Written Answers of 23 March 2000

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Internet
  Mr. Paul Marsden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what incentives his Department plans to introduce to encourage less expensive methods of access to the Internet for(a) small businesses and (b) home users; and if he will make a statement. [116049]

  Ms Hewitt
  The Government believe that the best way to encourage the provision of low-cost Internet access is by encouraging competition. The success of this policy was shown recently with the announcement by several companies of free or nearly free Internet access packages (including no per minute call charges).

  Longbridge
  Mr. Redwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made following his meeting with Alchemy of the number of jobs expected to be lost at Longbridge. [115836]

  Mr. Byers
  [holding answer 22 March 2000]: Alchemy were unable to give an indication of employment levels.

CABINET OFFICE

  National Training Organisation
  Mr. Neil Turner
  To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what progress has been made towards establishing the central Government national training organisation; and if she will make a statement. [116120]

  Mr. Stringer
  The Central Government National Training Organisation was launched today. The Government made a commitment to establish a National Training Organisation for the civil service in the Modernising Government White Paper.

  The CGNTO aims to:

  Make a reality of the civil services's commitment to lifelong learning and employability;

  identifying training, development and learning needs for the majority of civil servants;

  develop a strategy to address those needs, ensuring that this reflects the Modernising Government Agenda;

  raise standards of training, development and learning across Central Government;

  provide a means of learning from and with other sectors, through NTO network.

  Civil Service
  Ms Rosie Winterton
  To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what research the Cabinet Office has undertaken into equality proofing of performance management in the civil service. [116121]
  614W
  Mr. Stringer
  I have today published a research report by the Institute for Employment Studies on Equality Proofing of Performance Review in the civil service.

  The research was commissioned across 13 representative civil service Departments and Agencies last autumn following concerns about imbalances in performance markings between different groups of staff. This study, and the action to be taken as a result, further underlines the commitment of the civil service to make real progress on diversity.

  I have placed copies of the IES report in the Libraries of the House.

DEFENCE

  BAe Systems
  Mr. Hancock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the BAe Systems contract for an urgent operational requirement in-theatre communications system is intended to replace the current system; what impact it will have on the security of communications of UK forces' security in Kosovo; what is the estimated cost of the system; and if he will make a statement. [113909]

  Mr. Spellar
  The contract with BAe Systems will provide for wide area communications in support of the UK's contribution to the NATO Multi Divisions in Bosnia and Kosovo. The contract is specific to the Balkans and does not affect the Army's other general and much larger and technically more complex communications requirements, such as Project BOWMAN. It will replace the current wide area systems in the Balkans, including Project PTARMIGAN, and allow them to be redistributed for use in other theatres of operations. In addition, the Army's commitment to operations in the Balkans will be reduced by some 260 Royal Signals soldiers by the end of this year. Of these, around 150 will return and others who were preparing for deployment will not go. Both the soldiers and current wide area systems, which will become available for future tasking, are in high demand by Army commanders.

  The contract will provide the backbone of a communications network, including voice, data and facsimile links within the Balkans and back to the UK. The system will maintain the level of security of the communications of UK forces by segregating secure UK traffic from secure NATO traffic and unclassified UK traffic. The contract with BAe Systems is worth up to £23 million and the estimated cost of the entire system is some £25 million (exclusive of VAT).

  RN Vessels
  Mr. Hancock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the status of HMS Kent; when she will be ready for service; what are the causes and cost of the delays; and if he will make a statement. [114764]

  Dr. Moonie
  This is a matter for the Chief Executive of the Defence Procurement Agency. I have asked the Chief Executive to write to the hon. Member.
  615W
  Letter from Sir Robert Walmsley to Mr. Mike Hancock, dated 23 March 2000:
  I am replying to your question to the Secretary of State for Defence about the status of HMS KENT; when she will be ready for service; what are the causes and costs of the delays; and if he will make a statement. This matter falls within my area of responsibility as Chief of Defence Procurement and Chief Executive of the Defence Procurement Agency.
  HMS KENT is currently undergoing post-build weapons trials and safety training. The ship will become operational on 13 December 2000. There has been no delay to this date which has been the basis for planning since construction began.
  During the build of such a complex ship it is not unusual for minor changes to requirements and timings to be made. HMS KENT was built with a new bridge layout, but during Contractor's Sea Trials, options to improve the functionality of the bridge were identified and subsequently contracted for at a cost of £715K. Despite this extra work, HMS KENT was delivered to the Royal Navy by the contractor (now BAE SYSTEMS) on 9 February 2000, ahead of the scheduled Contract Acceptance Date of 8 March 2000.

  Mr. Hancock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost was of producing the RV 'Trinton'; when she will begin sea trials; when she will be put into service; what her mission will be; and if he will make a statement. [115745]

  Dr. Moonie
  RV 'Triton' is currently being built by Vosper Thorneycroft at Southampton. The cost of the ship is approximately £13.5 million, which is being funded by the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA).

  RV 'Triton' will start contractor sea trials in July of this year and will be delivered later in the autumn to begin two years of sea trials to evaluate the hullform as a contender for future warship designs. On completion of the first two years' trials, the ship's role will be as a trials facility to test and evaluate at sea many different equipments and systems, either commercial or military. As a trials platform, RV 'Triton' will be owned by DERA and will not 'enter service' with the Royal Navy in the military use of the phase.

  Sea Eagle Missiles
  Mr. Hancock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department plans to do with its stock of Sea Eagle missiles after they have been removed from service; and if he will make a statement. [115752]

  Dr. Moonie
  Sea Eagle missiles were removed from Royal Navy and Royal Air Force service in April 1999. The missile systems are currently being collected in central locations prior to disposal action being initiated. No final decisions have yet been made about the disposal of the weapons.

  M-1 Submarine
  Mr. O'Hara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if permission has been given to dive to the shipwreck of the experimental submarine M-1. [115704]

  Dr. Moonie
  No permission is required to undertake diving on the wreck of the experimental submarine M-1.

  War Graves
  Mr. O'Hara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what(a) steps he has taken and (b) plans he has to tighten control of (i) unlicensed diving on war graves and (ii) pillaging of naval wrecks. [115705]
  616W
  Dr. Moonie
  My Department, together with others and Diving Associations, has been assisting with the development of a Code of Practice for diving on wrecks. It is hoped that this code will be introduced shortly. Following its introduction, the impact of this code will be assessed. I am able to report that the Ministry of Defence Police have recently charged a man with theft from a war grave and this case is proceeding through the courts. We will take action through the courts wherever appropriate.

  Mr. O'Hara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the(a) name and (b) location of the shipwreck war graves on which permission has been given to dive in the past 12 months. [115703]

  Dr. Moonie
  It is not necessary for divers to obtain permission from my Department in order to dive on wrecks.

  Mr. O'Hara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many(a) applications have been made to and (b) permissions have been given in the last 12 months by his Department to dive on undersea war graves (i) in the Dardanelles, (ii) off Singapore and (iii) elsewhere. [115702]

  Dr. Moonie
  It is not necessary for divers to obtain permission from my Department to dive on undersea war graves.

  Annual Leave Review
  Mr. DuncanSmith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when his Department's review of the rules relating to annual leave for non-industrial civil servants will report; what the terms of reference of the review are; and if he will publish the results of the review. [115922]

  Dr. Moonie
  The Ministry of Defence is not undertaking a formal review of annual leave arrangements for its civilian staff. All conditions of service are kept under regular scrutiny and changes made as appropriate to meet statutory and Departmental requirements. We are currently looking at the provisions for various forms of special leave (paid and unpaid) to see if any changes are necessary.

  Submarine Research (Goats)
  Mr. Baker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many goats have had to be killed on humane grounds after being used in the submarine escape and rescue research programme in the last six months; and if he will make a statement; [115812]

  (2) if goats that fail to respond to training for the submarine escape and rescue research programme are culled; and if he will make a statement. [115811]

  Dr. Moonie
  [holding answer 22 March 2000]: This is a matter for the Chief Executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency. I have asked the Chief Executive to write to the hon. Member.
  617W
  Letter from Sir John Chisholm to Mr. Norman Baker, dated 23 March 2000:
  I have been asked to reply to your two questions on the use of goats in DERA's submarine escape and rescue research programme. I will answer both questions in this letter.
  You asked whether goats that fail to respond to training for the research programme are culled. In fact, the training for the animals is very effective and no animal has ever failed to respond. Training consists of familiarising the animals with the environment where they will be used. This not only minimises the stress to the animals but also improves the quality of the research by ensuring that the research results are unaffected by additional factors such as the animals being handled by people not known to them.
  Your second question asked how many goats have been killed on humane grounds in the last six months. The numbers are as follows:

  Date

  Number of goats

  1999

  September

  3

  October

  0

  November

  12

  December

  0

  2000

  January

  8

  February

  7

  March

  0

  Specialists advise that any experimental use is likely to cause some stress to animals and it is, therefore, preferable in most cases that the animals be killed humanely on completion of the experiment. This action is included in the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. Laboratories can, however, request to re-use animals or to retire stock to the 'field'. This is usually only permitted where the laboratory can demonstrate, with verification by a veterinary surgeon, to the Home Office that the animals have not suffered any lasting harm.
  Prior to re-use in the submarine escape and rescue programme the animals are all inspected by a veterinary surgeon. If an animal is found to be unfit it is humanely killed. Additionally, the veterinary surgeon, the scientists conducting the research and the Home Office have agreed limits to the experiments, based on signs of distress in the animals. If these limits are approached during the experiment the animal will be humanely killed at that point. The veterinary surgeon and the named animal care and welfare officer have unrestricted access to the experiments and can instruct the termination of an experiment at any time.
  I hope this is helpful.

  RAF Halton
  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his policy for effecting the disposal of the families quarters at RAF Halton which are surplus. [115980]

  Dr. Moonie
  A number of surplus Families' Quarters at RAF Halton were sold to Annington Homes Ltd. (AHL) in November 1996 with the bulk of the Married Quarters Estate in England and Wales. Under the terms of the sale agreement MOD is committed to releasing a number of surplus properties to AHL for disposal. Any further surplus properties at RAF Halton will also be released to AHL, and 82 properties have been identified for disposal in this way over the coming months.

  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will state the locations of the families' quarters at RAF Halton which are surplus. [115988]
  618W
  Dr. Moonie
  The surplus properties at RAF Halton are in the area known as the Hospital Site. The road names are:

  Hospital Circular Road

  Longcroft Avenue

  Lambe Road

  Babington Road

  Trenchard Avenue.

  Eighty of these properties are already void and will go back to Annington Homes Ltd. (AHL) for disposal under the terms of the contract agreed with the Ministry of Defence at the time of the sale of the Families' Quarters Estate. Two further properties are currently used for purposes other than housing and will also be offered to Annington Homes for disposal in due course.

  Land Assets
  Mr. Sanders
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what land and property his Department owns in Torquay. [116198]

  Dr. Moonie
  There is only one property owned by the Ministry of Defence in Torquay. This is the Army Careers Information Office, 180 Union Street, Torquay.

CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

  Unification of Europe (Commemoration)
  Mr. Bercow
  To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners, if he will make a statement on the Commissioners' policy in respect of making use of resources in combination with other churches to commemorate the unification of Europe. [115563]

  Mr. Stuart Bell
  The Church Commissioners are required by statute to use their income for the stipends, pensions and housing of clergy of the Church of England. Their funds are therefore fully committed and are not generally available for other purposes.

ENVIRONMENT, TRANSPORT AND THE REGIONS

  Humber Bridge
  Shona McIsaac
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on imposing VAT on tolls, with particular reference to the Humber Bridge. [114899]

  Mr. Hill
  VAT is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The Government have opposed the imposition of VAT on all tolled crossings, not just the Humber Bridge. Whether or not VAT applies to tolls is to be subject of a judgment of the European Court expected this summer.

  Shona McIsaac
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what was the level of debt on the Humber Bridge at the end of April 1997; and how much of the debt has been(a) written off and (b) rescheduled since that date. [114900]
  619W
  Mr. Hill
  Of the debt of £359,307,192 at the end of April 1997, some £62 million owed by the Humber Bridge Board to the Public Works Loan Board was written off in July 1998. Of the balance, some £240 million owed to the Secretary of State was rescheduled and, on the remainder, interest charges were reduced.

  Shona McIsaac
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how much revenue was received by the Treasury from tolls on the Humber Bridge for each of the last five years. [114898]

  Mr. Hill
  The Humber Bridge Board have made the following payments into the consolidated fund as recorded in the Appropriation Accounts:

  Year

  £

  1994–95

  41,473,000

  1995–96

  41,473,000

  1996–97

  41,473,000

  1997–98

  41,473,000

  1998–99

  14,149,000

  The figures for the first four years mainly include grant payments to cover interest that would not otherwise have been met since the bulk of the operating surplus was used to meet interest charges and capital repayments of debts owed to the Public Works Loans Board. Net of grant payments the above receipts were as follows:

  Year

  £

  1994–95

  3,231,000

  1995–96

  2,846,000

  1996–97

  1,600,000

  1997–98

  1,800,000

  Disabled Parking
  Shona McIsaac
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to prevent able-bodied drivers from using parking bays designated for people with disabilities. [115046]

  Mr. Hill
  As I announced on 18 November 1999, the Orange Badge Scheme is to be reviewed this year, and one of the areas we will look at is the enforcement of the Scheme.

  However, it is already an offence under section 47 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to park a vehicle which is not displaying an Orange Badge in an on-street designated disabled persons' parking bay.

  The Orange Badge Scheme does not, however, apply to off-street car parks, whether local authority or privately owned, and enforcement of those disabled persons' parking bays is a matter for the car park operator concerned. In the case of local authority off-street car parks, normally their off-street parking place orders either make it an offence for someone not displaying a valid Orange Badge to park in a disabled persons' parking bay or make it subject to the payment of an "excess charge". In private car parks, we understand it is possible in law for the owners to agree with the local authority that a parking place order be made in respect of that car park.
  620W
  Conditions of use can then be enforced as if it were a local authority car park, with penalties or excess charges levied on offenders.

  Press Office
  Mr. Loughton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) what are the total running costs of his Department's Press Office, including staff salaries, for the year 1999—2000; and what is the estimated cost for the next two years; [115761]

  (2) how many press officers, at what civil service grades, are employed in his Department's Press Office; [115762]

  (3) how many of his Department's press officers have been replaced in each of the last three years. [115763]

  Ms Beverley Hughes
  [holding answer 21 March 2000]: The running costs are:

  Year

  £ million

  1999–2000

  13.1

  2000–01

  23.3

  2001–02

  333

  1 Forecast outturn

  2 Provision

  3 Estimate provision

  These include the staff salaries, overtime, travel and subsistence, training and other administrative costs including regional media activity and press cuttings.

  The number of press officers (full-time equivalent) currently employed by DETR(C) grade is:

  Press officers

  Number

  Senior Civil Service

  1

  Band 7

  10.8

  Band 6

  5

  Band 5

  11

  Band 4

  18

  Band 3

  5

  1 Part-time

  The number of press officers who have joined or left the Media Centre since April 1999 is:

  Left—14

  Joined—17.

  Figures are not available in this format for earlier years.

  Marine Pollution
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to introduce a marine environment Bill to protect the United Kingdom's marine environment from oil spills. [115784]

  Mr. Mullin
  None at present. Shipping is an internationally regulated business and accordingly my Department is in discussion with counterparts in the International Maritime Organisation and with the European Union to determine practical measures for enhanced protection against maritime pollution.

  On 10 February my Department also published a consultants' report as the first stage in a consultative process which could lead to the setting up of Marine

  621W
  Environmental High Risk Areas (MEHRAs) to help protect sensitive marine and coastal environments at particular risk from pollution from shipping.

  Departmental Contracts
  Mr. Don Foster
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list for the financial year 1998–99 the number and total value of contracts let by his Department with external consultants and advisers that(a) have been put out to competitive tender, (b) have not been put out to competitive tender and (c) have been let on a non-commercial basis, stating in each case the names of the individuals or organisations that have carried out the work. [115809]

  Ms Beverley Hughes
  [holding answer 22 March 2000]: The information that has been requested as parts (a) and (b) of the question is not held centrally and cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost. All contracts are awarded using competition unless there are compelling reasons for using single tender action.

  As for part (c), it is a requirement that all my Department's contracts are awarded on a commercial basis in accordance with Government Accounting, Departmental Procurement Guidance, and the UK and EU Regulatory Framework.

  Local Government Bill
  Mr. Jack
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions for what reasons the Local Government Bill [Lords] is not compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights; and if he will make a statement. [115655]

  Ms Armstrong
  There are considerable doubts whether section 2A of the Local Government Act 1986 is compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Clause 91 of the Local Government Bill amends, but also reaffirms, the provisions of section 2A. It is for this reason that it is doubtful whether the Bill is compatible with the ECHR.

  This Government have already said that they intend to remove clause 91 of the Bill and, in its place, provide for the repeal of section 2A of the 1986 Act. The Bill will then be compatible with the ECHR.

  Zone

  Design consultants

  (1) Home Planet

  Zone design and build

  Park Avenue

  Flying creatures, airframe and engineering

  Skyships

  External design of flying creatures

  FiT

  Soundtrack

  David A. Stewart and Steve McLaughlin

  Film

  Hugh Hudson

  (2) Living Island

  Designer

  At Work Ltd.

  Remarkable Pencil Machine

  Edward Miller

  (3) Shared Ground

  Architectural design

  Philip Gurmuchdjian and Shigeru Ban

  Architect

  Stephen Spence Associates

  Initial design

  HP:ICM

  Second Homes
  Mr. Rendel
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) what change there was in the number of second homes owned between January 1995 and January 2000; and if he will make a statement; [115940]

  (2) what estimate he has made of the change in the prevalence of second home ownership England and Wales over the next (a) five and (b) 10 years. [115939]

  Mr. Mullin
  The following table shows estimates from the DETR Survey of English Housing of the number of second homes in England. Like all estimates from sample surveys, they are subject to a certain amount of random variation and are not precise to the level of detail shown. The change between one year and the next should not be regarded as a reliable estimate of longer term trends. Statistics on the number of second homes in Wales are incomplete. No projections of the number of second homes are made.

  Second homes in England: 1994–95 to 1998–99

  Thousand

  1994–95

  215

  1995–96

  185

  1996–97

  203

  1997–98

  224

  1998–99

  248

  Note:

  The table shows second homes in England owned or rented by households with their main residence also in England. It excludes second homes which are the main residence of another household, and those which the owners are intending to sell. Second homes may be either owned or rented.

  Source:

  1994–95 onwards—DETR Survey of English Housing

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

  Millennium Dome
  Mr. Peter Ainsworth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will list the design consultants contracted to undertake work on each of the zones in the dome. [109722]

  Janet Anderson
  [holding answer 11 February 2000]: The companies involved in the design and content of each exhibit zone are set out as follows. The contractual terms of each vary, reflecting the different nature and type of exhibit—both in terms of structure and content.

  623W

  Zone

  Design consultants

  Exhibition designer

  At Work Ltd.

  Construction

  Mivan

  Website

  Common Purpose

  (4) Play

  Design of zone, exhibits and fit-out

  Land Design Studio

  Games suppliers are subcontracted to Land Design Studio

  (5) Body

  Initial concept design

  HP:ICM

  Design and build of zone and exhibits in Explore

  HP:ICM

  Architect and designer of Body structure

  Branson Coates Architects

  Body Show design

  Sting Ltd.

  Exhibition fit-out

  Mice and BNW

  Production designer

  Andrew MacAlpine

  Production team

  The Production Office

  Special effects

  Asylum

  Sound

  M62

  Film (Explore)

  Produced by HP:ICM

  (6) Work and Learning

  Designer

  At Work Ltd.

  Film (Old Work)

  CIC

  Film (Learning)

  BBC and Tesco

  Visuals and computer software (Learning)

  StudioFish Ltd.

