Written Answers of 3 May 2001

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

  Treasury Solicitor's Department
  Mr. Miller
  To ask the Solicitor-General what progress has been made in the review of the work of the Treasury Solicitor's Department. [160590]

  The Solicitor-General
  I refer to the review of the Treasury Solicitor's Department that I announced to this House on 8 March 2001,Official Report, column 336W.

  I am pleased to announce the publication of the report on the first stage of the review. The report concludes that the Treasury Solicitor's Department has generally provided a high quality service to the Government and should continue to be an agency. Stage 2 of the review will examine how the agency's performance can be enhanced and improved to meet the increasing demands upon its services.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

  External Development Assistance
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the Government's plans for future collaboration with the European Community in the area of external development assistance. [160533]

  Clare Short
  I have approved a new Department for International Development institutional strategy paper for the European Community, which has been prepared in

  Country

  Date

  Purpose

  2000

  Malta

  19–21 September

  Commonwealth Finance Ministers Meeting

  Czech Republic

  23–28 September

  IMF/World bank Spring Meetings

  New York and Ottawa

  12–13 October

  Discussion with heads of UN Funds and Programmes

  Discussions with Canadian International Development Agency

  Germany

  9 November

  Discussion with the German Ministry for Development Corporation

  Nepal

  20–22 November

  Discussion with Ministers and DFID Office

  India

  23–25 November

  Discussion with Ministers and DFID Office

  2001

  Zimbabwe

  22–24 January

  Discussion with DFID Office

  Malawi

  24–26 January

  Discussions with Ministers and DFID Office

  Tanzania

  19–21 February

  Discussions with Ministers and DFID Office

  Kenya

  22 February

  Discussion With Ministers and DFID Office

  Australia, Fiji and Thailand

  20–25 March

  Discussion with Australian officials

  Discussion with DFID Office

  Discussion with DFID Office

  Washington

  27–30 April

  IMF/IBRD Spring Meetings

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  consultation with the European Commission, other member states and civil society. The paper sets out a number of objectives for my Department's work with the EC over the next three to four years. These focus on four key impact areas: EC external assistance programmes which contribute effectively to the achievement of the international development targets; trade and other EC policies that help developing countries benefit from the global economy; integration of environmental issues for sustainable poverty reduction; and effective EC responses to crises, conflict and humanitarian disasters.

  A copy of the institutional strategy paper is available in the Library of the House.

  Official Visits
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what visits her Permanent Secretary attended with members and officials of the United States Government during his visits to New York on 20 to 22 March 2000 and to Washington on 15 to 22 April 2000. [159807]

  Clare Short
  From 20–22 March 2000, the Permanent Secretary of DFID held discussions with the UK Mission to the UN, New York; with the Deputy Secretary-General of the UN; with the heads of the UNDP and UNICEF; and with the Under Secretary-General for the UN for Economic and Social Affairs.

  From 15–22 April 2000, the Permanent Secretary of DFID held discussions, at the time of the IMF/World Bank spring meetings, with the President of the World Bank; with the head of USAID; and with a number of visiting Finance Ministers. He attended the meetings of the IMF and Development Committees.

  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list the visits outside Britain made by her Department's Permanent Secretary on official business since 11 July 2000, indicating the date and purpose of the visit in each case. [159806]

  Clare Short
  The Permanent Secretary of the DFID made the following visits outside Britain on official business since 11 July 2000:

  Earthquake (Turkey)
  Ann Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the earthquake relief given by her Department to Turkey. [159923]

  Clare Short
  In response to both the earthquakes in Turkey, in August and November 1999, my Department contributed a total of nearly £2 million to support the emergency relief effort, co-ordinated by the Turkish Government.

  We provided immediate support to the search and rescue effort with specialist personnel from the UK fire service as well as other independent UK-based rescue organisations. In addition, we transported numerous relief items to the region (on behalf of the Red Cross and UNICEF), including medical supplies and tents.

  We also channelled funds through the UN and the Red Cross for the provision of essential relief items such as shelter materials, medical supplies, food, water and sanitation equipment.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Immigration and Nationality Directorate
  Mr. Colman
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will receive the annual report for 2000 of the immigration and nationality directorate's independent complaints audit committee; and if he will make a statement. [160481]

  Mr. Straw
  A copy of the report has been placed in the Library and on the immigration and nationality directorate website. It is a useful and informative document, and I am grateful to the committee for its comments and its recommendations, which will all be followed up.

  Electronic Data Tags
  Mr. Stephen Twigg
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made on adopting the use of electronic data tags to reduce property crime. [160482]

  Mr. Charles Clarke
  In May last year, the Government announced the allocation of £4.5 million to combat the trade in stolen goods by planting small identity microchips in consumer products at risk from theft. In partnership with a range of commercial companies, we are developing a series of pilot demonstrator projects to show how property crime can be reduced throughout the supply chain. These pilot projects aim to demonstrate the effectiveness of radio frequency identification technology (RFID) in combating property crime by providing proof of ownership of goods and confirming that they are not stolen or counterfeit.

  The initiative aims to make it more difficult for offenders to steal and sell stolen property, easier for the police to recover it when they do, and to accelerate the adoption of this technology by business. The response from industry to the scheme has been excellent and details of the first pilot projects will be announced very shortly. In view of the high level of interest generated, I am
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  pleased to announce that the Government have allocated an additional £1 million to this initiative to allow the number and scope of pilot projects to he increased.

  Asylum Support Adjudicators
  Mr. Pond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will announce the increase in remuneration for the asylum support adjudicators for 2001–02. [160483]

  Mr. Straw
  The chief asylum support adjudicator's remuneration will be equivalent to grade 6.1 of the SSRB judicial scale, which for 2001–02 will be £99,420.

  The asylum support adjudicators remuneration (and daily fees) will be increased by 3.7 per cent. in line with the recommendations of the Senior Salaries Review Body report No. 46, the twenty-third report on senior salaries (Cm 4995), which was presented to Parliament in February 2001.

  Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act
  Dr. Gibson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to review schedule 1 of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. [160594]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  I am arranging for possible changes to the schedule to be considered by the Animal Procedures Committee, the statutory body which advises the Secretary of State on the operation of the 1986 Act. Before deciding on the action to be taken we will carefully consider the committee's recommendations.

  Appointment of Assistant Surveillance Commissioners
  Maria Eagle
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements have been made for the appointment of assistant surveillance commissioners under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000; and if he will make a statement. [160595]

  Mr. Straw
  On 1 May 2001, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister appointed three assistant surveillance commissioners—His Honour John Jeremy Fordham, His Honour Colin Francis Kolbert, and Viscount Colville of Culross QC—for a period of three years to assist the chief surveillance commissioner in his duties.

  HM Chief Inspectors
  Maria Eagle
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who has been appointed as the next HM chief inspector of prisons; and if he will make a statement. [160596]

  Mr. Straw
  Recruitment for the post of Her Majesty's chief inspector of prisons has been run under Commissioner for Public Appointments guidelines following advertisements in the national press. The choice of candidates has been guided by an advisory panel including two independent assessors. As we announced on 6 April 2001,Official Report, column 357W, these were Baroness Stern, former director of the National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders and now senior research fellow at the international centre for prison studies, and Lord Laming, former chief

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  inspector of the social services inspectorate and author of the report "Modernising the Management of the Prison Service".

  From the candidates selected by the advisory panel, I have recommended that Her Majesty the Queen should appoint Ms Anne Owers CBE, the director of the non-governmental organisation JUSTICE, as the next Her Majesty's chief inspector of prisons. Her Majesty has consented to this appointment.

  I am delighted that Ms Owers has accepted the appointment, which takes effect from 1 August this year. I am confident she will uphold the high standards of integrity, rigour and independence we expect from the inspection of this key public service.

  Voluntary and Community Sector
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has for the funding of mentoring organisations, for making the small grants programmes more integrated and accessible to community groups and for strengthening the infrastructure that builds the capacity of the voluntary and community sector. [160258]

  Mr. Boateng
  In working towards our goal of encouraging and supporting new mentors, I am today pleased to be able to announce the launch of a mentoring fund grants programme.

  With up to £5.3 million available over three years, the mentoring fund will provide grants for mentoring organisations to:
  enhance or extend their current mentoring activity;
  develop schemes in new geographical areas;
  reach new audiences.

  This will enable more volunteer mentors to be available where they are needed, on the ground in local areas.

  This Government also recognise the need for a national infrastructure to promote, develop and celebrate mentoring and to establish a framework of national quality standards for local mentoring schemes. I am therefore pleased to announce that we will be awarding the national mentoring network a grant of £1.05 million over three years to develop the infrastructure of mentoring. I am also pleased to announce that to team up new mentors with mentoring opportunities, we are investing a further £1.4 million into mentor points.

  We also want to make it easier for people in community groups to apply for Government funds. So we are happy to announce the publication today of a consultation document on funding community groups. This sets out a number of proposals that aim to ensure that in future Government small grants programmes will be more integrated, and that application processes will be simpler and more accessible to local community groups. The document also explains how the Government plan to establish and operate the new neighbourhood renewal community chests, announced in the national strategy action plan in January 2001.

  I have today placed a copy of the consultation document in the Library.

  We recognise the independent role of the voluntary and community sector in building strong communities, and the need that organisations and groups, and the individuals
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  involved, have for "capacity building" support to help them fulfil that role as effectively as possible. In addition to providing strategic funding to over 60 national infrastructure organisations, the Government have earmarked funds for:
  an integrated database to provide comprehensive and co-ordinated information;
  a major training programme to support charity trustees;
  a media awareness training programme for volunteer bureaux;
  an integrated database of social entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial organisations to facilitate better networking.

  The Government are also announcing today funding totalling £320,000 over three years to the Federation of Community Work Training Groups to develop the infrastructure for community development learning.

  Police IT
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what procedures are in place to ensure there is fair and open competition for the provision of information technology systems and software to police services; and if he will make a statement. [159694]

  Mr. Charles Clarke
  [holding answer 1 May 2001]: Government procurement procedures are followed to ensure that there is fair and open competition for the provision of information technology systems and software for the police. These procedures comply with the relevant European Directive on procurement.

  Data Protection Act
  Mr. Dismore
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many alleged contraventions of the Data Protection Act 1998 are outstanding before the Information Commissioner; what the date is of the oldest complaint; what is(a) the average and (b) the mean age of outstanding complaints; and if he will make a statement; [160161]

  (2) in what circumstances, when requested to do so on a complaint under section 55 of the Data Protection Act 1998, the Information Commissioner will institute (a) criminal inquiries and (b) downgrade the complaint to an assessment under section 42; [160160]

  (3) in what circumstances the Information Commissioner will require from a complainant, before investigating a complaint under (a) section 55 and (b) section 42, (i) conclusive evidence of breaches of the Data Protection Act 1998, (ii) compelling evidence, (iii) prima facie case or (iv) other supporting evidence, and in each case, on what basis the request by the Commissioner is made; and if he will make a statement; [160158]

  (4) under a complaint made under section 42 of the Data Protection Act 1998, evidence obtained by the Information Commissioner is admissible evidence where breaches of section 55 are revealed by the Commissioner's investigation; and if he will make a statement; [160157]

  (5) when he expects to receive a report on the complaint to the Data Protection Commissioner, dated 27 July 2000, made by Hendon Conservative Association against the Conservative Party Secretariat; and if he will make a statement. [160159]
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  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  These questions cover matters which fall within the operational responsibility of the Information Commissioner. The Commissioner administers and enforces the Data Protection Act 1998 independently of the Government.

  I have noted the length of time taken to resolve the issue and I have written to the Commissioner asking when she will be in a position to resolve this matter and drawing her attention to the issues raised by my hon. Friend's questions. I understand she will reply directly to him.

  The Commissioner publishes complaints statistics in her annual report to Parliament and a statement of her policy on the handling of assessments under section 42 of the 1998 Act is available on her website at www.dataprotection.gov.uk.

  Overstayers
  Ms Oona King
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of those applicants who applied for consideration under the regularisation scheme for overstayers had their cases(a) decided, (b) granted, (c) refused and (d) are still awaiting an initial assessment of eligibility; and if he will set a target date for the completion of consideration of these applications. [159997]

  Mrs. Roche
  In total 17,120 applications were received under the Overstayers Regularisation Scheme of the Immigration Appellate Authority 1999. Of the cases decided to date, 255 have resulted in grants of leave and three have been refused. There are 3,916 cases now under consideration and the remaining 12,946 cases are awaiting action. I am currently considering how best to invest our resources on tackling the Regularisation Scheme during this financial year.

  Correspondence
  Ms Perham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the reason was for the delay in transferring the letter from the hon. Member for Ilford, North of 24 July relating to the closure of Citizens Advice Bureaux in Redbridge from his Department to the DTI; and if he will make a statement. [160119]

  Mr. Straw
  I am sorry that there was such a serious delay in transferring my hon. Friend's letter of 24 July. Within two days of receipt of the letter my Private Office correspondence section identified that responsibility for the subject matter fell outside my Department. A number of attempts were made immediately and over the next few months to transfer the correspondence to the most appropriate Department. The Department of Trade and Industry accepted the letter on 8 February. I recognise fully that this is a quite unacceptable level of service and apologise to my hon. Friend and her constituents for this. My Department has now initiated measures to ensure that transfers of correspondence are effected within a reasonable period and in accordance with central guidance.

  Closed Circuit Television (Bolton)
  Mr. Crausby
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what effect closed circuit television cameras have had on the crime levels in Bolton. [159838]
  710W
  Mr. Charles Clarke
  Police operational experience and various research studies show that Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) has considerable crime reduction and detection potential, particularly when used as part of a wider strategy.

  No formal independent evaluation of CCTV in Bolton has yet been undertaken. However, the Bolton Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership consider that CCTV has contributed to the 7 per cent. fall in recorded crime in Bolton last year.

  The value of the Bolton town centre and car parks CCTV scheme in helping the police control and direct resources was demonstrated during a concerted effort to reduce crime in the town centre during Christmas 2000 shopping period. Reductions of 10 per cent. in street crime and 80 per cent. in vehicle crime were achieved in crime hot-spots compared with the previous Christmas.

  During the past year, incidents of anti-social behaviour reported in the residential areas of Bolton covered by CCTV reduced by 75 per cent.

  Under the current CCTV Initiative, coverage in Bolton is being enhanced. The Partnership is close to implementing two schemes providing coverage in residential areas and has been invited to prepare final proposals for two further residential schemes. Potential awards could reach nearly £420,000. The schemes will need to have been in place for at least 12 months before their impact can be fully evaluated. Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships will also be evaluating schemes locally.

  Departmental Research
  Mrs. Curtis-Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the research undertaken by his Department by subject, indicating where the research was undertaken, by whom it was carried out, and the cost of each piece of research since 1996. [159793]

  Mr. Charles Clarke
  The Home Office research department undertakes a wide range of research activities that support the development of information-led policy, including scientific and engineering research, market and opinion research and social research.

  The Research Development and Statistics Directorate (RDS) conducts social research supporting all seven Home Office aims.

  The Science and Technology Unit sponsors scientific research in support of the police.

  The Fire Research and Development Group (FRDG) undertake research in support of Home Office aim 7. The Fire and Emergency Planning Directorate has also conducted a range of social research.

  The Emergency Planning Research Group (EPRG) carries out a wide mix of research, both intra-mural and extra-mural, in support of Home Office aim 7. The research findings are used to formulate evidence-based policy of promoting the co-ordination and development of effective national arrangements for integrated emergency management.
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  For the available information on market and opinion research, including that conducted by the Communication Directorate, I refer to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Bath (Mr. Foster) on 25 May 2000, Official Report, column 623W.

  The Assessment and Consultancy Unit (ACU) undertook research indirectly in support of Aims 1, 3, 4 and 7, via their research into selection and development issues affecting Police, Fire and Prison Services, also currently some research for the Cabinet Office.

  In addition the Home Office has undertaken the following research:

  (1) Home Office Briefings Research—awarded to Mori

  (2) Fieldwork with asylum seekers to investigate their experience of the voucher scheme

  (3) Research has been undertaken by various private companies on behalf of the Home Office Buildings and Estate Management Unit into components for use in police cells. The overall cost was in the region of £50,000 since 1996.

  I have arranged for the following more detailed information on the Home Office research programme to be placed in the Library:

  (1) A copy of the RDS annual work programmes for 1997–98 onwards, together with a list of research contracts let by the directorate. A list of RDS publications is available on the Home Office website and copies are also placed in the Library.

  (2) The FRDG annual business plans and Review of Research for 1996–97 (publication No. 7/97); 1997/99 (Publication 2/99) and 2000/01 (Publication 6/2000) are available in the Library.

  (3) Summary details of research conducted by the Fire and Emergency-planning department.

  (4) A table summarising details of the EPRG research programme since 1996.

  (5) An updated list of market opinion research conducted by the department since the reply I gave the hon. Member for Bath (Mr. Foster) on 25 May 2000, Official Report, column 623W.

  (6) Details of the ACU research programme.

  (7) A table summarising details of the police science and technology research programme since 1996.

  Some of the information requested such as more detailed breakdown costs by project and where research was undertaken are not held centrally and could be collected only at disproportionate cost.

  Airwave Communications System
  Miss Widdecombe
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Christchurch (Mr. Chope) of 27 March 2001,Official Report, column 589W, on the Airwave communications system, if he will make a statement on the progress being made on the reviews being conducted by the Health and Safety Executive, the Defence Evaluation Research Agency, the National Radiological Protection Board and the Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research Programme; and when he expects the results of each review to be published. [159976]

  Mr. Charles Clarke
  [holding answer 1 May 2001]: The Health and Safety Executive have conducted an independent assessment, commissioned by the Lancashire Police Federation, of the potential health risks associated with the Airwave service. The report concludes that, on the basis of available information and on calculations
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  carried out, the new portable and mobile transmitters should not affect the health of persons using the equipment.

  The Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) have begun preparatory work for their investigation. DERA will report on progress every quarter. The final report should be available in early May 2002 after the main study has been concluded. The work allows further research to be carried out in light of the results from the main study. The report from this additional study, if it is required, should be available by August 2002.

  The National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) has commissioned a review from their Advisory Group on Non-ionising radiation (AGNIR). The AGNIR are well advanced in the process of preparing material for their report. The AGNIR report will require clearance by the NRPB board before it is released. It is anticipated that the report will be available for the NRPB's board meeting in July if not sooner.

  If, during the course of the DERA and NRPB studies, commissioned by the Home Office, any issue arises which suggests a risk to health, it will be made public without awaiting the publication of final reports. However, the Stewart Report said that:
  "no obvious health risk has been suggested".

  The Health Research Programme has been initiated by the Government in response to the Stewart Report on mobile phone health issues, and is focusing on emerging technologies. I anticipate that further research, in areas that are directly relevant to the technology used in Airwave, will be undertaken within the independent Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research Programme. If future research is undertaken, the results will be published as soon as possible.

  Asylum Appeals
  Miss Widdecombe
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the current time taken for asylum appeals is from being received by the Appeals Support Section to final determination; and if he will make a statement. [159922]

  Mrs. Roche
  We record the date of receipt into the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND), not the date received by the Appeals Support Section of IND, on our systems and therefore the data requested are not available. However, for the 12 months ending 31 March 2001, data from the Immigration Appellate Authority (IAA) for those cases where data are available indicate that the average time taken from receipt of an asylum appeal by IND, to the appeal being decided through both tiers of the authority, was approximately 28 weeks.

  Strip Searches (Prisons)
  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many strip searches of(a) women, (b) men and (c) children have been conducted in the past 12 months by authorised personnel attached to the (i) Prison Service, (ii) the police, (iii) Customs and Excise and (iv) other bodies. [159552]
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  Mr. Charles Clarke
  Information on the number of strip searches conducted by authorised personnel attached to the Prison Service, the police or any other body is not collected centrally by the Home Office.

  Information relating to Customs and Excise is a matter for Ministers in Her Majesty's Treasury.

  National Asylum Support Service
  Mr. Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the annual budget was of the National Asylum Support Service in the last financial year; and how much of this was(a) allocated to accommodation and support and (b) paid to (i) local authorities and (ii) private accommodation providers. [159735]

  Mr. Charles Clarke
  Estimated expenditure on asylum accommodation and support, including unaccompanied asylum seeking minors in 2000–01 was £751 million (estimated final outturn). This was made up of:Grant payment to local authorities for adult families and unaccompanied asylum seeking minors—£575 million
  Support payments by the National Asylum Support Service (NASS)—£115 million
  Payments to the Department of Social Security for supporting asylum seekers on benefit—£56 million
  Payments to the Scottish Executive for support to adults and families who applied before April 2000—£5 million.

  The support payments by NASS include a total of £54 million paid directly to accommodation providers under contract for the provision of accommodation and related services to dispersed asylum seekers. £46 million of this was paid to private sector providers and £8 million to local authority regional consortiums.

  The administration budget for NASS was £16 million. In addition £22 million was allocated for payments to the voluntary sector for work carried out to support the new dispersal arrangements and for other work relating to asylum seekers and refugees.

  Note:
  All figures rounded to nearest £ million.

  Helplines
  Dr. Naysmith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what telephone helplines to assist the public are administered by his Department and its agencies. [159571]

  Mr. Straw
  The main Home Office 24 hour switchboard is on 020 7273 4000. Unless the caller knows an extension or name, callers are then transferred to the Home Office Public Enquiry Service which operates weekdays on 020 7273 4599 between 9 am and 5 pm. The public can also call the Public Inquiry Service direct, but the number is not widely published.

  Other numbers are:
  Immigration and Nationality Department—0870 606 7766
  Prison Service—020 7217 3000
  United Kingdom Passport Agency—0870 521 0410.

  Judicial Proceedings
  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average overall cost to 714W
  the Criminal Justice System in 2000–01 of each person (a) proceeded against, (b) found guilty or admitting guilt and (c) found not guilty. [158932]

  Mr. Charles Clarke
  [holding answer 26 April 2001]: The figures for 2000–01 are expected to be available in the autumn. The most recently available figures are for 1999–2000. In that year, the expenditure on the Criminal Justice System was £12.1 million and 1.9 million offenders were proceeded against. The average cost per person proceeded against is £6,400.

  The specific costs of cases where there was a finding of guilt, and cases where there was no finding of guilt are not known, and it is thus not possible to provide answers for (b) and (c). Of the 1.9 million proceedings, 1.7 million ended in a finding of guilt and there was no finding of guilt in the remaining 0.2 million proceedings.

  Work is proceeding on the development of an alternative measure of value for money in the Criminal Justice System.

DEFENCE

  Defence Scientific Advisory Council
  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the publications of the Defence Scientific Advisory Council over the past 10 years. [158051]

  Mr. Spellar
  The Defence Scientific Advisory Council is an advisory body and has published no papers over the last 10 years. During that time, however, two reports of council subordinate bodies have been placed in the Library of the House: the independent medical assessment of a sub-committee of the council relating to baton rounds mentioned in the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department to my hon. Friend the Member for Poplar and Canning Town (Mr. Fitzpatrick) on 2 April 2001,Official Report, column 68W, and a panel review of existing literature and research entitled "The Long Term Neurotoxicity of Anti-cholinesterases": DSAC 10/99 dated 28 June 1999, to which I referred in the answer I gave on 20 October 1999, to my hon. Friend the Member for Halton (Mr. Twigg), Official Report, columns 585–86.

  Crowd Control Technology
  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what date he received the Crowd Control Technologies report published by the Scientific and Technological Options Assessment Panel of the European Parliament Directorate General for Research; and what measures he has taken to implement the recommendation that an independent and objective social impact study be(a) commissioned and (b) published prior to authorisation of purchase orders for new crowd control technology. [158049]

  Mr. Spellar
  I refer my hon. Friend to the answer which the Minister of State, Home Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich, South (Mr. Clarke), gave him on 25 April 2001,Official Report, column 283W.

  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list those units that are to be equipped with the L21A1 plastic baton round; what his estimate is
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  of the cost of re-equipping each; how many L21A1 baton rounds have been ordered in each force and at what cost; how many L104 anti-riot guns have been ordered and at what cost; how many XL18E3 optical sight mechanisms have been ordered for each force and at what cost; what his estimate is of retraining each unit to be equipped with new equipment; and how many personnel training and trainer hours will be expended on this exercise. [158050]

  Mr. Spellar
  Army units charged with supporting the police in Northern Ireland are to be equipped with the L21A1 baton round, as are the relevant training establishments. Other units may need to be issued with the new baton rounds should circumstances require it, subject to prior training. Sufficient numbers have been ordered to fulfil anticipated requirements. I am withholding details of equipment numbers in accordance with Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. I am withholding information on costs on the grounds of commercial confidentiality in accordance with Exemption 13 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

  The units that are to be equipped with the new baton round already undergo regular baton round training. Any extra cost and time associated specifically with the new round will be small, but cannot be separately identified without disproportionate cost.

