinics supply foetal tissue to the other tissue banks listed.

  Meningitis C
  Mr. Harvey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of(a) the average cost to the NHS of treating someone with meningitis C, (b) the number of people who were treated in the last year for meningitis C by the NHS, (c) the annual cost of treatment for meningitis C by the NHS and (d) the cost of giving one vaccination for meningitis C, including (i) costs of publicising the availability of the vaccine and (ii) other costs for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [125035]

  Yvette Cooper
  [holding answer 9 June 2000]: The average cost per hospital admission for a patient with meningococcal Group C disease is estimated at £3,200. However, information on the full cost of National Health Service treatment, including post- and pre-hospital admission costs and the cost of caring for those patients with long term sequelae arising from meningococcal Group C disease, is not available.

  In the year July 1998 to June 1999 there were an estimated 1,500 cases of meningococcal Group C disease in England and Wales; about 150 of these patients died.

  The cost of meningococcal Group C vaccine is commercially confidential. However, at the end of the current meningococcal Group C immunisation programme we hope to be able to give an aggregate cost for the whole programme including vaccine purchase, distribution, implementation, information and publicity.

  The new meningococcal Group C conjugate vaccine is already having a welcome effect on this deadly disease. Early reports show that the number of cases of meningococcal infection in those groups who have been immunised has been dramatically reduced, with a reduction on the expected number of cases of around 75 per cent. The United Kingdom is the first country in the world to benefit from this new vaccine, putting the UK in the forefront of tackling this devastating disease and signalling a great success for the NHS.

  Influenza
  Mr. Harvey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of(a) the average cost to the NHS of treating someone with influenza, (b) the number of people treated for influenza in the last year by the NHS, (c) the annual cost of influenza treatment by the NHS and (d) the cost of giving one vaccination for influenza, including (i) the costs of publicising the availability of the vaccine and (ii) other costs for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [125036]
  54W
  Yvette Cooper
  [holding answer 9 June 2000]: It is not possible to give an exact cost to the National Health Service of treating someone with influenza, as the information recorded relates solely to the cost of a hospital episode for respiratory illness, not just influenza. The latest data available, which are for 1997–98, average that cost at £1,900.

  The number of admissions to NHS hospitals in England coded as influenza for the financial year 1998–99 was 2,281. This will not include all admissions due to influenza which may be categorised as, for example, respiratory illness.

  There is no breakdown of costs to distinguish between flu and other respiratory illnesses and therefore cost of influenza on the NHS cannot accurately be identified.

  General practitioners order their own vaccines direct from manufacturers. The cost of giving an influenza vaccination would vary from practice to practice. There are five vaccines to choose from varying in price from £3.99 to £5.70 for winter 1999–2000. On top of the vaccine price, under the personal administration scheme a GP will also receive 10.5 per cent. of the list price and around £1 for each vaccine given. Information on the costs of publicity for influenza vaccine across the NHS is not collected centrally.

  Waiting Lists (Gloucestershire)
  Mr. Nigel Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many patients on NHS waiting lists in Gloucestershire have left them to be treated privately in each of the last five years for which figures are available; [125545]

  (2) how many patients in Gloucestershire died while on NHS waiting lists in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [125538]

  Mr. Denham
  The information requested is not collected centrally.

  Mr. Nigel Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many patients in Gloucestershire were on NHS waiting lists in each month during the last five years for which figures are available; [125536]

  (2) how many patients in Gloucestershire had been waiting for their operation for more than (a) six months and (b) one year in each month during the last five years for which figures are available. [125537]

  Mr. Denham
  The information requested is shown in the table. Gloucestershire Health Authority intend that by the end of 2000–01 no Gloucestershire resident will be waiting longer than nine months for treatment at local National Health Service trusts and no longer than 12 months at trusts elsewhere in the country.

  Number of patients waiting for elective admission at the end of the month quoted at Gloucestershire Health Authority

  Quarter or month

  Total

  6–11 months

  More than 12 months

  1994–95

  4

  7,331

  696

  0

  1995–96

  1

  7,351

  744

  0

  1995–96

  2

  6,921

  810

  0

  1995–96

  3

  7,018

  615

  1

  1995–96

  4

  7,708

  613

  17

  1996–97

  1

  7,772

  588

  5

  55W

  Number of patients waiting for elective admission at the end of the month quoted at Gloucestershire Health Authority

  Year

  Quarter or month

  Total

  6–11 months

  More than 12 months

  1996–97

  2

  7,428

  640

  20

  1996–97

  3

  8,589

  802

  17

  1996–97

  4

  8,634

  697

  5

  1997–98

  1

  8,643

  903

  45

  1997–98

  2

  8,983

  1,025

  53

  1997–98

  3

  9,678

  1,488

  47

  1997–98

  4

  10,456

  1,489

  54

  1998–99

  June

  10,040

  1,536

  46

  1998–99

  July

  10,092

  1,585

  42

  1998–99

  August

  9,619

  1,474

  49

  1998–99

  September

  9,389

  1,385

  48

  1998–99

  October

  9,408

  1,330

  54

  1998–99

  November

  9,127

  1,146

  48

  1998–99

  December

  9,074

  1,188

  63

  1998–99

  January

  8,945

  1,154

  51

  1998–99

  February

  8,632

  1,101

  47

  1998–99

  March

  8,087

  1,053

  40

  1999–2000

  April

  8,418

  1,099

  41

  1999–2000

  May

  8,216

  1,156

  42

  1999–2000

  June

  8,562

  1,152

  58

  1999–2000

  July

  8,696

  1,129

  55

  1999–2000

  August

  8,721

  1,178

  55

  1999–2000

  September

  8,756

  1,125

  76

  1999–2000

  October

  8,609

  1,094

  82

  1999–2000

  November

  8,416

  997

  77

  1999–2000

  December

  8,835

  1,087

  99

  1999–2000

  January

  9,478

  1,172

  87

  1999–2000

  February

  9,272

  1,129

  96

  1999–2000

  March

  8,249

  1,050

  83

  2000–01

  April

  8,103

  1,071

  98

  Source:

  QF01 and monthly waiting times returns

  NHS National Plan
  Mr. Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consultations prior to his recent consultation exercise he has had with(a) the Grimsby and Community Health Council and (b) the National Association of Community Health Councils concerning the future policies and operation of the National Health Service; and what part he expects them to play in his current consultation process. [125384]

  Yvette Cooper
  Community health councils have the statutory right to be consulted about major services changes planned for their districts. Since we took office, the North East Lincolnshire Community Health Council, which is based in Grimsby, has been consulted about two proposed trust mergers, a review of acute services in the district and the proposed closure of a hospital in a neighbouring district. In common with the rest of the population the Council has had the opportunity to provide comments on the National Health Service for consideration as we work towards our National Plan.

  We are in regular contact with the National Association of Community Health Councils in England and Wales and there have been many opportunities for them to contribute to the development of policy for the National Health Service. They have submitted their views as part of the national consultation exercise.

  St. George's Hospital, Tooting
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many ward beds are available at St. George's Hospital, Tooting. [125986]
  56W
  Mr. Denham
  Bed data for individual hospitals are not collected centrally. The data are collected annually at NHS trust level, rather than by individual hospitals or site. NHS trusts provide healthcare but may provide it at more than one site.

  St. George's Hospital is part of the St. George's Hospital NHS Trust. The average daily number of available beds for the St. George's Hospital NHS Trust during the period 1998–99 was 1,037.

  Primary Care Groups
  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what formal channels of communication exist between primary care groups in the West Midlands and other primary care groups(a) locally, (b) regionally and (c) nationally. [125680]

  Mr. Denham
  [holding answer 12 June 2000]: From the outset primary care groups (PCGs) have recognised the importance of working together both formally and informally.

  The East Midlands is not recognised as a designated health region. However, in the West Midlands PCG chief officers and chairs, as well as board members, contribute to local working groups on clinical governance, health improvement, and commissioning as well as other functional areas. A local forum for chief executives and chairs of PCGs meet on a regular basis in Coventry.

  In addition, PCG officers attend quarterly network meetings and PCG nurse board members hold bi-monthly network meetings across the West Midlands depending on availability of appropriate venues.

  There are currently no formal channels of communication for PCGs at national level, but a number of networking developments have been well received. PCGs moving to primary care trust status this year have had the benefit of a national development network and I understand that PCGs in the West Midlands were part of the Northern network.

  Many PCGs took up the opportunity to participate in the national primary care collaborative and one of the successful applicants from the West Midlands was Coventry East.

  The National Health Service at all levels is making increasing use of e-mail and websites to facilitate communications.

  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice he has issued to primary care groups about local health information campaigns. [126102]

  Mr. Denham
  Primary care groups are expected to work with other local health and partner organisations to tackle local and national health priorities identified in the Health Improvement Programme. In doing so, they will need to play a full and appropriate role in local campaigns to inform and educate their local populations about health and health services.

  Confidentiality
  Mr. Steinberg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the safeguards in place to protect the confidentiality of personal genetic and similar information. [125731]
  57W
  Yvette Cooper
  Personal genetic information held in confidence, as with other confidential information, is protected by law. Health professionals also have ethical duties imposed by their regulatory bodies and the majority of National Health Service staff have equivalent contractual obligations. The Human Genetics Commission has indicated that it will be examining the protection of genetic data as a priority in its work programme.

  Mrs. Lait
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance he gives to health trusts on the confidentiality of patient records under the Data Protection Act 1998.[126085]

  Mr. Denham
  Guidance on patient confidentiality, issued by the Department to trusts in March 1996, remains relevant and in force. Consideration will be given to whether amendments or additional guidance are needed. Department officials are discussing the implications of the new Act with the Data Protection Commissioner's office.

  Air Ambulance Services
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement about the funding of air ambulance services.[125958]

  Ms Stuart
  The need for helicopter air ambulance services is a matter for local health economies as the case for supporting these from public funds has not been made. Professor Jon Nicholls' report "The costs and effectiveness of helicopter emergency ambulance services", commissioned by the Department of Health, did not show benefits to justify National Health Service investment. The position will be reviewed if any further evidence is presented. A copy of this report has already been placed in the Library.

  Hospital Infections
  Mr. Gill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of death arising from hospital infection were recorded in 1999; and what estimate he has made of the number of deaths amongst patients discharged from hospital caused by infection acquired whilst in hospital in the same period.[126188]

  Mr. Denham
  There are no centrally held statistics on deaths caused by hospital acquired infections (HAIs). The role which any HAI might play in a patient's death is a matter for the clinical judgment of the doctor concerned.

  Outpatient Appointments
  Mr. Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many outpatient appointments were(a) missed by patients and (b) cancelled by hospitals in the most recent year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement;[126090]

  (2) what the annual cost was to the NHS of outpatients failing to keep appointments in the most recent year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.[126089]

  Mr. Denham
  During 1999–2000, 1,454,000 patients failed to attend a first outpatient appointment following referral by their general practitioner. Data on the numbers of outpatient appointments cancelled by National Health Service trusts are not collected centrally.
  58W
  The Department does not collect data on the cost of missed outpatient appointments, but the number of appointments missed suggests that the cost to the NHS is significant.

  We are committed to improving the reliability and convenience of care for all patients. This is why we are investing £40 million this year to extend the national booked admissions programme. The programme allows patients to book hospital appointments or admission dates in advance at times that are convenient to them. Pre-booking in this way leads to demonstrable improvements in the numbers of hospital appointments missed by patients and the numbers of appointments cancelled by both the patient and the hospital.

  Cervical Cancer Screening
  Mr. Swayne
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what plans he has to implement hydrolysised DNA assay testing for cervical cancer screening; and if he will make a statement;[125965]

  (2) what advice he has received from the Advisory Committee on Cervical Cancer Screening on the effectiveness of hydrolysised DNA assay testing.[125966]

  Yvette Cooper
  [holding answer 14 June 2000]: The Advisory Committee on Cervical Screening (ACCS) discussed the hydrolysised DNA assay (HDA) test developed by Dr. Andrew Sincock of King's College, and funded by Quest Cancer Research, at its meeting on 26 May 2000. Three members of the committee agreed to view a demonstration of the test at King's College, with a view to reporting back to the committee when it next meets. The Chairman of the ACCS will shortly be writing to Quest to make the appropriate arrangements.

  We welcome any new technology that would improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the cervical screening programme. However, before any technology is introduced we must be sure that it is safe and effective, and that quality standards can be maintained.

  By establishing the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), we have taken responsibility for helping to clarify, both for patients and professionals, which technologies are clinically and cost effective. If a technology is likely to have a significant impact on patient care or National Health Service resources, Ministers may refer the technology to NICE after consultation with leading professionals.

  NHS Census
  Mr. Boswell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 12 June 2000,Official Report, column 468W, how many NHS census replies he has received to date (a) on tape and (b) by dictation over the telephone;[126184]

  Mr. St. Aubyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the cost to public funds of the recent NHS census, including printing, distribution, posting, processing and analysis and publication of the results.
  [126180]
  59W
  Mr. Denham
  I refer the hon. Members to the reply given to the hon. Members for Worthing, West (Mr. Bottomley) and for Gosport (Mr. Viggers) on 15 June 2000,Official Report, columns 671–72W.

  Sexual Health
  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whom the Government have consulted on the development of a sexual health strategy for young people. [126100]

  Yvette Cooper
  The Integrated Sexual Health/HIV Strategy will set a programme of action on sexual and reproductive health and HIV for England, for the whole population. A wide range of stakeholders have been involved in the development of the strategy, including a written consultation with health professionals working in the field, meetings with the Royal Colleges, professional organisations and other key players. There have also been specific consultations with young people, black and ethnic minority groups and gay men and lesbian women.

  A draft strategy will be issued for consultation in the autumn.

  Correspondence
  Mr. Gale
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will send a substantive reply to the letter sent to him by the hon. Member for North Thanet on 18 May concerning Mrs. A. Richardson and Miss Carrie Richardson.[126328]

  Mr. Hutton
  I shall let the hon. Member have a reply to his letter of 18 May as soon as possible.

  NHS Dentistry
  Mr. Harvey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the revenue to the NHS from charges for(a) NHS dental examinations and (b) NHS dental treatments for the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.[126060]

  Mr. Hutton
  In 1999–2000 patient charge revenue in the General Dental Service in England for(a) dental examinations was about £75 million and for (b) all dental treatments (including examinations) was £432 million. Patient charges are paid direct to the dentist, with the gross fee payable to the dentist reduced accordingly.

  Dental examinations and treatments for children are free. About a quarter of adults do not pay or pay a reduced amount for their National Health Service dental care.

  Opticians
  Mr. Harvey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the revenue to the NHS from charges for(a) examinations and (b) prescriptions by opticians for the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.[126061]

  Mr. Hutton
  There are no charges for National Health Service sight tests or prescriptions for spectacles. People ineligible for free NHS sight tests pay for a private test. Where children under 16 and people on low incomes are prescribed glasses they are entitled to an optical voucher 60W
  which they may use to pay for spectacles from a basic range or put towards a more expensive pair of their own choice.