  Schoolnet2000 access and equipment

  Tesco

  (7) Money

  Design of zone and exhibits and fit out (The Bank of England provided the £50 notes on display; and the data feed is provided by Reuters)

  Caribiner

  (8) Rest

  Design

  Richard Rogers Partnership

  Soundtrack

  ArtAngel

  (9) Mind

  Design and selection of exhibits

  Office of Zaha Hadid (OZH)

  Design of Engineering our Future

  Johnnie Ball

  Art installations

  Activmedia, Andrew Stevenson, Butterworth and Storm, Debut de Siecle/Big Projects, Escape, Simon Pope, Gavin Turk, GEC Marconi, Helen Chadwick, Hussein Chalayan, Langlands and Bell, Nancy Burson, Neville Brody, New Renaissance, Oven Digital, Richard Brown, Richard Deacon, Ron Muerck, Ryoji Ikeda, Smart Fibres, University of West England, Urs B. Roth

  (10) Faith

  Architectural Design

  Eva Jiricna Architects

  Design of exhibits

  Jasper Jacob Associates

  Film

  BBC

  Sculpture

  David Begbie

  Lighting installation

  James Turrell

  Photographs

  Zo-oid and others commissioned by NMEC

  (11) Timekeepers

  Foam factory equipment

  SRS Interactive

  Construction and assembly

  Mice

  Character creation

  Foundation and Cosgrove Hall

  (12) Self Portrait

  Design, exhibits and fit out

  Caribiner

  The National Portrait

  David Mach

  Sculpture design

  Gerald Scarfe

  (13) Journey

  The sponsor of this zone, Ford, has been responsible for its design, build and fit-out

  (14) Talk

  The sponsor of this zone, BT, has been responsible for its design, build and fit-out

  (15) Our Town story

  Design

  Richard Rogers Partnership

  Content

  Communities across the UK developing performances for their day in the dome

  624W

  UK Sport
  Mr. Faber
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will place in the Library minutes of his meeting with UK Sport on 30 November 1999. [115233]

  Mr. Chris Smith
  Minutes of discussions between Ministers, civil servants, and third parties who have been invited on a confidential basis, are taken for internal use and record and it is not possible to make them public. I can however confirm that the conclusion of the meeting on 30 November 1999 was that relocating athletics would provide better value for public money than proceeding with the platform design.

  £

  1999–2000

  2000–01

  Grant-in-aid

  20,759,000

  20,855,000

  Free entry—for children (1999) and over 60s (2000)

  997,000

  1,424,000

  Extra funds

  1,000,000

  1,400,000

  Purchase and refurbishment of RNAY Wroughton

  Up to 1,000,000

  400,000

  Total

  23,756,000

  24,079,000

  For 1998–99, the Science Museum was allocated £20,281,000.

  Mr. Fearn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what was the increase in funding last requested by the Science Museum in order to fund free admission for adults. [115327]

  Mr. Alan Howarth
  The increase in funding last requested by the Science Museum was for £5.83 million to implement free adult admission from 28 June 2000 to 31 March 2001. Of this, £2 million relates to loss of adult admission income, £1.91 million in compensation for loss of recoverable VAT input tax on operating income and £1.92 million for VAT on capital activity. Similar figures for the National Railway Museum are £1.11 million, of which £700,000 relates to lost adult admission income, £210,000 for VAT on operating income, and £200,000 for VAT on capital activity.

NORTHERN IRELAND

  RUC (Crest)
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what are the dimensions of the RUC crest on police cars in Northern Ireland. [114896]

  Mr. Ingram
  When applied, the size of the crest is normally 284mm x 166mm on a white panel of 305mm x 186mm.

  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the reasons for the RUC crest being removed from police cars in Northern Ireland. [114897]

  Mr. Ingram
  The decision to adopt a new livery was taken after the Royal Ulster Constabulary considered the future livery and the visibility of police vehicles at the scenes of incidents, especially on busy main roads. This work was commissioned by the Association of Chief

  Science Museum
  Mr. Fearn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) when his Department will announce the Government grant to the Science Museum for 2000–01; [115325]

  (2) how much funding his Department gave to the Science Museum in the years (a) 1998–99 and (b) 1999–2000; and how much his Department will grant to the Science Museum in 2000–01. [115326]

  Mr. Alan Howarth
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State wrote to the Chairman of the Science Museum with details of the Museum's funding allocation for the years 1999-2001 on 14 December 1998. The amounts are as follows:

  Police Officers (ACPO) from the Police Scientific Development Branch (PSDB) which recommended the adoption of a livery, commonly known as Battenburg, based on highly reflective large blue and yellow checks which cover the sides of the vehicle and red and yellow chevrons on the rear. It was a specific recommendation of the PSDB that, for safety reasons,
  no other materials, logos or symbols be placed over the blocks of colour on the sides of the vehicle.

  Having considered the Health and Safety implications of this report and the desire to create a clear, consistent and highly visible image for police vehicles, the Chief Constable decided that the Royal Ulster Constabulary crest would not in future be displayed on the sides of liveried police vehicles. The change does not affect existing non-Battenburg liveried vehicles, many of which carry an RUC crest.

  Mrs. Rosemary Nelson
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what has been the cost of the police investigations into the death of Mrs. Rosemary Nelson; how much of this is in respect of the costs of RUC officers; and how much is in respect of police officers from Great Britain. [114895]

  Mr. Ingram
  I would refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave the hon. and learned Member for North Down (Mr. McCartney) on 22 February 2000,Official Report, column 96W.

  Consultants
  Mr. Paul Marsden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many(a) clinical and (b) medical oncology consultants there are per 100,000 population for each health authority in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [115189]
  627W
  Mr. George Howarth
  In Northern Ireland, clinical and medical oncology services are provided by Eastern Health and Social Services Board.

  Currently there are 0.65 clinical oncology consultants per 100,000 population, and 0.12 medical oncology consultants per 100,000 population.

  The Campbell report on the reorganisation of cancer services in Northern Ireland set a target of 13 oncology consultants by 2005. This target has already been reached.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

  Assault
  Mr. Rammell
  To ask the Solicitor-General what is the average time from police referral to(a) decision to prosecute and (b) decision not to prosecute in the case of accusations of assault, in each of the last three years. [115597]

  The Solicitor-General
  The Crown Prosecution Service holds no central records on the time required to complete particular stages of the prosecution process in respect of particular offences, nor does it hold such records in respect of offences generally.

  Judicial Reviews
  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Solicitor-General what is his policy on the employment of Queen's Counsel in applications for judicial review. [115969]

  The Solicitor-General
  Whenever a Government Department in England and Wales wishes to brief counsel to appear in court on a civil matter, including judicial review proceedings, they must first consider whether it is appropriate to use one of the junior barristers included on the Panels of approved counsel. The procedure for selecting counsel to be included in these panels has recently been revised to make sure that the selection process is fair and transparent. Government Departments are therefore required to use the approved junior counsel in all but the most exceptional cases. If the lawyer handling the case believes that the hearing merits the instruction of a Queen's Counsel then they must seek a nomination of a particular Queen's Counsel with the appropriate expertise. Each such nomination has to be approved personally by the Law Officers before instructions can be sent. In considering whether the use of Queen's Counsel is necessary in a particular case factors such as the importance of the case, the complexity of the legal issues involved, whether the case will decide a point of principle of general application and the amount of money at stake are taken into account.

  Crown Prosecutors
  Dr. George Turner
  To ask the Solicitor-General if he will make a statement regarding the Code for Crown Prosecutors. [115906]

  The Solicitor-General
  On 24 November 1999,Official Report, column 105W, I announced that the Code for Crown Prosecutors would be reviewed to take account of the Human Rights Act 1998. The aim of the review is to ensure that the Code for Crown Prosecutors is relevant, clear and accessible, properly considers the rights and
  628W
  interests of victims, and reflects the exercise of the statutory functions of Crown Prosecutors. The review will take into account legislative changes since 1994, particularly the Human Rights Act, changes to the structure of the CPS, and procedural changes to the criminal justice system.

  The review team has now been established, and will be writing to organisations and individuals with an interest in the Code, asking for comments. The review team also invite views from the general public, who may write to their local Chief Crown Prosecutors, or write to, or e-mail CPS Headquarters. Information on the Code and the review can be found on the CPS website at www.cps.gov.uk.

  It is important that the Code supports the CPS' commitment to excellence of decision making, improving victims' and witnesses' experiences of the criminal justice system, and pursuing a partnership approach within the criminal justice system while maintaining its independence in decisions on casework.

  The Attorney-General and I welcome this review, and will be taking a close interest both in its progress and any major issues that may arise.

HEALTH

  Medical Technical Staff
  Mr. Austin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to increase the pay of medical technical staff in the NHS. [112444]

  Mr. Denham
  [holding answer 1 March 2000]: We have offered medical technical staff above inflation pay rises not just for one year but for three years. The details of the offer are as follows:
  For year 1 (1999–2000) an increase of 3 per cent. or £250, whichever is the higher;
  For year 2 (2000–01) an increase of 3.25 per cent. or £300 whichever is the higher;
  For year 3 (2001–02) in the context of agreement on the negotiations on Agenda for Change (including the principle of pay linkage as set out in paragraph 7.4 of the Joint Framework of Principles and Agreed Statement on the Way Forward issued on 8 October 1999) and the joint commitment to lifelong learning, a minimum RPI(X) at December 2000 reported in January 2001, plus 0.5 per cent.

  Myodil
  Sir Nicholas Lyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have suffered injury as a result of having been injected with myodil. [112478]

  Ms Stuart
  It is not possible to estimate the number of people who have suffered injury, such as arachnoiditis, as a result of being injected with Myodil, as no data are held centrally.

  GPs (Indemnity)
  Mrs. Brinton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 7 March 2000,Official Report, column 625W, on indemnity cover for general practitioners, if the criteria for approval of medical liability indemnities under section 9 of the Health Act

  629W
  1999 will include the maintenance of a solvency margin no lower than that applicable to other injuries under the Insurance Companies Act 1982; and if he will make a statement. [115413]

  Mr. Denham
  I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave on 7 March 2000,Official Report, column 625W. Criteria for the approval of professional indemnity cover, including the ability to meet the anticipated levels of claims, are currently the subject of consultation with interested organisations.

  Children's Services (North-west London)
  Mr. Gardiner
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proposals he has for the redevelopment of children's services in north-west London, with specific reference to(a) Northwick Park hospital's new paediatric ambulatory care unit and (b) matched funding from north Thames region for the £2.5 million raised from public subscription. [114570]

  Mr. Denham
  The Paediatric Ambulatory Care Unit at Northwick Park was completed and opened some 14 months ago. It was funded through a Children's Appeal which met the majority of the costs with the hospital itself making a smaller contribution from their annual block capital allocation. The foundation stone was laid by the Princess of Wales two weeks before her death and the unit is known as the "Princess Diana Ambulatory Care Unit". This improvement further enhances children's services in north-west London.

  No funding for the unit was sought from the Regional Capital Programme.

  Crohn's Disease
  Miss McIntosh
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what provision his Department has made for research into and treatment of Crohn's disease. [114951]

  Mr. Denham
  We fund health and medical research in different ways. The Medical Research Council spent around £0.5 million on Crohn's disease in 1998–99. In addition we are currently commissioning, via the Health Technology Assessment Programme, a research project relevant to Crohn's disease, which will assess the impact of patient-centred disease management of inflammatory bowel disease.

  Funding for the treatment of specific diseases is not separately identified in Health Authority or Primary Care Group allocations. Those commissioning healthcare will do so on the basis of local needs, in the context of priorities set nationally.

  The treatment of patients with Crohn's disease is increasingly shared between gastroenterologists and General Practitioners. It may include following a special diet, dietary supplements, drug treatment with anti-inflammatory drugs, antibiotics and immunosuppressive drugs; and, in severe cases, surgery. Chronic inflammatory bowel disease is a risk factor for malignancy, and regular assessment is important.

  NHS Regional Structures
  Mr Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was(a) the annual cost of and (b) the number of people employed in each NHS regional structure in each of the last three years. [114902]

  Mr. Denham
  The information requested is in the tables. The regional offices were organised in April 1999. The cash allocations have been mapped from the old to the new structure. The staffing figures are not available in this format.

  Cash allocations

  NHS executive regional offices

  1997–98

  1998–99

  1999–2000

  Eastern

  6,716,419

  6,910,092

  6,992,847

  London

  9,187,167

  9,170,161

  9,558,307

  North and Western

  6,983,894

  6,999,392

  7,397,361

  Northern and Yorkshire

  6,814,419

  6,906,315

  7,279,300

  South Eastern

  8,416,949

  8,442,609

  9,205,567

  South and West

  6,907,419

  6,935,717

  7,048,229

  Trent

  6,947,425

  6,972,425

  7,189,736

  West Midlands

  6,966,889

  7,030,291

  7,246,700

  Total

  58,940,581

  59,367,002

  61,918,047

  Staff numbers

  NHS executive regional offices

  April 1998

  April 1999

  January 2000

  Anglia and Oxford

  111

  —

  —

  Eastern

  —

  110

  94

  North Thames

  105

  —

  —

  South Thames

  114

  —

  —

  London

  —

  122

  130

  North and Western

  117

  116

  109

  Northern and Yorkshire

  109

  109

  105

  South Eastern

  —

  113

  123

  South and West

  107

  112

  104

  Trent

  129

  138

  116

  West Midlands

  109

  102

  109

  Total

  901

  922

  890

  Ryhope General Hospital, Sunderland
  Mr. Etherington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many beds were occupied at the Ryhope General Hospital, Sunderland, on the first day of each month since 1 January 1999. [115080]

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

  Month

  Beds occupied

  January 1999

  121

  February 1999

  141

  March 1999

  133

  April 1999

  113

  May 1999

  105

  June 1999

  114

  July 1999

  118

  August 1999

  108

  September 1999

  110

  October 1999

  119

  November 1999

  117

  December 1999

  109

  January 2000

  121

  February 2000

  149

  Source:

  Sunderland Health Authority

  Speech and Language Therapists
  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received about including Speech and Language Therapists within the remit of the Pay Review Body; and if he will make a statement. [115083]

  Mr. Denham
  We have received several representations from Trade Union Organisations, hon. Members and individuals about whether other professional groups, including Speech and Language Therapists, should be permitted to come under the remit of the nurses and professions allied to medicine Pay Review Body (NPRB).

  Our proposals for modernising National Health Service pay which were published in February 1999 in "Agenda for Change", include bringing some smaller groups of highly qualified staff within the scope of the NPRB, without changing its fundamentally professional character.

  Initial discussions with NHS trade unions on pay modernisation resulted in a joint Framework of Principles and Agreed Statement on the Way forward which was published on 8 October 1999. Paragraph 7.2 of the Joint Framework sets out as a starting point for more detailed discussions with trade unions the qualifying criteria for groups to come within the scope of the NPRB.

  The criteria are:
  Professions with a minimum entry requirement of three years' educational study (or equivalent) to diploma level or higher, in a health specific area (other than medicine or dentistry) and which are state registered and have a substantial majority of members employed in healthcare.

  The Joint Framework also goes on to say that:
  staff groups which support professions added to the NPRB remit, and who have a direct connection with the transferred groups similar to that between nursing auxiliaries and registered nurses would also need to be considered for transfer.

  NHS hospital and community health services: staff within North Staffordshire Hospital NHS Trust, as at 30 September each year

  Nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff (numbers (headcount))1

  Hospital medical staff and consultants

  Nursing staff

  Midwifery staff

  Health visiting staff

  Numbers (headcount)

  Of which medical consultants

  1994

  2,080

  260

  2—

  340

  120

  1995

  1,830

  0

  0

  350

  130

  1996

  1,620

  230

  0

  390

  140

  1997

  1,670

  220

  0

  450

  150

  1998

  1,720

  220

  0

  460

  150

  1 A new classification of the non-medical workforce was introduced in 1995, therefore information based on this classification is not comparable with earlier years.

  2 Five or less and greater than zero.

  Notes:

  1. Figures exclude learners and agency staff

  2. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10

  Sources:

  Department of Health Non Medical Workforce Census.

  Department of Health Medical and Dental Workforce Census.

  Residential Properties
  Mr. Stinchcombe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will list by region(a) the number of residential properties owned by health authorities and NHS trusts that were empty on 1 April 1999, (b) the number of such properties empty for one year or more
  632W
  I am sure my hon. Friend will appreciate that as this is part of continuing confidential discussions with NHS Unions aimed at reaching agreement by summer 2000, I am unable to comment further at this stage.

  Mixed-sex Wards
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many mixed-sex wards exist in the North and Yorkshire region; where they are; and when they are due to be phased out. [115482]

  Mr. Denham
  Health authorities are monitored centrally on their commitment to eliminate mixed-sex hospital accommodation. Data from the latest monitoring exercise were published by the National Health Service Executive in "Health Authority Target Dates for meeting the Objectives to Eliminate Mixed Sex Hospital Accommodation: Position at 30 September 1998", copies of which are available in the Library.

  North Staffordshire Hospital Trust
  Mr. Stevenson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list for each year since 1994 the number of(a) nurses, (b) doctors, (c) consultants, (d) midwives and (e) health visitors employed by the North Staffordshire Hospital Trust; and if he will make a statement. [115627]

  Mr. Denham
  The table illustrates that the number of nursing and midwifery staff employed by the North Staffordshire Hospital National Health Service Trust declined between the years 1994 and 1997. However, nursing staff numbers have increased in 1998 and the numbers of hospital medical doctors employed within the Trust steadily increased since 1994, demonstrating our commitment to increase the number of doctors and nurses working within the NHS. It should be noted that inflated figures for nursing staff in 1994 are not comparable with later years, due to a new classification system introduced in 1995.

  and (c)(a) and (b) as a percentage of the total number of residential properties owned by health authorities and NHS trusts; [115613]

  (2) if empty residential properties owned by the NHS trusts and health authorities are counted by (a) number of vacant buildings and (b) the number of unoccupied

  633W
  bed spaces when notified to the Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions for inclusion in the published figures for empty properties in England. [115619]

  Mr. Denham
  Information as of 1 April 1999 is not available centrally since the last survey was carried out as at September 1998. This showed that out of a total of 2,336 houses, and 5,388 flats owned by National Health Service trusts, 290 houses and 605 flats were vacant. This represented an average of 11.6 per cent. vacant of the total (approximately 2 each per NHS trust).

  Information is not available on the number of properties empty for one year or more.

  The regional totals are as follows:

  Houses

  Flats

  Total vacant

  Anglia and Oxford

  282

  541

  128

  Northern and Yorkshire

  301

  744

  108

  South and West

  239

  677

  98

  North Thames

  332

  712

  135

  North West

  272

  868

  97

  South Thames

  340

  526

  74

  West Midlands

  183

  889

  87

  Trent

  331

  643

  170

  Note:

  Regional boundaries changed in April 1999

  The survey of the NHS residential estate, carried out last in September 1998, counted the number of houses and flats, not the number of bed spaces in those properties.

  Domiciliary Oxygen Service
  Mr. Ivan Henderson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he intends to review the Domiciliary Oxygen Service in England following the Royal College of Physicians' guidance, "Domiciliary Oxygen Therapy Services". [116304]

  Ms Stuart
  Following the publication of the Royal College of Physicians' guidance "Domiciliary oxygen therapy services", we will be reviewing a number of aspects of the Domiciliary Oxygen Service under the following terms of reference.

  To review the scope and organisation of the Domiciliary Oxygen Service in England in the light of the 1999 guidance of the Royal College of Physicians, including:
  whether, and if so to what extent, patient access to the service should continue to be via general practitioner prescribing or otherwise,
  the availability of alternative forms of oxygen delivery (cylinder, concentrator, and liquid) and associated equipment, and the circumstances in which one form might be preferable to another,
  whether the current supply arrangements, including the arrangements for setting prices should be maintained or altered,
  the cost effectiveness and affordability of any changes,
  other relevant matters.