  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what impact tests were conducted by(a) the Defence Evaluation Research Agency at Porton Down and (b) the Defence Scientific Advisory Council on the L21A1 plastic baton round; how many (i) animals and (ii) human beings were involved in testing; and how many fatalities and what injuries were sustained as a result. [158048]

  Mr. Spellar
  For the medical evaluation of the L21A1 baton round, no physical impact tests were conducted by the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency or by the Defence Scientific Advisory Council on living animals or on human beings.

  Computer models of the head, thorax and abdomen were used to compare the biomechanical response of the body following the impact of L21A1 and L5A7 baton rounds. In addition, physical impact tests were conducted on excised bovine scapulae to compare the skull fracture patterns of the two projectiles. The bovine scapula is a physical model of skull fracture and the scapulae were obtained from the meat trade.

  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what models of plastic baton round have been tested that would meet the criteria for a penetrating kinetic energy round; and what his assessment is of the lethality potential of such weapons. [158047]

  Mr. Spellar
  L5A7 and L21A1 baton rounds are not designed to penetrate the body wall. We are not aware of any incidence of penetration of the torso body wall by polyurethane baton rounds that have been fired in Northern Ireland since the 1970s. No studies were undertaken on the probability of penetration of the torso body wall by these projectiles, prototypes of the L21A1, or commercially available kinetic energy based public order equipment.

  Heat Insulation
  Mr. Levitt
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what heat insulation standards for pipework are being required of new buildings at(a) GCHQ and (b) Ministry of Defence headquarters; and what plans he has to adopt a standard higher than BS5422. [158808]

  Dr. Moonie
  The agreed heat installation standards applicable to pipework as part of the redevelopment of the Ministry of Defence headquarters in Whitehall will be the relevant British standards prevailing at the time of installation, supported by Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers guidelines. BS5422 and BS5970 are the relevant current standards. These standards will be adopted unless and until they are superseded or amended. GCHQ is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.

  Porton Down
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans the Chemical Defence Establishment, Porton Down, has to conduct research to establish whether single doses of the Oripavine derivative TL2636 can cause long-term effects on the health of humans. [159801]

  Dr. Moonie
  The Chemical and Biological Defence Sector of DERA at Porton Down currently has no plans to undertake any further research concerning the effects of exposure to single doses of the Oripavine derivative TL2636 on the health of humans.

  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if staff at the Medical Assessment Programme are entitled to request and receive classified and unclassified information from the Chemical Defence Establishment, Porton Down about experiments which have taken place at the establishment; and if he will make a statement. [160064]

  Dr. Moonie
  Yes.

  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if former service personnel who took part in experiments at the Chemical Defence Establishment, Porton Down are entitled to a complete copy of the medical report assessing their health after they have attended the Medical Assessment Programme. [160063]

  Dr. Moonie
  For reasons of medical procedure, to ensure continuity with volunteers existing health care arrangements, all referrals to the Medical Assessment Programme must be made through a GP or other health professional (eg a consultant physician). As such the results of the Medical Assessment Programme consultation, with any recommendations for treatment, are reported back to the volunteer's general practitioner or referring consultant. However, a copy is provided to the individual, if requested.

  Mr. Öpik
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what investigations he has undertaken of reported losses of viruses from Porton Down in the past year. [159724]

  Dr. Moonie
  There have been no losses of viruses from the Chemical and Biological Defence Sector of DERA at Porton Down in the past year.
  717W
  I believe that the hon. Member is referring to comments made in a report which appeared in the Sunday Express on 8 April alleging that a vial of foot and mouth virus had been stolen from Porton Down. No foot and mouth viruses have been stolen from CBD Porton Down, nor have samples of foot and mouth virus been held at CBD Porton Down in the past year.

  US Military Personnel (Compensation)
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 9 April 2001,Official Report, column 368, regarding the United States military Department's liaison officer in Washington, what assessment he has made of the need to gather information on United States' arrangements for paying compensation to veterans who participated in chemical warfare trials in the United States. [160062]

  Dr. Moonie
  None.

  Atlantic Patrol
  Mr. Quentin Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which ships this year are allocated to the(a) Atlantic Patrol Task (North) and (b) Atlantic Patrol Task (South); and when the ships will be on station. [159713]

  Mr. Spellar
  The ships allocated to the Atlantic Patrol Task (North) and Atlantic Patrol Task (South) during this year, and when the ships are scheduled to be on station is as follows:

  Organisation

  Stand type

  Charges raised (£)

  King George V Fund for Sailors (KGFS)-the Festival's nominated charity

  —

  0

  Royal Naval Association

  Indoor

  1,247.85

  St. Dunstan's (for blind ex-servicemen and women)

  Indoor

  835.43

  Royal Sailors Rest

  Indoor

  623.93

  RN Enthusiasts Society

  Outdoor

  352.50

  Mission to Seafarers

  Indoor

  835.43

  Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA)

  Outdoor

  352.50

  British and International Sailors Association

  Georgian Market

  211.50

  Naval Personnel and Family Service (RN organisation so no charge)

  —

  0

  The event is designed to be self-financing. All non-Service organisations, including charities, are offered the same rates based on a standard charge per m2 of display space.

  Mr. Quentin Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which Royal Navy ships will be present at the International Festival of the Sea. [159716]

  Mr. Hoon
  The third International Festival of the Sea will be held in Portsmouth Naval Base between 24 and 27 August 2001.

  It is planned that, operational requirements permitting, the following Royal Navy ships will be present:
  Illustrious, Endurance, Newcastle, York, Nottingham, Glasgow, Southampton, Exeter, Marlborough, Lancaster, Grafton, Richmond, Westminster, Blyth, Grimsby, Anglesey, Ledbury, Chiddingfold, Dasher, Puncher, Pursuer, Blazer and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Grey Rover.

  Royal Fleet Auxiliary
  Mr. Quentin Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what plans he has for the replacement of the Leaf class tankers currently in service with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary; [159718]
  718W

  Atlantic Patrol Task (North)

  Ship

  On station

  HMS Sheffield

  22 February 2001–24 July 2001

  HMS Coventry

  24 July 2001–16 November 2001

  HMS Coventry is scheduled to hand over Atlantic Patrol Task (North) duty to HMS Argyll on 3 December 2001. HMS Argyll will then be held at 14 days notice to deploy to the centre of the area of operations to where she is scheduled to deploy in mid-February 2002.

  Atlantic Patrol Task (South)

  Ship

  On station

  HMS Iron Duke

  25 September 2000–15 February 2001

  HMS Glasgow

  15 February 2001–30 July 2001

  HMS Edinburgh

  30 July 2001–31 October 2001

  HMS Montrose

  31 October 2001–11 March 2002

  International Festival of the Sea
  Mr. Quentin Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which veterans' organisations will be present at the International Festival of the Sea; and how much each organisation is being charged to display at the festival. [159715]

  Mr. Hoon
  The veterans associations and related maritime charities attending the International Festival of the Sea, and the charges raised, are given in the table.

  (2) what plans he has to order further auxiliary oilers for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. [159711]

  Dr. Moonie
  We are currently considering options on how best to provide, in the medium to long term, afloat support for the future Royal Navy, including the capabilities currently provided by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary's Leaf class tankers, which are currently planned to leave service between 2008 and 2009.

  BAe Systems Marine are building two Auxiliary Oilers (AOs), Wave Knight and Wave Ruler, for the Ministry of Defence, which we expect to enter service in 2002. These ships will provide the fast fleet tanker capability formerly supplied by RFAs Olna and Olwen. The company has suggested that two further AOs could contribute to meeting the future afloat support needs of the Royal Navy. Alongside the wider studies into afloat support, we are currently evaluating whether further AOs would be a cost-effective solution to our future capability needs.

  HMS Beaver
  Mr. Quentin Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proceeds were derived from the disposal of HMS Beaver. [159720]
  719W
  Dr. Moonie
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 4 April 2001,Official Report, column 199W. HMS Beaver has been sold to the commercial market as scrap. Receipts for the vessel were achieved by means of a sealed competitive tender and, given that other ships in this class may be offered to the commercial market, the actual price must remain "commercial-in-confidence" so as not to prejudice future activities.

  Gulf War (Meningitis Vaccine)
  Miss Geraldine Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made on investigations into illness suffered by British troops who received the meningitis vaccine in preparation for service during the Gulf war; if the meningitis vaccine contained the Pertussis vaccine; and which company manufactured this vaccine. [159872]

  Dr. Moonie
  Up to around 5,000 Service personnel who deployed to the Gulf in 1990–91 may have received immunisation against meningococcal meningitis A and C. Initially, in August 1990, immunisation was recommended for all personnel who were to serve in the Gulf. However, by 15 September 1990, the immunisation was no longer recommended except for medical personnel and some other categories of personnel who may have been at risk.

  Research sponsored by the Ministry of Defence has not specifically investigated a link between the meningitis vaccine and the subsequent ill health of Gulf veterans, and the Ministry of Defence is unaware of any reported association between the vaccine and subsequent ill health (with the exception of the known side effects). The meningitis vaccine did not contain the pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine.

  The pertussis vaccine was used separately as part of the anti Biological Warfare immunisation programme as an adjuvant to accelerate the immunisation effect of the anthrax vaccine. There were two main suppliers of the meningitis vaccine. One supplier, Pasteur Merieux MSD, was the manufacturer of the product supplied. The other supplier was SmithKline Beecham; however we have yet to confirm the manufacturer. When we have done so, I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

  Beef Supplies
  Mr. David Stewart
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of the beef consumed by the armed forces since May 1997 has originated from UK sources; and if he will make a statement on his Department's policy on the sourcing of all beef for the armed forces. [159828]

  Dr. Moonie
  Unfortunately, there are no data available prior to October 1997. However, from that date to April 2001, 60 per cent. of the beef consumed by UK based armed forces has been UK sourced.

  Since October 1997 the task of buying food for the armed forces has been contracted to 3663 (formerly known as Booker Foodservice) and it is the Ministry of Defence's policy to require them to seek the best price in the open market. Our contractor is required specifically to give full consideration to British products, which we look to them to buy wherever they are competitive. We have
  720W
  given particular attention to meat procurement and over the last two years have worked closely with our contractor; the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food; the Meat and Livestock Commission; and farmers' representatives to explore ways to increase the proportion of British meat we can buy competitively.

  This has been a successful co-operation. In the case of beef we had, since the autumn of 1998, been supplying 100 per cent. British beef to our UK based service personnel, following the agreement we secured from the EC to release British intervention beef at competitive prices. However as was announced to the House on 24 July 2000, Official Report, column 555W, these stocks have now run out and market prices have dictated that a mix of British and imported beef will be required for future supplies. We are, however, working closely with those concerned to ensure that we can maximise the amount of British product that can be supplied competitively. In the case of beef they have identified opportunities to sources some 150 tonnes of prime British cuts which, when added to the 800 tonnes of British beef already secured, would mean that over 50 per cent. of the Ministry of Defence's requirement in the UK would be British.

  Fissile Plutonium
  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the UK has exchanged fissile plutonium with the United States of America for highly enriched uranium since 1980. [158098]

  Mr. Hoon
  [holding answer 23 April 2001]: The 1958 Mutual Defence Agreement authorises the transfer of fissile material between the UK and the US. Over the period in question there have been no formal exchanges of plutonium for highly enriched uranium between the UK and the United States of America.

  Transport of Hazardous Materials (Lancashire)
  Miss Geraldine Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what hazardous materials were transported through Lancaster on 13 December 2000 via the Halton Army camp; [159492]

  (2) what hazardous material was transported through the village of Nether Kellet to Halton Army camp on 16 November 2000. [159493]

  Mr. Spellar
  [holding answer 1 May 2001]: I am able to confirm that military vehicles containing radioactive material did travel through the district of Lancaster on 16 November 2000 and 13 December 2000 via Halton Army camp.

  Royal Navy Exercises
  Mr. Quentin Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which foreign navies have been approached to provide tanker support for Royal Navy exercises in the next 12 months. [159712]

  Mr. Spellar
  No foreign navies have been approached to provide tanker support for Royal Navy exercises in the next 12 months. However, some participating nations may provide tanker support for their own deploying groups in a given exercise.

  Naval Vessels
  Mr. Quentin Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when HMS Fearless will be returned to service. [159721]

  Mr. Spellar
  On current plans, maintenance and repair work on HMS Fearless is due to be completed this summer. She will then be available for operational tasking.

  Mr. Quentin Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what items have been taken from HMS Intrepid and used to replace equipment on HMS Fearless. [159714]

  Mr. Spellar
  Since early 1998, numerous have been removed from HMS Intrepid and used to replace equipment on HMS Fearless. I will write to the hon. Member with a list of those items and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

  HMS Intrepid is held at a low readiness state commensurate with force levels endorsed within the Strategic Defence Review. All the items that have been removed could be refurbished or replaced and she could, if necessary, be returned to operational service within the readiness profile agreed in the Strategic Defence Review process.

  Mr. Quentin Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when HMS Invincible last put to sea; and when she is next scheduled to put to sea. [159717]

  Mr. Spellar
  HMS Invincible last put to sea on 26 February 2001, to take part in the winter deployment exercise off Norway. She returned to Portsmouth on 30 March 2001. She is due to sail for Rosyth at the end of July in preparation for her forthcoming refit.

  Mr. Quentin Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when HMS Ocean will be fully operational; and if he will make a statement. [159719]

  Mr. Spellar
  HMS Ocean is currently undergoing routine maintenance and repair work. Subject to completion of this work, successful sea trials, and allowing for the summer leave period, the vessel will be available for full operational tasking in late summer.

  Factor V Leiden Mutation
  Mr. Gale
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what standard assessment is made of service personnel prior to enlistment to determine if they suffer from Factor V Leiden mutation. [159412]

  Dr. Moonie
  No standard assessment is made to determine whether potential recruits to the armed forces have Factor V Leiden mutation. Potential recruits are required to provide information about their medical history and anyone with a chronic blood disorder, such as Factor V Leiden mutation, would be rejected for service.

  Mr. Gale
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the number of people serving in the armed forces who suffer from Factor V Leiden mutation. [159413]
  722W
  Dr. Moonie
  According to records held centrally by the Ministry of Defence, there have been five cases of Service personnel with blood coagulant disorders since 1997. This figure would include any cases of Service personnel with Factor V Leiden mutation, as this disorder is not identified separately in the Ministry of Defence's central records.

  Chinook ZD576
  Miss Geraldine Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the pilots flying the Chinook ZD576 were instructed to fly below the safety altitude for security reasons. [159871]

  Mr. Spellar
  No. There were no special instructions with regard to this task, which was planned as a routine flight.

EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT

  Grants (London Boroughs)
  Ms Buck
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list(a) each category of grant and (b) the amount of each grant paid by his Department to each London borough in (i) 1997–98, (ii) 1998–1999, (iii) 1999–2000 and (iv) 2000–01; and what the projected figure is for 2001–02. [155428]

  Ms Estelle Morris
  I refer my hon. Friend to the letter sent on 16 February from my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, setting out total funding for Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster local education authorities for the years 1996–97 to 2001–02.

  A list of the Department's school education grants and funding allocations paid to each London borough for the last four years and projected grant figures for the current year have been placed in the House of Commons Library.

  In the Budget on 7 March, national increases of £100 million for School Standards Grant and devolved New Deal for Schools Capital were announced. London boroughs will benefit from these increases, which are included in the figures placed in the House of Commons Library.

  Real terms national recurrent funding per pupil will rise year on year by £200 in 2001–02 and will have risen by around £540 since 1997–98. There will be an average real terms increase in per-pupil funding of around £750 between 1997–98 and 2003–04.

  Education Funding Strategy Group
  Mr. Clifton-Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will publish the membership of the education strategy group, together with their qualifications, grade and geographical area of employment (separately indicating the technical group); if he will list(a) the terms of reference of the group and (b) the schedules of meetings of the strategy and technical groups; if he will publish a verbatim account of those meetings; and if he will indicate when the conclusions and the Government's response will be published. [158901]
  723W
  Ms Estelle Morris
  The Education Funding Strategy Group has been set up to take forward work on the proposals for education funding set out in "Modernising Local Government Finance: A Green Paper" and is supported in that work by a technical sub-group. The groups include key stakeholders with an interest in local education authority and school funding and details of the membership of both groups are outlined in the tables. Members of both groups are not appointed on the basis of their grade or qualifications but have been nominated by the organisations they represent. Representatives have been selected for their knowledge of the wide range of circumstances local education authorities and schools face and local government members represent a balance of different authority types, regions and expertise. The Education Funding Strategy Group's papers are available on the DfEE's website (www.dfee.gov.uk/efsg/). Separate papers are not prepared for the sub-group, as its role is to consider papers before they are submitted to the Education Funding Strategy Group. The Government expect to publish their proposals on the future arrangements for education funding later this year.

  Education Funding Strategy Group

  Name

  Organisation

  Central Government representatives

  Helen Williams (chair)

  DfEE

  Andrew Wye

  DfEE

  Jonathan Anstey

  DfEE

  Susanna Todd

  DfEE

  Audrey Brown

  DfEE

  Joe Crilly

  DfEE

  Peter Kane

  HM Treasury

  Nicholas Holgate

  HM Treasury

  Mark Lambirth

  DETR

  Bryony Houlden

  DETR

  Joe Beeley

  DETR

  Nick Ville

  Audit Commission

  David Singleton

  Ofsted

  Local Government representatives

  Neil Kinghan

  Local Government Association

  Neil Fletcher

  Local Government Association

  Mike Grealy

  Local Government Association

  Stephen Lord

  Local Government Association

  Mike Heiser

  Local Government Association

  Gale Waller

  Local Government Association

  Bob Kerslake

  Local Government Association

  Jon Pittam

  Local Government Association

  David Smith

  Local Government Association

  Alan Parker

  Local Government Association

  Liz Nicholson

  Local Government Association

  Chris Waterman

  SEO/ACEO

  Stephen Fitzgerald

  Association of London Government

  Hilary McCollum

  Association of London Government

  Trade union representatives

  David Hart

  NAHT

  Peter Downes

  SHA

  Ian Langtry

  ATL

  Joe Boone

  NASUWT

  John Bangs

  NUT

  Alan Manasseh

  PAT

  Christina McAnea

  UNISON

  John Fisher

  TGWU

  Mick Graham

  GMB

  George Phipson

  AHFAS

  724W

  Education Funding Strategy Group

  Name

  Organisation

  Representatives from schools' bodies

  Mrs. Joan Binder

  FAVASA

  David Lankshear

  CofE Board of Education

  Michael Power

  Catholic Education Service

  Peter Rickard

  National Bursars Association

  Terry Pearson

  National Governors Council

  Technical sub-group to the Education Funding Strategy Group

  Name

  Organisation

  Andrew Wye

  DfEE

  Jonathan Anstey

  DfEE

  Jenny Holmes

  DfEE

  Joe Crilly

  DfEE

  Joe Beeley

  DETR

  Anthony Hammil

  HM Treasury

  Stuart Taylor

  HM Treasury

  Keith Bartley

  Ofsted

  Nick Ville

  Audit Commission

  Jack Hatch

  NAHT

  Joe Boone

  NASUWT

  George Phipson

  AHFAS

  Peter Downes

  SHA

  Peter Rickard

  National Bursars Association

  John Bangs

  NUT

  Terry Pearson

  National Governors Council

  Steve Lord

  LGA

  Mike Heiser

  LGA

  Gale Waller

  LGA

  Tom Fairclough

  LGA

  Thomas Whiffen

  LGA

  David Gallie

  LGA

  Roy Smith

  LGA

  Stephen Fitzgerald

  ALG

  Jo Mennell

  ALG

  Local Education Authority Grants
  Mr. Coleman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how much was received by local education authorities as(a) special and (b) specific grants in each financial year since 1997–98; and if he will make a statement on the distribution by LEAs. [159578]

  Ms Estelle Morris
  Listed are the Department's funding allocations for special and specific grants to local education authorities for each year since 1997–98.

  Individual special and specific grants are distributed to local education authorities according to objective criteria, tailored to target geographical areas, or groups of schools, pupils, teachers or others, depending on the particular objectives of the grants and the relative need to spend to achieve those objectives.

  Between 1992–93 and 1997–98, average recurrent funding per pupil fell by £120 in real terms from £2,830 to £2,710. Since then, it has risen by an average of £540 in real terms, to £3,250 this year. By 2003–04, it will have increased by around £750 in real terms since 1997–98.
  725W

  Funding to English LEAs

  £ million

  1997–98

  1998–99

  1999–2000

  2000–01

  Specific Grants

  Standards Fund/GEST

  195.8

  241.2

  661.9

  1,142.2

  Nursery Education Grant

  518.8

  130.2

  120.7

  233.2

  Revenue funding for the reduction of class size

  —

  22.3

  79.6

  141.5

  Education Action Zones

  —

  9.6

  24.0

  61.5

  Capital

  76.1

  303.0

  417.4

  1,143.9

  Special Grants

  School Standards Grant

  —

  —

  —

  293.4

  Teachers Green Paper Grants

  —

  —

  —

  245.3

  School Budget Support Grant

  —

  —

  —

  50.0

  Notes:

  1. Standards Fund/GEST figures are DfEE contribution only, and exclude Capital.

  2. In April 1999 the Ethnical Minority Achievement Grant became part of the Standards Fund, before this it was a Home Office funded section 11 grant.

  In 1997–98 approximately £500 million were taken from the Nursery sub-block of the SSA to fund the Nursery Voucher scheme. This has been treated as Grant rather than SSA funding. Funding for Nursery Vouchers was returned to local government from 1998–99.

  4. Education Action Zone funding is paid to the Zone not directly to the LEA.

  5. Figures for 2000–01 are not yet finalised and may be subject to change.

  Sure Start (Dartford)
  Dr. Stoate
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to introduce a Sure Start programme in Dartford to complement the recent allocation of money from the Children's Fund for new projects in Dartford to tackle social exclusion among children aged five to 13 years. [159915]

  Yvette Cooper
  Districts are invited to submit plans for Sure Start programmes because collectively they have high levels of need and disadvantage and give a good spread between different types of area around the country. The DETR index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) has been used to identify areas where there are high levels of need. By April 2004, there will be 500 Sure Start programmes in disadvantaged areas reaching a third of under-4s. Although so far Dartford has not been invited to submit plans for a Sure Start programme, it is possible that it will be included in a future wave of programmes.

  School Swimming
  Mr. Cotter
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) what steps he has taken to promote and encourage the teaching of swimming in schools; [159932]

  (2) what proportion of pupils in England undertake swimming lessons as part of the national curriculum. [159933]

  Jacqui Smith
  We do not hold specific figures on the proportion of pupils in England who take swimming lessons, as swimming is a compulsory part of the PE activities only at Key Stage 2 of the National Curriculum, unless pupils have met the full Key Stage 2 requirements during Key Stage 1. After Key Stage 2, it remains one of six physical activity areas. The Ofsted report on swimming at Key Stage 2, published in November 2000, showed that well over four out of five of the schools inspected provided adequate time for swimming. It also reported that four out of five children are able to swim 25 metres at the end of Key Stage 2. This was good news, but we acknowledge that we need to work with schools 726W
  to make even more opportunities available for more children to be able to swim 25 metres by the time they reach secondary school.

  Swimming and water safety are important life skills, and we are investing heavily in school sport, and swimming will benefit. The Government's commitment includes £580 million in England (out of a total of £750 million in the UK) from the New Opportunities Fund for sport in and around schools and up to £130 million to create multi-purpose sports and arts facilities in around 300 primary schools.

  We have also established a Swimming Advisory Group, involving representatives of the swimming associations, Ofsted, QCA and DCMS, to discuss what more can be done to create even more opportunities for children to swim. We hope to announce proposals that will increase the numbers of children who can swim by the end of Key Stage 2, before the end of the year.

  Head Teacher Training
  Mr. Willis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) how many teachers commenced the National Qualifications for Headteachers course in(a) April 2000 and (b) January 2001, broken down by (i) Government Office region, (ii) gender and (iii) ethnic background in each recruitment cycle, from (A) primary, (B) secondary, including middle schools where appropriate, and (C) special schools; and how many in each of (a) and (b) (1) have completed the course, (2) are continuing with the qualification and (3) have withdrawn; [159916]

  (2) if he will make a statement on the collection and collation of data on the ethnic background of those teachers who start the National Qualification for Headteachers course. [159917]

  Ms Estelle Morris
  The table sets out the number of candidates on the National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) who were recruited during the last two application rounds and began their training in the spring term of 2000 (cohort 7, old model NPQH) and the spring term of 2001 (cohort 1, new model NPQH). The figures
  727W
  are broken down into the categories requested by NPQH region. The NPQH regions are similar to but do not precisely mirror Government Office boundaries.