  Medical Training Costs
  Mr. Harvey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the total cost(a) to his Department and (b) in total of training a medical student for one year for (i) pre-clinical training and (ii) clinical training; and if he will make a statement.[126063]

  Mr. Denham
  The Department meets the additional costs to hospitals and general practices of supporting the clinical training of medical students from the Service Increment for Teaching (SIFT) levy. In 2000–01 the average SIFT cost per student for each of the three years of clinical training is £46,157 in London and £37,202 outside London. In allocating funding to universities, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) assumes a total resource of £5,462 per year for each full-time equivalent student studying pre-clinical medicine and £12,290 per year for each full-time equivalent student studying clinical medicine. The HEFCE's assumptions on total resource include the statutory £1,050 full-time undergraduate fee which is usually paid by the student, but may be paid by the local education authority after means-testing.

  Mr. Harvey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many medical students entered NHS employment and what was the cost to his Department of training those students, in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.[126062]

  Mr. Denham
  Data on the number of students taking up employment in the National Health Service are not held centrally. However, for the year ending July 1999, the latest date for which figures are available, 3,097 students graduated from English medical schools. In 1999–2000 the Department of Health made funding available to support approximately 3,400 newly qualified doctors at a cost of £74.5 million through the medical and dental education levy.

  Hospital Bed Costs
  Mr. Harvey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the average unit cost to the NHS of a new hospital bed in(a) an existing district general hospital, (b) a new district general hospital paid for exclusively by public money, (c) a new district general hospital paid for exclusively by private money and (d) a new district hospital paid for through a PFI scheme; and if he will make a statement.[126059]

  Mr. Denham
  The information requested is not held centrally but an indicative capital cost of creating a new hospital bed place in a new hospital is approximately £325,000 (excluding Value Added Tax) at current prices. The cost includes the capital construction cost, equipment costs and professional fees incurred as well as a proportion of the costs of the supporting services within the new hospital such as operating theatres, outpatient departments, accident and emergency services, catering, office accommodation, public areas, pharmacy, pathology and radiology. It does not include the running costs necessary to make the bed operational, such as staffing, linen or cleaning.
  61W
  Every hospital is designed to meet specific local needs, so no two will be the same, and future hospitals may have different functions and departments. It is not therefore possible from available information to give the average capital cost of providing a new bed in an existing hospital. The cost of upgrading or adapting an inpatient ward within an existing hospital should not exceed a maximum of 70 per cent. of the cost of new provision and would generally be a much lower percentage.

  Under private finance initiative rules it is the responsibility of consortium bidders to cost an overall design, construction and service solution. One element of this will be the number, type and layout of hospital beds. Because costing and pricing factors will vary between PFI projects to reflect factors like design innovation, greenfield build or refurbishment and competitive pressures in the private sectors supply chain, it is not possible to provide a unit cost for a hospital bed built under PFI.

  NHS Trust Budgets
  Mr. Harvey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list for each NHS trust in Great Britain the(a) total budget and (b) amount of budget deficit, for each year since 1995 for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.[126109]

  Mr. Denham
  National Health Service trusts are not given budgets. They are required to break even, on an income and expenditure basis, taking one year with another.

  Information on NHS trust deficits in England will be placed in the Library.

  The information relating to Wales and Scotland is a matter for the devolved administrations.

  Child Protection
  Ms Shipley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if his Department's register of sex offenders outlined in the Protection of Children Act 1999 will include British sex offenders who are known to have been convicted abroad;[126778]

  (2) what measures he is taking to ensure that British citizens who sexually abuse children are not able to escape registration under the Protection of Children Act 1999 by travelling overseas.[126780]

  Mr. Hutton
  There is nothing in the Protection of Children Act 1999 which would preclude a child care worker from being referred to the Secretary of State for possible inclusion in the list to be maintained under that Act in circumstances where he has been dismissed, or has otherwise left his position, related to a conviction for sexual abuse against children committed abroad.
  62W
  If a decision is taken to include a person on the list to be kept under the Protection of Children Act 1999 the name will remain on the list irrespective of where the person lives or travels.

  As regards the wider question of British sex offenders convicted abroad, Part I of the Sex Offender Act 1997 does not at present require such offenders to register with the police on their return to this country. The Home Office will shortly be starting a major policy review of the Act and this question will be looked at very carefully as part of that review.

HOUSE OF COMMONS

  CCTV Cameras
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Chairman of the Accommodation and Works Committee in what circumstances CCTV cameras are installed in hon. Members' offices.[126313]

  Sir Sydney Chapman
  No CCTV cameras are, or ever have been, installed in hon. Members' offices. Installation of such cameras in an hon. Member's office would be done only with the consent of the hon. Member concerned, and with the personal authorisation of the Serjeant at Arms.

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

  Magistrates Courts Committees
  Mr. David Taylor
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list the predicted weighted case load and cash limit allocation for 2000–01 for each magistrates courts committee ranked by cost per case on the weighted case load used in the grant formula.[126465]

  Jane Kennedy
  The formula for distributing revenue grant is currently under review. The cash allocation for 2000–01 and 1999–2000 was distributed using the same proportion of the available funds as allocated for 1998–99. The weighted case load was therefore based on 1997–98 figures. Additional payments were made in cases of hardship. Weighted case load accounts for 35 per cent. of the cash allocation. The cash limit allocations by MCC are in table A, the latest cost per case information is in table B. Cash allocations are not based on cost per case. We aim to complete the review of the grant formula so that a new formula is applied to the 2001–02 allocation. We will be consulting stakeholders on the elements that should constitute the formula.

  Table A: Cash limit allocations

  Magistrates courts committees

  Revised cash limit 2000–01 at 100 per cent.

  Avon and Somerset

  8,027,417

  Barking and Dagenham

  1,054,757

  Barnet

  1,761,392

  Barnsley

  1,353,526

  Bedfordshire

  3,081,376

  Bexley

  1,253,819

  Brent

  2,499,716

  Bromley

  1,569,672

  63W

  Table A: Cash limit allocations

  Magistrates courts committees

  Revised cash limit 2000–01 at 100 per cent.

  Cambridgeshire

  3,461,107

  Cheshire

  4,831,675

  City of London

  2,347,036

  Cleveland

  3,989,437

  Croydon

  2,064,339

  Cumbria

  3,350,845

  Derbyshire

  4,297,539

  Devon and Cornwall

  7,389,005

  Doncaster

  1,990,778

  Dorset

  3,539,365

  Durham

  3,326,219

  Dyfed-Powys

  3,442,142

  Ealing

  1,856,339

  East Sussex

  4,058,389

  Enfield

  1,594,178

  Essex

  7,389,218

  Gloucestershire

  3,389,357

  Gwent

  3,596,672

  Hampshire (New)

  9,093,776

  Haringey

  1,916,403

  Harrow

  913,146

  Havering

  1,145,676

  Hereford and Worcester

  3,830,034

  Hertfordshire

  5,079,372

  Hillingdon

  1,551,170

  Hounslow

  1,812,834

  Humberside

  5,061,266

  Inner London

  37,484,300

  Kent

  7,091,588

  Kingston upon Thames

  1,009,570

  Lancashire

  7,450,875

  Leicestershire

  4,767,764

  Lincolnshire

  3,350,669

  Manchester

  4,745,616

  Merseyside

  10,216,373

  Merton

  2,154,383

  Newham

  2,139,976

  Norfolk

  4,429,585

  North and West Manchester

  7,940,109

  North Wales

  4,103,506

  North Yorkshire

  3,370,299

  Northamptonshire

  3,473,385

  Northumbria

  9,929,374

  Nottinghamshire

  8,200,795

  Oldham

  1,653,789

  Redbridge

  1,282,912

  Richmond upon Thames

  1,058,590

  Rotherham

  1,628,044

  Sheffield

  3,158,241

  Shropshire

  2,548,447

  South Wales (New)

  9,084,555

  Staffordshire

  5,569,068

  Stockport

  1,778,043

  Suffolk

  3,295,557

  Surrey

  4,801,547

  Sutton

  913,153

  Tameside

  1,666,227

  Thames Valley

  10,490,546

  Trafford

  1,313,371

  Waltham Forest

  1,380,069

  Warwickshire

  2,330,096

  West Midlands

  16,973,847

  West Sussex

  3,859,367

  West Yorkshire

  14,630,093

  Wiltshire

  3,621,690

  England and Wales

  331,814,415

  64W

  Table B: Cost per case

  Magistrates courts committees

  1999–2000 Weighted case load

  1999–2000 Gross expenditure (£)

  1999–2000 Cost per unit of weighted case load (£)

  City of London JR

  37,343

  2,086,714

  55.88

  Inner London Area

  705,337

  37,953,523

  53.81

  Bromley

  30,975

  1,647,774

  53.20

  Brent

  49,218

  2,490,085

  50.59

  Sutton

  18,077

  914,498

  50.59

  Barnet

  34,577

  1,749,086

  50.58

  Hounslow

  41,902

  2,008,890

  47.94

  Kingston upon Thames

  21,413

  1,005,068

  46.94

  Croydon

  43,817

  2,048,383

  46.75

  Richmond upon Thames

  24,187

  1,074,143

  44.41

  Newham

  50,844

  2,165,278

  42.59

  Suffolk

  79,672

  3,316,615

  41.63

  Merton

  31,780

  1,303,869

  41.03

  Waltham Forest

  35,117

  1,390,992

  39.61

  East Sussex

  106,114

  4,162,679

  39.23

  Hillingdon

  40,238

  1,569,226

  39.00

  Surrey

  129,339

  5,025,000

  38.85

  Redbridge

  33,639

  1,277,858

  37.99

  Havering

  31,186

  1,163,255

  37.30

  Enfield

  42,597

  1,582,890

  37.16

  Barking and Dagenham

  28,081

  1,037,041

  36.93

  North Wales

  115,258

  4,180,733

  36.27

  Bexley

  36,175

  1,262,848

  34.91

  Ealing

  51,812

  1,808,201

  34.90

  Haringey

  54,822

  1,907,273

  34.79

  Dyfed-Powys

  104,270

  3,379,269

  32.41

  Dorset

  112,202

  3,553,073

  31.67

  Bedfordshire

  106,370

  3,341,768

  31.42

  West Sussex

  125,617

  3,923,357

  31.23

  Tameside

  52,249

  1,609,685

  30.81

  Nottinghamshire

  265,768

  8,123,700

  30.57

  Cambridgeshire

  115,341

  3,448,394

  29.90

  Northamptonshire

  117,209

  3,444,244

  29.39

  Thames Valley

  353,143

  10,328,845

  29.25

  Wiltshire

  125,124

  3,608,012

  28.84

  Cheshire

  177,016

  5,059,214

  28.58

  Hertfordshire

  184,246

  5,233,408

  28.40

  Norfolk

  161,518

  4,531,210

  28.05

  Manchester

  225,988

  6,266,081

  27.73

  Warwickshire

  86,138

  2,384,348

  27.68

  Shropshire

  97,766

  2,659,840

  27.21

  Stockport

  65,675

  1,779,731

  27.10

  Cumbria

  123,865

  3,317,011

  26.78

  Gloucestershire

  116,889

  3,128,079

  26.76

  Rotherham

  60,900

  1,612,949

  26.49

  Trafford

  52,774

  1,381,208

  26.17

  Lincolnshire

  133,240

  3,461,023

  25.98

  West Midlands

  680,775

  17,450,676

  25.63

  Kent

  283,765

  7,264,799

  25.60

  Derbyshire

  182,455

  4,536,086

  24.86

  Harrow

  36,190

  883,938

  24.42

  Hampshire and Isle of Wight

  383,190

  9,339,010

  24.37

  Durham

  144,004

  3,437,960

  23.87

  Humberside

  220,536

  5,262,855

  23.86

  North Yorkshire

  142,510

  3,383,793

  23.74

  Merseyside

  411,511

  9,694,336

  23.56

  Staffordshire

  237,912

  5,594,140

  23.51

  Avon and Somerset

  349,902

  8,111,671

  23.18

  Barnsley

  59,248

  1,365,733

  23.05

  Essex

  327,537

  7,425,224

  22.67

  Hereford and Worcester

  179,273

  4,050,214

  22.59

  South Wales

  411,930

  9,169,279

  22.26

  Gwent

  164,996

  3,638,723

  22.05

  N&W Greater Manchester

  365,678

  8,019,428

  21.93

  65W

  Table B: Cost per case

  Magistrates courts committees

  1999–2000 Weighted case load

  1999– Gross expenditure (£)

  1999–2000 Cost per unit of weighted case load (£)

  Northumbria

  425,620

  9,236,646

  21.70

  Sheffield

  149,246

  3,208,789

  21.50

  Doncaster

  91,618

  1,956,100

  21.35

  Lancashire

  355,853

  7,414,212

  20.84

  Oldham

  79,916

  1,657,104

  20.74

  West Yorkshire

  688,478

  14,092,226

  20.47

  Devon and Cornwall

  406,654

  7,594,050

  18.67

  Leicestershire

  252,921

  4,597,220

  18.18

  Cleveland

  212,184

  3,724,598

  17.55

  Total

  12,080,719

  333,815,179

  27.63

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Domestic Utility Bills
  Mr. Hilary Benn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what were the average annual domestic bills for(a) electricity and (b) gas in the Yorkshire region for each of the last three years broken down by (i) direct debit, (ii) standard quarterly credit and (iii) pre-payment meter payment methods.[126078]

  Mrs. Liddell
  Average annual domestic bills1 for (a) electricity and (b) gas in cash terms in the Yorkshire region2 for each of the last three years are as follows:
  1Averages are weighted by customer numbers and based on all companies operating in the region.
  2Figures are those for the Yorkshire Electricity distribution area and the North East Transco distribution zone.

  £

  Direct debit

  Quarterly credit

  Prepayment Prepayment meter

  Electricity1

  1997

  250

  263

  289

  1998

  244

  250

  281

  1999

  242

  246

  281

  Gas1

  1997

  307

  329

  348

  1998

  277

  315

  331

  1999

  268

  304

  319

  1An annual consumption level of 3,300kWh has been assumed. Customers with electric central heating are likely to consume considerably more electricity.

  1Annual consumption level of 18,000kWh has been assumed.

  These figures are published annually in the Department's annual "Digest of UK Energy Statistics" and in the "Energy Report".

  Assisted Areas Map
  Mrs. Browning
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many regional map applications for assisted area status were rejected by the European Commission on first application by Her Majesty's Government in(a) 1997, (b) 1998, (c) 1999 and (d) 2000. [125351]
  66W
  Mr. Byers
  [holding answer 9 June 2000]: No regional map applications for assisted area status were rejected by the European Commission on first application for any of the years in question.

  Mrs. Browning
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry for what reason he withdrew the proposed map conferring assisted area status on North Staffordshire.[125352]

  Mr. Byers
  [holding answer 9 June 2000]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Trade to my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Walton (Mr. Kilfoyle) on 10 April 2000, Official Report, column 38W.

  Postal Services
  Mrs. Browning
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the impact of European Commission proposals to liberalise postal markets on domestic user costs.[125598]

  Mr. Byers
  [holding answer 12 June 2000]: The Government support greater liberalisation of the postal market however, it is important that the scope and pace of liberalisation does not undermine the universal service. As recommended by the Trade and Industry Committee we have given responsibility to the new Postal Services Commission to bring forward proposals on future liberalisation of the market in the context of its role to ensure the maintenance of the Universal Service.