  I am placing in the Library a copy of a letter to interested companies and organisations inviting them to let us have their views as a first step in the review.

  NHS Spending (Hampshire)
  Mr. Oaten
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the total NHS spending per head of population(a) nationally and (b) in Hampshire, including the unitary authorities of Southampton and Portsmouth and (c) in each health authority in Hampshire, including the unitary authorities of Southampton and Portsmouth, in each year since 1979 for which figures are available. [116020]

  Mr. Denham
  Health authorities have existed in their current form since 1 April 1996.

  The table shows spending levels on health per weighted head of population for Hampshire health authorities.

  Expenditure figures are from health authority audited accounts and are not total National Health Service funding. For 1997–98 and 1998–99 the Prescription Pricing Authority rather than individual health authorities have accounted for the majority of drugs expenditure. Health authorities do not account for the majority of General Dental Service expenditure.

  Expenditure estimates for 1999–2000 are not available.

  Expenditure per weighted head of population

  £

  Health authority

  1996–97

  1997–98

  1998–99

  North and Mid Hampshire

  538.86

  518.81

  541.54

  Portsmouth and South East Hampshire

  561.65

  521.45

  586.91

  Southampton and South West Hampshire

  574.88

  577.56

  621.60

  England total

  625.56

  607.85

  659.76

  NHS Prescriptions (Appeals)
  Mr. Oaten
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what target times his Department set for appeal of new(a) products and (b) pharmaceuticals to be available on NHS prescription. [R] [115959]

  Ms Stuart
  Drugs, including pharmaceuticals, may be prescribed on the National Health Service by general practitioners unless and until they are listed in Schedule 10 to the National Health Service (General Medical Services) Regulations 1992 (the "blacklist"). Appliances must be listed in Part IX of the Drug Tariff in order to be prescribed on the NHS by GPs. Representations against proposals to list drugs in Schedule 10, or against the rejection of an application for listing of an appliance in Part IX, may be made but no timescale for the consideration of such representations has been set and will vary depending on the complexity and difficulty of the issues in question.

  Private Finance Initiative
  Jane Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what amount of public funds was spent(a) on fees and (b) otherwise in respect of the private finance initiative proposals for the Royal Berkshire and Battle hospitals. [106698]
  635W
  Mr. Denham
  The Royal Berkshire and Battle Hospitals Trust has been involved in three private finance initiative schemes to date:Consolidation Project: a new build consolidating services on the Royal Berkshire Hospital site;
  Haemodialysis Unit: moving renal services from Dellwood Hospital to the Royal Berks site; and
  Information Management and Technology (IM and T) Project: a partnership to develop various interlinked IM and T systems.

  The amount of public funds spent on fees and other PFI related costs to date are set out in the table.

  Public expenditure on each project to March 2000

  £000

  To March 2000

  Consolidation

  Haemodialysis

  IM and T

  Fees

  Legal Advice

  26

  30

  35

  Financial Advice

  10

  19

  48

  Other Advice

  1517

  12

  13

  Sub-total Fees

  553

  61

  96

  Other Costs

  PFI Partner Exit Costs

  2304

  —

  —

  Internal Project Costs3

  284

  20

  —

  Associated Estate Works

  —

  84

  —

  Sub-total Other Costs

  588

  104

  0

  Total

  1,141

  165

  96

  1 A significant proportion of the cost for 'Other Advice' arose from seeking planning permissions for the project, some benefits from which have been passed on to the publicly funded project.

  2 The trust board agreed to pay Proteam 2 (the private sector partner) this amount under an abortive cost agreement.

  3 'Internal Project Costs' covers the additional cost of project management and staff working on the project. The IM and T project is very new and material internal project costs to date are very low. The estimate is that final fees will be £238,000 and internal project costs £265,000, including the figures in the table.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Agriculture Council
  Mr. Hood
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the outcome of the Agriculture Council held in Brussels on 20 and 21 March; and if he will make a statement. [115958]

  Mr. Nick Brown
  I represented the UK at the EU Agriculture Council meeting in Brussels on 20 March 2000. Mr. Ross Finnie, Minister for Rural Affairs at the Scottish Executive, and Ms Christine Gwyther, Secretary for Agriculture and the Rural Economy at the National Assembly for Wales, were also present.

  The Council had an exchange of views on the Commission White Paper on food safety, focusing particularly on the case for horizontal legislation providing for controls across the whole food chain, the need for transparency in the operation of controls, and procedures for the effective handling of the results of inspection visits. Similar debates on the Commission's White Paper are being held in other instances of the Council in order to inform the Commission's eventual report to Heads of Government.
  636W
  The Council agreed on conclusions to guide the Commission in its strategy for accommodating budgetary and WTO pressures in the fixing of export refunds on processed goods. I emphasised to the Council the importance of export refunds to the cereals-based spirit drinks sector, notably Scotch Whisky, and urged the Commission to recognise this concern in its implementation of export refund reductions. A statement to this effect was recorded in the minutes of the Council.

  The Council also had a first discussion of a proposal to maintain the EU subsidised school milk scheme, but on a basis of a reduced EU budget contribution and compulsory co-financing by member states. I stressed the importance to the UK of continuing the scheme for the benefit of school children, and requested the Commission to examine other possibilities for savings in the EU milk regime before co-financing had to be considered.

  Among other issues discussed in the Council were the present state of negotiations on the EU banana regime and the impact on agriculture of the EU nitrates directive. The Council also agreed a request from Italy for authorisation for payment of a state aid in the sugar sector, with Finland, Denmark and the Netherlands abstaining.

  Ministerial Visits
  Mr. Yeo
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the agricultural shows that he and each of the ministers in his Department have accepted invitations to attend in 2000. [114757]

  Mr. Nick Brown
  [holding answer 15 March 2000]: Ministers have received a number of invitations to attend agricultural shows in 2000. These are currently being considered.

  Mr. Yeo
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the agricultural shows that he and each of the ministers in his Department attended in 1999 and the dates of each such visit. [114756]

  Mr. Nick Brown
  [holding answer 15 March 2000]: The table details the agricultural shows attended by Ministers during 1999.

  Show

  Date

  Minister

  MUCK 99 Agricultural Show

  28 April 1999

  Elliot Morley

  Devon County Show

  21 May 1999

  Lord Donoughue

  Royal Bath and West Show

  24 May 1999

  Nick Brown

  Beef 99 Show

  3 June 1999

  Nick Brown

  Staffordshire County Show

  3 June 1999

  Jeff Rooker

  East of England Show

  18 June 1999

  Nick Brown

  Three Counties Show

  19 June 1999

  Jeff Rooker

  Lincolnshire Agricultural Show

  23 June 1999

  Elliot Morley

  Highland Show

  25 June 1999

  Nick Brown

  Royal Show

  5 July 1999

  Nick Brown

  Royal Show

  6 July 1999

  Lord Donoughue

  Kent County Show

  15 July 1999

  Elliot Morley

  Welsh Show

  20 July 1999

  Nick Brown

  Ryedale Agricultural Show

  27 July 1999

  Elliot Morley

  New Forest Show

  28 July 1999

  Elliot Morley

  Press Office
  Mr. Yeo
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the(a) Civil Service grade and (b) areas of responsibility of each of the staff employed in the MAFF Press Office. [114754]
  637W
  Mr. Nick Brown
  [holding answer 15 March 2000]: The MAFF Press Office is headed by the Chief Press Officer (Grade 7). The staff reporting to him and their areas of responsibility are as follows:

  Senior Information Officer

  Information Officer

  Animal welfare, fisheries, countryside matters, flood and coastal defence.

  Senior Information Officer

  Information Officer

  Assistant Information Officer

  Food safety, food standards, meat hygiene, animal health (including BSE), pesticide safety, veterinary medicines, plant health and research, quarantine.

  Senior Information Officer

  Information Officer

  Assistant Information Officer

  Europe, CAP, regions, food and drink industry, marketing and competition, export promotion, administration, horticulture, pigs and poultry.

  There are five administrative support staff, one Executive Officer, two part-time Administrative Officers, one Administrative Assistant and one Personal Secretary.

  Mr. Yeo
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the budget for running the MAFF Press Office in each of the last 10 financial years. [114755]

  Mr. Nick Brown
  [holding answer 15 March 2000]: Pay and non-pay running costs, attributable to the MAFF Press Office, for each of the last 10 financial years are as follows:

  Year

  £

  1999–2000

  1382,000

  1998–99

  556,000

  1997–98

  460,000

  1996–97

  442,000

  1995–96

  417,000

  1994–95

  539,000

  1993–94

  532,000

  1992–93

  490,000

  1991–92

  519,000

  1990–91

  2n/a

  1 Expenditure up to the end of January 2000

  2 Comparable figures are not available for 1990–91

  Beef Ban
  Mr. Burnett
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on progress made in the case of the European Union v. Government of France relating to the ban on UK beef. [113399]

  Ms Quin
  [holding answer 16 March 2000]: On 4 January the European Commission brought before the European Court of Justice its infringement action against the French Republic over France's failure to lift its import ban on British beef. Notification of these proceedings (Case C-1/00) was published in the Official Journal of the European Communities on 4 March. The French Government has now to prepare its defence.

  Local Authority Farmland
  Mr. Paice
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many acres of farmland are owned by local authorities. [113880]
  638W
  Ms Quin
  [holding answer 10 March 2000]: Information available relates to land let by English local authorities as statutory smallholdings. The most recent figures, covering the period 1 April 1996–31 March 1997, were published in the "Forty-seventh Annual Report to Parliament on Smallholdings in England". A total area of 119,977 hectares, equivalent to 296,463 acres, was held for smallholdings purposes.

  Meetings
  Miss Geraldine Smith
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, (1) pursuant to his answer of 28 February 2000,Official Report, column 16W, concerning the number of hon. Members he has met or refused to meet to discuss farming issues, for what reasons he did not provide the numbers requested; [114536]

  (2) pursuant to his answer of 28 February 2000, Official Report, column 16W, concerning his meetings with hon. Members, if he will list the individual hon. Members he has (a) agreed to meet and (b) refused to meet to discuss farming issues since his appointment. [114537]

  Mr. Nick Brown
  [holding answer 14 March 2000]: I meet individual hon. Members and representatives of farming and other organisations frequently to discuss farming issues in both ministerial and party political contexts. The detailed information requested is not held centrally.

  Bass Fishing
  Mr. Andrew George
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what discussions he has had with his counterparts in other EC fishing nations regarding sport angling and offshore trawling for bass in the English Channel. [115738]

  Mr. Morley
  [holding answer 22 March 2000]: My fisheries science advisers at the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science are working with their opposite numbers in IFREMER, the French Institute for the Exploitation of the Sea, on studies on the movement of sea bass offshore. If this work indicates that there are threats to the long-term sustainability of the bass stock, I shall seek to persuade the other countries with an interest in the bass fishery and the European Commission of the need to act to protect the stock.

  Promotion of sport angling rests with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.

  Flood Defences
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much Government funding is available to match local authority funding in Somerset, Devon and Cornwall for flood defences; how much has been available in each of the last three years; and how much has been taken up by each local authority in Devon. [115772]

  Mr. Morley
  Government funding is provided by way of Revenue Support Grant and MAFF grants on capital works.

  The flood defence Standing Spending Assessments (for Revenue Support Grant) reflect a range of flood defence

  639W
  costs falling on different classes of local authority, ie levies paid to the Environment Agency, special levies to internal drainage boards and local authorities own expenditure as a flood defence operating authority.

  £000

  Local authority1

  1996–97

  1997–98

  1998–99

  1999–2000

  Cornwall CC

  2,275

  2,252

  2,228

  2,278

  Devon CC 2

  4,973

  4,955

  3,388

  3,447

  Plymouth

  —

  —

  953

  960

  Torbay

  —

  —

  577

  586

  Dorset CC 3

  2,711

  1,672

  1,706

  1,773

  Somerset CC

  3,200

  3,563

  3,617

  3,646

  Bath and North East Somerset

  412

  388

  602

  415

  North Somerset

  1,414

  1,547

  1,595

  1,627

  1 Some of the above local authorities pay levies to Flood Defence Committees other than Somerset and South West.

  2 Devon's SSA was reduced following creation of Plymouth and Torbay Unitary Authorities in 1998–99.

  3 Dorset's SSA was reduced following creation of Bournemouth and Poole Unitary Authorities in 1997–98.

  MAFF grant is allocated to the Environment Agency by means of Grant Earnings Ceilings (GECs), which represent the total of approved capital expenditure in respect of which grant can be claimed, and not in terms of the grant available. The amount of grant paid is dependent on the mix of (a) fluvial and (b) tidal/sea defence expenditure, for which different grant rates apply. Information is therefore unavailable in the form requested but a comparison of (i) the original GECs (which can be revised in-year) and (ii) the actual outturn of approved capital expenditure is as follows:

  £ million

  Somerset

  South West (Devon and Cornwall)

  (i)

  (ii)

  (i)

  (ii)

  1996–97

  4.0

  4.0

  4.5

  5.1

  1997–98

  3.2

  4.8

  3.0

  2.9

  1998–99

  2.7

  4.5

  2.2

  2.1

  MAFF grants to local authorities are available for schemes on the forward capital programme that meet certain criteria and achieve an appropriate priority score. The timing of expenditure is largely a matter for the authorities. Information is therefore unavailable in the form requested, but the amount of grant paid to local authorities, including a more detailed breakdown for Devon, is as follows:

  £000

  Devon

  Somerset

  Cornwall

  South Hams

  Torbay

  North Devon

  1996–97

  46

  —

  —

  51

  —

  1997–98

  27

  —

  51

  —

  —

  1998–99

  69

  —

  —

  2

  3

HOUSE OF COMMONS

  HoC Commission Meeting
  Angela Smith
  To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, what matters were discussed at the meeting
  640W
  The flood defence SSAs for all of those authorities which contribute to the South West Regional Flood Defence Committee and/or the Somerset Local Flood Defence Committee, are as follows:

  of the House of Commons Commission on 6 March; and how long the meeting lasted. [115925]

  Mr. Kirkwood
  It is not the practice of the Commission to report on its deliberative sessions which are held in private, but the Commission is considering ways of improving the distribution of information about relevant decisions to Members.

  The Commission reports on all matters that come before it in its Annual Report, published during July. The hon. Member may wish to consult the last Annual Report, the Twenty First, for 1998–99 (HC721) for details of the Commission activities during that financial year.

TREASURY

  IR35
  Mr. St. Aubyn
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in what ways the fashion modelling industry will benefit from the changes proposed under IR35. [115640]

  Dawn Primarolo
  [holding answer 22 March 2000]: All sectors of industry will benefit from the changes we propose. IR35 will ensure that measures designed to support small businesses are properly targeted, and do not go to people who are really the same as employees.

  Mr. St. Aubyn
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the impact of IR35 proposals on the avoidance of tax and national insurance payments in the fashion modelling industry. [115641]

  Dawn Primarolo
  [holding answer 22 March 2000]: The legislation will stop the use of personal service companies and similar intermediaries to avoid PAYE tax and National Insurance Contributions in all industries.

  House Prices
  Mr. Austin
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what action he is taking to slow the rise in house prices; and if he will make a statement; [115840]

  (2) what assessment he has made of the impact on the economy of the recent rise in house prices; and if he will make a statement. [115841]
  641W
  Miss Melanie Johnson
  I refer my hon. Friend to Box B4 of the "Financial Statement and Budget Report 2000", published on Tuesday 21 March.

  Average Wage
  Mr. Denzil Davies
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what, for each of the three most recent financial years, was the average wage of male workers in(a) the United Kingdom and (b) Wales. [115366]

  Miss Melanie Johnson
  The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to reply.

  Letter from Tim Holt to Mr. Denzil Davies, dated 23 March 2000:
  As the Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your recent question regarding earnings of male employees.
  The New Earnings Survey (NES) is based on a one per cent sample of employees in the PAYE system and is therefore likely to under-represent relatively low paid staff earning below the tax threshold and in particular those who work part-time. Listed below is information from the NES for the years 1997–1999.

  New Earnings Survey, April of each year—male employees on adult rates, whose pay for the survey period was unaffected by absence

  £

  Average gross weekly earnings

  1997

  1998

  1999

  United Kingdom

  Full-time

  407.3

  425.6

  440.7

  Part-time

  132.7

  150.8

  154.3

  All

  388.5

  405.1

  418.7

  Wales

  Full-time

  363.5

  376.4

  384.0

  Part-time

  1—

  1—

  1—

  All

  347.3

  360.1

  366.5

  1 Reliable estimate unavailable

  Aviation Fuel Taxation
  Miss McIntosh
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost of administering the taxing of aviation fuel. [15301]

  Mr. Timms
  No such estimate has been made.

  Manufacturing (Wales)
  Mr. Denzil Davies
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many persons were employed in the manufacturing sector in Wales in each of the years to 31 December 1999, 1998 and 1997, respectively. [115586]

  Miss Melanie Johnson
  The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to reply.

  Letter from John Pullinger to Mr. Denzil Davies, dated 23 March 2000:
  The Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has been asked to reply to your recent parliamentary question on the number of people employed in the manufacturing sector in Wales. I am replying in Dr Holt's absence.
  There are two sources for this type of information. The first of the two tables attached shows the Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates, which are the number of people employed in the manufacturing
  642W
  sector in Wales. This measure includes Self-employed and those with second jobs in manufacturing. The LFS figures are shown for the autumn quarter (September to November) as the winter quarter (December to February) is not available until April. The second table is from the Short-term Turnover and Employment Survey which shows the number of Employee Jobs in the manufacturing sector in Wales. These figures are given for September for the years requested as the December 1999 results are also not available until April.

  All jobs 1 in manufacturing, Wales

  At Autumn

  Thousand

  1997

  255

  1998

  251

  1999

  246

  1 Total of people whose main job is in the manufacturing sector, and those with second jobs in manufacturing (whose main job is elsewhere), government-supported trainees and unpaid family workers. The 'second jobs' definition includes employees, self-employed and those people who did not specify their status.

  Source:

  Labour Force Survey, ONS

  Employee jobs in manufacturing, Wales

  At September

  Thousand

  1997

  214

  1998

  219

  1999

  208

  Source:

  Short-term Turnover and Employment Survey, ONS

  Income Statistics (Mothers)
  Ms Harman
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the income distribution is in deciles of(a) lone mothers and (b) women in two-parent families who are in work when they give birth and who are eligible for Statutory Maternity Pay. [114791]

  Angela Eagle
  I have been asked to reply.

  The information is not available in the format requested as past eligibility to Statutory Maternity Pay is not collected in the sample survey used to derive income data. Further, the sample is not large enough to identify sufficient numbers of women in receipt of Statutory Maternity Pay at the time of the interview for an analysis by decile.

  Such information that is available is in the table.

  Proportions of women in receipt of Statutory Maternity Pay in each half of the equivalised household income distribution, 1996–97 and 1997–98 combined (including the self-employed)

  Percentage

  Proporation of women in receipt of SMP

  Bottom half of income distribution

  Top half of income distribution

  Before Housing Costs

  30

  70

  After Housing Costs

  36

  64

  Notes:

  1. The information comes from the 'Households Below Average Income' (HBAI) series and relates to Great Britain. The estimates are presented on household income both Before Housing Costs and After Housing Costs in line with HBAI conventions. All the estimates in the table relate to women who were, at the time of the survey interview, in receipt of Statutory Maternity Pay.

  2. Estimates are subject to sampling error.

  3. Estimates were based on two survey years combined, and should be treated with caution as the sample sizes are small.

EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT

  Standard Spending Assessments
  Mr. Randall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what recent representations he has received on the levels of standard spending assessments for education. [114612]

  Ms Estelle Morris
  My right hon. Friend has received a number of representations on the area cost adjustment element of the standard spending assessment. We have already acknowledged that there are valid objections to the current SSA formula. The Government, in partnership with local government, have set up a review to see whether there is a better way of determining the distribution of funds which is simpler, more stable, more robust and fairer than the present arrangements.