  The Government collect data on the ethnic background of NPQH applicants through the NPQH application form. Applicants are not bound to provide these data and, as a result, current analysis is not statistically meaningful.

  National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) Candidate statistics

  School phase/type

  Primary

  Secondary

  Special

  Other

  Total

  Cohort 7 Old Model NPQH (Spring 2000)

  NPQH Candidates by region1

  East Midlands

  59

  38

  3

  6

  106

  East

  37

  28

  2

  4

  71

  London

  62

  39

  5

  17

  123

  North

  38

  29

  1

  2

  70

  North West

  50

  45

  14

  7

  116

  South Central

  71

  34

  7

  0

  112

  South East

  56

  41

  2

  5

  104

  South West

  49

  22

  0

  1

  72

  West Midlands

  48

  35

  0

  1

  84

  Yorks and Humberside

  44

  32

  8

  3

  87

  Region unspecified

  28

  15

  2

  6

  51

  Total

  542

  358

  44

  52

  996

  Gender

  Male

  136

  201

  15

  21

  373

  Female

  406

  157

  29

  31

  623

  Total

  542

  358

  44

  52

  996

  Candidate status

  Completed NPQH

  70

  85

  7

  11

  173

  Currently studying

  407

  224

  33

  31

  715

  Withdrawn

  65

  29

  4

  10

  108

  Total

  542

  358

  44

  52

  996

  Cohort 1 New Model NPQH (Spring 2001)

  NPQH Candidates by region1

  East Midlands

  175

  88

  13

  —

  276

  East

  189

  106

  9

  —

  304

  London

  214

  124

  25

  —

  363

  North

  141

  59

  13

  —

  213

  North West

  200

  111

  20

  —

  331

  South Central

  206

  116

  14

  —

  337

  South East

  205

  82

  16

  —

  303

  South West

  150

  70

  8

  —

  228

  West Midlands

  150

  94

  15

  2

  261

  Yorks & Humberside

  161

  79

  12

  —

  252

  Total

  1,792

  929

  145

  2

  2,868

  Gender

  Male

  427

  503

  57

  1

  988

  Female

  1,365

  426

  88

  1

  1,880

  Total

  1,792

  929

  145

  2

  2,868

  Candidate status2

  Currently studying

  1,724

  906

  141

  3

  2,774

  Withdrawn

  67

  24

  3

  0

  94

  Total

  1,792

  929

  145

  2

  2,868

  1 The 10 NPQH Regions do not tally precisely with Government Office regions.

  2 No candidates have yet completed NPQH from cohort 1 as the minimum course length is six months.

  Children's Fund Local Network
  Gillian Merron
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will announce the areas that have been selected to participate in the first wave of the Children's Fund Local Network. [160358]
  728W
  The Government are concerned to ensure that all groups have an equal opportunity to prepare for headship and have improved the way that data are collected. They have asked the National College for School Leadership to develop strategies to ensure that currently underrepresented groups increasingly apply for and progress through the NPQH.

  Mr. Boateng
  I am pleased to announce today the 17 areas that have been selected to receive funding from the first wave of the Children's Fund Local Network.

  The Children's Fund was announced following the spending review 2000. The Fund is an important element

  729W
  of the Government's wider strategy to tackle child poverty and social exclusion. The Local Network element of the Children's Fund is making £70 million available over three years to fund the work of local community and voluntary groups helping vulnerable children aged 0–19.

  The 17 areas across England, which have been included in the first wave of the Local Network, include those with the highest levels of need and were chosen to ensure a spread of support across all regions in England, including some rural and coastal areas. By April 2004 all areas across England will have access to the Fund. Each local fund will be administered by an experienced local voluntary sector grant maker.

  The Local Network will help children in poverty achieve their potential by investing directly in the work of local community and voluntary groups that provide local solutions. Grants will be made under four themes:
  Aspirations and experiences—projects that give children experiences, or help them achieve goals that more privileged children may take for granted.
  Economic disadvantage—projects that help families to improve their living standards and cope with difficulties that come from being on low incomes.
  Isolation and access—projects that help children that are isolated or alone, or have trouble accessing services.
  Children's voices—projects that give children and young people the chance to express their opinions and give advice on matters that concern them.

  Local Network funding will be available in the following areas:
  North-East
  Tees Valley (Middlesbrough, Hartlepool, Redcar and Cleveland, Stockton-on-Tees, Darlington)
  Tyne and Wear (Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, South Tyneside, North Tyneside, Sunderland)
  North-West
  Merseyside/Halton (Knowsley, Sefton, Liverpool, St. Helens, Wirral, Halton)
  Greater Manchester (Manchester, Salford, Oldham, Rochdale, Bolton, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, Bury, Stockport)
  Lancashire (Lancashire, Blackpool and Blackburn)
  Yorkshire and Humberside
  South Yorkshire (Doncaster, Barnsley, Rotherham, Sheffield)
  West Yorkshire (Bradford, Kirklees, Calderdale, Wakefield, Leeds)
  Humberside (Kingston upon Hull, North-East Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire, East Riding)
  East Midlands
  Nottinghamshire (Nottingham and Nottinghamshire)
  Leicestershire (Leicester and Leicestershire)
  West Midlands
  Birmingham/Solihull (Birmingham and Solihull)
  The Black Country (Sandwell, Wolverhampton, Walsall and Dudley)
  East
  Norfolk
  South-West
  Cornwall (Cornwall with Isles of Scilly)
  South-East
  Kent (Medway, Kent)
  East Sussex (East Sussex and Brighton and Hove)
  730W
  London
  All London boroughs.

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Military Complaints Procedures
  Mr. Browne
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he intends to lay before Parliament the eighth annual report of the Independent Assessor of Military Complaints Procedures in Northern Ireland. [160531]

  Dr. Reid
  I have today arranged for copies of Mr. Jim McDonald's annual report for 2000 to be placed in the Library of both Houses.

  The report of the Independent Assessor continues to provide valuable reassurances to both the public and the Government that the army's complaints procedures stand scrutiny. I welcome Mr. McDonald's report and I will consider it further.

  European Committee for the Prevention of Torture
  Mr. Browne
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he will publish the Government's response to the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment's report on their visit to Northern Ireland in December 1999. [160532]

  Dr. Reid
  I have today placed a copy of our response, together with the Committee's report, in the Library of the House. The documents will also be available on my Department's website (www.nio.gov.uk) and that of the ECPT (www.cpt.coe.int).

  I welcome the role of the Committee and its attention to Northern Ireland I am pleased that it has recognised the many improvements that have been made in recent years. I take seriously the concerns raised by the Committee about issues that remain to be tackled and will give these close consideration.

TREASURY

  Permanent Secretary (Official Visits)
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what meetings his Permanent Secretary held with members and officials of the Irish Government during his visit to Dublin in February 2000. [159809]

  Dawn Primarolo
  The Permanent Secretary visited Dublin in February 2000 to participate in a conference. Irish Government officials attended the conference, but no meetings with members of the Irish Administration were held during the visit.

  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the visits outside Britain made by his Department's Permanent Secretary on official business since 1 July 2000, indicating the date and purpose of the visit in each case. [159808]

  Dawn Primarolo
  The information is given in the table.
  731W

  Visits outside Britain by the Permanent Secretary on official business since 1 July 2000

  Date

  Purpose of visit

  2000

  12 September 2000—Paris

  To attend a meeting of Working Party 3 of the Economic Policy Committee of the OECD

  18–19 September 2000—Madrid

  To attend a conference meet members of the Spanish Administration

  11 December 2000—Paris

  To attend a meeting of Working Party 3 of the Economic Policy Committee of the OECD

  2001

  24–25 January 2001—Brussels

  To meet UK and Commission officials

  13 March 2001—Paris

  To attend a meeting of Working Party 3 of the Economic Policy Committee of the OCED

  Asthma Deaths
  Mr. Crausby
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many deaths have been attributed to asthma in each of the last five years. [160148]

  Miss Melanie Johnson
  The information requested falls with the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.

  Letter from Len Cook to Mr. David Crausby, dated 3 May 2001:
  As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question about how many deaths have been attributed to asthma in each of the last five years.(160148)
  The following table shows the number of deaths in England and Wales, 1995–1999, where asthma was the underlying cause of death, classified according to the International Classification of Disease, ninth edition (ICD9).

  Year

  Number of asthma deaths1

  1995

  1,459

  1996

  1,349

  1997

  1,439

  1998

  1,366

  1999

  1,364

  1 ICD9 code 493

  National Investment and Loans Office
  Mr. Ian Stewart
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recommendations flow from the review of the management performance of the National Investment and Loans Office since it absorbed the Office of the Paymaster General in 1996, conducted by Treasury officials. [160585]

  Miss Melanie Johnson
  Treasury officials conducted a review of NILO's operations, working closely with NILO's senior management and consulting NILO's customers and other interested stakeholders. The report concludes that NILO has performed well over the last five years, and recommends a number of actions to ensure that performance levels are sustained and improved in the future.

  I have asked Treasury officials to work with NILO, and others where appropriate, to ensure that these recommendations are implemented in due course.

  Climate Change Levy
  Mr. Stephen O'Brien
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his policy is for a post-audit of the climate change levy. [159065]
  732W
  Mr. Timms
  The climate change levy has been operational for only one month, and it is necessary that it has longer to bed in before review of its operation. As with any tax, the Chancellor will keep the climate change levy under review as part of the normal Budget process.

  Government Funding
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what the per capita allocation of funds was to(a) England, (b) Northern Ireland, (c) Scotland and (d) Wales for economic development, and what percentage of his Department's total expenditure this allocation represented, in each of the five years prior to July 1997; [160136]

  (2) what the per capita allocation of funds was to (a) England, (b) Northern Ireland, (c) Scotland and (d) Wales for (i) pre-16 education, (ii) post-16 education and (iii) universities and further education; and what percentage of his Department's total expenditure each of these allocations represented in each of the five years prior to July 1999. [160138]

  Mr. Andrew Smith
  The allocation of funding in devolved areas is a matter for the devolved Administrations within their overall budgets set in the 2000 spending review. Information on expenditure per head by function and by county is set out in Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses published in April 2001.

  Debt Management Office
  Mr. Tyrie
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will publish the Debt Management Office's profit and loss account for each year since its inception; [159999]

  (2) how much of each short term money asset has been held by the Debt Management Office, representing its short term money under management for each quarter since its creation; [160001]

  (3) how much short term money has been under management by the Debt Management Office for each month since the Debt Management Office's creation; [159998]

  (4) how much of each short term money market asset has been bought by the Debt Management Office from the net increase in short term assets in 2000–01 under management; and if he will publish the results in tabular form; [160000]

  (5) what returns have been made on short term assets managed by the Debt Management Office for each quarter since its creation; and what bench marks have been used. [160002]
  733W
  Miss Melanie Johnson
  The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Chief Executive of the Debt Management Office. I have asked him to reply.

  Letter from Mike Williams to Mr. Andrew Tyrie, dated 3 May 2001:
  The Economic Secretary to the Treasury has asked me to reply to Parliamentary Questions numbers 15,998, 15,999, 16,000, 16,001 and 16,002.
  The increase in the Government's net short term cash position, represented by the relevant net short-term assets held on the Debt Management Account (DMA) which is managed by the Debt Management Office (DMO), was £13.4 billion in the course of the 2000–01 financial year (including a £0.5 billion cash deposit at the

  Schedule: Financial instruments in which the DMO may transact

  Basis of dealing

  Outright purchases and sales

  Gilt purchases1

  Tenders and bilateral

  Gilt strip purchases1

  Tenders and bilateral

  HMT bills

  Tenders and bilateral

  Selected eligible bank bills1

  Bilateral

  Certificates of Deposit (CDs)

  Bilateral

  Selected commercial paper (CP) selected bank Bills and other short-term debt issued by high Quality issuers, including supranationals and Foreign Governments2

  Bilateral

  Purchases from the market for future resale ('reverse repo') and Sale to the market for future repurchase ('repo') Instruments

  Gilts (deliveries by value 'DBV' and General Collateral 'GC' including strips)

  Tenders and bilateral

  HMT bills

  Tenders and bilateral

  Non-Sterling HMT paper

  Bilateral

  Selected eligible bank bills

  Bilateral

  £ and other currency paper issued by high quality supranational and foreign government issuers

  Bilateral

  Other

  Unsecured cash borrowing and lending

  Bilateral

  1 Less than six months to maturity

  2 Less than 12 months

  Note:

  The DMO may also use short-term currency swaps, Forward Rate Agreements (FRAs) and interest rate futures to manage foreign currency and interest rate exposures. All foreign currency exposures will be hedged hack into sterling.

  Economic Cycle
  Mr. Redwood
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how he defines(a) boom and (b) bust in terms of GDP change quarter by quarter over a year. [159791]

  Miss Melanie Johnson
  I refer the right hon. Member to what the Prime Minister said to him in the Chamber on 25 April 2001,Official Report, column 301.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Peter Tatchell
  Mr. Maude
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his reply of 2 April 2001,Official Report, column 53W, on
  734W
  Bank of England)1. The DMO did not acquire responsibility for managing the Exchequer cash position until 3 April 2000.
  The amounts of specific classes of short-term assets that are bought by the DMO, are matters of commercial confidentiality between the DMO and its counterparties. For related reasons the DMO does not publish monthly totals of its short-term net cash position. However, paragraph 20 of the DMO's Exchequer Cash Management Operational Notice (dated 20 January 2000), as supplemented by the DMO's announcement of 12 September and 9 November 2000, list the range of financial instruments in which the DMO may transact. These are set out in the schedule attached.
  All the DMO's market transactions flow through the DMA which came into operation in November 1999. The audited accounts for the DMA for the period to end March 2000 (including an income and expenditure account), will be published in due course.
  1 The details of the financing arithmetic outturn are available on the DMO web site www.dmo.gov.uk
  Mr. Tatchell, on what date the British Embassy in Brussels raised the matter with the Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs. [160091]

  Mr. Wilson
  Our Consul General at our Embassy in Brussels raised the matter with the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 16 March 2001. My reply of 2 April 2001,Official Report, column 53W, contained a typographical error—"Minister" should read "Ministry".

  Mr. Maude
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 2 April 2001,Official Report, column 53W, on Mr. Tatchell, if he will publish the representation made by the British Embassy in Brussels following the assault on Mr. Tatchell. [160090]
  735W
  Mr. Wilson
  Our Consul-General in Belgium made clear our concerns at a senior level in the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a telephone call.

  Helplines
  Mr. Levitt
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what telephone helplines to assist the public are administered by his Department and its agencies. [159506]

  Mr. Battle
  The Foreign and Commonwealth Office operates two permanent telephone helplines designed to assist the public. The purpose of one is to give advice to UK citizens planning to travel overseas (Tel. 020 7008 0232/3, Fax 020 7008 0155 or 0164), the other gives visa advice for people planning to travel to the UK (Tel. 020 7238 3838). The information obtainable from both of these telephone helplines is also available on internet websites.

  There is also an "Emergency Unit" telephone helpline which is brought into use whenever there is a large unplanned increase in telephone inquiries from member of the public—for example, an earthquake or widespread civil disorder at a popular overseas holiday destination.

  EU Documents
  Mr. Dismore
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about the progress of the negotiations on public access to EU documents. [160593]

  Mr. Vaz
  After a year of difficult negotiations, the Commission, the Council and the European Parliament have all agreed in principle to a draft Regulation on public access to EU documents.

  The UK's objectives for these negotiations were to secure a Regulation which ensures:
  greater openness (ie more EU documents being made available to the public;
  proper protection for sensitive material;
  a quick, user-friendly mechanism;
  a consistent approach both by the institutions and in member states;
  compatibility with the UK Freedom of Information Act 2000.

  All these objectives have been met and we now have an arrangement which we believe will be a firm step forward in EU openness. The Government welcome this: we have long been an advocate of greater openness in the EU institutions. More accessible documents make for more accountable institutions.

  Nigeria
  Mr. Gale
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received from Nigeria concerning the impact of Sharia law in northern states on non-Muslims; and if he will make a statement. [159410]

  Mr. Wilson
  We continue to monitor closely the situation in northern Nigeria. Officials from the High Commission travel regularly to the region.
  736W
  Most Nigerian states' legislation introducing the Sharia penal code provides that it will not apply to non-Muslims unless they so choose. We understand this is generally respected. But we have seen some reports that churches have had difficulty in obtaining land to build on. We believe a very small number of non-Muslims may have been attacked by vigilante groups. We welcome the efforts of the Nigerian authorities to crack down on these groups.

  Mr. Gale
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Nigerian authorities over the increase in violence against Christians in(a) Gombe, (b) Yobe, (c) Sokoto, (d) Borno and (e) other states of Nigeria. [159411]

  Mr. Wilson
  The root causes of much of the conflict in northern Nigeria are long-standing differences between ethnic groups. These differences are over a range of issues, including control of territory and resources, and are not primarily religious.

  We welcome the efforts of the Nigerian authorities (both at federal and at state level), and of community groups, to reduce tension.

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

  Tourism
  Mr. Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which European cities have been visited by Ministers to promote UK tourism during the past two months. [158900]

  Mr. Chris Smith
  Government Ministers and those in the devolved administrations are using every opportunity to promote the British Tourism industry overseas. Ministers in my Department have used recent visits to Valencia (Spain) and Portoroz (Slovenia) to get the message across that it is still perfectly safe to come to the United Kingdom and that there is plenty to see and do.

  In addition, my hon. Friend the Minister for Tourism, Film and Broadcasting visited the USA in March to reinforce this message and I, myself have just returned from a similar visit to Canada.

  Special Advisers
  Mr. Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the total cost was of employing special advisers in his Department from 1997 to date. [160044]

  Mr. Chris Smith
  [holding answer 1 May 2001]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 1 May 2001, Official Report, columns 607–08W.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Foot and Mouth
  Mr. Derek Foster
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress has been made towards eradicating foot and mouth disease; and if he will make a statement. [160584]
  737W
  Mr. Nick Brown
  I am placing in the Libraries of the House today the latest graphs produced for the Chief Scientific Adviser's Group on the course of the disease. These demonstrate that in the seven day period ending Wednesday 2 May there was an average of approximately eight new confirmed cases each day compared with 16 in the seven day period ending 22 April and with a weekly average of 43 at the peak in late March. We can therefore be optimistic about the future course of the disease, although the Chief Scientific Adviser has warned that cases will continue to occur for some time yet.

  It is clear that our policy to bear down on the outbreak swiftly and prevent spread of the disease through slaughtering of animals in infected premises within 24 hours of the case being reported, tracing dangerous contacts and tackling the disease on contiguous premises within 48 hours, has been effective. This has been crucial to the control of the epidemic.

  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the cause of the foot and mouth disease outbreak. [160407]

  Mr. Nick Brown
  Investigations into the cause of the outbreak continue. I will inform the House of the outcome as soon as I can.

  Mr. Key
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will allow livestock markets to open as collection centres for slaughter stock. [156003]

  Ms Quin
  [holding answer 29 March 2001]: We have consulted on the conditions under which collecting centres should be licensed and will issue guidance in the light of veterinary advice.

  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what discussions have taken place with the Environment Agency at(a) national and (b) local level in respect of the merits of (i) burying and (ii) incineration of animal carcases arising from the slaughter of animals due to foot and mouth disease. [156374]

  Ms Quin
  The Ministry, National Assembly for Wales and the Environment Agency have agreed joint working arrangements and principles for disposal activities associated with foot and mouth disease. Ministry officials have held, and continue to hold, discussions with representatives of the Environment Agency and other Government Departments. These have included discussions on the merits of different options for the disposal of animal carcases.

  At a local level the Ministry, (including the Divisional Veterinary Manager) Environment Agency, health authority, environmental health departments of local authorities and others are involved in assessing risk to human health and the environment and the options for disposal, taking account of the location, type and quantity of material for disposal.

  Following a Risk Assessment, carried out by the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee (SEAC), the Government decided to provide the option of burial for cattle born after 1 August 1996, as these younger cattle were born after animal feed controls were fully enforced and therefore pose the lowest risk of BSE infectivity of any cattle in the national herd. Older cattle will continue to be burnt or rendered.
  738W
  The Institute of Animal Health at Pirbright has also been involved in advising MAFF on the disposal of carcases, and the assessment of the level of risk.

  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his oral statement of 27 March 2001,Official Report, column 843, on foot and mouth disease, what reasons underlay the decision not to consider the use of napalm as a fuel for burning carcases. [156464]

  Ms Quin
  [holding answer 2 April 2001]: There are two forms of napalm available, which both produce very toxic compounds when they burn. We therefore cannot use them because of the public and environmental health risks.

  We recognise that burning at higher temperatures is more efficient and cleaner, and so there is a need to increase the temperature of pyres, particularly at the beginning of the burn while the water in carcases is being driven off. We have therefore commissioned urgent studies, in collaboration with MOD, on the possible use of gelled fuel mixtures to increase the temperature.

  Mr. Duncan
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what provision he has made for permitting persons to enter foot and mouth infected areas for the purpose of artificially inseminating dairy cows to avoid the drying-up of milking herds. [156912]

  Ms Quin
  [holding answer 5 April 2001]: Inseminators are now permitted to visit a single premises on any one day for the purpose of artificial insemination, subject to strict hygiene conditions. A farm may not be visited for insemination more frequently than once a week and no semen may be taken off the farm.

  Premises under Form A or Form D restrictions or within the 3 km zone around an infected premises, and those within 8 km of a premises subject to Form C restrictions are considered to be high-risk premises and, for disease control purposes, such visits are not permitted for these farms.

  Helplines
  Mr. Levitt
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what telephone helplines to assist the public are administered by his Department and its agencies. [159510]

  Ms Quin
  The Department provides the following helplines:

  MAFF Helpline—A general helpline providing information and assistance across the range of MAFF's activities. The MAFF helpline number is 08459 33 55 77, and the service is available from 09.00 to 17.00 hours, Monday to Friday.

  British Cattle Movement Service (BCMS) Helpline—This provides information and advice on the administration of the Cattle Tracing System. The BCMS helpline number is 0845 050 1234, and the service is available from Monday to Friday 08.00 to 17.30 hours, and on Saturday from 09.00 to 13.00 hours.

  Pet Travel Scheme (PETS) Helpline—This handles inquiries on the operation of PETS. The PETS helpline number is 0870 241 1710, and the service is available from Monday to Friday 08.30 to 17.00 hours.
  739W
  MAFF have set up a helpline for callers wanting general advice on the recent outbreak of foot and mouth disease. The helpline number is 0845 050 4141, and the service is currently available 24 hours a day seven days a week.

  Animal Welfare
  Mrs. Brinton
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make it his policy to seek to persuade the EU Council of Ministers to introduce a trade-restrictive measure designed to promote animal welfare. [159058]

  Mr. Morley
  Trading practices must comply with conditions set out in World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreements. The Government have succeeded in getting animal welfare on to the agenda of the current WTO agriculture negotiations and will continue to promote the issue both there and in the EU.

ENVIRONMENT, TRANSPORT AND THE REGIONS

  East-West Rail Route
  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he received from the Strategic Rail Authority its study of east-west rail connections through or under London; if he will make a statement about the Government's policy towards a new east-west route; and if he will place a copy of the study in the Library. [159688]

  Mr. Hill
  [holding answer 30 April 2001]: The Strategic Rail Authority sent the report on their extensive study into the issues relating to rail travel on an east-west axis across London to the Secretary of State on 20 December 2000.

  Following additional appraisal work within the High-Level Group (the Minister for Transport, the Mayor and the Chairman, Strategic Rail Authority), which was set up to develop a co-ordinated approach to London rail projects, we have agreed next steps. Work will start immediately on project definition and design development of a central, cross-London rail link, the tunnel section of which could follow the alignment of the CrossRail scheme. The work will look at alternative service patterns and access to Heathrow. This will lead to a recommendation on the option to be taken forward. At the same time, work will start on a feasibility study of a south-west to north-east London rail link, the tunnel section of which could follow the alignment of the Chelsea-Hackney scheme.

  This work will be taken forward jointly by the Strategic Rail Authority and Transport for London, under the guidance of the High-Level Group.