  Synchrotron
  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the plans of Her Majesty's Government to co-operate with the French Government on the building of a new synchrotron in France; where it will be built; and what the cost to Her Majesty's Government will be.[124784]

  Mr. Byers
  Her Majesty's Government have no plans to co-operate with the French Government on the building of a new synchrotron in France.

  Mrs. Ellman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when discussions were last held concerning United Kingdom involvement in synchrotron investment in France; who was present at those discussions; and what was their content.[126439]

  Mr. Byers
  The issue of a possible French synchrotron was raised when my noble Friend the Minister for Science met with the French Minister for Research in Paris on the 5 May 2000. The discussions were of a general nature and in the context of the overall European requirement for large-scale scientific infrastructure. No specific proposals were discussed and no commitment was made concerning UK Government funding.

  Mrs. Ellman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when were discussions last held with French representatives concerning French involvement in synchrotron investment in the United Kingdom; who was present at these discussions; and what their content was.[126440]

  Mr. Byers
  The last discussions concerning French involvement in the New Synchrotron project were held on the 22 May 2000 at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory.
  67W
  The discussions involved officials representing the three partners in the project and wide representation of the user communities. The discussions covered the detailed management arrangements to be put in place to take the project forward and a range of related technical issues.

  US Traffic and Arms Regulations
  Mr. Hancock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the benefits to the UK of being granted special status under the US International Traffic and Arms Regulations; and if he will make a statement.[125382]

  Dr. Howells
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence on 15 June 2000,Official Report, columns 667W–68W.

  Limited Liability Partnerships
  Mr. Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what consultations he has had with PricewaterhouseCooper and Ernst & Young about the legislation they prepared for limited liability partnerships in Jersey; and what parts of that legislation he has incorporated in the Limited Liability Partnerships Bill[Lords].[125426]

  Dr. Howells
  There have been no such consultations; and, while we are aware of the Jersey legislation on limited liability partnerships, this has not provided a model for the Limited Liability Partnerships Bill.

  Mr. Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if bankrupts under restriction orders as proposed in his White Paper on bankruptcy will be able to become partners in limited liability partnerships.[126038]

  Dr. Howells
  Under the proposals referred to, the restrictions currently imposed on bankrupts will apply for the duration of the restriction order. As a consequence those subject to restriction orders will not be able to act in the management of a limited company or as a member of a limited liability partnership.

  Mr. Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry by what means persons reported to the Insolvency Agency by insolvency practitioners as unfit will be prevented from participating in limited liability partnerships.[126046]

  Dr. Howells
  Section 7(3) of the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 requires insolvency practitioners to report unfit conduct by directors to the Secretary of State. That requirement will exist where insolvency practitioners find misconduct by members of limited liability partnerships.

  Mr. Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if the assets of an insolvent business will be eligible for re-use by its former management trading on the basis of a limited liability partnership.[126037]

  Dr. Howells
  Provided an insolvent business enters formal insolvency proceedings, then those assets will fall within the estate of the insolvent business, subject to any security held by creditors over those assets. The office holder has a duty to realise those assets in such a way that returns to creditors are maximised. If the failure of the 68W
  business is not the directors' fault, there was no misconduct and they pay the best possible price for the assets, then they should not be prevented from running a successor business utilising those assets.

  Where assets have been transferred with the intention of putting them out of reach of its creditors then the "claw-back" provisions currently found in the Insolvency Act 1986 will apply.

  Mr. Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry by what means he will prevent individuals under the individual voluntary arrangements as envisaged in his White Paper "Bankruptcy: A Fresh Start", from being allowed to become partners in limited liability partnerships.[126039]

  Dr. Howells
  Undischarged bankrupts are disqualified from acting in the management of a limited company by virtue of section 11 of the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986. It is intended that this disqualification be extended to include acting as a member of a limited liability partnership.

  The majority of persons subject to individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs) are not bankrupt and are not therefore subject to this restriction.

  The proposals in the White Paper to which the question refers are for the automatic annulment of the bankruptcy on the agreement to the IVA proposal by the creditors. This would then leave the member in the same position as if the bankruptcy order had not been made and they would therefore not be precluded from acting as a member of a limited liability partnership. However, it is likely that there would be a requirement for measures to deal with anyone failing to stick to the terms of his/her IVA. This might include the reinstatement of the bankruptcy order against them.

  Mr. Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if Company Voluntary Arrangements as provided for in his Insolvency Bill will apply to limited liability partnerships; and what measures he proposes to stop companies operating under a Company Voluntary Arrangements transferring to limited liability partnership status.[126041]

  Dr. Howells
  The Insolvency Bill does not specifically refer to limited liability partnerships. However, limited liability partnerships will be able to enter company voluntary arrangements (CVAs).

  A company that is subject to a CVA is subject to a court procedure. It is likely that the conversion to a limited liability partnership would require the revocation of the CVA prior to any conversion. In considering this application the court would consider whether the aims of the CVA were best served by the company being able to convert.

  Small Businesses
  Mr. Pollard
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent measures he has taken to increase the ability of small businesses in the United Kingdom to trade competitively in European markets.[126018]
  69W
  Mr. Byers
  The Government have been working closely with our European partners to improve the environment for small businesses within the European Union. The Lisbon Economic Summit in March made significant progress in this area when agreement was reached to:draw up a European Charter for Small Firms to respond specifically to their needs;
  simplify the regulatory environment at both national and community level;
  create a Community Patent which is simple and inexpensive to obtain; and
  update public procurement rules with the particular aim of making them more accessible to SMEs.
  The European Charter for Small Finns is due to be endorsed at the Feira Council this week. It will send out a clear signal that the European Union is serious about bringing about an environment in which small firms and entrepreneurship can flourish. The Charter will pledge action by the Commission and the member states which addresses the specific needs of small business in the above areas, as well as in others such as skills, taxation and finance, and business support.

  The DTI continues to focus much of its efforts on helping business, including small business, to access markets in Europe.

  Mr. Chope
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the base level is against which his Department's public service target for 2002 of increasing the productivity and profitability of small and medium sized enterprises assisted by the Small Business Service is to be measured.[125921]

  Mr. Byers
  [holding answer 14 June 2000]: This Public Sector Target states that DTI will increase the productivity and profitability of Small Business Service' assisted small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) relative to all SMEs by 1 per cent. per annum from a base level of 12 per cent. for productivity and 14 per cent. for profitability.
  1This target relates to businesses assisted by the Business Links and was established on the basis of the findings of the Business Link Value for Money Evaluation (1998).
  Mr. Chope
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what actions his Department is taking to achieve its key priority for 2000–01 of reducing the burden of regulation on small businesses; and what the criteria are for evaluating success.[125911]

  Mr. Byers
  [holding answer 14 June 2000]: The Small Business Service (SBS) has a particular duty on behalf of small businesses to examine regulatory proposals put forward by Government Departments to ensure that they do not impose an unnecessary or disproportionate burden on small businesses. This will be achieved by promoting the "think small first" principle. The SBS will also ensure that compliance is made easier through the provision of comprehensible and accessible guidance and that the enforcement regime is appropriate.

  By 2001, the SBS will establish a Regulation Index of the impact of regulation on small business. This will measure the cumulative burden of regulation on small businesses, will inform priorities for simplification and will determine the future criteria for minimising the burden of red tape.
  70W
  In addition, my Department will continue to look for opportunities to remove unnecessary burdens in the legislation for which we are responsible. For example we are increasing the statutory audit threshold for companies from £350,000 to £1 million. This will apply to financial periods ending on or after 26 July, and should benefit up to 150,000 companies.

  BA-KLM Merger
  Dr. Cable
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he plans to refer the proposed merger between BA and KLM to the competition authorities.[126218]

  Dr. Howells
  I understand that BA and KLM have announced that they were entering into provisional talks but that they have not yet reached any agreement. Until they do it is not possible to say which competition rules will apply.

  Science Base
  Mr. Chope
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the overall international ranking has been of the United Kingdom's science and engineering base in terms of quality, relevance and cost-effectiveness in each of the last four years.[125923]

  Mr. Caborn
  [holding answer 14 June 2000]: Comparisons at an international level are complicated by the different organisational structure within each country corresponding to the UK Science and Engineering Base, and hence rankings have to be treated with some care. We are continuing to refine our data, but the currently available information in terms of the following measures for the G7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK and US) is given in the table for the years 1994 to 1997, the latest year for which information is available for all the countries.

  Quality

  Relevance

  Cost effectiveness

  1994

  2

  1

  1

  1995

  2

  1

  1

  1996

  2

  1

  1

  1997

  2

  1

  1

  Notes:

  1Quality—total number of citations to papers originating from the UK, or having at least one author in the UK.

  2Relevance—Proportion of funds for Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) from non-Government sources.

  3Cost-effectiveness-papers published per £1 million of science base expenditure.

  E-commerce
  Mr. Chope
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the sectors in which e-commerce impact studies to help small businesses connect to the digital marketplace are to be carried out in 2000–01.[125969]

  Mr. Byers
  [holding answer 15 June 2000]: Thirteen studies are under way, (steel; chemicals; aerospace; metal forming and finishing; downstream gas; upstream oil and gas; biotechnology; motor vehicle retailing; clothing supply chain; furniture; exhibitions and events; telecommunication services and electronics manufacturing).
  71W
  Further studies, in sectors still to be decided, will begin in the second half of the year.

  Mr. Chope
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the estimated cost is of the multi-channel marketing campaign to help small businesses connect to the digital marketplace; and when the campaign will be implemented.[125975]

  Mr. Byers
  [holding answer 15 June 2000]: The budget has been agreed for the multi-channel marketing campaign for this financial year is £1.0 million. A similar amount has been earmarked for the following two financial years. Staff have recently been recruited to implement this campaign and are currently prioritising which channels DTI should be working with. The campaign will start to be delivered over the remaining months of this financial year through different channels as joint plans are agreed.

  This activity results from one of 60 recommendations in the 'e-commerce@its.best.uk' report. Progress on these recommendations is published regularly on the e-envoy's website www.e-envoy.gov.uk and more detail is given under 'Marketing' on the Information Society Initiative website www.isi.gov.uk.

  Animal Welfare
  Mr. Coaker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to ensure his European Union partners renegotiate WTO rules in respect of animal welfare; and if he will make a statement.[126515]

  Mr. Caborn
  The UK fully supports the EU approach, as set out in the conclusions of the General Affairs Council on 25 October 1999, that commits the EU to take forward the issue of farm animal welfare in WTO negotiations. The UK and EU will press for this objective in the work of the WTO, including the agriculture negotiations which have started this year.

  Renewable Energy
  Mr. Hancock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will(a) raise his target for electricity generated from renewable resources and (b) remove waste incineration from the Government's definition of renewable energy.[126275]

  Mrs. Liddell
  The Government have the target of obtaining 10 per cent. of UK electricity from renewable sources by 2010, against a current figure of just under 3 per cent., subject to the cost of this being acceptable to consumers. The target set is challenging, and the Government have no plan to raise it.

  We do not intend to exclude energy from waste incineration from our definition of renewable energy. Wastes produced by households, industry and commerce pose a difficult problem. Our draft national waste strategy provides for waste reduction, materials recycling and energy recovery. Where there is no better alternative, using waste materials to produce energy can reduce environmental problems and at the same time save fossil fuels.
  72W

  Insolvency
  Mr. Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to introduce(a) legislation and (b) a code of practice that will prohibit accountants acting as a reporting accountants for banks from acting as receivers and liquidators of the businesses upon which they have reported.1126483]

  Dr. Howells
  The question of whether reporting or investigating accountants should be permitted to accept subsequent appointment as administrative receivers of the company concerned has been considered by the working group established to undertake a review of company rescue and business reconstruction mechanisms. The report of the working group will be published for further consultation in due course.

  A bank does not have any inherent right to appoint a liquidator. Where the company is insolvent, this is usually a matter for the general body of the company's unsecured creditors.

  Mr. Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the fees collected by the receivers and liquidators of BCCI.[126491]

  Dr. Howells
  The liquidators of Bank of Credit and Commerce International SA in England and Wales make an annual report to the Secretary of State pursuant to Regulation 14 of the Insolvency Regulations 1994. The report is made up to the anniversary of the making of the winding up order against the company. The latest report submitted covers the period to 15 January 1999 and shows that the total liquidators' remuneration paid to that date was US$244.5 million. Such remuneration has been approved either by the court or the Liquidation Committee of creditors.

  A report for the period to 15 January 2000 is expected to be submitted shortly. Copies of the liquidators' report are available to creditors of the company.

  Electrical Safety
  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what changes have been made to(a) the Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations 1994 and (b) the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994 since their implementation; and if he will make a statement.[126023]

  Mr. Alan Johnson
  [holding answer 15 June 2000]: The information is as follows:
  (a) The Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations 1994 are national Regulations and no amendments have been made since they came into force. However, the Regulations recognise that British Standards that are referenced in the Regulations may need to be revised or amended from time to time and they therefore make provision for such reference to be construed as a reference to the revised or amended standard where the amendment or revision has been approved by the Secretary of State. Ministerial approval of the revision of a number of British Standards was granted in 1998. The Department will be initiating a review of the Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations 1994 before the end of the year, and will be consulting with industry and other interested parties.

  73W
  (b) The Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994 implement into UK law the European Council Directive 73/23/EEC, normally referred to as the Low Voltage Directive. No amendments have been made to the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994 since they came into force, and as the appropriate measures are in place I have no plans to review the Regulations.

  Mobile Phones
  Mr. Hancock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he plans to take to inform consumers about technical matters including the absorption rate of radio frequencies on mobile phones, to ensure they can make informed choices regarding mobile phone use; and if he will make a statement.[126274]

  Mr. Byers
  The Government are committed to providing consumers with sufficient information on mobile phones and health in order that they may make informed choices when purchasing and using a mobile phone.

  The Government are supporting the European electrical standard setting body, CENLEC, in developing a standard for measuring the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) values of mobile phones. (The SAR refers to the rate of absorption by the human body of electromagnetic radiation). The standard will be adopted in the UK once it has been finally approved. The Government believe that the consumer should have access to the SAR values when considering purchasing a mobile phone. The Government will expect SAR measurements to be displayed at all points of sale and with each mobile phone and on the world wide web. The Government consider that the SAR value should be viewed in context, for example, by comparing the SAR value against the recommended exposure limits. We will work with industry to ensure this information is provided.

  In addition, we have already started discussions on the provision of information on health aspects of mobile phone technology. This information will be provided in a widely available leaflet and will include details of how the technology works, including a description of what is meant by "Specific Absorption Rate". We will be working with the industry to provide the technology information in easy to understand language.

  Young Entrepreneurs
  Dr. Kumar
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures he is putting in place to support young entrepreneurs(a) nationally and (b) in Teeside; and if he will make a statement.[126494]

  Mr. Byers
  My Department is committed to helping young entrepreneurs throughout the UK. For example, we are supporting Enterprise Insight the business-led campaign, which is informing young people about the challenges and rewards of starting a business as well as developing entrepreneurial skills and helping businesses to grow. Enterprise Insight has set up a Regional Team for the North East which is currently developing a calendar of events.

  My Department is also supporting the Young Enterprise Innovation Awards final in July and helping Young Enterprise with the pilot development of Graduate Enterprise into a national programme. Teeside University is taking part in the pilot scheme.
  74W
  This month the awards ceremony for the European Awards for the Spirit of Enterprise took place, which DTI supported. Young people from every region participated.