  Low Pay Commission (Therapeutic Activity)
  Mr. St. Aubyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what discussions his Department plans to hold with the DTI on the recommendation in the second report of the Low Pay Commission that Departments should work together to produce clear guidance on the worker status of individuals undertaking therapeutic activity. [114613]

  Ms Hodge
  The Government support the recommendation made by the Commission and welcome their endorsement of the view that disabled people should benefit fully from the National Minimum Wage. As the Commission recognises, the worker status of those undertaking therapeutic activities is a complex issue. We are already working with DSS and DTI, and providers and users of therapeutic activities, on revised guidance.

  Information and Communications Technology
  Mr. Clapham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what support has been given to teachers to ensure that they are able to utilise information and communications technology to raise standards. [114614]

  Mr. Wills
  The New Opportunities Fund is making available £230 million to support the training of serving teachers and school library staff in the maintained sector in the effective use of information and communication technology (ICT). The training is available to all teachers in maintained schools and is specifically targeted at using ICT in the classroom to support the National Curriculum. The Government are supporting this programme by providing £20 million in 2000–01 to help teachers purchase their own computers.

  Schools (Special Measures)
  Barbara Follett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many schools are currently on special measures. [114615]

  Ms Estelle Morris
  The number of schools in special measures rose to 515 at the end of the academic year 1997–98 which was the year in which the first round of inspections was completed. Since then the number of schools in special measures has fallen to 424 at the end of the autumn term 1999.

  Further Education Funding
  Mr. Chaytor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the funding of further education. [114616]

  Mr. Wicks
  I refer my hon. Friend to the oral reply I gave to our hon. Friend the hon. Member for Conwy (Mrs. Williams) earlier today,Official Report, column 1095.

  Lytham St. Anne's High Technology School
  Mr. Jack
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will instruct an official from his Department to visit the Lytham St. Anne's high technology school to assess the school's future infrastructure requirements. [114618]

  Jacqui Smith
  The right hon. Member may be aware that a key element of the Government's schools' capital strategy is the requirement for local education authorities to produce Asset Management Plans. In drawing up AMPs, LEAs are required to assess the condition, sufficiency and suitability of school buildings, and to set clear priorities for building work. The Asset Management Plan is a local document drawn up in close consultation with schools and other partners; an official visiting at this stage is unlikely to enhance that process.

  Secondary School Funding
  Mr. Paterson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on secondary school funding. [114619]

  Ms Estelle Morris
  In 2000–01 Education Standard Spending has increased by £1.1 billion or 5.4 per cent. An extra £64 million is being made available to local authorities of which £14 million will be used to provide additional support to LEAs in Excellence in Cities areas and £50 million will go to support school budgets generally. In addition, schools will benefit from £500 million extra in Standards Fund grant, and through the New Deal for Schools they will receive an additional £1 billion for school repairs and adaptations. All schools will also benefit from the rescheduling of most of the increase in teachers' pension contributions from April 2000.

  Secondary schools will all benefit from these increases in funding.

  Departmental Jobs (Regional Policy)
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what the policy of his Department is on the dispersal of jobs in his Department to the regions. [114620]

  Mr. Wills
  The Department has headquarters sites in Runcorn, Sheffield and Darlington in addition to its London buildings. It also has staff located in each of the nine Government Offices for the Regions. Our policy is to locate jobs away from London, especially in the more cost-effective northern offices, wherever it makes operational sense to do so. The Employment Service maintains a network of Jobcentres across England, Scotland and Wales, with a main headquarters presence in Sheffield.

  Long-term Unemployment (Information Technology)
  Ms Rosie Winterton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what action he is taking to help the long-term unemployed back into work through information technology. [114621]

  Ms Jowell
  As part of a major modernisation programme we shall be putting all the Employment Service vacancies and jobs from the private sector and other European countries in a new national job bank. They will be available on the Internet and by jobseekers on touch screen kiosks in Jobcentres which will give a wider choice of jobs than on the current vacancy display boards. All ES advisers and the national telephone helpline, ES Direct, will have access to the new jobs database. Jobseekers will be able to search for jobs and information about learning opportunities and careers through public access terminals in libraries, community centres and training centres, and in a number of Programme Centres.

  Pupil Deprivation Levels
  Mr. Blizzard
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what methodology is used to measure deprivation levels of pupils in schools. [114622]

  Ms Estelle Morris
  A number of different indicators are used to measure pupil deprivation levels for funding purposes. The education standard spending assessment methodology takes account of the additional educational needs of deprived pupils through indicators for the proportion of children of lone parents; and the proportion of children eligible for free school meals. The Standards Fund uses eligibility of children for free school meals as one factor to distribute grants for programmes such as family literacy and numeracy, social inclusion and study support. Common indicators used by local education authorities to distribute funding for additional educational needs to their schools are: eligibility for free school meals; unemployment rates; and English as a second language.

  Class Sizes
  Mr. Baldry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on average class sizes since May 1997. [114624]

  Ms Estelle Morris
  January 1999 saw the first fall in overall average class size for 10 years, from 24.9 in January 1998 to 24.8. Between January 1998 and January 1999 the size of the average primary school class in England fell from 27.7 to 27.4.

  The Government are well on course to deliver their class size pledge of reducing infant class sizes to 30 or below by September 2001, at the latest. The most recent available figures show that in September 1999, 171,000 (11 per cent.) infants were being taught in classes of over 30, compared with 485,000 (29 per cent.) in January 1998.

  Miss McIntosh
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to reduce primary school class sizes in North Yorkshire. [114632]

  Ms Estelle Morris
  Our pledge is to ensure that there are no pupils in infant classes of over 30 pupils with one teacher by September 2001 at the latest. North Yorkshire's Class Size Plan aims to secure full implementation of the pledge early, by September 2000.646W
  We are supporting this plan with almost £5.8 million over 1999–2001, funding 33 new classrooms and 80 additional teachers. Between September 1998 and 1999 the number of pupils in infant classes over 30 in North Yorkshire fell by 60 per cent., from 3,271 to 1,317.

  January 1999 saw a fall of 1,036 pupils in primary classes over 30 in North Yorkshire, and a drop in the average primary class size of 0.2, compared with January 1998.

  Science and Engineering Courses
  Mr. Quinn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what action he is taking to encourage applications for science and engineering courses in further and higher education institutions. [114625]

  Mr. Wicks
  Universities and Colleges are autonomous organisations and the DfEE regard curricula and promotion of subjects as primarily matters for individual institutions. Recent research in the HE sector found that the overall supply and demand of graduates is adequate and that any mismatches are due to the capabilities rather than quantity of graduates.

  Nursery and Early Years Education
  Helen Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what progress has been made in providing nursery education for three-year-olds; and if he will make a statement. [114626]

  Ms Hodge
  The sum of £390 million is being made available, over a three year period, to create 190,000 new free early education places for three year olds. By March 2002, 66 per cent. of all eligible three-year-olds in England will be able to access a free place.

  In 1999–2000 up to £40 million, enough to provide places for up to 48,000 children, was available across 64 local authorities with the highest level of social deprivation.

  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what steps have been taken to integrate care and education for the under-fives. [114630]

  Ms Hodge
  From the start of the National Childcare Strategy we have been keen to bring together early years and child care and we are successfully achieving this objective.

  We have established Early Years Development and Childcare Partnerships in each of the 150 local education authority areas. The partnerships are required to set out policies for developing the vital links between care and education, especially in the early years and include them in their plans. We are currently assessing this year's Plans and will be working with Partnerships throughout the year to encourage integration.

  Under provisions in the Care Standards Bill we are also seeking to integrate the regulation of child care and early education under new National Standards regulated by Ofsted's new Early Years Directorate.

  Additionally, the 29 Early Excellence Centres are piloting seamless integration of services in a variety of settings. I have placed in the Library a copy of our report

  647W
  on First Findings from EECs showing, among other things, that for every £1 spent on family support, £8 is saved on alternative services.

  The New Opportunities Fund is also providing up to £15 million to fund integrated out of school childcare and learning activities. This is for children across the range from three to 16 with no specific amount for under-fives. We are setting up 250 Sure Start programmes in areas of disadvantage to promote the physical, intellectual, social and emotional development of young children under four. Each programme will work in partnership with local parents to improve access to health services. family support, advice on nurturing, child care and early learning.

  Temporary Classrooms (Colchester)
  Mr. Bob Russell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will provide additional funding to Essex county council to enable all temporary classrooms in the Colchester constituency to be replaced with permanent accommodation. [114628]

  Jacqui Smith
  Applications for funding to replace temporary classrooms with permanent accommodation are considered against our published criteria. Currently, Essex county council has applied for the replacement of temporary accommodation at Colchester High School for Girls under the fourth phase of the New Deal for Schools. We hope to announce the outcome of this next month.

  Parental Choice (Greater London)
  Mr. Wilkinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what estimate he has made of the percentage of parents in Greater London who secured the secondary school of their first choice for their children in each of the last three years. [114629]

  Ms Estelle Morris
  This information is not collected centrally. Parents have a right to express a preference for the school they would like their child to attend, but it has never been guaranteed that they will gain a place in their preferred school. Where a school has more applications than places available, it is inevitable that some parents will be disappointed.

  School Administration
  Mr. Truswell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to review the policy, administrative and managerial requirements placed on schools. [114631]

  Jacqui Smith
  My Department keeps policy, administrative and managerial requirements on schools under continuous review. Since the Working Group on Reducing the Bureaucratic Burdens on Teachers reported in January 1998, we have reviewed the National Curriculum to introduce more flexibility, introduced the "light touch" Ofsted inspection regime for effective schools, and reduced the proportion of Standards Fund grants distributed by bidding. Further work under way includes the review of the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice and a major exercise to rationalise data collection. We have also recently increased the support available to help head teachers introduce the new performance management arrangements and carry out the assessments for performance-related pay, and made the timetable for this more flexible.
  648W
  We will continue to seek every opportunity to streamline requirements on schools and ensure a clear focus on what is essential for raising standards. Future activity will be informed by the outcome of the Better Regulation Taskforce Review of Regulatory Impact on Head Teachers.

  Learning and Skills Council, Derbyshire
  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what representations he has received following his proposal to place the local Derbyshire Learning and Skills centre in Derby; and if he will make a statement. [114633]

  Mr. Wicks
  To date, three representations have been received. One was in support of the decision to locate the local arm of the Learning and Skills Council in Derby and two were petitioning for the local arm of the Learning and Skills Council to be located in Chesterfield.

  In reaching a decision on the location of the offices of the local Council for Derbyshire, I have taken account of the need to get best value for public money, by using premises currently occupied by the Southern Derbyshire Chamber of Commerce, Training and Enterprise, and of the need for a location that will facilitate effective operation of the Learning and Skills Council.

  Youth Support Services
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what measures he is taking to improve the quality of youth support services. [114634]

  Mr. Wicks
  We set out our strategy for supporting young people in our document "Connexions: The best start in life for every young person" on 3 February. At the heart of our strategy is a new Connexions service which will provide a radical new approach to guiding and supporting all young people through their teenage years. We also intend involving young people and a wide range of partners in developing and implementing the service which will be phased in over two to three years. The new service will build on the best practice of multi-agency working and will have a quality framework which will have two main elements: target setting and benchmarking; and audit and inspection.

  Redditch Schools
  Miss Kirkbride
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list the number of surplus places in each school in Redditch for(a) the current year and (b) the next five years, taking account of school mergers as a result of decisions in the Redditch review. [115414]

  Ms Estelle Morris
  The number of surplus places in each school in Redditch for the current year and the forecasts for September 2000 and 2001 are set out in the following table. My Department does not collect information on the levels of surplus places at individual schools for the next five years, and LEAs are not required to produce it. Information provided by Worcestershire in connection with proposals for reorganisation of schools in Redditch, which were approved by the Secretary of State in January, included information about the number of places to be removed at each school. The Secretary of State was satisfied that, while the proposals would remove
  649W
  over 2,000 of the 3,000 current surplus places in schools in the area, there would be sufficient places available to allow for parental and denominational choice.

  Surplus places

  As at September

  1999

  20001

  20011

  First Schools

  Arrowcrest First

  0

  3

  0

  Ipsley First

  120

  131

  0

  New First School

  0

  0

  0

  Claybrook First

  96

  109

  0

  Icknield First

  23

  25

  0

  New First School

  0

  0

  75

  St. John Fisher Catholic First

  96

  98

  0

  Astwood Bank First

  0

  0

  5

  Batchley First

  14

  3

  50

  Beoley First

  4

  0

  0

  Feckenham First

  5

  0

  0

  The Harry Taylor First

  10

  24

  25

  Holyoakes Field First

  1

  7

  15

  Marlfield Farm First

  174

  181

  45

  Moon's Moat First

  76

  69

  70

  Ravens Bank First

  26

  45

  50

  Roman Way First

  67

  65

  70

  St. George's First

  63

  85

  10

  St. Lukes First

  7

  10

  0

  St. Stephen's First

  22

  14

  5

  Tardebigge First

  7

  9

  10

  Tenacres First

  227

  229

  25

  The Vaynor First

  47

  85

  10

  Webheath First

  43

  40

  15

  Woodrow First

  95

  85

  110

  St. Thomas More Catholic First

  7

  10

  10

  Mount Carmel Catholic First

  6

  5

  5

  Total First Schools

  1,236

  1,332

  560

  Middle Schools

  Lodge Farm Middle

  63

  24

  0

  St. Stephen's Middle

  245

  261

  0

  New Middle

  0

  0

  0

  Moatfield Middle

  133

  122

  0

  St. Peter's CE Middle

  192

  208

  0

  New CE VC Middle

  0

  0

  0

  Birchensale Middle

  49

  30

  200

  Church Hill Middle

  159

  160

  180

  Dingleside Middle

  103

  91

  168

  Ridgeway Middle

  72

  65

  0

  Walkwood CE Middle

  0

  0

  20

  St. Bede's Catholic Middle

  0

  0

  0

  Total Middle Schools

  1,016

  961

  398

  High Schools

  Bridley Moor High

  73

  279

  0

  The Abbey High

  566

  239

  0

  The Ley's High

  383

  80

  0

  New North High

  0

  0

  40

  New South High

  0

  0

  20

  Arrow Vale Community High

  91

  70

  145

  St. Augustine's Catholic High

  0

  0

  5

  Total High Schools

  1,113

  1,118

  210

  1 Forecast

  Websites
  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list the expenditure incurred by his Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies on(a) the setting up and
  650W
  (b) the operation of websites, indicating the cases in which the expenditure has been above that budgeted; and if he will list for each website (i) the topics which have been covered, (ii) the current average number of hits per months and (iii) the estimated expenditure on each website for each of the next three years. [115803]

  Mr. Wills
  The central DfEE website covers a very wide range of education and employment information for many key audiences including teachers, head teachers, school governors, students, parents and employers. It has a core programme budget of £160,000 in 1999–2000, and £200,000 in each of the following three years, plus running costs for seven staff.

  Total activity for the site is around 400,000 'page impressions' per month.

  In addition, we have a number of important projects aimed at bringing on-line a wider range of web based services. The most significant are: development of the National Grid for Learning; the National Childcare Information Service; the Learning and Work Bank project to put vacancy, careers advice and learning opportunities for jobseekers and job changers on the web; the Electronic Communication with Schools project and websites specifically aimed at Standards in schools, Lifelong Learning, the New Deal and the Employment Service.

  The number of these projects and non-departmental public bodies' websites coupled with the costs associated with the many people across the Department involved in providing material for websites mean that detailed expenditure figures are not easily obtainable without incurring disproportionate costs.

  Special Needs
  Dr. Cable
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) how many and what percentage of(a) primary and (b) secondary pupils have statements of special educational needs in each education authority in London and the South East; [115785]

  (2) how many and what percentage of (a) primary and (b) secondary pupils who have statements of special needs have statements which are not being fully met in each education authority in London and the South East. [115792]

  Jacqui Smith
  The following table lists the number and percentage of pupils with statements of special educational needs, on the roll of primary and secondary schools maintained by each local education authority in London and the South East, as at January 1999.

  Information about levels of provision is not collected centrally. It is the responsibility of local education authorities to ensure that the special educational provision specified in a statement is arranged for those children for whom they are responsible. Where a child's parents consider that an LEA is failing to meet this duty, it is open to them to complain to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, who will investigate the complaint.
  651W

  Pupils with statements of special educational needs (SEN) in maintained primary and secondary schools, by local education authority area in England

  Position at January 1999

  Primary

  secondary

  Total pupils

  Pupils with statements

  Percentage

  Total pupils

  Pupils with statements

  Percentage

  London

  637,928

  9,961

  1.6

  387,504

  9,899

  2.6

  Inner London

  230,648

  3,894

  1.7

  122,165

  3,913

  3.2

  City of London

  216

  3

  1.4

  1—

  1—

  1—

  Camden

  11,585

  192

  1.7

  10,802

  369

  3.4

  Hackney

  18,019

  292

  1.6

  7,642

  230

  3.0

  Hammersmith and Fulham

  9,569

  243

  2.5

  6,492

  142

  2.2

  Haringey

  21,869

  255

  1.2

  10,718

  241

  2.2

  Islington

  16,000

  381

  2.4

  7,467

  309

  4.1

  Kensington and Chelsea

  6,730

  92

  1.4

  3,500

  83

  2.4

  Lambeth

  19,893

  353

  1.8

  6,980

  186

  2.7

  Lewisham

  22,913

  266

  1.2

  11,261

  376

  3.3

  Newham

  30,505

  577

  1.9

  16,593

  688

  4.1

  Southwark

  23,682

  416

  1.8

  9,572

  306

  3.2

  Tower Hamlets

  21,975

  421

  1.9

  13,717

  534

  3.9

  Wandsworth

  17,831

  228

  1.3

  9,617

  224

  2.3

  Westminster

  9,861

  175

  1.8

  7,804

  225

  2.9

  Outer London

  407,280

  6,067

  1.5

  265,339

  5,986

  2.3

  Barking and Dagenham

  18,433

  310

  1.7

  10,427

  301

  2.9

  Barnet

  26,441

  331

  1.3

  20,437

  427

  2.1

  Bexley

  22,874

  318

  1.4

  16,044

  287

  1.8

  Brent

  22,712

  411

  1.8

  13,984

  395

  2.8

  Bromley

  25,027

  668

  2.7

  19,662

  531

  2.7

  Croydon

  31,534

  321

  1.0

  16,152

  195

  1.2

  Ealing

  27,361

  284

  1.0

  14,487

  223

  1.5

  Enfield

  26,639

  287

  1.1

  19,568

  333

  1.7

  Greenwich

  21,702

  434

  2.0

  13,561

  375

  2.8

  Harrow

  20,100

  397

  2.0

  8,318

  260

  3.1

  Havering

  21,247

  354

  1.7

  14,886

  470

  3.2

  Hillingdon

  23,185

  293

  1.3

  15,265

  413

  2.7

  Hounslow

  19,924

  296

  1.5

  15,700

  357

  2.3

  Kingston-upon-Thames

  11,763

  150

  1.3

  8,287

  158

  1.9

  Merton

  16,048

  257

  1.6

  7,735

  256

  3.3

  Redbridge

  22,979

  128

  0.6

  17,731

  205

  1.2

  Richmond-upon-Thames

  12,318

  200

  1.6

  7,548

  231

  3.1

  Sutton

  14,941

  322

  2.2

  13,170

  245

  1.9

  Waltham Forest

  22,352

  306

  1.4

  12,377

  324

  2.6

  South East

  664,702

  10,360

  1.6

  471,304

  10,458

  2.2

  Bracknell Forest

  9,489

  157

  1.7

  6,096

  161

  2.6

  Windsor and Maidenhead

  8,686

  149

  1.7

  9,945

  224

  2.3

  Newbury

  12,527

  232

  1.9

  11,127

  233

  2.1

  Reading

  11,115

  232

  2.1

  6,180

  124

  2.0

  Slough

  11,121

  182

  1.6

  7,412

  191

  2.6

  Wokingham

  13,082

  241

  1.8

  10,460

  223

  2.1

  Milton Keynes

  22,415

  447

  2.0

  11,526

  396

  3.4

  Buckinghamshire

  43,009

  700

  1.6

  30,758

  501

  1.6

  Brighton and Hove

  18,335

  339

  1.8

  11,191

  255

  2.3

  East Sussex

  38,536

  545

  1.4

  26,358

  482

  1.8

  Portsmouth

  16,444

  155

  0.9

  9,593

  135

  1.4

  Southampton

  18,497

  163

  0.9

  11,790

  212

  1.8

  Hampshire

  105,282

  943

  0.9

  67,504

  1,080

  1.6

  Isle of Wight

  7,422

  157

  2.1

  11,435

  318

  2.8

  Medway

  25,570

  567

  2.2

  18,856

  539

  2.9

  Kent

  115,004

  1,961

  1.7

  88,966

  2,178

  2.4

  Oxfordshire

  45,468

  577

  1.3

  37,247

  865

  2.3

  Surrey

  80,752

  1,591

  2.0

  53,859

  1,236

  2.3

  West Sussex

  61,948

  1,022

  1.6

  41,001

  1,105

  2.7

  1 Not applicable (no schools of this type)

  Source:

  Annual Schools' Census
  652W

  Nautical Studies GCSE
  Mr. Bruce George
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the future of the GCSE in nautical studies; and what consultation his Department has held on proposed changes. [115861]

  Mr. Wicks
  The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) is working with the awarding bodies to develop advice on the list of GCSE titles to be offered from 2001. No decisions have been reached at this stage. If proposals are made to remove titles from the approved list, QCA will seek the views of interested organisations before submitting final recommendations. We shall consider QCA's advice very carefully before decisions are made.