  I am arranging for copies of the Strategic Rail Authority's report to be placed in the Library and published on the SRA website.

  London Underground
  Mr. Jenkin
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many 740W
  London Underground stations have been closed for a part of the day in each of (a) the last 10 years because of staff shortage and (b) the past 12 months. [157479]

  Mr. Hill
  [holding answer 9 April 2001]: This is an operational issue for London Underground (LUL) who have provided me with the following information on station closures owing to staff shortages of all time periods over 15 minutes in duration for the last six years and for year 2000–01 until 3 March 2001.

  Year

  Number of closures

  1995–96

  123

  1996–97

  102

  1997–98

  106

  1998–99

  1—

  1999–2000

  114

  2000–01

  246

  1 Unavailable

  2000–01

  Period

  Number of closures

  1

  5

  2

  10

  3

  11

  4

  7

  5

  20

  6

  38

  7

  20

  8

  17

  9

  18

  10

  56

  11

  20

  12

  24

  Note:

  UL operate a 13 period year. The end of period 12 represents 3 March 2001. Information for period 13 has not been processed yet.

  Information on years prior to 1995–96 could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Mr. Jenkin
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) how many accidents there have been on London Underground in each of(a) the last 10 years and (b) the past 12 months including in each instance the number of (i) fatalities, (ii) major injuries and (iii) minor injuries to passengers and staff; [157468]

  (2) how many accidents have been caused on London Underground in each of (a) the last 10 years and (b) the past 12 months by train movements, including in each instance the number of (i) fatalities, (ii) major injuries and (ii) minor injuries to passengers and staff. [157469]

  Mr. Hill
  [holding answer 9 April 2001]: London Underground (LUL) have provided the following information relating to all accidents. They inform me that to highlight those accidents which are the result of train movements could be done only at disproportionate cost.

  London Underground publish information on passenger and employee fatalities and passenger major injuries in their Annual Reports each year. The following table summarises this information for the period requested, although LUL informs me that the figures may differ slightly from the Annual Reports as some revisions have been made to reflect information which was not available at the time of the Reports.
  741W

  Passenger fatality

  Employee fatality

  Passenger fatality major injury

  1990–91

  8

  5

  161

  1991–92

  7

  2

  44

  1992–93

  5

  0

  55

  1993–94

  5

  0

  50

  1994–95

  6

  1

  57

  1995–96

  4

  0

  86

  1996–97

  7

  0

  95

  1997–98

  4

  0

  108

  1998–99

  1

  1

  123

  1999–2000

  6

  0

  106

  The information contained in the following tables covers the additional categories relating to Employee and Passenger injuries. As London Underground's current databases do not extend back prior to 1994, they inform me that to provide information before this date would incur excessive costs.

  Employee major injury

  Employee minor injury

  Passenger minor injury

  1994–95

  30

  2,063

  2,047

  1995–96

  32

  2,096

  2,000

  1996–97

  23

  1,985

  2,344

  1997–98

  29

  1,659

  2,409

  1998–99

  25

  1,653

  2,468

  1999–2000

  33

  1,602

  2,503

  2000–011

  13

  993

  2,170

  1 Figures for 2000–01 are only up to end of Quarter 3 (6 January 2001) and are provisional

  Finally the following table sets out the figures broken down monthly for year 2000.

  Year 2000

  Fatality

  Major injury

  Minor injury

  Passenger

  January

  0

  4

  183

  February

  1

  12

  185

  March

  0

  9

  220

  April

  1

  12

  215

  May

  2

  8

  268

  June

  0

  14

  258

  July

  0

  10

  257

  August

  1

  12

  246

  September

  0

  11

  260

  October

  1

  16

  234

  November

  1

  6

  221

  December

  1

  12

  211

  Employee

  January

  0

  3

  117

  February

  0

  4

  99

  March

  0

  3

  125

  April

  0

  0

  104

  May

  0

  3

  105

  June

  0

  6

  132

  July

  0

  2

  105

  August

  0

  0

  130

  September

  0

  0

  121

  October

  0

  2

  100

  November

  0

  0

  90

  December

  0

  0

  106

  Mr. Jenkin
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) how many 742W
  serious train incidents there were in the London Underground in each of (a) the past 10 years and (b) the past 12 months; [157482]

  (2) how many train derailments there have been on the London Underground in each of (a) the last 10 years and (b) the past 12 months. [157472]

  Mr. Hill
  [holding answer 9 April 2001]: This is an operational issue for London Underground (LUL) who inform me that although they record incidents on the Underground system under a range of headings themselves they do not use the term "serious train incidents". The appropriate measure would be LUL's record of train derailments and train collisions.

  Year

  Derailments on running line

  1996–97

  4

  1997–98

  1

  1998–99

  1

  1999–2000

  3

  2000–01

  4

  London Underground have provided me with the following information on train derailments on their running line, for recent years and in the last 12 months:

  2000–01

  Derailments on running line

  April

  0

  May

  1

  June

  0

  July

  0

  August

  1

  September

  1

  October

  0

  November

  0

  December

  1

  January

  0

  February

  0

  March

  0

  Information on years prior to 1996–97 could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  LUL inform me that there have been no train collisions on the network over the past 10 years.

  Waste Disposal
  Mr. Trickett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) if he will make a statement on his plans in respect of the(a) purpose and (b) timescale of issuing an order under section 16(1) of the Environmental Protection Act 1999; [158517]

  (2) how many working days will elapse between the termination of the current public consultation exercise and the implementation of an order under section 16(1) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 in relation to the use of waste disposal companies by waste disposal authorities. [158523]

  Mr. Meacher
  On 9 April my Department issued for consultation a draft of the Waste (Foot-and-Mouth) Disease (England) Regulations 2001. Following consideration of the responses, the Regulations were made and came into
  743W
  force on 13 April. The main purpose of the Regulations is to enable the Secretary of State to issue directions under section 57(1) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 requiring the holders of waste management licences for specified landfill sites to accept and dispose of specified kinds of agricultural waste.

  It is necessary to ensure that waste arising from the foot and mouth disease outbreak is disposed of effectively and in ways which protect the environment and human health. The Regulations will ensure that suitable landfill sites can be used where necessary to dispose of specified kinds of animal waste. However, the powers of direction under section 57(1) of the 1990 Act will be used only where the Government consider that their use in relation to each individual site is essential; and to date no such directions have been issued. Unless and until a decision to issue a direction is taken, it is not possible to say how many working days will have elapsed between the termination of the consultation exercise and the implementation of that direction.

  Vehicle Registration Plates
  Mr. Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what guidance has been given to the police force with regard to the prosecution of drivers who display a flag, other than the EU flag, on vehicle registration plates. [159234]

  Mr. Hill
  [holding answer 27 April 2001]: Enforcement of the new number plate is an operational matter for the individual police forces.

  Housing expenditure in England: Allocations 1979–80 to 1989–901

  £ million

  1979–80

  1980–81

  1981–82

  1982–83

  1983–84

  1984–85

  Housing Corporation Approved Development Programme (ADP)-Gross expenditure

  2—

  2—

  521

  755

  734

  697

  LA Basic Block allocations (prior to 1990–91)

  2,544

  2,186

  1,771

  1,847

  1,769

  1,821

  Estate Action

  3—

  3—

  3—

  3—

  3—

  3—

  Other allocations

  0

  17

  25

  345

  464

  32

  Total Housing Revenue Account Subsidy

  1,274

  1,423

  908

  536

  280

  2,139

  Housing Corporation Revenue allocations

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  Total (cash prices)

  3,819

  3,626

  3,224

  3,484

  3,247

  4,688

  Total (real terms at 1999–2000 prices)

  10,756

  8,641

  7,017

  7,090

  6,320

  8,674

  £ million

  1985–86

  1986–87

  1987–88

  1988–89

  1989–90

  Housing Corporation Approved Development Programme (ADP)-Gross expenditure

  711

  715

  752

  791

  935

  LA Basic Block allocations (prior to 1990–91)

  1,572

  1,392

  1,262

  1,119

  874

  Estate Action

  3—

  42

  67

  129

  176

  Other allocations

  33

  25

  71

  83

  45

  Total Housing Revenue Account Subsidy

  2,349

  2,566

  2,576

  2,628

  2,879

  Housing Corporation Revenue allocations

  0

  1

  1

  1

  53

  Total (cash prices)

  4,666

  4,740

  4,728

  4,751

  4,963

  Total (real terms at 1999–2000 prices)

  8,196

  8,075

  7,648

  7,198

  7,014

  Housing
  Mr. Love
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how much central Government spent on(a) housing and (b) social housing in (i) actual terms and (ii) real terms (A) in each year since 1979 and (B) as projected to the end of the current funding review period. [159689]

  Mr. Robert Ainsworth
  [holding answer 30 April 2001]: The available information on the Department's allocations, or outturns, for its main programmes of housing capital investment and revenue expenditure since 1979–80 in England is set out in the table, with forecasts for 2002–03 and 2003–04. A revised local authority finance regime was introduced from 1990–91, and so the detail of prior years' figures is not directly comparable. Some of the resources allocated through the Single Regeneration Budget Challenge Fund and City Challenge are applied to housing, but this element is not distinguished in the allocations and is therefore not included.

  The tables do not reflect indirect support for housing by central Government through, for example, mortgage interest tax relief and housing related personal benefits such as rent allowances and rate/council tax rebates.

  All expenditure by the Housing Corporation, and through Housing Revenue Account subsidy, Estate Action and Estate Renewal Challenge Fund allocations is wholly attributable to social housing. The Department's ACG, CRI and other allocations are not prescribed and authorities are free to apply these resources in support of both social and private housing in accordance with their own strategies and priorities. Private Sector Renewal Support Grant is applied exclusively to private housing, as is the majority of Disabled Facilities Grant expenditure.
  745W

  Housing expenditure in England: Allocations 1990–91 to 2000–011

  £ million

  1990–91

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1993–94

  1994–95

  1995–96

  1996–97

  Housing Corporation Approved Development Programme (ADP)-Gross expenditure

  1,063

  1,586

  2,351

  1,796

  1,484

  1,142

  1,044

  LA Housing Annual Capital Guidelines (ACGs)

  1,296

  1,343

  1,290

  1,378

  1,038

  994

  943

  Estate Action

  175

  264

  347

  357

  373

  239

  203

  Other allocations (Energy Conservation, Insulation, Homelessness, Private Sector Initiative etc.)

  221

  187

  110

  45

  70

  88

  88

  Capital Receipts Initiative

  3—

  3—

  3—

  3—

  3—

  3—

  3—

  Private Sector Renewal Support Grant

  413

  413

  397

  392

  308

  283

  271

  Disabled Facilities Grant

  3—

  3—

  3—

  3—

  3—

  3—

  3—

  Estate Renewal Challenge Fund

  3—

  3—

  3—

  3—

  3—

  3—

  30

  Housing Action Trusts (capital and current spending)

  3—

  10

  27

  78

  92

  93

  90

  Total Housing Revenue Account Subsidy

  3,661

  3,750

  3,961

  4,126

  4,142

  4,023

  3,926

  Housing Corporation Revenue allocations inc. SCSHF

  66

  104

  136

  146

  200

  199

  217

  Starter Homes Initiative

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Safer Communities Supported Housing Fund

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Arms Length Management Companies

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Total (cash prices)

  6,894

  7,657

  8,618

  8,318

  7,706

  7,061

  6,811

  Total (real terms at 1999–2000 prices)

  9,037

  9,456

  10,307

  9,691

  8,853

  7,885

  7,369

  £ million

  1997–98

  1998–99

  1999–2000

  2000–01

  2001–02

  2002–03

  2003–04

  Housing Corporation Approved Development Programme (ADP)-Gross expenditure

  684

  607

  638

  642

  767

  918

  1,214

  LA Housing Annual Capital Guidelines (ACGs)

  628

  544

  609

  2,019

  882

  793

  842

  Estate Action

  155

  99

  65

  69

  39

  11

  5

  Other allocations (Energy Conservation, Insulation, Homelessness, Private Sector Initiative etc.)

  51

  31

  3—

  3—

  3—

  3—

  3—

  Capital Receipts Initiative

  174

  569

  570

  3—

  3—

  3—

  3—

  Private Sector Renewal Support Grant

  192

  166

  165

  0

  21

  3—

  3—

  Disabled Facilities Grant

  56

  59

  65

  72

  85

  88

  89

  Estate Renewal Challenge Fund

  103

  146

  165

  81

  3—

  3—

  3—

  Housing Action Trusts (capital and current spending)

  88

  90

  83

  86

  98

  123

  72

  Total Housing Revenue Account Subsidy

  3,682

  3,370

  3,104

  2,974

  4,344

  4,107

  3,878

  Housing Corporation Revenue allocations inc. SCSHF

  208

  149

  154

  143

  158

  189

  200

  Starter Homes Initiative

  —

  —

  —

  —

  50

  100

  100

  Safer Communities Supported Housing Fund

  —

  —

  —

  —

  20

  40

  60

  Arms Length Management Companies

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  100

  200

  Total (cash prices)

  6,022

  5,830

  5,618

  6,086

  6,465

  6,469

  6,660

  Total (real terms at 1999–2000 prices)

  6,336

  5,964

  5,618

  5,981

  6,199

  6,052

  6,078

  1 All component figures are in cash prices

  2 Denotes figures not available

  3 Not applicable in this period

  Notes:

  ADP Gross Expenditure:
  Excludes ADP funding of City Challenge, Rough Sleepers Initiative and ERCF. Data prim to 1981–82 is unavailable as corporation expenditure was not cash limited in this period. 1992–93 figures includes £591 million under Housing Market Package. 2000–01 figure is forecast.

  LA Housing Annual Capital Guidelines (ACGs):
  From 2000–01 the ACG incorporates allocations for private sector renewal and the Capital Receipts Initiative which were previously made separately. The introduction of Major Repairs Allowance (MRA) from 2001–02 caused a switch of resources from LA Housing ACGs into Housing Revenue Account Subsidy. Figures for 2002–03 and 2003–04 exclude the component of housing ACGs covering 'Receipts taken into Account' (RTAs); this amounted to £199 million in 2001–02.
  Estate Action—Figures up to 1994–95 represent supplementary credit approval (SCA) and continuation scheme allocations; thereafter, direct grant payment outturns within the Single Regeneration Budget. There is no revenue expenditure attributable to Estate Action.

  Capital Receipts Initiative:
  Initial allocations

  Private Sector Renewal Support Grant:
  Distributed via Specified Capital Grant Allowances 1990–91 to 1992–93; SCG-dependent SCAs 1993–94 to 1996–97.

  Disabled Facilities Grant:
  Initial allocations. DFG was included within SCG and SCG-dependent SCAs prior to 1997–98.

  Estate Renewal Challenge Fund:
  From 2001–02, ERCF baseline expenditure is included in ADP settlements.

  Housing Action Trusts:
  HATs figures include all revenue expenditure, except for 2002–03 and 2003–04. Figures for 2001–02 are allocations.
  746W 747W
  Housing Revenue Account Subsidy:
  Includes the rent rebate subsidy element. Prior to 1990–91 rent rebates were part of the Department of Social Services programmes; outturn figures provided by DSS for the period 1984–85 to 1989–90 include those for Welsh authorities, but comparable data for earlier years are not available. A substantially revised HRA subsidy system was introduced from 1990, which includes MRA from 2001–02 (see note above).

  Housing Corporation Revenue Allocations:
  Information as published in the Housing Corporation's Annual Accounts; figures for 2001–02 onwards include revenue spend on the Safer Communities Supported Housing Fund.

  Fiona Mactaggart
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will publish the allocations of capital housing expenditure for 2001–02 for the Slough unitary authority, broken down into(a) repairs to local authority property, (b) repairs to regulated social landlord property, (c) new local authority build and (d) new regulated social landlord property. [160249]

  Mr. Robert Ainsworth
  On 7 December 2000, the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions announced the Housing Improvement Programme (HIP) figures. The unitary authority of Slough's allocation figure for the HIP programme 2001–02 totalled £1,872,000. This is made up with the Annual Capital Guideline £1,722,000 and the Disabled Facilities Grant (a specified capital grant) of £150,000. The Major Repairs Allowance (MRA) 2001–02 for the unitary authority of Slough of £4,731,300 was announced on 7 December 2000. The MRA covers repairs to local authority property. Funding towards repairs to regulated social landlord property is minimal. There is no funding for the local authority to build new properties. The Housing Corporation has published the allocation statement for the unitary authority of Slough on 17 April 2001 for new registered social landlord property totalling £2,946,292. This is made up of £2,714,576 for Mixed Funded Rent and £231,716 for Mixed Funded Sale.

  Fiona Mactaggart
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many people were(a) on the housing waiting list, (b) registered priority homeless and (c) accommodated in bed and breakfast accommodation under housing legislation in the unitary authority of Slough at the latest date for which figures are available. [160251]

  Mr. Robert Ainsworth
  As at 1 April 2000 there were 1,931 people on the housing waiting list in the unitary authority of Slough, and there were 249 people registered as priority homeless. As at December 2000, there were 198 people in temporary accommodation of which four are in bed and breakfast accommodation in the unitary authority of Slough.

  Mr. Willetts
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will place in the Library the local authority audits on the provision of and need for semi-independent housing with support for lone parents below the age of 18 years. [160204]

  Mr. Robert Ainsworth
  Information on the provision of and demand for accommodation in their area which could be used for semi-independent housing with support for 16 and 17-year-old lone parents was collected from local authorities in last year's Housing Investment Programme exercise.

  I am arranging for a copy of the information provided by authorities to be placed in the Library.
  748W
  Mr. Willetts
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many new places in semi-independent housing have been provided for lone parents under the age of 18 years since(a) May 1997, (b) June 2000 and (c) over the most recent period for which data are available. [160218]

  Mr. Robert Ainsworth
  Since April 1997, 388 new units of accommodation have been provided by Registered Social Landlords with funding from the Corporation's Annual Development Programme (ADP). In last year's ADP (April 2000—March 2001), funding for 128 new units of accommodation was approved. This year's ADP includes 205 new units of accommodation for lone parents under the age of 18 years. In addition under the Safer Communities Supported Housing Fund, funding has been approved for 134 new units of accommodation for teenage parents, as well as floating support for 275 existing units of accommodation. This does not include accommodation funded by charities, or other similar bodies.

  Mr. Willetts
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many lone parents under the age of 18 years(a) have lone tenancy of a council property, (b) claim Housing Benefit on the basis that they live alone, (c) live in semi-independent housing, (d) live with other family members and (e) have other accommodation arrangements. [160219]

  Mr. Robert Ainsworth
  The information in answer to(a), (d) and (e) is not held centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  (b) Approximately 1,000 lone parents aged under 18 are in receipt of Housing Benefit.

  (c) 1,352 units of semi-independent accommodation are provided to lone parents under 18 years by Registered Social Landlords.

  Environmental Taskforce
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the percentage of those registered under the Environmental Taskforce who go on to secure permanent employment in the environment sector. [159728]

  Ms Beverley Hughes
  Of those people whose destinations following participation in the Environment Taskforce is known, 41 per cent. have gone on to secure permanent employment. Details of the specific employment sectors to which this figure relates are not currently available without disproportionate cost.

  Air Accidents
  Mr. Tyler
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for North Cornwall of 26 April 2001,Official Report, column 313W, whether

  749W
  the Air Accidents Investigation Branch is investigating another incident of hazardous vapours from an engine lubricant seal leak into the cabin air in a BAe 146 aircraft on 18 April, flying between Jersey and Gatwick, and other similar incidents affecting this type of aircraft; and if he will make a statement. [159842]

  Mr. Robert Ainsworth
  [holding answer 1 May 2001]: The Air Accidents Investigation Branch has confirmed that it is conducting an investigation into the exact cause of the incident on 18 April 2001. The incident and the one on 5 November 2000 are the only incidents involving fumes on BAe 146 aircraft being investigated by the AAIB. The AAIB would not normally investigate incidents occurring outside the UK.

  Civil Aircraft (Life-saving Equipment)
  Mr. John M. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what his policy is on the carrying of life-saving equipment on civil aircraft carrying passengers, with particular reference to the availability of defibrillators on short-haul flights to treat coronary emergencies. [160133]

  Mr. Robert Ainsworth
  Minimum international requirements for the carriage of medical equipment on board aircraft are laid down in Joint Aviation Requirements. Decisions on the provision of equipment to deal with emergencies which go beyond these requirements are primarily a matter for airlines. I understand that many UK carriers already exceed existing requirements through the provision of items such as external automatic defibrillators, and are at the forefront of developing such initiatives as ground to air medical advice centres.

  The Government are keen to ensure the widest possible use of best practice in this area, and is pursuing the matter through the recently established Aviation Health Working Group. This will include consideration of the current use of defibrillators and the benefits that they provide.

  Motorcycle Training Industry
  Mr. Brake
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the motorcycle training industry [159056]

  Mr. Hill
  The motorcycle training industry has played a positive role in the Government's Advisory Group on Motorcycling through the Motorcycle Rider Training Association, and in regular meetings with the Driving Standards Agency. Their participation helped us to frame the reforms to rider training, testing and licensing which were implemented in February. They have also assisted the independent inter-agency task group set up to prevent work-related road accidents for those who ride powered two-wheelers as part of their job. We welcome their involvement and look forward to carrying on the productive working relationship in the future. In particular, we shall look to the industry for assistance as we develop the statutory register of all those engaged in professional motorcycle training, which was announced in our Road Safety Strategy.

  Council Funding Distribution
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what the per capita allocation of funds was to(a) England, (b) Northern
  750W
  Ireland, (c) Scotland and (d) Wales for (i) local government and (ii) housing, and what percentage of his Department's total expenditure this allocation represented, in each of the five years prior to July 1999. [160137]

  Ms Beverley Hughes
  The table shows Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions public expenditure on housing and local government for each year from 1994–95 to 1998–99 (i) as a percentage of the Department's total expenditure and (ii) on a per capita basis.

  The Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions allocates housing and local government funds only to England. The equivalent expenditure in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales is a devolved matter for the relevant devolved administration and was previously a matter for my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Northern Ireland, for Scotland and for Wales.

  Allocation of housing and local government funds by Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions 1994–95 to 1998–99: England1

  Housing

  Local government

  Outturn as percentage of Department's total expenditure:

  1994–95

  15.7

  79.7

  1995–96

  15.1

  83.0

  1996–97

  14.3

  82.7

  1997–98

  13.0

  83.0

  1998–99

  12.4

  84.9

  Outturn per capita: £/per person

  1994–95

  145.99

  741.34

  1995–96

  135.10

  743.13

  1996–97

  130.24

  754.26

  1997–98

  117.46

  750.10

  1998–99

  111.85

  768.12

  1 There is a degree of overlap between total housing expenditure and the housing element within local government expenditure

  Bellwin Rules
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how much funding was allocated to England and Wales under the Bellwin rules for each year since 1971. [160453]

  Ms Beverley Hughes
  Under arrangements currently in force in England sufficient funds are allocated to the Bellwin scheme to meet any eligible claims. In a separate answer I am giving details of payments made to local authorities in past years.

  The Bellwin scheme in Wales is the responsibility of the National Assembly for Wales.

  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how much money was paid out to councils in England and Wales under the Bellwin rules for each year since 1971. [160454]

  Ms Beverley Hughes
  Payments made to local authorities in England since 1987 are as follows (to the nearest £100,000):

  Year

  £

  1987–88

  20,000,000

  1988–89

  6,200,000

  1989–90

  600,000

  1990–91

  4,900,000

  751W

  Year

  £

  1992–92

  300,000

  1992–93

  0

  1993–94

  200,000

  1994–95

  600,000

  1995–96

  100,000

  1996–97

  200,000

  1997–98

  300,000

  1998–99

  400,000

  1999–2000

  300,000

  2000–01

  4,100,000

  Records of payments made earlier than 1987 could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

  The National Assembly for Wales is responsible for Bellwin schemes in Wales.

  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how recent aid given to English counties for flooding and foot and mouth payments using the Bellwin rules was calculated; and if revenue and capital aspects were treated differently. [160456]

  Ms Beverley Hughes
  A "Bellwin" scheme of emergency financial assistance may be activated to help a local authority with uninsurable clear-up costs following a disaster or emergency that involve s destruction of, or danger to, life or property. Grant is in normally paid at a rate of 85 per cent. of an authority's qualifying expenditure above a threshold. The threshold is the provision that a prudent authority might reasonably be expected to make for contingencies and emergencies (approximately 0.2 per cent. of its revenue budget).