  Workplace Bullying
  Dr. Kumar
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action is being taken by his Department to address the problem of bullying in the workplace, what recent representations he has received on this matter; and if he will make a statement.[126495]

  Mr. Alan Johnson
  My Department receives occasional representations about workplace bullying, which I strongly deplore. Existing legislation can address it in a number of ways. For instance, the Public Order Act 1986 and the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 provide remedies against harassment, while the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974 places a duty on all employers to ensure the health, safety and welfare of their employees. In addition, we would always encourage employers to put in place disciplinary and grievance procedures which allow employees to raise concerns and employers to address them. The Employment Relations Act 1999 contains a provision giving workers the right to be accompanied at disciplinary and grievance hearings by a fellow worker or trade union official of their choice, and workers who choose to exercise their right will be protected against victimisation by their employer, as will those who accompany or seek to accompany a worker. Our intention is to bring the new right into force on 4 September.

  Post Offices
  Dr. Cable
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many(a) post offices and (b) sub-post offices there were in (i) Great Britain and (ii) each parliamentary constituency in (1) 1999 and (2) 2000; and if he will make a statement.[126293]

  Mr. Alan Johnson
  I understand from the Post Office that at end March 1999 there were 600 crown post offices and 18,175 sub-post offices in the United Kingdom and that the corresponding figures for end March 2000 were 598 crown offices and 17,795 sub-post offices.

  I also understand that the most recent data on the numbers of post offices in parliamentary constituencies in Great Britain relate to October 1999. These figures for England and Wales were published on 29 November 1999, Official Report, column 22W, and for Scotland on 20 December 1999, Official Report, column 382W.

  Dr. Cable
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many(a) post offices and (b) sub-post offices there were in (i) Great Britain and (ii) each region in each year since 1987; and if he will make a statement.[126295]

  Mr. Alan Johnson
  I understand from the Post Office that the total numbers of Crown post offices and sub-post offices in the United Kingdom at the end of March of each year since 1987 were:

  End March

  Crown offices

  Sub-post offices

  1987

  1,503

  19,708

  1988

  1,499

  19,572

  1989

  1,493

  19,537

  75W

  End March

  Crown offices

  Sub-post offices

  1990

  1,339

  19,532

  1991

  1,167

  19,471

  1992

  1,019

  19,141

  1993

  917

  19,041

  1994

  799

  18,975

  1995

  699

  18,908

  1996

  653

  18,761

  1997

  606

  18,645

  1998

  601

  18,407

  1999

  600

  18,175

  2000

  598

  17,795

  I also understand from the Post Office that figures for post offices by Post Office Counters regions are only available from April 1994. I have obtained lists of the figures from that date and have arranged for copies to be placed in the Library of the House.

  Eu Nickel Directive
  Mr. Gibb
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he will publish regulations required under the EU Nickel Directive (94/27/EC).[126815]

  Mr. Alan Johnson
  I plan to sign and lay before Parliament by the end of June the Dangerous Substances and Preparations (Nickel) (Safety) Regulations 2000, which will implement the Nickel Directive (94/27/EC).

  Total number of businesses helped by Business Links—1998–99

  Quarter 1

  Quarter 2

  Quarter 3

  Quarter 4

  Average

  England

  88,754

  93,920

  102,267

  108,639

  98,395

  Eastern

  10,706

  10,999

  11,908

  11,986

  11,400

  East Midlands

  6,372

  6,387

  6,800

  7,076

  6,659

  London

  8,716

  8,851

  10,837

  11,473

  9,969

  North East

  4,658

  4,309

  4,389

  4,992

  4,587

  North West

  16,959

  19,401

  19,034

  19,531

  18,731

  South East

  14,075

  14,684

  15,803

  16,366

  15,232

  South West

  7,615

  8,799

  10,915

  11,186

  9,629

  West Midlands

  10,714

  11,876

  12,699

  13,887

  12,294

  Yorks and Humber

  8,939

  8,614

  9,882

  12,142

  9,894

  Part of the SBS performance Information requirement is to count all businesses using Business Link services for non-trivial activity. Only one use per business is recorded during each quarter. The first repeat use by a business of Business Link Services in a later quarter is also recorded. Because a business can appear more than once during the year, figures cannot be totalled across quarters to provide cumulative figures without double counting.

  Wind Power
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent studies he has undertaken relating to the extension of small and medium-scale wind power schemes in the UK; and if he will make a statement about the Government's strategy to secure the maximum benefit from such electricity generation schemes.[126077]

  Mrs. Liddell
  My Department have funded under their New and Renewable Energy Programme several studies on small and medium-scale wind power schemes in the UK. A list of reports is as set out.

  Electricity Supply
  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the supply obligation on electricity generators; and what plans he has to review the buy-out option available to companies supplying electricity.[126099]

  Mrs. Liddell
  The Utilities Bill will provide the powers to place an obligation on licensed suppliers of electricity to supply a proportion of their supplies from renewable sources of energy. The new provisions will enable suppliers to buy-out all or part of their obligation as an alternative to supplying renewables electricity as a means of protecting consumers from excessive costs. Later this year, I intend to consult on the level of the obligation, the level of the buy-out price option and the system of allocation by which the proceeds from the buy-out payments will be recycled.

  Business Links
  Mrs. Curtis-Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many businesses used Business Links during 1998–99 in each region, counting each business only once.[123534]

  Mr. Caborn [holding answer 24 May 2000]
  The table shows the total number of businesses assisted in each region by Business Links in each quarter during 1998-99, England figures and averages are also included.

  As part of its overall strategy on renewable energy, the Government are taking powers in the Utilities Bill to impose an Obligation on licensed electricity suppliers to supply a specified proportion of their electricity from renewable sources. Wind energy is an established technology and is expected to make a substantial contribution.

  Title

  Contractor

  Report number

  Social implications of a wind driven generator located in a residential area

  Milton Keynes Development Corporation and University of Southampton

  ETSU WN 5097-PI

  Feasibility of industrial wind energy schemes—final report. 1998.

  Garrad Hassan and Partners Ltd.

  W/25/00488/REP

  Geographically distributed wind farms: a feasibility study for developers. 1997

  Waltons and More

  W/32/00442/REP

  Wind turbines and load management on weak networks. 1996.

  Econnect Ltd.

  W/33/00421/REP

  77W

  Title

  Contractor

  Report number

  Appraisal of the world wind turbine market. 1996

  Garrad Hassan and Partners Ltd.

  W/45/00479/REP/2

  The development of community ownership in a wind energy project at Harlock Hill, Cumbria. 1997

  The Wind Company Ltd.

  K/FR/00117/REP

  Financing small renewable energy projects—a review of methods and recent experience

  Science Policy Research Unit

  K/FR/00053/REP

  The development of community ownership in a wind energy project at Harlock Hill, Cumbria

  The Wind Company Ltd.

  K/FR/00117/REP

  The Potential contribution of renewable energy schemes to rural diversification—General Review

  ECOTEC Research and Consulting Ltd.

  K/PL/00107/REP

  Note:

  Reports available from the DTI New and Renewable Energy Programme Enquiries Bureau, ETSU, Harwell, Oxon OX11 ORA (Telephone 01235 432430)

SOCIAL SECURITY

  State Pension
  Mr. Crausby
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people he expects will gain from the Government's proposed state second pension.
  [124959]

  Ms Southworth:
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what action his Department is taking to help low-paid people to provide for their retirement.[124971]

  Mrs. Lawrence
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what steps he is taking to help low-paid people provide for their retirement.[124955]

  Mr. Rooker
  The State Second Pension will reform SERPS to help around 14 million low and moderate earners to build up much greater pension entitlements. In addition, around four million carers and long-term disabled people with broken work records will be able to build up a second pension for the first time.

  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the increase in the state retirement pension in April.[124967]

  Mr. Rooker
  The basic State Retirement Pension has been increased in line with inflation, as is the normal practice.

  Our first priority has been to concentrate help on the poorest pensioners, which is why we introduced the minimum income guarantee and increased it in line with earnings. In addition, we have introduced a range of measures to help all pensioners and poorer pensioners in particular.
  78W
  Mr. Robathan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what representations he has received regarding this year's increment in the basic state pension. [124974]

  Mr. Rooker
  I refer the hon. Member to my written answer of 13 June 2000,Official Report, column 609W.

  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he plans to announce the pension increase for 2001–02.[124977]

  Mr. Rooker
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is required to review the levels of benefit each year. The results of my right hon. Friend's review will be announced at the normal time in the normal way.

  Lone Parents
  Mr. Russell Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has for future development of the New Deal for Lone Parents.[124961]

  Angela Eagle
  Lone parents will benefit from a raft of measures to be introduced during 2001 through the New Deal for Lone Parents and Working Families Tax Credit. These include a £15 training premium, an increase in the Income Support earnings disregard, and help with funding for child care costs for a lone parent moving into part-time work. And all lone parents working 16 hours a week or more will get at least £155, and £214 if they work 35 hours or more.

  Mr. Blunt
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what his estimate is of the total savings to date to his Department as a result of the New Deal for Lone Parents.[124966]

  Angela Eagle
  The independent evaluation of the prototype phase of the New Deal for Lone Parents confirms that the prototype clawed back nearly 90 per cent. of its total costs and, looking at operating costs only, it made a surplus of about £1.8 million.

  The programme's national phase is being evaluated separately. It too will include a cost-benefit analysis and will be available in spring 2002.

  Siobhain McDonagh
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what measures his Department is taking to help lone parents obtain employment.
  [124984]

  Angela Eagle
  As part of a comprehensive strategy to help lone parents obtain employment and make work pay we have introduced the New Deal for Lone Parents, the Lone Parents Benefit Run-On and Working Families Tax Credit. In the Budget we announced a guaranteed minimum income of £155 a week from next April for lone parents working 16 hours a week or more; £214 a week for lone parents working 35 hours or more. We also announced an increase in the earnings disregard in Income Support for lone parents from £15 to £20, funding for child care costs for the first year that lone parents move into part-time work and a £15 premium to help lone parents train for work.

  Fraud
  Miss Kirkbride
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the level of fraud within the social security system.[124964]
  79W
  Mr. Rooker
  Previous estimates have shown that £2 billion a year has definitely been lost through fraud. A further £2 to £3 billion may have been lost in cases where fraud is strongly suspected.

  We are now measuring the level of fraud and error, in Income Support and Jobseeker's Allowance, the two most vulnerable benefits, on a continuous monthly basis. The last figures published by the Government Statistical Service for the 12 months ending March 1999 show the level of fraud and error in these benefits was £1.37 billion or 8.9 per cent. of the total benefit paid.

  We have set a target for reducing this fraud and error by 10 per cent. by 2002 and 30 per cent. by 2007.

  Mr. Leigh
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on his progress in tackling social security fraud; and which areas are his priorities.[124970]

  Mr. Rooker
  We are determined to combat fraud and error in the Social Security system.

  We have a comprehensive strategy, to safeguard the system from the first to the final payment. For example, we are insisting claimants produce more evidence before Income Support is paid, which will save £1 billion over the Parliament. This comprehensive strategy will help to strengthen public confidence, and thereby encourage their support.

  Mr. Jack
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many additional fraud inspectors the Benefits Agency has employed since 1997.[124981]

  Mr. Rooker
  The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is as follows.

  Number of staff employed in the Benefit Fraud Investigation
  Service (BFIS) and in the Benefit Agency Security Investigation
  Service (BASIS) for the financial years from 1997–98

  Year

  Administration

  Investigation

  Total

  1997–98

  1,069

  3,778

  4,847

  1998–99

  1,697

  3,776

  5,473

  1999–2000

  1,611

  3,699

  5,310

  All Benefits Agency staff involved in processing and paying benefits have a role in preventing and identifying fraud and abuse.

  Child Support Agency
  Mr. Bob Russell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many men have been required by the Child Support Agency to take a second blood test to determine the paternity of a child.[124965]

  Angela Eagle
  The CSA cannot require non-resident parents to take a blood test. In cases of disputed paternity, the CSA will offer a DNA test as a means of resolving the issue, but the alleged parent is not required to take the test. Under our child support reforms, alleged parents who refuse to take a DNA test will be presumed to be the parent of the child in question and child support action will follow.
  80W

  Community Orders
  Mr. David Heath
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what safeguards he will introduce to ensure the welfare of dependants of individuals who have had benefit withdrawn for non-compliance with community orders.[124968]

  Angela Eagle
  Hardship payments will be available for people in vulnerable groups and others at risk of hardship who have had their Jobseeker's Allowance or Training Allowance withdrawn. Similar arrangements already exist for making hardship payments where Jobseeker's Allowance is withdrawn as a result of employment sanctions. Income Support will not be withdrawn altogether, but will be reduced by 40 per cent. or 20 per cent. of the single person's adult rate, subject to their circumstances; premiums for children, other members of the family, disability etc. are not affected. JSA hardship payments are calculated in a similar manner. All claimants entitled to Housing Benefit when sanctioned would continue to receive it.

  Invalid Care Allowance
  Mr. McWalter
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proposals he has to up-rate the £50 earnings limit for those who claim Invalid Care Allowance.[124972]

  Mr. Bayley
  We have no plans to do so. However we understand the need to ensure that financial support for carers remains adequate. Our National Strategy committed us to keeping financial support for carers, including Invalid Care Allowance, under review and we will continue to do that.

  Minimum Income Guarantee
  Ms Rosie Winterton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the progress of the campaign to increase take-up of the minimum income guarantee.[124973]

  Mr. Bayley
  Since the launch of the Minimum Income Guarantee Take-Up Campaign was announced at the end of March, there have already been around 50,000 calls to the tele-claim centre and 24,000 Minimum Income Guarantee claim packs have been sent to pensioners.

  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many pensioners are in receipt of the minimum income guarantee in the North-West region.[124975]

  Mr. Bayley
  There are 226,000 pensioners receiving the minimum income guarantee in the North-West Government Office Region.

  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assessment he has made of the effect of the minimum income guarantee take-up campaign.[124982]

  Mr. Bayley
  The minimum income guarantee take-up campaign is central to our strategy for tackling pensioner poverty.

  Dr. Gibson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what indicator he will use to judge the success of his Department's efforts to increase take-up of the minimum income guarantee.[124960]
  81W
  Mr. Bayley
  We will carry out a comprehensive evaluation of the minimum income guarantee take-up campaign early next year.

  Pensioners Tax Credit
  Mr. Hope
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on proposals to develop a pensioners' tax credit.[124976]

  Mr. Rooker
  We believe that pensioners who have worked hard to provide for their own retirement should be rewarded rather than penalised. We intend to consult later in the year on proposals for a pensioner credit that will reward those who have succeeded in building up modest pensions or other savings.

  Child Poverty
  Mr. Pond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what steps he is taking to alleviate poverty among children in lone parent families.[124978]

  Angela Eagle
  Children of lone parent families are benefiting from the additional £7 billion we are spending on tax and benefit measures to help all families with children.