  ERASMUS
  Mr. Boswell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many full-time higher education students took an ERASMUS year of study in another European country(a) outwards from the UK and (b) inwards to the United Kingdom in each of the last five years. [116016]

  Mr. Wicks
  [holding answer 22 March 2000]: The latest available information on numbers of full-time higher education students in the ERASMUS programme is given in the following table.

  Year

  Outward mobility from UK

  Inward mobility to UK

  1994–95

  11,988

  18,315

  1995–96

  11,735

  21,808

  1996–97

  10,537

  19,602

  1997–98

  10,592

  20,769

  1998–99

  9,994

  121,240

  1 Provisional

  Literacy
  Mr. Patrick Hall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to tackle literacy problems among secondary school pupils. [114604]

  Mr. Wills
  I refer my hon. Friend to the oral reply given to our hon. Friend the Member for Enfield, North (Ms Ryan) earlier today,Official Report, column 1102.

  Teachers (Development)
  Mr. Ernie Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on continuing professional development for teachers. [114617]

  Ms Estelle Morris
  We are committed to supporting high-quality professional development to become an entitlement for every teacher. We are consulting on a draft framework for continuing professional development to provide the opportunity, support and recognition that teaching needs to become a learning profession.

  Schools (Sheffield, Heeley)
  Mr. Bill Michie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what representations he has received in respect of(a) school closures, (b) school mergers and (c) changes in schools' catchment areas affecting the constituency of Sheffield, Heeley. [114623]

  Ms Estelle Morris
  No representations have been received by my Department about school organisation matters in Sheffield, Heeley.

  Apprenticeships
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many(a) men and (b) women were in an apprenticeship scheme in England and Wales on 1 March. [114594]

  Mr. Wicks
  The latest date for which information is available on those participating in Modern Apprenticeships and National Traineeships is 26 December 1999, when there were 143,300 in Modern Apprenticeships, 47 per cent. of which were women, and 72,700 in National Traineeships, 56 per cent. of which were women.

  Modern Apprenticeships are a key part of the Government's response to the need to prepare young people for an economy based on high-level skills. We have recently announced a consultation on reforms to drive forward improvements to Modern Apprenticeships to enhance work based training opportunities enabling all young people to reach their potential and ensure economic success.

  As part of this National Traineeships and Modern Apprenticeships have been renamed as Foundation Modern Apprenticeships and Advanced Modern Apprenticeships.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Nuclear Warheads
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans the United Kingdom has to decommission nuclear warheads prior to the Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference in April. [115356]

  Mr. Hoon
  I have been asked to reply.

  The Government are committed to the goal of global nuclear disarmament and take their responsibilities as a signatory of the Non-Proliferation Treaty very seriously. We have already given up our maritime tactical and air-launched nuclear capability and all these weapons have been dismantled. The Chevaline warheads from our previous strategic nuclear deterrent force, Polaris, are currently being dismantled. Trident is now our only nuclear system. We announced in the Strategic Defence Review that we will maintain fewer than 200 operationally available warheads for Trident. We now have significantly fewer nuclear weapons than any other Nuclear Weapon State. We have no plans to make any further reductions to our nuclear deterrent prior to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference.

  Kosovo
  Mr. Wilshire
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many bodies of Kosovar Albanians known to have been killed by Kosovan Serbs and Yugoslav police and armed forces since June 1998 have been found. [115333]

  Mr. Vaz
  The International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) has said that over 2,000 bodies have so far been exhumed from 195 grave sites by investigators working on behalf of The Tribunal. This is out of a total of 529 reported grave sites, most of which are still to be investigated. Work on remaining sites will resume in Spring this year. Besides known grave sites, other sites may come to light as work progresses, but a high proportion of bodies may never be recovered given the degree to which Serb forces attempted to destroy evidence.

  Mr. Wilshire
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his estimate of the number of Kosovar Albanians forced out of Kosovo prior to the start of NATO's bombing campaign. [115332]

  Mr. Vaz
  Before the airstrikes began there were over 210,000 people internally displaced within Kosovo and 70,000 refugees outside Kosovo. The vast majority of the Internally Displaced Persons and 50,000 of the refugees were Kosovo Albanians.

SOCIAL SECURITY

  Benefit Errors
  Mr. Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the amount of(a) erroneous

  Table A: Overpayments

  Value of official error

  Value of customer error

  Benefit

  1996–97

  1997–98

  1998–99

  1996–97

  1997–98

  1998–99

  Contributory Benefits1

  17,218,844

  22,382,564

  14,800,517

  21,282,055

  28,484,420

  33,869,503

  Income Support

  67,923,629

  94,419,967

  71,461,623

  170,419,299

  198,510,053

  220,643,950

  Unemployment Benefit2

  50,235

  159,781

  7,804

  947,214

  909,263

  263,872

  Jobseekers Allowance

  739,134

  10,071,179

  9,530,671

  702,776

  19,057,220

  31,933,785

  Attendance Allowance

  2,003,042

  2,158,956

  2,109,577

  1,485,358

  4,080,296

  5,116,223

  Disability Living Allowance

  5,392,505

  11,078,403

  11,238,154

  3,666,447

  7,231,337

  8,273,408

  Invalid Care Allowance

  1,981,510

  4,553,788

  6,140,968

  8,090,321

  25,026,090

  21,726,441

  Child Benefit Directorate3

  —

  —

  9,599,275

  —

  —

  13,927,975

  Disability Working Allowance

  61,671

  102,279

  65,006

  62,183

  87,597

  126,510

  Family Credit

  1,704,039

  910,535

  881,523

  2,677,865

  5,093,301

  6,918,817

  Pensions Directorate4

  9,509,276

  11,544,820

  12,332,892

  1,639,642

  2,656,646

  8,328,301

  Earnings Top Up5

  —

  10,010

  4,543

  —

  12,560

  39,557

  1 Includes contributory benefits processed in District offices: Sickness Benefit, Invalidity Benefit, Retirement Pension, Widows Benefit, Attendance Allowance, Severe Disablement Allowance, Mobility Allowance, Family Credit, Invalid Care Allowance, Disability Living Allowance, Disability Working Allowance, Child Benefit, Industrial Injuries Death Benefit, Maternity Allowance, Incapacity Benefit, Industrial Injuries Death Benefit, Earnings Top Up, Reduced Earnings Allowance, Guardians Allowance.

  2 Unemployment Benefit ceased to be paid on the introduction of JSA in 1996 although some retrospective overpayments are still identified.

  3 Includes Child Benefit, One Parent Benefit and Guardians Allowance—records not kept in 1996–97 or 1997–98.

  4 Includes Retirement Pensions, Widows Benefit, Attendance Allowance and Overseas Benefits.

  5 Introduced in October 1996 but no overpayments recorded until 1997–98.

  Note:

  Figures include non-recoverable overpayments written-off under an Easements Package agreed with Treasury
  656W
  underpayment and (b) erroneous overpayment arising as a result of error by (i) officials and (ii) customers, for each benefit administered by his Department for each of the last three years. [114669]

  Angela Eagle
  [holding answer 14 March 2000]: The administration of benefits is a matter for Peter Mathison, the Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to my right hon. Friend.

  Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Frank Field, dated 22 March 2000:
  The Secretary of State has asked me to respond to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what was the amount of (i) erroneous underpayment and (ii) erroneous overpayment arising as a result of error by (a) officials and (b) customers, for each benefit administered by his Department for each of the last three years.
  The figures for overpayments represent the value of debt which has to be recorded. For most benefits (or grouping of benefits) I can provide the information you have asked for in full and this is set out in table A. Where I can provide you with partial data this is explained in the note to table A.
  From the figures in table A you will note that the value of overpayments is increasing. This increase in the value of debt reflects an increase in the identification and processing of overpayments which, in turn, results from increased activity on programme protection initiatives to drive down the levels of fraud and error. The number of overpayment cases processed (for all benefits) has increased from 0.9 million cases in 1996/97 to 1.2 million cases in 1998/99.
  When an underpayment is found the payment is corrected straight away and noted on the individual file. However, the information is not collated centrally. The information I can provide you with is therefore limited, and confined to those benefits where the Agency conducts checking regimes which provide a statistically valid estimate of underpayments. This information is set out in table B which also carries explanatory notes.
  I hope this is helpful.
  657W

  Table B: Underpayments

  £ million

  Benefit of official error

  Value of customer error

  Benefit

  1996–97

  1997–98

  1998–99

  1996–97

  1997–98

  1998–99

  Income Support

  192.8

  165.4

  210.9

  n/a

  n/a

  40.0

  Jobseekers Allowance

  1—

  20.1

  22.2

  n/a

  n/a

  4.0

  Incapacity Benefit

  106.4

  64.8

  77.6

  n/a

  n/a

  2—

  1 Jobseekers Allowance was introduced during 1996–97.

  2 Incapacity Benefit is not subject to Area Benefit Reviews.

  Notes:

  1. These figures are estimates of the monetary value of underpayments based on a statistical sample of each benefit which is checked for customer error or official error.

  2. The estimate of customer error is obtained from Area Benefit Reviews. 1998–99 is the first full year of these reviews.

  3. The estimate of official error is obtained from Quality Support checks.

  4. The values are estimated to 0.1 per cent. of million.

  War Veterans' Widows
  Ms Squire
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what financial assistance is available to the widow of a war veteran to cover funeral costs. [115937]

  Angela Eagle
  Under the War Pensions Scheme1 the Secretary of State has the discretion to meet any reasonable expenses relating to the funeral of a former member of the Armed Forces provided
  the death was due to service; or
  at the time of death the person was provided with National Health Service accommodation or hospital in-patient treatment for their war pensioned disablement.

  The Social Fund Funeral Payment scheme2 provides help with funeral expenses where someone has died and there are insufficient funds available. The person seeking help must have been awarded a qualifying income-related benefit or tax credit and have good reason for taking responsibility for the funeral arrangements. The qualifying benefits/tax credits are: Income Support, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, Working Families' Tax Credit, Disabled Persons' Tax Credit, Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit.

  Any award from the Social Fund would be deducted from the amount payable under the War Pensions Scheme.
  Notes:
  1 The Naval, Military and Air Forces Etc. (Disablement and Death) Service Pensions Order 1983.
  2 Social Fund, Maternity and Funeral Expenses (General) Regulations 1987.

  Departmental Programme Protection Fund
  Mr. Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 9 March 2000,Official Report, column 811W, on the Departmental Programme Protection Fund, if he will disaggregate the budget by type of expenditure. [116057]

  Mr. Rooker
  The budget for 1999–2000 has been split as follows:

  £ million

  DSS administration costs

  370.7

  Non DSS administration costs

  93.5

  Total

  464.2

  Pensioners (Hampshire)
  Mr. Oaten
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many pensioners there are in(a) Hampshire and (b) each local authority in Hampshire, including the unitary authorities of Southampton and Portsmouth, indicating the age distribution, broken down by the number aged (i) 75 to 79 and (ii) 80 and older in each area. [116022]

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

  Estimated resident population of persons of pensionable age in Hampshire, Hampshire Local Authorities, Southampton UA and Portsmouth UA, mid-1998,

  Thousand

  Area

  75–79

  80+

  Hampshire County1

  41.0

  48.6

  Basingstoke and Deane

  3.8

  4.0

  East Hampshire

  3.4

  4.5

  Eastleigh

  3.3

  3.7

  Fareham

  3.6

  4.5

  Gosport

  2.5

  2.9

  Hart

  2.1

  2.5

  Havant

  4.7

  4.8

  New Forest

  8.2

  10.1

  Rushmoor

  2.1

  2.7

  Test Valley

  3.4

  4.0

  Winchester

  3.9

  5.1

  Portsmouth UA

  6.8

  8.3

  Southampton UA

  7.3

  8.6

  Notes:

  1. Hampshire County does not include Southampton UA and Portsmouth UA

  2. Estimates supplied by the Office for National Statistics

  National Benefits Intelligence Unit
  Mr. Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what grade of civil servant will head the National Benefits Intelligence Unit; [116024]

  (2) how many years of experience in counter-fraud work the head of the new National Benefits Intelligence Unit is required to have. [116026]

  Mr. Rooker
  The head of the National Benefits Intelligence Unit will be appointed to the senior civil service at Grade 5 level as will the head of the Central Organised Fraud Investigation Unit.
  659W
  Both posts will be advertised in the national press, and will be open to candidates with a broad range of backgrounds and experience.

  While a specific number of years served will not be a requirement, previous experience will be an important factor in the selection process along with other factors necessary in making an appointment at senior civil service level.

  Fraud
  Mr. Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 9 March 2000,Official Report, column 810W, on fraudulent housing benefit claims, if he will list the new powers given to local authorities to (a) control direct payments of housing benefit more tightly, (b) to recover overpayments more easily and (c) to require landlords to provide information. [116058]

  £

  Benefit

  Rate when introduced

  Date of introduction

  Current rate

  Value at April 2000 if increased in line with prices since date introduced

  Income Support (IS)

  3,000

  April 1988

  3,000

  4,701.40

  Lower Capital Limit

  6,000

  April 1988

  8,000

  9,402,65

  Upper Capital Limit

  8,000

  April 1990

  8,000

  11,382.15

  Housing Benefit (HB) Capital Limits

  3,000

  April 1988

  3,000

  4,701.40

  6,000

  April 1988

  16,000

  9,402.65

  8,000

  May 1988

  16,000

  12,536.85

  16,000

  April 1990

  16,000

  22,764.45

  Community Charge Benefit/Council Tax Benefit Capital Limits

  16,000

  April 1990

  16,000

  22,764.45

  Child's Capital Limits

  3,000

  April 1988

  3,000

  4,701.40

  IS/HB for Residential Care and Nursing Homes Capital Limits

  Upper

  16,000

  April 1996

  16,000

  17,437,60

  Lower

  10,000

  April 1996

  10,000

  10,898.55

  Social Fund Capital Limits

  All ages

  500

  April 1988

  500

  783.55

  Aged 60 and over

  1,000

  April 1990

  1,000

  1,422.75

  Notes:

  1. The figures are rounded to the nearest 5 pence at each uprating date.

  2. For income-related benefits the ROSSI index (Retail Price Index less rent, local taxes and mortgage interest payments), as published by the Official for National Statistics, is used.

  Pensioners (Income)
  Mr. O'Hara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the proportion and number of(a) single pensioners who receive a total income below £90 per week after housing costs and (b) pensioner couples who receive a total income below £135 per week after housing costs. [115744]

  Mr. Rooker
  The information is in the table.

  Single pensioners with total net income after housing costs less than £90

  Pensioner couples with total net income after housing costs less than £135

  Number

  2,190,000

  630,000

  Proportion (percentage)

  52

  24

  660W
  Angela Eagle
  Powers enabling local authorities (LAs) to control direct payments of benefit more tightly were introduced by the Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (General) Amendment (No.2) Regulations 1997. (SI 1997 No.2434).

  The Housing Benefit (Recovery of Overpayments) Regulations 1997, gave LAs the power to recover overpayments more easily. (SI 1997 No.2435).

  The Housing Benefit (Information from Landlords and Agents) Regulations 1997 provide for LAs to require information from landlords and agents. (SI 1997 No. 2436).

  Benefit Ceilings
  Mr. Alan Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when the income and capital ceilings of each relevant benefit were established; and if he will calculate the value when set at current prices of each ceiling. [115905]

  Angela EagleM
  The information is in the table.

  Notes:

  1. Estimates are for Great Britain.

  2. Single pensioners are defined as single (non-cohabiting) people over state pension age (65 for men, 60 for women); pensioner couples are defined as couples (married or cohabiting) where the man is over state pension age.

  3. Total net income is defined as net income after housing costs, and is based on September 1999 prices, uprated from 1997–98 data using the Retail Prices Index all items excluding housing costs. Therefore, this analysis assumes that the real value of pensioners' net incomes after housing costs is the same in September 1999 as in 1997–98, whereas in practice they would have tended to have risen.

  4. Estimates are given to the nearest 10,000 or 1 per cent., but are not necessarily accurate to that degree.

  Source:

  Family Resources Survey 1997–98.

  State Pension
  Mr. O'Hara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the(a) gross and (b) net cost, after taking account of increased taxation receipts and means-tested benefits savings, of raising the basic state pension to £90 per week for a single person and £135 for a pensioner couple; and what increase in National Insurance contribution rates would be required from (i) employers and (ii) employees to meet this cost. [115743]

  Mr. Rooker
  The information is in the table:

  Cost of increasing the basic state pension to £90 and £135 per week, 2000–01

  £ million

  Gross cost

  11,790

  Cost net of means-tested benefits

  9,210

  Costs net of means-tested benefits and income tax

  8,160

  Notes:

  1. Costs are rounded to the nearest £10 million and are in 2000–01 benefit rates.

  2. Costs include benefits whose rates are statutorily linked to the basic state pension rate, such as Widow's Benefits and Incapacity Benefit.

  3. Gross costs and changes in National Insurance contribution rates have been supplied by the Government Actuary' Department.

  4. Offsetting means-tested benefit savings have been calculated using the Department's 2000–01 Policy Simulation Model.

  5. Income tax savings have been estimated by the Inland Revenue.

  In order to meet the gross cost from the National Insurance Fund, either employers' National Insurance contribution rates would have to rise by 3.9 percentage points, or employees' National Insurance rates would have to rise by 4.5 percentage points.

  Means-tested Benefits
  Mr. O'Hara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the(a) gross and (b) net cost, after taking account of increased taxation receipts and means-tested benefits savings, of raising (i) the Minimum Income Guarantee and (ii) Income Support for people aged 60 years and over to £90 per week for single pensioners and £135 for pensioner couples; and how many more pensioners would be eligible for Income Support at these levels. [115742]

  Mr. Rooker
  The Minimum Income Guarantee is payable through Income Support to people aged 60 and over. Means-tested benefits are calculated net of tax and do not affect tax revenue. The information is in the tables.