  For the flooding Bellwin scheme grant was paid at a rate of 100 per cent. above the threshold to take into account the exceptional nature of the emergency. The Bellwin scheme for Foot and Mouth Disease will pay grant at the normal rate of 85 per cent.

  Bellwin grant is paid only in respect of current expenditure; capital expenditure is not eligible for grant.

  Angela Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will provide financial assistance to Essex Police Authority under the Bellwin scheme in respect of costs incurred following the Korean air crash in the county on 22 December 1999. [160583]

  Ms Beverley Hughes
  I am satisfied that financial assistance under the Bellwin scheme is justified in the case of Essex Police Authority given the exceptional nature of the air crash and the clear up operation. A scheme will, therefore, be established under section 155 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989. Grant will be paid to cover 85 per cent. of the eligible costs above a threshold, which the Authority has incurred in dealing with the air crash.

  Bus Partnership Schemes
  Mr. Jenkins
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when guidance will be available on quality bus partnership schemes. [160478]

  Mr. Hill
  Good Practice Guidance on Quality Bus Partnerships is being issued today by the TAS Partnership, on behalf of the Department. The guidance, which has 752W
  been prepared in consultation with bus industry and local government representatives, discusses the broad principles of partnership working, the factors to be taken into account in developing a scheme and the processes of consultation and review. It draws on case studies from among over 100 existing voluntary quality partnerships around the country. There will be scope to extend the guidance in due course to cover statutory QP schemes under the Transport Act 2000.

  In fulfilment of undertakings given during the passage of the Transport Bill, the guidance includes a chapter devoted to competition issues, prepared in consultation with the Office of Fair Trading. This explains the application of competition law and seeks to offer reassurance on the scope for co-operation over such matters as joint branding and publicity, joint ticketing and voluntary agreements on minimum service frequencies.

  The guidance will be available in electronic form through the Department's website (www.detr.gov.uk) or in hard copy on application to TAS Publications and Events, Ross Holme, West End, Long Preston, Skipton BD23 4QL. I am arranging for copies to be placed in the Library.

  Shipping Safety
  Mr. Ivan Henderson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what progress has been made in implementing measures to improve the safety of merchant shipping and safety at ports and harbours; and if he will make a statement. [160479]

  Mr. Hill
  The Queen's Speech on 6 December outlined the Government's intention to draft a Safety Bill. We shall use this opportunity to introduce three groups of measures to improve the safety of merchant shipping in the UK and safety at ports and harbours.

  The first group would improve the way we deal with maritime safety incidents. The number of parties who are liable in the event of a marine pollution incident would be increased to improve access to compensation for claimants. We are also considering raising the limit of liability for compensation arising from the death of or injury to passengers on board foreign registered ships in UK waters from £37,000 to £250,000. The existing power of the Secretary of State to issue direction would be widened to equate power to secure the safety of a ship with those to prevent pollution. Fire authorities would be allowed to recover the cost of fighting fires at sea.

  The second group would improve the enforcement of shipping safety law. The Secretary of State has a power to make orders to apply merchant shipping legislation to things used at sea which are not currently regarded as ships. This power will be extended to waters which are not sea. It will be made easier to prosecute non-UK vessels for breaches of safety legislation. The penalties for safety offences will be increased so that they are on a par with those for pollution offences and health and safety offences on land.

  The third group make some improvements to the powers harbour authorities have to regulate marine safety so as to help them to implement the Port Marine Safety Code, which was developed after the grounding of the Sea Empress in Milford Haven in 1996. We are also including new procedures enabling a harbour authority to be

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  wound-up on safety grounds or to relinquish pilotage powers, both of which would save having to promote private legislation.

  Standards Board for England
  Mr. Burden
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he will make further appointments to the Standards Board for England. [160480]

  Ms Beverley Hughes
  I have today appointed Celia Cameron and Peter Chalke to the board.

  Both are elected members of local authorities. Along with the seven appointments which have already been announced, they will provide the board with the range of skills and experience that they need to ensure the highest standards of conduct in local government.

  Air Quality
  Mr. Burgon
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many local authorities in England have completed their reviews and assessments of air quality; and which authorities in England have so far failed to do so. [160598]

  Mr. Meacher
  In England, the statutory responsibility to carry out reviews and assessments of air quality applies to all London local authorities, all metropolitan and non-metropolitan district councils, and to all unitary county and unitary district councils. According to the records held by my Department, as of 2 May 2001 all of the London local authorities and some 89 per cent. of the remaining English local authorities had completed their reviews and assessments of air quality. A website providing further information on the progress made by individual authorities, and giving some indication of their findings, is available at www.aeat.co.uk/netcen/airqual/aqma.

  As of 2 May 2001, the following 32 English authorities had not completed all stages of the review and assessment process. Each of these authorities has now committed itself to completing the process by a firm deadline in the near future, and my Department will continue to oversee this process closely.

  List of local authorities which have not submitted a final review and assessment of air quality to the DETR

  Barrow-in-Furness DC

  Blyth Valley BC

  Calderdale

  Chorley

  Durham city council

  Forest Heath DC

  Fylde BC

  Hambleton DC

  Harlow council

  Havant BC

  Kettering BC

  Kings Lynn and West Norfolk BC

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  Lancaster city council

  Mendip DC

  Mid Suffolk DC

  Northampton BC

  North Lincolnshire

  Norwich city council

  Reigate and Banstead BC

  Scarborough BC

  Shepway DC

  South Oxfordshire DC

  South Somerset DC

  Southend-on-Sea

  Suffolk Coastal DC

  Surrey Heath BC

  Test Valley BC

  Wellingborough BC

  West Berkshire council

  West Devon BC

  Woking BC

  Wyre Forest DC.

  Rights of Way
  Mr. Bennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the source of information for the public about rights of way which are open for public use. [160477]

  Ms Beverley Hughes
  The Countryside Agency maintains a website: http://www.countryside.gov.uk/footandmouth/giving general information about the opening of rights of way in each local authority's area. The website includes links to local authorities' own websites, many of which include detailed information about open paths. The Local Government Association has published best practice guidance for local authorities which recommends that authorities should use their websites to keep not only the public, but also public and tourist information agencies, informed of developments. We announced details last week of a £3.8 million grant scheme to be administered by the Countryside Agency which will provide funding for measures to promote the reopening of rights of way, including publicity programmes and improvements to websites. We look to all local authorities to take the lead in opening up as many rights of way as possible, consistent with the Chief Veterinary Officer's guidance.

  Foot and Mouth
  Mr. Curry
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if expenditure incurred by local authorities to fund the hardship business rate relief programme as a direct consequence of foot and mouth disease will be eligible under the Bellwin scheme. [159820]

  Ms Beverley Hughes
  [holding answer 1 May 2001]: On 24 April I announced the activation of the Bellwin scheme to provide emergency financial assistance to local authorities to help them meet some of the costs of responding to outbreaks of foot and mouth disease, Official Report, column 278W. This scheme is based on Section 155 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 which permits only the reimbursement of expenditure incurred by local authorities on, or in

  755W
  connection with, the taking of immediate action to safeguard life or property, or to prevent suffering or severe inconvenience, in their area or among its inhabitants. Funding rate relief for small businesses does not, therefore, fall within the scope of this scheme.

  On 22 March, my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment announced an increase in the central government contribution to local authorities to fund rate relief from 75 per cent. to 95 per cent. for small businesses who are suffering hardship as a result of foot and mouth disease in 151 rural authorities in England. This will apply for an initial period of three months. Details of the arrangements were given in Special Grant Report No. 80 which was laid before the House of Commons and approved by Parliament on 2 April 2000.

  In addition authorities covered by Special Grant Report No. 80 will benefit from a temporary reduction of 50 per cent. in contributions to the National Non Domestic Rate Pool between April and August.

  Mr. Green
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how much money the regional development agencies had distributed to businesses under the foot and mouth relief scheme by 26 April. [159938]

  Mr. Meacher
  RDAs are supporting businesses affected by FMD in a variety of ways including marketing campaigns and other indirect support. Those who have decided to provide direct support are working through Business Links who are currently assessing individual business plans, with a view to making the first payments very shortly.

  Mr. Green
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what amount of rate relief has been given to businesses in rural areas under the foot and mouth relief scheme by 26 April; and if he will make a statement. [159937]

  Mr. Meacher
  Applications for hardship rate relief are dealt with by individual local authorities. The central Government contribution to the cost will be met through subsequent claims to my Department. No figures are yet available centrally for the amount of rate relief granted by local authorities to businesses by 26 April.

  Sir Peter Emery
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions for what reason part of funding for hardship relief payments is being met by local authorities; and if he will take steps to ensure that such funding is borne by the Government. [159369]

  Mr. Meacher
  Local authorities are required to meet part of the cost of their decisions to grant rate relief to businesses suffering from hardship to reflect the benefit to the local community. Central Government normally fund 75 per cent. of the cost of granting such relief. We have increased central Government's contribution rate relief from 75 per cent. to 95 per cent. where relief is granted to small businesses who are suffering hardship as a result of foot and mouth disease. This increase applies to relief provided in these circumstances by 151 rural authorities in England, for an initial period of three months.

  This remains a discretionary rate relief scheme and it is therefore right that local authorities have a stake in the decisions they make on the award of rate relief. I am
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  keeping the scheme under review on the basis of evidence of how it is operating and waiting for across the board evidence on local authorities' position from the Local Government Association.

  Mr. Green
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what information the Environment Agency holds about safe burial sites for foot and mouth infected carcases; and if he will place this information in the Library. [157998]

  Mr. Meacher
  [holding answer 10 April 2001]: The Environment Agency is working in close co-operation with MAFF to ensure the fulfilment of the environmental requirements of Article 3(2) of the Animal Waste Directive (90/667/EEC) on the burial of animal carcases. Under the Groundwater Regulations 1998, the Agency carries out an assessment of each proposed burial site and, subject to the risk, authorises the burial with the imposition of any necessary conditions to protect groundwater. The Agency keeps copies of all such authorisations, and information relating to its assessment of each application, on a public register. As this information is available locally for each burial site, we have no plans to place copies of it in the Library.

  Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme
  Mr. Green
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how much money had been paid to businesses under the extensions of the small firms loan guarantee scheme announced by the Minister for the Environment on 26 March by 26 April. [159940]

  Ms Hewitt
  I have been asked to reply.

  No loans had been notified to the Small Business Service (SBS) by 26 April, for businesses covered by the extension of the Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme (SFLGS). All loan applications are made direct to one of the approved lenders who will undertake their commercial appraisal and consideration of commercial finance before the SFLGS becomes an option.

  Since the details of the Scheme changes were announced on 6 April the SBS and the lenders have undertaken much work. The legal framework of the changes has had to be agreed with the lenders and the lenders have had to put in place, at branch level, the necessary administrative changes. Many inquiries have been received about the changes but it is likely to be a while before this interest translates into new loans.

HEALTH

  Walsall and Sandwell Health Authorities Merger
  Mr. Bruce George
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions his Department has had about a merger of the Walsall and Sandwell health authorities. [157334]

  Yvette Cooper
  The health authorities in Walsall and Sandwell have an established history of successful joint working, and will continue to build on this. On 25 April the Secretary of State for Health announced plans for far-reaching modernisation and reform of the National
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  Health Service. The announcement included a statement that by 2004 two-thirds of existing health authorities will disappear as they merge. However the future configuration of health authorities has yet to be determined.

  Departmental Policies (Tiverton and Honiton)
  Mr. Martyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to the Tiverton and Honiton constituency, the effects on Tiverton and Honiton of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [157807]

  Ms Stuart
  Detailed information on the impact of Department of Health policies nationally is set out in the Department of Health Annual reports. A copy of the most recent report "Department of Health—Government Expenditure Plans 2001–04 and main estimates 2001–02" is available in the Library and on the Department of Health website at www.doh.gov.uk/dhreport.

  The impact of policies is not examined by constituency and statistics collected centrally by the Department are not collected on a constituency basis.

  The Tiverton and Honiton constituency falls within the geographical area covered by North and East Devon health authority and Devon social services.

  The increases in allocations between 1996–97 and 2000–01 for North and East Devon health authority are set out in the table.

  Increases in allocations between 1996–97 and 2001–02

  Increase

  £ million (cash)

  84.7

  £ million (real terms)

  50.6

  Percentage increase (cash)

  33.6

  Percentage increase (real terms)

  18.37

  Note:

  Increases for 1999–2000 onwards are for unified allocations which cover hospital and community health services. Those for previous years cover hospital and community health services only.

  North and East Devon health authority has received funding for certain policies. This includes:

  £1.352 million for accident and emergency modernisation in 2000–01; £157,000, £211,000, £273,000 and £186,000 for improving cancer services (breast, colorectal, lung and cancer outpatients) in 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000 and 2000–01 respectively; £3.186 million and £3.994 million to reduce waiting lists and times in 2000–01 and 2001–02 respectively; £1.333 million to expand critical care services in 2000–01; £804,000 to deal with winter pressures in 2000–01, £368,000 of this went to Devon social services; £1.422 million and £359,000 for developing intermediate care services in 2000–01 and 2001–02 respectively; £470,000 and £954,000 for heart disease services 2000–01 and 2001–02 respectively; £50,000 invested into dentistry in 2000–01.

  Devon local authority's personal social services standard spending assessment (SSA) for 2001–02 compared with 1996–97 is set out in the table.
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  Percentage increase

  £ million

  Real

  Cash

  1996–97

  138.497

  —

  —

  2001–02

  110.339

  -29.4

  -20.3

  Note:

  The SSA has decreased because of boundary changes resulting from local government re-organisation.

  In addition to the SSAs referred, Devon local authority received additional funding in the form of a number of special and specific grants as set out in the table.

  £000

  1998–99

  1999–2000

  2000–01

  2001–02

  Special Transitional Grant1

  4,890

  —

  —

  —

  Partnership grant2

  —

  3,407

  2,917

  4,140

  Prevention grant2

  —

  280

  420

  Carers grant3

  —

  289

  662

  923

  Children's grant3

  —

  624

  986

  2,471

  Mental Health Core grant

  667

  1,046

  1,207

  41,408

  Training Support Grant

  381

  450

  484

  4473

  1 The special transitional grant ended in 1998–99

  2 The partnership and prevention grants have been combined in 2001–02 and called the promoting independence grant

  3 The carers' and children's grants were introduced in 1999–2000

  4 Indicative allocation

  Universal Neonatal Hearing Screening
  Mr. Chope
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what information his Department has given to(a) health authorities and (b) NHS trusts about plans to roll out the Universal Neonatal Hearing Screening pilot project; and what advice he has given about the time scale for preparing for the roll out; [158647]

  (2) what the timetable is for the national implementation of the Universal Neonatal Hearing Screening project. [158648]

  Yvette Cooper
  In October 2000, the Department issued comprehensive information packs inviting health authorities to bid to join the Universal Neonatal Hearing Screening (UNHS) pilot. A national survey of the readiness of National Health Service trusts to deliver the service was also carried out. This is being used to inform decisions on the first phase of implementation.

  Close communication has been maintained with all health authorities and NHS trusts taking part in the pilot. In addition, the Institute of Hearing Research has been commissioned to maintain an open access website giving details of the pilot methodology, progress on site and plans for the next stage.

  The time scale for the national roll out will depend on the evaluative data from the pilot.

  Heathrow
  Mr. McDonnell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the role is of the London borough of Hillingdon in relation to the Health Control Unit at Heathrow Airport; and what funding is provided to the London borough of Hillingdon for its pay and rations functions in relation the Health Control Unit. [158371]

  Yvette Cooper
  The health control unit at Heathrow Airport is responsible for (i) arranging medical examinations of entrants to the United Kingdom referred
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  to it by the Immigration Service and (ii) applying the Public Health (Aircraft) Regulations 1979 at the airport. The medical and radiography staff working in the unit are provided and managed by Hillingdon health authority. The London borough of Hillingdon provides and manages the other staff, and pays the cost of the unit's accommodation. It is reimbursed for its expenditure by the Department.

  Mr. McDonnell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what audit has been undertaken of the funding provided to the London borough of Hillingdon for the management of the Health Control Unit at Heathrow Airport. [158367]

  Yvette Cooper
  My Department has no powers to carry out formal audits of expenditure by the London borough of Hillingdon, although officials scrutinise both the authority's estimates and claims for reimbursement and ask for an explanation of any changes from previous patterns of expenditure. Audit of Hillingdon's expenditure is a matter for its own internal auditors and for the Audit Commission.

  Mr. McDonnell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what level of funding was provided by his Department for the Health Control Unit at Heathrow Airport in(a) 1995–96, (b) 1996–97, (c) 1997–98, (d) 1999–2000 and (e) 2000–01. [158372]

  Yvette Cooper
  The table shows the sums reimbursed by the Department in connection with expenditure on the health control unit by the London borough of Hillingdon. In addition, the Department paid for three new X-ray machines which were installed in the unit in 1999–2000 at a cost of £1.25 million.

  £000

  1995–96

  1,428

  1996–97

  1,356

  1997–98

  1,325

  1998–99

  1,488

  1999–2000

  1,547

  2000–01

  1,577

  Oral Tobacco Products
  Mr. Maclean
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans the Government have to introduce legislation to ban the import of oral tobacco products; when he intends to introduce such legislation; and if he will make a statement. [158218]

  Yvette Cooper
  None. So long as oral tobacco from overseas sources does not fall within a banned category, complies with United Kingdom customs duty regulations and carries health warnings, their import in the UK is not illegal.

  However, we wish to ensure that people have information about health risks. We are, therefore, seeking to develop greater awareness of the health risks associated with oral tobacco as part of our tobacco information strategy. We are working on a dedicated campaign, focused on high-risk ethnic minority populations, to address the health risks of smoking and the use of oral
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  tobacco in order to decrease demand for these products. We have funded a training pack for Trading Standards Officers on oral tobacco.

  National Blood Authority
  Mr. Wood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the budget was for the National Blood Service for the year 2000–01; and by how much it was underspent. [158781]

  Mr. Denham
  The National Blood Authority's accounts for 2001–01 show a total income of £315,436 million against a total revenue expenditure of £311,456 million. Of the £4 million surplus of income over expenditure, £3.8 million is accounted for primarily by an increase in stocks of United States plasma purchased by the authority's bio products laboratory. Only £200,000 is unspent cash.

  Mental Health Services
  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of the £700 million for mental health services for the years 1999–2000 to 2001–02 was allocated for each district health authority in England for financial years(a) 1999–2000, (b) 2000–01 and (c) 2001–02. [159158]

  Mr. Hutton
  Not all additional funding for mental health services in the years 1999–2000, 2000–01 and 2001–02
  was allocated to health authorities. A substantial element was allocated to local authorities through the Mental Health Grant. The table shows the allocations to health authorities for 1999–2000 and 2000–01. Allocations have not yet been made to health authorities for 2001–02.

  £000

  Health authority

  1999–2000

  2000–01

  Avon

  200,945

  696,030

  Barking and Havering

  100,055

  189,000

  Barnet

  67,440

  153,000

  Barnsley

  72,583

  97,260

  Bedfordshire

  109,165

  160,226

  Berkshire

  148,958

  213,608

  Bexley and Greenwich

  137,128

  184,108

  Birmingham

  116,399

  800,584

  Bradford

  164,318

  225,175

  Brent and Harrow

  75,770

  129,506

  Bromley

  56,089

  81,054

  Buckinghamshire

  113,520

  167,017

  Bury and Rochdale

  94,180

  176,700

  Calderdale and Kirklees

  122,567

  189,272

  Cambridge and Huntingdon

  192,800

  691,038

  Camden and Islington

  63,009

  134,490

  Cornwall and Isles of Scilly

  125,290

  165,400

  County Durham

  222,500

  291,186

  Coventry

  130,085

  169,117

  Croydon

  70,040

  106,000

  Doncaster

  41,478

  73,042

  Dorset

  80,463

  136,602

  Dudley

  31,060

  59,121

  Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow

  176,265

  264,626

  East and North Hertfordshire

  63,078

  102,118

  East Kent

  127,220

  181,200

  East Lancashire

  111,287

  274,323

  East London and The City

  79,220

  389,490

  East Norfolk

  118,181

  179,353

  East Riding

  121,030

  176,150

  East Surrey

  59,530

  189,667

  East Sussex, Brighton and Hove

  153,123

  225,307

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  £000

  Health authority

  1999–2000

  2000–01

  Enfield and Haringey

  108,321

  168,681

  Gateshead and South Tyneside

  65,040

  110,143

  Gloucestershire

  50,240

  95,547

  Herefordshire

  47,040

  60,101

  Hillingdon

  40,060

  63,085

  Isle of Wight

  23,505

  34,040

  Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster

  57,215

  276,535

  Kingston and Richmond

  40,144

  71,122

  Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham

  179,126

  459,763

  Leeds

  155,667

  241,740

  Leicestershire

  206,139

  510,454

  Lincolnshire

  157,248

  211,357

  Liverpool

  109,665

  229,214

  Manchester

  109,595

  248,170

  Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth

  151,393

  505,675

  Morecambe Bay

  97,123

  167,407

  Newcastle and North Tyneside

  54,521

  460,578

  North and East Devon

  100,380

  138,525

  North and Mid Hampshire

  146,119

  434,284

  North Cheshire

  97,176

  154,182

  North Cumbria

  65,025

  93,127

  North Derbyshire

  52,203

  83,333

  North Essex

  110,465

  178,477

  North Nottinghamshire

  60,788

  284,210

  North Staffordshire

  78,070

  128,233

  North West Anglia

  160

  —

  North West Lancashire

  84,098

  211,612

  North Yorkshire

  80,664

  500,937

  Northamptonshire

  127,402

  177,452

  Northumberland

  32,200

  61,220

  Nottingham

  113,147

  113,272

  Oxfordshire

  92,895

  343,000

  Portsmouth and South East Hampshire

  100,580

  150,265

  Redbridge and Waltham Forest

  130,045

  181,000

  Rotherham

  46,661

  72,312

  Salford and Trafford

  81,241

  178,235

  Sandwell

  98,545

  136,173

  Sefton

  62,080

  113,068

  Sheffield

  140,585

  418,468

  Shropshire

  42,512

  78,591

  Solihull

  20,490

  38,079

  Somerset

  150,273

  187,727

  South and West Devon

  50,639

  104,564

  South Cheshire

  111,168

  211,216

  South Derbyshire

  99,085

  154,050

  South Essex

  237,014

  298,425

  South Humber

  90,180

  119,200

  South Lancashire

  94,115

  162,547

  South Staffordshire

  139,115

  185,271

  Southampton and South West Hampshire

  90,395

  152,140

  St. Helen's and Knowsley

  103,090

  254,098

  Stockport

  50,497

  98,099

  Suffolk

  140,736

  192,640

  Sunderland

  45,045

  81,161

  Tees

  129,713

  196,785

  Wakefield

  73,065

  108,287

  Walsall

  85,982

  114,793

  Warwickshire

  48,050

  91,148

  West Hertfordshire

  65,035

  109,080

  West Kent

  147,220

  226,419

  West Pennine

  70,162

  171,193

  West Surrey

  112,068

  157,198

  West Sussex

  147,220

  358,436

  Wigan and Bolton

  84,325

  206,327

  Wiltshire

  65,175

  112,515

  Wirral

  58,667

  120,868

  Wolverhampton

  154,192

  185,211

  Worcestershire

  113,085

  154,154

  Total

  9,915,660

  19,965,986

  Doctors (East Lancashire)
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many golden hellos and golden handcuffs are being offered to doctors(a) practising and (b) encouraged to practice in (i) Pendle and (ii) the East Lancashire health authority area; and if he will make a statement. [159380]

  Mr. Denham
  East Lancashire health authority has received a number of expressions of interest in "golden hellos" and is awaiting further information about the scheme. The final details are subject to consultation with the British Medical Association and these will be circulated when confirmed.

  NHS Dentistry
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dentists in(a) Lancashire and (b) England stopped doing NHS work during the last 12 months for which figures are available. [159378]

  Mr. Hutton
  Dentists may leave the general dental service (GDS) for a number of reasons including retirement and career breaks. Some departures are only temporary. During the year 2000, the figures for England will be inflated by the transfer of some dentists from the GDS to some personal dental service pilots.

  The number of dentists leaving the GDS in the 12 months ending 31 December 2000 is shown in the table for Lancashire health authorities and England.