  The best route out of poverty is through work. The New Deal for Lone Parents, combined with other tax and benefit measures to make sure work pays, will mean more children get the best possible start in life. These measures are a major step in achieving the Government's commitment towards eradicating child poverty, and include:
  Child Benefit (CHB): 36 per cent. increase in rate for eldest child over the period 1997 to 2000. Further above inflation rise from April 2000—CHB now worth £15 pw for eldest child and £10 for subsequent children.
  Income-related benefits: under-I 1 allowance up by £4.70 from last October, and equalised with allowances for children aged 11–16 from April 2000. Support for children under 11 in the income-related benefits has gone up by over 50 per cent. in two years. From October 2000, the child allowance will rise again by £4.35, helping over 3 million children whose parents are on Income Support or Jobseeker's Allowance (Income Based).
  Income Support run-on: to be paid for the first two weeks of work to help lone parents make the transition from benefits to work. Earnings disregards: April 2001, the amount that lone parents on Income Support can earn before loosing part of their benefit increases from £15 to £20 per week.
  Sure Start Maternity Grant: April 2000, payments doubled to £200, and rise again this autumn to £300.
  Working Families Tax Credit: under-11 credit increased by £1.10 over and above indexation from April 2000. Credit for all children under 16 will rise by £4.35 from June 2000. Child maintenance is completely disregarded.
  Childcare Tax Credit: part of WFTC, 70 per cent. of child care costs up to a maximum of £100 for one child and £150 for two or more.
  Child Support Maintenance: reform legislation for child support currently before Parliament. New arrangements will allow lone parents on IS to keep up to £10 a week of any maintenance received.
  Child Tax Credit: to be introduced from April 2001, worth up to £442 a year.
  In addition, £190 million has been invested in the New Deal for Lone Parents over this Parliament, and from May this year invitation letters will go to lone parents with children aged 3 and 4, as well as those with children aged 5 and upwards.
  82W
  Mr. Webb
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list for(a) Great Britain and (b) each region, the number of children who live in households with income below half of the UK average, for each year since 1979.[126327]

  Mr. Bayley
  The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is contained in the Department's Household Below Average Income series which is available in the Library.

  Winter Fuel Payments
  Mr. Edwards
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many pensioners are eligible for winter fuel allowance.[124980]

  Angela Eagle
  Last winter around 10 million pensioners received a winter fuel payment. As a result of extending the scheme to eligible households containing someone aged 60 or over, the number of people who can benefit will increase by up to 1.5 million. We will also make backdated payments to up to 1.9 million people from the start of the scheme in the 1997–98 winter.

  Mr. Webb
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 13 June 2000,Official Report, columns 608–09W, for what reason the date of birth of a person as recorded on the NIRS2 computer system is not regarded as sufficient proof of age for purposes of a claim for a winter fuel payment.[126574]

  Angela Eagle
  The Departmental Central Index (DCI) has information about all people who have a National Insurance number.

  The NIRS computer system is not used directly by Benefits Agency (BA) staff for Winter Fuel purposes. Any information held on the NIRS system is, however, automatically transferred to DCI, and so once this transfer has taken place the information available to Benefit Agency staff on DCI will be the same as that held on MRS.

  Where the date of birth held on DCI has been verified, then this is used as proof of age when considering entitlement to a Winter Fuel Payment (WFP).

  There are a considerable number of records on DCI where although the date of birth is recorded, it is not verified. In these instances it will be necessary for the Agency to obtain verification of the date of birth from the person applying for a WFP.

  Benefits Agency
  Dr. Naysmith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what steps he is taking to improve the ways in which the Benefits Agency communicates with the public.[124983]

  Angela Eagle
  Much has already been done to improve communications—but there remains much more to do.

  We are improving the way we notify and explain decisions to people. We have re-designed leaflets around age groups and life events instead of benefits, making them simpler and easier to follow. A similar structure is planned for our website.

  Stakeholder Pensions
  Mr. McCabe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what progress his Department is making with its proposals for stakeholder pensions.[124963]

  Mr. Rooker
  The Stakeholder Pension Schemes Regulations 2000 were laid on 25 May. Work is progressing for stakeholder pensions to be available from April 2001.

  Mr. Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if he will set out the assumptions behind the predicted stakeholder pension pay-outs published by the Financial Services Authority;[126562]

  (2) what is the expected monthly stakeholder pension for those contributing (a) £30 per month and (b) £40 per month consistent with Decision Tree 3 of the stakeholder discussion paper published by the Financial Services Authority.[126561]

  Mr. Rooker
  The assumptions on which the illustrative pension figures are based are listed on page 14 of the discussion paper "The FSA's approach to the regulation of the conduct of stakeholder pension business" published on 23 May 2000.

  The estimated monthly pension figures in decision tree three are proportionate to the level of contributions (subject to rounding). The estimated pension figures for alternative levels of contributions can therefore be calculated from the information given. For example the expected pension outcomes for a 20 year old contributing £30 a month would be £250 for retirement at 65, and £172 for retirement at 60.

  Bridging Allowance
  Mr. Alasdair Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the current level of the Bridging Allowance; and if he will make a statement.[124881]

  Mr. Wicks
  I have been asked to reply.

  The Bridging Allowance was introduced to provide short-term help for young people awaiting a training place. It is a national scheme, payable for up to eight weeks only. It is not a form of social security benefit and was never intended to support young people in any way over a long period of time.

  The Department is currently taking forward the recommendations in the Social Exclusion Unit's "Bridging the Gap" report: to consider the rationalisation of financial support for young people. As part of this work we will be looking at the future of all financial support available to young people including the Bridging Allowance.

  Social Fund
  Mr. Webb
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what the gross discretionary Social Fund budget for 2000–01 will be, broken down by(a) the community care grant (b) budgeting loans and (c) crisis loans.[125287]

  Angela Eagle
  The gross discretionary Social Fund budget for 2000–01 is £596 million, which will be funded by Annually Managed Expenditure of £138.2 million and loan recoveries of £457.8 million. The community care 84W
  grant budget is £100 million and the gross loans budget is £494 million. Both budgeting loans and crisis loans are paid from the same budget.

  A contingency reserve of £2 million has been retained centrally to provide additional help to any Benefits Agency Districts that face unexpected and unplanned expenditure as a result of a local emergency or disaster.

  Details of individual Benefits Agency District budget allocations were placed in the Library on 3 April.

  Disability Living Allowance
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what have been the administrative costs of the Disability Living Allowance in each of the last five years.[124710]

  Mr. Bayley
  The administration of Disability Living Allowance is a matter for Alexis Cleveland, the Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency. She will write to my hon. Friend.

  Letter from Alexis Cleveland to Mr. Brian Donohoe, dated 15 June 2000:
  The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what have been the administrative costs of the Disability Living Allowance in each of the last five years.
  For the years 1995/1996 through to 1999/2000 the cost of administering the benefit was £104.78 million, £130.99 million, £125.47 million, £125.67 million and £142.5 million respectively. The figures are inclusive of Disability Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance costs. The totals cannot be apportioned into DLA and AA separately.
  As you may be aware we have recently introduced new procedures for assessing claims for DLA/AA to try and improve the accuracy of decision-making. We want to get decisions right first time so that fewer cases go to reconsideration or appeal. Inevitably this has led to some delays in processing cases and the Benefits Agency have been taking action to reduce the backlog as soon as possible. This is the reason for the increase in costs for 1999/2000.
  I hope this is helpful.

  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what measurements of the time taken to process an application for Disability Living Allowance have been made in each of the last five years.[124709]

  Mr. Bayley
  The administration of Disability Living Allowance is a matter for Alexis Cleveland, the Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency. She will write to my hon. Friend.

  Letter from Alexis Cleveland to Mr. Brian Donohoe, dated 15 June 2000:
  The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what measurements of the time taken to process an application for Disability Living Allowance (DLA) have been made in each of the last five years.
  For the years 1996/97 through to 1999/2000 the average number of days taken to clear an application for DLA has been 31, 34, 35 and 43 respectively.
  As you may be aware we have recently introduced new procedures for assessing claims for DLA/AA to try and improve the accuracy of decision-making. We want to get decisions right first time so that fewer cases go to reconsideration or appeal. Inevitably this has led to some delays in processing cases. These delays will hopefully reduce as staff become accustomed to the new procedures and we are taking action to achieve this as soon as possible.
  I hope this is helpful.

  Child Benefit
  Mr. Webb
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the level at which a family premium for families with one or more children under the age of five years could be introduced into the Child Benefit system by the expenditure of £600 million(a) assuming no changes to levels of mean-tested benefits and (b) assuming corresponding changes to levels of mean-tested benefits.[125284]

  Angela Eagle
  The information is in the table.

  Weekly value of family premium

  No corresponding increase in means-tested benefits

  5.70

  With corresponding increase in means-tested benefits

  4.20

  Notes:

  1. The figures provided do not make allowance for the additional administrative and system change costs.

  2. The proportion of families with a child under the age of five has been estimated from the February 2000 5 per cent. scan of the Child Benefit computer system.

  3. Proportions of families on income-related benefits who have a child under the age of five have been estimated from the February 2000 5 per cent. scans of the Income Support and Jobseeker's Allowance computer systems and the May 1998 1 per cent. sample of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit claims.

  4. The overall case loads underpinning the estimates have been controlled to forecast 2001–02 Child Benefit case loads.

  5. Value of family premium rounded to the nearest 10 pence.

  Surveys
  Mr. Hancock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much his Department is spending in the current financial year on representative surveys of its customers; how much was spent in(a) 1998–99 and (b) 1999–2000; and if he will make a statement.[125534]

  Mr. Rooker
  Details of representative surveys of customers and other research carried out under the Department's Research Programme can be found in the Research Yearbook published annually. The information includes costs and objectives. The most recent Yearbook was published in December 1999 and includes all projects undertaken in 1998–99. A copy is available in the Library.

  New surveys commissioned under the Research Programme are normally subject to a competitive tender procedure. This year's commissioning process is under way and therefore the costs for the current financial year are unavailable. The remaining expenditure on representative surveys under the Research Programme can be provided only at disproportionate cost. This is because, for a number of projects, customer surveys are carried out as part of a wider programme of work and disaggregated figures for the survey costs are not held centrally.

  The Department also undertakes representative surveys of customers that are not funded through the Research Programme. Information on their costs is shown in the table.
  86W

  Spending on representative surveys of customers by DSS agencies, the Appeals Service and Corporate Communications

  £000

  1998–99

  1999–2000

  2000–01

  Benefits Agency1

  450

  474

  480

  Child Support Agency2

  -

  20

  -

  War Pensions Agency3

  21

  7

  -

  Appeals Service4

  -

  -

  -

  DSS Corporate

  Communications5

  204

  94

  -

  Note:

  All amounts are rounded to the nearest thousand and exclude VAT.

  Sources:

  1Benefits Agency (BA) Customer Service Team. Figures include field, computer and data collation costs and, as internal costs, are not liable for VAT. Figures are for national surveys only. BA Directorates may conduct local surveys but costs are not held centrally and could be produced only at disproportionate cost.

  2Child Support Agency (CSA). The figure represents a customer survey commissioned by CSA Scotland and North East England Business Unit.

  3War Pensions Agency (WPA). As part of its Business Plan for 2000–01, the WPA will conduct research to identify the services customers require, and will act on the findings. The research has yet to be commissioned.

  4The Appeals Service (AS). AS will commission a customer survey later this year but costs are not yet available.

  5DSS Corporate Communications. The total for 1998–99 includes a small element of qualitative research which it has not been possible to itemise separately. In the current financial year some surveys will be commissioned subject to a competitive tender procedure and cost estimates cannot therefore be provided.

  Asylum Seekers
  Mr. Webb
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the cost, including the administrative costs, of restoring pre-1997 social security entitlements to asylum seekers instead of the vouchers system,(a) per asylum seeker and (b) in total annually; if he will set out the assumptions underlying the calculations and the basis for these assumptions; and if he will make a statement.[125701]

  Mr. Bayley
  It is not possible to provide a reliable estimate of the costs of restoring pre-1996 social security entitlements to asylum seekers. This is because it is not possible reliably to determine what effect the changes made to the support arrangements for asylum seekers in 1996 and those introduced in April 2000 have had in deterring asylum applications.

  Bilateral Social Security Agreement
  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list for the most recent date for which figures are available the number of people from each of the successor states to the former Yugoslavia who were claiming social security benefits in the United Kingdom under the 1958 bilateral social security agreement.[126538]

  Mr. Rooker
  The information is not available in the format requested from the Department's records. These are held on a computer system which identifies the country of current residence, but does not identify whether or not a reciprocal agreement has been used to enhance title to UK benefits.
  87W
  The records do show how many customers we have living in the countries of the former Yugoslavia, but without examination of each individual case we cannot say whether they have benefited from the agreement.

  Numbers living in the countries of the former Yugoslavia

  Number

  Republic of Slovenia

  88

  Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina

  25

  Republic of Croatia

  229

  The Former Republic of Macedonia

  23

  The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

  473

  Income Support
  Mr. Webb
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the cost of making income support mortgage interest payments available after a two months' wait to homeowners who had taken out mortgage payment protection insurance but had suffered an uninsurable event.[125298]

  Mr. Bayley
  It is not possible to say how many people with mortgage protection insurance policies would suffer an uninsurable event.

  Waste Recycling
  Mr. Baker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what percentage of waste produced by his Department was(a) re-used and (b) recycled in the last year for which figures are available.[126634]

  Mr. Bayley
  The vast majority of the Department's waste is paper. Of this approximately 70 per cent. is recycled.

  Pensioner Incomes
  Mr. Webb
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list for(a) Great Britain and (b) each region, the number of pensioners who live in households with income below half of the UK average, for each year since 1979.[126326]

  Mr. Rooker
  The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is contained in the Department's Household Below Average Income series which is available in the Library.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Kosovan Refugees
  Mr. Hilary Benn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of Kosovan refugees who have returned home from the UK in the last 12 months have gone back to(a) their own homes and (b) temporary accommodation; and if he will make a statement.[126079]
  88W
  Mrs. Roche
  Up to 15 June, 2,177 Kosovans had returned permanently from the United Kingdom, of whom 1,731 had arrived under the United Nations High Commission for Refugees Humanitarian Evacuation Programme. According to a Refugee Council survey of permanent returnees on the point of departure up to 9 June, 59 per cent. would be staying in their own house, 36 per cent. would be staying with relatives or friends and 5 per cent. did not specify where they were staying.

  Mr. Hilary Benn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the advice he has received from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees concerning her recommendations as regards the return of Kosovan refugees.[126292]

  Mrs. Roche
  The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has recently issued two papers which address the issue of the return of Kosovan refugees: "Kosovo Albanians in Asylum countries: UNHCR Recommendations as regards Return"; and, UNHCR's "Background Note on Ethnic Albanians Who are in Continued Need of International Protection". Both papers were issued in March 2000, and copies have been placed in the Library.

  Metropolitan Police
  Dr. Cable
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when the medical standards required to join the Metropolitan police were last reviewed; and what plans there are to update them;[126200]

  (2) how many applicants to join the Metropolitan police have been rejected on medical grounds in each of the last five years.[126199]

  Mr. Charles Clarke
  The table sets out how many applicants to join the Metropolitan police have been rejected on medical grounds in each of the last five years:

  Number of applicants

  Total number rejected on medical grounds

  Percentage rejected on medical grounds

  1996

  6,402

  878

  13.7

  1997

  2,845

  443

  15.5

  1998

  6,343

  671

  10.5

  1999

  6,115

  804

  13

  20001

  2,037

  366

  18

  1To 15 June 2000

  The Metropolitan police follow the Guidelines on Medical Standards of Entry to Police Forces issued by the Home Office in March 1998.