  An estimate of the effects on caseload and expenditure of an increase of £90 a week for single pensioners and £135 a week for couples in the Minimum Income guarantee levels, and the consequential increases to Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit

  Floaters-on

  Gainers

  Total

  Caseload (Thousand)

  Income Support

  123

  1,433

  1,557

  Housing Benefit

  22

  709

  731

  Council Tax Benefit

  33

  1,004

  1,037

  Expenditure (£ million)

  Income Support

  40

  460

  500

  Housing Benefit

  5

  175

  180

  Council Tax Benefit

  1—

  80

  80

  1 Denotes negligible expenditure of less than £2.5 million

  662W

  A modelled estimate of the numbers of people eligible for Income Support following the change

  Thousand

  Newly entitled pensioners

  Income Support

  220

  Housing Benefit

  45

  Council Tax Benefit

  115

  Notes:

  1. Caseloads are rounded to the nearest 1,000, and expenditure to the nearest £5 million.

  2. Costs net of means-tested benefits have been calculated using the Policy Simulation Model based on the 1997–98 Family Resources Survey uprated to 2000–01, and calibrated to November 1999 PBR forecasts.

  3. Floaters-on are by number of claims rather than total numbers of people affected, but an indication rounded to the nearest 5,000 has been given of how many pensioners would become entitled, based on the 1997–98 FRS survey.

  4. Caseload figures exclude Residential Care and Nursing Home cases.

  5. Totals may differ due to rounding.

  Winter Fuel Payments
  Mr. Stevenson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what the status is of Winter Fuel Payments following the European Court judgment of 16 December 1999; and when he expects to complete the payments to those who are eligible. [115618]

  Angela Eagle
  Following the judgment in the case of Taylor, the age at which Winter Fuel Payments can be made will be equalised at 60, and the need to be in receipt of a qualifying benefit will be removed. As before, these payments are intended to people who are ordinarily resident in Great Britain.

  Payments to those newly eligible will be made as soon as possible. To ensure that these payments are made correctly, it is necessary to determine names and addresses. Some people will be identified through current Departmental records, but the majority may have had no contact with the Department for a long period, and information held may not be up to date. Therefore, there is a need to introduce a claims process to determine precise entitlement.

  The process needed to be developed carefully. The Benefits Agency have been working on this and other operational issues to determine the best way to deliver the payments. Details of delivery arrangements will be announced shortly.

  In-work Support
  Mr. Etherington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the sources of in-work support for people without dependent children; and if he will make a statement. [115108]

  Angela Eagle
  We are committed to providing a better deal for all working people including those without dependent children. In the longer term we are attracted to the idea of extending the principle of tax credits to all low-income households through an Employment Tax Credit. The new Employment Credit for over 50s is one of the first steps in this process.
  663W
  The New Deal 50 plus is being introduced nationally at the beginning of April. This is aimed at people aged 50 or over who have been claiming benefits for at least six months and their dependent partners. It can provide an Employment Credit of £60 a week for up to 52 weeks for those taking up full-time work and £40 a week for part-time work and this is available to people without dependent children.

  The Disabled Persons Tax Credit replaced the Disability Working Allowance. It has higher income thresholds and a lower taper and is available to disabled workers without dependent children. It currently provides a guaranteed income of at least £155 a week for a single person and £230 a week for a couple and from April it will be paid through the wage packet.

  People without dependent children can claim Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit to help with housing costs while working. They can also claim the four-week Housing Benefit extended payment and owner-occupiers without dependent children will be able to benefit from the new four week run-on of mortgage interest support when this is introduced in April 2001.

  In-work help with prescriptions and NHS charges under the NHS low-income scheme is available to people without dependent children.

  People without dependent children can receive a Jobmatch allowance of £50 a week for six months to encourage them to take up part-time jobs.

  Other sources of support such as Invalid Care Allowance, providing the earnings do not exceed £50 a week after allowable expenses, Disability Living Allowance, Widow's Pension and Retirement Pension are also available to people without children irrespective of whether or not they are working.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Police (Sick Leave)
  Mr. Hilary Benn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the average number of days taken on sick leave per police officer for each police force in England for the latest year for which figures are available. [116055]

  Mr. Charles Clarke
  The average number of days taken on sick leave per police officer in each force in England in 1998–99 is shown in the table, which also includes data on the four forces in Wales.

  Police days lost through sickness

  Average police strength

  Average days sick per officer

  Avon and Somerset

  31,470

  3,012

  10.4

  Bedfordshire

  14,572

  1,041

  14.0

  Cambridgeshire

  15,393

  1,295

  11.9

  Cheshire

  28,452

  2,111

  13.5

  City of London

  10,449

  790

  13.2

  Cleveland

  17,486

  1,471

  11.9

  Cumbria

  11,732

  1,160

  10.1

  Derbyshire

  21,753

  1,777

  12.2

  Devon and Cornwall

  31,228

  2,946

  10.6

  Dorset

  12,967

  1,303

  10.0

  Durham

  15,974

  1,552

  10.3

  Dyfed-Powys

  9,966

  1,044

  9.5

  664W

  Police days lost through sickness

  Average police strength

  Average days sick per officer

  Essex

  38,748

  2,936

  13.2

  Gloucestershire

  12,964

  1,113

  11.6

  Greater Manchester

  97,682

  6,913

  14.1

  Gwent

  14,674

  1,250

  11.7

  Hampshire

  33,221

  3,470

  9.6

  Hertfordshire

  18,952

  1,752

  10.8

  Humberside

  17,142

  2,021

  8.5

  Kent

  36,500

  3,269

  11.2

  Lancashire

  39,188

  3,331

  11.8

  Leicestershire

  24,235

  2,037

  11.9

  Lincolnshire

  15.609

  1,171

  13.3

  Merseyside

  49,525

  4,373

  11.3

  Metropolitan Police

  289,791

  26,566

  10.9

  Norfolk

  16,333

  1,426

  11.5

  North Wales

  16,759

  1,416

  11.8

  North Yorkshire

  16,381

  1,360

  12.0

  Northamptonshire

  12,530

  1,167

  10.7

  Northumbria

  44,145

  3,854

  11.5

  Nottinghamshire

  31,128

  2,248

  13.8

  South Wales

  48,958

  2,989

  16.4

  South Yorkshire

  38,349

  3,165

  12.1

  Staffordshire

  28,418

  2,279

  12.5

  Suffolk

  11,668

  1,195

  9.8

  Surrey

  17,332

  16,80

  10.3

  Sussex

  31,918

  2,962

  10.8

  Thames Valley

  49,894

  3,822

  13.1

  Warwickshire

  12,495

  925

  13.5

  West Mercia

  22,796

  2,033

  11.2

  West Midlands

  88,341

  7,250

  12.2

  West Yorkshire

  59,911

  5,053

  11.9

  Wiltshire

  11,111

  1,169

  9.5

  England and Wales Total

  1,468,140

  125,695

  11.7

  Criminal Record Checks
  Mr. Edward Davey
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many representations he has received from(a) individuals and (b) organisations expressing concern about the £10 levy for the criminal record checks; what plans he has to lower this charge in respect of inquiries by charities and voluntary organisations; and if he will make a statement. [115923]

  Mr. Charles Clarke
  We have received a substantial number of letters from individuals and organisations on this matter. When the Criminal Records Bureau comes into operation, it will be expected to recover its costs through charges for the certificates that it will issue, on application, to individuals. It will be for employers and organisations to decide whether to reimburse the cost. Until the Bureau's operating costs have been determined, it will not be possible to fix the charges, but the cost has previously been estimated at between £5 and £10, depending upon the type of certificate. We have no plans to lower the charge in respect of those applying from the voluntary sector. This presents substantial problems of principle and would inevitably increase costs for the public purse or for other applicants for certificates. We have made clear our determination to keep the cost as low as possible.

  Referendum Campaigns
  Mr. Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total cost to public funds of material issued by Her Majesty's Government during the recent referendum campaigns in(a) Wales, (b) Scotland, (c) Northern Ireland and (d) London. [115826]
  665W
  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  [holding answer 22 March 2000]: The total amount spent by the Government on publicity in connection with each of the four referendum campaigns in 1997–98 is given in the table:

  £

  Scotland

  1,274,706

  Wales

  608,774

  London

  1,600,000

  Northern Ireland

  569,600

  Campsfield House
  Dr. Harris
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of detainees held at Campsfield House had been detained for longer than six months in each quarter since June 1996. [115374]

  Mrs. Roche
  The information requested is not collected but the following table, extracted from records at Campsfield House, shows the length of detention at that centre. The table does not take account of time that may have been spent in detention before arrival at Campsfield House.

  6 to 9 months

  9 to 12 months

  Over 12 months

  Number of detainees

  1996

  June

  15

  7

  4

  192

  July

  15

  8

  3

  195

  August

  22

  4

  5

  197

  September

  25

  4

  5

  198

  October

  25

  8

  7

  197

  November

  21

  9

  5

  196

  December

  1—

  1—

  1—

  1—

  1997

  January

  25

  8

  2

  191

  February

  25

  6

  1

  195

  March

  25

  8

  2

  196

  April

  18

  8

  4

  198

  May

  15

  6

  1

  193

  June

  5

  6

  3

  195

  July

  12

  6

  2

  195

  August

  7

  4

  1

  190

  September

  6

  0

  2

  108

  October

  5

  1

  2

  105

  November

  7

  2

  1

  109

  December

  3

  2

  1

  110

  1998

  January

  2

  1

  0

  109

  February

  5

  0

  0

  108

  March

  6

  1

  0

  109

  April

  7

  0

  0

  110

  May

  6

  1

  0

  110

  June

  7

  2

  0

  109

  July

  6

  3

  0

  110

  August

  4

  2

  1

  121

  September

  4

  2

  2

  162

  October

  3

  2

  2

  184

  November

  6

  1

  2

  183

  December

  4

  1

  3

  181

  1999

  January

  6

  0

  2

  181

  February

  6

  2

  2

  183

  March

  7

  2

  1

  184

  April

  6

  1

  0

  184

  May

  1—

  1—

  1—

  1—

  666W

  6 to 9 months

  9 to 12 months

  Over 12 months

  Number of detainees

  June

  5

  3

  0

  184

  July

  6

  0

  0

  175

  August

  8

  1

  0

  181

  September

  10

  2

  0

  180

  October

  8

  3

  0

  184

  November

  1—

  1—

  1—

  1—

  December

  8

  4

  1

  181

  2000

  January

  7

  5

  1

  184

  1 Not available

  Immigration and Nationality Directorate
  Ms Oona King
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) for how many weeks the dedicated team in IND dealing with the backlog of general and settlement casework has been operating; and how many cases have been determined in each of these weeks; [115404]

  (2) how many staff have been allocated to the dedicated team tackling the backlog of general and settlement casework within IND. [115405]

  Mrs. Roche
  A dedicated team, The After-Entry Clearance Team (AECT), was set up in April 1999 specifically to tackle the backlog of general and settlement casework and consists of 12 staff. The available information on output is set out in the table which shows that since they were established they have completed over 17,650 cases.

  Monthly output of AECT 1999–2000

  Month

  Output

  1999

  April

  541

  May

  1,996

  June

  1,662

  July

  1,526

  August

  1,459

  September

  2,198

  October

  1,841

  November

  1,784

  December

  1,404

  2000

  January

  1,722

  February

  1,523

  Ms Oona King
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases are currently in the backlog of general and settlement casework; and what is the target date for clearing them. [115380]

  Mrs. Roche
  The backlog of general and settlement cases, which are in the Case Allocation Unit and the Work in Progress store awaiting action by caseworkers, is currently 29,000. We aim to clear this to fractional levels by the summer.

  Angola
  Ms Oona King
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been
  667W
  (a) removed and (b) deported to Angola in each of the last five years; and if it is his policy to return people to that country. [115350]

  Mrs. Roche
  The only information available relates to the number of Angolans removed from the United Kingdom. To the nearest five, 130 Angolan nationals were removed in 1995, 140 in 1996, 180 in 1997 and 95 in 1998. Regrettably data for 1999 are not yet available. In addition, these removal figures may not include all dependants. Unfortunately, it is not possible to provide an accurate breakdown between the number of people removed and the number deported; similarly it is not possible to confirm how many of the people removed from the United Kingdom were returned to Angola. This information could be obtained only by examining individual case files.

  Returns to Angola are considered on a case-by-case basis after a careful assessment of the risk to the individual, taking account of the information and advice about conditions in Angola which has been made available by a range of international and non-governmental organisations. No one is returned unless it is clear that it is safe to do so.

  Elderly People (Fear of Crime)
  Mr. Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out(a) baseline data for 1997 and (b) data for subsequent years for his Department's measurement of fear of crime among the elderly as included in the poverty audit, "Opportunity for All". [116025]

  Mr. Charles Clarke
  The First Annual Report, "Opportunity for All: Tackling Poverty and Social Exclusion", was published in September 1999. The indicator for fear of crime and the elderly is the proportion of those aged 60 years or over whose lives are greatly affected by fear of crime. The 1998 British Crime Survey reported that 10 per cent. of people in that age group said that their own quality of life was greatly affected by fear of crime.

  This estimate is based on a sample of adults within the age group living in private households in England and Wales. The responses are on a scale of one to 10, where one is no effect and 10 is total effect on the quality of their lives. The definition of "greatly affected" are those who give scores of eight, nine or 10 on the scale. The question is being repeated in the 2000 British Crime Survey.

  Asylum Seekers
  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many failed asylum seekers had(a) deportation and (b) enforcement action initiated against them in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and, of those, how many left the United Kingdom. [115972]

  Mrs. Roche
  Information on enforcement action initiated, comprising action taken under illegal entry and deportation procedures, including figures showing the number of cases initiated against persons who had applied for asylum at some stage, can be found in the Command Paper, "Control of Immigration: Statistics, United Kingdom, 1998" (Table 7.1) for 1995 and Home Office Statistical Bulletin, "Control of Immigration: Statistics, United Kingdom, First Half 1999" (Table 5.1) for 1996 668W
  to first half 1999. Copies of those publications are in the Library. It should be noted that the relevant figures therein are presented by the date that enforcement action was initiated. This date may be prior to, after, or the same as, the date of the asylum decision, where such a decision has been taken. Enforcement statistics do not include removal action initiated against failed port asylum applicants under port procedures.

  Comprehensive data are not available on persons removed or departing voluntarily following the initiation of enforcement action against them by the date that such action was initiated. Additionally, it is not known how many persons have left the country voluntarily without notifying the Immigration and Nationality Directorate. Figures are not, therefore, available on the numbers of failed asylum seekers leaving the United Kingdom who had enforcement action initiated against them in the last five years.

  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many failed asylum seekers are unlawfully at large in the United Kingdom. [115975]

  Mrs. Roche
  It is not known how many asylum applicants, in total, leave the country and it is not, therefore, possible to state how many failed asylum applicants remain unlawfully in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list, for each of the last five years for which figures are available, the criminal offences committed by(a) asylum seekers whose applications had not been determined and (b) failed asylum seekers, indicating the (i) maximum and (ii) average sentence passed in respect of each type of offence. [115987]

  Mr. Charles Clarke
  The information is not available centrally.

  The Home Office Court Proceedings Database does not hold information about the characteristics of individual cases apart from those that are evident from the description of the offence with which the defendant has been charged.

  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which local authorities have applied to his Department to be placed on the list of authorities which will not be required to accept further asylum seekers; which of those local authorities have had their applications accepted; and if he will make a statement. [115979]

  Mrs. Roche
  There is no list of local authorities that will not be required to accept further asylum seekers. Some months ago local authorities were invited to inform the National Asylum Support Service if they felt they should be considered for exemption from accepting any further asylum seekers under the statutory interim arrangements should the Government decide to make regulations or make Directions specifying the maximum number of asylum seekers that any given local authority would need to support.
  669W
  In reply the following local authorities listed expressed the view that supporting further asylum seekers would cause them great difficulties.

  Bedfordshire County Council

  Bedford Borough Council

  Blackpool Borough Council

  Borough of Broxbourne

  Canterbury City Council

  Caradon District Council

  Carrick District Council

  Crawley Borough Council

  London Borough of Hillingdon

  Isle of Wight Council

  The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

  Lambeth Social Services

  New Forest District Council

  Norfolk County Council Social Services

  Northampton Borough Council and other Districts in the Country of Northamptonshire

  Oxford City Council

  Oxfordshire County Council

  London Borough of Richmond Upon Thames

  Shepway District Council

  Slough Borough Council

  South Cambridgeshire District Council

  Thurrock Council

  City of Westminster

  West Sussex County Council

  Wycombe District Council.

  The Government have noted the views of these Councils but have reached no conclusion about whether, were they to exercise the relevant powers, they should be exempted from accepting further asylum seekers.

  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what was the average waiting time for an initial decision in respect of claims for political asylum in(a) 1996, (b) 1997, (c) 1998, (d) 1999 and (e) 2000 to date; [116023]

  (2) what was the average time taken, in each of the last three years, to determine (a) an initial application for asylum and (b) an appeal from asylum seekers to whom the special appeals procedure in paragraph 5 of Schedule 2 to the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993 was applied. [115985]

  Mrs. Roche
  The available information is given in the table. The figures were calculated by taking the mean length of time between the date that the asylum application was lodged and the date of the initial decision. The figures relate to asylum applications lodged by principal applicants only.

  The information on appeals is not available in this format for the time period. The estimated waiting time for an appeal to be determined by an adjudicator was around 12 weeks at the end of February 2000 (this figure is based on an imputed calculation).
  670W

  Average time to initial decision, in months, 1996–99 1,2,3

  Year

  All application

  Applications lodged pre July 1993

  Applications lodged post July 1993

  1996

  17

  52

  11

  1997

  22

  64

  14

  1998

  17

  78

  12

  19994

  35

  91

  16

  1 Excluding dependants

  2 Figures are estimates based on cases for which information is recorded

  3 The average length of time (in months) is calculated for date application is lodged to the date of initial decision, and relates to the year in which the decisions were made

  4 As at December 1999, excludes cases awaiting an initial decision.

  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the amount(a) spent, (b) claimed and (c) allocated to each council in the United Kingdom in respect of expenditure on asylum seekers in (i) 1998–99 and (ii) 1999–2000. [115977]

  Mrs. Roche
  Payments to local authorities for the support of asylum seekers for the year 1998–99 were the responsibility of the Department of Health. Three grants were payable—one for supporting adults, one for supporting families and one for supporting unaccompanied asylum seeking children. The Department of Health is currently reconciling, in the light of the audit certificates now being provided, the amount claimed by authorities and the payments made to authorities. It is, therefore, not possible at the moment to give the full information requested as the amounts may be increased or reduced as a result of audit. I will write to the hon. Member with the fullest information as soon as possible.

  Since 1 April 1999, the Home Office has been responsible for reimbursing local authorities for the costs of supporting asylum seekers. Costs for the period 1 April-5 December are on the basis of a Special Grant Report. The table shows the amount of gross expenditure identified by local authorities for that period and the amount they have claimed in accordance with the grant rules. All claims will be met in full. These payments will be subject to audit by District Auditors and may be subject to variation in light of the findings of the auditors. Full information for the period 6 December 1999–31 March 2000 is not yet available.