  Number of dentists who left the GDS during the year 2000

  Principals

  Assistants

  Vocational dental practitioners

  Total

  (a) Lancashire health authorities

  South Lancashire

  9

  1

  2

  12

  East Lancashire

  6

  0

  4

  10

  North West Lancashire

  10

  3

  1

  14

  Morecambe Bay

  9

  1

  1

  11

  Total

  34

  5

  8

  47

  (b) England

  859

  179

  149

  1,187

  Nurses
  Mr. Sayeed
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses there are in total in the UK per head of population working in the National Health Service, in private facilities and through registered nursing agencies. [159558]

  Mr. Denham
  The table shows the number (headcount) of nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff working in the National Health Service and the number of nursing staff working in private nursing homes, hospitals and clinics per 10,000 population in England.

  Matters relating to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are for the devolved Administrations.
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  NHS hospital and community health services (HCHS): Nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff and practice nurses by qualification and per 10,000 population in England as at 30 September 2000

  Headcount

  Headcount per 10,000 population1

  All staff

  460,010

  92

  Qualified

  335,950

  68

  of which

  HCHS Nurses

  316,750

  64

  Practice Nurses

  19,200

  4

  Unqualified

  123,850

  25

  Unknown

  210

  2—

  1 England population = 49,752,900. Population figure is for 1999 which is the latest available information.

  2 Five or less and greater than zero.

  Note:

  Figures are rounded to the nearest ten.

  Source:

  Department of Health Non-Medical Workforce Census

  Department of Health General Medical Service census

  Office for National Statistics

  Number (headcount) of nursing staff working in private nursing homes, hospitals and clinics per 10,000 population in England as at 31 March—England, 1999ߝ2000

  Rate per 10,000 population

  Permanent staff

  Temporary agency/bank staff

  Qualified staff

  15.58

  2.87

  Unqualified staff

  27.70

  2.47

  Source:

  General mental nursing homes and private hospital and clinics form 1999–2000

  Number (whole-time equivalent) of nursing staff working in private nursing homes, hospitals and clinics per 10,000 population in England as at 31 March—England, 1999ߝ2000

  Rate per 10,000 population

  Permanent staff

  Temporary agency/bank staff

  Qualified staff

  12.14

  1.17

  Unqualified staff

  22.16

  1.16

  Source:

  General mental nursing homes and private hospital and clinics form 1999–2000

  Doctors
  Mr. Sayeed
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many doctors there are per head of population working in the National Health Service and in private facilities. [159557]

  Mr. Denham
  The information about the number of National Health Service doctors is provided in the table. Information about doctors working in private facilities is not collected centrally.

  All NHS doctors—with general practitioners retainers per head of population in England—at 30 September 2000

  Number

  All NHS doctors1

  97,440

  Population2

  49,992,925

  NHS doctors per head of population

  0.001948996

  NHS doctors per 100,000 population

  194.9

  764W

  1 Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10

  2 Population data are the 2000 projection, calculated using 1998 base projections

  Sources:

  Department of Health 2000 medical and dental work force census

  Department of Health general and personal medical services statistics

  TB
  Dr. Tonge
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to ensure that TB vaccine can be obtained from more than one manufacturer; and if he will make a statement. [159497]

  Yvette Cooper
  The BCG vaccines available today vary widely in many characteristics and therefore products from different manufacturers vary in their composition and side effect profile. The current United Kingdom supplier of BCG vaccine is the only manufacturer that has UK licensed product for our BCG programme at present. We are working hard to encourage other manufacturers able to meet our requirements to enter the UK market. Ultimately this will be a commercial decision taken by the manufacturers.

  Mr. Wilkinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many isolation wards for the treatment of tuberculosis opened in each region of the NHS in England and Wales in the past four years. [158606]

  Yvette Cooper
  [holding answer sent 30 April 2001]: Information on the number of isolation wards in hospitals is not collected centrally.

  Different levels of isolation are required depending on the infectious (or suspected infectious) nature of a tuberculosis case. Each patient is considered on a case by case basis and therefore, the need for isolation facilities is made at local level.

  The Department has published recommendations on isolation in two documents. One in June 1996—"Recommendations for the prevention and control of tuberculosis at local level"—and again in September 1998 in the document entitled "United Kingdom guidance on the prevention and control of transmission of HIV-related tuberculosis and Drug-resistant, including multiple drug-resistant tuberculosis".

  Care Homes
  Mr. Cotter
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many(a) individual care homes and (b) care homes associations are taking legal action against (i) local authorities and (ii) the Government owing to the Government's fee structure for care homes. [159931]

  Mr. Hutton
  We are not aware of any such action being undertaken by individual care homes or care home associations.

  We do not set or recommend the rates at which local authorities contract with independent residential care and nursing homes. This is a matter for local decision. We think it is important that councils are able to tailor contracts to specific local circumstances. We do, however, expect contractual arrangements to take account of the costs incurred by independent sector nursing and residential homes.

  Meningitis
  Mr. Drew
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the recent outbreaks of meningitis with particular reference to(a) source of the disease and (b) strategies being used to combat its spread. [159512]

  Yvette Cooper
  The Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS) has received reports of 26 cases of group W135 meningococcal infection including nine deaths following this years pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj). Some of those affected attended the Hajj, but two thirds are contacts of pilgrims in the community.

  Following an outbreak of meningococcal W135 infection at last year's Hajj, on the advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), the United Kingdom recommended that travellers to the Hajj this year be immunised with a quadrivalent meningococcal vaccine which covers this strain. This vaccine was launched by the manufacturers for general use in early January 2001. Information was sent to all immunisation co-ordinators on 26 January informing them of these immunisation requirements for pilgrims travelling to Saudi Arabia for Hajj. This information was also distributed to health professionals via a Chief Medical Officer letter.

  The Department has worked with the Muslim Council of Britain to make this information widely available to the Muslim community. An A4 poster with information for the public has been distributed to Mosques and can be downloaded in Arabic, Bengali and Urdu versions from www.doh.gov.uk/traveladvice/hajj.htm.

  The PHLS Meningococcal Forum considered the outbreak and decided that the best control measure for the outbreak was the prompt antibiotic treatment of suspected meningococcal disease by medical staff. On 12 April the Department wrote to all doctors reminding them of the signs and symptoms of meningococcal disease and alerting them to the possibility of cases in the Muslim community.

  Medicines Control Agency
  Mr. Tredinnick
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects the Medicines Control Agency to submit written comments to the European Commission following discussions on the proposed Traditional Medicines Directive at the European Pharmaceutical Committee meeting on 5 April; and if he will arrange for those comments to be published. [159913]

  Yvette Cooper
  The United Kingdom comments on the second draft of the directive on traditional medicinal products were set out in a letter from the Medicines Control Agency (MCA) to the European Commission dated 30 April 2001. The response took account of points made by a range of herbal interest groups in their continuing dialogue with the MCA on this issue. Copies of the letter have been placed in the Library.

  Correspondence
  Mr. Malins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will reply to letters from the hon. Member for Woking dated 8 January and 16 March, regarding Mr. J. Keddar, a constituent. [159843]
  766W
  Yvette Cooper
  [holding answer 1 May 2001]: A reply to the hon. Member's letter was sent on the 2 May 2001.

  Refrigerants
  Mr. Laurence Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health to what extent his Department's headquarters buildings use hydrofluorocarbons for(a) refrigeration and (b) air conditioning; what amounts of hydrofluorocarbons have been purchased in each year since 1995; and what plans he has to phase out the (i) purchase and (ii) use of hydrofluorocarbons. [160010]

  Yvette Cooper
  [holding answer 1 May 2001]: One of the Department's London headquarters buildings uses hydrofluorocarbons as refrigerant in the air conditioning system. There has been no separate purchase of HFCs since 1995 (other than as an integral part of such plant). Our policy is to switch where possible to environmentally preferable substitutes where suitable alternatives exist.

  Mr. Laurence Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his Department's policy is regarding the purchase of(a) hydrocarbons and (b) other environmentally benign refrigerants to meet the refrigeration and other relevant energy needs of premises owned and leased by his Department; what guidance on this subject he has issued to NHS Trusts; and if he will make a statement. [160005]

  Yvette Cooper
  Our policy is to switch, where possible, from hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorobutane and sulphur hexafluoride to environmentally preferable substitutes and to ensure that we do not buy any products which contain chlorofluorocarbons, halons, carbon tetrachloride, 111trichloroethane or hydrochlorofluorocarbons where suitable alternatives exist.

  Guidance on the use of chlorofluorocarbons and hydrochlorofluorocarbons has been issued previously to National Health Service trusts. This guidance is currently under review.

  Heart Transplant Centres
  Mr. Brady
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the recommendations of his review of heart transplant centres. [160155]

  Mr. Denham
  Ministers have not received the findings of the study of the three transplant centres. An undertaking has been given that the proposals for the future of the National Cardiothoracic Transplant Service will be set out in a document for public discussion before a final decision on the site of the fourth centre is taken.

  Health Service Spending
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of growth in public spending in the present financial year on the provision of health services in England and Wales. [160268]

  Mr. Denham
  Net expenditure on the National Health Service in England is planned to reach £48.8 billion in 2001–02, representing a year on year increase of 9.3 per cent, (6.7 per cent. real terms).

  Health expenditure for Wales is a matter for the devolved Assembly.

  Learning Disabilities (Shropshire)
  Mr. Paul Marsden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the Social Services Inspectorate expects to inspect Shropshire County Council Social Services' provision for people with learning disabilities; and if he will make a statement. [160362]

  Mr. Hutton
  The Social Services Inspectorate (SSI) and audit commission joint review team reviewed Shropshire Social Services Directorate (SSD) earlier this year and their report is due for publication in June. The joint reviews are conducted by audit and the SSI and make a broad assessment about how SSDs deliver their services, and manage their resources. The joint review of Shropshire did consider the services with learning disabilities and the findings will become public on the publication of the report.

  When the SSI inspects local council social services it examines their quality in more depth on significant issues than the Joint Review. Currently there are no plans in the SSI work programme to undertake a further examination of learning disabilities services in Shropshire.

  Infertility Treatment
  Mr. Bob Russell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 13 March 2001,Official Report, column 583W, on surgical treatments, when he expects the National Institute for Clinical Excellence to produce guidance on the management of infertility to improve services and reduce the postcode lottery in this area of health care; and if he will make a statement. [160162]

  Yvette Cooper
  We expect that the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) will produce guidance on the management of infertility by December 2002. Through this work, NICE will assist us in our determination to ensure that, in the future, couples get fairer and faster access to clinically cost-effective and a appropriate infertility treatments.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Arms Brokering
  Mr. Browne
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if the proposals on arms brokering in the draft Export Control and Non-Proliferation Bill will apply to the activities of UK citizens operating wholly abroad. [159072]

  Mr. Byers
  The draft Bill contains a new general power to control trafficking and brokering carried out by persons in the UK or by UK persons abroad. The Government will use this power to control trafficking and brokering activities carried out by persons in the UK and by UK persons abroad, which involve the supply of arms to embargoed destinations, the supply of torture equipment or the supply of long-range missiles

  The Government have also proposed to introduce a general licensing requirement on trafficking and brokering in weapons, ammunition and other key military and para-military equipment, to any destination. We are now consulting on the possibility of applying this licensing requirement to the activities of UK persons carried out
  768W
  wholly abroad. A decision on this issue will be made in the light of the results of the consultation which closes on 24 May.

  Ms Glenda Jackson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if the Government's proposals on arms brokering, set out in conjunction with the draft Export Control and Non-proliferation Bill, will apply to activities carried out by UK passport holders operating wholly abroad. [159707]

  Dr. Howells
  [holding answer 2 May 2001]: The draft Export Control and Non-Proliferation Bill published on 29 March contains a new general power to control trafficking and brokering carried out by persons in the UK or by UK persons abroad. As explained in the introduction to the draft Bill, the Government will use this power to control trafficking and brokering activities carried out by persons in the UK, or by UK persons abroad, which involve the supply of arms to embargoed destinations, the supply of equipment designed primarily for torture or the supply of long-range missiles.

  The Government have also proposed, following their review of the proposals contained in the 1998 White Paper on Strategic Export Controls, to introduce a general licensing requirement on trafficking and brokering in weapons, ammunition and other key military and paramilitary equipment, to any destination. The consultation document published with the draft Bill invites views on the possibility of applying this licensing requirement to the activities of UK persons carried out wholly abroad. A decision on this issue will be made in the light of the results of the consultation which closes on 24 May.

  Wind Energy
  Mr. Savidge
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to promote energy from offshore wind. [159074]

  Mr. Corbett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to encourage the development of electricity from offshore windfarms. [159080]

  Mr. Hain
  I refer my hon. Friends to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Waveney (Mr. Blizzard) on 3 May 2001,Official Report, column 967.

  Foot and Mouth
  Mr. Robathan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received regarding the impact of the foot and mouth outbreak on rural businesses. [159075]

  Ms Hewitt
  My Ministerial colleagues and I have to date received 320 pieces of correspondence about the foot and mouth outbreak, nearly all of them relating to the impact on rural businesses. Apart from that correspondence, I have had no specific representations from business but the issue has been raised with me in the context of other meetings.

  I recently addressed members of the Federation of Small Businesses at their conference in Plymouth and met affected businesses there.
  769W
  In addition, David Irwin, the Chief Executive of the Small Business Service, recently met a number of small businesses in Cumbria affected by the outbreak.

  Mr. Cotter
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the role played by the Small Business Service during the current foot and mouth outbreak. [159089]

  Ms Hewitt
  The Small Business Service is playing an active role—directly—and via the Business Link network, in supporting small businesses during the crisis. SBS has set up a Rural Helpline and recently produced an information leaflet to ensure that small businesses are fully aware of the package of help available. Over 1.5 million leaflets are being distributed via, for example banks and rural post offices.

  SBS has also made provision for Tourist and retail business suffering financial problems due to the effects of the disease. Such businesses are now eligible to apply for loans of up to £250,000 as a result of the SBS' extension to their Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme.

  Gas Prices
  Mr. Bill O'Brien
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on recent trends in gas prices. [159076]

  Mr. Hain
  The wholesale price of gas has followed the upward trend set in the spring of 2000 and is now trading at around 10p per therm more than a year ago.

  This has had a direct effect on prices to all classes of consumer. Centrica, the main domestic supplier, increased their retail price of gas by 4.7 per cent, on 1 April and other domestic suppliers have also raised prices. Industrial and commercial prices have risen on average by around 50 per cent. in the year to 1 March 2001. However they are still substantially lower than in other EU member states.

  National Working Council Directive
  Mr. Bercow
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the proposed National Working Council directive. [159078]

  Mr. Alan Johnson
  Neither the Government nor the European Commission are proposing to bring forward a National Working Council directive.

  High-tech Businesses (Milton Keynes)
  Dr. Starkey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action his Department is taking to create the environment for growing high-tech businesses in Milton Keynes. [159082]

  Ms Hewitt
  We are doing a great deal. The Department supports high-tech businesses through a range of initiatives and programmes.

  Universal Bank
  Mr. Baldry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on progress with the universal bank. [159083]
  770W
  Mr. Alan Johnson
  Discussions with the banks on Universal Banking Services are at an advanced stage. I hope that they will be resolved shortly.

  UK/Romania Aerospace Co-operation
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has had with the aerospace industry regarding developing industrial co-operation with Romania. [159084]

  Mr. Alan Johnson
  During the recent visit to the UK of President lliescu of Romania, my hon. Friend the Minister for Competition and Consumer Affairs attended a luncheon to encourage the development of closer co-operation between the UK and Romanian aerospace industries. At this event the Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC) and the Association of Romanian Aerospace Companies (OPIAR) signed a Memorandum Of Understanding to reinforce the commitment to promoting and developing the relationship between our respective industries.

  My Department is keen to further develop our existing industrial relationship with Romania and will continue to fully support progress in this area.

  Takeover Panel
  Mr. Clifton-Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what investigations the takeover panel is undertaking. [159085]

  Dr. Howells
  This is a matter for the Takeover Panel.

  Sub-post Offices
  Mr. Loughton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has had with the Post Office regarding financing security improvements at sub-post offices. [159086]

  Mr. Alan Johnson
  Security and security improvements for the post office network are an operational matter for the Post Office. I understand from the Post Office that, in addition to the general programme of maintenance and improvement of existing security measures, they operate a risk based capital investment security programme under which £24 million has been invested over the last four years. I am also informed by the Post Office that they have earmarked over £30 million for investment in security measures over the next four years, based on a risk model which will deploy a wider range of security measures over the network.

  House-sitters (Minimum Wage)
  Mr. St. Aubyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on his policy on the application of the minimum wage to house-sitters. [159087]

  Mr. Alan Johnson
  The minimum wage covers workers and if a house-sitter meets the definition of a worker then he or she is covered. There is flexibility in the regulations to cater for the unusual arrangements involved in house-sitting and my officials are meeting the agencies to discuss this. A case involving house-sitters is
  771W
  due to be heard by an employment tribunal later this month. It is not appropriate, therefore, for the Government to comment further.

  Mortgages
  Dr. Iddon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will ask the Office of Fair Trading to take steps to abolish the Rule of 78 for redemption of all existing mortgages. [159088]

  Dr. Howells
  Under the Consumer Credit (Rebate on Early Settlement) Regulations 1983, lenders can use the Rule of 78 to calculate early redemption terms for some types of loan. The Government agree that these regulations do not always give a fair and equitable outcome for consumers, particularly in respect of high-value, long-term loans such as mortgages.

  We plan to bring forward proposals to replace the current settlement formula with one that will give a fairer outcome. We also want to improve the information consumers get about redemption terms, so they can take this into account when they decide which loan is the best deal.

  Business Regulation
  Mr. Boswell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what studies he has commissioned into the regulatory costs of(a) British business, (b) US business and (c) business in other EU member states. [159090]

  Ms Hewitt
  We carefully assess the impact of all new regulatory proposals on British business. Since August 1998, all legislation likely to have an impact on business has been subject to a Regulatory Impact Assessment. RIAs are published and are available from the Libraries of the House.

  We have not commissioned studies on the regulatory costs in other countries. However international organisations and companies do regularly carry out comparative surveys.

  Electricity
  Mr. Jack
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment his Department has made of the United Kingdom's ability to meet its electricity needs in each of the next five years. [159091]

  Mr. Hain
  At present, generating capacity available to the UK exceeds peak demand by around 25 per cent. This margin is widely considered to be more than adequate to meet its electricity needs.

  The generating margin in future will continue to be determined by supply and demand conditions in the wholesale electricity market, as generators make commercial decisions to open new plant or close existing plant.

  It is estimated that plant currently under construction, together with projects that have already received all the necessary consents, would be sufficient to meet both rising demand and some retirement of existing capacity and still maintain a margin of around 20 per cent. by 2005.

  Balance of Trade
  Sir Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on trends in the balance of trade over the last 12 months. [159092]

  Mr. Caborn
  The balance of trade was in deficit in the three months to February 2001 by £4.9 billion, compared to £4.3 billion for the same period a year earlier. Over the same period, exports rose by 11.9 per cent.

  Bank Holidays
  Mr. Grogan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to increase the number of bank holidays. [159093]

  Mr. Alan Johnson
  The Government have no current plans to increase the number of bank holidays. Any requests for the creation of additional bank holidays need to be measured against the disadvantages, notably the cost and disruption to industry that is inevitably involved.

  Cammell Laird
  Mr. Leigh
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the future of Cammell Laird. [159094]

  Mr. Alan Johnson
  I recognise that the present uncertain situation must be very worrying for the employees of Cammell Laird and their families, as well as for the company's suppliers and others. I am hopeful that the Receiver will be able to find a buyer for the business or yards so as to preserve as much employment as possible. The Government are in close touch with the Receiver to assist him in finding a buyer.

  Minimum Wage
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people are benefiting from the national minimum wage in(a) the Edinburgh area and (b) the UK. [159057]

  Mr. Alan Johnson
  When the national minimum wage was introduced in April 1999, some 140,000 jobs in Scotland were paying below the minimum rate. The corresponding figure for the United Kingdom was 1.5 million. There are no equivalent data available for individual towns and cities. The LPC has found that the substantial majority of those entitled to the minimum wage are now getting it.

  Mobility Aids
  Mr. Burstow
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the protection offered to(a) disabled and (b) elderly people purchasing and leasing mobility aids. [159073]

  Mr. Alan Johnson
  Elderly and disabled people are protected by current consumer protection legislation in the same way as other consumers.

  The Government remain committed to a strategy offering consumers, and particularly vulnerable groups, the protection they need to ensure they receive fair treatment and the information necessary to help them make informed choices.

  British Timken
  Mr. Boswell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action he is taking to protect apprentices and trainees affected by British Timken's proposed factory closure in Northampton. [159815]

  Mr. Alan Johnson
  [holding answer 1 May 2001]: I will ask the Response Group to ensure that it covers this issue as part of its work.

  Mr. Boswell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action he is taking to investigate the impact of the closure of British Timken's factory in Northampton. [159817]

  Mr. Alan Johnson
  [holding answer 1 May 2001]: The Government will do all we can to help those affected by the closure of the British Timken factory in Northampton. A Response Group has been set up to co-ordinate support activity. This Group will be chaired by the East Midlands Development Agency, working in partnership with the Government Office for the East Midlands, the Employment Service, the company and others.

  Mr. Tony Clarke
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action he is taking in respect of the closure of the British Timken roller bearing plant in Duston, Northampton. [160452]

  Ms Keeble
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking in response to the announcement by British Timken of the closure of its Northampton plant. [160359]

  Mr. Alan Johnson
  The Government will do all we can to help those affected by the closure of the British Timken factory in Northampton. A Response Group has been set up to co-ordinate support activity. This Group will be chaired by the East Midlands Development Agency, working in partnership with the Government Office East Midlands, the Employment Service, the company and other local partners.

  Mobile Phone Licences
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions he has had with high-tech companies involved in the mobile phone industry on the issue of auctions for licences. [159172]

  Ms Hewitt
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has had no recent discussions with high-tech companies involved in the mobile phone industry on the issue of spectrum licences for mobile communications that have been awarded by auction. There have been a number of discussions over a matter of months between the Radiocommunications Agency and various telecommunications companies, about auctions for spectrum licences for broadband and public fixed wireless access.

  Post Office Closures
  Mr. Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many post office closures there were in the north-west in the years from 1997 to date. [160094]

  Mr. Alan Johnson
  I understand from the Post Office that the information is not held in the form requested.

  Special Advisers
  Mr. Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the total cost was of employing special advisers in his Department from 1997 to date. [160043]

  Mr. Byers
  [holding answer 1 May 2001]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 1 May 2001, Official Report, columns 607–08W.

  Mr. Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many special advisers worked in his Department from 1997 to date. [160023]

  Mr. Byers
  [holding answer 1 May 2001]: Since 3 May 1997, no more than two paid special advisers have been in post at any one time, except for a three month period between May and July 1998 when a third special adviser was appointed to assist the then President of the Board of Trade. In addition, Lord Hollick acted as unpaid special adviser from May 1997 to October 1998.

  Manufacturing
  Mr. Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people were employed in manufacturing industry in the north-west in each of the years from 1997 to date. [160082]

  Mr. Alan Johnson
  Estimates of employee jobs in manufacturing are based on the results of employer surveys. Figures for the years the hon. Gentleman has requested are:

  Year

  1997

  534,000

  1998

  532,000

  1999

  520,000

  2000

  505,000

  Dounreay
  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many radioactive particles have been(a) detected and (b) retrieved within (i) a 10 kilometre radius and (ii) a two kilometre radius of Dounreay, broken down in each case by those on (1) the seabed and (2) the foreshore. [160209]

  Mr. Hain
  Surveys have located 360 particles on the seabed up to a radius of 2 km from the Dounreay site, and 268 have been removed. A further three particles have been detected beyond that distance, up to a maximum of 2.3 km radius, and were all removed.

  On the foreshore 221 particles have been detected to date, of which 15 were found on the neighbouring Sandside beach. Only those recovered from Sandside beach were more than 2 km radius from Dounreay. All the particles found on the foreshore and Sandside beach have been retrieved. Full details of the discovery of radioactive particles found on Sandside beach are available from UKAEA's website www.ukaea.org.uk.

  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information he has received about the route of radioactive particles from Dounreay to the Caithness shore; and if he will make a statement. [160211]
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  Mr. Hain
  I understand that UKAEA has undertaken a comprehensive programme of research, at a cost of £1 million per year since 1997, into the routes by which particles may have reached the wider environment. The results have been reported to my officials and to the independent Dounreay Particle Advisory Group. Progress reports are available publicly from UKAEA and I will arrange for them to be made available to the Library of the House. This research has concluded that there is very strong circumstantial evidence that particles were discharged through the now redundant old low level liquid effluent system and other site drains in the 1960s and perhaps into the 1970s. There is no evidence of particles leaving the site after this time.