  The Home Office is undertaking a review of the guidelines, which it is hoped will be completed later this year.

  Mr. Casale
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will make available the formal response by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis to Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary report, "Winning Consent".[126969]

  Mr. Straw
  "Winning Consent", the Report of an Inspection by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC), was published on 10 January. I refer to the reply I gave my hon. Friend the Member
  89W
  for Enfield, North (Ms Ryan) on 10 January 2000, Official Report, column 21W. I have today arranged for a copy of the Commissioner's formal response to the Report, submitted to me in my capacity as Police Authority for the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), to be placed in the Library.

  The Inspection was carried out as a direct response to a recommendation of the Report of the Inquiry into the death of Stephen Lawrence.

  It was one of the most detailed and thorough Inspections ever carried out by HMIC into specific aspects of policing in one police force, and examined community and race relations policies, and the handling of murder inquiries, in the MPS.

  "Winning Consent" contains 41 recommendations. 29 relate to diversity issues, and 12 are concerned with the content of murder investigations.

  I welcome the Commissioner's candid and very positive response. When the Report was published, I said that I expected senior management in the MPS to address the issues in it urgently and with vigour. This response confirms that they have done so. It demonstrates how much has already been achieved by the Metropolitan police in implementing the Report and reflects the Commissioner's total commitment to meet the challenges laid down and to continue the process of improvement.

  The Report makes 41 recommendations. The Commissioner has accepted all of them (except one, which concerns a matter of professional, operational judgment, in the allocation of murder investigations within the Metropolitan police). Many of the recommendations are for action to be implemented over time. The Commissioner explains that there is a specific plan of action in place for each such recommendation; and some recommendations have already been implemented in full.

  A fuller account of my assessment of the Commissioner's response is being placed together with it, in the Library.

  Wrongful Convictions
  Mrs. Ellman
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress he is making in providing support for people on their release from prison following wrongful conviction.[126168]

  Mr. Straw
  My officials have initiated discussions with voluntary organisations interested in setting up an advice and counselling service for such people. We expect these discussions to lead to a full scoping study.

  Travellers
  Mr. Pound
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent reports he has received from police forces about their effectiveness in dealing with the problems caused by travellers.[126203]

  Mr. Charles Clarke
  I have received information on this matter from a number of sources, and I am considering urgently with colleagues what action should be taken.

  Road Accidents
  Mr. Bob Russell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will review the legislation governing how long after a road accident a private prosecution can be made; and if he will make a statement on the present limitation.[126186]

  Mr. Charles Clarke
  There are no statutory limitations on the period within which proceedings may be instituted for indictable offences (including those triable either way); but under section 127 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980, proceedings for summary offences must be commenced within six months of the day when the offence was committed, except where there is specific statutory provision for a different time limit to apply to a particular offence. The summary offences in the Road Traffic Act 1988 which are most commonly charged following a road accident, such as careless driving or driving with excess alcohol (sections 3 and 5 respectively), are covered by the general limit in section 127. The position is the same whether the prosecutor is the Crown Prosecution Service (or other public authority) or a private individual.

  The purpose of these time limits is to ensure that summary offences are charged and tried as soon as reasonably possible after their alleged commission, so that the recollection of witnesses is still reasonably clear, and so that there is no unnecessary delay in the disposal by magistrates' courts of the summary offences brought before them.

  Data Protection
  Mrs. Lait
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what advice he has given to the Data Protection Commissioner about the confidentiality of medical patient records under the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998.[126086]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  None.

  The Data Protection Commissioner is fully independent of the Government. In carrying out her functions, she takes advice from no Minister. Rather, it is she who gives advice to the Government on data protection matters.

  Individuals' medical records are covered by the Data Protection Act 1998. The requirements of the 1998 Act, including the Data Protection principles, apply to them as to any other personal data. It will be for the Commissioner to give any advice that might be needed about the particular implications of the 1998 Act given the confidential nature of medical records.

  Deportations
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were deported from the UK in each of the last three years.[125763]

  Mrs. Roche
  The numbers of people removed or departing voluntarily from the United Kingdom under port, illegal entry or deportation procedures between 1997 and 1999 are shown in the table. Data for 1999 are provisional.
  91W

  Passengers refused entry and removed and persons removed or departing voluntarily as a result of illegal entry or deportation action1, 1997 to 1999

  1997

  1998

  19993

  Passengers refused entry and removed

  24,540

  27,600

  31,300

  Removals and voluntary departures under illegal entry procedures2

  4,540

  5,580

  5,220

  Removals and voluntary departures under deportation procedures2

  2,070

  1,720

  21,170

  Total

  31,140

  34,900

  237,680

  1Includes only those voluntary departures taking place after the initiation of such action.

  2Revised data

  31999 data are provisional

  Notes:

  Data are rounded to 10.

  Performance Indicators
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on how each of the agencies and non-departmental bodies relating to his Department performed against their key performance indicators in(a) the last year and (b) the previous two years.[125330]

  Mr. Straw
  [holding answer 12 June 2000]: My Department has four executive agencies and 11 executive non-departmental public bodies which receive public funds. Each of these bodies publishes an annual report and accounts from which more details can be obtained. A summary table showing how each has performed in the years requested has been placed in the Library. Results for 1999–2000 are still subject to final audit.

  Penalty Clauses
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 17 May 2000,Official Report, columns 168–69W, on penalty clauses, what (a) was the financial compensation and (b) were the damages which were recovered from the private sector companies listed.[125364]

  Mr. Straw
  Further to the reply I gave my hon. Friend on 17 May 2000,Official Report, columns 168–69W, on the amount of financial compensation and damages recovered from private sector companies previously listed, the information requested is given in the table.

  Company

  Financial compensation

  Damages

  Rebound ECD

  663,240

  155,152

  Medomsley Training Services Ltd.

  10,049

  35,579

  Premier Monitoring Services Ltd.

  199,500

  GSSC of Europe Ltd.

  38,500

  -

  Securicor Custodial Services Ltd.

  84,000

  -

  Siemens

  -

  380

  Visas (China)
  Mr. Cummings
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received concerning relaxing the visa requirements for citizens of the People's Republic of China who wish to holiday in the UK.[125430]
  92W
  Mrs. Roche
  I have received one representation this year concerning relaxation of the visa requirements for citizens of the People's Republic of China who wish to visit the United Kingdom.

  Queen's Golden Jubilee
  Mr. Peter Ainsworth
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received regarding a national celebration to mark the Golden Jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen.[126874]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  Proposals and suggestions have been received from a number of cultural, sporting and commercial organisations and members of the public. Planning for the celebration of Her Majesty's Golden Jubilee is, however, at a very early stage. A programme of celebrations will be announced in due course.

  Sunday Observance Act
  Mr. Baker
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if it his policy to seek to disapply the provisions of the Sunday Observance Act 1780 in respect of 31 December 2000.[126803]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  Yes. On 17 January this year, we laid before Parliament the draft Deregulation (Sunday Dancing and Licensing) Order 2000 which would remove the prohibition in the Sunday Observance Act 1780 on charging for public dances on Sundays. The Deregulation Committees of both Houses have indicated their readiness, subject to certain changes being made, to recommend approval of the Order. We have considered their comments carefully and have invited further comments from the Committees on changes to the proposals before formally re-laying the Order. We hope that the Order will be in force before 31 December 2000, which is a Sunday.

  City Status Applications
  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to announce the successful applications for city status to celebrate the Millennium.[126575]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  No date has yet been set for the announcement of the new city. 39 applications have been received for the Millennium grant of city status from towns in the United Kingdom. Each application is being considered on its individual merits and a recommendation will be made to Her Majesty The Queen in due course on which town should be honoured.

  Football Hooligans
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what reports he has received on the behaviour of ticketless English fans in Eindhoven.[126664]

  Mr. Straw
  The behaviour of all England fans visiting Eindhoven for the England v Portugal match was widely praised, not least by the city mayor and local police commander.

  Departmental Reviews
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the reviews
  93W
  undertaken by his Department and the date those reviews were completed since 1997; and if he will make a statement.[126554]

  Mr. Straw
  Since 1997, the Home Office has undertaken and completed a large number of reviews and reports, details of which are not held centrally and could be collated only at disproportionate cost. However, examples of the range of reviews are; the Prisons-Probation review (August 1998); reviews of financial regulations in the Crown dependencies (November 1998); and, a review of the treatment of vulnerable and intimidated witnesses (June 1998). Copies of these reports have been previously placed in the Library.

  A number of reviews have also been carried out by the Police, Prisons, Probation and Fire Services Inspectorates.

  Prisons
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 9 June 2000,Official Report, column 394W, on prisons, if he will give details of the RESPOND programme including the training required and the amount of training undertaken to date; if he will give details of the targets set for training in this area; and if he will make a statement. [126558]

  Mr. Boateng
  The RESPOND programme is designed to promote racial equality for staff and prisoners, it consists of five main strategies:confronting harassment and discrimination;
  ensuring fairness in recruitment, appraisal, promotion and selection;
  developing and supporting minority ethnic staff;
  ensuring equal opportunities for minority ethnic prisoners; and recruiting minority ethnic staff.

  To confront racial harassment and discrimination the RESPOND programme highlights the need for mandatory racial harassment training for all staff. I referred in the reply I gave the hon. Gentleman on 9 June 2000, Official Report, column 394W, to the current position against the target set for completion of this training.

  To ensure fairness in recruitment, appraisal, promotion and selection the RESPOND programme highlights the need to review training for assessors and promotion board members. Assessors are provided with training at Job Simulation and Assessment Centres at every assessment event. This affords a unique opportunity to update any training they may have previously received. Training is mandatory for staff acting as promotion board members. Training for promotion board members has been reviewed. A new training course entitled Recruitment, Promotion and Selection Interviewing is being piloted. Delivery of the course and its content will be continually evaluated.

  To ensure equal opportunities for minority ethnic prisoners, the RESPOND programme highlights the need to review the race relations training provided to Prison Officers including that contained in their basic training. The provision of local race relations training to all staff working in prisons is mandatory. As far as practicable, this training should be repeated every three years. In the period between the 1996–97 and 1998–99 financial years, there was a steady increase in the delivery of this training
  94W
  with 3,594, 4,157 and 5,617 staff trained in each year. A new local race relations training pack was launched earlier this year which will further encourage the delivery of this training. The Prison Service Order 2800 Race Relations was strengthened in February 2000 to require the Governing Governor or Deputy Governor to chair the Race Relations Management Team. To enable this, a training course is being provided in partnership with the National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders. These courses will be completed in July 2000. A consultation phase has begun as part of a review of the basic training provided to Prison Officers with a view to introducing a new course. In the 1999–2000 financial year, 1,122 new Prison Officers undertook basic training. It is anticipated that during the 2000–01 financial year 1,400 new Prison Officers will require basic training.

  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the date each report by Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons was(a) received by the Home Office and (b) published, in each of the last two years; and if he will list those reports which are currently with his Department, but are yet to be published and the date they were received. [126557]

  Mr. Boateng
  The information is given in the table.

  Reports submitted to Home Secretary from 13 June 1998 to 13 June 2000

  Establishment

  Received

  Published

  Establishment Reports

  Gloucester1

  12 May 1998

  17 June 1998

  Wellingborough1

  12 May 1998

  18 June 1998

  Winchester1

  22 April 1998

  24 June 1998

  Shrewsbury1

  21 April 1998

  1 July 1998

  The Mount1

  12 May 1998

  10 July 1998

  The Verne1

  2 June 1998

  29 July 1998

  Long Lartin1

  5 June 1998

  17 August 1998

  Bedford1

  7 July 1998

  9 September 1998

  Werrington

  3 July 1998

  23 September 1998

  Stafford

  16 July 1998

  24 November 1998

  Everthorpe

  30 July 1998

  13 October 1998

  Belmarsh

  31 July 1998

  8 October 1998

  Eastwood Park

  11 August 1998

  29 September 1998

  Highpoint

  12 August 1998

  29 September 1998

  Woodhill

  12 August 1998

  2 October 1998

  North Sea Camp

  29 September 1998

  8 January 1999

  Birmingham

  16 October 1998

  13 January 1999

  Albany

  15 December 1998

  12 March 1999

  Blakenhurst

  10 December 1998

  16 February 1999

  Chelmsford

  18 December 1998

  9 March 1999

  Aylesbury

  11 August 1998

  28 October 1998

  Haslar

  11 September 1998

  11 December 1998

  Nottingham

  13 August 1998

  2 December 1998

  Sudbury

  17 August 1998

  16 October 1998

  Norwich

  28 September 1998

  16 December 1998

  Thorn Cross

  16 October 1998

  12 January 1999

  Kirkham

  7 December 1998

  5 March 1999

  Askham Grange

  16 December 1998

  2 March 1999

  Feltham

  17 December 1998

  8 February 2000

  The Wolds

  9 December 1998

  16 April 1999

  Doncaster

  8 January 1999

  30 March 1999

  Leicester

  30 January 1999

  18 March 1999

  Brockhil

  13 February 1999

  28 April 1999

  Elmley

  14 January 1999

  19 March 1999

  The Weare

  25 January 1999

  21 April 1999

  Styal

  3 February 1999

  14 May 1999

  Risley

  3 February 1999

  14 May 1999

  Hindley

  3 February 1999

  29 April 1999

  Lincoln

  24 February 1999

  22 April 1999

  Liverpool

  19 March 1999

  17 June 1999

  Wymott

  12 April 1999

  22 July 1999

  New Hall

  15 April 1999

  16 July 1999

  95W

  Reports submitted to Home Secretary from 13 June 1998 to 13 June 2000

  Establishment

  Received

  Published

  Highdown

  10 May 1999

  13 July 1999

  Huntercombe

  12 May 1999

  16 July 1999

  Wormwood Scrubs

  24 May 1999

  28 June 1999

  Reading

  18 June 1999

  8 October 1999

  Exeter

  29 June 1999

  12 August 1999

  Bristol

  7 June 1999

  20 July 1999

  Bullwood Hall

  16 August 1999

  27 October 1999

  Preston

  16 August 1999

  15 October 1999

  Parc

  30 July 1999

  14 October 1999

  Swansea

  14 September 1999

  21 December 1999

  Foston Hall

  29 September 1999

  15 February 2000

  Wandsworth

  13 October 1999

  17 December 1999

  Hatfield

  14 September 1999

  2 December 1999

  Wayland

  23 September 1999

  2 November 1999

  Hollesley BC

  29 September 1999

  8 December 1999

  Rochester

  27 October 1999

  21 January 2000

  Onley

  27 October 1999

  4 February 2000

  Guys Marsh

  15 October 2000

  14 January 2000

  Feltham

  25 November 2000

  8 February 2000

  Dorchester

  15 November 2000

  28 January 2000

  Pentonville

  6 January 2000

  5 April 2000

  Portland

  11 January 2000

  21 March 2000

  Altcourse

  24 January 2000

  19 April 2000

  Werrington

  6 January 2000

  1 March 2000

  Ashwell

  21 January 2000

  5 April 2000

  Lowdham Grange

  24 January 2000

  27 April 2000

  Glen Parva

  9 February 2000

  10 May 2000

  Belmarsh

  4 February 2000

  4 May 2000

  Littlehey

  4 February 2000

  11 April 2000

  Brockhill

  31 January 2000

  15 March 2000

  Buckley Hall

  9 February 2000

  —

  CSCs

  9 February 2000

  22 March 2000

  Shepton Mallet

  22 March 2000

  9 May 2000

  Blantyre House

  21 March 2000

  —

  Wormwood Scrubs

  14 April 2000

  —

  Eastwood Park

  19 April 2000

  —

  Lindholme

  27 April 2000

  —

  Lewes

  23 May 2000

  —

  Low Newton

  25 May 2000

  —

  Featherstone

  6 June 2000

  —

  Usk

  7 June 2000

  —

  Channings Wood

  8 June 2000

  —

  Other Reports

  Lifer Thematic

  —

  6 April 1999

  Annual Report 1997–98

  23 February 1999

  14 April 1999

  Suicide Thematic

  6 April 1999

  19 May 1999

  Annual Report 1998–99

  7 April 2000

  13 June 2000

  1Submitted prior to 13 June 1998 but published after that date

  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer to the right hon. Member for Maidstone and The Weald (Miss Widdecombe) on 8 May 2000,Official Report, column 302–05W, on the number of prisoners in work, (a) if he will break down the work undertaken by the 162 prisoners at HMP Coldingley engaged in other occupations and the 215 prisoners engaged in prison maintenance work, (b) if there are further prisoners engaged in work at HMP Kirklevington and HMP Mount and (c) what the reasons are for the figure of 223 prisoners engaged in wing cleaning work at HMP Usk; and if he will make a statement.[126543]

  Mr. Boateng
  The breakdown of prisoner occupation for Coldingley is set out in the table. Other occupations include offending behaviour programmes, induction and community service.
  96W
  Kirklevington is a resettlement prison and in addition to the numbers of prisoners employed as shown in my reply to the right hon. Member for Maidstone and the Weald (Miss Widdecombe), on 8 May 2000, Official Report, columns 302–05W the remainder either attend college courses or are employed by companies outside the establishment.