  Asylum support 1 April 1999 to 5 December 1999

  Local authority

  Gross expenditure

  Claim

  Barking and Dagenham

  7,262,776

  7,002,166

  Barnet

  4,504,399

  3,895,802

  Barnsley

  48,103

  49,590

  Bath and North East Somerset

  18,025

  18,025

  Bedford

  694,866

  668,890

  Birmingham

  1,530,552

  1,530,552

  Blackburn with Darwen

  7,555

  7,555

  Blackpool

  5,776

  5,222

  Bexley

  693,927

  612,519

  Bolton Metro

  44,884

  44,884

  Bournemouth

  111,125

  111,125

  Bracknell Forest

  11,484

  11,484

  Bradford

  123,974

  121,670

  Brent

  5,785,782

  5,273,406

  Brighton and Hove

  453,109

  447,379

  Bristol City

  581,165

  581,165

  Bromley

  1,697,878

  1,530,850

  Buckinghamshire

  80,601

  77,280

  Bury

  11,784

  9,921

  Calderdale

  34,616

  34,616

  671W

  Asylum support 1 April 1999 to 5 December 1999

  Local authority

  Gross expenditure

  Claim

  Cambridgeshire

  477,531

  477,531

  Camden

  7,802,684

  5,871,860

  Cheshire

  144,444

  134,503

  Cornwall

  760

  760

  Corporation of London

  757,500

  505,000

  Coventry

  203,990

  134,830

  Croydon

  2,129,687

  2,090,070

  Cumbria

  —

  —

  Darlington

  2,561

  2,561

  Derby

  68,571

  68,571

  Derbyshire

  44,760

  44,760

  Devon

  8,768

  8,768

  Doncaster

  41,166

  41,166

  Dorset

  6,271

  5,880

  Dudley

  49,057

  49,057

  Durham

  6,396

  6,396

  Ealing

  3,469,338

  3,268,448

  East Riding of Yorkshire

  33,526

  31,091

  East Sussex

  249,979

  252,289

  Enfield

  5,426,810

  4,955,507

  Essex

  577,911

  560,931

  Gateshead

  39,845

  39,845

  Gloucestershire

  157,868

  157,868

  Greenwich

  2,910,299

  2,910,299

  Hackney

  6,474,129

  6,348,793

  Halton

  —

  —

  Hammersmith and Fulham

  8,286,810

  6,553,030

  Hampshire

  187,760

  173,057

  Haringey

  5,447,187

  4,423,740

  Harrow

  2,560,297

  2,076,459

  Hartlepool

  —

  —

  Havering

  1,314,517

  987,840

  Herefordshire

  10,058

  10,058

  Hertfordshire

  1,128,989

  1,128,989

  Hillingdon

  4,675,112

  4,240,593

  Hounslow

  3,358,880

  3,007,750

  Islington

  12,709,181

  11,186,794

  Isle of Wight

  —

  —

  Kensington and Chelsea

  6,540,918

  4,906,980

  Kent

  7,994,035

  7,995,905

  Kingston upon Hull

  254,321

  192,640

  Kingston upon Thames

  1,124,800

  767,520

  Kirklees

  155,742

  151,200

  Knowsley

  —

  —

  Lambeth

  8,743,665

  8,856,975

  Lancashire

  80,376

  73,458

  Leeds

  170,701

  170,701

  Leicester

  651,888

  605,463

  Leicestershire

  339,357

  303,042

  Lewisham

  4,885,567

  4,928,599

  Lincolnshire

  189,264

  189,264

  Liverpool

  227,703

  227,703

  Luton

  678,245

  678,245

  Manchester

  1,330,023

  1,298,648

  Medway

  153,841

  139,011

  Merton

  2,799,559

  2,491,867

  Middlesbrough

  101,241

  101,241

  Milton Keynes

  600,771

  548,045

  City of Newcastle

  335,340

  335,340

  Newham

  14,174,851

  14,174,851

  Norfolk

  266,820

  266,820

  North East Lincolnshire

  189,909

  151,740

  North Lincolnshire

  8,890

  8,890

  North Somerset

  31,081

  29,680

  North Tyneside

  22,661

  21,892

  North Yorkshire

  11,160

  11,160

  Northamptonshie

  5,109,145

  5,109,145

  Northumberland

  4,315

  4,315

  Nottingham

  137,918

  95,356

  Nottinghamshire

  118,884

  111,907

  Oldham

  8,165

  8,165

  Oxfordshire

  2,257,421

  2,227,141

  Peterborough

  104,290

  104,290

  672W

  Asylum support 1 April 1999 to 5 December 1999

  Local authority

  Gross expenditure

  Claim

  Plymouth

  52,660

  52,228

  Poole

  60,198

  28,393

  Portsmouth

  244,646

  211,460

  Reading

  645,848

  642,235

  Redbridge

  3,853,419

  3,832,621

  Redcar and Cleveland

  86,139

  84,978

  Richmond upon Thames

  4,110,282

  1,688,699

  Rochdale

  36,555

  28,941

  Rotherham

  52,383

  44,160

  Rutland

  30,312

  30,312

  Salford

  99,717

  99,717

  Sandwell

  246,707

  225,770

  Sefton

  25,374

  19,160

  Sheffield

  1,266,016

  1,210,780

  Shropshire

  10,877

  10,877

  Slough

  3,421,279

  2,817,100

  Solihull

  10,936

  10,640

  Somerset

  28,220

  17,520

  South Gloucestershire

  132,234

  82,284

  South Tyneside

  23,499

  22,557

  Southampton

  140,048

  104,048

  Southend on Sea

  611,023

  611,023

  Southwark

  9,288,505

  8,534,740

  Staffordshire

  281,125

  279,140

  Stockport

  73,125

  73,125

  Stockton on Tees

  18,889

  18,889

  Stoke on Trent

  51,842

  48,576

  Suffolk

  87,992

  81,754

  Sunderland

  17,683

  17,683

  Surrey

  801,783

  616,380

  Sutton

  1,613,975

  1,405,400

  Swindon

  152,652

  152,652

  Tameside

  4,607

  3,500

  Telford and Wrekin

  28,485

  24,401

  Thurrock

  860,371

  842,400

  Torbay

  —

  —

  Tower Hamlets

  1,940,910

  1,796,280

  Trafford

  111,728

  97,368

  Wakefield

  116,607

  107,473

  Walsall

  46,737

  40,664

  Waltham Forest

  5,528,618

  5,528,618

  Wandsworth

  4,256,996

  2,621,705

  Warrington

  40,426

  35,000

  Warwickshire

  274,806

  269,381

  West Berkshire

  5,655

  5,655

  West Sussex

  451,646

  422,860

  Westminster

  9,725,783

  6,714,560

  Wigan

  5,502

  5,502

  Wiltshire

  108,915

  101,944

  Windsor and Maidenhead

  53,401

  46,840

  Wirral

  630

  630

  Wokingham

  53,028

  53,028

  Worcestershire

  336,953

  200,953

  York

  6,251

  6,251

  St. Helens

  —

  —

  Wolverhampton

  36,728

  36,728

  Isle of Wight

  —

  —

  Isles of Scilly

  —

  —

  Total

  205,877,613

  183,177,970

  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many appeals against asylum decisios were(a) lodged and (b) heard in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [115968]

  Mrs. Roche
  Information regarding asylum appeals for each of the years 1994–98 is given in Table 8.1 of the Home Office statistical bulletins, "Asylum Statistics
  673W
  United Kingdom" 1995, 1996 and 1998, issues 9/96, 15/97 and 10/99, copies of which are available in the Library.

  Information for 1999 will be published in the latest issue of the bulletin in June of this year.

  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers left the United Kingdom in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [115978]

  Mrs. Roche
  Information is not recorded centrally on the numbers of in-country asylum applicants who depart voluntarily before enforcement action is initiated against them. Nor is it known how many asylum applicants leave the country voluntarily without notifying the Immigration and National Directorate of their departure. It is not, therefore, possible to give a total figure for asylum seekers leaving the United Kingdom.

  The available information, relating to removals and known voluntary departures for 1995–99 under port and enforcement procedures of persons who have applied for asylum at some stage, is given in the table. For port asylum applicants, the figures include persons departing voluntarily up to and including the point of notification of the decision on the asylum application and those persons who have had their asylum application refused and leave the country before they have exhausted their rights of appeal. For in-country applicants, the figures exclude persons departing voluntarily before the initiation of enforcement action.

  Failed asylum seekers are removed only once all their rights of appeal in the United Kingdom have been exhausted. It should be noted that the figures may include some persons who withdrew their asylum application or appeal before a decision or determination had been reached.

  Removals and voluntary departures1 of asylum applicants, excluding dependants, 1995–99

  Year

  Number

  1995

  3,180

  1996

  4,840

  1997

  7,160

  1998

  6,900

  19992

  7,645

  1 For port asylum applicants, the data include persons departing voluntarily up to and including the point of notification of the decision on the asylum application and those persons who have had their asylum application refused and leave the country before they have exhausted their rights of appeal. For in-country applicants, the data exclude persons departing voluntarily before the initiation of enforcement action.

  2 1999 data are provisional.

  Note:

  Data are rounded to 5.

  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the monthly cost of maintaining(a) adult asylum seekers, (b) child asylum seekers and (c) asylum seeking families (i) in detention, (ii) under the new support arrangements to be brought in from 3 April and (iii) under the interim arrangements made under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. [115973]
  674W
  Mrs. Roche
  The monthly direct cost of an available place in an immigration detention centre comes to just under £2,500. No differentiation is made between the cost of holding adults, children or families.

  The total average cost to the immigration service of holding a detainee is slightly over £5,000 per month. This represents the full cost of immigration detention, including the cost of escorting detainees, the cost of holding people in police cells and secondary examination areas, and management and other overheads.

  Unaccompanied children who claim asylum are not included in the interim arrangements made under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, nor are they included in the new support arrangements.

  Under the interim arrangements made under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, the Home Office makes available to local authorities against certified claims a grant of up to £650 per month for a single asylum seeker and up to £950 per month for a family unit.

  Under the new asylum seeker support arrangements to be phased in from 3 April 2000 destitute asylum seekers will be provided with accommodation and essential living needs, in the form of vouchers. The value of vouchers provided will be decided on a case-by-case basis. The maximum weekly levels of voucher support for asylum seekers under the new arrangements are shown in the table.

  £

  Maximum amount of weekly voucher support including £10 cash voucher

  Single person aged 25 or over

  36.54

  Single person aged at least 18 but under 25

  28.95

  Lone parent aged 18 or over

  36.54

  Qualifying couple

  57.37

  Person aged under 16

  26.60

  Person aged at least 16 but under 18 (except a member of a qualifying couple)

  31.75

  Costs associated with accommodation under the new support arrangements being phased in from 3 April 2000 are commercially confidential.

  Immigration Control (Illegal Workers)
  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of persons subject to immigration control who have been employed in contravention of section 8 of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 in each of the last three years; how many prosecutions have been brought; what is his policy in respect of such prosecutions; and if he will make a statement. [115974]

  Mrs. Roche
  No reliable estimate can be made of the number of persons subject to immigration control who have been employed in contravention of section 8 of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996. Prosecution of suspected offenders is a matter for the Crown Prosecution Service. One prosecution has been brought thus far, in 1999, when a company was found guilty on nine counts, and fined £500 on each count and ordered to pay costs. In addition, more than 40 people have been served with a
  675W
  warning of their liability to prosecution under this part of the Act. As my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. O'Brien) announced in the House last year, it is no longer our policy to issue a warning of liability to prosecution before proceeding to prosecution in appropriate cases.

  Home Detention Curfew Scheme
  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of offenders released on the Home Detention Curfew scheme have re-offended after completing the scheme; and if he will make a statement. [115967]

  Mr. Boateng
  Information about offences committed by offenders who have completed a period on the Home Detention Curfew scheme is not held centrally. However, an evaluation of the Home Detention Curfew scheme is being carried out by the Research, Development and Statistics Directorate of the Home Office. It will include an analysis, based upon a sampling exercise, of reconviction of curfewees both during and after the curfew period. Results will be published later this year.

  Press Office
  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department further to his answer of 17 March 2000,Official Report, columns 380–81W, on the Press Office, for what reason disproportionate costs would be involved in calculating the average number of persons employed in the Home Office Press Office in 1998–99 and 1999–2000; what was the cost of the calculation of the statistics for 1996–97 and 1997–98; and if he will make a statement. [115990]

  Mr. Straw
  Press Office staff levels have varied considerably over the last four years, have been augmented by seconded staff, by long and short-term attachments and there have been large numbers of vacancies at different times. Detailed staff number profiles for the periods in question are not held within the Communication Directorate. Central pay records would have to be searched month by month for the periods in question and these would not include all the attachments and secondments, many of which were not funded within the Directorate. The cost would, therefore, be disproportionate. No-one currently employed in the Communication Directorate was involved in providing the statistics for the Public Administration Committee and there is no record of the cost of obtaining the data.

  Special Advisers
  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 17 March 2000,Official Report, column 381W, on special advisers, if a record is kept of the contact with the Press that Mr. Ed Owen has in connection with his role to support Ministers in the presentational aspects of policy. [115989]

  Mr. Straw
  No.

  Global Cultural Diversity Congress
  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 17 March 2000,Official Report, column 376W, on the Global
  676W
  Cultural Diversity Congress, what level of Government funding he understood would be discussed at the Commission for Racial Equality's meeting on 7 February; whether that actual level was discussed; and if he will make a statement. [115991]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  We understood that potential costs to public funds in the region of £1 million might be discussed and were very concerned by this. The details of what was actually discussed on 7 February is a matter for the Commission for Racial Equality.

  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 17 March 2000,Official Report, column 376W, on the Global Cultural Diversity Congress, what Ministerial policy issues related to the production of the accountants' report into the financial affairs of Global Cultural Congress 2000 Ltd. [115993]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  The policy issues related to the appropriateness of injecting public funding into the Global Cultural Diversity Congress.

  The report for consultants was an oral report to officials accompanied by a bullet point presentation originally on slides which was relayed to Ministers.

  As the hon. Member has requested in a letter, I hope to be able to disclose shortly the substance of the report in accordance with the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, but I am awaiting advice on how that can be done.

  I will place a copy in the Library, when available.

  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 17 March 2000,Official Report, column 376W, on the Global Cultural Diversity Congress, from what Government funds he understood that the potential sources of additional funding for the Global Cultural Diversity Congress to be discussed at the Commission for Racial Equality's meeting on 7 February were to be sourced; who gave authorisation for the Government funding to be discussed at the Commission's meeting; when he was informed that additional funding from Government funds would be discussed at the meeting; and if he will make a statement. [115992]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  Ministers were briefed on a request for Home Office funding of the Global Cultural Diversity Congress on 4 February but did not agree to give any then or later.

  The detail of discussion at Commission meetings is a matter for the Commission for Racial Equality.

  Prisoner Accommodation
  Mr. Stinchcombe
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are being taken to accommodate prisoners closer to their homes. [115623]

  Mr. Boateng
  In its management of the prison population, the Prison Service aims to hold prisoners in establishments which provide the degree of security that they require, are suitable to their gender, age and legal status and which are near to their homes, or for unconvicted and unsentenced prisoners near to the courts dealing with their cases.
  677W
  However, high population levels throughout the prisons and remand estate can lead to prisoners being transferred from their home area to establishments with a greater number of vacancies.

  Mr. Stinchcombe
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners are held in prison establishments(a) over 25 miles, (b) over 50 miles and (c) over 100 miles from their homes. [115625]

  Mr. Boateng
  The Prison Service does not have home address records for every prisoner in its custody. The centrally available information is based on the distance that prisoners are held from their committal court town and is set out in the table in the nearest format to that requested. This information is based on data collected on 30 November 1999. There are in the region of 24,000 prisoners held under 25 miles from their committal court town.

  Distance from home area

  Number of prisoners 1

  Between 25 and 50 miles

  16,000

  Between 50 and 100 miles

  14,000

  Over 100 miles

  11,000

  Total over 25 miles

  41,000

  1 Rounded to nearest thousand

  Mr. Stinchcombe
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to implement the recommendations in "Prison Disturbances 1990: report of an Inquiry by the right hon. Lord Justice Woolf and His Honour Sir Stephen Tumim", that(a) no establishment should hold more prisoners than is provided for in its certified normal accommodation, and (b) Parliament be informed if there is a material departure from this rule. [115616]

  Mr. Boateng
  There are no plans to introduce a new prison rule to limit the maximum number of prisoners an establishment can hold to the level of its certified normal accommodation, also known as uncrowded capacity.

  This is because there is no immediate prospect that overcrowding will be ended. However, by a combination of providing additional accommodation and the introduction of new legislation (for example Home Detention Curfew), the Government are ensuring that overcrowding is contained within the maximum safe operational capacity of establishments.

  Prisoners
  Mr. Stinchcombe
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average time per week spent out of cell by prisoners in the last two years for which figures are available in(a) each local prison and (b) each young offender institution. [115615]

  Mr. Boateng
  The average time spent out of cell for local prisons and young offender institutions for the years 1997–98 and 1998–99 are given in the table.678W