  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has received of the number of radioactive particles thought still to be on the seabed within(a) a 10-kilometre radius and (b) a two-kilometre radius of Dounreay. [160210]

  Mr. Hain
  I have received no estimate of the number of particles thought to be on the seabed within the vicinity of Dounreay. The programme of offshore surveys and research UKAEA has under way is designed to help address this question. This programme has been under way since 1997, and is expected to conclude in 2002. It is not possible to estimate the number of particles on the seabed until the survey programme is complete. I have asked UKAEA to ensure that the results are made publicly available as soon as possible thereafter as part of the public consultation exercise.

  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will introduce programmes to effect the speedier detection and complete removal of radioactive particles on the foreshore and seabed within a 10-kilometre radius of Dounreay; and if he will make a statement. [160212]

  Mr. Hain
  The independent regulator, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), specifies a schedule of local beaches to be monitored, the frequency of surveying and the criteria for the detection of particles. In the case of Sandside Bay the schedule reflects a request in 1998 from the then Secretary of State for Scotland that there is sufficient monitoring to ensure that any particles finding their way to the beach are promptly detected and removed. In March 2001 SEPA published the interim report of the independent Dounreay Particles Advisory Group (DPAG). It concluded that for all practical purposes the criteria set by SEPA in terms of detection limits are being met by the current monitoring programme. Surveys of the seabed continue and the results will be brought to DPAG in due course. Further details of DPAG's work are available on the SEPA website www.sepa.org.uk.

  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has received of the time-scale for rendering the Caithness shore free from irradiated particles from Dounreay; and if he will make a statement. [160213]

  Mr. Hain
  UKAEA's published programme of future work includes a public consultation on the options for dealing with particles. This is expected to take place during 2003 and will set timescales for a future action plan. In the meantime a monitoring programme agreed 776W
  with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency is being carried out, and any particles detected are promptly removed. The public are made aware of particle finds. Full information on particles found on Sandside Beach is available on UKAEA's website www.ukaea.org.uk.

  Packaging and Production Waste
  Mr. Bob Russell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received from the labelling industry as to what constitutes packaging waste and production waste. [159081]

  Ms Hewitt
  The Department regularly receives representations from industry on the issue of the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997 (as amended) for which my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment has the responsibility. However, I am not aware of any representations from this particular sector on the definition of packaging waste contained within the Regulations.

  Regulatory and Welfare Costs
  Mr. Nicholas Winterton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the impact of increased regulatory and welfare costs on the profitability of United Kingdom businesses since May 1997. [159238]

  Ms Hewitt
  Assessment of the impact of all regulations affecting business introduced since May 1997 is available from the Libraries of the House. For the period from May 1997 to August 1998, compliance cost assessments contain this information. From August 1998, Regulatory Impact Assessments have been completed in respect of each regulation or legislation likely to have an impact on business.

  House Insurance
  Dr. Cable
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will take action to prevent the linkage of house insurance with mortgage grants. [160143]

  Dr. Howells
  Compulsory tying-in of mortgages with insurance was one of the practices criticised at DTI's mortgage summit in 1999. Since then, the number of lenders who require their customers to buy tied insurance has decreased and we estimate that less than 5 per cent, of current mortgage products feature such tie-ins. Consumers should now find it much easier to find a mortgage deal that does not prevent them from shopping around for insurance.

  Corus
  Mr. MacShane
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he will make an announcement on the measures the Government will take to support those individuals and communities affected by the restructuring and redundancies planned by Corus. [160592]

  Mr. Byers
  Corus has today confirmed its intention to proceed with the job cuts it announced earlier this year. The Government's priority must now be to help the individuals and communities affected. I am therefore announcing a package of measures to assist those who face losing their jobs and plans to promote economic regeneration and job creation in the areas affected. A
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  similar announcement is being made in the National Assembly of Wales. In total the two packages amount to around £135 million.

  To help individuals to deal with the immediate financial difficulties created by redundancy, the Government intend to introduce a scheme to provide aid for workers affected by restructuring in the steel industry. The Government intend to apply to the Commission for funding available under Article 56 of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) Treaty. Article 56 provides for social aid to assist workers who have lost their jobs as a result of restructuring in companies which produce products covered by the ECSC Treaty. We intend to provide a lump sum payment of around £2,500 to eligible individuals, of which the UK Government will contribute half. Those eligible will be workers involved in the production of products covered by the ECSC Treaty. We will also make similar provisions for steelworkers covered by the special framework of the Treaty of Rome for whom Article 56 makes no provision. The scheme will apply from 1 January 2000 and it is anticipated that 12,000 workers in England, Scotland and Wales will benefit from this at a total cost of about £32 million. The ECSC Treaty expires in July 2002 and the scheme will apply to eligible workers up to that date.

  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Employment is announcing the extension of the new Job Transition Service to all sites affected by the Corus redundancies. The Government will spend over £5 million in England and Wales to ensure that everyone who is affected by these redundancies has access to an equal level of support in getting a new job.

  The Employment Service has already opened jobshops at Redcar, Scunthorpe and in South Yorkshire. In Wales there are jobshops in Llanwern, Ebbw Vale, Bryngwyn and Shotton. ES are liaising with Corus to assess whether additional jobshops or other facilities are needed as a result of this announcement.

  The new Job Transition Service (JTS), which is already being piloted in South Yorkshire as a result of last summer's announcements by Corus, will now be extended to all the affected sites across the UK. The service offers a new approach to assisting those affected by redundancy to find new jobs.

  Through the JTS, audits of the local economies will be carried out where major redundancies are taking place, and the Employment Service will work with local employers who are looking for new staff to identify their recruitment needs and analyse their skill requirements. Companies such as Nissan in the north-east have already been identified as potentially offering opportunities for Corus workers.

  At the same time, the JTS will provide anybody affected either directly or indirectly by these redundancies with personal advice on careers, financial matters and general skills development. More specifically, it will direct people to suitable vacancies, identify the skills they need to develop, and discuss their training needs. Training will be funded, and—where appropriate—customised programmes will be developed.

  In order to help develop this new service and ensure it is tailored fully to the needs of individuals, the DfEE and the Employment Service are working in partnership with
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  the unions and with Corus itself on a similar package of support and training developed by the unions to be provided before workers leave the company. A joint bid to the European Social Fund for £2.5 million for England will be made in the next few weeks, with a similar bid being made in Wales.

  An Employment Credit for the over-50s going back to work will also be available to individuals affected.

  The Government are committed to helping the communities affected, and so we are backing projects crucial for economic regeneration, to ensure the long-term prosperity of all these areas.

  In the north-east, Dr. John Bridge, the chairman of ONE North East, the Regional Development Agency in the area, has been asked to establish a small group drawn from the key regional partners, including the existing Tees Valley Partnership, to build on the work undertaken by the task group established in response to the previous round of Corus job cuts. The group will pave the way for the establishment of an Urban Regeneration Company involving the five local authorities in the Tees Valley, to take this work forward over the longer term.

  My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister is also announcing a package of measures to help regenerate the Tees Valley. This includes: a £20 million public sector project in Stockton to develop a Durham University campus and business park and to make environmental improvements; and support for the next stage of Middlehaven, a regeneration project in the Middlesbrough Docks. The Government will also fund feasibility studies into a new Tees crossing and a light rapid transport (LRT) scheme in the Tees Valley and is encouraging local authorities on Teesside to work up plans to improve transport infrastructure in the East Middlesbrough transport corridor. This is in addition to the £5 million scheme to improve access to Teesside airport which was announced on 28 March. Finally, as announced on Monday 30 April, we will be given the West Central Hartlepool New Deal for Communities scheme £53.79 million over the next 10 years.

  The Government are working with the Tees Valley Partnership, local industries and further education bodies to consider new research and development facilities. In addition, British Trade International has been asked to work with John Bridge to identify potential sites for inward investors. The Department of Trade and Industry will also be providing £500,000 for the establishment of broadband and digital communications networks in the area.

  The redundancies will also affect Scunthorpe and its surrounding area. Following discussions with the local council and the Government Office for Yorkshire and the Humber, Scunthorpe will become a Tier 3 area for the purposes of the Enterprise Grant Scheme. To do this, we are redrawing the Assisted Areas map to make this support available. It will enable grants to be provided to small- and medium-sized companies moving into the area or increasing their investment there. We are also increasing the budget available for Enterprise Grants in the area by £0.5 million. This will act as a major incentive to the establishment and growth of small- and medium-sized companies in and around Scunthorpe.
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  I am also asking the North Lincolnshire Steel Task Force, which was set up following the previous round of Corus closures, to advise on additional measures which could be taken in the area. These will take forward the actions set out in the Metal Related Industries Impact study, funded by DTI, and is looking both at Scunthorpe and South Yorkshire. The first report of the study is already with the Task Force, and we are asking them to identify immediate action points from the report and to assess what more needs to be done as a result of this round of cuts.

  As in Tees Valley, we are announcing up to £500,000 funding to be allocated to the RDA to help with the establishment of broadband infrastructure and related education and training in the area. This will encourage the establishment and growth of nw companies and the evolution of existing ones.

  The South Yorkshire Jobs Steel Task Force will also extend the programme of regeneration in Sheffield and Rotherham to ensure that the projects recently announced for new inward investment provide employment opportunities for those affected by the steel redundancies. The Task Force is also developing a longer term action plan based on a recent impact study on metals related industries in South Yorkshire. This identified the scope for developing growth in these industries over the next five years.

  This morning in the National Assembly of Wales, a package of measures was also announced. The First Minister made the following statement to the Welsh Assembly:
  "Mr. Presiding Officer, following the final meeting with the steel trade unions earlier this morning, there is now little doubt that Corus is going to press ahead with the job losses announced on 1 February. Since then, the Trade Unions and Corus have been in discussion to see if less drastic restructuring options where possible. The unions put forward a constructive alternative proposals for each plant but these have been turned down by the Company.
  We have worked almost on a daily basis with the unions to press the Company to come to its senses and to think long term. I want to take this opportunity to commend the unions on their unstinting efforts to find a solution to this human tragedy. They come out of this with enormous credit.
  Sadly, this whole episode highlights the short-term thinking of Corus management and their disregard of the communities that will be devastated by their job cuts and closures.
  Attention must now focus on offering practical support to the individuals and communities involved. Today I am announcing a £66 million programme of action designed to help the individuals and communities most affected.
  In a few moments time details of a regeneration package on a comparable scale for steel workers and their communities in England—will be given in the House of Commons by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. The Secretary of State has worked closely with us on this whole issue and will then be briefing Welsh MP's from steel areas as my Ministers and I will be doing. The Parliamentary Under Secretary of Wales will be covering the UK Government employment and other packages.
  The top priority must be to help people deal with the immediate financial problems caused by redundancy. The UK Government will therefore introduce a scheme under Article 56 of the European Coal and Steel Community Treaty to provide aid for those worker affected under this round of job cuts and those in previous rounds back to 1 January 2000.
  This is a modern version of ISERBS scheme with which steel AMs and unions will be familiar from twenty years ago and involves a number of elements including lump sums for each
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  worker of £2,500. This has been a complex negotiation involving the unions and ourselves as well as the Secretary of State for Wale, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and the Chancellor. The estimated figure for that part of the scheme which applies to Wales is £16 million. It is subject to technical approval from Europe and that approval would include refunding of almost half the gross cost.
  Allied to this, we understand that the unions and Corus will be jointly applying for ESF funds to support a training package for workers facing redundancy. The overall cost of this package is likely to be around £5.7 million in Wales and Corus have agreed to make a significant financial contribution to this.
  £7 million of the £66 million programme for Wales, is for employment and training measures funded by the Assembly. This will pay for extra employment and training provision for workers made redundant by Corus and its contractors plus their families and those in the supply chain.
  Many of those who will lose their jobs have considerable skills and talents which will allow them to find good, new jobs without too much difficulty. Others will need top quality advice and guidance and first class training if they are to move on successfully to new employers.
  We have agreed with the UK Government that the UK-wide Employment Service will increase its job information work in Wales and offer a wide range of services tailored to the requirements of Corus workers. This service will include vigorous marketing to employers and to sectors such as aerospace, electronics and automotive—which are particularly strong in Wales. In areas such as Deeside, special efforts will be made to work closely with major employers such as Airbus to match Corus workers to new job opportunities arising. We have also had approaches form other employers, including those in the gas and construction industries.
  The Employment Service has set up on-site Job Shops at each of the Corus plants affected. Here people can make use of the whole range of employment services. Benefits Agency staff will also be on hand to offer advice.
  We are also giving an extra £250,000 to Careers Companies so that they can offer specialist support for those who need it.
  £5.75 million additional money is being allocated to ELWa to provide training tailored to the precise requirements of the individuals concerned. This strand of the programme of action will include:
  Immediate access to training in place of the normal qualifying period of 6 months unemployment.
  Help for those who are in a position to train while under notice of redundancy.
  Short up-skilling courses linked to the current demand.
  Customised training to help people move from the steel industry to jobs in other sectors.
  Incentives for some employers to recruit Corus workers.
  Training to help with business start-ups; and
  Special help to remove barriers to work such as travelling, the cost of child care and such like.
  We are also looking at how existing programmes such as Modern Apprenticeships and the Modern Skills Diploma for Adults could play their part. We are talking to the Wales TUC and the Steel Trade Unions to see how help could be provided through the Wales Union Learning Fund and other measures. Up to £1 million will be made available for these measures.
  In carrying out its work, the Employment Service will do all it can to balance the needs of those who are already out of work with those of people who are likely to become unemployed in the near future.
  I also welcome the positive response by the Secretary of State for Education and Employment to our representations to extend the Heads of the Valleys and Caerphilly Employment Zone to cover Torfaen. This will make additional help available for long term unemployed adults in an area close to the Corus plants affected.

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  The regeneration measures in our programme for action have been developed following detailed discussions with the local councils most closely involved and the WDA. We will invest £43 million in these measures over a period of years.
  These measures, including the training and development package, will be funded from the Assembly's own resources. The same situation applies across the UK. This is not ideal but today our priority must be the future of the steel workers affected. There will be other opportunities to debate the broader issues that this highlights.
  The programme announced does constitute real, additional resourcing and must not be confused with spending committed to other programmes. The Finance Minister will be looking again at the total package in the budget round later this year, in particular the allocation for 2003–04.
  European Structural Funds will also have a role to play in helping those cast aside by Corus and in the regeneration of their communities. For example, we are helping to create a Credit Union for Blaenau Gwent with support from ERDF money. In doing so, we will not be re-directing funding at the expense of any other part of the Objective 1 area. Similar considerations apply to other Assembly programmes such as Communities First—though some priorities may be re-ordered.
  The first element of the regeneration programme will be a £2 million business support package to help suppliers who will be badly hit by the Corus closures to find alternative customers. This will also be used to help workers who are considering setting up their own businesses.
  The WDA will also be making a special effort to highlight the inward investment opportunities presented by the early availability of a high quality workforce in the areas most affected by the Corus job losses.
  If we take in turn the 3 areas of Wales affected; Deeside in North Wales; the communities taking the brunt of the losses in South West Wales at Gorseinon and Port Talbot; and finally that part of South East Wales most affected by the rundown of the plants at Ebbw Vale and Llanwern—Gwent more or less:
  First the position at Deeside where the job losses at Shotton will be a bitter blow to the area. Fortunately, owing to the buoyancy of the local economy, Corus workers will find a wide range of alternative job opportunities open to them compared to their colleagues in the other parts of Wales, with Ebbw Vale at the other end of the scale.
  The focus on Deeside will be on training and employment and business support. It makes sense to concentrate on enabling the maximum number of people to take advantage of the 1,700 new jobs created by Airbus at Broughton with the financial backing of £19.5 million from the Assembly. Those 1,700 jobs are already understood to be supplemented by a further 200 jobs from the recent UPS order for A300 Airbus planes. Furthermore another 150 civilian aerospace jobs have been announced at DARA Sealand. If more needs to be done, then the case for doing so will be given priority when we review the spending plans for 2002–03 onwards.
  At Gorseinon, the local economy has suffered a double blow with the recent announcement of the closure of the Valeo plant. Also, Port Talbot has had its share of the pain with planned redundancies. We are therefore providing some £4 million extra funding for the WDA's South West Division to tackle the regeneration needs of the area. This is in addition to the higher level of investment already planned by the Agency in projects such as the Baglan Energy Park. There are immediate priorities that we shall discuss with the WDA and the local authority.
  Turning to the major job losses in prospect at Ebbw Vale and Llanwern amounting to 2,300 direct Corus job losses plus 1,000 or so contractors. This area of South East Wales—Blaenau Gwent in particular—will need significant help. We will therefore invest nearly £32 million of the £50 million available for the programme
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  of action in this area. The lion's share of this is earmarked for tackling the huge problems created by the complete closure of the Ebbw Vale works.
  We will work with our partners to ensure that we get the very best return from it in terms of new, quality jobs and stronger, more diversified local economies. Improvements to North South transport links between Ebbw Vale and the M4 corridor are bound to figure large in any planning for the future. In addition, we need to see what can be done to improve the quality of life in the towns and communities most affected by the job losses.
  It would be a huge mistake to invest simply in a series of unconnected projects. We must get the strategic framework right. I have therefore decided that we should agree the accelerated development of a comprehensive economic, transport and special framework for that part of South East Wales most affected by the closures and job losses.
  I want the Assembly to work with its partners to complete this exercise by the late autumn. The framework will need to make clear what improvements are required in the area's economic and transport infrastructure. It will therefore help us to prioritise the projects so as to achieve maximum impact. Later today, the Deputy First Minister will be discussing the details of this exercise with the Executive Group of the All Wales Steel Task Force.
  We will also be consulting on the most appropriate structure to assist with this regeneration. Newport county borough council, for example, has suggested the creation of an Urban Regeneration Company. This would not be another quango. It would be a partnership in which the local authority would play a leading role. A URC would be well placed to take advantage of the wide-ranging package of incentives for regeneration announced in the Chancellor's of recent budget. However, we will look to see whether other structures could allow us to capitalise on incentives of this kind, in Newport and elsewhere.
  We have asked the Council, together with other agencies, to come back to us as soon as possible on their preferred structure for the redevelopment of the areas most affected by the job losses at Llanwern. Some £200,000 will be made available immediately in start-up costs should there be support for URC. I do not exclude the possibility of a similar solution in other areas, but the URC does appear particularly appropriate to the circumstances of Newport.
  £5 million will remain unallocated within the package to allow us to move ahead with priority proposals which emerge from the consultation process.
  As regards the future use of redundant land and buildings, the company has committed itself not only to co-operate on drawing up redevelopment plans but also to meeting its obligations on site remediation and its environmental obligations so as to maximise the potential for land regeneration and therefore the benefit to local communities.
  The Assembly administration is working on the clear principle that the public sector should not pick up the tab for the cost of on site reclamation.
  Potentially, the various Corus sites offer enormous economic opportunities for the areas involved. Unlocking these opportunities will take a huge amount of work, time and resources. Short-term job creation will need to take place off-site—on new or existing sits in the steel closure areas.
  Corus has created the problems we are dealing with today. It must also be part of the solution. I am therefore pleased that the Company will use UK Steel Enterprise, its wholly owned job creation and regeneration subsidiary—the successor to British Steel Enterprise, to assist with the creation of new opportunities for its displaced employees.
  A Team Wales approach is needed in which the private sector is also bound to play a major role. We will therefore project manage the programme in the following way:
  The existing All Wales Steel Task Force—which I and the Deputy First Minister chair—will provide the policy leadership,

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  drawing on the advice of the partner organisations involved, including local government, the unions, the agencies and—indeed—Corus itself.
  The Deputy First Minister will Chair the Executive Group of the Task Force. This will meet regularly with senior officers from the various organisations involved to manage and co-ordinate the programme across Wales. This Group will meet later today.
  Existing local arrangements will be built on to manage the process locally. We have enough groups and task forces already without adding to them. But the WDA has agreed to appoint Graham Moore—a senior director—to work with the administration and its partners to help manage this process across Wales and ensure we get the best return from the resources announced today.
  Mr. Presiding Officer, we have worked tirelessly with the unions and our partners in Wales and in Whitehall to convince the Company that it should scrap the job cuts, or if not scrap them, then at the very least defer, suspend or reduce them. These arguments have fallen on deaf ears. Our earlier commitment to do everything in our power to deal effectively with the consequences of the job losses for the individuals and communities involved now comes into play. This programme demonstrates that we have the will to honour it.
  By working with our partners across Wales I am totally confident that the communities involved will ultimately come out of this is a better position than they are now on the basis of new skills, new jobs and a better quality of life. We will report progress on the programme at regular intervals to the Assembly and the relevant committees".
  In all the areas affected, the Government will work with the Regional Development Agencies, British Trade International, the Small Business Service and local partners to support business start-ups and small firm growth and to attract inward investment.

CABINET OFFICE

  Devolution
  Mr. Watts
  To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what further guidance has been offered to Government Departments on issues relating to devolution. [160485]

  Mr. Ian McCartney
  I am today placing in the Library a copy of Devolution Guidance Note 8 offering advice to Government departments on Post-Devolution Legislation affecting Northern Ireland. This guidance note will also be made available on the Cabinet Office Internet site at: http://www.cabinet—office gov.uk/constitution/devolution/guidance/ dgn. index. htm.

  Government Car and Despatch Agency
  Mr. Derek Twigg
  To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what performance targets she has set for the Government Car and Despatch Agency for 2001–02. [160484]

  Mr. Ian McCartney
  I have set the Government Car and Despatch Agency the following key performance targets for the year.

  Financial:
  To break even on an accruals basis.

  Efficiency:
  To increase income per pound of direct labour cost by 2 per cent.
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  Quality of Service:
  To improve customer satisfaction by 2 per cent;
  To reduce customer dissatisfaction.

  Environmental:
  To convert to environmentally friendly fuels 75 per cent. of the cars purchased in the year and capable of such conversion.

  Official Information
  Mr. Gardiner
  To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what work is being undertaken to enable citizens and businesses to quickly find official information on the internet and elsewhere. [160487]

  Mr. Ian McCartney
  This Government are fully aware of the need of citizens and businesses quickly to find official information on the internet, and elsewhere. It should be possible to find information without knowing any technical terms, and without knowing which Department or agency is responsible for it.

  The new e-Government Metadata Framework outlines our policy on metadata. It explains how we will use an internationally recognised standard, the Dublin Core, as the basis for our own system of tagging all information resources. This will make them easier to find and easier to manage, and make life easier for our citizens.

  The Metadata Framework is a natural addition to the e-Government Interoperability Framework, which I launched on 11 October last year. As with the Interoperability Framework, adherence to the Metadata Framework is mandated across the public sector.

  Central Office of Information
  Mr. Reed
  To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what performance targets she has set the Central Office of Information for 2001‒02. [160486]

  Mr. Ian McCartney
  I have set the Central Office of Information the following targets for the year.

  Financial
  1. To achieve break even on an accruals basis.

  Efficiency
  To achieve a unit cost reduction of 2 per cent.

  Quality of Service
  3. To obtain the following results form customer satisfaction feedback:

  (a) an overall customer satisfaction score of at least 8.25 (out of 10);

  (b) at least 96 per cent, of returns to score six or more;

  (c) a 3 per cent. increase in the response rate on the result for 2000–01.

  Departmental Publications
  Tony Wright
  To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if she will take steps to ensure that all unnumbered papers and command papers are made available in an information paper series in a common format and to proper archival standards and sizes. [158211]

  Marjorie Mowlam
  Fresh guidance has recently been issued to departments about the arrangements for publication of Command Papers and Agency and other Public Bodies Annual Reports, which it is hoped will lead to a reduction in the number of papers presented to the House not in the numbered Command series. The majority
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  of papers which are not published in either the existing House of Commons Papers or Command series are copies of departmental minutes and other documents which are presented in response to the requirement on the Government to advise the House of financial commitments they have made or which they may have to make. There are currently no plans to include these documents in a separate information series.

SOCIAL SECURITY

  Stakeholder Pensions
  Mr. Hilary Benn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if self-employed persons on low incomes are eligible for stakeholder pensions; and if he will make a statement. [158897]

  Mr. Rooker
  Yes. Stakeholder pensions are aimed primarily at employed and self-employed people on moderate and higher earnings who do not have access to an occupational pension scheme. But there is nothing to prevent people from lower income groups contributing to a stakeholder pension, depending on their particular circumstances.