  At The Mount more up-to-date information shows an additional 40 prisoners employed in the categories shown in my reply to the right hon. Member for Maidstone and the Weald (Miss Widdecombe), on 8 May 2000, Official Report, columns 302–05W. The remainder are occupied on offending behaviour programmes, basic and key skills education and physical education courses.

  The figures given for Usk in my reply to the right hon. Member for Maidstone and the Weald (Miss Widdecombe), on 8 May 2000, Official Report, columns 302–05W cover both Usk and Prescoed. There were 20 prisoners engaged on wing cleaning. The remaining 203 were engaged on craft work, education and offending behaviour programmes and should have been shown under "other occupations".

  Number

  Other occupations

  142

  Orderlies

  15

  Prison maintenance

  5

  Total

  162

  Non-Prison Enterprise Services workshops

  7

  Prison Enterprise Services workshops

  168

  Kitchen

  17

  Wing cleaners

  23

  Total

  215

  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer to the right hon. Member for Maidstone and The Weald (Miss Widdecombe), on 8 May 2000,Official Report, column 305–07W, on prison workshops, for what reasons HMPs Kirklevington, Usk, Wayland and Weare were not included; and if he will make a statement.[126541]

  Mr. Boateng
  Kirklevington, Usk and Weare prisons were not included in the answer because there are no industrial workshops at these establishments.

  The average length of the working week for Wayland prison is 16 hours.

  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the prisons, by prison category, which have received additional funding for special projects under funding made available through the Comprehensive Spending Review; if he will give details of the projects; and if he will make a statement.[126553]

  Mr. Boateng
  Details of prisons, by prison category which have received additional funding through the comprehensive spending review have been placed in the Library.
  97W
  The tables that have been placed in the Library show allocation of funding through the Comprehensive Spending Review for 1999–2000 and 2000–01 respectively.

  Allocations for 1999–2000 are split into categories as follows:
  bail information schemes funding to improve prisoners' access to and quality of bail information;
  education funding to expand education provision to include delivery of accredited basic skills;
  offending behaviour programmes funding to increase the number of accredited offending behaviour programmes delivered;
  drugs—funding to implement the prison service Drug Strategy, to provide treatment for drug misusers and measures to reduce the supply of drugs into prisons;
  welfare to work—funding to develop schemes to improve offenders' access to employment; and
  juvenile estate—funding to provide a distinct under 18 estate, with a regime tailored to the population.
  Allocations for 2000–01 are split into allocations for 'drugs' and 'other'.

  The information in the tables is set out by prison by current prison category. The prisons are grouped by area and separately for 1999–2000 and for 2000–01 reflecting changes in Prison Service areas.

  Police Manpower
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total number of(a) police officers, (b) civilian staff and (c) special constables, per head of population, in each police force in Great Britain and in total in (i) 1979, (ii) 1987 and (iii) each year since 1992.[126228]

  Mr. Charles Clarke
  I am responsible only for the police service in England and Wales. The available information on police officers has been placed in the Library, and is in the form of population per police officer. Information on civilian support staffing numbers in 1979 and 1987 is not available in a format that would allow comparisons to be made with population on a force by force basis at reasonable cost. However, the aggregate totals for civilian support staff numbers for 1979 and 1987 show that there was one civilian to 1,441 of the population in March 1979 and one civilian to 1,234 of the population in March 1987. Data on the number of special constables have only been collected with regularity since September 1995.

  Research Projects
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the research projects(a) being undertaken and (b) recently commissioned by his Department; and if he will make statement.[126555]

  Mr. Straw
  My Department undertakes a wide range of research activities that support the development of information-led policy, including scientific and engineering research, market and opinion research and social research.

  My Research, Development and Statistics Directorate conduct social research supporting all seven Home Office aims. I have placed a copy of the Directorate's work programme for this financial year in the Library and it will be made available on the Home Office website later this month.
  98W
  The Fire Research and Development Group (FRDG) undertake research in support of Home Office aim seven. I have placed a copy of a table showing the current and planned FRDG research projects in the Library.

  For the available information on market and opinion research, I refer to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Bath (Mr. Foster), on 8 June 2000, Official Report, columns 373–74W. In addition to this my Department is currently undertaking the following research:
  "What else works"—for aim four, reducing in reoffending. Research commissioned from the University of York to examine effective psychological models, other than cognitive behavioural methods, for reducing reoffending which, on the basis of academic research have the potential for application with an offender population, and which address the gaps in current practice.
  Fire Service efficiency, Control and Communications—An evaluation of issues related to the future provision of fire service control rooms and radio communications.
  Two research projects commissioned by the Assessment and Consultancy Unit (ACU) to establish the reliability and validity of its assessment centres for the police Accelerated Promotion scheme.
  An assessment of the fairness of the Police Initial Recruit Tests for applicants from ethnic minorities.

  Porton Down
  Mr. Key
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the cost to date of the investigation by Wiltshire Constabulary into the Chemical and Biological Defence establishment at Porton Down; and how many(a) police officers and (b) civilians are employed on it.[126499]

  Mr. Charles Clarke
  I understand from the Wiltshire Constabulary that the cost of the investigation so far is estimated at £335,000; and that 16 police officers (including two Ministry of Defence police officers) and five civilians are currently employed on it.

  Mr. Key
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people(a) have voluntarily contacted the police, (b) the police have contacted and (c) have contacted designated support groups and their helplines in connection with the Wiltshire Constabulary inquiry into events at Porton Down.[126792]

  Mr. Charles Clarke
  I understand from the Wiltshire Constabulary that, although the information is not available in precisely the form requested, they are aware of around 700 people who have at one time or another expressed interest or concern in the events which gave rise to the inquiry, and that they have been in touch with about 300 people in connection with the inquiry.

  Assets (Civil Forfeiture)
  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the compatibility of the proposals on civil forfeiture of assets in Chapter 5 of the Performance and Innovation Unit report, Receiving the Proceeds of Crime, with the European Convention on Human Rights; and if he will make a statement.[126597]

  Mr. Charles Clarke
  We have given this issue careful consideration. It is my intention that the proposals for legislation which I bring forward to Parliament on civil forfeiture will be compatible with the Convention.

  Detention Centre, Doncaster
  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects the new detention centre near Doncaster to open; what its initial and full capacity will be; and if he will make a statement.[126593]

  Mrs. Roche
  The Immigration Service will start to use the new Immigration Detention Centre within the grounds of Lindholme Prison on 10 July. At full capacity Lindholme Detention Centre will house 112 male detainees aged 21 and over. The allocation of immigration detainees into the establishment will be phased over a four week period with 28 detainees being sent to the Centre each week.

  Global Cultural Diversity Congress
  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answers of 12 June 2000,Official Report, column 518W, and 17 March 2000, Official Report, column 376W, if he will place in the Library the text of the review conducted by the Chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality into the collapse of the Global Cultural Diversity Congress.[126537]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 17 March 2000,Official Report, columns 376–77W.

  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide a breakdown of the total cost to public funds of the collapse of the Global Cultural Diversity Congress.[126552]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  Until the report of the findings of the liquidator, it is not possible to provide a breakdown of the total cost to public funds.

  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what(a) reports have been received by his Department from and (b) discussions have been held with, the liquidator in respect of Global Cultural Diversity Congress 2000 Ltd.[126560]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  On 28 March we were sent a copy of the "Report to Creditors" which was sent to all known creditors, including potential creditors.

  No discussions have been held with the liquidators.

  Illegal Entrants
  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received from foreign Governments regarding the civil penalty for carrying clandestine illegal entrants under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.[126530]

  Mrs. Roche
  Since the civil penalty provisions of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, were introduced in Dover and Coquelles on 3 April, we have received four inquiries about them from foreign Embassies in London. These have taken the form of three fax messages, two from the Polish Embassy and one from the Czech Embassy, and a telephone call from the Spanish Embassy. All were asking about procedures, and all four were directed to the Civil Penalty
  Central Administration Unit (CPCAU) which was set up to administer the civil penalty 100W
  provisions. No representations or other form of communication on this matter from any foreign government have been received.

  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many(a) companies have gone into (i) receivership and (ii) liquidation and (b) individuals been declared bankrupt as a result of inability or failure to pay the civil penalty for carrying clandestine entrants under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.[126532]

  Mrs. Roche
  As far as I am aware, the answer to all these questions is none. But the road haulage industry has nothing to fear from the civil penalty provisions of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, provided that the driver of the vehicle checks his load before embarking for the United Kingdom to ensure that there are no clandestine illegal entrants on board.

  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons have been served with civil penalty notices under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 for carrying clandestine illegal entrants in their vehicles; what type of vehicle was involved in each case; what the level of the penalty was in each case; what the nationality of the person served with the penalty was in each case; how many companies have been served with the penalty(a) in addition to and (b) instead of persons directly responsible for driving the vehicles; how many appeals have been entered against the penalties; and how many of them have been successful; and if he will make a statement.[126531]

  Mrs. Roche
  Between 3 April, when the civil penalty provisions of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 were introduced, and 11 June, penalties were imposed in respect of 189 separate incidents where vehicles were found to contain clandestine illegal entrants. The vehicles comprised 177 heavy lorries, four vans and eight private motor cars.

  In 56 cases, the driver of the vehicle was British. The 131 other cases involved four drivers who were Austrian, five Belgians, two Bosnians, four Bulgarians, five Czechs, four Dutch, 27 French, 15 Germans, four Hungarians, two Irish, 12 Italians, five Lithuanians, one Luxembourgeois, ten Poles, three Portuguese, one Romanian, five Slovaks, six Slovenians, ten Spaniards, one Tunisian and five Turkish. In two cases, the driver was a stateless person. In all but 26 cases, the nationality of the driver was the same as that of the company which owned the vehicle. Where there were differences they were as follows. Two British drivers were driving Irish-owned vehicles; and in one case each, British drivers were driving vehicles owned in France and Italy. Two Belgian drivers were driving vehicles owned in Italy. Two Lithuanian drivers were driving vehicles owned in Austria. In one case each, French drivers were driving vehicles owned in Belgium, Germany, Spain and Austria. In one case each, Turkish drivers were driving vehicles owned in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands. In one case, each Slovak drivers were driving vehicles owned in Germany and the Czech Republic. One driver from Luxembourg was driving a vehicle owned in Austria; one driver from Croatia was driving a vehicle owned in Italy; one driver from Hungary was driving a vehicle owned in Austria, one driver from Bulgaria was driving a vehicle owned in Germany; one driver from Tunisia was driving a vehicle owned in Italy; one driver from Spain was driving a vehicle owned in

  101W
  Italy; one driver from Slovenia was driving a vehicle owned in Italy; one Dutch driver was driving a vehicle owned in Germany; and, one German driver was driving a vehicle owned in Austria. The two drivers who were stateless were both driving their own vehicles.

  In every case, the driver of the vehicle was served with a penalty notice. In addition, in all but 11 of the cases cited, penalty notices were also served on the owners or hirers of the vehicle. In 26 cases this involved the serving of penalty notices on more than two persons or companies in respect of a single incident.

  In each case, the level of the penalty was £2,000 per clandestine illegal entrant detected. The penalties imposed ranged from £2,000 (one illegal entrant detected) to £100,000 (50 illegal entrants detected).

  One hundred and one letters of objection have been received, in which the responsible person has sought to show why the penalty should not be levied, and thus far two have been successful.

  Passport Agency
  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost is to public funds of the establishment of the UK Passport Agency's press office; how many press officers are to be employed; what salaries they are to be paid; and if he will make a statement.[126527]

  Mrs. Roche
  The United Kingdom Passport Agency is establishing a press office. There will be one press officer, working to the Agency's Head of Communications, whose job will also encompass market research, writing information leaflets and liaison with the travel trade. The salary will be in the region of £22,000.

  Asylum and Immigration Act 1996
  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions have been brought to date under section 8 of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996.[126528]

  Mrs. Roche
  One.

  Compulsory Voting
  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his policy is on the introduction of compulsory voting at(a) local and (b) national elections.[126539]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  The Government have no plan to introduce compulsory voting at either local or national elections.

  Detention Centres
  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his planned timetable is for establishing and bringing into operation the detention centres at(a) Thurleigh, (b) Harmondsworth and (c) Aldington.[126594]

  Mrs. Roche
  We are in the process of selecting private sector suppliers to design, build and operate all three centres. The competition is being run under European 102W
  Community Procurement Rules. Our timetable is to take delivery of the buildings and to start up operations within approximately 12 months.

  Taskforces
  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what task forces have been set up by his Department; when each was set up; if he will list their members and the remuneration received in each case; and if he will make a statement.[126526]

  Mr. Straw
  The Home Office has set up the following task forces, which include or included non-public servants, since May 1997:Task Force on Youth Justice (established June 1997, reported July 1998);
  Human Rights Task Force (established January 1999); and
  National Crime Reduction Task Force (established March 2000).

  The membership of each of these bodies is contained in the tables. Where appropriate, expenses were paid to some members of these task forces. No other remuneration has been made.