  Time out of cell 1997–1999

  Function name/Prison name

  1997–98

  1998–99

  Male closed YOI

  Aylesbury

  Weekdays

  9.4

  8.5

  Weekends

  5.6

  5.5

  Castington

  Weekdays

  9.9

  9.9

  Weekends

  6.8

  6.8

  Deerbolt

  Weekdays

  10.4

  10.2

  Weekends

  7.2

  4.3

  Dover

  Weekdays

  9.3

  9.3

  Weekends

  5.0

  5.0

  Feltham

  Weekdays

  8.0

  8.0

  Weekends

  6.0

  6.0

  Glen Parva

  Weekdays

  9.2

  9.3

  Weekends

  5.8

  5.8

  Guys Marsh

  Weekdays

  13.3

  13.0

  Weekends

  10.3

  10.2

  Huntercombe

  Weekdays

  11.0

  10.7

  Weekends

  6.5

  6.7

  Onley

  Weekdays

  11.5

  11.5

  Weekends

  9.7

  9.7

  Portland

  Weekdays

  10.7

  8.7

  Weekends

  6.0

  4.4

  Reading

  Weekdays

  9.1

  8.5

  Weekends

  7.9

  7.2

  Stoke Heath

  Weekdays

  11.2

  10.3

  Weekends

  8.0

  7.2

  Swinfen Hall

  Weekdays

  8.6

  8.8

  Weekends

  6.5

  6.9

  Wetherby

  Weekdays

  10.8

  10.8

  Weekends

  10.1

  10.0

  Male Juvenile

  Werrington

  Weekdays

  13.5

  13.0

  Weekends

  13.0

  12.5

  Male open YOI

  Hatfield

  Weekdays

  13.3

  13.3

  Weekends

  13.3

  13.3

  Thorn Cross

  Weekdays

  12.5

  12.5

  Weekends

  12.5

  12.5

  Male remand centre

  Brinsford

  Weekdays

  10.2

  10.3

  Weekends

  9.3

  9.3

  Hindley

  Weekdays

  8.8

  9.1

  Weekends

  7.8

  5.0

  Lancaster Farms

  Weekdays

  9.9

  8.1

  Weekends

  8.1

  5.6

  Northallerton

  Weekdays

  10.2

  9.9

  Weekends

  8.8

  9.5

  Male local

  Altcourse

  Weekdays

  —

  13.0

  Weekends

  —

  13.0

  Bedford

  Weekdays

  10.8

  9.3

  Weekends

  10.8

  7.5

  Belmarsh

  Weekdays

  9.0

  6.6

  Weekends

  8.0

  4.8

  Birmingham

  Weekdays

  5.5

  6.0

  Weekends

  4.1

  4.5

  Blakenhurst

  Weekdays

  10.7

  10.8

  Weekends

  9.3

  9.6

  Bristol

  Weekdays

  10.3

  10.4

  Weekends

  8.8

  8.8

  Brixton

  Weekdays

  10.0

  11.0

  Weekends

  9.7

  8.7

  Bullingdon

  Weekdays

  10.1

  10.2

  Weekends

  8.2

  8.2

  Canterbury

  Weekdays

  10.8

  10.8

  Weekends

  7.0

  7.0

  Cardiff

  Weekdays

  11.9

  10.4

  Weekends

  9.0

  7.3

  Chelmsford

  Weekdays

  9.2

  7.8

  Weekends

  8.0

  7.8

  Doncaster

  Weekdays

  11.1

  10.3

  Weekends

  11.8

  10.3

  Dorchester

  Weekdays

  8.4

  8.1

  Weekends

  6.7

  7.0

  679W

  Time out of cell 1997–1999

  Function name/Prison name

  1997–98

  1998–99

  Durham

  Weekdays

  8.3

  8.3

  Weekends

  6.5

  6.2

  Elmley

  Weekdays

  10.0

  8.8

  Weekends

  8.0

  8.0

  Exeter

  Weekdays

  9.8

  6.3

  Weekends

  8.2

  5.3

  Gloucester

  Weekdays

  9.5

  9.5

  Weekends

  7.5

  7.5

  Haslar

  Weekdays

  12.0

  12.0

  Weekends

  11.0

  11.0

  Highdown

  Weekdays

  10.3

  9.0

  Weekends

  10.3

  6.0

  Holme House

  Weekdays

  9.5

  9.5

  Weekends

  9.5

  9.5

  Hull

  Weekdays

  10.5

  10.5

  Weekends

  8.1

  8.3

  Leeds

  Weekdays

  8.2

  8.5

  Weekends

  6.4

  7.5

  Leicester

  Weekdays

  11.5

  11.3

  Weekends

  10.5

  10.1

  Lewes

  Weekdays

  9.4

  9.3

  Weekends

  7.3

  6.3

  Lincoln

  Weekdays

  10.3

  10.4

  Weekends

  9.5

  9.3

  Liverpool

  Weekdays

  6.9

  6.6

  Weekends

  4.1

  4.1

  Manchester

  Weekdays

  10.3

  10.0

  Weekends

  8.4

  8.3

  Norwich

  Weekdays

  9.3

  8.8

  Weekends

  9.3

  8.8

  Nottingham

  Weekdays

  9.8

  9.8

  Weekends

  9.5

  9.5

  Pare

  Weekdays

  1.2

  11.2

  Weekends

  1.1

  10.4

  Pentonville

  Weekdays

  9.0

  9.0

  Weekends

  7.0

  7.0

  Preston

  Weekdays

  8.2

  8.0

  Weekends

  7.3

  7.0

  Rochester

  Weekdays

  11.7

  10.5

  Weekends

  10.9

  11.4

  Shrewsbury

  Weekdays

  13.4

  11.1

  Weekends

  14.3

  11.1

  Swansea

  Weekdays

  7.3

  7.3

  Weekends

  6.8

  6.8

  Wandsworth

  Weekdays

  8.2

  8.0

  Weekends

  6.6

  7.0

  Winchester

  Weekdays

  8.4

  7.9

  Weekends

  7.3

  6.7

  Wolds

  Weekdays

  12.0

  11.7

  Weekends

  12.0

  11.9

  Woodhill

  Weekdays

  10.9

  10.2

  Weekends

  11.1

  10.2

  Wormwood Scrubs

  Weekdays

  8.7

  7.8

  Weekends

  7.1

  4.2

  Female local

  Brockhill

  Weekdays

  10.7

  10.0

  Weekends

  10.5

  10.0

  Eastwood Park

  Weekdays

  10.5

  11.6

  Weekends

  10.3

  10.3

  Holloway

  Weekdays

  10.5

  10.5

  Weekends

  10.0

  10.0

  Low Newton

  Weekdays

  9.5

  8.6

  Weekends

  8.2

  8.0

  New Hall

  Weekdays

  11.6

  10.5

  Weekends

  10.6

  10.3

  Prision Officers
  Mr. Stinchcombe
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps have been taken to enhance the role of prison officers since the publication 680W
  of "Prison Disturbances 1990: report of an Inquiry by the right hon. Lord Justice Woolf and His Honour Sir Stephen Tumim". [115617]

  Mr. Boateng
  Over the past 10 years, prison officers have become involved in a wider range of tasks, relating in particular to the rehabilitation of prisoners.

  The personal officer scheme has sought to develop the relationship between staff and prisoners. The personal officer discusses and agrees a sentence plan with the prisoner; and also contributes to the risk assessment processes associated with release on temporary licence and with home detention curfew.

  Prison officers play a key role in identifying those at risk of suicide or self-harm; and in supporting them through closer supervision and multi-disciplinary progress reviews. They act as tutors to the Prison Service's accredited offending behaviour programmes, where their training is integral to the accreditation process. Within the Service's drug strategy, they contribute to the multi-disciplinary counselling, assessment, referral, advice and throughcare (CARAT) teams and to the voluntary testing units, which support prisoners who wish to live in a drug-free environment.

  The development of the prison officer's role has been supported by a range of training programmes, including in sentence management, substance awareness, suicide awareness, race relations and combating bullying. The Prison Service has developed a National Vocational Qualification in custodial care, which provides a systematic map of the range of skills and knowledge an officer needs. The enhanced role of officer is reflected in rigorous job simulation selection procedures, now used to select and promote all officers.

  Prisoners (Voting Rights)
  Mr. Stinchcombe
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements are in place to enable(a) eligible remand prisoners and (b) people imprisoned for (i) contempt of court and (ii) failing to pay a fine to exercise their right to vote in the elections for a London mayor. [115624]

  Mr. Boateng
  Prison Service Instruction which will explain how eligible prisoners can exercise their right to vote in the elections for a London mayor will shortly be sent to prison establishments.

  Eurojust
  Mr. Bercow
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) which officials would be seconded to Eurojust under the terms of the proposals agreed at Tampere; [115553]

  (2) what assessment his Department has made of the advantages and disadvantages of extending the powers of the Anti-drugs Co-ordinator to include participation in Eurojust; and if he will make a statement; [115556]

  (3) what is his policy regarding the crimes to be covered by Eurojust; and what is the Commission's Prison Officers policy; [115709]

  (4) if he will list those elements of the Eurojust proposal which are components of Corpus Juris; and what is his policy on this matter. [115555]
  681W
  Mr. Charles Clarke
  I welcome the decision taken at the Tampere Special European Council to set up Eurojust, as a means of improving judicial co-operation with the European Union. There is very little connection or similarity between Eurojust and the proposals in the "Corpus Juris" document: the Government's view, in line with the Tampere conclusions, is that the role of Eurojust will be to facilitate and support investigations and prosecutions by national authorities, not to act as a European Prosecutor in its own right. The European Council mandated the Justice and Home Affairs Council to adopt the necessary legal instrument establishing Eurojust by the end of 2001.

  In line with the conclusions of the Tampere European Council, Eurojust is to be composed of
  "national prosecutors, magistrates, or police officers of equivalent competence, detached from each member state according to its legal system".

  The Government believe that Eurojust should deal with serious crime, in particular organised crime offences and the offences for which Europol has responsibility. I understand that the Commission also supports this approach.

  I do not believe that it would be necessary or appropriate for the United Kingdom Anti-Drugs Co-ordinator to join in Eurojust' s operational work in relation to individual investigations. It would, however, be open to him to make contacts with Eurojust on the same basis as contacts he has made with other international organisations, in pursuing his strategic role.

  Schengen Convention
  Mr. Bercow
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department further to his answer of 6 March 2000,Official Report, column 545W, on bogus drug deals, if he will deposit in the Library a copy of the document referred to in Community Document 10846/99, page 8, on the Schengen Manual on Bogus Drugs Deals. [115575]

  Mr. Charles Clarke
  I understand that the Manual on bogus drugs deals referred to in the 1998 Annual Report on the implementation of the Schengen Convention (10846/1/99 REV 1 CATS 23 ASIM 36 COMIX 223) is a confidential document which has been made available only to states which currently participate in the provisions of the Schengen Convention. The United Kingdom has yet to participate in any of the provisions of the Convention. In the circumstances, it will not be possible to lodge the Manual in the Library.

  Freedom, Security and Justice
  Mr. Bercow
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his policy on the Scoreboard on the Creation of an Area of Freedom, Security and Justice in the European Union. [115576]

  Mr. Charles Clarke
  The Government consider the "scoreboard", requested at the Tampere European Council, to be of central importance as a means to monitor progress, prioritise the work and provide greater transparency in the implementation of an area of freedom, security and justice in the European Union.

  Prostitutes' Cards
  Mr. Caplin
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department from which organisations he has received submissions in response to the consultation paper, "New Measures to Control Prostitutes' Cards". [115589]

  Mr. Charles Clarke
  We have received 60 responses to our consultation paper, "New Measures to Control Prostitutes Cards in Phone Boxes". Those who submitted comments include:

  the three police staff associations—the Association of Chief Police Officers, the Police Superintendents' Association and the Police Federation;

  the regulator Oftel;

  the telephone box operators—British Telecom, IPM and New World Payphones;

  other licensed operators—One2One, Vodafone, British Telecom Cellnet, and Orange;

  the Local Government Association and the Association of London Government;

  local authorities—Westminster City Council, the London Borough of Camden, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Brighton and Hove Council, North Lincolnshire Council and the Corporation of London;

  the London Tourist Board;

  the London Chamber of Commerce;

  the Justices' Clerks' Society;

  advertisers—the Advertising Association, Outdoor Advertising Association, Phonesites, and the Committee of Advertising Practice;

  groups representing sex workers and Europap, the Sexual Freedom Coalition, and the Praed Street Project;

  the organisation CARE;

  residents associations representing areas badly affected by the presence of cards, a number of local businesses and concerned members of the public.

  Mr. Caplin
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the financial impact of measures to control prostitutes' cards on(a) the police, (b) local authorities and (c) telecommunications operators in the last 12 months. [115588]

  Mr. Charles Clarke
  The Home Office consultation paper 'New Measures to Control Prostitutes' Cards in Phone Boxes' invited respondents to submit information about the existing and potential costs caused by the nuisance of prostitutes' cards.

  A number of organisations including some local authorities and telephone operators responded with figures. Their responses referred to the costs incurred in cleaning the boxes and removing cards and the cost of court action against carders. They also included lost advertising revenue, although this was not calculated separately. The total figure amounted to around £750,000, but not all those likely to incur costs at present responded to the question in the consultation paper.

  Police (Wandsworth)
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what were police numbers in the London Borough of Wandsworth(a) on 1 March, and (b) on

  683W
  1 March in each of the previous four years; and if he will make a statement. [115550]

  Mr. Charles Clarke
  The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis tells me that the number of police officers in the London Borough of Wandsworth was 570 on 1 March 2000; 576 on 1 March 1999; 605 on 1 March 1998; 630 on 1 March 1997; and 662 on 1 March 1996.

  £

  1996–97

  1997–98

  1998–99

  1999–2000

  Specific grant

  846,761,947

  900,344,546

  931,430,758

  949,070,118

  Capital grant

  27,749,000

  24,774,000

  21,892,000

  21,892,000

  Loan charge grant

  1,778,546

  6,049,591

  5,916,813

  4,783,118

  Revenue support grant

  436,413,559

  457,598,818

  461,893,809

  461,556,352

  Category A Prisoners
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many(a) male and (b) female category A prisoners were held in prisons in England and Wales on 1 March. [115549]

  Mr. Boateng
  The latest available provisional information is for 29 February. On that date there were 886 male and three female category A prisoners in prisons in England and Wales.

  Animal Experiments
  Mr. Hancock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many animals were killed in experiments at Wickham Research Laboratories, Wickham, Hampshire, in each of the last five years. [115749]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  Section 24 of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 prevents me from disclosing detailed information of this nature about an individual establishment licensed under the Act.

  Service Personnel (Absence)
  Mr. Denis Murphy
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who has the responsibility when a member of the armed forces goes absent without leave, for ensuring that information relating to the absentee is placed on the Police National Computer. [115559]

  Mr. Charles Clarke
  The information is placed on the Police National Computer by the National Identification Service at New Scotland Yard once they have been notified by the Royal Military Police that a member of the armed forces has gone absent without leave.

  Assault
  Mr. Rammell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average time from arrest to referral to the Crown Prosecution Service in the case of accusations of assault, in each of the last three years. [115598]

  Mr. Charles Clarke
  This information is not collected centrally.

  Prisoner Releases
  Mr. Sheerman
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will initiate an inquiry into

  Metropolitan Police Grants
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what financial grants have been allocated to the Metropolitan police in each of the last four years. [115551]

  Mr. Charles Clarke
  Grants to the Metropolitan police in the last four years are given in the table:

  the process by which prisoners are released from prison, with specific reference to enabling them to avoid former criminal inmates. [115622]

  Mr. Boateng
  No. All adult prisoners serving sentences of 12 months or more are released on licence and required to comply with whatever conditions may be contained in the licence. Young offenders (those under 21) are mostly subject to licence, if sentenced to a month or more. A standard licence condition is to be of good behaviour and not to do anything to jeopardise the aims of supervision. A licensee who mixes with criminal elements may be regarded as breaching this condition and recalled to custody. It is the responsibility of the probation service to supervise prisoners released on licence to ensure that the public is protected, further offences are not committed, and that the offender is successfully rehabilitated.

  Mr. Sheerman
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements he is making to ensure that vulnerable female prisoners on release from prison are not met and coerced by former associates. [115609]

  Mr. Boateng
  If, prior to release, a prisoner of either sex, or prison staff, has or have information to suggest that the prisoner concerned is at risk of being met and coerced by former associates outside prison, this would be a matter for the local police. The prison's police liaison officer would be responsible for passing on the information. In the case of a prisoner who is released on licence, the supervising probation officer would be able to provide advice, support and assistance. The supervising officer may also need to liaise with the police if it is feared that offences may be committed as a result of such associations.

  Mr. Sheerman
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he is putting in place to ensure that prisoners on release are given appropriate assistance with transport to their homes. [115612]

  Mr. Boateng
  Under Standing Order 11 (Discharge of Prisoners), all discharged prisoners are entitled to receive a travel warrant, or payment of fares where a warrant is inappropriate, to their home or destination within the United Kingdom, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and the Republic of Ireland. The issue of a travel warrant, or payment of fares, is in addition to the discharge grant which is paid to the majority of released prisoners, to help them meet their immediate needs on release.

  Domestic Violence
  Mr. Sheerman
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to ensure that perpetrators of domestic violence are successfully prosecuted and punished. [115611]

  Mr. Boateng
  Earlier this month, we launched new Multi-Agency Guidance for Addressing Domestic Violence. This sets out considerations to be borne in mind by agencies across the criminal justice system, and in local authorities and the health service, to ensure that domestic violence is tackled effectively and that appropriate services are provided to its survivors. The guidance also gives good practice examples and advice on partnership working. We shall be supplementing it shortly by specific guidance to the police.

  The violence against women initiative within the Crime Reduction Programme invites bids for the funding of projects to address domestic violence, and these will be monitored and evaluated to see what is effective and cost-effective.

  Information on all the Government's initiatives to tackle violence is available via our website: http://www.gov.uk/domesticviolence/index/htm.

  Prisoners (Visits)
  Mr. Sheerman
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are being taken to enable women prisoners to receive visits from relatives who live long distances from their prison. [115610]

  Mr. Boateng
  The Prison Service places great importance on prisoners maintaining close ties with their families as part of their rehabilitation. Population pressures have resulted in some prisoners being allocated a long distance away from their families, and this has been a particular problem for women prisoners because of the relatively small amount of accommodation for them. The allocation of women prisoners may also be restricted by the need for them to attend specific offender behaviour programmes or if they have been allocated to a mother and baby unit. This is being addressed by the continuing programme to increase the capacity of the female estate, mainly by re-roling male facilities, resulting in a greater spread of female accommodation across the country.

  For relatives who live some distance from a particular prison, the Assisted Prison Visits Unit offers financial assistance for those who meet the relevant criteria. The Prison Service is also working to improve the quality of visits, with particular emphasis on ensuring that imprisoned parents have productive visits with their children. An increasing number of establishments are providing creches and play areas, as well as making provision for extended family visits to take place away from the normal visits area.

  Police, Probation and Prison Services
  Sir Peter Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to involve the Office for National Statistics in the planning, production 686W
  and presentation of statistical information relating to the performance of the police, probation and prison services. [115361]

  Mr. Charles Clarke
  The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is represented on a committee established by my Department's Research, Development and Statistics Directorate which is co-ordinating a programme of reviews of the business requirements, scope and production of all regular Home Office Statistical series, including those relating to the performance of police, prison and probation services.

  In addition, the ONS is involved in specific discussions on ethnic monitoring statistics for police, prison and probation services and has provided census and mid-year population estimates for a study comparing crime and related figures in two types of areas, namely Basic Command Units within police forces and the areas in which Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships operate.

  For the future, the planning, production and presentation of those statistics that come within the scope of National Statistics will be subject to the arrangements described in "Building Trust in Statistics". It is envisaged that this will include the setting up of a new inter-departmental Crime and Justice working group that also involves representation from the ONS.

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

  Unqualified Claims Advisers
  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when he expects to receive the report of the inquiry into the activities of unqualified claims advisers who contract on a no-win, no-fee basis to pursue claims for compensation for personal injury in return for a percentage of any sum recovered; if he will publish the report as soon as he receives it; and if he will make a statement. [115936]

  Mr. Lock
  The Committee established by the Lord Chancellor to investigate the activities of non-legally qualified claims assessors and employment advisers who act for reward reported to the Lord Chancellor at the end of February. The report will be published shortly.

  Asylum (Judicial Reviews)
  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what, during the last five years for which figures are available, what was the(a) longest and (b) average time an ultimately (i) unsuccessful and (ii) successful application for judicial review of an asylum decision was before the courts. [115976]

  Jane Kennedy
  This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many applications for judicial review of asylum decisions were made in each of the last five years for which figures are available; how many were granted a substantive hearing; how many
  687W
  applications were granted (a) initially and (b) on appeal; what was the total cost to public funds of such applications and appeals in each year; on how many occasions Queen's Counsel were employed by (i) him and (ii) the applicant; and if he will make a statement. [115971]

  Jane Kennedy
  The information on the numbers of applications received in 1999 and 1998 is set out in the table. The remaining information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  1998

  1999

  Receipts

  1,874

  2,170

  Leave granted on initial application

  308

  436

  Leave granted on oral hearing

  36

  42

  Applications allowed (following substantive hearing)

  173

  175

  Immigration Appeals Adjudicators
  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what qualifications are required for appointment as an Immigration Appeals adjudicator; and if he will make a statement. [115986]

  Mr. Lock
  Schedule 3 to the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 states that a person is qualified for appointment as an adjudicator only if:

  (a) he has a seven year general qualification, within the meaning of section 71 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990;

  (b) he is an advocate or solicitor in Scotland of at least seven years' standing;

  (c) he is a member of the Bar of Northern Ireland or solicitor of the Supreme Court of Northern Ireland of at least seven years' standing; or

  (d) he has such legal and other experience as appears to the Lord Chancellor to make him suited for appointment as an adjudicator.

  Sudan
  Sudan
  Austria and the EU
  Austria and the EU
  Asylum Seekers: Voucher Scheme
  Asylum Seekers: Voucher Scheme
  IT Regulation
  IT Regulation
  Lords Ministers: Special Advisers
  Lords Ministers: Special Advisers
  Prime Minister's Chief Press Secretary and Chief of Staff
  Prime Minister's Chief Press Secretary and Chief of Staff
  Strategic Communications Unit
  Strategic Communications Unit
  "Envoy" and "Czar": Definitions
  "Envoy" and "Czar": Definitions
  "Czars": Terms and Conditions of Appointment
  "Czars": Terms and Conditions of Appointment
  Millennium Dome Site Development
  Millennium Dome Site Development
  Merrywood School, Bristol
  Merrywood School, Bristol
  Edinburgh University: Grant of Patent to Alter Cells
  Edinburgh University: Grant of Patent to Alter Cells
  Blood Products: Pooling
  Blood Products: Pooling
  Irish Sea: Temporary Prohibition of Fishing
  Irish Sea: Temporary Prohibition of Fishing
  Cows: Slaughter Scheme Weight Limit
  Cows: Slaughter Scheme Weight Limit
  Forestry: Investment Yield
  Forestry: Investment Yield
  MAFF Restructuring
  MAFF Restructuring