  New Deal 50 Plus
  Mr. Efford
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if employment credit is assessed as income for the purpose of calculating Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit for a person setting up their own business under the New Deal 50 plus programme; and if he will make a statement; [158457]

  (2) what circumstances employment credit is not treated as income for the purpose of calculating Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit for people on the New Deal 50 plus. [158456]

  Angela Eagle
  The New Deal 50 plus provides advice and assistance to help older people become self-supporting either through securing a job or becoming self-employed. In its first year of national operation, New Deal 50 plus helped over 33,000 people move from benefits into work, nearly 4,000 of whom became self-employed.

  The New Deal 50 plus Employment Credit is an in-work income supplement designed to help people make the transition from benefits into work. So far as self-employed people are concerned, this credit cannot be offset against losses or liabilities.

  Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit are income related benefits and as such, all forms of income, including earnings and the New Deal 50 plus Employment Credit are considered when calculating entitlement. When the Employment Credit ceases, entitlement to these benefits may be reviewed.

  People generally will be better off by moving into work or becoming self-employed and receiving the Employment Credit. In some cases, the Employment Credit will increase an individual's income to a level which means they no longer need Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit.
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  The Employment Credit is treated as income in calculating entitlement to Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit under all circumstances.

  Incapacity Benefit
  Dr. Starkey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security in relation to applications for Incapacity Benefit from residents of Milton Keynes, how many(a) new applications and (b) renewals were made for Incapacity Benefit; how many applicants were required to take a medical examination; and how many of those medical examinations were undertaken at (i) Luton, (ii) Aylesbury, (iii) Euston and (iv) the person's home in each year since 1997. [158208]

  Mr. Bayley
  The information is in the tables.

  Incapacity Benefit claims received in the Milton Keynes Benefits Agency office area

  Thousand

  January to December 1997

  2,943

  January to December 1998

  2,627

  January to December 1999

  2,521

  January to December 2000

  2,489

  Notes:

  1. New claims data are from a 100 per cent, count. A new claim may not result in an award of benefit, for example where a claim is withdrawn.

  2. There are no renewal claims as Incapacity Benefit awards are indefinite. Some claims may link back to earlier periods of entitlement but it is not possible to identify these separately.

  Initial entitlement to Incapacity Benefit requires the claimant to provide medical evidence of their incapacity (normally a general practitioner's certificate). Subsequently, incapacity is assessed under the Personal Capability Assessment but not all claimants are required to attend a medical examination.

  Number of Incapacity Benefit claimants from Milton Keynes who were assessed at Medical Examination Centres (MECS)

  Aylesbury MEC

  Euston MEC

  Luton MEC

  October 1998 to December 1998

  304

  0

  7

  January 1999 to December 1999

  817

  88

  222

  January 2000 to December 2000

  817

  2

  37

  Notes:

  1. Figures are from data supplied by Medical Services and include first and subsequent referrals. Information for individual MECs is not available prior to October 1998.

  2. Figures relate to Incapacity Benefit claimants living in the area covered by Milton Keynes Benefits Agency office.

  3. Information on the number of examinations carried out at claimants' homes is not available.

  Mr. Willetts
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 25 April 2001,Official Report, column 269W, how many Incapacity Benefit claims were terminated because the claimant (a) died, (b) reached pensionable age, (c) started employment and (d) left the caseload for another reason. [160231]

  Mr. Bayley
  The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the table.
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  Incapacity Benefit terminations

  April 1998 to March 1999

  Number of terminations

  Death of claimant

  36,000

  Award of retirement pension

  172,000

  Other reason

  591,000

  Notes:

  1. Figures are taken from a 1 per cent. sample of claimants.

  2. We do not routinely ask people why they have stopped claiming Incapacity Benefit.

  Mr. Willetts
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what the average claim period of an Incapacity Benefit claimant is. [160203]

  Mr. Bayley
  I refer the hon. Gentleman to the written answer I gave on 25 April 2001,Official Report, column 269W.

  Funeral Costs
  Mr. Waterson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Secretary what plans he has to revise the rules to help with funeral costs. [158837]

  Angela Eagle
  Help with funeral costs is available to those on the lowest incomes through the Social Fund. We recently announced that with effect from October 2001 we are amending the Social Fund Funeral Payment regulations to ensure that claimants' relatives who are in receipt of help under the National Asylum Support Service are treated in the same way as those receiving qualifying benefits.

  In addition, the capital of those people who qualify for a Social Fund Funeral Payment for a death occurring on or after 7 October 2001 will no longer be taken into account. This changes the current provision whereby those who qualify have their award reduced by the amount of capital they have over £500 (£1,000 if the claimant or partner is aged 60 or over).

  Far East Prisoners of War
  Mrs. Lait
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many former Japanese internees have been refused compensation payments on the grounds of nationality; and in how many cases inquiries are on-going; [158839]

  (2) how many former Japanese internees who were regarded as British before 1981 who held British UK-based passports until their deaths have been refused compensation on the grounds of non-British nationality. [158840]

  Mr. Bayley
  The administration of the ex-gratia scheme for former captives of the Japanese is a matter for the acting Chief Executive of the War Pensions Agency, Alan Burnham. He will write to the hon. Member.

  Letter from Alan Burnham to Mrs. Lait, dated 3 May 2001:
  I am writing in response to your recent Parliamentary Questions concerning ex-gratia payments to former civilian internees of the Japanese during the Second World War.
  Up to 17.4.01 a total of 25,414 applications have been received for the ex-gratia payment and payments have been made to a total of 19,373 applicants. 484 applicants have been advised that their application has been rejected as they do not meet the entitlement conditions.
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  Our records indicate that to date no applications have been rejected on grounds of non-British nationality. There are approximately 3600 cases where we are having to undertake further enquiries to confirm eligibility. The issues to be resolved in these cases vary and may include confirming details of internment, determining nationality or establishing bank details to facilitate payment.

  Mr. Hurst
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many prisoners held captive by the Japanese during world war two are eligible for the Government's compensation payment; how many have been awarded payment; and at what cost. [159364]

  Mr. Bayley
  The administration of the ex-gratia compensation scheme for former captives of the Japanese is a matter for the acting Chief Executive of the War Pensions Agency, Alan Burnham. He will write to my hon. Friend.

  Letter from Alan Burnham to Mr. Alan Hurst, dated 3 May 2001:
  I am writing in response to your Parliamentary Question concerning ex-gratia payments payable to former prisoners of war of the Japanese.
  We know the total number of UK service personnel who were captured in the Far East during the Second World War but there is no precise way to determine how many survive today. Accordingly it is difficult to provide a precise estimate of the numbers of people eligible for a payment.
  As at 30 April 2001 a total of 19,717 ex-gratia payments had been made at a total cost of £197,170,000. Of these, 7635 were made to former prisoners of war, 10671 to the surviving spouses of former prisoners of war, 989 to former civilian internees and 422 to the surviving spouses of former civilian internees.
  Please do not hesitate to contact me again if you require any further information.

  Home Visits
  Mr. Brady
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the cost of home visits in each year since 1996. [159422]

  Angela Eagle
  [holding answer 27 April 2001]: The information that is available is in the table.

  Cost (£)

  1998–99

  5,796,222

  1999–2000

  53,364,807

  2000–01

  50,819,559

  1 Costs are for full years except 2000–01, which is up to February 2001

  Benefit Fraud
  Mr. Willetts
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what evidence he has collated on the impact of the Targeting Fraud advertising campaign on the number of people reported for benefit fraud; and if he will make a statement. [159698]

  Mr. Rooker
  [holding answer 1 May 2001]: After years of neglect, we have put in place an effective strategy for tackling benefit fraud. As part of this, the Targeting Fraud advertising campaign is intended to change public attitudes in the longer-term by positively reinforcing honest behaviour, creating a climate of intolerance to

  789W
  benefit fraud and undermining its social acceptability. It is not intended specifically to increase the number of people reported for benefit fraud.

  An evaluation of the national Targeting Fraud campaign is being conducted and will be published in due course. A report on the pilot stage of the campaign showed that it was successful in changing public attitudes towards benefit fraud.

  Mr. Willetts
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to use the information collected through the current census to help reduce the incidence of benefit fraud. [159702]

  Mr. Rooker
  [holding answer 1 May 2001]: None. Confidentiality of the census is key to its success. The census produces only statistics and people can be assured that no information is released which allows identification of individuals or households.

  Attendance Allowance
  Mr. Willetts
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many complaints have been made about the administration of Attendance Allowance in each month since January 1997. [159703]

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

  Letter from Alexis Cleveland to Mr. David Willetts, dated 1 May 2001:
  The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many complaints have been made about the administration of Attendance Allowance in each month since January 1997.
  Information is not available prior to April 1998. From April 1998, the number of complaints made about Attendance Allowance by letter, telephone or in person is in the table.

  1998–99

  1999–2000

  2000–01

  April

  47

  96

  327

  May

  54

  146

  362

  June

  70

  159

  398

  July

  71

  175

  420

  August

  104

  209

  342

  September

  105

  185

  280

  October

  90

  199

  278

  November

  59

  188

  251

  December

  51

  117

  178

  January

  90

  301

  220

  February

  109

  294

  188

  March

  99

  437

  260

  Whilst the above figures may include complaints about the administration of the Attendance Allowance, it should be noted that they also include general expressions of disagreement with the amount of benefit awarded. Disputes of this nature must be pursued through the decision making and appeals process.
  You will be aware from my reply of 10 April 2001 to your previous Parliamentary Question about Disability Living Allowance complaints that they were subject to a steady increase arising from a temporary backlog of work following the introduction of new decision making and appeals procedures. Attendance Allowance claims and subsequent complaints were similarly adversely affected but, as with Disability Living Allowance, the backlog of work has now been cleared and the overall level of complaints has reduced since August 2000.
  I hope this is helpful.

  Refrigerants
  Mr. Laurence Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what his Department's policy is regarding the purchase of(a) hydrocarbons and (b) other environmentally benign refrigerants to meet the refrigeration and other relevant energy needs of buildings and premises owned and leased by his Department; what guidance he has issued on this subject to regional and local departmental offices; and if he will make a statement; [160015]

  (2) to what extent his Department's headquarters buildings use hydrofluorocarbons for (a) refrigeration and (b) air conditioning; what amounts of hydrofluorocarbons have been purchased in each year since 1995; and what plans he has to phase out the (i) purchase and (ii) use of hydrofluorocarbons; [160013]

  (3) which London headquarters building or premises owned and leased by his Department use (a) chlorofluorocarbons and (b) hydrochlorofluorocarbons for refrigeration and other relevant energy needs; if he will publish details of such use and the reasons for it; and what guidance he has issued on this subject to regional and local DSS offices. [160021]

  Mr. Bayley
  [holding answer 1 May 2001]: The Department's Improvement Programme for Greening Operations requires the Department and its Estates Partners to specify against products with a high global warming potential.

  We and our Estates Partners are committed to replacing any such system at the end of its useful life, or before, in accordance with the necessary protocols relevant at the time, and the general phasing out of all ozone depleting substances. Replacement systems will use the new, more environmentally friendly products.

  It is not possible to provide details for the amounts of hydrofluorocarbons purchased by, or on behalf of the Department since 1995.

  special Advisers
  Mr. Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many special advisers worked in his Department from 1997 to date; [160025]

  (2) what the total cost was of employing special advisers in his Department from 1997 to date. [160041]

  Mr. Rooker
  [holding answer 1 May 2001]: Since May 1997 no more than two special advisers have been in post at any one time.

  For the total cost of employing special advisers I refer the hon. Member to the written answer from my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office, 1 May 2001, Official Report, column 607W.

  Minimum Income Guarantee
  Mr. Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much will be spent on the Minimum Income Guarantee in each of the financial years between 2000–01 and 2003–04. [160156]
  791W
  Mr. Rooker
  Expenditure on the Minimum Income Guarantee, in Great Britain, is estimated at £4 billion in 2000–01 rising to £4.5 billion in 2001–02, £4.6 billion in 2002–03 and £4.8 billion in 2003–04.

  Notes:

  1. These figures are based on the estimated outturn expenditure for 2000–01 and forecast expenditure plans for 2001–02, 2002–03 and 2003–04.

  2. Figures are rounded to the nearest £0.1 billion.

  Pensions
  Mr. Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 23 April 2001,Official Report, column 152W, on occupational pensions, how many individuals' pensions are required to be paid to at least the value of the guaranteed minimum pension in respect of service between 1978 and 1997 disaggregated by those who are (a) of working age and (b) above working age. [160164]

  Mr. Rooker
  Information is not available in the format requested. The latest survey of occupational pension schemes produced by the Government Actuary's Department does, however, indicate that in 1995 there were around 8.3 million active members of those schemes that are required to pay pensions at least to the value of the Guaranteed Minimum Pension.

  Mr. Willetts
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when the Government will publish the reports from the Pension Provision Group on pension provision for the self-employed and the impact on pensions of changes in the labour market. [160223]

  Mr. Rooker
  The Pension Provision Group are currently reviewing both reports in the light of the Government's Pension Credit proposals. It is anticipated that both reports will be ready for publication later in the year.

  Lone Parents
  Mr. Willetts
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many lone parents on Income Support have a youngest child aged(a) between five and eight, (b) between nine and 12 and (c) between 13 and 15 years; [160236]

  (2) when personal adviser meetings for lone parents whose youngest child is below the age of five years will be introduced; [160233]

  (3) how many personal advisers for the New Deal for Lone Parents there have been in each month since the scheme began; and how many additional advisers have been employed to deal with the start of compulsory interviews; [160235]

  (4) what sanctions will be imposed upon lone parents who fail to attend the compulsory personal adviser meetings. [160234]

  Mr. Bayley
  The full national New Deal for Lone Parents programme has been in operation since October 1998, after being piloted from July 1997. By the end of February 2001, 86,161 lone parents have obtained jobs through the programme and a further 24,104 have entered 792W
  education and training. From April 2001 further support is being provided for lone parents taking up training or part-time jobs, including help with child care costs.

  To ensure that as many lone parents as possible are aware of the help and support available to help them move into work, compulsory personal adviser meetings have been introduced from 30 April for lone parents claiming Income Support whose youngest child is of school age. Personal adviser meetings will be extended to lone parents with a youngest child of below five years old in some areas from October 2001 and then nationally from April 2002.

  Personal adviser meetings are a condition of claiming Income Support. If a lone parent fails, without good cause, to participate in a personal adviser meeting when making a claim to Income Support, then the claim will not be processed. If a lone parent making a claim has received payment of Income Support because the meeting was deferred, but then fails to participate without good cause, Income Support will be withdrawn. If a lone parent is already receiving Income Support and fails without good cause to participate in the meeting, their Income Support will be reduced by 20 per cent. of the amount applicable for a single person aged not less than 25 years old. We do not expect to have to apply these sanctions very often. Personal Advisers will make several attempts to ensure that lone parents fully understand how important these meetings are before taking any action that will affect benefits.

  Personal advisers are an essential element of the New Deal for Lone Parents service. Figures are not kept in the format requested but, since the national launch of the New Deal for Lone Parents, resources have been allocated for around 800 full-time staff. To support the delivery of personal adviser meetings, resources will be allocated for a further 450 staff by the end of 2001–02.

  Personal Adviser meetings will be gradually rolled out to lone parents currently claiming Income Support over the next few years. The latest Income Support Quarterly Statistical Enquiry (November 2000) estimates that there are 77,800 lone parents with a youngest child of 13 to 15 years old claiming Income Support. There are a further 150,500 lone parents claiming Income Support with a youngest child of nine to 12 years old and 214,100 with a youngest child of five to eight years old1.

  Since May 1997 the number of lone parents dependent on Income Support has fallen by over 100,000. The choices we are offering lone parents are building on this success and helping more of them move from benefit dependence into work.
  1 The estimates are based on a sample of cases, and are therefore subject to a degree of sampling error. Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred. Lone Parents are defined as single claimants who have dependants but do not receive the disability or pensioner premium.

  Football Championships (Benefit Loss)
  Mr. Willetts
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many of the cases of people travelling to the Euro 2000 Football Championships investigated by the Benefits Agency have led to loss of benefits. [160238]
  793W
  Mr. Rooker
  Fifty-two cases were investigated by the Benefit Fraud Investigation Service following referrals from the Belgian Authorities. As a result of these investigations, four claims have been withdrawn and two overpayments identified.

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

  Legal Aid
  Mr. Stinchcombe
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how much of the allocated civil aid budget for personal injury cases has been spent on expanding the legal advice and representation budget for other areas of civil legal aid since the coming into force of the Access to Justice Act 1999. [R] [157436]

  Mr. Lock
  [holding answer 10 April 2001]: Under the Legal Aid Act 1988 and the Access to Justice Act 1999, expenditure is essentially demand led. With the exception of the new, controlled budget for general civil legal help, funds are not specifically allocated to particular areas of law. However, it has been possible to increase the amount available for advice and assistance since implementation of the Access to Justice Act; in 2000–01 the amount spent on civil advice and assistance (now legal help) totalled £233 million, an increase of £28 million on the previous year. This increase would not have been possible if most personal injury cases remained within the scope of public funding.

  Mr. Stinchcombe
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how much civil legal aid was allocated for personal injury cases in(a) 1997–98 and (b) 1998–99. [R] [157435]

  Mr. Lock
  [holding answer 10 April 2001]: No funds from the civil legal aid budget were specifically allocated for personal injury cases. However, in terms of expenditure, the latest year for which information is available is 1997–98 (changes to the Legal Services Commission's computer systems mean that information is not yet available for 1998–99 onwards). In that year, the cost of these cases was £307.7 million (gross) of which £242.1 million was recovered by way of contributions received or costs and damages received on behalf of the assisted persons. In addition it is estimated that the cost to the Legal Services Commission of administering these cases was £2.9 million.

  Mr. Stinchcombe
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how much was spent on(a) criminal and (b) civil legal aid in (i) 1998–99, (ii) 1999–2000 and (iii) 2000–01; and what the projected figure is for 2001–02. [R] [157429]

  Mr. Lock
  [holding answer 10 April 2001]: Gross expenditure, together with the total amounts recovered by way of contributions from assisted persons and from costs
  794W
  and damages received, were, or are expected to be, as set out in the table:

  £ million

  Gross

  Recovered

  Criminal

  Civil

  Criminal

  Civil

  1998–99

  784

  1,275

  5

  430

  1999–2000

  783

  1,190

  9

  414

  2000–011

  878

  1,218

  7

  424

  2001–022

  874

  1,034

  7

  371

  1 Estimated

  2 Forecast

  These figures differ from the amounts voted by Parliament which are net of amounts recovered.

  Magistrates (Ethnic Minorities)
  Mr. Hendrick
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what steps the Lord Chancellor is taking to encourage people from ethnic minority communities to become magistrates. [160591]

  Jane Kennedy
  Schemes to allow people from the ethnic communities to shadow magistrates in order to encourage a wider understanding of their role will be established in June with Operation Black Vote. My noble and learned Friend the Lord Chancellor has asked officials to begin work to establish the schemes and to look at ways his local Advisory Committees can make better contacts with particular community groups to encourage applications. Operation Black Vote will begin the task of recruiting people to take part in the shadowing schemes during May. There will initially be seven pilot areas, two in London and one each in Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Cardiff and Oldham.

PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL

  People's Peerages
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the President of the Council how many applicants for a people's peerage are being recommended for appointment; and if she will make a statement. [159381]

  Mrs. Beckett
  Fifteen.

  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the President of the Council, pursuant to her answer of 16 March 2001,Official Report, column 764W, on people's peerages, what estimate she has made of the cost of providing the answer sought. [159421]

  Mrs. Beckett
  That it was likely to be in excess of the guidelines figure beyond which an answer stands to be refused. My hon. Friend will also recall from the second part of the answer that to release the information requested would have been in breach of the Appointments Commission's undertakings to treat all personal information in individual applications in strict confidence.

  International Development: EC Collaboration
  International Development: EC Collaboration
  European Community: French and Italian Contributions
  European Community: French and Italian Contributions
  ONS Surveys: Cost
  ONS Surveys: Cost
  General Household Survey
  General Household Survey
  North-east England: Barnett Formula
  North-east England: Barnett Formula
  Census
  Census
  Commonwealth Immigrants Bill 1968: Legal Advice
  Commonwealth Immigrants Bill 1968: Legal Advice
  HM Prison Standford Hill: Board of Visitors
  HM Prison Standford Hill: Board of Visitors
  Prison Boards of Visitors
  Prison Boards of Visitors
  Licensing Laws: Wales
  Licensing Laws: Wales
  HM Chief Inspector of Prisons: Appointment
  HM Chief Inspector of Prisons: Appointment
  Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986
  Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986
  Assistant Surveillance Commissioners
  Assistant Surveillance Commissioners
  Community Punishment
  Community Punishment
  Prime Minister's Adviser on Crime
  Prime Minister's Adviser on Crime
  Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000
  Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000
  Communications Data: Police Access
  Communications Data: Police Access
  Data Protection Act 1998: Web-based Retailers
  Data Protection Act 1998: Web-based Retailers
  Employee Monitoring: Information Commissioner Code of Practice
  Employee Monitoring: Information Commissioner Code of Practice
  Mentoring Organisations: Funding
  Mentoring Organisations: Funding
  Chief Commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission: Answer to Parliamentary Question
  Chief Commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission: Answer to Parliamentary Question
  Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission
  Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission
  Employment Tribunals: Legal Aid
  Employment Tribunals: Legal Aid
  Royal Courts of Justice and New Scotland Yard: Security Equipment
  Royal Courts of Justice and New Scotland Yard: Security Equipment
  Judicial and Queen's Counsel Appointments
  Judicial and Queen's Counsel Appointments
  Magistrates from Ethnic Minorities
  Magistrates from Ethnic Minorities
  Devolution: Northern Ireland Guidance
  Devolution: Northern Ireland Guidance
  Bishop Shi Enxiang
  Bishop Shi Enxiang
  Northern Iraq and the Kurdish People
  Northern Iraq and the Kurdish People
  Cyprus
  Cyprus
  Togo
  Togo
  Liberia
  Liberia
  Turkmenistan: Church Closures
  Turkmenistan: Church Closures
  Turkmenistan: Mr Shageldy Atakov
  Turkmenistan: Mr Shageldy Atakov
  Central Asian Republics: Religious Freedom
  Central Asian Republics: Religious Freedom
  UN Commission on Human Rights
  UN Commission on Human Rights
  EU Documents: Public Access
  EU Documents: Public Access
  Corus Redundancies: Government Support
  Corus Redundancies: Government Support
  House-Sitters: Minimum Wage Provisions
  House-Sitters: Minimum Wage Provisions
  Probation Officers: Benefit Penalty
  Probation Officers: Benefit Penalty
  Pensioners Living in EU: Pensions Uprating
  Pensioners Living in EU: Pensions Uprating
  Pensioners Living Abroad: Pensions Uprating
  Pensioners Living Abroad: Pensions Uprating
  Treasury Solicitor's Department Review
  Treasury Solicitor's Department Review
  Diabetic Drivers
  Diabetic Drivers
  Rural Consultations: TGWU Participation
  Rural Consultations: TGWU Participation
  London East-West Rail Links
  London East-West Rail Links
  CrossRail Project
  CrossRail Project
  East London Line
  East London Line
  London Underground: PPP Contracts
  London Underground: PPP Contracts
  Foot and Mouth Disease: Military Exercise Restrictions
  Foot and Mouth Disease: Military Exercise Restrictions
  Unidentified Flying Objects
  Unidentified Flying Objects
  Special Educational Needs Code of Practice
  Special Educational Needs Code of Practice
  Universities: EU Funding
  Universities: EU Funding
  Foot and Mouth Disease: Course
  Foot and Mouth Disease: Course
  Foot and Mouth Disease: Field Operations
  Foot and Mouth Disease: Field Operations
  Foot and Mouth Disease: Species Susceptibility, Incubation and Infectivity
  Foot and Mouth Disease: Species Susceptibility, Incubation and Infectivity
  Foot and Mouth Disease: MAFF's Letters to Farmers
  Foot and Mouth Disease: MAFF's Letters to Farmers
  Future of the Countryside and Farming
  Future of the Countryside and Farming
  MoD Meat Purchasing Safeguards
  MoD Meat Purchasing Safeguards
  National Health Service Number
  National Health Service Number
  National Health Service Performance Fund
  National Health Service Performance Fund
  Indoor Air Pollution: Effects on Health
  Indoor Air Pollution: Effects on Health
  National Cardiothoracic Transplant Centre
  National Cardiothoracic Transplant Centre
  Quality Protects Management Action Plans
  Quality Protects Management Action Plans
  Hepatitis C: Steering Group
  Hepatitis C: Steering Group
  Electrically Powered Wheelchairs
  Electrically Powered Wheelchairs