  Task Force on Youth Justice

  Name

  Job title

  Organisation or area

  Norman Warner

  Senior Policy Adviser

  Home Office (Chairman)

  William Atkinson

  Headmaster

  Phoenix High School, Hammersmith and Fulham

  Jonathon Black

  Clerk to the Justices

  Hampshire

  Cathryn Bowker

  Youth Court Prosecutor

  Brighton

  Tony Butler

  Chief Constable

  Gloucestershire Constabulary

  Paul Cavadino

  —

  NACRO and Penal Affairs Consortium

  Anne Fuller

  Lay Magistrate

  Outer London

  Cedric Fullwood

  Chief Probation Officer

  Greater Manchester

  Ian Johnston

  Assistant Commissioner

  Metropolitan police

  David Norgrove

  —

  Marks & Spencer plc

  Denise Platt

  —

  Local Government Association

  Teresa Reynolds

  —

  Victim Support

  Joan Webster

  Chief Superintendent

  Gwent Constabulary

  Geoffrey Wicks

  Stipendiary Magistrate

  Inner London

  Andrew Williamson

  Director Social Services

  Devon

  Note:

  Plus officials from the Home Office, Department of Health and Lord Chancellor's Department

  Human Rights Task Force

  Name

  Job title

  Organisation or area

  Mike O'Brien (chair)

  Minister of State

  Home Office

  Ross Cranston

  Solicitor General

  —

  Jane Kennedy

  Parliamentary Secretary

  Lord Chancellor's Department

  Pam Giddy

  —

  Charter 88

  Lord Harris of Haringey

  —

  Local Government Association

  Ian Holding

  —

  Association of Chief Police Officers

  Francesca Klug

  —

  Human Rights Incorporation Project

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  Human Rights Task Force

  Name

  Job title

  Organisation or area

  Anne Owers

  —

  Justice

  Garry Patten

  —

  Crown Prosecution Service

  Sarah Spencer

  —

  Institute for Public Policy Research

  Alison Sutherland

  —

  Local Government Association

  Veena Vasista

  —

  The 1990 Trust

  John Wadham

  —

  Liberty

  Note:

  Plus officials from the Cabinet Office, Home Office and Lord Chancellor's Department.

  National Crime Reduction Task Force

  Name

  Job title

  Organisation or area

  Charles Clarke (chair)

  Minister of State

  Home Office

  David Phillips (vice-chair)

  Chief Constable

  Kent Constabulary

  David Henshaw (vice-chair)

  Chief Executive

  City of Liverpool

  Michael Barber

  Head of Standards & Effectiveness Unit

  DfEE

  Ron Kerr

  Director of Operations

  NHS Executive

  Keith Povey

  —

  HMIC

  Richard Childs

  Chief Constable

  Lincolnshire Police

  Det. Ch. Supt. Lee Weavers

  Head of Crime

  Essex Constabulary

  Chief Supt. Ron Hope

  Divisional Commander

  Islington

  Steve Mycio

  Deputy Chief Executive

  Manchester City Council

  Jo Williams

  Director of Social Services

  Cheshire County Council

  Ruth Henig

  —

  Association of Police Authorities

  David Walton

  Chief Probation Officer

  Staffordshire

  Neil Wragg

  Chief Executive

  Youth at Risk

  Wendy Thomson

  Director of Inspections

  Audit Commission

  Note:

  Plus officials from the Home Office

  Television Licences
  Mrs. Gordon
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women were sent to prison having defaulted on a fine imposed for using a television without a licence in each of the last five years. [126460]

  Mr. Boateng
  The information requested is given in the table. This information is also published in "Prison statistics England and Wales" a copy of which is in the Library.

  Receptions of female fine defaulters into prisons in England and Wales for using a television without a licence.

  Year

  Number

  1995

  235

  1996

  89

  1997

  61

  1998

  41

  1999

  24

  Cycle Parking (London)
  Mr. Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what assessment he has made of the value of the bans on cycle parking in central London for security purposes; and how many cycles have been used in terrorist offences since 1970;[126408]

  (2) if he will discuss the ban on chaining cycles to railings outside public buildings in London with the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis with a view to removing it.[126407]

  Mr. Straw
  Discussions have taken place with the Metropolitan Police and we are satisfied that the wide range of protective security measures taken by the police to improve security of the streets in light of current terrorist threats, have been devised and maintained solely to counter such threats. As the threat diminishes, so too will the need for restrictive security measures.

  Bicycles have been used as a terrorist weapon in the United Kingdom on four occasions since 1970:

  29 August 1985: Belfast

  30 March 1990: Newry

  13 August 1994: Bognor Regis

  13 August 1994: Brighton

  Asylum Seekers
  Mr. Fallon
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the total cost to the public departments of dealing with asylum seekers in 2000–01; and what was the total cost in 1999–2000.[126088]

  Mrs. Roche
  The Home Office and the Department of Health made payments totalling £590 million for supporting asylum seeking adults, families and children in 1999–2000. The costs of asylum support depend on a wide variety of factors and estimates for 2000–01 remain under review. The Home Office has a provisional allocation of £300 million for the support of adults and families in 2000–01.

  Dr. Harris
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if asylum seekers from Zimbabwe are liable to be fast-tracked through the asylum determination process.[125126]

  Mrs. Roche
  All asylum cases are considered on their individual merits in accordance with the United Kingdom's international obligations. While it is sometimes necessary, in managing the Immigration system as a whole, to prioritise cases or groups of cases on the basis of nationality where there is a compelling reason for doing so, the number of Zimbabwean asylum applications remains low and they are currently not afforded any special priority as a result of their nationality.

CABINET OFFICE

  Government Car and Despatch Agency
  Mr. Redwood
  To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to her answer of 13 June 2000,Official Report, column 614W, how many cars have been

  105W
  purchased by the Government Car and Despatch Agency since May 1997 other than through the Government Car Service.[126867]

  Mr. Ian McCartney
  Since May 1997, the Government Car and Despatch Agency has purchased four cars other than through the Government Car Service.

  Staff Secondments
  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if she will list the employees from private industry seconded to the Cabinet Office, indicating the names of their employers and the terms and length of their secondment.[124791]

  Marjorie Mowlam
  The Cabinet Office has a long standing practice of taking a small number of secondees from the private sector. This important activity underpins the Government's commitment to developing a modern, flexible, outward focused Civil Service.

  There are currently seven secondees from private industry to the Cabinet Office. There are four two-year secondees, one each from Carillion and PricewaterhouseCoopers, and two from Unilever. There are two one-year secondees, one each from Oracle and British Airways, and one secondee from Microsoft who is with us for eight months.

  In all cases agreements are reached with the external organisation to ensure that the salary reimbursed by the Cabinet Office falls within the Civil Service pay range appropriate to the post.

TREASURY

  Tax Relief (Small Companies)
  Mrs. Curtis-Thomas
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reason the existing tax relief for small companies investing in research and development excludes(a) sole practitioners, (b) partnerships and (c) companies which are not incorporated under the Companies Acts.[126587]

  Mr. Timms
  Research and Development (R&D) tax credits are targeted on companies because the vast bulk of R&D activity is carried on by incorporated businesses. This limitation also keeps the scheme simple and straightforward.

  Knowledge Economy
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what definition is used in the Review of the Knowledge Economy of the goal of universal access to the internet; and if he will make a statement.[126024]

  Mr. Andrew Smith
  The Prime Minister has set the goal of achieving universal access to the internet for all who want it by 2005. Access is defined as including access in the home through a personal computer or other form of appliance (for example a digital TV or games console), or on the move through a mobile appliance, or at a public access point.
  106W
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received concerning the cross-departmental review on the Knowledge Economy; and if he will make a statement.[126051]

  Mr. Andrew Smith
  [holding answer 15 June 2000]: Representations were made by a range of external organisations and individuals during the course of the review. The outcome of the review will be announced as part of the Government's new spending plans for 2001–02 to 2003–04.

  Parliamentary Questions
  Mr. Field
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will answer the written question reference No. 121789 tabled by the right hon. Member for Birkenhead on 9 May.[126563]

  Mr. Andrew Smith
  Shortly.

  NIRS2 Computer System
  Mr. Willetts
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of(a) the current total cost to the Exchequer and (b) the final total cost to the Exchequer of the problems associated with the NIRS2 computer system.[125632]

  Dawn Primarolo
  [holding answer 13 June 2000]: The problems associated with the delayed implementation of the NIRS2 system during 1997–98 have resulted in compensation payments being made by the Inland Revenue and DSS to pension providers and benefit recipients. The total paid so far by the Revenue to pension providers is £46.2 million. The total paid by the DSS to benefit recipients is £2.6 million.

  It is not possible at this stage to estimate the total amounts that will become payable. All costs relating to the correcting of problems with the NIRS2 system itself have been met by Andersen Consulting.

  National Insurance
  Mr. Willetts
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the total of(a) interest so far accrued by the National Insurance Fund as a result of the late disbursement of the age-related rebates on contracted-out money purchase pension schemes and (b) interest so far owing to providers of COMP schemes as compensation for late disbursement of rebates.[125631]

  Dawn Primarolo
  [holding answer 13 June 2000]: In relation to 1997–98, additional interest so far paid to pension providers as a result of late national insurance rebates is some £46.2 million. On the assumption of a 6 per cent. rate of return on gilts, an equivalent amount of interest has accrued to the National Insurance Fund. The amount of interest accrued and the compensation to money purchase schemes specifically cannot be calculated.

  Mr. St. Aubyn
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the revenue implications of levying employer national insurance contributions on(a) private medical insurance offered to employees, (b) employee Christmas parties, (c) rape alarms for employees, (d) sports facilities for employees and (e) nursery facilities for employees.[126183]
  107W
  Dawn Primarolo
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) on 9 February 2000 Official Report, column 216W.

  Limited Liability Partnerships
  Mr. Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the reduction in tax paid by a limited company with a revenue of £50 million per year by converting into a limited liability partnership under the Government's Limited Liability Partnerships Bill.[125344]

  Dawn Primarolo
  The answer to this question will depend on the particular facts, for example the number of members of the limited liability partnership.

  Company Taxation
  Mr. Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he proposes to publish his proposals for bringing taxation of partnerships into line with company taxation.[126048]

  Dawn Primarolo
  There are no proposals to bring the taxation of partnerships into line with company taxation.

  Windfall Tax
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much money has been raised by the windfall tax in(a) 1999 and (b) 2000 to date.[126279]

  Mr. Andrew Smith
  Windfall tax receipts were £2,610 million in December 1997 and £2,614 million in December 1998. There have been no subsequent receipts.

  Taxation (EU)
  Mr. Redwood
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which EU tax proposals currently under consideration could be agreed under qualified majority voting if the current draft of the Treaty of Nice is accepted.[126794]

  Dawn Primarolo
  As the Government's White Paper on the IGC clearly states, the Government are committed to retaining unanimity on tax issues.

  Mr. Redwood
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what definition the Government use of unfair tax competition in their work in the EU on that issue.[126795]

  Dawn Primarolo
  The conclusions of the ECOFIN Council meeting on 1 December 1997 concerning taxation policy state that there is aneed for coordinated action at European level to tackle harmful tax competition in order to help achieve certain objectives such as reducing the continuing distortions in the single market, preventing excessive losses of tax revenue or getting tax structures to develop in a more employment friendly way.

  Tax Credits
  Mr. St. Aubyn
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has for undertaking publicity campaigns ahead of the introduction of integrated child credit and employment credit; and if he will make a statement.[126182]
  108W
  Dawn Primarolo
  The Integrated Child Credit will bring together the different strands of support for children in the Working Families Tax Credit, Income Support/Jobseeker's Allowance and the Children's Tax Credit, to create a seamless system of financial support for children to be paid to the main carer. The adult credit element of WFTC will, along with the Disabled Person's Tax Credit and the Employment Credit component of the New Deal 50 plus, form the foundation of a new employment tax credit which will extend the principle of WFTC to people without children. Paid through the wage packet the employment tax credit will form a single visible instrument, underpinned by the national minimum wage, to make work pay. The new credits will begin to be introduced from 2003.

  The Budget paper "Tackling Poverty and Making Work Pay—Tax Credits for the 21st Century" sets out this next stage of reform in more detail.

  Every effort will be made to publicise and raise awareness of the new credits.

  Mr. St. Aubyn
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the cost implications to public funds of phasing out the working families tax credit and replacing it with integrated child credit and employment credit.[126181]

  Dawn Primarolo
  The cost of introducing the new tax credits will depend on the detailed design parameters. These have yet to be finalised. However an illustrative example of the cost of extending an employment tax credit to people without children is set out in paragraph 3.24 of the Treasury paper "Tackling poverty and Making Work Pay—Tax Credits for the 21st Century".

  Financial Exclusion
  Mr. Loughton
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proposals he has to provide funding to assist less well off people to buy houses under the IDA scheme.[126548]

  Mr. Redwood
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to promote savings by people on low incomes.[126406]

  Dawn Primarolo
  The Government are committed to encouraging people to make provision for financial security throughout their lives. They are seeking to create an environment which promotes savings opportunities for everyone, based on three principles of fairness, flexibility, and confidence and transparency. The Government have already announced measures to extend the savings habit to all, including the introduction of Individual Savings Accounts, stakeholder pensions and all-employee share schemes, as well as working with the financial service providers to tackle financial exclusion.

  Welfare to Work and ONE Review
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received concerning the cross-departmental review on Welfare to Work and ONE; and if he will make a statement.[126895]
  109W
  Mr. Andrew Smith
  A number of representations have been received on the cross-departmental review of Welfare to Work and ONE. The review is making 110W
  excellent progress. In due course details of all aspects of the 2000 Spending Review will be included in a Spending Review White Paper in the normal way.

  Asylum Seekers: Private Sector Accommodation (Contracts)
  Asylum Seekers: Private Sector Accommodation (Contracts)
  Winning Consent: Metropolitan Police Commissioner's Response
  Winning Consent: Metropolitan Police Commissioner's Response
  Financial Fraud in the EU: Requests for Information
  Financial Fraud in the EU: Requests for Information
  Firearms Certficate Holders: Database
  Firearms Certficate Holders: Database
  Lead Shot Restriction Regulations
  Lead Shot Restriction Regulations
  Community Sentence Non-compliance: Instigation of Proceedings
  Community Sentence Non-compliance: Instigation of Proceedings
  Car Number Plates: EU Symbol
  Car Number Plates: EU Symbol
  Demolition in Conservation Areas: Shimizu Judgment
  Demolition in Conservation Areas: Shimizu Judgment
  Imprisonment for Non-payment of Local Taxes
  Imprisonment for Non-payment of Local Taxes
  Postal Services: Parliamentary Questions
  Postal Services: Parliamentary Questions
  New Survey Vessels
  New Survey Vessels
  Seizure of Criminal Assets: PIU Report
  Seizure of Criminal Assets: PIU Report
  Newbridge-on-Wye: Proposed Wood-burning Power Plant
  Newbridge-on-Wye: Proposed Wood-burning Power Plant
  Kosovo: Municipal Elections
  Kosovo: Municipal Elections
  Ethiopia/Eritrea Conflict
  Ethiopia/Eritrea Conflict
  The "Third Way"
  The "Third Way"
  Maternity Care and Ethnic Group Data
  Maternity Care and Ethnic Group Data
  Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease: Surveillance Unit Annual Report
  Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease: Surveillance Unit Annual Report
  NHS Clinical Negligence Claims
  NHS Clinical Negligence Claims
  Departmental Cars
  Departmental Cars